"It's a hunk of junk," Alice told the two teenage boys. She took a step back from the van and glanced over at Hermione to see if she had the same thoughts as she had.
Hermione chuckled in amusement and placed a hand on Fred's back. "Tell her what you two bafoons are naming it." She said to him, knowing that Alice wasn't going to be impressed by that fun little tidbit either.
Alice couldn't hear the words Fred was mumbling bashfully. She took a step closer toward the boy, ignoring FP who was conveniently remaining silent on the matter.
"Speak up, we can't quite hear that," Hermione said to her boyfriend, placing a hand behind her ear.
"The shaggin' wagon." Fred said at a slightly louder volume.
Alice rolled her eyes so hard that her head started to hurt. She kept her eyes closed for a moment as a sigh spilt from her lips. "And who exactly are you going to be shagging in this beat up, old, sorry excuse of a car?" She questioned, eyes shooting toward FP this time.
FP was leaning up against the driver's side door, one arm inside the opened window, the other hand resting on the roof of the car. "Never you mind." He said to the blonde.
Alice snickered and shook her head in disapproval.
"It doesn't matter what it's called," Fred told the two girls as he walked over to the other side of the vehicle. He opened the back door and crawled into the back of the car. "There's plenty of room, we can actually be comfortable at the drive-in with this car." He pointed out.
"I am not laying in the back of that thing until it's been thoroughly washed and stops smelling like stale pizza and marijuana," Hermione informed her boyfriend.
FP let out a chuckle as he stepped away from the driver's side. "So what you're saying is, that you'll be happy to get on your back if we clean this thing up?" He asked Hermione with a smirk.
Alice rolled her eyes and walked around the vehicle to inspect it some more. She didn't know how either one of them was going to afford to restore the old thing, but she definitely had no desire to be the fifth wheel at the drive-in. FP would be deflowering some cheerleader, and the other pair would be fondling each other to some capacity right beside them. She had no interest in taking part in that, none at all. She listened as Hermione and FP bickered in the Andrews' driveway. She had no idea how Fred had gotten away with getting a car after his parents learnt of the party he threw when they were out of town, but maybe being an only child on the north side of town had its benefits in that regard too. She clapped her hands together which brought attention back to her. "I have to go." She announced. "Someone has to pay the bills and it sure as hell isn't my dad." She sighed. Having a summer job wasn't ideal, but she would rather work a few afternoons a week instead of living on the street because her father was too drunk and stupid to keep a job of his own.
"I'll walk with you," FP suggested. He grabbed his bag from the front seat of the car and walked over to meet Alice by the garage. She pushed her sunglasses along her nose and tied her hair up so it was off of her collar, she gave FP a small smile before waving at the other two teens.
The pair walked in silence until they reached the stop sign at the end of the street. Alice turned her head toward FP and gave him a once over. He looked different in summer attire, she thought he might even have the start of a tan coming on. "You got yourself a summer girlfriend lined up yet?" She asked curiously. He didn't have any trouble finding someone to hang off his arm and they both knew that.
FP laughed and shook his head. "Is that all I am to you? A womaniser?" He questioned after calming down.
Alice shrugged and pushed her thumbs into the pockets of her denim shorts. "I guess not." She said to him as her eyes went forward and she started walking again. "I didn't mean to offend, but you do have a lot of girlfriends." She pointed out. She didn't know why it mattered, but somehow it did. He was the kind of guy that made everyone feel special when he talked to them, bar only the guys he didn't get along with so well.
FP shrugged his shoulders and focused on kicking a stone he'd been occupying himself with for the last several houses. "Not at the same time." He stated, hoping she knew he wasn't that kind of guy. He might hang out with girls a lot, maybe even date a few but he'd never deliberately deceived any of them, not in the way she was no doubt thinking.
"No, I suppose not," Alice said with a small nod. She thought for sure that he might be upset with her, but there wasn't anything she could do to take back the words she'd already spoken. "Your dad comes into the bar when I'm working." She said to him after the awkward silence became too much for her.
FP nodded his head. He didn't know what she was trying to achieve by bringing up his dad, but it certainly did not make him feel any better. He kicked the stone a little too far and it landed in the middle of the street. He gave up on trying to retrieve it and instead took out a cigarette from his back pocket. "Bet he's spending his disability checks wisely." He commented after retrieving his lighter from the other pocket.
Alice's smile faded some because she knew he didn't want to talk about his old man either. FP's father was a nasty piece of work, she could relate to having a difficult family member, but at least hers hadn't kicked her out of home. "There's a lot of those serpents there too." She added, wondering if that would peak his interest more.
FP shrugged and let out a puff of smoke. "The Wyrm is their den, what did you expect?" He asked, glancing at her quickly before his eyes darted away.
She'd only been working at the Wyrm for a week, and although she and FP used to sneak in together for fun, Alice's recollection of serpents was very limited. Growing up in Riverdale it was rare that anyone had gone through life without hearing stories, legends about the infamous gang the Southside Serpents. They were notorious for getting up to no good. The Northsiders weren't the only ones who were prejudice against them, it was hard to tell exactly who was involved with those snakes since a lot of them blended into society. Alice had seen a few jackets, and the occasional tattoo but those who hid their involvement well just weren't on her radar until now.
Alice turned toward FP and nodded her head. He was right, she shouldn't be so surprised that a gang was hanging out at a gang hang out, and yet she was, and it made her all the more curious about them. "I'm just saying." She shrugged and turned to face the direction she was walking in. "I just haven't seen that many of them before, not in the same place together really. Do you think if I asked them questions they'd answer me?" She asked, wondering if somehow she could be the first person to ever get the scoop on the Southside Serpents. She wanted to be a writer, she wanted to have the kind of career that made other writers jealous of her work, so getting a coveted scoop on the gang would definitely give her something to brag about in her upcoming career.
FP shook his head as a frown snuck over his brow. "Just leave them well enough alone, Alice. You don't want to get tangled up with a bunch of snakes. Just stick to wiping tables and cleaning up piss." He said in annoyance.
Alice frowned then too, she didn't know what had gotten into him, but it hurt knowing that he was mad at her. "I know my way from here if you want to head off." She said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself as a subconscious means of protection.
FP sighed and looked at her. He hadn't meant to be as harsh as he came across, it was just complicated and he really didn't want her to get hurt. He nodded his head and pushed his hair back out of his face. "I'll see you around." He mumbled, looking down at the ground.
Alice muttered a quick goodbye before she shuffled off in the direction she needed to be in. She didn't look back, she thought if she did she might shed a tear, and Alice Smith didn't shed tears in front of anyone, especially not the boys who made her feel like crying in the first place.
