Love Him Like He's Yours [FPJones] [JugheadJones] [O.F.C]

2006 cont'd

The first time Jughead Jones saw his Dad hit someone, he was six years old.

It was the mid morning hours of an unusually grey Thanksgiving, and Jughead had been invited to lunch by Fred Andrews so that Archie could visit with him and Betty while Mary was away on business.

Jughead was happy to spend the day with his friends. His mom was now heavily pregnant and quick to tire out and snap at him most days. With the new baby arriving soon, his Dad was rushing to pick up as much extra work as he could find, and sometimes went days without sleeping at the trailer.

The play date with Archie and Betty had been off to a great start, with Jughead watching Fred pull his Dad aside when dropping him off. It wouldn't be Jughead's intent to eavesdrop but seeing the two men speak in hushed tones on the front porch proved to be too tempting for the curious boy to resist.

Hovering near the doorway, next to a slightly open screened window, Jughead could clearly hear Fred Andrews ask his Dad to return to his previous position held at Andrews Construction. With FP's help, they could easily secure extra contracts and FP wouldn't have to worry about money for the new baby.

Jughead was excited to hear his Dad say yes to an old friend. If his dad went back to work with Archie's dad, then that meant he would get to see Archie and Betty more often, and his dad wouldn't have to go away for work anymore.

When the two men would suddenly part, Jughead would scramble away from the window to appear as though he hadn't been listening. Smiling brightly at his dad, he'd wave goodbye innocently before running upstairs to Archie's room with his friends in tow.

Next door, through a different slightly open screened window, FP had been clearly visible as he had made his way from the house to his old truck parked at the curb.

Alice Cooper's smooth skin was immediately betrayed by involuntary goosebumps that remembered the boy from her past. All she had wanted, was the tin of of her family's thanksgiving recipes stored conveniently on a shelf next to the window. Instead, she'd got a front row seat to the men's private conversation.

She'd been surprised to see Fred and FP speaking in the first place. Let alone getting along and rekindling old business arrangements. It didn't add up to Alice, especially not with the shocking news of Nerys Miller's death rippling through their small town just 6 weeks before.

But then it would dawn on her.

If Fred Andrews was willingly offering to go back into business with FP, despite how badly things had gone for them previously, then Alice could practically guarantee that Fred was trying to rid himself of some kind of guilt.

In all the years she'd known them both, a heavy conscience was something that had never sat well with Fred. This also meant that if Fred was feeling guilty and trying to reach out to a struggling FP, there was only one thing that Alice could be sure of.

FP Jones was clearly not aware of his two best friends carrying out an affair with one another.

Alice herself only knew from being Fred's next door neighbour, with her and Hal piecing the details together after each noticeable indiscretion.

Clutching on to the recipe tin as she watched FP pull away from the curb and disappear out of sight, she'd take a deep breath and felt the goosebumps fade as a powerful calm washed over her.

Overall, it was such a small detail to be privy to, but it'd made Alice very thankful indeed.

- - - - - - - - -

(That Evening)

It had been a busy, fun-filled day for the young trio. Fred had allowed the children to play a few video games, broken up by several sessions of hide-n-seek, as well as a gentler round of tag inside the Andrews family home.