Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
•••
FP placed the empty plates in the tray after the customers finished. He wiped the table clean after they left. He took a second to take a breather. It has been a long shift and he was tired. He wasn't expecting Alice to come into the diner so to his surprise there she was. She looked uneasy. He felt that something was off. She stood at the door. Her eyes scanned the room for a certain man. Once she locked eyes with him he knew to go to her. "Alice?" He followed her to the counter. He handed the tray of dirty dishes to a coworker walking by. "What's wrong?"
"I can't do it anymore," She took a seat on the stool. He sat down beside her. She turned to face him.
"Do what?"
"Live a lie. This isn't me. I thought I would be happy but I'm not. This isn't what I wanted." Alice didn't like to parade around Riverdale as a northside princess. She couldn't hide behind the mask of lies. She was from the southside and she couldn't disavow them anymore.
"Then why do you keep the act going?" FP genuinely asked. "Were you ever even happy?"
"Don't act like you never tried to pretend to live the northside life." She snapped. She saw the hurt in his eyes. She wanted to take it back. She didn't mean to say that. "I'm sorry," She stuttered. She truly meant it.
"You're right. I did try to be someone I wasn't," FP let his head dangle. He fiddled with his fingers. "But if someone were to succeed at it it'd be you. Look at you, you actually got to escape the southside," He put on a sad smile. "Not all of us can. You were lucky enough to get pulled out."
"But I'm not happy, FP. I never was." Her eyes drooped. She regretted her decision to adapt to the northside. She gave up her happiness for respectability. She thought it was what she wanted. "You're happy but I'm not."
"Who said I'm happy?" FP arched an eyebrow. "I'm an ex convict barely scraping by with long shifts as a busboy...and I lost the woman that meant the world to me."
"I heard about your split with Gladys," Alice said quietly.
"I'm not talking about Gladys." FP thought it was risky to say that but he meant it. His heart always yearned for Alice. He was an idiot in his high school days but his heart grew to want Alice. She was different. He wanted her.
Alice was speechless. She was not expecting that but she would be lying if she didn't love to hear that. She hated him at some point but she always wanted him. "Oh," Alice didn't know what to say. She wanted to let him know she wanted him but she didn't know how.
FP looked at her from the side of his eyes. He didn't know what to say after that. They sat in silence. After a few minutes FP broke the silence. "Do you remember that time we went to the drive-in?"
"Yeah," She smiled. "You still had the cast on your arm and we used it to scam the cashier into giving us free drinks." She rubbed her fingers across his left wrist. She remembered where his injury was.
"Those were the days."
"What about all those times in the halls?" She smirked at the memory.
"Hmm I don't remember," He teased. "How about you remind me?" He stood up. She followed him into the kitchen where they would get some privacy. He pressed her against the wall and she grabbed his face to kiss him. He smirked and lifted her up. "Is your memory coming back?" She chuckled.
"Not yet," FP didn't want this to end. "But it's getting there." He kissed her again. It was a lot more rough this time. He looked at her in awe and she couldn't help but bite down on her bottom lip. "Not the first or last time I'll have your back against the wall."
"We'll see about that." She kissed him again. They wanted each other badly. That was the truth.
