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FP had Jughead pinned to the wall. It was the only way to get his full attention. He was trying to knock some sense into him for his own good. They were having an argument over something stupid, dangerous even, he did with a few of the other young Serpents. "You can't just go confronting the Ghoulies like that! Are you out of your mind?"
"I'm fine!" Jughead yelled back at him. "It's not like I got hurt."
FP's face softened up. He looked at his own hands holding him back. It triggered an old memory. He saw himself in his son's shoes, except he didn't see the fear in his eyes. His father was a cruel man. He didn't want him to go through the same thing he did. He gently let go of him and dropped his hands.
Jughead stared at him. It was a sudden change in his behavior. He observed the look on his father's face. He was thinking real hard about something. FP stared right back at him, rather he was musing. He remembered the abuse. He remembered his father hurting him. He remembered everything his old man did to him. He rubbed his left wrist. He remembered how his father broke his arm for refusing to become a gang member just like him.
FP had gone home in his letterman jacket. He had a good day at school. He felt like he really was able to fit in with the northsiders. That was what they thought he was, a northsider. He remembered pushing the door open. His father was standing in the kitchen holding a beer bottle in his hand. "Take it off," Forsythe demanded. He took a sip of the alcohol.
"Why?" FP dared to say. Forsythe picked up the Serpent jacket meant for his son. "This is what you should be wearing. Join us, son. Make me proud." He shoved it into his hands.
"Look, dad. I already told you I don't want to join the Serpents. What I want is to go to college and get out of this damn town. Coach says I'd have a good shot at a full ride with a football scholarship."
"I don't care about football, boy. You have responsibilities as a Serpent."
"I'm not a Serpent!" FP threw the Serpent jacket to the side. He looked into his father's eyes with fear. He knew he would regret that. His father slammed him harshly against the wall. Forsythe held one of his arms in his hand and used his free hand to hold his face. "Look at me!" He made FP look him in the eye. He gripped his left wrist aggressively. FP felt the pain shoot up his arm. "Don't disrespect me, FP! I didn't give you my name so you could disappoint me. Forget that stupid game. You're going to become a Southside Serpent and that is final! Understood?"
FP didn't say anything to agree. He didn't want to comply. He didn't want to be like him. Forsythe was impatient and threw him onto the coffee table. FP landed on his injured arm and broke it further. He laid there wincing from the pain and watched his father storm out. The wall phone rang but he wasn't in any state to answer it. He tried his best to ignore it and focused on the blood oozing out of his arm. Since he didn't answer the call Alice believed he was blowing her off. When he saw her in the halls sporting that Serpent jacket he avoided her. He hated the thought of the Serpents. It reminded him too much of the torture his father put him through. His misery made him regret ever pushing her away.
