Stuck With Me

29 | News Paper

Betty walked over to the front door, still yawning after she made herself ready for school. She had heard the news paper getting delivered and figured she might as well grab it to take a quick look before she left for school.

Her eyes still felt heavy from her lack of sleep after they had come home late because of a deadline at the Blue & Gold, but what she saw immediately awakened her.

She blinked twice to make sure she was seeing it right, but it was definitely there. A picture of her Mom and FP with capital letters stating a question whether mayor Smith had found herself a new lover. Who had the nerve to write this? But most of all, what did this mean?

Before she even knew it she stormed off to the kitchen where Jughead, Alice and FP were still waking up with a cup of coffee in their hands. 

''Care to explain?'' Betty roughly threw the news paper onto the counter, shoving it right in front of her mother's face.

She raised her eye brow, annoyed by Betty's tone and ready to lecture her for not talking to her mother like that until her eyes fell on what she was referring to.

''Wait, what?!'' Alice gasped as she looked at the picture of her and her boyfriend— that nobody knew about— covering almost the whole front page.

This was even a new low for the Register. She knew people were interested in her love life after her husband died, but promoting it like this? That wasn't what she had expected. If she had known this was a risk, she would have been more careful.

''I don't understand.'' Jughead sat next to Alice and his eye had caught the picture too. Why did his father looking so intimate with Alice? They were just roommates right? A favor for a favor. That is what it had been.

''I'll explain it to you. This is FP holding my Mom's hand and kissing her cheek at the Quiz Show.'' Betty crossed her arms and looked at the adults, waiting for an expiation that wasn't coming.

Neither FP or Alice could look the other in the eyes as the evidence of their secret relationship was brought to them by their kids. How were they supposed to handle this?

''What is going on between the two of you?'' Betty asked when the adults stayed too silent for her liking.

''Nothing. We were just proud of the two of you. I was a little emotional, okay? This is completely out of context.'' Alice brushed it away and shoved the paper to the side as she rolled her eyes. It was the best possible excuse she could come up with so quickly, but if she had to be honest it wasn't even a bad one. It could have easily been a comforting moment between friends that looked a little bit more cosy than usual.

Betty's face softened a bit as she realized she might have overreacted. Her Mom could be right, maybe she had blown it up to something bigger. It did look like a soft moment that didn't necessarily had to mean anything. Not that she thought a cheek kiss was appropriate, but still it could be the truth.

Jughead didn't buy it as easily as Betty though, and searched for his father's eyes as he had been silent ever since his girlfriend had stormed in with the paper.

''Was that all, Dad?'' He asked him, trying to stay soft and understanding.

FP doubted for a second, as he felt a twist in his stomach the very second Alice made up that lie. It hurt that she wasn't honest, that she had brushed it off so easily. Maybe he was just an easy lay after all, or at least not special enough to be open about to the public.

But then he had eye contact with Alice, who desperately tried to tell him to jump on her story. If not, this breakfast was going to get a lot more uncomfortable. It were her begging eyes that made him decide to follow her made up plan right now.