Southside Boy

"Lucky Guess"

After Betty and Jughead leave it's silent. Neither of us say a word, neither of us know what to say.
"Oh uh here we can put this on the table" FP finally says before taking the pie from me and gesturing for me to follow him. He sets the pie down on the table and turns to me. "Wine?" He asks.
"You read my mind" I say causing him to laugh. He hands me a glass of wine and pours himself one before sitting down.
"So where's Hal tonight?"
"Journalism convention"
"Right. How come you didn't go?"
"They're boring. Pointless information that I already know"
"If you know this stuff already then why does he still go, can't you just tell him?"
"I've offered but he says he wants to hear it from a certified teacher"
"I'd much rather hear it from you than sit in a stuffy boardroom for hours. You were always a good writer, our school newspaper was ten times better once you took over" I smile as he says that.
"It's his choice I guess, I'll never understand why he chooses to go to them. But enough about me. How are you and Jughead doing?"
"Jug's doing real good. That daughter of yours is a great kid"
"Yeah she's the best, Jughead makes her so happy"
"She's changed him. He used to be so quiet, always pushing people away, hell we didn't even have a relationship for a while after his mom left. He was living at the old drive in. But then he met Betty and suddenly he just completely changed. We had a relationship again"
"I'm glad" I smile softly at him "I know how it feels to lose someone you care about" I say causing him to get a sad look on his face. He knows I'm talking about him.
"Alice, I want you to know something. Letting you go was the hardest thing I've ever done. And I thought I was doing the right thing for both of us, but to this day I still regret it" I stare at him, shocked from what he's saying. "Alice I still-"
"We're back" Jughead yells interrupting what FP was about to say. Leaving me desperate to know what he would've said if they hadn't walked in. Betty and Jughead walk into the dining room where FP and I are.
Jughead places the bag of food on the table and starts taking things out.
"Mrs. Cooper we didn't know what you get at Pop's so dad ordered something for you, just warning you now" Jughead says before handing me a takeout container. I open and see my usual order. A burger made the way I like it and extra fries on the side. He remembered my order from when we were teens. I look up to see FP smirking at me from across the table.
"That's what she orders everytime. How'd you know?" Betty asks FP.
"Lucky guess"
*
After dinner we all sat and talked for a bit. Mainly about school and how the kids are working on the school newspaper. But after a while we decided it was time to leave.
"Thank you for dinner Mr. Jones" Betty says with a smile.
"Yes thank you, FP" I say and turns to me, a small grin apparent on his face.
"My pleasure" he says, his eyes not leaving me.
"I'll walk you out" Jughead says placing his hand on Betty's back.
"I'll be out in a minute" I say as they walk out the door.
"Thanks for bringing the pie, it was great" FP says breaking the awkward silence between us.
"Yeah no problem, Betty told me you both really liked it the other night so I thought I'd bring it again"
"And thanks for coming. I'm guessing you'd rather of stayed home"
"You know I did, but I actually had a really good time tonight"
"Yeah?" FP says taking a step closer to me.
"Yeah" I say softly as I lock eyes with him. His dark brown eyes that I can't help but get lost in.
"Well I guess we'll have to do it again soon then?" He says, his body now inches away from mine.
"Absolutely" I say as I place my hands on his shoulders.
"I'm sure Betty and Jug will set something up, so I'm pretty sure I'll see you again soon" he laughs a little causing me to smile.
"Knowing them, yes, very soon... Speaking of Betty I should probably get out there since she's waiting for me" I say, my hands still on his shoulders.
"Right... Goodnight Alice"
"Goodnight FP" I say as his hands wrap around my waist, pulling me towards him. I hug him tight, wanting so much more than just a hug.
He kisses my cheek, his rough stubble feeling like heaven against my soft skin.
He slowly pulls away, it's not hard to tell that we both don't want to let go. He runs his thumb over my cheek before opening the door. I smile at him before walking out causing him to smile back at me. I see Betty and Jughead standing near the car.
"See you later Jughead" I say as I unlock the car.
"See ya Mrs. C" Jughead says before smiling at Betty and running up the steps to go inside.
"I'm sorry about earlier mom, you're doing this for me and I should be more appreciative of that" Betty says when she gets into the car.
"Honey don't worry about it, let's just forget that even happened alright? Besides it turned out to not be so bad tonight after all" I say giving her a reassuring smile.
FP was so different tonight, it was almost like he was the same FP I knew when we were teens. Not this other version of him that I've been seeing lately.
As I drive I think over the night, still desperately wondering what he would've said if Betty and Jughead hadn't walked in.