Falice 2

The Happy One

"Daddy!" A young Jellybean jumps off the couch and runs to the door when she sees her father coming up to the trailer.

FP's face lights up when he sees the four year old. "Where's my little jellybelly?" He scoops the child up and kisses her cheek, making her giggle. Jughead comes in after him. "Jug, why don't you show your mom what you won today?"

Gladys looks over from the couch. Jughead shyly hides behind his legs.

"Be proud, boy. You wrote the best story in your class. That's some real talent." FP looks over at Gladys. "He's still in shock he won the award, but I'm telling him he's gotta be more proud of that brilliant mind of his."

"You were supposed to be back half an hour ago." Gladys says to him.

"I let him celebrate with his friends a little before we came home. The school set up a few snacks for them at pick-up." His smile fades away when he sees the look on her face. He sets down their daughter and asks Jughead to go take her to play in the other room. "Don't tell me you picked up another run."

"We need the money. What else are we supposed to do? You're not exactly raking in enough money working for Andrews for the backlog of bills that are past overdue."

"You could get a real job to help out," FP argues. He works during the day while she stays with their youngest and their older goes to school. He has pointed out that she can pick up night shifts at the diner while he watches the kids after work. "You had no business going behind my back and running to Penny again. We have to kids to think about. You can't get busted for a drug run."

"She wouldn't be an issue if you didn't go making her false promises." Gladys pokes his chest harshly. You're Serpent King. You control your Serpents."

FP huffs and gets out of her face. They're not going to argue over this with the kids home.

+

Alice finds herself driving to the southside to clear her head of Hal. It's not like he would notice anyway. He was out with the girls. And if he weren't, he'd likely not give a damn unless he wanted her to do something for him.

She makes it to the Twilight drive-in. A place that used to feel like home to her many, many years ago. She parks her car in front of one of the screens in the corner. She gets out of the car and walks to the concession stand for some popcorn. If she's going to be here, she's going to make it worth it.

At a distance, FP pulls his truck into the lot. Gladys sits in the passenger seat, but they hid the kids under a pile of jackets in order to sneak them in for free. Once he parks, the kids pop up from their hiding place and get themselves into the bed of the truck.

Alice steps away from the concession stand but stops when she sees FP Jones and his family. She watches as he carries his daughter. The little girl looks like the happiest four year old to live as he attacks her with kisses. He then glances down and ruffles his son's hair. He gives him a hand onto the truck's bed.

"Pick a pillow to sit on and make sure to zip up those jackets," FP gets them settled into the back. "You kiddos comfortable?"

Gladys grabs his face and whispers into his ear before pressing a kiss to his cheek. He doesn't react. He focuses on the kids. She walks off.

Alice sees Gladys coming her way, so she keeps her head down and heads to her car. She gives another look over at FP. He pulls out a pack of licorice from his inside pocket and hands it to his kids. She smiles at the sight. Then, she frowns and forces herself to look away. She sits in her car for the rest of the movie. She couldn't help but to think that coming here meant coming with FP Jones. No kids. No marriages. No adult stress. It was just two young teenagers enjoying time together.