Between Our Sheets | Falice

10/ From The Dining Table

"Dad, this is Betty and her mom." Jughead introduces.

"Hi Mr Jones, it's nice to meet you!" Betty smiles, extending her hand to shake his.

FP snaps out of his daze long enough to properly greet the girl. "Nice to meet you too, I've heard lots about you from my boy here." FP pats Jughead on the shoulder as the boy's cheeks blush. He looks towards Alice and awkwardly clears his throat. "Hi, I'm FP."

"Alice," She croaks out. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

The timer on the oven goes off, effectively cutting the awkward greetings short. "Oh, well you two have perfect timing, dinner's ready."

"It smells delicious." Jughead comments.

"I'm glad you think so. You three can head into the dining room, I'll bring out the food." Alice tells them.

"I'll help you," FP offers, Alice locks eyes with him and swallows dryly. "Gotta put the pie in the fridge anyway."

"Right." Alice nods. "Come with me."

The kids head into the dining room while Alice and FP quickly shuffle into the kitchen. She pulls the chicken out of the oven and pokes her head into the dining room, the kids seem to be entranced in their own conversation. She turns to FP, and he's looking just as freaked out as she is.

"I don't even know what to say." Alice sighs.

FP runs his hand over his face. "I don't know what there is to say. I can't believe I didn't realize it."

"How would you? I sure as hell didn't."

"Well, Jug mentioned her name but I never put two and two together." FP sighs. "What do we do?"

"I don't know, I think-" her question is cut short when Betty's voice calls for her.

"Mom? Do you need any help?"

"No sweetheart, we've got it handled." She looks back to FP. "We'll talk about this later. Can you bring out the salad?"

He walks into the dining room with the requested salad and sets it down on the table. He looks at the seating arrangement; the long table had clearly been set for 4, and Betty and Jughead opted to sit side by side, leaving he and Alice no choice but to sit side by side as well. As if this dinner wouldn't be awkward enough.

She walks into the room with the chicken and it's the first time he lets himself notice how good she looks. He had been too shocked to really take a good look at her and appreciate how she looks but now that he has he doesn't know how he'll survive this dinner. She's got on a white sweater and a pair of jeans that hug her body just right, her hair is tied up in a ponytail and her lips are painted a deep red color that he wants to kiss off of her. He shoves the thoughts out of his head, instead noticing how her hands shake as she cuts the chicken.

He stands up from his seat and takes the knife and fork from her. "Here, let me." She nods and sits down in the seat next to his own. "You made the dinner, least I can do is help serve it." He adds for good measure.

"Thank you." She offers him a weak smile.

He cuts up the chicken and everyone helps themselves. It's awkwardly silent for a little while, no one knowing what to say.