New Beginnings

Declaration

FP gently reached his arm around Alice's shoulders, lightly stroking his thumb along the very top of her forearm.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Alice softly confirmed before staring into his deep inviting chocolate brown orbs. "Just glad it's over."

"It was a beautiful service Alice." Hermione spoke softly, breaking the brief silence between the four and offering Alice a reassuring smile as she reached her manicured olive skinned hand out to touch Alice's tense one, eventually easing her just a little.

"And the eulogy was amazing. Betty did a great job." Fred softly added.

"Thank you." Alice gently croaked out, offering a tight curl of her lips before bowing her head in thought. "I couldn't have done it without you guys though." She continued, her lips twitching further upwards as she shifted her gaze back and forth between Hermione and Fred and FP. Never did she think that these three incredibly amazing small town people could be considered more than friends, but family to her, with one being so much more. And she was deeply grateful for that.

Unfortunately, all that ran through her mind in that moment was how this new found communion could come to a screeching halt sooner rather than later if she didn't handle her troubles with Hiram tracking her down and decide on her next move, the safest move possible, because the longer she remained in Riverdale, however, a divine unexpected intervention was just around the corner for her, literally.

The foursome turned their attention to the large double doors as they heard the hinges creak loudly, their curiosity and confusion becoming exaggerated as FP had closed the bar up for the day, so customers weren't expected.

"FP? You in here?" A baritone but warm voice called out that they all recognised as Sheriff Keller's. He slowly ascended out of the darkened area and into the light that shone in the middle of the room, fully into focus.

The second FP noticed the Manila folder in the town Sheriffs hand, he knew he wasn't there in a social capacity, and likely there in a capacity that involved highly secret information he had been planning to keep from Alice, but it seemed it was all about to come out in the open.

"Sorry, I didn't realise I was interrupting anything." Tom innocently expressed, holding his hand up in defence as he saw the foursome seated and feeling like he had walked in on a private function.

"You're not." Alice assured him as she poured herself another glass of the strong amber liquid. "Just having a brief drink in memory of my ex."

"Well actually, I'm here about that-"

"Tom!" FP interjected slightly louder than needed. "Can't this wait?" FP stressed, his voice raising an octave as he gulped unexpectedly. With gaping eyes and a straightened lip, FP practically jumped out of his seat, stepping towards Tom with his large chestnut eyes pleading to the officer to be quiet, leaving Tom in a state of bewilderment.

"What's he talking about?" Alice innocently questioned as she approached the two, her furrowed brows not going unnoticed by the two men.

The room suddenly fell silent as Alice spoke, an air of awkward tension wafting through the atmosphere. Naturally, FP's shifty and jittery behaviour had his two best friends and girlfriend slightly stunned, possibly because he had failed to inform Alice that he had gone behind her back and arranged for Tom to aid him in tracking Hiram down and bringing him to justice, which would be a lovely and considerate gesture, except Alice had specifically told him the prior week not to go to the police or alert them and drop everything.

"Somebody's about to be in the doghouse." Fred cheekily mumbled before taking a discreet sip of his drink, earning a swift backhand on his chest by Hermione.