"FP, wait!" Fred ran after him, trying his hardest to catch up with his friend.
He knew he needed to try and calm things down, for both their sakes. An impossible task, he believed.
FP wasn't willing to listen. His rage, his sadness and his confusion, were creating a massive blindspot for him, that he couldn't get rid of even if he tried. Something had fundamentally changed. His whole life was being shown in a new light. He had been kept in the dark for sixteen years, while he could have all that he had wished for. How was he supposed to deal with that?
"She kept my son from me, Fred. There is no excuse for that. My own child and I missed sixteen years because she thought it wasn't worth telling me." FP turned around on his heel and dangerously pointed his finger at Fred, his nostrils flaring because of his anger.
"You have no right to judge her, FP! You don't know what her life has been like!" Fred shot back, getting angry with him now too.
"Well, you should know, huh? You two have always been quite cosy." FP scoffed, his eyes again welling up in tears.
"What are you talking about?" Fred said confused, his voice laced with annoyance.
"That thing you had behind my back!" FP yelled back, finding it insulting that Fred pretended not to know what he was talking about.
While FP had found out they weren't together now, he had never once doubted that back as teenager they had hooked-up right in front of his nose and secretly laughed because they believed he was too stupid to notice.
"Me and Alice? Are you insane? She's always been like a sister to me. Nothing ever happened between us and if you think there did, then you are blind, FP. Blind to see that the only one she was in love with was you." Fred told him, looking straight into his eyes so he could make sure that FP knew he was telling the truth.
His face softened, and suddenly it felt as if the world stopped turning. Those very words changed everything.
"She was in love with me?" FP asked quietly, afraid he had misunderstood.
Fred's face softened now too, as he realized that this was the first time he got told that the person he loved, loved him back.
"She was. You have no idea." Fred said softly, giving him a small smile.
FP exhaled deeply, while shaking his head in confusion. If he had known back then, everything would've been different. He would've stayed in Riverdale.
"It's why I left, with Gladys. I couldn't bear the thought of you two..." FP couldn't even finish his sentence.
Thinking about that time in his life made his stomach twist, and now it was even more upsetting because he knew it was all in his head. He had left everything behind based on a lie someone had whispered in his ear.
"When I saw Charles for the first time I thought he was your kid." He confessed, his cheeks turning red.
"Believe it or not, that wonderful boy is all yours." Fred said, a sweet smile on his face.
He wondered how he hadn't seen it before. Charles and FP looked so much alike, that even a stranger could see that they were related.
"I know you, FP. You don't want to leave. Please, don't run out on them. I understand that you are mad, but hear each other out." Fred placed his hand on FP's shoulder, as he slowly approached him.
"You're right. I don't want to leave my son, or Alice." FP said quietly, casting his eyes away.
"Can you... can you please check on her? I can't." His voice broke, but no matter how hard he wished he could hold her right now, he just wasn't ready.
"Yes. I'll be right back. You can stay with me for tonight, alright?" Fred proposed, thinking that some space would do him good. FP nodded gratefully, as he wiped away a few tears from his cheeks.
Fred turned back to the Wyrm, where it was awfully silent except for the little cries of Alice, who had slid down against the wall with her knees to her chest.
"Alice?" Fred asked, before spotting her in the corner.
"Hey, sssh. It's all going to be fine, I promise you." He sat down next to her onto the floor and embraced her tightly. His arms always felt safe to her, as if anything would be okay if he was there.
"I've ruined everything, Fred. I was supposed to tell him but I didn't and now—" Alice rambled through sobs, her breath hitching.
"He's never going to forgive me." She said, as she kept on crying.
"He will. I am going to make sure of that. Okay? Go home, take a bath, watch some TV and go to bed early. I'm going to talk to FP." Fred assured her, before pressing a kiss on her hairline.
"It's too late." Alice said quietly, her lips quivering.
"Do you trust me?" Fred asked softly, making her look up to his eyes.
And the truth was, she did trust Fred, but she wondered if even he could fix something like this. She was scared she had broken the fragile line between them for good.
**
It was silent in Fred's house. The light shimmered, and the only sound that was being made was Fred making a sandwich in the kitchen. He walked over to the living room, where FP had sat down onto the couch with his head in his hands.
"Do you want something to eat?" It was a rethorical question, because when FP looked up, he accepted the plate with food Fred had made for him.
However, he couldn't eat anything. He was too upset for that.
"A son... I have a sixteen year old son." FP mumbled to himself, as if saying it out loud would help him feel differently.
"Did you know?" He looked at Fred.
"Yeah..." Fred answered a little hesitatingly, feeling the guilt he had for years coming to the surface. He knew it wasn't fair, but he had made a promise to Alice.
"Did she think I was going to be an awful father?" FP asked, his voice insecure.
That had to be the reason, right? His father was horrible, so he would be a horrible dad as well. It made sense. Maybe he could even understand why Alice had never said anything about Charles. It was to protect him.
"She would have wanted to raise Charles with you, that I know." Fred said softly. If someone had faith in FP, it had always been Alice.
"Then why didn't we? I missed out on sixteen years." FP said emotionally.
Fred took a deep breath, before revealing the real truth of their senior year in high school. It might not be his place, but he felt like FP deserved to know what she had really felt above anything.
"You said you thought we had something but the truth was... she saw big potential in you, FP. She believed that you would be a successful artist. So, when she got pregnant, she confided in me. That's why we became so inseparable, because she didn't want for you to be stuck in this town when she believed you were meant for the world outside of Riverdale. She needed a friend. I was that friend."
Fred had always thought that FP knew this, but it had become painfully clear that all this time, he thought they had betrayed him. If they had all been a little better at communicating, maybe things would've been different.
"When she was finally sure that she was ready to tell you, she heard that you had taken off to be in New York. It seemed like a sign from the universe that it was selfish to tell you."
Fred recalled this moment all too well. Once Alice knew she needed him, that her baby needed his father, he had vanished. Gone, forever. Left off for a better life, away from her.
"I would have stayed in a heartbeat, Fred. I would have done anything for her." FP said quietly.
"Maybe that is what she was so afraid of." Fred answered, sharing once more how real the love Alice had for him had been.
"I know it doesn't excuse anything, FP... but she was seventeen years old. She was scared, and she wanted to protect you from a life she believed you didn't want. Nothing she ever did was to hurt you, I promise you that."
FP nodded. She was young, she was insecure and lonely. He didn't make sure that she knew that he loved her, and that's why their ships passed for sixteen years. He knew he was too blame, too. Without his assumptions, without his own blind spots, he could've been there through it all.
"If I had talked to her... if I hadn't assumed anything about the two of you, maybe we would have had a life together. I could have seen my son's first steps, hear his first words, and see her eyes light up whenever she looks at him. We could have had it all."
FP tried to realize what all of it meant, how the awful memories of the past decade could have been filled with something beautiful.
"I was so heartbroken when I saw you together. I needed to be out of town, to heal, to forget. I was so madly in love with her, Fred. I am afraid it's that same feeling what brought me back here."
FP swallowed. It was the first time he had said it out loud ever since he had returned. Sure, telling Hermione that he still loved her while being miles apart was simple. But now, he had a son with her, and she was so close, and yet still so far away.
"Hey, it's not too late. Not all is lost, not if you don't want it to be." Fred encouraged him, knowing that their story wasn't over. FP nodded. Maybe it wasn't all lost.
"Thank you for letting me stay here." He said, genuinely grateful.
Fred was a true friend, which he realized even more than ever. He didn't even blame him for expecting the worst of him for all these years.
"I don't care how many sticks you have up your butt, you're still my brother." Fred smiled. FP chuckled. Even after such a long time, Fred still believed in the good of him.
"Do you know what that was between her and Hal?" FP suddenly remembered what Hal had said before the big revelation, and something about it felt off.
"That had to be more than a car scratch, right?"
"You may have been gone for sixteen years, but if one thing hasn't changed it's Hal Cooper. Still the same old snake." Fred shook his head.
"We've got to keep our eye on him." He added. FP nodded in agreement.
His phone went off, which in the otherwise silent room sounded extremely loud.
"Is your wife calling again?" Fred questioned, knowing that things between them had been cold and problematic.
"No, it's Hermione." He said, looking at the caller ID.
"Oh, you guys still talk?" He wondered, trying to play it off as a casual question, while his heart beat faster.
"Yeah, she is my best friend." FP smiled, as she could see the hopeful look in his eyes.
"Remember your own words, Fred. Not all is lost if you don't want it to be." He said knowingly.
**
Charles' eyes grew wide when he saw Alice returning home, her eyes blood red from crying.
"Mom, are you okay?" He ran towards her and tried to catch her eyes.
"No, honey. I am not." She said with a raspy voice.
Alice sat down onto the couch, followed by Charles who pulled an arm around her. He wasn't even aware of what was wrong, but even if she couldn't tell him he'd just hold her all night.
"Your father knows. He found out in the most awful way..." She told him, her shoulders still shocking a little. Alice held onto her son, afraid he might slip through her fingers if she made one more mistake.
"What happened?" He asked her, wanting to know every little detail. His priority wasn't asking about his father now, first he needed to make sure she was okay.
Alice wasn't ready. She wished she could tell it all, but it was too much. Instead, she just started crying again, having no control whatsoever.
Charles knew that this wasn't the time and place to ask questions, so he got up to make her a cup of tea, knowing that it could be comforting. When he handed it back to her, she sniffed.
"Is he mad?" Charles dared to ask, his voice soft.
"I have no idea how he feels. He's with Fred for now." Alice answered, which was the most truthful response she could give.
"So, he hasn't left?" He asked hopeful. Alice shook her head.
His heart broke seeing her like this, and yet he was thinking about his father finally knew about him. He felt hopeful and sad at the same time, which was an odd mixture of feelings for the teenage boy.
"You've always got me, Mom." He pulled her close as he could. One thing was for sure, he'd never leave her.
"I know sweetie. I love you." Alice smiled again and wiped a few tears. He was her most precious treasure.
"This is the ring he gave me when we were young." She played with the one on her necklace.
"That one is from FP?" Charles wondered, finally knowing the real meaning behind the one piece of jewelry he couldn't imagine her without.
"You wear it every day, I don't know better than you always having it on you." He smiled a little.
"Somehow it felt like he was here, if I wore a piece of him with me." Alice looked at her son, while her finger still played with the ring on the necklace.
"I might have ruined everything." She said quietly, hoping that he could forgive her for the mess she had made.
"It will be fine, Mom." Charles promised, somehow feeling that in his heart.
"I should be the one to comfort you, honey. Not the other way around." Alice chuckled through her tears and stroked his hair back.
"A son can be there for his mother too, can he?" Charles smiled sweetly. She had been there for him for sixteen years, he could he there for her now.
"You're way wiser than anyone should be at your age, honey." Alice smiled sadly. She knew why he was so wise, and while it made her proud, she wished he could have had a bit of innocence left.