2x18
Alice pushes the diner's door open and scans the room for the one and only FP Jones. Her face lights up the second she spots him. After the night they spent together, she believed that things were heading in a positive direction for them.
"What's happening, handsome?"
"Just bussin' tables, Alice. You?" He walks around her to take the dirty dishes to the kitchen.
"Just finished rehearsals," She can't believe she hasn't had the chance to tell him all about it. "I'm in the high school musical. Can you believe it?"
FP looks back at her and continues with what he's doing, practically ignoring. She frowns but follows him anyway.
"Maybe you'll come by?" She leans closer to him over the counter. "Come check it out."
"I'm working, Alice." He tells her. "Sorry."
Alice furrows her eyebrows. She takes offense to that. "Wow," She can't believe it. She should have expected nothing more from him. "Really? This old act again?"
He walks away, but she's not letting him off the hook so easily. She follows him again. "You know what's funny? I was afraid our kids were going to make the same mistakes we did, but it turns out, we're the ones making them all over again."
With that being said, Alice storms out of the diner. FP stands silently as he watches her go. The regret on his face was no use.
+
Betty had spoken to her father, and it took a lot of convincing, but she believed she got through to him. Her mother has been awfully sad recently , and if reconciling with her father would make things even slightly better for her, she would take the risk.
Once she got her father on board, she asked him to come home and talk to her mother.
"Alice?" Hal enters the house with two bouquets of flowers.
Alice stops with the dishes and looks back. She gives Betty a knowing look; it's her assumption that she had something to do with this.
Hal approaches the women. He gives one bouquet to Betty.
"Thank you," Betty accepts them.
"You're welcome." He then tries to give Alice hers, but Alice stops him.
"I'm allergic to peonies," Alice points out, a tad irritated. "But how would you know that? We've only been married for decades."
Betty swoops in and takes the flowers.
"I'd really like to come back home, Alice." He tells her. "If you'll have me."
Alice listens to his plea. She even thinks about it. She looks over at Betty who's watching them.
Hours ago, she would have denied him completely, but things had changed. She's hurt, and right now she feels lonely. Maybe she could make the best out of it.
"If we do this, Hal, there can't be any more secrets between us." He understands that. There's a lot they need to work on to make their marriage work. "Which means...Betty?"
"Yeah?" She responds.
"Honey, can you give us a moment?"
"Yeah." She sets the flowers down and excuses herself.
"There's something that you should know about Chic." Alice decides that in order to make this really work, she has to be honest too. If she can't make things work with FP, then she might as well try to make amends with Hal. It beats being alone.
They have a long conversation about Chic amongst other things.
"To be honest, I always suspected that Chic wasn't mine." He confesses. "I don't care, Alice. I want to come home. Alice..." He takes her hand. "Our secrets can't hurt us anymore. We can be together again."
Though he's not the one that makes her happy, she's willing to give it a shot. She'll do it for Betty.
+
Hal came to support her in the play later that night. It wasn't who she originally thought to have there on her behalf, but she was happy to have his support from the front row.
Even the original man in mind saw that giant smile on her face. She didn't know he decided to come after all, but he knew how terribly he messed up.
The sight of her taking Hal back hurt his own feelings. He can't say he didn't deserve that. He left that instant. He couldn't stay and watch them together. That decision would save him from witnessing the Black Hood strike again.
But Alice shrieked when she turned to see the aftermath behind her. The Black Hood murdered her play daughter.
The audience and crew was evacuated from the auditorium. Everyone was ordered off of the premises and told to go home while the scene was investigated.
At home, Alice paced around the living room in a panic. Betty and the rest of the kids in the cast had to stay behind with Sheriff Keller for questioning.
"She should be home, Hal. They let me come home."
"They knew her more, dear. Betty and her friends could be more helpful. She's okay, I promise."
"How do you know?" Alice is hysterical.
"I just do," Hal sits her down on the couch. "Relax. She won't get hurt. Over my dead body."
Alice sobs. He consoles her in his arms.
"I'm just scared."
"You shouldn't be scared. The Black Hood only kills sinners. Betty's a good girl. We can even preserve that if we keep her away from Jughead."
"Jughead is a good boy. I trust them both to behave."
"Are you just saying that because he's FP's son?"
Alice pushes herself away from him. "Hal, really?"
"They're both Serpents. Do you really think associating with them would keep us safe from the Black Hood?"
"The Serpents saved me and Betty from those cruel people. You should be thanking them, if anything," Alice defends them. "I already took the time to. I'm not ashamed of them. You know damn well I was one too. Are you ashamed of me?"
"But you're not a Serpent anymore. Look at everything we have together. I gave this to you, not the Serpents."
"Is this really about the Serpents, Hal?" Alice glares at him, sensing that it was more than just about the Southside Serpents.
"I don't know," Hal shrugs. "Is it?"
"If you want to say something, just go ahead and say it. Why beat around the bush?"
"Do you still think about him?"
Alice scoffs.
"Answer the question."
"Why does it matter?"
"You're not denying it."
"Wow," Alice shakes her head. "Do you really want to go there? Do you really think I don't know about you and that half melted ten cent trollop?"
"Have you been sleeping with him or not?" He angrily confronts her.
"Where's this coming from?" Alice had been careful. There's no way he could have found out.
"Why else would FP Jones come to some high school musical?"
Alice furrows her eyebrows. "He wasn't even there."
"I know what I saw," Hal spotted FP in the hallway when he stepped out of the auditorium to look around. FP was holding a small pink envelope with Alice's name written on it. He was suspicious.
"Well, even if he was there. His son does go to the school. He has a right to be there too."
"His kid wasn't in the play."
"He was still part of the crew."
"Why are you getting so defensive? Am I clueing in on something?" Hal nonchalantly states. "Are you, or are you not, shacking it up with your old high school boyfriend? I'd rather you just say it to my face."
"You stepped out on me first, with Penelope of all people."
"So you did?" Hal laughs. "Unbelievable."
"Who are you to talk? You're not exactly a saint yourself. Do you honestly believe there to be anything left to save in this marriage?"
"You're a sinner, Alice." Hal shakes his head disapprovingly. "We don't tolerate that in this town."
"In that sense, you're a sinner too."
"I beg to differ. I cleanse the town of sinners like you," Hal stands up. "It's not too late to repent, hon."
"What are you talking about?"
"Continuing my father's legacy, of course." Hal reaches into the cushions. "He killed sinners, I mean, rightfully so." He pulls out the gun he hid before they went to the play. The same gun that almost killed their beloved neighbor, Fred Andrews. "And to think I was this close to sparing you. You're no angel, darling, but I thought I could fix you. I've fixed so much over the years."
"Why are you doing this?" Alice gasps in fear. She takes a step away from him.
Hal points the gun at her. "Betty was right. We must do better. She opened up my eyes. Don't you see it too? This is something I had to do."
"Innocent people, Hal. You had no right to kill innocent people."
"They're all sinners!" Hal lunges at her. He traps her in a strong grip.
Alice tries to squirm her head out of his headlock. He presses the gun to her temple.
"We can either do this the easy way or the hard way."
A knock on the front door causes him to tighten his arm around her. "Who is that?" They weren't expecting anyone and Betty wouldn't be home for a while.
"I don't know," Alice is too afraid to speak.
"Alice, come on, open up please." FP knocks again.
"Get rid of him or I'll kill him." Hal recognizes FP's voice.
"No, don't."
"Get rid of him." Hal walks her to the door. She reaches for the door, but he smacks her hand. "Do not open it."
FP knocks again.
"Go away!" Alice tries to sound normal. She hopes he listens to her, but another part of her wants to beg him to help her.
"I just want to talk. I came here to apologize for being such an idiot. I'm sorry, Al. Will you hear me out?"
Hal side eyes her. Alice quietly cries. She's petrified.
"There's so much I should have said before. I know. Say something, please..." FP can't lose her to Hal again. If he hadn't screwed things up, she wouldn't have turned back to him. "I came to the play like you wanted me to. I really tried to stay, but I saw how happy you were. I couldn't ruin that for you, but I couldn't also see you happy without me. I'm sorry my mistakes drew you back to Hal."
"I don't want to hear it."
FP frowns. "What more do you want me to do? I'll do it. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, or even another chance, but I...I love you." He blurts out. He hopes this will change her mind; he was willing to risk telling her how he felt about her. "That's got to count for something, right?"
"I don't love you," Alice lies.
"You don't mean that." FP refuses to believe that.
"Go away, FP, I'm not taking back a cowardly drunk!"
FP takes that to heart. He can't believe she'd throw something that sensitive back at him. She would never do that.
"Don't you know your own stupid Serpent laws? Number four: a serpent never betrays its own. You've done that enough. You need to lead by example."
"If you want me to go, then ask me to. I'll go."
"Just go, FP, for me."
FP pushes himself away from the door. "Okay."
They listen to him walk away before Hal yanks her away. He shoves her towards the living room.
"Think about Betty. She'll be home soon. Don't have her come home to this."
"I'll be there for her. We'll mourn together," Hal laughs. "She'll learn a thing or two from this. What do you think she's say about her mother sleeping with her boyfriend's father? A sin, Alice. It's all a sin! She'll leave that damned offspring of his if she knows any better."
"Don't hurt my baby."
"I wouldn't hurt my daughters."
"Why have you spared me this long? Wasn't I the easiest target for you? What did Fred do to you? He's one of the only good men in town."
"He was an adulterer just like you!"
"Just like you!" Alice yells back.
Hal slaps her. "Shut up!"
She falls back crying. She wants to be brave, but looking at that gun kept her frozen. She doesn't want to set him off. Yet, she doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of her fear.
Alice stays quiet. The only way to get through this alive is to stall the best she can and hope help arrives in time.
Hal points the gun back down on her. "Why don't you do us both the favor and learn to obey me?"
He brings his finger to the trigger.
Alice looks up at him with wide eyes. She looks behind him.
FP swiftly gets him in a headlock and faces him away from Alice. He tackles him to the ground, where they wrestle for the gun.
"You should have listened to her." Hal seethes as he fights him off. He loses grip of the gun; FP swipes it away.
"It's a good thing I did," FP delivers a punch to his face. He continues to strike him on Alice's behalf.
Hal throws him off and hovers over him. "You're a dead man, Jones." He reaches over for the gun. FP struggles to point away from himself. "Start thinking about what I'm going to do next. Beloved husband comes home to dead cheating wife and her lover caught in his own home by the Black Hood."
Alice smashes a vase over Hal's head. He fortunately falls over, but she hears the gun go off. She panics. Hal is out cold; she checks on FP.
"FP," Alice kneels at his side.
FP sits up, grabbing his shoulder. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
"Did he shoot you? Oh my god!"
"It's fine," He hisses. "It only grazed the side of my shoulder. It didn't do too much harm."
"You stayed for me." She softens her face. He knew how to catch on to her hints.
"I knew something was wrong. That wasn't law number four; it was five. Four is no serpent is left for dead." FP hugs her tight. He kisses the top of her head. He wasn't going to lose her. "We take care of our own, Al. Always. I wasn't going to let him kill you."
"I didn't mean to call you a pathetic drunk," She croaks. She knows those words are cruel to him and she would never willingly hurt him like that. "I just had to sound believable to him."
"Don't worry about that. You outsmarted him. I'm so proud of you."
She cries into his chest. She lets loose in his embrace. She feels safe with him. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come here in the first place."
"We don't need to think about that. What matters is that you're okay." He rocks with her. "It's okay. It's okay. We're okay."
"I love you too." She exhales. She wanted to say it back. "I've always loved you, not him."
"You've always been it for me, too, Al. Nothing will ever change that."
"You've gone soft for me, Jonesy. Don't ever change that."
They sit in each other's arms until help arrives. That's all they'll ever need, each other.