It was Alice sixteens birthday. She was living on the Southside so her parents didn't had the money to throw her a big sweet sixteen birthday party, but Alice didn't care. Through the years living there she had learned that material things can make you happy on the outside, yet never will be able to fill you with the joy of knowing there are people who love you. And Alice was loved. She loved her friends to death. They were her own perfect family and when she was with them she could forget everything.
There was her best friend Hermoine. She was a lot different from her. Her parents let her grow up very religious and always set her strong borders. Since she knew Alice she changed and got more rebellious than before, but was still the nice girl the teachers loved. The next one was Fred Andrews. He was a funny guy. He always had a good joke on the lips. He was also a very caring person, who was very sensitive for other people's feelings. If someone was not feeling well he was the one who would come to you and just sit down with you to talk and afterwards try to make you smile again.
The last one and most important one of her group of friends was FP. FP Jones, her boyfriend. She loved him with her whole heart. She couldn't imagine anymore how her life was before him. They were together for two years now. The best time of her life. He was from the Northside, but his father had kicked him out at when he was fifteen. So he was either sleeping at Fred's or stayed over at Alice's place. It wasn't perfect for him, but he arranged himself with it. Alice parents weren't thrilled about the idea of FP staying over, yet they knew they couldn't do anything against the two of them doing it at some point in the end either. Beside their group of friends no one knew about FPs living situation so everyone at school still thought he was a normal Northsider. For him Alice was his savior. She didn't even thought about what her parents could say when she asked him to crash at her place. She was the one, who asked him out on a date after he was gushing at her for months not being brave enough to ask her. He didn't cared that she was from the Southside. He just knew he loved her no matter what.
For Alice birthday he had prepared something special. Alice wasn't the girl for big partys and they were all still too young to go celebrating at the Whyte Whyrm, so FP prepared with the help of Fred and Hermoine a kind of surprise party for her. They sat up a picnic at Sweetwater River. Decorated the place with lapions and placed blanket on the ground and put aside some more for when the night would get colder. It was a Saturday so their parents allowed them to stay out later than normal.
Alice parents wanted to spend some time with their daughter in the morning so FP picked her up around lunch time. He knocked on the trailer door and she opened immediately like she was waiting for him. She flew into his arms wrapping her legs around his waist smirking.
Alice: "Hey Jonesy! Finally!"
She leaned in and kissed him deepening the kiss instantly. Her hands were in his hair and she was softly pulling it. He let out a small groan when she pulled at his hair a little harder. Suddenly she pulled away.
Alice: "I really missed you!"
FP: "But Al, we saw each other yesterday in school and that isn't that long...okay..."
He let her down grabbing her face with both hands and pulling her in another kiss.
FP: "Come on. We should go. I want to spend some time alone with my favorite girl before we call the others to join us..."
Alice: "Sure. Where are we going?"
FP: "Is this even a question?! To Pops so I can treat you your favorite veggie-burger."
Alice: "You know what I want. I love you."
They went to Pops where Alice got her burger while FP ordered just some fries and a milkshake.
Pop: "Happy Birthday, Alice. Enjoy your burger. It's for free today of course."
Alice: "Thank you, Pop."
They were sitting next to each other talking and laughing for a few hours. They loved spending time alone at Pops doing just that. Pops has always been a safe place for them. Pop was like a father for them and they knew they could go there anytime. Even if the ran out of money Pop would always give them something anyways and they could just pay later or he would just give it to them for free.
After they had finished their food FP called Fred and Hermoine while Alice was using the ladies room. When Alice came back FP pulled a blindfold out of his pocket. Alice looked at him confused, yet let him knot it behind her head. She really couldn't see anything, but she trusted FP. He leaded her to his truck and drove to Sweetwater River where Hermoine and Fred were already waiting for them. They had lit all the lights and set the food on the blanket. FP helped Alice out of the car taking her hand and walking with her to their picnic place. He told her to stop and stepped behind her to open the blindfold.
Alice eyes widened when she saw what her friends had prepared for her. A single tear slipped out of her eye.
Alice: "OMG! You did this for me?! I really don't deserve any of you! You are too good to me! I love you all soo much!"
She turned to FP and gave him a passionate kiss. She then went to Fred and Hermoine and hugged them.
Alice: "You three are insane! Seriously! I can't believe you did all this for my birthday! You are my real family! My parents just gave me some stuff I need for school and let me cook something for brunch. And they were again arguing the whole time. It wasn't the best start into my birthday, but you all made it soo soo amazing! I can't believe it! You are my real family! And I love you all soo much! But can we stop standing here and sit down? Also if I already had a burger at Pops I really want to try what you set up for me."
They all set down on the blanket and started eating. They were sitting there for a few hours until it got dark. Hermoine and Fred soon left and FP and Alice were alone.
FP: "I have another present for you. And it's not what you think, but you will get what you think later too."
FP reached into the pocket of his serpent jacket and revealed an envelope. It says 'DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY'
FP: "Don't open it now! Also if I hope I will be by your side forever and that when you have a bad day I will be the one, who will be there for you, I made this. It's just something that will hopefully make you feel better after having a bad day, when for whatever reason I can't be there to make you feel better! Because I can't live with the thought of you ever being upset. I just want you to be happy! I-"
She cut him off with crashing their lips together.
Alice: "I love you too!"
She leaned in to him again catching his lips into a needy kiss.
***
But life doesn't always go as you wish and so after being friends since childhood and being in love with each other for nearly three years they go their own ways. For both this time is the worst, but they know they have to go their own ways now. Follow their own dreams. Or better run into their worst nightmares.
Both of them had married different people at some point when it always should have been them promising their lifes to each other. FP had married Gladys a girl from the Southside, who was in the serpents too and the best friend of Penny Peabody. He had to promise Penny that he wouldn't hurt her friend and he did. He didn't planned what happened later. He didn't planned that he would get addicted to alcohol, because he still couldn't forget about Alice after all of the years. He loved Gladys, yet he knew he would never love her how he had loved Alice back than and still loved her.
On the other side of town Alice got married to Hal Cooper, a rich kid. For him she was like a trophe. He was the one, who got her out of the Southside and made her into a presentable Northside mother. Alice gave birth to two beautiful girls. Polly and Betty. They were her whole pride and joy. And the only thing that made her happy and made her stay with Hal. She couldn't loose her daughters or make them unhappy. So she just continued to live her life accepting to put the happiness of her daughters higher than her own, because this is what mothers do.
In the end both of their lifes made a sharp turn at some point. For FP earlier than for Alice. Gladys left him and took his daughter Jellybean with her, since she couldn't handle his alcohol addiction anymore and didn't wanted her daughter to be near him.
For Alice it took longer to get out of this whole situation and it wasn't her doing. It was Hals. For some weird reason he went through town cleansing it from 'sinners'. He was completely going crazy. He had almost killed their neighbor Fred Andrews, Alice best friend form High School, but at this point she didn't knew it was Hal. He didn't knew anything about him being a serial killer until the night, when he confessed it to her and their daughter Betty. He went to prison and she was left having to deal with the feeling of guilt of not knowing that her ex-husband was a serial killer.
She was going through her and Hals wardrobe looking for things that still belonged to him and that she wanted to get rid of as soon as possible. She was staking boxes when an envelope fell to the ground. She picked it up. It read 'DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY'. She remembered that envelope and a small smile spread over her face. FP gave it to her on her 16th birthday. She always had wondered what was inside. She thought about what happened happened to her the last month since Hal went to prison. She was not only having a bad day or a bad week...it was even worse.
She sat down on her bed and carefully opened the envelope. A small bracelet fell out of it. She picked it up and looked at it. It had a heart shaped charm. She looked at the charm more closely. It had engraved the day they got together in High School and "I will love you forever. FP". She touched the engrave before looking into the envelope again. There was small paper inside.
Hey Al,
when you are reading this you are obviously having a bad day
and I can't be with you for whatever reason.
I just want you to remember what a strong woman you are.
You can achieve everything you want in your life
and even if someone wants to stop you
I know in the end everything will turn out good.
You don't have to believe me, but I hope you do!
I will always be there for you! And I really mean this!
Even if something happened between us
and we are probably not talking at the moment
you can always come to me and I promise you
I will do anything to make you feel better.
This is one thing that will never change!
I will always love you!
Love, FP♥
She had started crying reading these lines FP wrote her all those years ago. They didn't talked to each other for about twenty-five, but she was curious if he would keep his promise. Her life couldn't get any worse anyway. She put the letter and the bracelet back into the envelope. She put more appropriate cloths on to go outside and redid her makeup that was completely messed up from the tears before. She grabbed the envelope and left the house driving to the trailer on the Southside, where she believed he would still be living. She got out of the car with the envelope still in her hand.
She walked to the trailer and knocked. A few seconds passed before he opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw who was standing there in front of his trailer after all these years.
FP: "Alice? What are you doing here?"
Alice: "I wanted to see if you would keep the promise you made me all those years ago. I found this letter going through Hal stuff."
She lifted it up so he could see it better. When he realized what it was she just walked down the stairs and pulled her into a warm embrace.
Alice: "I really need you now..."
FP: "I will always be there for you. Nothing could ever change this!"
He hugged her even tighter and she clinged to him as if he was life support. He was everything she would ever need in her life. The one person, who could make her feel safe within seconds.
***
Authors Note:
This is inspired by a promt I read on tumblr.