Work was exhausting. She's convinced the interns she and Hal hired are completely incompetent.
All she wants to do is come home, relax with a book, maybe have a glass of wine or two. Though, those plans are quickly foiled when she walks inside and finds her daughter curled up on the couch eating ice cream out of the carton, and a half empty box of tissues next to her.
Alice's heart sinks at the sight, abandoning her coat and purse on the floor by the door. "Hi baby, what's wrong?"
"Juggie broke up with me." Betty tearfully admits.
Alice frowns and hurries over to the couch, pushing aside the used tissues and letting Betty curl into her arms. She strokes her hair and presses a kiss to her head as Betty breaks into sobs in her arms. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm so, so sorry."
"I thought he loved me. I thought he was the one." Betty chokes out. "Why doesn't he want me?"
Alice sighs. "I don't know, baby. I wish I had an answer for you, and I wish I could take away your pain." She feels Betty cling tighter to her. "Maybe you two just need a bit to cool off?"
"He said he's done. That he's been done." She sniffles. "He doesn't want me."
Alice frowns and rubs her back. "It's okay, honey. It'll be okay."
Betty lifts her head up and meets her mom's eyes. "How do you know?"
Alice smiles at her and tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Because I'm your mom, I know everything."
Betty smiles a little. "I love you."
"I love you too, baby." She presses a kiss to her forehead. "Now why don't you just try and get some sleep? You look exhausted."
Betty nods, feeling Alice pull the blanket up higher on her as she lays her head on her shoulder.
Alice feels her heart beat a little faster as she thinks of what this means for her and FP. If it was messy before, it's even more messy now.
There's one thing she knows for sure though; there's no way they can tell the kids now.
_____
Possibly the best thing about working with her ex-husband, was that he knew her well and that he was very understanding when it came to things in her personal life, especially when those things involved their daughters.
So when she had came into work that morning, Hal had taken one look at her and knew something was wrong.
She explained to him that Betty and Jughead broke up and that she spent most of the night consoling Betty. He sent her home, assuring her that he could handle the paper and that she should get some sleep before Betty comes home from school.
She had eagerly taken him up on that and slept for a few extra hours before actually starting her day.
Betty was still at school for a few hours, and even then she and Veronica had plans, so it's not like she would be home right away.
That's what ultimately makes her decision to go to Pop's. If she's lucky, FP will be going on his lunch break soon, and she'll be able to talk to him with no interruptions for a bit.
She tries to plan out the conversation in her head but there's no right words, the whole situation is a nightmare, especially since they were doing so well and getting serious.
The bell above the door signals her appearance in the diner and she flashes a smile at FP when he turns around to greet the customer. "Well this is a nice surprise."
She grins and walks over to the counter. "I was hoping I'd catch you on your lunch break."
"Well you're in luck, I'm going in about five minutes, just grilling up a burger quick. You want anything?"
"Cheeseburger and fries?" She asks, earning a smile from the handsome man.
"Coming right up." His eyes scan the place, landing on a booth in the corner that would offer them some privacy. "Go grab us that booth over there, I'll bring our food over when it's ready."
She nods and doesn't even try to hide the fact that she's blatantly staring at his ass as he walks into the kitchen.
She makes herself comfortable in the booth, waiting anxiously for FP.
He comes over shortly after, both of their food in hand. "Alright, cheeseburger and fries for the extremely hot blonde lady," he sets her food down in front of her and she laughs. "And possibly a kiss for the incredibly charming waiter?"
"I suppose you've earned it." She places a hand on his cheek to draw him in for a kiss, brushing her lips softly against his. "How has work been?"
He shrugs and slips into the booth across from her. "Same old, same old. Kinda slow, probably gonna pick up towards the end of my shift." He takes a bite of his burger and raises an eyebrow at her. "You look like something's bothering you."
"Well, I do have something I need to talk to you about." She nervously tells him.
"Are you pregnant?" He questions jokingly, stealing a fry.
She narrows her eyes at him. "No, thankfully." He meets her eyes and she takes a deep breath. "Betty and Jughead broke up."
He freezes mid-bite. "Really?" She nods. "So that's why he was acting weird the past few days. I've been trying to get him to talk to me but he won't, I just assumed it was a mood swing or something."
"I guess they've been having troubles for a little bit and he broke up with her yesterday."
"Shit," he exhales deeply, rubbing his hand across his beard the way he does when he's stressed. "How is she?"
"Well I spent most of my night consoling her so I'd say she isn't fairing too well. She insisted on going to school today though, so I can only imagine how that went if they saw each other."
He's quiet for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he thinks. "So... what does this mean for us?"
"I don't know." She admits, feeling him take her and hand, stroking it with his thumb. "I really don't know."
"We'll figure it out," he assures her, letting go of her hand only so he can move over to her side of the booth. "I don't know how exactly but we will."
She nods slowly, choosing to believe him, and she lays her head on his shoulder, just enjoying being with him. Something about him always so calming and anchoring, even in the worst of situations.
He presses a kiss to her forehead and normally she would chastise him for doing such a thing in public, but the diner is fairly empty and the kids are in school.
Or so they thought.
Little did she know her daughter stopped in for a milkshake during her free period and witnessed the stolen moment between the couple.