"FP, you're day dreaming." Fred voice was what snapped him out of his thoughts.
He gazed down at his plate and looked straight into his yet untouched bowl of cereal. They had been sitting at the kitchen counter for over fifteen minutes now.
"Guys, I don't know what to do anymore." FP sighed and putted his spoon back inside the bowl after holding it and doing nothing with it for way too long.
"Tell us, what's on your mind?" Archie asked politely, so they could talk about it.
"Let me guess, Alice is?" Fred raised his eye-brow. It was a guess, but a pretty good one.
"Is it that obvious?" FP said quietly, letting out a huff.
"Just a little." Fred teased.
The two men waited for FP to share his thoughts, but he had trouble finding the right words. After a moment of silence wherein he struggled, he finally spoke.
"It's like... every time it's just the two of us, I feel like I want to say so much more than comes out if my mouth." He confessed silently, his cheeks flushing a little.
It had been ages since he last felt this way around somebody and he was embarrassed about the fact that he couldn't control this.
"I know we decided to be friends so she could focus on her family... which I respect, but—" FP sputtered, not being able to get out a whole sentence. How was he supposed to finish that when he said he respected her wishes?
"That doesn't mean your feelings are suddenly gone, you mean." Fred helped him out, feeling perfectly well where this was heading to.
"Yeah, exactly."
"What is is that you feel for her? Have you figured that out yet?" Fred tried to get more out of him, to understand more where FP's head was when it came to Alice.
"I wish it was that simple. It's unlike anything I ever experienced before. It's scary as hell." FP's voice sounded more insecure than he wanted to, but it seemed like he lost control of a lot of things ever since Alice occupied his mind.
"Why don't you try to write it down?" Fred proposed nonchalantly. FP was silent for a bit.
"As in writing a letter, you mean?" He asked to be sure, a frown forming on his forehead as he thought about the suggestion. Fred sensed that FP needed a little more convincing.
"Yes. It helps you clear up your mind, see what's really in there. You can decide later if you want to give it to her or not." He gave his friend a slight smile.
The pressure of writing your feelings down when you didn't have to show it to anybody was way different then when you knew beforehand that people would read it. He could be in control. If he didn't want to show it to Alice, or anyone for that matter, he didn't have to.
"Okay... yeah. That is something I could try." FP nodded in agreement, smiling a little as well. He had never even considered doing something like that.
"I'm bad with words though, what if I make a complete fool of myself?" He asked insecure, as his first impulse was to write something that he could give to Alice. The last thing he wanted was to be laughed at in his face.
"Write from the heart, FP. That way it will always be beautiful." It was all Fred could give him as advice, because now it was up to him to start writing.
**
FP had closed off for a few hours in his bedroom to concentrate on writing down his feelings. The first hour he mostly looked down at the empty paper and played with his pen as he sighed frustratedly, the second hour he had made a first draft that he thrown away and the third hour he had finally everything he wanted to say written down in words. The last hour he had used to read it over and over again.
With the letter folded into a pink envelope he made his way back into the living room. Fred and Archie were watching a cooking show together.
"Hey, you done? Happy with what you got down?" Fred noticed movement behind him and turned his head to look at his friend. FP nodded a little shyly. He took place on the couch as well.
"Yeah, pretty positive about this. I want to give it to her. I am not even sure she'll feel the same way, but I want to take a shot before it's too late."
While writing, FP had grown more and more confident about the idea that sharing this with her was a good thing, even when the chances of getting his heart broken were high. He was being true to himself, which was a big win.
"That's the spirit. I'm proud of you." Fred smiled at his friend. He knew like no other that writing down feelings was a challenge for FP.
"What are you waiting for, go give it to her!" Fred chuckled as he pushed FP off the couch, towards the door.
FP laughed and stumbled towards the exit, a wave of anxiety washing over him as he realized what he was about to do.
But just as he opened the door, there was standing someone on the other side who was raising her hand to knock on the door. It kept hanging in the air.
"Gladys?" FP gasped out in disbelief.
She wasn't alone. His kids were with her. Was he dreaming? Or was this a nightmare?
"Jug? Jelly?" He was confused, more than ever. What were they doing here? And why now?
FP quickly shoved the pink envelope in the back pocket of his jeans. That would have to wait. First he needed to know why the woman who had been purposely ignoring him and basically pushed him away was suddenly in Riverdale.
"Why the long face? Aren't you happy to see us?" Gladys smirked slightly, but the pure disbelief and shock on his face didn't disappear.
"I convinced Mom to come here, to surprise you." Jughead cleared up, a small smile on his face.
Considering how hard the boy had been fighting to get his parents to talk to each other, it all made a bit more sense. FP felt like he was punched in the gut, but would push that away as a feeling of overwhelming. It had been so long.
"Woah, I don't know what to say." He murmured nervously, as his hands tangled in his hair.
Behind him, Archie and Fred shared a knowing look. Neither of them were sure if this surprise visit would do FP any good.
"How about 'Come in'?" Gladys proposed a little sarcastically as she was visibly growing annoyed.
"Yeah, sure. Sorry, come on in." FP smiled nervously, but stepped aside for his family to enter.
His gaze has fixed on his daughter, who looked so different since the last time they had seen each other. His heart ached as he thought of how he hadn't been there to witness it.
"You've gotten so big Jellybelly." FP said sweetly, a proud grin on his face. However, the young girl wasn't ready to compromise yet.
"You wouldn't have said that if you had seen me every day." She spat bitterly, and walked past him while looking around the apartment.
"Sorry, I had no idea she was going to be so moody." Jughead excused the behavior of his sister.
"She has all the right to be mad at me." FP glanced down at the floor so his son wouldn't see his tears.
FP believed he didn't seem to be catching on, but his change in behavior didn't go unnoticed by Jughead.
"It's a nice surprise, right? You don't look very happy." Jughead's voice had turned soft as he grew more concerend about his fathers wellbeing.
He thought he was doing better but maybe it had been a lucky moment when he had seen him the weekend he was there.
"Believe me Jug, I am. Promise." FP hugged his son tightly, and shot him a genuine smile. He was happy about seeing his kids, it was his ex-girlfriend that he wasn't to excited to see.
"Here, you must be craving a coffee after your trip." Fred handed Jughead mug with fresh brew. The boy smiled thankfully and took a sip.
"Sorry Fred, I should have called you first. Is it okay if we stay a weekend?"
Suddenly he realized that when planning to stop by, they had never considered calling him. After all it was his apartment, and one guest staying over was a different story than three.
"Only because it's you, Jughead." Fred winked playfully. The two shared a smile.
"FP, I am going to be honest with you. We're here because I wanted to have a talk with you." Gladys suddenly opened the conversation.
She wasn't going to beat around the bush. They had driven up there for a reason. FP blinked, and waited for her to continue.
"I am willing to give you a second chance. Jughead has tried to tell me several times now that you have changed for the better... and seeing you now makes me believe him." The faintest of smiled tugged on her lips, almost invisible to the naked eye.
FP fell silent, waiting for her to ramble the terms and conditions. There came nothing.
"Wait, are you serious? You want the reunite the family?" His voice sounded so hopeful that when Fred looked at him, his heart broke a little.
"Yes. So, I am asking you to come back to Toledo with us when we leave on Sunday."
There it was. The ultimatum. It was all or nothing, like it always had to he.
What was he even supposed to say? Having both his kids in his life was all he would ever dream of, but at the same time he had so many good things in his life right now.... And Alice. What was he going to do about his feelings if he would be living in Toledo with the mother of his children?
"Wow, Gladys... that's a big decision to make in two days." FP sputtered nervously. Gladys quickly grew impatient with him.
"Weren't you the one who begged me to stay with you for the kid's sake?" She crossed her arms, recalling the moment she had told him to leave. Before he had the chance to answer, Gladys had her conclusions ready.
"Or are you going to bail, again? Not that they are used to anything different." A low scoff escaped her mouth.
The concern on Jughead's face was growing more and more. This isn't what he had meant when he asked his mother to come visit his dad. He wasn't the only one worrying, as he heard his fathers best friend speak up.
"Wait a second, Gladys. FP has a job here. You are being unreasonable." He brought in to stick up for FP, who had remained silent.
"Unreasonable? For giving my alcoholic ex-boyfriend a chance to make amends with us?" Gladys spat out, her face as dark as thunder.
"Take it easy, Mom. You don't exactly deserve the noble prize for best parent either." Jughead defended his dad quickly.
"At least I didn't drink you away." Gladys mumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear. Jughead opened his mouth to start arguing with her, but FP beat him to it.
"Your mother is right. I should be grateful. Thanks, Gladys. I won't screw up this time." He shot the woman a weak smile.
It was all he could manage to give her right now, when inside he felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces.
**
Jughead looked up when he felt someone sitting next to him on the couch. It was getting late, everybody was leaving for bed. Which meant he had to leave out of the living room, since Jellybean was sleeping there. However, she didn't sat down to send him away.
"Jughead? You've been frowning all day, aren't you happy that Dad might come back?" The girl asked silently, so nobody would accidentally overhear them.
He looked at his little sister for a few seconds, debating with himself whether he should be honest with her or not. Then again, she was growing up so quickly and she deserved to know what was bothering him so much. They were a team.
"That's not it JB... I just thought that—" He started to sputter, looking for the right words to use.
"What? You can tell me, I can take it." Jellybean encouraged him, eager to know what was going on. Jughead sighed.
"I thought Dad was in love with someone else. I noticed the last time I was here." He said quietly, his eyes twinkling in confusion.
It had been so obvious.... why did he agree so easily to the commands of his mother? He loved his parents, but was this really the right way to go?
"Who's she?" She asked curious, waking him up out of his thoughts.
"It doesn't matter, Jellybean. It's only confusing." Jughead brushed it off.
He didn't want for her to be as confused as he was about this. The girl didn't seem to be convinced, as she raised her signature eye-brow that told him the wasn't off the hook yet.
"I know you give him a hard time, but you want Dad to feel good, right?" Jughead asked, his voice soft.
Jellybean swallowed. That wasn't a question she had expected.
"Yeah... I do." She answered in all honesty.
"Would you blame him if he stays here if that makes him feel better?"
She was silent for a while. For a long time she had always thought that everything would be back to normal if her parents would get back together. But what if that wasn't true? What if Jughead was right and her Dad would be miserable?
"Not sure. I do want him to come home, I guess." She answered a little absentmindedly, her mind running wild.
**
Back in FP's bedroom, things weren't going smoothly between the pair that was supposed to make up. They were laying in bed together, but FP tried to fall asleep as fast as possible.
"Can't you be a bit more welcoming? You're just as cold as you used to be." Gladys huffed.
His back was turned towards her and she had tried to wrap her arm around his middle. But when her hand had drifted down to the waistband of his boxers he had caught her hand in his and shoved it away without a second thought.
"I'm tired, Gladys." He groaned, not bothering to turn around to look at her.
"Haven't heard that excuse before, how original." Gladys rolled her eyes and let out a scoff.
She rested on her elbows, knowing that he was listening. She wasn't the one that had to make up for something, but FP did. And she was going to make him feel that.
"You could at least wrap an arm around me. It's not that hard. If you want to make this work you've got to try a bit harder." She spat, triggering FP enough to open his eyes.
"You kind of caught me off guard." He turned around in an instant, growling out his words. He was mad, frustrated and angry all at once but he had to try to conceal it.
"So you're saying you need to think about whether you want to save your family? After all we've been through?" Gladys asked in disbelief, her eye brows raising to her hairline.
FP softened a little. He was being unfair. She had given him the chance he had been begging for.
"Of course I don't need to think about it. I want that more than anything." He said weakly, his eyes glossing over.
"If you do, then you come back to Toledo with us on Sunday evening." According to Gladys, it was all or nothing.