Snake Skin
It's been twenty years since she was one of them. Twenty years since she was that Alice. Sure, she's seen him around since then, but their interactions had been brief. A snide comment, a disgusted look – at least she hopes it was disgusted. She hadn't spoken to him or even been alone with him for so long.
They didn't end on good terms. Hell, they didn't even end on civil terms. How could they have when they were destined to end up on opposite ends? He wouldn't leave them, and she wanted more. It was as simple as that. Except it wasn't. Not by a long shot. She had tried not to think about it, even after all these years. And it mostly worked. After all, she was always good at accomplishing the things she set her mind to. Except the irony was, destiny seemed to be repeating itself. Now with her daughter and his child.
Their romance reminded her so much of hers and his. There was so much resemblance that it terrified her. His son was the spitting image of him, it was unbelievable. His charm, his intelligence, his conflicting inner turmoil between the life he so desperately wanted and the life that he seemed destined for. The similarities between them were too much, and sometimes she had no choice but to relieve their past. Out of all the people, her daughter could be ended up with; it had to be his son. But then again, Jughead wasn't a bad person. She wasn't against it, despite what Betty thought. She was just scared. After all, if he was anything like his father – which he was – then it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.
If only Betty could see that there was a choice they were going to have to make soon. One that would decide whether their relationship would survive. She hoped that Jughead would choose the right one, and not make the same mistake as his father. But with the way things were going, it didn't look too hopeful. She wished her daughter understood why she acted like she did.
She didn't fault her daughter for it though. She understood the appeal, the love, the devotion. She had felt it too at one point. But the heartache that comes with that kind of love isn't worth it. Especially if it comes from one of them. The Southside Serpents were dedicated, fiercely protective of their own. They weren't as awful as people – namely her – made them out to be. But it was a trap, something that you get sucked into and never want to leave. It's loyalty; its ability to make you feel as though you're a part of something, a part of a family isn't something that you can break away from. But she did, and she'll be damned if she lets her daughter get sucked into it too. She's already failed one daughter; she can't fail another.
Only in the back of her mind can she admit that she misses it sometimes. She misses them; she misses him. The thrill, the excitement they – he – used to bring her. She was invincible back then. With him by her side, she felt as though she could conquer the world. There was nothing they couldn't overcome. Except there was. In the end, as much as she loved him, as much as she would have done anything for him. He still chose the Serpents over her. And it was then when she realized that she couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't be second best to them. She tried to ask him to choose between her and them but asking just made him fall further away from her. What finally did it was the night she was arrested. She took the fall for them, and no one was there for her, not even him. He made his choice and at that moment, she knew, she knew that she couldn't do it anymore.
From then on, she tried her damnedest to cut ties with them, with that life, with him. Because she was worth more than second best and not even he could convince her otherwise. It was hard, cutting ties with him, trying to build her new life was so hard. But she was determined. Only in the depths of her mind was she able to admit that there were times where she succumbed to her desires. There were times she crawled back to him because she couldn't stay away. And after every time, she told him – and herself – that it was a mistake. He was magnetic, he was something she craved, and without him, it felt like there was something missing from her life. But most of the time she was able to ignore it. She shoved down so far buried that it rarely flared up. Over the years, she's learned how to ignore it, to repress that longing for him, for that life. But that night by his car, all the bottled-up emotions came bubbling back up to the surface, and she couldn't help but feel the throbbing yearning for the life that could've been, for him. He was right too. And she hated it. Despite everything she's done in the past twenty years, she will always have a part of them – of him – stuck in her. Because they were her family, her life. She has the tattoo to prove it. The jacket too, it was somewhere in the attic because despite cutting ties, she never could throw that thing away. The jacket with his crest on it, marking them as a part of something that no amount of distance or repression could erase. And she hated it. She hates him, for being right, for standing there looking smug. But most of all, she hates him because she can't hate him. She tries, she tries to hate them, to hate him but she can't seem to do it. After all, snakes don't shed their skin so easily.
AN I have become AlicexFP trash. I need them to have more screentime and I really want to know what the hell happened between them. This is my first venture into the Riverdale fandom. Thoughts and feedback are always appreciated.