Chapter 23- Daylight

Labor day struck before they knew it. Alice awoke to the sweet sounding birds chirping the trees. She was excited for her cravings. She desperately wanted Watermelon with salt. She knows it sounds gross and weird, but it was her craving. She quickly headed to the kitchen and rummaged through the shelves to find some already-cut up watermelon. She opened the cabinet and pulled out a salt shaker. She then twisted it around until she got the desired amount of salt. Lately she had been craving salty and sweet foods. Lately more salty then sweet. Jughead had been nice enough to let her have more of his burgers. Which she appreciates very much.

"Babe!" She heard someone call from downstairs.

She threw off her blankets and opened her bedroom door. With her hand over her rounded belly as she headed downstairs. That was going to pop any day now. She couldn't wait to see her little boy. She hates the feeling of the morning sickness and all the cravings. But she doesn't hate being pregnant or resent it. She very happy she's pregnant. She just hates the symptoms that come with being pregnant.

When she comes downstairs. She sees Fp holding a box of her favorite chocolates. She walked over to him and kisses him adoringly on his cheek before taking the chocolates out of his hand. "Awe babe! You didn't have to get me these." She said as she opened the package and stuffed her face with three chocolates.

"I just get off work and thought since you are on bed rest until you have our baby that I would get you something special." Fp explained as he lightly pecked her lips.

He knew she wasn't happy about being put on medical bedrest and having to miss out on the annual Labor Day picnic in the Pickens Park. She was looking forward to all the food and he knew that.

"Ugh! My doctor sucks." She complained as she stuffed more chocolate into her mouth.

Fp sighs as he pulls her into his arms. "He just wants you to be more careful. You did fall down taking out our new dog."

Alice rolls her eyes and stomps her foot with her hands on her hips. "Oh yeah… the dog you and the kids wanted. I didn't want that mutt." She yammered as she sat down at the table. Fp narrowed his eyes and rubs circles into her back.

"I know that was my dog. But he was so cute, Al." His voice grew softer as he lowered his hand to her growing belly and kissed her swell.

Alice giggled at his face as he continued kissing her swell. She felt and looked like a fat whale. "I feel like a fat whale." She frowned as she stuffed more chocolate into her mouth. He frowned a little before kissing her again.

"I could never think of our baby as a fat whale. You're not, Baby. You're going a human inside you. It's perfectly normal to feel this way, Al." He told her and sat down right to her.

She snorted and puckered her lips. "Whatever you say, Jonesy." She mocked as she threw some powder donuts at his face. He looked shock and she started laughing. "Oops…" She teased as she snatched the donuts bag and quickly waddled upstairs.

Fp rolled his eyes and just shook the powder off his shirt and ate three of the powdered donuts. He loves her so much and can't wait for the day becomes his wife. Gladys was dead, Hal was in prison and Polly was also in prison. Nobody could hurt them anymore. They were free to live their lives. Betty and Jughead were in their junior year. He still couldn't believe his son was almost done with high school. His son will graduate from high school, get out of this town. He was worried that his son wouldn't leave the town. Now he knew for sure that his son would be fine on his own. Soon he'll have a little brother. Jellybean, JB grew to like the idea. It took some convincing on his part. A lot of Vinyls and ice cream. Yep his little girl found a way to outsmart him. Alice and Jellybean got a bond too. Jughead and Alice bonded over food. Which still confused Betty and Fp more than anything.

Three hours later…

Alice finally vacates their bedroom and heads downstairs. She decided to get some fresh air. She walks over to the screen door and pulls it open. She can feel the instant freshness enter her nostrils. Sweet smells of Fall sneaking in. The cool breeze lifting the hot sticky air from the backyard. She can see the leaves on the trees started to change color. Pretty Autumn colors like yellow, orange and Red. Fall is her favorite season ever since she was a little girl growing up on the southside. All she had to admire was the pretty trees. Her family didn't have a lot of money and nobody really did in the trailer park. She spent many falls outside just looking at the Autumn colored trees. She loved the colors and hoped it would stay forever. But eventually winter would drowned the colors with its frosty ice and ghastly white snowcaps. Don't get her wrong, she did like winter. But she didn't like the bitterness of it.

She saw two picnic tables full of food. All her favorites. Watermelon, ice cream and pecans. She had been wanting those a lot. She also saw Jughead, JB, Betty and her fiancé. That word still tingled with her lips once she said. In the best way. She couldn't wait to be married to him. She looked down at the small rock on her finger and just smiled like a child with candy. Her eyes welled up and she gasped in awe.

"Guys you didn't have to…" She breathed out as she walked over to them. Betty just smiled at her mother. She knew her mother would love this.

"Oh mom. I knew you were bummed that you couldn't go cause your on bed rest. It's important even though you don't think so. It's very iimportant to keep you safe." Betty's voice was calm and Jughead stood right next to her smiling. He wasn't a person to smile a lot. So it was very rare occasion when he smiled.

Alice quickly scanned the food in front of her and grabbed with her hands. Alice didn't care anymore her cravings had been so extreme lately that it over threw everything else. Jughead soon joined in and followed Alice over to the snack bar. Fp just lightly chuckled to himself. "What did I get myself into?" He muttered underneath his breath as he watched Alice shoot popcorn into his son's mouth. Betty and Jellybean smiled and laughed at the two.

Cheryl stood in front of the gate grinning as she held Toni's hand before opening the gate. She was impressed how nice and homey the new house looked and felt. It was nothing like Thistlehouse or Thornhill but it fit the Jones. It had been a month since she began a serpent. She never felt so self-appreciative about herself and well-being.

"Yo Jones! Open the gate my hands are full!" Toni shouted to get the oblivious teen boy's attention. She quickly noticed that Jughead the food lover was too involved with his food to even notice. So she tried again, this time a bit louder. "Forsythe!" This time He and Fp both thrusted around to see who was shouting at them.

"What?" They responded in unison as they headed the direction of where Toni and Cheryl were.

"Other Jones. Jughead open the damn gate before I kick you in the groin!" Toni seethed as she narrowed her eyes into a deadly glare.

Jughead quickly snapped open the gate before she made anymore threats and he knew she would've if he didn't open that gate door. Toni sent a look over to her girlfriend who was grinning at her. She leaned over and whispered into her girl's ear. Toni's face grows red and she seals her lips up tight. Cheryl just laughed and walked over to the cooler in her normal red attire.

Kevin was next to arrive with unlikely guest. Everyone gasped in shock as they watched as Kevin locked lips with a brunette with short hair and a signature snake on his back. Kevin heard the gasps and brusquely pushed him back. But it was too late, Toni, Veronica and Betty all came toward him with shocked faces and also pleased looks.

"Kevin Keller. You didn't think about mentioning this on the phone over the summer!" Veronica shouted with some hurt to her voice. He looked away from his guest and over to his three best friends.

He sighed before opening his mouth to explain. "It was still very new. We sorta uh…" He stammered until he felt a quick hand touch his and he calmed. " got close over the summer. We didn't want to tell you until we thought it was the right time." Kevin explained to the shocked crowd.

Now it was Toni's turn to speak. She looked directly at his guest and almost smirked. "Fangs finally you told him. I was about to tell him for you." She gossiped as she watched her friend's face grow uncomfortable. She noted the discomfort in his face and slowly placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "Sorry… I just started fangirling there. I'll stop, Fogarty." She apologized as she squeezed his shoulder.

He nodded his head and he grabbed his boyfriend's hand as they walked to the snack area. Their relationship was still very new for both Kevin and Him. He didn't want to jeopardize that. And parts of them loved the secrecy in it all. The sneaking around, having fun, late night hookups and the sex. Of course the sex. But most of all they just loved getting to know each other.

Archie, Jughead and Sweet Pea had eating contest. It started off as a dare. Like dares always go. Then the dare became a challenge which Jughead wasn't opposed to. He loved challenges. Fp was sorta thrown into judging the contest. He was just talking to Fred and catching up when his son grabbed his arm and dragged him. Fred just smiled and Fp sent him the finger.

Tables were set up, plates of food were displayed in front of the contestants. Of course just as they were about to bring. Alice sat down and laughed. Oh great the boys knew that she would demolish every chance of winning. "Are you ready….?" Fp asked as he stared at them before grabbing the whistle hanging around his neck. The three teens and Alice nodded their heads. " Go!" He challenged.

As he hit the stopwatch, Alice already had her hands behind her back and her head ready to snap shut. Cherry pie was quickly all over her face, up her nose and in her hairline. Jughead looked to his left and saw that Alice was already a fourth done with her pie. "Holy shit" He mutters into his pie. She could very well beat them. Not just because of her cravings. No because she loves eating just as much as him. Archie had to eat his pie as soon as possible. He started hovering his head over the pie and scruffing down the cherry gooee as best as he could.

Betty, Cheryl, Toni and Veronica were all cheering from the flower garden. All of them knew that Alice was beating their asses. She was already finished with her first pie. She had two pies to go before she won the first round. Sweet Pea was struggling. He only had eaten Two-thirds of his cherry pie. Jellybean was just laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. She never seen someone ever in her life besides her big brother eat that much. Her soon-to-be-stepmother was going to be the best. She just knew it. She couldn't wait for trips to the mall or maybe get her to like their new puppy.

"Go mom!" Betty chanted raising her hands up like she was holding Pom poms in her hands.

Alice heard all the shouting and just kept eating before sending them a thumbs up. She looked over to her right and noticed that Jughead was near done with his second pie. She quickly pushed through and hit the bell on the side of her pie tin.

"Alice's the winner of round one!" Fred announced with an witty smile. Alice quickly stood out of her chair and raised her hands up. She was smiling like never before.

The next round was much more challenging. Sweet Pea hadn't made it to the second round. He wasn't made or pissed off about it. No he took it like a man and swallows his pride before joining the girls. Betty, Toni, Veronica and Cheryl all collapsed from laughing. His face was completely covered in red cherry goop. Cheryl gasped as she fell into her girlfriend's arms. Sweet grumbled and muttered underneath his breath. He wasn't happy that he lost but he wasn't going to flip over a table over or something.

Fp was completely amazed how well Archie was doing. He thought the redhead would've lost the first round but no he was still pulling his weight. Or should he say eating his weight. Either Fred was impressed with his son. He never seen any boy eat like that. Well Jughead yes but his boy no. He shared a look with Fp. Fp was too shocked to keep his face straight. He kept his eyes glued on Alice the whole time. She looked a mess. Red like fake blood. He found her to be still very unbeatable and incredible sexy with all that pie on her face. He could even see some in her hair. It was going to be a long day.

By the third round, Archie had lost the round. It was only Jughead and Alice. A very tight race. Jughead was known for eating a lot. Alice was known for being extremely competitive and apparently a fast eater. Which surprised her and everyone else in the backyard. Jughead noticed that he was growing stuffed. He couldn't eat anymore. He was way too full. But he couldn't lose to Alice. He was not a competitive eater at all. Alice quickly shoved her head into the third pie and engulfs it all into her mouth. She could feel the baby kicking her stomach. She knew that all this eating was upsetting the little one growing in her.

But Alice Smith hated losing. She won spelling bees, tests on the fastest typers and even now eating. She knew she and Jughead were in a very tight tight close race. She also was aware how well Jughead was doing. She wanted to win. She didn't want to lose.

When she finally finished. She stood up and proudly rubbed her stomach as she looked around. Her daughter was cheering, Fp was smiling at her. She knew that she wasn't very attractive at the moment. She turned to Jughead and shook his hand. Jughead looked at Alice's face and bursted out laughing. Alice started laughing as she and Jughead hugged each other. They were both covered with red cherry pie filling. Neither seemed to care. They were too busy laughing to even have a care in the world.

After they eventually stopped laughing, Alice waddled over to Fp. He was grinning at her. It was fair to say that she annihilated Jughead. Jughead didn't even care. He was too busy getting his face wiped by Betty. Betty couldn't stand how ridiculous her boyfriend looked. He looked like he got too high and started coloring on his face. She cousins stop laughing.

"I know I look messy." Jughead joked as Toni snapped a picture. He heard another click and launched for the little carama. "Hey! No pictures!" He shouted as Toni kept walking away.

Toni watched as Jughead started running after her. She quickly sprinted out of his way and hid behind one of the many green trees in the Jones's backyard.

"Topaz! When I find you! You're dead, Topaz." She heard Jughead grumbling as she shrunk her body down. She struggled to keep herself quiet.

Cheryl rolled her eyes at the childish behavior and walked over to the cooler to grab another cold cherry cola can. She heard the can pop and let the iced freshness slide down her throat. She kept watching her girlfriend get carried away by Sweet Pea, Archie and Jughead. Toni laughed as she was slung over Sweet Pea's shoulder. She kept cry-laughing as they threw some pie off their faces at her. She tried to dodge the first round. But being forced to stay in one area made that task a little more difficult. She wasn't going to give up. Betty laid her head on Veronica's shoulder who was watching in amusement as she watched Archie get his ass kicked by Toni. She knew she should feel bad. But she also knew he had it coming. He did mess with her in the first place.

In the other part of the backyard, Alice and Fp were rolling their eyes. Their children were such goofballs. Alice smiled at Fp. He couldn't stop looking at her face. "I know I look horrible." Alice stated with a slight frown.

Fp shook his head as he leans down and brushed his lips against her cherry sweetness. She giggled at him and smashed her lips into his. Fp rolled his eyes as he placed a supporting hand on her bump.

"You could never look horrible." She blushes in awe at him. He always knew how to make her feel amazing. That's why she loves him so much.

"Babe…" She was caught off by his lips again. He grabbed her hand and stroked with two soft fingers.

He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "In fact you look very sexy with that cherry pie filling on your face." He watched her face blush and a smirk appeared on his face

She couldn't stop that smile. It was stuck like glue. Permanent glue. He was the stitches to her broken heart. He was the key to her happiness. He was her everything and she couldn't wait to be called his wife. Mrs. Jones has such a ring to it. She curled into his side as they watched the ridiculous looking teens have a food fight. And they knew that they weren't cleaning it up. He rolled his eyes as the kids approached them.

"For the first in ever. I'm stuffed." Jughead stated as he rubbed his stomach.

And never-ending laughter broke out through the group. They never thought there would be a day Jughead Jones would ever say he was full. They spent the right of Labor Day watching movies in the living room and maybe saved room for dessert. Which surprised them that Alice and Jughead could still eat after all that eating.

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Sorry this is so late. I was very busy with my other stories and now I'm back. I have a lot planned my story. All twists and turns about to disrupt their happy life. I know I'm evil. I'm sorry. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. It's light and fluffy. I did have writers block but now that's all cleared. I will try to update more often. Thanks for understanding and I hope you like this update or even loved it- Aut