Alice Cooper ran her finger over the rim of her wine glass. She glanced across the table where her youngest child was quietly eating her dinner. The sound of knives and forks scraping against plates made her skin crawl. Hal was in the middle of telling a mind-numbingly boring story when she snapped, setting her wine glass down beside her plate. "I want a divorce, Hal." She said to him, eyes meeting his as he stopped talking and tried to process the words that had come from her mouth. Betty dropped her fork down into her mashed potatoes, glancing between her parents who hadn't said anything since those words had come out. Alice reached for her glass again. She downed the last mouthful before standing up and walking back to the kitchen to pour herself another glass. She was going to need it.
School had only been out for a week. Alice traded in her overalls for skorts and her textbooks for cosmos. The heatwave that shocked Riverdale that year was a bitch, and everyone on the south side was left wishing they were living on the north purely for access to their upmarket neighbours with their air conditioning, and their swimming pools. The closest thing FP and Alice had to anything to cool them down that didn't involve a trip down to Sweetwater River, was sneaking into the Wyrm hoping Alice's father wasn't sitting at the bar, and if he was they were hoping he was too drunk to take any notice of them.
Thanks to Archie Andrews Sr, the great summer of '93 cool down bash was being hosted by Fred while his parents were out of town seeing a specialist. The afternoon beforehand had Alice, Fred, FP and Hermione spending time together in the basement of Fred's home. He wasn't exactly rich in the eyes of a family like the Blossoms, but from FP's perspective, the Andrews had a hell of a lot of wealth compared to his couch surfing arrangement. He liked spending time in the basement with his friends, although it didn't happen as often as it once did, considering the fact that Mrs Andrews thought he was some kind of bad influence over her precious Freddie. Hermione was busy sorting through the food and drinks, wanting to make sure nobody had any reason to be considered a failure. She wanted everything to go smoothly so when school came back, they would head into their senior year being known as the seniors who opened summer with a bang.
"We still don't have the keg. FP, I thought you said you had that covered?" Hermione asked the boy, folding her arms over her chest as she turned toward him. FP who was spread out on the two-seater couch looked up at the brunette and waved her off dismissively.
"I know a guy, he'll get here when he gets here." He assured the girl, not thinking it was a big deal. His friend would be there before the party started and that's all anyone had to worry about. Alice pushed his feet off the couch so she could sit down beside him instead. Everyone always assumed the fourpiece was composed of two couples since Fred and Hermione had been a known item since well before Christmas. Alice and Hermione weren't best friends but they got along just fine when they were around the boys, even though Alice was still a little embarrassed about the fact that Hermione also assumed her and FP were together not too long ago.
"And who is this guy exactly?" Alice questioned her not-boyfriend. FP had to readjust his position to make himself feel more comfortable but it was easy enough just to swing his legs forward and sit up like a regular person. He fumbled around in his back pocket to find a lighter before picking up the near empty packet of cigarettes that were sitting on the armrest.
"He's a friend from home," FP told the blonde. He didn't know why Alice had dyed her hair that way, but he liked it. It was obvious to anyone that she'd done it herself, but that's what made it appealing to her. She wasn't perfect. He liked people who were a little rough around the edges.
"Dude, you can't smoke inside, it'll stink up this whole room for a week and my mom will never let you back in this house again." Fred pointed out from across the room. He was trying to help Hermione, but she was too busy doing it all on her own to have time to include him in the preparations.
"Your mom isn't going to let any of us in this house again after she finds out you're hosting a summer bash up in here." FP pointed out as he lit up his cigarette without a care in the world. Alice rolled her eyes at him, moving away slightly to get out of the haze of his first puff. She was used to him lighting up around her by now, but she didn't like it when he breathed it all over her face. He was quite annoying actually.
Fred chose to ignore FP's comment because he didn't plan on letting his parents find out. He knew it was sneaky to do exactly what every parent feared when they went away but to be fair he was very easily persuaded when Hermione was involved. His first girlfriend was definitely using that to her advantage this weekend. She wanted to start her senior year off the right way, and even though this was the beginning of the summer she knew that if they pulled it off they would be invited to more parties, and start the year off the right way. She may be the only one of them who cared about that kind of thing, but none of the others objected to it so they may as well be encouraging it themselves. FP's eyes watched as the other boy left a chaste kiss on Hermione's cheek. He let out a whistle, laughing when he saw his friend's bashful expression. "Have the two of you been to bone town yet?" He asked directly. Fred flipped him off without hesitation. He didn't think that was any of FP's concern actually.
Alice let out a snort because FP was a pain in the ass but he was a funny one, at least it was funny when you weren't on the receiving end of his inappropriate comments. She glanced over at him, reaching out for the cigarette that was sitting between two of his fingers. He passed it to her even though he knew she didn't like him smoking indoors. She took a drag and let out a cloud from between her lips. "Leave them alone." She said as a delayed response, handing the cigarette back to her friend.
"Yes, leave us alone," Hermione said with a frustrated sigh. "I don't have time to supply you with wet dream material right now." She told him without even turning to look at the boy. She disappeared up the staircase back into the main house carrying a box of snacks they had been hiding from Fred's parents the last few days. Everything needed to be set up in the house and since FP and Alice were too busy sitting on their asses, she was just going to do it herself.
"If I was going to have a wet dream about any of you, it would be Alice," FP told her as she walked away. He realised what he had just said and shot Fred a threatening look, wanting the boy to keep his mouth shut. Fred snickered to himself because he had all of the power in this situation. He was the only person FP had told about his literal wet dream about Alice in recent times. It had been a pretty steamy affair, one that left the boy confused about a lot of things. He had thought about plenty of the girls from school being naked and doing extremely inappropriate things to him, but none of them had affected him in reality like the dream about Alice had. It was the only reason why Fred knew of it, he needed advice from a fellow male, someone who knew both he and Alice quite well. It backfired on him now because he realised he would have to be on his best behaviour if he wanted Fred to keep this between them.
"I am so happy to hear that, FP. It's what every little girl dreams of being when she grows up." Alice said sarcastically, kicking his shin because she could. She pushed herself up off the couch and walked over to pick up the last of the food. She carried the box and a few accompanying bags upstairs so she didn't have to deal with the boys on her own.
Fred picked up a deflated football and tossed it between his two hands. He looked over at his friend who wasted no time in spreading himself out across the couch again. Alice had left warmth in her absence which wasn't all that comfortable for him now that it was summer and it was hot as hell enough without body heat. "Don't even say it," FP told him, shaking his head. He knew Fred believed in all of this lovey-dovey crap, and thought that this dream was something to do with him secretly wanting to be with Alice, but FP wasn't buying it. He didn't think that high school romances could last, and he didn't want to waste his time with feelings for someone he genuinely cared for, risking losing her in his life forever. He didn't like having feelings about anything. He liked keeping everyone at arm's length to avoid having to deal with emotions and shit he wasn't good at.
Fred shrugged his shoulders as a response. He wasn't going to mention it, even though he really wanted to. He walked across the room to stand in front of the pedestal fan. Cold air blew across his face and he let out an appreciative sigh as it did so.
By sundown, the house was full of Riverdale High's finest. FP's friend made good on the beer delivery, and Hermione finally stopped shooting him daggers from across the room. The basement door was kept shut so nobody could go down and mess with all of the valuables they had packed away down there to avoid getting broken or stolen. It seemed like a good idea at the time but every so often someone looked like they were about to open the door and Fred spent most of the start of the night anxiously watching the door in case someone did decide to sneak down there at some point. His family didn't have many valuables, and he wasn't blind to the fact that his mother was slowly but surely swapping her belongings for cash down at the pawn shop. He didn't dare mention it though. He just needed to make sure nothing went missing or got broken between now and when his parents came home again.
Alice was too busy kicking ass at beer pong to notice when Hal Cooper and his sidekicks arrived. She didn't know them very well but she did know that they were considered 'popular' by many. She didn't understand the hierarchy of Riverdale High at all. She thought it was quite a cliche to have rich kids ruling the school. The Blossoms and the Coopers, and whoever their rich pals were, she didn't care for any of them really. She was blind to the fact that Hal has had his eye on her for years for whatever reason. He did make his way over to the kitchen table where she had just finished a mouthful of beer. She was slightly started because he walked up so close to her from what appeared to be from out of nowhere. "Coop." She said with a slight smile. "Who invited you?" She asked with quirked brows.
Hal laughed quietly to himself before he looked around the room. It was scattered with their classmates and a few familiar faced sophomores. "Hermione, of course." He answered, smiling at her.
Alice nodded her head and looked around the room herself, scanning to try and find someone else to talk to. She didn't really have anything against talking to Hal other than the fact that she hardly knew him and it was awkward as hell to be around him on her own.
"I like your top," Hal told her, bringing her attention back toward himself.
She nodded, looking down at the crop top that she was wearing. The theme was meant to involve everyone only wearing underwear, but FP had told Hermione that he wasn't walking around risking getting a boner, so she scrapped that idea and didn't give an alternative dress code. "Thank you." She said to him kindly.
"I like your top, too," FP said in a mocking tone as he walked up behind the girl. He hadn't been there long, only long enough to hear the exchange between the two polar opposites. Alice was buzzed and FP didn't trust Hal enough to believe the guy wouldn't take advantage of that somehow. His thoughts didn't jump to anything sinister, he just thought he might try and make her stick around for more awkwardly boring conversations that made her drink just to cope with his presence, that kind of thing. "Don't you own the same one?" FP asked Hal, turning his attention toward the other boy. He wore a smirk as he spoke, finding this all too amusing. He knew how to rattle feathers and he didn't hesitate to do so when it came to dickheads like Hal Cooper.
Hal gave FP an annoyed look, shaking his head. He looked at Alice with a smile before waving over at one of his friends. "I'm going to go and make the rounds, it's nice seeing you, Alice." He told her sincerely before making a move to get away from the pair while he still had most of his dignity.
A long-winded sigh left Alice's lips before she turned toward her rescuer. She could have told Hal to shove it on her own, but she didn't want to make a scene. Hermione was determined to make this party memorable for all of the right reasons, her humiliating one of the most popular boys in their class would be doing the opposite of that. Nobody took it personally when FP was a jerk to them, he was the star athlete on their football team, he could be a jerk to anybody and they'd all still kiss his ass come football season. "Have we run out of potato chips yet?" She asked FP. during the last half an hour before the party kicked off, Hermione had convinced herself that they would run out of chips. It had been mildly hilarious listening to her have a minor meltdown about it actually. FP let out a soft laugh. He turned around as if he were double checking before shaking his head.
"I think we narrowly avoided that crisis." He told her, acting as though he were relieved about it. He couldn't care less about it really, he had stolen a packet and stashed it downstairs in the basement for later, whenever he deemed this party as boring and wanted an escape.
"Speaking of which, where is the happy host couple anyway?" She questioned, looking around the room yet again, trying to spy Hermione or Fred. She didn't mind chatting to FP for a while, but she would like to know that when someone else dragged him away, she wouldn't be left alone to deal with the Hal Coopers of the world on her own again.
FP shrugged his shoulders. "They went down the hallway ten minutes ago, probably swiping their V cards as we speak." He guessed with a mischevious grin across his lips.
Alice pulled a face. She didn't want to know that. She also didn't believe it. They had the whole weekend to do the no pants dance, why do it while the house is full of people? "You need to get your mind out of the gutter you dirty bird." She told him, smirking in amusement this time. He laughed at her words, he didn't think it was that big of a stretch, everybody had sex in high school. It didn't matter where or when it happened all the time.
"You have your eye on anyone here tonight?" Alice questioned him. She started walking toward the kitchen as she spoke, happy when FP got the hint to walk with her. She wanted an answer to her question because she needed something to tease him about. He always knew how to tease everyone around him but never seemed to give up anything for them to return the favour. It was smart and she envied him for it. He knew how to make her and everyone else squirm and she wished she knew how to return the favour.
"I was kind of hoping some of the senior girls would show up, but you know they're all too cool for high school parties now." He shrugged. He wasn't entirely serious. He had a lot going on in his life that kept him busy enough to not worry about not getting laid. This party wasn't exactly filled with lots of potential girlfriends. He didn't really date anyone, and most of the girls in the other room were the girlfriend type. He wouldn't mess with someone's heart like that unless he was looking for the same thing they were. It was less messy that way. "What about you? Cooper, not your type?" He questioned, filling his cup with booze. He took a sip before setting it down on the bench in front of himself.
Alice shook her head. "I hardly know him." She reminded her southside friend. She didn't exactly fit in with that crowd. After Penelope made it clear that she would never be a vixen, Alice realised that her second-hand clothes, her ten dollar hairstyle and her stale sandwiches would never be welcomed at the in crowd's lunch table. She was mostly okay with that. It made it a lot easier for her to focus on her school work and the friends that actually gave half a damn about her, specifically the one standing beside her in the Andrews' kitchen on a Friday night. She looked up at the tall male, smiling as he returned her glance. "My dad would kill me if I ever brought home a boyfriend." She said with a chuckle. He probably wouldn't. He already believed that FP was her secret boyfriend because of the one time they weren't as sneaky as they thought they were down at the Wyrm. It didn't go as poorly as she expected but it was still awkward as hell.
"Of course, you can't be caught being a whore." He said with a nod, laughing under his breath at how ludicrous that notion was. Her father was a nasty piece of work in his eyes, and probably in the eyes of anyone else who has ever known him to be fair.
She nodded her head, smile fading slightly because his joke wasn't really a joke. It was her reality. Her father had become hypersensitive when it came to women. He didn't want his daughter to turn into the wife who left him for another man, his own brother. Misogynistic views seeped into his veins, pulsing through him until he became a very hateful man. He loved his daughter but he didn't realise how damaging his attitudes were towards her. She was a product of a teen pregnancy that resulted in a quickie wedding and 14 years of marriage. She didn't think it was so wrong of her to want to date someone in high school, and in her upcoming senior year at that.
"You know I may have stored away some food in the basement. If we're lucky we can sneak down there, have our own party?" FP suggested, walking across the room to grab a whatever drink he could find, make sure they had enough to sustain them for however long they'd be able to get away with it. Alice hadn't even said yes yet but he knew she would because they were cut from the same cloth. He could read her pretty well and he was proud of it. He realised she was upset about her dad and this was his way of distracting her. He wasn't so great at talking or feelings, but he knew how to boost her spirits if she let him.
Alice did agree to his plan and the two went one at a time, slipping away inconspicuously. FP was the first one down the stairs, he set the drinks down on the coffee table that sat in front of the couch. He kicked his feet up and made himself comfortable. "So where are these snacks you've stored away for the winter?" Alice asked as she approached the piece of furniture. He reached down beneath them to pull up the couch cover that was hiding the gap between the floor and the bottom of the couch. He pulled out a bag of chips, and then another.
"Don't say I never took care of you, Smithy." He said to her as he tossed the bag up to her. She opened it up and kneeled down on the couch cushion beside him. She took out a couple before resting the bag between them and sitting down to make herself comfortable too.
She laughed at the loud crunch that came from her as she ate. He cracked a smile too, looking across at her in the silence. They could technically hear the muffled sound of the music from upstairs, but it wasn't anything like being up there surrounded by it. FP opened one of the cans of beer he had swiped and took a sip from it, offering the second to Alice who took it graciously. "You know I wouldn't mind having this much space some day. My whole house could fit in this room and Fred's family aren't even rich." She said, eyes moving in front of herself so she could take in the sight of the room again. She knew she was dirt poor, but she wished she wasn't. One day she wanted to have a great big house in the Northside with a husband and a couple of kids. She might even get a dog even though she didn't know how to take care of one, she would learn just like she would learn how to be a mom. She would love to be a mother, not now, but one day.
FP didn't know if this was a trap if she wanted to get him into some kind of deep conversation. He simply nodded his head to her words, concentrating on the drink in his hand. "You will someday." He said to her when she didn't continue talking. He wasn't about to speak about his hopes and dreams or lack of them, but he knew that she had her head in the clouds some, and wanted to be better than her own mom. He wanted the same when it came to his dad but he wasn't going to dream too big about that one. He didn't think he was going to get too far in life but he had made his peace with that.
Alice turned towards him with a shy little smile. "Do you think so?" She questioned, waiting for his little nod before she took another sip from her drink and allowed herself to smile as big as she could.
Alice didn't care if Hal wanted to share custody of their daughter, or keep his half of the Register, she knew that there was one thing she wouldn't let him share with her, and that was her house. She earnt it. She built herself up for years and years until this home that she had made for her family had become her pride and joy. After she had finished her meal in the awkward silence, she walked to the sink and started filling it with warm soapy water. She was going to act as though nothing had changed. She was getting her divorce, and keeping her house.