Just Friends

*16*

"We're here," a familiar, boyish voice announces as the bell above the door rings.

She whirls around on here heels and finds Fred and Hermione in the doorway. "Hey, I already put in our order, just go find us a seat." She looks out the window behind them. "Where's FP?"

"He's on his way, he was with a "friend"." Fred accompanies the words with air quotes.

"I take it this is a girl friend?"

"He won't admit it but it's so obvious." Hermione chirps in. "Unless he blushes like a fool when he's hanging out with the guys."

"Well I don't know, he and Tall Boy are awfully close." Alice adds with a chuckle. "Go find a seat, I'll be there in a minute."

Alice unties her apron from around her waist and tucks it under the counter, just as the bell rings for her order. "Thanks Bucky." He nods at her as she places the food onto a tray, and she maneuvers herself carefully and quickly through the bustling diner.

She doesn't pay much mind to the bell above the door again, after all, it's her break, someone else can take care of it. But then the customer speaks.

"Is anyone in here the owner of the station wagon parked in the back?"

Alice whirls around and locks eyes with the man. "I am."

"Oh, uh, I thought you might... you should probably go check on it."

"What did you back into me or something?"

"No, it's not that. It looks like someone may have vandalized it." Fred and Hermione raise from the booth at the words.

"Oh my god." She scurries out of the diner without another word, and her friends are quick to chase after her.

Surely it's a mistake, some of the neighbourhood kids like to fill balloons with food colouring and toss them at each other, surely that's all it is. But when she finally steps around to the back of the lot she feels like her heart has stopped.

There's her car, covered in spray paint, with lewd drawings and words sprawled across it. But the worst is right on the hood of her car, where the words "SERPENT SLUT" are plastered across the paint in bright red.

"No, no, no. Come on!" She cries out, trying to rub off the spray paint with her hands. It's useless of course, something that is quickly evident but she'll be damned if she doesn't at least try.

"Alice." Hermione softly whispers, her hand coming up to rest on her shoulder. Alice cringes under her touch. "Do you think-" She doesn't get to finish her sentence because as soon as Alice catches on to what she's about to ask she's storming off, afraid of the thought being true. How could anyone be so cruel?

"Alice!" Fred calls. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing." Hermione defends. "Go try and catch up to her, you might be able to calm her down better than I can. I'll wait for FP."

"He's gonna flip when he sees this."

"He's going to flip anyway, there's not really any avoiding it."

Fred jogs off in search of Alice, and finds her sitting atop the bike rack at the side of the diner, hugging her knees to her chest as she stares blankly into the distance. Fred frowns at the sight, he doesn't know what to say either, there's nothing he can say to make it better anyway. So he just hoists himself up beside her and sits.

"Fred-"

"I'm not leaving so don't bother asking." He interrupts, watching her roll her eyes.

"I'm fine." She croaks.

"That's a lie and we both know it." She doesn't try and convince him otherwise, instead she just focuses on keeping her breathing even and steady, even as she feels herself slowly falling apart.

"Al? Alice?" She tenses as soon as she hears FP's voice floating around the corner. He's the only person she can't hide from, he sees through every single one of her emotions, reads her like an open book, and she hates it. But he's also the only one she wants around when her world is coming down around her.

He comes around the corner a minute later, Hermione hot on his trail, and she's not sure what's more gut-wrenching; the sight of seeing her car so defiled or the look on FP's face right now.

She can feel her throat forming a tear induced lump and she weakly pulls herself off the bike rack, and before she can even react she's being pulled into his grasp, his hand cradling her head like she's the most delicate thing in the world. And to him, she just may be.

"I'll kill them Alice. When I find out who did it, I'll kill them."

"I don't know who it was."

"I'll find out. I'm sure Pop has surveillance cameras, I'll find out who it was and kick their ass. I'll make them wish they were never born."

"No you won't." She adamantly responds.

"Alice-"

"No. You're not going to do anything stupid or risk getting yourself in trouble for me. I screwed up, I have to deal with the consequences."

"What do you mean you screwed up?"

"Haven't you heard?" She sniffles, pulling away from his hold. "I'm the town slut."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"That night at the party, when I said I wanted to go home early? It wasn't because I saw Jamie with another girl. I slept with Brady and he told me he only did it because someone told him I'm the go-to girl for a fuck."

FP's jaw tightens. "I'll kill him."

"Why? It's true isn't it? I've always got a new guy on the roster, and it's not exactly hard to get me on my back." Tears fill her eyes again as she rambles, her pulse quickening. "Maybe I should start asking for money when I do it, twenty for a blow, fifty for the full thing? Might as well make something off of my new reputation."

"Would you knock it off?" FP growls, shaking her with grip he has on her arms.

She blinks up at him, feeling so small standing their in front of him, big blue eyes clouded with hurt and a million unanswered questions. "I don't know what to do." She barely manages to get the sentence out before she's crumbling, all of the pent up emotions she's been carrying coming to a head.

FP pulls her close again, not able to find the words to comfort her. For once he doesn't know how to help her, and it makes him feel useless, because he's always been the one to protect her. Ever since they were little kids, he had taken her under his wing and promised to keep her safe, because her parents couldn't be bothered. So he just hugs her tight, there with Fred and Hermione, and vows to himself that he'll make things okay again.