A Falice Story

9. Truth

"Alice?" Hermione repeats again. 

I shakily stand up and open the door, "I'm fine! Totally fine! You know what they say, 'when you gotta go, you gotta go!'" She watches me as I brush past her towards the sinks. "Um, Alice? There's puke in your hair," she says quietly. I look up into the mirror, and sure enough, there is.

"Of course there is..." I mutter, grabbing some paper towel to remove it. Hermione leans up against the counter next to me, "Is there something you want to tell me?" I continue fixing my hair, "Nope." She sighs, "Alice, I'm--I'm not stupid. You've been acting so different lately--I know the symptoms...are you pregnant?" she practically whispers. 

I turn away from her, making a mental decision whether to tell her or not--I mean, Fred already found out, so what's the difference if one more person finds out? I bite my lip and slowly face her, "Yeah, I am." Her eyes light up and she reaches toward me, pulling me into a hug, "Oh my God! That's so amazing! I'm so happy for you--for both of you!" I suddenly have to break the hug and rush back into the bathroom--clearly not done being sick. Hermione follows behind me and pulls the clip out of her hair to pull mine back with. 

I sit down on the floor again my back against the wall, feeling completely worn out, "Thanks," I tell her and she nods, sitting down on the floor next to me. "How far along are you?" I open up my purse, digging around for some mint gum, " About eight weeks." 

"So, how did FP take the news?" I find the gum and pop it in my mouth, "Really, really well. I was definitely expecting him to be a little more apprehensive, but he was on board right away." She smiles, "That's great. I mean, he clearly loves you so much. I thought you guys had serious chemistry in high school, but now? The way that he looks at you--it's unlike anything I've ever seen." 

I feel my heart flutter, "Well...keep making those comments and I'll be able to say the same for you," I wink. Hermione blushes, "Oh, jeez. I don't even know where that came from..." I raise my eyebrow at her, "For christ sakes, you do to know where that came from!" She sighs, "Oh alright, maybe I do," she pauses for a moment, "I just feel like all of this is happening so fast--considering everything that happened in New York...I thought Hiram was out of my life--and then came back in it and now he's out again...I just can't do this anymore. I can't play this game--" She lets her emotions loose, clearly something she hasn't gotten a chance to do yet. 

As she cries, I take hold of her hand, "Hermione, listen to me. You don't need him in your life. He brought out something in you that was not in the girl I was best friends with in high school." She sniffles and looks up at me, her makeup a little smudged, "I--I know." 

"You don't need that lying, two-faced, son-of-a-bitch to keep using you as a pawn!" Her eyes widen as my rant continues, "And furthermore--you have an honest, hard-working, loving man who would do anything for you sitting in that room--and the best part is that you don't have to put up a front for him. Take it from someone who was a pro at that..." 

I finish ranting, getting caught up in my own head about my past mistakes and look over at her; she's not crying anymore, but silently sitting next to me, processing my words. When she finally looks at me, she smiles. "Thanks. I really needed that." I pull her into a hug and she genuinely reciprocates it, "I missed you." I smile, "I missed you too." 

She breaks the embrace, but is still holding my hands in hers, "Alice, if you need anything--and I mean anything, please let me know. Any hour of the night--I got your back," she smiles. "I should get that in writing," I joke. "But in all seriousness, I'm going to need you to get through this. FP can only relate to what I'm going through to a certain extent...I need mommy support!" 

Hermione laughs, "Oh I completely understand. They think they know what we're going through, but they're waaaay off--how's FP been so far? I'm sure very protective." I nod, "I'm honestly shocked he hasn't tried calling me by now--trying to figure out what's going on in here," I giggle, "But really, he's been great. I couldn't ask for better. He even made me breakfast this morning!" She shakes her head, "No way, FP? The man who can't cook to save his life?" I shrug, "That's what I thought, but it was actually really good. I think he's just been playing me all this time, so he gets out of doing it." 

"You are 'queen of the breakfasts' after all," she defends, with a smile. "Can't argue with that!" I wink. She brushes her long, raven locks out of her face, "Thanks—for this," she half laughs, realizing the humor of the two of them sitting on the bathroom floor sharing their emotions. I grab her hand laughing, "The last time we sat on the bathroom floor like this—I think we were high..." I choke out. Hermione bursts out laughing, "Oh my God, that's right! In that disgusting pink bathroom on the third floor of the school!"

I rest my head against the wall, "And the look on Mrs. Swenson's face when she caught us? 'I'd expect this kind of behavior out of Miss Smith, but not out of you Miss Rivera!'" I do my best impression of our old, ornery teacher. "I don't know why I kept hanging out with you. You were the only one who ever got me in trouble!" I snap my gum, "I was always having fun—and you needed a little fun in your life," I joke, gently elbowing her. She groans, "That I did..."

We're interrupted by a knock on the door and I'm quite positive I know who it is. Hermione helps me up and we exit the bathroom stall and open the main door. FP and Fred stand on the other side, very confused, "I hate to break up your little bathroom party, but did you forget about us?!" FP says exasperated. I walk out the door, grabbing him around his waist, "We could never forget about you," I say in a sarcastic, baby voice.

He smiles down at me, his hands resting around my waist, "But the real question is—how are you feeling?" he says quietly. "It's okay babe, she knows," I say pointing to Hermione. She walks over to FP placing an arm on his shoulder, "Congratulations! I'm so excited for you both!" Fred smiles, "Thank God we're all on the same page now."

"Should we head back to our house? I have a fresh cherry pie waiting to be eaten!" I say. Fred and Hermione agree, "Sounds great! We'll be there in a bit," Fred says, opening the door to the car for Hermione. FP smirks, "A bit—huh? Got something else to do first?" Fred shakes his head, "You're terrible."

FP laughs and helps me into the car, "Be careful kids," I say, winking while I slide in. I can see Hermione roll her eyes. FP gets behind the wheel, smiling to himself, "They're definitely going to hook up." I laugh, "Oh, you think so? Well I know something you don't know..." I taunt him. He turns abruptly, "What? Tell me!" I cross my arms, "Hmmm...I don't know if I should tell you."

He scratches his head, "Come on, Al! Please?" I lean towards him, wrapping my hand behind his neck and pulling him toward me, leaving him inches from my lips, "I love seeing you beg." FP smirks and meets my lips in a passionate kiss, "Now will you tell me?"

"I need another one..." I protest. He doesn't object and this time it lasts a lot longer than the previous one. He smiles, "Now will you tell me?" I press my nose into his cheek and sigh contently, "Yes, you've earned it now. When we were in the bathroom talking, the subject of Mr.  Fred Andrews did happen to come up and she does still have feelings for him." 

FP nods proudly, "I knew it--I mean, who couldn't love Fred?" I giggle, "Very true." 

We start our drive back to Riverdale and FP grabs my hand, joining it in his. He subconsciously rubs his thumb against my palm as he sings softly to the radio. I smile over at him, the sun hitting the side of his face, illuminating his jaw line. He realizes I'm staring and smirks, "What?" I bite my lip, "Just appreciating the view..." 

He lets out a soft laugh, "I'm going to have to pull the car over if you keep doing that." I break my hand away from his grasp and rest it on his upper thigh instead, not breaking eye contact. "Al, you're asking for it..." he shakes his head, unable to hide his smile. I slide over and breathe against his neck, placing light kisses on his skin, just teasing him enough. 

"That's it!" He shouts, and I flash him a victorious smirk while he pulls the car over. "You are such a tease!" He cries out, while I'm already climbing onto his lap, straddling my legs around his waist, unbuttoning his shirt. "I'm not a tease, I'm pregnant--and really horny right now...God I have to have you!" I lunge for him, smashing my lips against his, our tongues fighting for dominance. 

He pauses, breathing into my mouth, "You're lucky I wanted to do this anyway..." I smirk, "But don't you always?" FP runs a hand through is hair, hovering above me, "I can't argue with that." 

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Hey guys! Sorry for not posting in so long! I've been so busy working and traveling I haven't had much time to update. I should have more posted soon! XX