How it Began

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"You know smoking is bad for you health." Fred says, startling her.

"You know skipping is bad for your grades."

"Says the girl skipping class and smoking a cigarette on the bleachers. Not exactly in a place to be giving life advice, Al." He sits down beside her. "Give me a drag."

"Thought you said it was bad for your health?" She hands him the cigarette nonetheless.

"Did you talk to Coop?"

"Yeah. We're together." She states plainly.

"Woah, don't sound so excited about it."

"It's just... I feel bad."

"'Bout FP?"

"Bingo. I hurt him. That's something I never thought I would do."

"He'll be alright, Alice. Stop beating yourself up over making yourself happy."

"He did make me happy though. For three whole years I was the happiest girl in the world, now I'm throwing that all away?"

"It's hard now, I get it, but it will be alright. He'll get over it. Things may not be the same but that's okay."

"Maybe you're right." She sighs and rests her head on his shoulder. "I'm just worried I was caught up in the newness of it all and dropped a perfectly good relationship because of it."

_____
"Alice!" A voice yells from outside her trailer.

"Make that God awful noise stop." Her mom demands from the couch, a cigarette dangling from her mouth.

She rolls her eyes at her and opens the door to find Mary standing there in a panic. "Are you alone?"

"No," she opens the door wider to reveal her mother. "mom's here, why?"

"I need to talk to you, it's important."

"Let's go to my room." Alice lets her in and shits the door behind her.

"Hi Mrs Smith." Mary greets the woman, getting no response besides an annoyed huff.

"She's drunk and stoned. Don't take it personally." The girl's walk into Alice's room and Mary instantly loses her mind, divulging information as soon as the door closes.

"Ok, so I was at the bookstore today,"

"God you have a boring life." Alice sighs and sits down on her bed. "Continue."

"As I was leaving I saw Hermione kissing somebody!"

"It was probably Fred, y'know, her boyfriend."

"No it wasn't Fred!"

"Then who was it?"

"I don't know. They drive some fancy ass car though, practically had Hermione nailed to it."

"Wow, so Hermione's cheating on Fred? Never saw that coming."

"You can't tell him though."

"Mary! He deserves to know!"

"What if it's a misunderstanding?"

"We're they kissing on the lips or the cheek?"

"Lips."

"Then it's not a misunderstanding, Mare." Alice sighs. "Hermione's cheating on Fred."