Thoughts of the conversation Hermione had unwillingly heard between Gladys and Hal days prior had been plaguing her like crazy. From keeping her awake to affecting her ability to focus on the simplest of task, you name it. She just couldn't put the shocking revelation of the two of them sleeping together and Gladys cheating on FP to bed, pun intended.
It was honestly a miracle nobody had noticed how jittery she had become the past few days. She was never good with secrets and wasn't one to gossip either but weirdly enough the bombshell had been eating her up inside, and the funny part was that it didn't even involve her, it did however involve people she cared about, and that along with her moral compass and not wanting to put Gladys on blast, all played a major factor whether she was going to reveal all or keep it to herself.
However, pacing around Alice's calm and quiet bedroom as she took over from the exhausted teen Mom trying to settle the whimpering tot off to sleep and listening to her practically sing praises about how great of a father FP was and how much he had stepped up and impressed her in coming weeks certainly didn't help with the part of her that wanted to keep quiet for Gladys' sake.
Alice's tone alone was telling Hermione that she clearly wanted FP to be much more than the father of her child, and she never quite felt the electric and passion and lust filled pining between FP and Gladys the way she always did with him and Alice, and the 6 week old infant that laid in her arms only served as a reminder of the twos deep seeded and long buried feelings that she knew in her gut just had to be released sooner or later, no matter who got hurt in the process.
"Hermione?" Alice called, wanting her attention once more. "You okay?"
Hermione whipped her head around at the sound of Alice's voice, her silky newly conditioned raven locks falling to the side of her shoulder as her startled and newly alert face looked back at the blonde. "Yeah." She quickly nods, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before clearing her throat, her gaze fixed on the drained and red eyed teen. "Sorry, you were saying."
"Just how great FP has been with Charlie." Alice tiredly beamed before releasing a little yawn. "He's kinda surprised me really." She added with a little stretch.
"Do you, still have feelings for him?" Hermione reluctantly dropped all of a sudden, offering Alice a sympathetic look as she awaited an answer.
Alice's exhausted eyes suddenly appeared more alert as a stunned but bewildered expression flashed across her heart shaped face. That very prompt was the last thing she expected to come out of Hermione's mouth, and she had recently done well to suppress her feelings on the matter, but they were eventually going to be dug up, and unconciously singing praises about him while going all googly eyed wasn't going to help matters.
"I didn't wanna admit it-" Alice began before deeply sighing. "But yeah, I do, but he's with Gladys and I don't wanna complicate anything." She concludes in defeat, yawning once more before her head falls against her pillow.
"Oh, right." Hermione nods sympathetically, her voice remaining soft and low as she processed Alice's little revelation. This was making her battle between problematic morality and keeping the peace just that much harder, with morality currently winning.
Gladys cheating on FP was straight up inexcusable in her mind and she feels she has a moral obligation to tell FP the truth, she also feels it's right for two people who love each other to fight for it, especially with child in the middle, but on the other hand there was no telling what emotional fallout could result from exposing Gladys' infidelity, and that was where she remained stuck.
"Al? If you knew something about someone, something they had done wrong and other people involved could get hurt if it got out, would you still tell them?" Hermione nervously prompted, knowing she was treading thin ice here.
"Depends what it is." Alice slurred as her eyes lashes slowly fluttered, her tired indicating actions completely unaware by Hermione.
"It could ruin a relationship, but hopefully start one too." Hermione revealed with a little chirp.
"What is it?" Alice all but whispered with a slow drooping head.
Releasing a deep sigh, Hermione tightly clenched her eyes shut in preparation for the bombshell she was about to drop, totally ignoring the feeling of oending regret deep in her gut, but porudly listening to the voice in the back of head telling her to go for it, before it's too late.
"I overheard Gladys and Hal-"
Turns out, she needn't not said anything, not for now anyway, as she was met with a lightly snoring Alice in a deep sleep as soon as she turned around.
Whether it was relief that surged through her body upon the sight of Alice peacefully counting sheep, forcing her to leave this conversation for another time, or disappointment that she couldn't just rip the band aid off, she wasn't sure, and all she could chalk it up to was that perhaps it was a sign from up above that it wasn't up to her to break this earth shattering news. Maybe, just maybe, the universe had other plans.
Her eyes shifted down at the suddenly calm infant in her hand, who was whimpering and groaning no more. The rocking must've worked, or she probably had a magic touch. She gently placed quiet blinking baby down into his crib, pulling a little blanket over him and leaving he and his mother be for the evening before carefully stepping out of Alice's room and proceeding to the front door.
"Leaving already?" Roger questioned in wonder, pausing his activities at the sink as he turned to face his daughters best friend.
"Yeah." Hermione confirmed, nodding her head slowly as her lips curled into a tight smile. "Alice fell asleep. I'd say it was down to my boring conversation, but she was exhausted when I came over. Charlie however, is wide awake. I left him in his crib."
"He's been sleeping irregularly, if even at all, it's wearing her out so I'm not surprised." Roger added with a hint of concern in his voice. Charles recent sleeping and eating habits and the effect they were having on Alice weren't a cause for concern at first but seeing just how slowly drained she had become over the week forced him to want to intervene.
"Bye Mr Smith." Hermione said softly before turning to leave.
The second Hermione stepped off the Smith's porch, the sound of a giggly Gladys and FP, stood wrapped in each other's arms and shamelessly smooching outside of his front door caught her off guard.
The audacity of Gladys, Hermione silently thought to herself, her pink and plump lips tightening into an unamused frown. She wasn't the confrontational type, far from it in fact, but she couldn't sit back and watch the girl play the perfect girlfriend and wander around school holding FP's hand without a care in the world after jumping into bed with Hal Cooper of all people.
As FP made his way indoors, Hermione took the opportunity to quietly storm over to the cheat, her face expressing mild disdain as she got closer, before finally tapping the girls shoulder and forcing her to turn around.
"Hey, Hermione." Gladys groaned out in a skeptical tone as she noticed Hermione's little scowl and furrowing brows, which was a rare occurrence for the quiet Catholic girl, hence why Gladys was rightfully concerned.
"Don't hey Hermione me." The raven haired girl scolded back, lowering her voice to not bring attention to herself. "How do you do it? How do you walk around school so proudly, hand in hand with FP after what you've done?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm talking, about you sleeping with Hal!"
The second the bombshell dropped, Gladys' heart rate paced a mile a minute, practically thumping against her rib cage as her crinkled brows rose into the edge of her forehead. Her jaw clinching so tight she felt her teeth drive into each other. Her secret, the very shameful instance she had tried to conceal for weeks was out and it was only a matter of time before somebody she didn't want knowing about it found out.
She gulped brashly, tucking a strand of hair behind her small ear as her glassy eyes shifted back and forth between the Jones trailer and the persistent Catholic girl stood in front of her with a stern eye and raised brow, waiting a response.
"So? Nothing to say for yourself?"
"Hermione-" Gladys sighed condescendingly, placing her trembling hand firmly on Hermione's shoulder, earning a look of snarling disapproval from her as she hovered over the raven haired girl with malice. "Have you been on jingle jangle? Because these are some wild accusations you're throwing around-"
"Save it!" Hermione interjected, holding her hand up to stop Gladys from further patronising her. "You might wanna be careful next time you have a private discussion at your locker in a public school hallway, and be more weary of those around you."
Gladys' menacing expression only worsened as Hermione continued, and before she knew it, she was pulling the girl, practically dragging her behind the Jones next door trailer, ignoring her fights and pleas to let go before callously releasing her against it. "Look, regardless of what you did, or didn't hear, this is none of your damn business-"
"FP is one of my friends, so as far as I'm concerned, this is my business." Hermione corrected in a fierce but disappointing tone.
And just like that, it dawned on Gladys how unnecessarily aggressive she was being upon seeing Hermione's face. There was no need for it, and she knew so deep down, but an uncontrollable and impulsive nature got ahold of her whenever things didn't go her way or fell out of her control. Cooling herself down, she released Hermione's arm, taking a deep and tranquil sigh before running her hands through her light brown hair and then her reddened but panicked face.
"Hermione, I swear to you, it was a stupid drunken mistake!" She defended in desperation with tears in her eyes, clasping her hands together. "I am begging you, please don't tell FP."
"I'm only keeping quiet, for now, because it's best coming from you, but if you don't tell him soon then I definitely will." Hermione warned, eyeing her down before leaving the trailer park in a hurry, and a very shaken Gladys alone with her little dilemma.