The early rays of sunlight filtered in through the closed blinds and cast thin lines of light onto the sleeping face of Aspen Ryder. He was unconscious to the world around him until an all too familiar sound of a pounding fist echoed in the room. Chase, his younger brother. Whenever Aspen was on the verge of sleeping in late, or just enjoying a short nap, the little boy always made a noisy display of waking him up. It sounded like the door would cave in and shatter into splinters of wood at any moment. The redhead turned over on his back and threw the blankets off of his bed with a frustrated sigh. "I'm awake now, you can stop attacking my door!" His throat was dry and the first thing he did was go into the bathroom--he was lucky enough to have attached directly to his room and drank a glass of water. After brushing his teeth he looked at himself in the mirror.

The straight line of his mouth turned up into a smile; he was thinking about Hannah. It was the strangest thing, trying to bring their old friendship back to life and ending up sleeping with her in the process. He realized he wanted to make an attempt at being friends again, he missed her. Sure, he was always surrounded by people everyday, but--as cheesy as it might sound, none of the people in his social circle made him smile or laugh until he started crying like Hannah could. However, he never would have thought they would hook up the way that they had. Sure she had been his best friend throughout his childhood, but he hadn't thought about her in a romantic way until the night he first talked to her since the beginning of his sophmore year of high school. He felt awkward afterwards, not having talked to her in so long.

The rest of his morning routine went by in a blur. Aspen was out the house and headed up the steps with a navy blue messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Inside the hallway he saw his clique gathered around in a circle. Without even really looking in his direction they detected his presence. Aspen looked around for Hannah but she was nowhere to be seen yet, a bit reluctantly, he put on a smile and went to join the circle.

The dreams of the previous night still swirled around in Hannah's mind. They danced around with their glorious colors, keeping Hannah's mind from truly coming back to consciousness. She liked this place; this place between asleep and awake, where the world around her was dulled, and she was lost in a place where her troubles couldn't reach her. But unfortunately, the not-so-glorious sound of the alarm clock going off rang through her mind and shook away the bright colors. A small moan escaped her lips as she rolled across her bed to reach for the button that would stop the terrible ringing.

Hannah laid in her bed for a moment, letting sleep slowly wear off of her mind. It was then that she realized what the colors of her dreams had created. It was her and Aspen. Her and the old friend she'd just reunited with. Though she often found herself fearing that he'd abandon her again, she had missed him. It had been showing in her dreams lately; dreams that were so vivid! She could swear they were real.
But once again, her dreams were shattered as she remembered what the first night back with Aspen had brought her. Better yet? It was Monday. "School... I'm not ready for this," she told herself, finally bringing herself out of bed.

She rushed through her usual routine to ready herself for school. Teeth, hairbrush, clothes... She chose to pin her hair in a high ponytail today, not wanting to work with it. She had other things she had to work with. Hannah's hand rested on her stomach and tapped lightly. "You're a hard one to forget..." She told her belly. Two nights ago, she'd learned that she'd be eating for two. That entire night was spent in shock. Two days later, she was terrified. She blinked away the starting of a tear in each of her eyes. "How am I going to do this?" She mumbled, slipping on her glasses and grabbing her book bag.

When Hannah had first reached the school, she saw no sight of Aspen. This may or may not have been a good thing, seeing as she wanted to puke up the contents of her breakfast. But finally, she found him in his usual group of friends. Hannah's few "outcast" friends were no where to be seen, so to avoid being alone Hannah walked up to the crowd. As she approached, she whispered to herself, "Act normal for now. No one knows."

She put on a fake smile, "Hi, guys." Hannah reached her arms around Aspen to give him a friendly hug, and then pulled away to acknowledge the others in the clique. She felt out of place with Aspen's friend, but she wanted to be near him.

Had the group always been this humdrum? It felt like for the first time, in the three years that he'd been around them, Aspen had just started to realize how repetitive his circle of friends really were. It wasn't that they sounded boring, their conversation was just as fast-paced and engaging as always but the topics never seemed to change. There was little variation in what they had to talk about; who was hooking up, breaking apart, and other typical gossip that circulated around high school. Occasionally go on talking about those they considered to be on a lower plateau than their own, or maybe start spreading another false rumor. It left him a bit shocked, he never picked up on it before, but how? It was because he'd become just like them. They weren't terrible people, but they weren't the most caring either. Aspen didn't know what had happened. Back when he and Hannah were practically attached at the hip, he always used to crack jokes about how superficial and fake the 'populars' were, but he had joined them so easily when they started to acknowledge his existence. He could feel a pang of regret in his chest.

How could he have dropped his real friends so easily for the insensitive ones he had now. Aspen didn't think he would ever do something like that, but it just sort of happened. "Hey are you listening to me Renny?" Elise, a tall redhead with curly waves of hair had her head cocked to the side while she looked up at Aspen. She gave him that nickname the first day the group accepted him, it was a strange combination of his first and last name, one he didn't particularly fancy. "W-what?" He took a small step back from the girl who had so boldly invaded his personal space. "Geez, you can be so out-of-it sometimes," she shook her head and sent those waves of auburn hair shaking on her shoulders, "I said me and James finally broke up!" She shook his shoulders fiercely as if trying to wake him up until Aspen spoke again. "Oh really?" The rest of the group, Macey, the fake-tanned blonde, Ethan, captain of the swim team, Megan, the master gossiper, and Jules, the egotistical one all turned to look at Aspen expectantly.

It was no secret that Elise had a crush on him, even when she was dating her latest ex, the girl made no effort to keep her feelings a secret. She was always dropping unsubtle hints to Aspen about them going out, and--not to sound arrogant, he wouldn't be surprised at all if he himself was the reason Elise broke up with her boyfriend. He'd always done his best to play it off like he had no idea what was going on, and that was exactly what he did now. "I'm sure you'll find someone else, haven't you seen the way guys drool whenever you walk down the hallway?" He laughed and everyone followed along. He perked up almost immediately when he heard a very familiar voice and pair of arms wrap around him. "'Morning." Aspen stepped a little to the side to let Hannah in the circle and wrapped his arm around her waist to give her a light squeeze. The rest of the group wasn't outwardly rude, most of the time, but it was easy to tell when they weren't really thrilled to see someone. They each gave Hannah some sort of half-assed greeting before breaking up into smaller groups.

"I was looking for you a few minutes ago." He grinned and hadn't moved to let go of her waist yet. Despite their awkward reunion, he didn't think any differently of Hannah. She was still the same to him as she had been when they first met. "Are you feeling okay, you look a little sick." His smile had morphed into a frown as he turned to examine her face closer and he put a hand to her forehead before backing away. "You've gotta take care of yourself." Aspen shook his head with his arms folded over his chest, sometimes he could act just like a mother. "How was your weekend?" He started walking slowly down the hallway towards his locker.

Upon arriving and hugging Aspen, she found that his arms remained resting around her waist from their hug. Hannah didn't think that meant anything... afterall, things were going back to the way they used to be. Two best friends, nothing more than that. Yes, she found Aspen to be very attractive, but he was too much of a brother. A brother who fathered your child... her thoughts reminded her, and a swift grimace crossed her features before she composed herself again. They were too close and only growing closer to ruin themselves with a romance, especially after finding that they couldn't even stay friends forever without one. However, Hannah knew that they would have to work something out in the near future...

And Hannah really hoped that Elise wouldn't be a part of it. She was so pretty! Along with all of the rest of the girls in Aspen's clique, too. Their height and beauty and sense of style intimidated Hannah like no other. Especially Elise. She had the long legs, the bouncy scarlet curls, and worst of all a ridiculously desperate crush on Aspen. Hannah always kept her chin up though. After all, Aspen had come back to her. And maybe if she could ever get him to leave his fake new friends, he wouldn't ever go back to them.

Hannah nodded to the first question Aspen asked her. "I'm okay. Didn't get much sleep last night." At least that much was true. He was right the more she thought about it though; she needed to take better care of herself now. Eat better, sleep better, stress less. It would be hard, but she would have to manage. "Um... My weekend was, well, a weekend." Her gray eyes bounced from one of his friends to the next. They were all giving her the same look; a mix between composure and a scowl. It reminded her that they were criticizing her for every word she spoke. She found herself not wanting to say anything in front of them, and for Hannah, that was strange. She talked through everything. Speaking of; "I need to talk to you sometime today," the lump in Hannah's throat made her voice slightly funny, but only Aspen would be able to tell. He knew her too well. "To tell you about my weekend," she continued. And because she was nervous, she continued to talk; "It's kind of important. I mean nobody's died or anything... kind of the opposite... but uh, keep me in mind, okay?"

(Kinda short, sorry D: )

She was so terrible, or more likely, uncaring with how she expressed her feelings. Aspen was focusing on Hannah, but he couldn't help but hear the annoyed murmurs and catch the impatient shifts in Elise's posture. It was like she was waiting for Hannah to leave so that she could go back to harrassing Aspen until he agreed to go out with her. He shifted his weight to his right leg, moving sideways just enough to block the redhead completely out of his line of sight. In the next instant he was focused on Hannah's words and almost instantly became worried as his parental-like instincts kicked in. He wasn't concerned with her wanting to talk to him, or he wasn't until he heard the strange note in her voice. Something was going on and he started running over a list of possibilities in his head. Was she sick? That would explain her current appearance. He frowned and grabbed one of her wrist, his hazel eyes looked down on her as he examined her face for the second time that morning.

She hadn't said she was sick, and no one had died, so what could possibly be the problem? "I have a decent break after Calculus, I'll meet you by your locker then." Aspen let go of her wrist and looked her in the eyes for a few seconds before turning to leave for class. The skin on his cheeks was flushed the slightest shades of pink. What had he been thinking? The moment he let go of Hannah he thought maybe he should kiss her. It was ridiculous! Right? They were just friends in the past and they wouldn't be anything but friends now. Trying to be anything more would only ruin their friendship. Still, he couldn't deny the fact that the thought crossed his mind. He passed Elise who had been waiting for his conversation with Hannah to end, but he didn't even acknowledge her. He had almost completely spaced out.

All Aspen could think about was Hannah's words and how they were causing him to think the worst. Was she leaving? Not once had he come close to guessing the real answer behind that strange tone of her voice. Throughout Calculus he hardly found the strength to pay attention to the fast scrawl of notes the teacher wrote across the board. His notebook remained blank save for the day's date and the start of an equation. He kept looking at the clock but the minutes felt like they were lasting for individual hours. Once the class was finally over Aspen was in such a daze that he was the last one out of the classroom. He deliberately walked slow to Hannah's locker, he wanted to know what was wrong but at the same time, he was nervous to find out.

(Don't worry! Mine vary in size ^^;;)

When the two had agreed on a meeting place, Hannah's stomach knotted up. She asked for this, why would it make her so nauseous? She felt a tingle in her jaw and she swallowed back excess spit that had formed in her mouth. Somehow she'd gained control of herself and managed to keep her breakfast, though she'd never know how she'd done it.

Aspen left and Hannah didn't plan on sticking around with his friends. She fully intended to walk away without a word, but no. The Dramatics just couldn't have that. Elise, their evil leader in Hannah's eyes, called out to her once Aspen was out of earshot. "He's mine, you know." Hannah could hear the smugness in her voice. He was not hers. Aspen would never date someone so... bitchy. At least she hoped not. For all she knew, Aspen and Elise had dated in the recent past while they weren't talking. Regardless, the idea of him "belonging" to Elise nearly made her skin crawl. Hannah kept her back turned while Elise spoke again. "He left you once, remember? You two don't have a chance." Elise's superficial friends giggled, as if there were truth in her words. Hannah didn't bother to even turn and face them. The hallway was quiet enough for them to hear her quiet voice. Not quiet in volume, but in confidence. "We'll see about that, now won't we?"
But even as she said the words, she realized she was only partly talking to Elise.

Suddenly another wave of nausea hit her, and Hannah didn't have a choice but to run down the rest of the hall to the nearest bathroom. She heard the laughing of the girls behind her but she was in a sprint for the stalls as the bathroom door swung closed. Before she could even close the stall door, she was leaning over the toilet and heaving out everything on her stomach. When she was done, she let out a small miserable moan and spit to get the excess nasty out of her mouth.

While Hannah cupped her hands to capture enough water to rinse out her mouth in the sink, Megan came out of the stall next to her. Ordinarily, Hannah would be hiding her face from one of the most popular, most talkative girls in the school, but this time, she welcomed her. Let the rumors begin. She found herself smiling inside, though she still felt terrible and now her throat was raw. Megan washed her hands and Hannah heard her mutter "Disgusting..." as she was leaving the bathroom.

The classes that followed the bathroom incidents were highly uneventful. It made things all the worse. Hannah didn't have anything she could set her mind to today except to tell her ex-but-now-new-again-best-friend that she was pregnant. Over and over again throughout her classes she found herself thinking over the things she could say. For a girl who could talk so much, she thought of a lot of different ways to break the news. But none of them seemed right. And by the time her class was over and Aspen's Calculus class was done with, she still had not the slightest clue of what to say. Too late now though, she found as she entered the hall. She'd run out of time; Aspen was standing at her locker as promised. At least none of the faces she hated to see were around.

"Hi, Aspen," she said, clearing her throat as she approached. Ehhh.... she spaced. No words were coming to mind! She started to panic, but thankfully her nausea didn't come back. Finally, she thought of something to say. Brainless in a case like this, but something at least: "how are your classes going?"

Aspen leaned his back against the cold metal of Hannah's locker and busied himself fiddling with his phone. She was still no where in sight. The longer he waited the more nervous the poor boy grew, he was preparing himself for the worse possible news. Hannah was finally leaving the seaside town and moving somewhere else, away from Aspen. To him, excluding the possibility of her being pregnant, her leaving was the worst thing that could happen. The thought of her carrying his child hadn't crossed his mind--ever, he hadn't even come close to thinking of such a thing. So now he was figuring out what he should say to her. Maybe he could persuade her to stay somehow, she was a sister to him, he couldn't live without her; everything sounded like such a cliche. When he thought about it, Aspen had never gone into any heartfelt explanation about how much he valued his friendship with Hannah. He wasn't the kind of person to verbally express everything he was thinking. He was much better at using his actions to tell someone what he thought.

His phone vibrated and he rushed to unlock it, expecting to see a message from Hannah. The look of anticipation on his face first turned into surprise then utter disappointment. It was only a text from Elise. That girl never could take a subtle hint. There was no mystery revolving around how Aspen felt about her, he recently started viewing her like a fly. Persistent. Perhaps she knew that Aspen didn't really like her, and their chances of ever dating were in the negatives, but she was the kind of girl that wouldn't give up even if Aspen told her to her face that he couldn't stand to be around her. The message simply said 'Come by my house after school'. He could already tell what her line of thinking was and he couldn't do anything but shudder at the thought of being seduced by Elise.

He was overjoyed to see Hannah finally showing up. His pushed off her locker and eagerly awaited her news. When she spoke up Aspen wasn't sure what to think. Surely she hadn't wanted to meet up with him just to ask how his classes were. "Uh they're going great," his eyes narrowed and he attempted to examine her expression for some sort of sign that she wasn't saying what she really wanted to. "Are you sure you're okay?" He decided to ask after not being able to tell from looking at her, but he still had the feeling that something was up.

Hannah couldn't determine which emotion she was feeling exactly. Happy that she was with Aspen, and that there weren't enough people in the halls to overhear their conversation...but nervous, scared, upset, and worried at the same time. Most of the time she focused on one emotion, whether it be bad or good. But she found a whole range of them wracking her nerves now.

And he just had to ask the one question that would send her over the edge. A form of "Are you okay?" Don't people know better than to ask that when something appears to be wrong? That one question that sent her eyes watering, the one that brought forth the sob in her chest. She lifted her arm to lean against the locker next to hers and rested her forehead on the cool metal. The icy cold kept her locked to reality. She couldn't cry this out and be okay when it was over. "No," she said before her chest heaved in another breath. "I'm not okay. Oh, jeez," she tried to stop crying; her cheeks were wet with her tears. "You probably think I'm crazy," she blubbered. She took a shaky breath. She was at school. She needed more composure.

Hannah brought her hands to her face to wipe away the tears. She cleared her throat. "This isn't really easy to say, I-I mean, I want to tell you but the words get stuck. It's big." Get on with it, Hannah. Before he feels the need to slap you to get you under control. If Aspen hadn't been her best friend since ever, she could never have looked him in the eye with her following words. "Well, I'm... pregnant." She wiped the last of the wetness on her face away with the back of her hand. "And... it's yours." Instantly, Hannah couldn't look away from his face. She was already searching for cues on how he would take the news.

He didn't need to know what the story was to realize how much it must have been bothering Hannah. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around her when she started crying. At that moment he didn't need to know what was wrong, she was hurt and he wanted to be there to support her. "I do think you're kind of crazy, but that's one of the things I like about you." Aspen gave her a reassuring squeeze before pulling away to look at her, he kept his hands holding onto her own. "No matter what it is, I know you'll be okay, you've got me after all." He grinned sincerely and eagerly awaited her explanation. On the inside he was a wreck, the anticipation was enough to paralyze someone. He was nervous and really starting to believe that her news was much more severe than just moving away.

She was pregnant. The words almost made his stagger back, had he not been holding onto Hannah he probably would have fallen. She was having a baby, and who did it belong to? Aspen was just about to start going through a list of people he thought could've been the father, but then her next words really threw him for a loop. It was his! Oh she was pregnant and the child belonged to him. A memory of the night they'd hooked up flashed through his mind and he was rendered speechless. For what felt like a painfully awkward minute he could only stare back at Hannah with eyes wide open.

He found his voice and managed to stutter out something close to a reply. "M-mine?" Get a hold of yourself, she needs you. Aspen shook his head and looked down at the floor then back up to Hannah. He still held her hands and could only hope that she wasn't hurt by his reaction. "I'm sorry," he exhaled and tried to think of something else to say. All he could think about was how this could ruin his social life. He was being selfish, it wasn't just him that would be affected. "Are you keeping it?" That question sent his heart racing. If she was going to have it and choose to raise it, he couldn't let her do it on her own.

"M-mine?" He'd stuttered. Hannah kept wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. The way he'd looked at her with such shock... Would he run? Would she be forced to make all of these decisions on her own? Hannah hated with all her might to think this, but he left her once, and she was putting full trust in him that he wouldn't again. "I'm sorry," he'd said.

Hannah spoke up again after clearing her throat. Her voice still sounded a bit distorted from her crying. "I'm sorry, too... it was stupid, that night. We weren't thinking." Hannah wanted to say that she didn't regret sleeping with Aspen, but because of the consequences, she'd give anything to take it back. She never thought she'd be another number in a teen pregnancy statistic. He asked if she was keeping it, and she exhaled. It was as if with her sigh, she was trying to expel all of the frustration, the sadness, and awkward tension from her body. It worked, a little.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I mean... every chance I get, I've been on my phone looking up choices on the internet. And I feel like... well, not keeping it, would be the right thing to do but I can't do it, Aspen," her voice cracked. "I'm too much of a chicken, it sounds too painful, I don't want the changes it could bring to my body, and oh my God, I sound so selfish," she wished she could stop crying. She knew guys weren't comfortable with girls crying, but she couldn't help it. Damn it, if Aspen was pregnant he'd be reacting this way too! She shook her head and once again, wiped away the wetness from her eyes. "I can't abort it," she told him. "I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I thought about doing it and never telling you, but I couldn't. But I don't know if I can raise a child," she shook her head and admitted, opening herself up to looking weak. What did it matter anymore? It wasn't just her, it was someone else too. A little someone, but someone nonetheless. What had she gotten them into?

He would probably never say it outloud, but he didn't regret sleeping with Hannah. He did, however, regret getting her pregnant. It was hard to concentrate when thoughts and worries were assaulting his focus. What were his parents going to say? Was he even going to tell them? Aspen didn't want to be one of the guys who knocked a girl up and just left her to raise the child by herself. He wasn't that kind of person. He had no idea what to say to Hannah though, in the past he always knew what to say to make her feel better, but now his mind was drawing an annoying blank. He felt terrible; here his friend was an emotion wreck and he couldn't utter any words of comfort.

Aspen did the best thing he could-he wrapped her up in his arms and let her cry. She'd said she couldn't abort the baby but she was scared of the changes her body would go through. At a time like this he was thankful he wasn't a female, but considering the situation, his gender didn't really help much. "You're going to be okay." He spoke softly but wondered if the words he spoke were true. If she had the baby there were two options: give it up for adoption or raise it. He could only imagine how it would be to raise a child with his best friend. Thinking about being a father felt weird. Could he really do it?

"Just breathe, we can figure this out," he exhaled again and held Hannah away from his torso to look her in the eye, "I won't let you go through this alone." Aspen didn't know what else to do after that. There was no way he would be able to calmly sit through any of his classes and actually learn anything.

Hannah shook her head against Aspen's chest, finding comfort in his arms. She knew he was doing his best to help her through this. But figure this out? How? It seemed so impossible. She'd never had to make decisions this big in her entire life. Especially not with someone else having a say in the matter. It made Hannah wonder. Did Aspen really have a say in any choice she made? Sure, he'd been just as at fault as she was for getting her into this mess, but it was her body. She was the one who would have to receive criticism for the next eight months from her family. She was the one who would ultimately make the decision to keep or abort the baby. With all of these factors hers, did she want to let Aspen have a say? Ultimately she knew that he would want one. He... took enough responsibility for his actions. She knew this wouldn't be any different, but she doubted either of them could raise a child together, even being as close as they were. But she was reminded when he pulled away to look her in the eye that they weren't even dating.

"We still have to tell our parents," she reminded him, fear already rising in her chest. That was going to be hell. "Maybe we should tell them together. Or not. They might blame each other... do you think we should wait to tell them? Should we go home and tell them now? Well, wait, then they'd be mad that we skipped school..." Hannah groaned, feeling slightly hysterical. "I can't do this. I can't think straight."

To make matters worse, a class was released and the Dramatics, along with what seemed like a hundred other strangers, entered the hallways. Hannah avoided their stares and sniffled away the last of the evidence that she had been crying. She knew Elise was looking at them. She didn't want to know what Aspen thought of that, or if he'd even invite her over to them. She really hoped he wouldn't. But she knew she wouldn't be so lucky that Elise wouldn't walk up and stick her nose into things. Hannah unhappily watched to see what Aspen would do about her.

'You can figure this out.' The statement ran through his mind over and over again, but somehow, the more he thought about it the harder a time he was having believing its validity. He wanted to be there for her, whatever she decided to do, he had to support her decision. Aspen made the mistake of ruining their friendship once, he was determined not to hurt it again. Still, his head felt heavy with thoughts that just wouldn't stop nagging him. Would being there for her be enough? He'd always sat down to listen to whatever was plaguing her mind in the past, but things were different now. Ultimately he was worried that their friendship would be permanently altered, she was pregnant with his child, he wondered if she'd treat him the same way she used to when they were younger. Would she hate him? In this delicate situation he didn't want to risk doing or saying anything that would upset her, it was clear she was stressed out enough.

When Hannah mentioned having to tell their parents he had to hold back a groan of his own. Just the thought of breaking the news to his parents was giving him a headache. His father, stern as he was, would undoubtedly demand that Hannah put the child up for adoption. He was always serious about his son's education, and if anything ever arose that might threaten it in any way, he would make sure that the problem was quickly taken care of. His mother was her husband's polar opposite, she would press Hannah and Aspen to get married since they had a child together. Oh, he couldn't think about that anymore. Even though his parents were sure to give him a long lecture about responsibilities and bombard him with questions, Aspen felt worse for Hannah. She was the one who would actually have to carry the baby, which would more than likely affect her school, and her parents would freak out upon hearing the news.

Aspen briefly thought about his reputation, his friends would unabashedly throw their two cent into the matter, especially Elise. She wasn't the kind of girl to ignore something like that. No, she would constantly talk about it and find some way to spread nasty rumors around the school. Speaking of the devil, Elise was headed right towards them. She looked agitated as ever and it was because Aspen was with Hannah. "Oh I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Renny I wanted to talk to you about something uber important." She didn't once look in Hannah's direction, as if she didn't exist and spoke in as dramatic a voice as ever. Aspen blinked and tried to get past the jumble in his mind to come up with an appropriate response. He couldn't just walk away from Hannah right now, but he was curious as to what Elise wanted to tell him. "Uh I have to take care of something right now, I'll talk to you later." He blurted the words out as quickly as possible and grabbed onto one of Hannah's wrist.

He couldn't deal with Elise right now and he certainly wouldn't be able to sit through another round of classes. He had a feeling Hannah wouldn't be against getting away for a while. Once they reached the school's entrance he pushed through the door and stopped at the first step. "We can skip class for now, but I think we should think before we tell our parents. None of them are gonna take it well so we need to figure out the best way to tell them." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "We should tell your parents first, but it might be better if I told mine alone. They'll freak out and I don't want them to yell at you for something I did." He was a bit more worried about his mother cornering Hannah and trying to convince her they needed to get married as soon as possible.

Hannah couldn't help but watch Aspen's expression rotate between stress, worry, and trying to calm himself. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking, what he wanted to do about the situation, and whether or not he thought their friendship would last through this... dilemma. Elise didn't help the situation, coming up to him and saying that it was important that they talk. What could be more important than this? Hannah thought. Even as Aspen said he had other matters to attend to, she couldn't help but wonder what she could have to say to him. It was more than clear that Elise had an unbridled crush on him...one that Hannah didn't much like. She wished that she had the courage to speak up and tell her to back off, and to stop treating her like she wasn't standing right next to the two.

Leading her by the wrist, Aspen took her outside of the school. Hannah didn't care to look back at Elise as they walked down the hall, she knew she was wearing that classic shocked scowl on her face. When they reached the first step of the entrance, he stopped. Hannah took a seat, her bottom on one step and her feet on the lower one. She wrapped her arms around her legs, bringing them close to her stomach. "I think that might be best," she agreed when he suggested he tell his parents alone. She'd grown to really care about his parents, they were like a second set to her. However, they loved their boy dearly, and had...extreme personalities. Hannah knew that her parents would simply regard her as another teenage statistic and tell her all about how she's ruined her life and any chance of a future. At least Aspen's parents could see through it enough to try to look for positives. His mother would, anyway.

Hannah felt her eyes grow hot again, but she looked up at the sky until the new tears faded away before falling down. She wouldn't break down and cry again. Not until she was home alone in her room. "What best way to tell them? We both know there isn't one. 'Hey, Mom, I'm with child!'" She snorted, the result of a laugh that didn't turn out so cutely. She then looked around to make sure no one was around, and thankfully they weren't. She looked down at the concrete beside her, watching a little black ant walk around in search of food. Hannah zoned out while watching it move, but her thoughts came out making sense. "I guess we could tell them different plans first. Whatever they want to hear. Whether I stay living at home or move in with you," she knew it was bold to say, but at this point she only wanted to break the news as carefully as she could. "Whether I give it up for adoption or keep it. What we're going to do as far as jobs go... stuff like that."

Knowing Hannah's parents, this would be a big surprise to them. Hannah had never done anything rebellious in her life, and all of her friends were outcasts until Aspen joined this new crowd. This wouldn't exactly be something they expected, which will only make them more upset. Looking away from the little black ant, she watched cars fly by on the busy road outside of the school's limits. "What am I supposed to tell them when I don't even know what we're doing yet? I mean I know we need jobs and a plan but what about school and..." Hannah cut herself off, realizing she was rambling. She sighed heavily, suddenly getting irritated now about Elise instead of earlier. "Why didn't you ask about what Elise wanted to tell you?" You two are so close and all...