I'd woken up early in the morning, smelling the cooking of my mother. The odor immediately made my stomach churn, so I ran to the bathroom, where it felt like my insides poured out. Probably just another stomach virus, I thought. I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where I informed my mother that I was not going to eat. The smell's closeness only made me feel worse, making me have to run to the bathroom again.

After the vomiting fit was over, I checked the calendar on my phone. Usually, I marked each time my cycle began and ended, but the entries for the past two months were not there. "Wait.." I mumbled to myself. I kept checking again and again, then remembered that I hadn't bought any "women's products" in the past two months. It couldn't be, right? "It" had been unprotected for almost a year, and nothing had occurred before. I texted my boyfriend after a few seconds of pondering.

"Babe, I'm coming over," the message read. He lived on his own, so I figured it wouldn't be much of a problem if I drove over. I grabbed the keys to my car and told my mom I was going to the park to distract myself for a bit. Of course, I'd had to lie to her many times like this. If she knew I had a boyfriend, I'd have been disowned within seconds. I ran to my car and slammed the door shut, making the 10-minute drive to my boyfriend's house.

Chase woke up when his phone went off. He groped around a bit to locate the devise with his eyes closed before achieving success. The message was from Alex- the only girl in his phone actually listed by name. However what caught him by surprise was the message was...short and totally un-Alex like in the least. The young man still hauled himself out of bed before looking at the clock.

"Another two hour day huh," the words lazily came out of Chase's mouth in commentary of how much sleep he'd gotten. With far more effort than he thought necessary, he marched into the kitchen and fetched himself a couple energy drinks. He cracked open and downed the first one near instantly while headed towards his bathroom- a quick, cold shower should have him somewhat awake by the time his most likely angry girlfriend arrived. He left the other one at the foot of his couch, Chase's way of saying he'll be right there.

Several minutes later, his ice cold rinse had finished and Chase stepped out of the bathroom still in a towel. He kept his door unlocked so Alex's warning was really unnecessary as he was used to walking out of his room to friends hanging around in his living room. He knew he'd not be able to style his hair or dress properly before Alex arrived. That simple fact resulted in Chase trudging towards his living room once more, half expecting Alex to be there. He REALLY hoped Alex was just coming by since she was in the mood...given his current situation Chase was positive he'd end up stupidly saying 'what?' if she had some kind of big news or plans like introducing him to her parents. Hell, even should he manage to not say something stupid like that, it was too early for him to really care.

I didn't now how I was feeling. A sickening feeling wouldn't fade from my stomach, and to only grew more prominent. Was this really happening? I shook my head in dismay.

I held my keys in my hand and got out of the car promptly. It was 8 AM, and I hoped I hadn't woken him. No, I'd probably woken him. He wasn't one to wake up early, after all, unless he really had to.

I stood at the door a few seconds and considered barging in, but stayed outside after some consideration. I brought my hand to the door, giving a few short knocks. I didn't know how I'd react to him opening the door, but knew I had to talk to him about it. He was my last hope, after all.

Huh, knocking...weird. A wry expression formed on Chase's face nearly the moment he had finished the thought. He took long strides towards the door, the knocker could deal with him wearing only a towel. He even considered stopping for his other energy drink or even just lazily responding with 'it's open' like he always did.

A frown subconsciously formed on Chase's face, things weren't adding up. The sudden and overly brief text was one thing but someone simply knocking at his door within this exact time frame could only be Alex. Naturally Alex knew about his tendency to not lock his own door. If she was knocking, then the coming conversation would be serious and in all likelihood an unpleasant one. Still he wasn't the man who could dodge a problem and be fine with it.

His hand finally reached the door knob, but it felt so...stiff and heavy. For a second Chase wondered if the door was always like that. But he instantly shook his head and lightly chuckled. He was scared, Chase Michaels was scared of whatever brought his own girlfriend to his door in the early morning. He took a deep breath before wrenching the door open but before his eyes could register the view, instinct took over. Chase found himself already reaching for the girl's shoulders to usher her inside...and this time he'd make sure to lock the door.

"You're paler than Zeb during show nights. Go sit down and I'll get you something to drink- nothing strong. After you've gotten some fluids in you and maybe some food we'll talk. If you're feeling anything like him, I know just the trick and it'll sound stupid. But I guarantee it works."

One thing Chase learned from late night shows and the hassle that come with them is how to handle nausea and settle a stomach enough to eat. Due to that he always made sure to have an ample supply of water, lemonade, watermelon, ginger, and salty potato chips in his kitchen. With the exception of the chips, all of it helped with nausea, the chips really only helped settle the stomach so it could handle real food. If he had to guess, probably due to the salt and starch.

"Hey," was all I managed to say. I smiled slightly at his consideration and took a seat at the table. Being near him was relaxing, maybe because he wasn't as panicked as I was. I felt like my heart could jump out of my chest at any moment, but it slowly eased itself back to normal.

I sat patiently waiting. I needed to find a way to bring it up, but knew he wouldn't allow me until he was sure I'd eaten something. Naturally, I became uneasy due to the fact that I didn't know if I could keep anything down. I hoped so; I didn't want to make an even bigger fuss.

Chase moved around in the kitchen and I watched curiously. I'd seen him in the kitchen before, but it seemed oddly comforting to see a familiar sight this time. Not many noises were being made, but thudding of the cabinets slowly became agitating. It would stop soon anyway.

I sighed as I brought myself back to the important subject at hand. I was afraid of what his reaction would be. Would he scream at me? Would he be supportive? I'd heard many stories of that nature, and they usually didn't end well..

"Alright Alex, you're about to experience Zeb's pre-show diet." Chase threw a lazy wink as he finished gathering the edibles in question. He'd deliberately taken longer than necessary so an actual meal could be followed up after the staging was finished. First he put a rather sizable glass of water in front of the seated girl.

"Sip that down slowly and when you're done," at that point Chase put the lemonade behind the water. "Follow with this, once more just sip it down. It's nothing special, just water and lemonade to get your stomach used to getting something in it." With near deliberate showmanship, he flipped a container of crushed ginger onto the table as well.

"If you even think that something isn't going to stay down, start smelling the ginger. Though in Zeb's case we just rub on his nose and mouth like a mustache." Chase shrugged as he included the last tidbit of information.

"Provided we can get you through the liquids, I'll put you through the second half to see how well you can handle solid food. Don't rush by the way, the main patient usually takes nearly forty minutes before he's ready for real food." Chase set himself into a half-lean half-sitting position on the counter. After all if this was something important, he wasn't going to just selfishly go about getting dressed. From his point of view it'd look like he was trying to dodge her after telling her to take it slow.

I sighed as he went through his presentation. It wasn't bad. It was quite amusing, in fact. I stared at the items that he'd please before me. "Chase," I groaned. It seemed like it'd take forever to get through this. Oh well, it wasn't like I was in much of a hurry anyway.

I started with the water, sipping it slowly. My main focus was focusing on not drinking too fast, and momentarily ignored mostly-naked Chase. Once I'd gotten to starting with the second drink, I was sure I could at least keep down simple liquids. Halfway through the drink, I pointed out his lack of clothes. "Hey, you're hot and all, but why aren't you dressed?"

The drinks were now gone, and I leaned my face on my hands. I was almost sure if be able to pull through "round two" as long as it didn't involve heavy seasoning or wasn't too much food. I was willing to pull through with his plan, and it seemed to be working so far.

Chase flashed a mischievous grin towards the seemingly impatient Alex, "relax this part's the easier one." He advanced towards his fridge while making his reassurance and took out a container of pre-diced water melon.

"Have about three or four cuts of this, just so we can see that you candle soft solids." Then to finish he grabbed a bag of potato chips- salted but otherwise unseasoned. "Those are the final stage, and the salt will help balance out all the fluids too. If you can manage that, you're free to eat anything." However rather than get dressed and thus remove the issue of himself being near naked he sat across the table from his guest.

"In regards to not being dressed, I can give you the truth- which would be rather boring. Or I can lie but at least give you a slightly better story than simply admitting I barely got out of the shower before my girlfriend got here." Finishing the statement he put a finger to his lips to signal silence. Though anyone who knew him would recognize the grin on his face indicated he was far from serious.

"You've heard of her right? She keeps her hair just like yours, come to think of it yours eyes are the same too and she's this tall." Chase held his hand out at Alex's height before standing up. "Truth be told I don't think she'd want me naked in the kitchen with another woman." He finished his sentence with a wink before standing up.

"I'll go get dressed. Plenty of stuff already made in the fridge if you're still hungry, and able to hold everything down. The Chinese food is extra spicy so I got dibs on that." Chase rose from his chair after reserving what he wanted and left for his room. While sitting he'd deliberately loosened the towel. His teasing way of stating his right to nudity in his own home. He quickly threw on a set of boxers and jeans before rejoining Alex.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" The question was more for conversation than genuine concern at this point. If she had put up with his nonsense up to this point obviously Alex was fine. Worst case scenario she'd gotten a cold or finally argued with her parents over something and wasn't taking it well. In Chase's book, everything was right in the world again.

I watched him search his refrigerator and find the pieces of diced fruit. Watermelon had always been one of my favorite fruits, so I was rather keen of this part.

I took one piece at a time and placed them in my mouth, chewing slowly, as I was not a fan of regurgitating food. The watermelon stayed down, and I somehow wondered how he managed to know how to handle nausea. The final stage seemed risky, as the salt on the potato chips could either serve to absorb liquid or be an irritant. I took a deep breath and tried the potato chips. They weren't exactly as gentle on my stomach as the rest of the foods, but I was glad I could keep the "stages" down.

His story was silly enough to make me giggle. Of course, I knew he was trying to be funny, and succeeded. I playfully smacked his arm. "You bet she wouldn't," I joked lightly before getting back to my previous mood of anxiety.

I left the food, as I wasn't particularly hungry and not sure I could handle anything in his fridge anyway. I watched him as he came back and stood up, trying to be as composed as I possibly could. I was afraid, nervous, but I was more scared than anything. I took a deep breath. "Chase...I've missed two periods...I think I might be....pregnant. I still need to take a pregnancy test, but wanted to come to you before I did anything..." I looked down at my hands nervously.

At Alex's proclamation, Chase froze. It wasn't nerves or anything good like that, his body and mind simply stopped right in place. In fact, little did the young man know but his face locked into a half question, half clueless state. Time ticked by, and maybe a minute passed until Chase finally regained a numbed form of recognition.

"......Oh so that's all," despite his casual choice of words his voice came out in monotone. His face adopted a more neutral expression at the new too. This was his form of panic, complete emotional shut down- a habit from the house he grew up in. The unnaturally clarity of thought in this situation did bring one thing to Chase's mind. His father had given him one piece of advise when he moved out...apparently the old man had behaved in a manner similar to Chase back in the day. Oddly enough, it was perhaps the only bit of advise he'd ever taken from his father.

"Bathroom, cabinet by the door at the bottom left. They should still be good, I tend to buy a new set when I'm utterly plastered." That same flat voice exited his lips a second time. He forced himself to swallow and coaxed a sense of emotion into his voice so he could speak again. His heart felt like it was beating five times faster than normal. Oddly, he found himself approaching Alex before engulfing her into his arms. He didn't know who he was trying to comfort, but this smaller world felt safer.

"Until we get a clear yes or no, there's nothing to worry about," subconsciously his left hand was tracing the back it was resting against. Chase hoped he didn't sound like he was convincing himself...after all he did worry. He hadn't even planned past regular dating...much less a child. However, he did know what it was like growing up alone...and it wasn't something he'd wish upon someone else.

Despite the fact that his reaction was casual, I knew what hid behind it. He was the type that shut down on the outside, showing no emotions through his face or voice. This only made me panic further, because I knew he was panicking as well.

As he pulled me into his embrace, I felt his heart thudding against my ear. It was racing, and almost matched the pace of mine. I squeezed him as I returned the embrace, trying to be of comfort.

I pulled away and walked to the bathroom without looking back at Chase. Looking at him now just made me feel twice as uneasy. I closed the door behind me, taking one of the tests and using it. Afterwards, I washed my hands and covered it, setting it down and waiting for the reaction to occur.

I walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of him. I didn't know what to say anymore, so I took his hand and stood there with him. There was no point in standing there until the 5 minutes had passed, it'd just make the time go by a lot slower.

Chase knew he was being lame when Alex hugged him back, it meant he was the one being supported. In his book, he should be the one being leaned on here since at least from an anatomical stand point he had it easy. The thought actually did create a true smile on his face despite its lack of humor.

The warmth of another hand on his was his invitation back to reality. One that he accepted with his usual stride and a gentle squeeze of his hand.

"I just remembered, apparently I have this thing called a couch," Chase found his usual flirtatious attitude had returned full force. His heart rate had begun to slow again as well. "Now correct me if I'm wrong," Chase deliberately skipped his usual innuendo of 'screw me if I'm wrong'. He might have his moments of being tactlessness, but this wasn't going to be once of them.

"But it seems to me that all the shows we kids watch portray the couch as one of the best places for this kind of heavy exchange." He'd attempted to use the action of talking disguise his attempt to lead Alex towards the couch... and in his lap. He'd long since developed a preference to having his body in contact with a woman's when possible given his love of cuddling. If anything, this was his most 'normal' action of the day at this point.

"So gorgeous, to without looking at the strip. What's going on in your head right now?" Chase didn't even have to pretend interest at this point. Her thoughts and plan would essentially form the base of how he'd respond to the situation. In truth, the fact he'd begun to 'pet' Alex after gorgeous was mostly to give him an excuse to look at her closely...and not in a sexual way.

His complete change of attitude was surprising. I wondered how he was capable of doing so that quickly, as I found it almost impossible to do. It was relieving, though.

I'd followed him onto the couch, listening to his strange rambling about it...again. The silliness of his little show made me smile dryly, knowing that he just wanted to cuddle, which I was perfectly okay with given the sense of normalcy in the action. It probably would've made me laugh if the situation weren't so suffocating.

I frowned as he asked about what was going through my head. So many things were going on at once in my mind. I could tell by simply my body that I was pregnant, and the strip was just going to make it certain for me....an him. I also knew that my parents wouldn't be happy to find out...in fact, they'd kick me out.

I shook my head. "I know that either way this goes, I can't stay with my parents anymore," I sighed. There was the fact that I had a boyfriend whom I visited for several hours at a time every so often, then there was the fact that if the strip showed positive, I'd have to leave anyway.

"I'll get a job and still continue school. I'd need to get a certification of some sort if I actually want to work somewhere besides McDonald's." I knew I had to come up with a plan, and I felt as if some part of me had been destroyed. I felt alone in some ways.

Alex's answer covered several questions that Chase had already formed in his mind. His internally sighed, after all this mess was essentially his fault to begin with. Since Alex seemed ready to take the plunge the least he could do is dive first...even if he REALLY would have preferred an easier solution.

"Feel free to crash here, at the very least it'll give me some peace of mind. In this day in age finishing high school can be done virtually if you want to avoid that mess- I should know I helped design a couple sites. Even college is possible in the same manner so that's nothing too serious." Considering the nature of the conversation Chase decided to continue under the assumption the test was positive.

"Truth be told, neither of us are ready for this but at the very least I can at least keep you comfortable on my end." Chase simply shrugged at the notion of Alex's parents ditching her since his had long since done the same. At the time the biggest trouble he had in regards to this affair was his band...he'd probably had to give it up. It wouldn't be unexpected for him to have to sell his guitar and relevant equipment too- unless of course he could magically make it big before Alex got too round.

Then of course came work, he already worked two jobs on top of being in a band anyways. One of his jobs required his computer so he might have to but heads with Alex for its use. However, as the girl pointed out... even a simple High school degree wouldn't mean much in most fields. He'd have to take classes to- unless he wanted to be a plumber or try to cheat through some management system while hoping they don't check too closely for a college degree.

"Besides, if push comes to shove I'll contact my family." Truth be told, just making that comment sickened Chase. He'd even made a point to not discuss family with Alex before, but to put her at ease he was willing to at least pretend to make the concession.

I shook my head. "You don't have to force anything, and I won't make you do anything you don't wish to do," I whispered just loud enough for him to hear. I leaned closer to him and gave him a brief peck on the cheek, though I knew it wasn't fitting a the moment, but wanted to assure him that I wasn't going to make him uncomfortable by allowing him to do things he didn't desire to do. I began to plan out my possible moves soon after he'd finished speaking. Before rambling on about more possibilities, I stood and pulled Chase up with me, I thought it'd be best to let him see the strip as well.

I firmly squeezed his hand quickly before pulling him along to the bathroom. My heart raced, and I stopped at the door. Sure, what was going to happen would occur either way, but still, I couldn't wrap my head around the situation quite yet. Hesitantly, I stepped in and looked at the thing that would determine the next years of my life, and perhaps his.

Lines. Double blue lines.

I let my hand drop to my side and walked out, not bothering to look at him. The proof was there before him, so there wouldn't be any denying of the fact that I, indeed, was carrying his child. Neither of us were ready, I knew that much, and feared that the child wouldn't be able to live a good life with two teenagers. There was no turning back now, and I knew that I'd never be able to commit murder this far along, because taking the life of one who has no will is murder.

I leaned against the wall in the living room and sighed. The result wasn't something that I hadn't mentally prepared for. The consequences of mistakes like ours would now have to be faced.

(OOC: drama aside, I'm using my own family as the baseline for Chase's...hope you don't mind.)

Chase had never read the box to understand exactly how the strip worked,but Alex's reaction was more than enough to say there was no hope otherwise. If that was the case, Chase knew he had to prepare for the worst...like it or not that was the weight of responsibility.

"Babe I'll make things a bit clearer: were I not willing to do this with you, I'd have already left you hanging." He knew the words would be easy to say now. After all this was just the beginning, the real test would begin when the due date came around. If it came down to money, he'd rather not have to rely on his family. After all on either side of the family, money wasn't an issue...it was the family that came with it. In and of themselves, the Michaels (his father's side) were like rabid wolves in that they were always and blatantly after each others throats when left to themselves. His mother's side, Summers were comparable to serpents- cold,calculating yet strangely civil and arrogant in appearance.

"Realistically speaking, provided it's only one child I think we might be able to manage." Chase muttered the thought to himself, but given the circumstances it couldn't be helped if Alex heard it. Regardless of his will, Chase felt his body shaking. Acting and self deception aside he was scared...he wanted to run. However he'd never forgive himself for not stepping up on this one.

"Soon as you're ready...tell your parents. I don't care how they take the news, but you come here afterwards. I've got the next couple days off at the restaurant, but I've got a go live by the end of the week. I'll be up all night anyways so just come over...I don't even care if you don't get around to it this week." A warm liquid made its way down his face, for the first time in years Chase was shedding tears. He didn't know why, for that matter he didn't care. But he did know there was no way in hell he was letting Alex try going alone on this one.

(OOC: It's okay. ^^)

I wondered how long I'd be able to hide it if I were to stay with my mother. It wouldn't be much longer before she started "showing". If my calculations were correct, I was 11 weeks along, so that would mean another month, or maybe two, max. Even with my loose-fitting clothing, I'd never be able to hide it past two months, it'd be too obvious by then that I was purposely avoiding wearing any of my tighter clothes at home, where the only ones there were my family members.

I juggled some possibilities in my mind and decided it'd be best to go home and get a chance to pack some things before telling my parents. "I think it's be best for me to stay home for a few days and act like nothing is wrong while putting my things away slowly enough for them not to notice. I will enroll in the alternate school that is affiliated with the high school I attend. That way I can complete my high school courses within my own time frame. I'm sure if I work diligently enough, I'll be able to finish within the next few months," I said, then paused for a bit.

"There's also a job offering my friend showed me. Her aunt is the owner of a restaurant and is in need of waitresses. Their pay is decent, I guess, ten dollars an hour is better than minimum wage, and I'd also get tips, and there's also my savings up until now..." I sighed. My plan seemed okay, but I wasn't allowing much space for any mishaps. I'd just have to work with what I was able to do.

I finally turned to look at Chase. Was he crying? "I'm sorry," I muttered before walking over to him and hugging him with a firm grip. Though it was both of our mess, I felt guilty for having to do this to him. From my point of view, he seemed okay with his lifestyle, and I knew he hadn't been ready for a child. Where this would go, I didn't know, but I at least wanted to make sure I tried my best for all three of us.

"Heh that's my girl," Chase voiced his genuine thoughts at this point,"she's definitely the smart one." Alex's hug caught him in a grip he never saw coming, oddly enough he never learned her small size hid a bit of strength. This leveled Chase out enough to remember his lack of knowledge about the all important strip from before.

"Stupid question, but does the double line mean twins or multiples? I sort of imagined the thing would be red for no and blue for yes, but there were two lines. It might just be me, but the idea of you with the super belly is somewhere between cute and funny with your size." Chase used his freed hands to pantomime his imagined (and naturally inaccurate) dimensions around Alex. The man himself wondered how he could get such a ridiculous thought at the current time, but deep down he was somewhat glad of his mood change.

"Also I'm going to say sorry right now, I'm not even going to attempt guessing how many times you'll find my hands on you after you move in. Nor can I make it a promise, but I'll try to keep things at least PG until you've settled in." A wry but apologetic smile formed on Chase's face during that comment, he knew it was blatantly inappropriate.

"Maturity aside, I mean it when I say that I've got your back in every sense of the word. So feel free to ease up and rely on me a little. After all, it's my fault you're going to be a mom- so it's best I learn to be a dad to decrease the kid count by one before you're ready to pop."

(sorry connection failure resulted in a double post)

I looked up at him, dumbstruck by his comment. "That's a positive test strip, we don't really know 'how many' I'm having until I have an ultrasound done, though having multiple children is more rare than you probably think," I explained.

I watched him horribly mess up the dimensions of the body of a woman that was pregnant with multiple children. "I'd be frightened if I were that size, plus, I seriously doubt my back would be able to take very many little ones inside me," I mentioned seriously. I couldn't imagine carrying any more than 2, and it seemed we couldn't afford to have any more than 1. I really hoped it was just one child.

"Hmm....I guess I'll have to put you on a leash. But, there is also the question of me being able to stay off of YOU," I joked lightly. I bit my lower lip. There wasn't much to be done about the situation at the moment, so I thought I'd might as well go along with the mood change, but before stopping it entirely, I added "thanks. But don't mature too much, I don't want my Chase to be unfamiliar to me," I said with strange seriousness. I couldn't imagine getting along with a Chase that was...un-Chase like.

I looked down at my abdomen. I was afraid that this child wouldn't be able to have the things other kids had, that they probably wouldn't be very happy with two teenagers as parents. I already imagined myself losing plenty of sleep when the little one arrived, and wasn't really looking forward to it. The one thing I did know was that I would love and care for the baby to the best of my ability. No child should have to suffer because his/her parents weren't ready for a child. But for now, I focused on the health of the growing fetus. "I think I should go out and buy some vitamins or something and set up an appointment with the doctor for an ultrasound," I mumbled.

Chase ended up blinking rather stupidly when Alex gave the explanation in regards to how to read a pregnancy strip. It sounded a little...lame from his point of view. At the very least he thought the red or blue option was better than using multiple lines.

"Wouldn't be surprised if my perception's off in kid count, I come from big family." Chase simply shrugged off the rest of Alex's corrections, part of his own selfishness really. He did however put on the face that usually came with him daring Alex to do something. Pregnant or not, he intended to fully enjoy living with his girlfriend. But he caught one line of mumbled words that really made him laugh.

"Alex, sometimes I wonder if you've never bothered looking through my stuff. I work two jobs and play in a band, I dare you to find a vitamin I don't already have in the medicine cabinet." He debated mentioning that he and the band had recently made an album and sent it in, but figured today should be her day. Besides, he'd told everyone to just send him a text of the result anyways. The tendency to party with the banned had dropped a bit since he'd hooked up with Alex.

"If we're making appointments today, I guess I'll finally put on a shirt." Chase couldn't help but playfully stick out his tongue and accentuate the piercing while stepping back. When he got into his room, he threw on a white V-neck and a fashionable leather jacket. Normally he'd just head out at this point, but after a moments hesitation he drew a necklace and ring from his night stand. He didn't put either on, instead he placed them in a jacket pocket before zipping said pocket closed. From there he exited the bedroom once more.

"Need to go anywhere besides the doctors?"

I thought about it for a second and responded, "no, I think that's it." The fact that he appeared to be going with me was a pleasant surprise. He didn't seem like the type to do these kinds of things.

"Pregnancy tests aren't as advanced as most people wish they were, but I guess they serve enough of a purpose. I'm guessing doctors don't want to be replaced that easily, after all," I mentioned thoughtfully. I blinked a few times as soon as I said that and realized that I was tired, which was unusual. Trying to wake myself up again, I stretched slightly.

My phone was still in my pocket, so I pulled it out and called the doctor's office. Making appointments didn't really take long, since that particular place was relatively empty due to the fact that it wasn't widely known. My mother had worked there once, but quit because she didn't like being idle for very long. It's something that seemed slightly more annoying as I grew out of my elementary school years: she always wanted to follow me everywhere, which was not okay after age 10.

"So, what's been going on with your band lately?" I asked, partially curious because he hadn't really said much about it lately, and partially because I was trying to make conversation to keep my mind occupied. Keeping my mind engaged usually worked when fighting off lethargy.

"Doctor's aside, it might just be their method sucks. As for the band, nothing much really," Chase did his usual pause before actually giving his explanation.

"Taylor and Chris finally hooked up for the hot guitar- base power couple. Though Chris and I still bromance it up...just so she's aware of things." Chris was one of his oldest friends, so the extent of their bromance sometimes lead to questions that they were more than willing to play along with. "Still haven't figured out how to break it Chris that I've been cheating on him," naturally Chase was only saying that for dramatics...Chris knew about him and Alex, unlike Taylor (guy's secret).

"Logan's been on a killer song writing spree and got us to make and send in a record- the guys'll shoot me a text when we hear from them. Meanwhile Zeb, scrawny dude on the drums, has made it perfectly clear that he's done...can't handle the stage fright anymore. So Logan called in his friend Zack; huge guy and he's wicked good, for the recording in hopes of breaking our recent deadlock." Chase had fetched his own keys while giving the not-so-little recent update.

"How's school on your end? Also, I'll drive since I've thought of a new stop-just a five minute errand really."

I listened to his band story and idly wandered behind him as he mentioned leaving. "Wow. I guess he's cheating on you too," I added with a giggle, "now you two are even." I'd gotten used to the things he'd told me about his band. Each member had a distinct personality, but they all seemed to get along well.

"I hope it goes well with the record. It could be a huge hit," I said confidently. I was always supportive of his band, not because he was my boyfriend and I was obligated to, but because I honestly thought they were good and had potential to make it big. Their members always stuck together as much as possible, and they seemed almost like siblings by how close they were.

"Let's see....school. More drama, as you can expect from girls. Ronnie broke up with her boyfriend, Derek, then Christie tried to get together with him. Nothing too interesting, just mess." "I made the A honor roll again," I added proudly. I'd always made the honor roll, even in Pre-K. The only difference was that now it was slightly harder to do.

I followed him to his car, wondering what his errand was.

"Just saying, though...I got the better catch," Chase unlocked his doors with the proclamation. "Personalities aside, Chris only scored a busty guitarist- I'd say honor student wins. Though at least the two of them are of age, pretty sure there'd be a field day if they found us out with my being a minor and all...regardless of emancipated status." Chase always made sure to talk rather carefully when Taylor was involved. First of all she was like his big sister, and secondly he NEARLY had a thing with her...though in fairness neither of them were sober at the time. In truth he thought she and Chris were perfect for each other.

As usual, Chase didn't buckle his seat belt before starting the car... he usually didn't bother at all. His usual habit was to do so after he'd gotten the car moving. " After all I never made the honor roll;so which one's Ronnie? I think you've mentioned her and Christie before but I can never tell them apart." Sure enough, right as he got the car on the road he finally put on the seat belt.

"Since you've got so much faith in us then you can read the message when it arrives, where are we going again?" Chase was specifically asking for directions or at least the location Alex intended to go. Depending on where they ended up, and whether she wanted him to come with or not he'd just handle his little errand himself. After all even he locked the door when leaving his place... considering his open invitation to her, he should at least get Alex her own key.