January 5th, 2010.

Carly pushed a pillow onto her head. The neighbor's baby was screaming again, and nobody was shushing her. This was the third night this week. Carly was just about to wake up and go next door to talk to them, when the realization dawned on her.

That was Hope. Her baby.

She sighed and suddenly felt much older than ten days from sixteen as she made her way to Hope's room. Switching on the lamp beside the baby's crib, Carly yawned and picked up the little girl, patting her back and rocking her. She Hope down on top of the dresser to change her diaper. "Really, Hope, we have to stop meeting like this," she said as the baby stopped crying. "I mean, I hardly ever see you awake other than when I'm getting rid of your poopy diapers," she joked. "At least there was a sale on Huggers at Pam's Club."

Carly kissed the top of Hope's head and lay her back in her crib. Almost instantly, the baby's eyes closed and she fell back into her deep slumber. Carly leaned on the railing and smiled sadly. It had been over a year since she dated Griffin. More than twelve months since she first met him. 388 days since she took that test. She still blamed him.

As much as she really did love Hope, this was just so difficult. Sure, she got help from adult friends and family so she could finish her schooling, but becoming a teen mom was hard. Hope was a good baby, though; she hardly ever cried at night, and she spent most of her time sleeping during the day.

Spencer, Sam, and Freddie all adored Hope. They played with her whenever they could, and it was obvious she loved Freddie the most. She always smiled the most when he was around and preferred to be picked up by the boy whenever he was over at the Shays. "I thought kids hated you," Sam had pointed out.

"Mmph. This one doesn't," Freddie had replied, as Hope drooled on his shoulder.

Carly stroked her baby's back. It was painful every time she saw a bit of Griffin in her; sometimes her smile matched his, or the mischievous look they now share. He didn't really want to hang around Hope too much. He wasn't proud of being a teenage father, but Carly wasn't particularly proud of being a teenage mom, either.

The only times Griffin had visited was when Carly first came home from the maternity ward and Christmas. He brought a few presents for Carly and the baby, then split after having a short conversation with Carly.

December 22, 2009

"Look, Carly, I'm sorry, alright?" Griffin said when he and Carly were alone in the living room.

"No, Griffin, it's not alright. You know that."

Griffin sighed. "You're right. But come on, it's not like it can be that hard."

"What are you talkingabout, this can't be hard?" Carly whispered harshly, eyes wide. "I'm not even legally allowed to drive yet and I've got a baby girl, Griffin! I'm barely able to pass most of my classes in school, and that's after we had to cancel the webshow!"

Turning red, Griffin replied, "So drop out."

Carly shook her head slowly. "I cannot believe you. I cannot believe that there are actually people as fucking retarded as you are. Like it's that easy," she mocked. "Just drop out. Oh hey, I can just quit school, then I'll have to raise Hope as a single mother in a goddamn trailer park with no income! Great idea, dumbfuck!"

Griffin scoffed. "Look, I can help you."

"No. No, you can't. Did you help me when I told you I was pregnant? I was sitting on my bathroom floor bawling my eyes out when I saw that stupid pink plus sign and I didn't know what to do. I thought, 'Hey, Griffin can help me out, right?' But no, you never returned my calls or my texts or my emails, and when I saw you at the mailboxes that day you turned around and ran. And then you send me that dumbass text." Her eyes watered. "And all you could say was 'I'm sorry.' Prove to me you're sorry, Griffin. Prove to me you're sorry and I will believe you. But until then, we're only staying in contact for the sake of our baby. Do you hear me?"

Griffin nodded, taking a step back and raising his hands in self-defense. "I get it. I understand. Merry Christmas, Carly. Hope." He kissed the baby and left.

Carly collapsed into a fit of sobs.

Exhaling, Carly closed the door of Hope's pink room and ran into Spencer. "I heard her crying," he said. "I wanted to read to her." He held up a copy of Green Eggs and Ham. Carly smiled.

"She's asleep, but you can go ahead. Just don't be too loud."

Spencer smiled, giddy. Spencer and babies just seemed to make sense. He wanted to settle down and start a family, but he could never find the right girl. Hope came as a Godsend to him.

Of course, he wasn't always so accepting of the fact he was going to be an uncle, not a father, first.

August 9, 2009

Standing at the landing of the stairs, Carly cleared her throat. Spencer turned around from the television and faced his baby sister. He started to ask what was up, when he noticed the look on her face. She looked pale, nauseated, and scared. "What's wrong?" he inquired, rushing over to help her.

Carly bit her bottom lip. "I--I think we should sit."

The tall brunette nodded and helped Carly to the couch. He hadn't noticed prior, but she seemed to be a little bit bigger. Maybe it was because of the buffet they went to the day before. She rested her feet on the coffee table and sighed, avoiding his gaze as he sat on the chair beside the couch.

"What's bothering you?" Spencer asked as he rubbed Carly's forearm reassuringly.

She sighed. "You remember Griffin, right?"

"Well, yeah, the kid that stole my motor--" He paused. "Cycle." Spencer swallowed and looked closely in Carly's eyes. "Did he hurt you?"

Carly bit her lower lip and put a hand on her stomach. She looked at him, hoping she wouldn't actually have to admit it. Spencer, confused at first, shook his head and was about to ask what she meant, when something clicked. Her nausea. Sleepiness. Her weight. It all made sense now.

"You're not--he didn't--oh that bastard!" He jumped up from the couch and ran to the front door, Carly trailing behind him and sobbing.

"No, Spencer! Come back inside!" Carly pleaded, grabbing onto one of her brother's arms and using all of her strength to hold him back.

"Let go, Carly!"

"Come on, Spencer. Please."

It took a while, but he finally complied and followed Carly into the apartment. She guided him to the couch and sat beside him. Neither of them were very comfortable. "Spencer," Carly said after a while, the syllables punctuated with hiccups, "let me talk."

Spencer bit his tongue so hard he tasted iron, but he let her talk.

"So, we were dating for a few weeks, and he asked if I was a virgin. I told him--I said yeah, I was. He asked if I wanted to, you know, do it. I said no, and he respected that and didn't ask me again for another couple of weeks. Then I said okay, but only if you have protection." Carly stopped, tears trailing her cheeks. Spencer was sure he could feel his top teeth through his tongue, he was biting down that hard.

"He promised me that he did," Carly continued, her voice growing high as she struggled to hold back the floodgates. "And I believed him. So we did, and I didn't feel anything after that. Like, I didn't feel sick or anything, so I figured I was okay, and he said he was protected. Then we broke up because of those Pee-Wee Babies and stopped talking." By now she was trying her hardest to control herself. She shook with silent sobs, and Spencer had become numb from the blurring pain--both physically and mentally--as he also cried beside Carly.

"And then--and then I started skipping my period. I got suspicious, so I took a pregnancy test from Sam's mom and brought it home. It was positive, Spencer. I didn't know what to do, so I kept trying to get ahold of Griffin, and, and--" That was the breaking point. She wept. Spencer held her, rocked her, shushed her. He promised it was going to be okay.

Once she calmed down, Spencer asked it. "Are you keeping it?"

"I don't know. I really want to. I don't know why, but I really want to."

"You know we won't think any less of you if you decide you don't want to anymore."

"I know, Spencer. Everyone will already call me a whore for getting pregnant anyway," she sobbed.

"I just can't believe this is happening."

"Neither can I, Spencer."

"You know you shouldn't even be having sex, Carly. You're a kid."

"I know, Spencer!" Carly yelled, pulling herself from his arms. "I'm the one that made such a stupid mistake!"

Now as these memories flooded back into her memory, Carly tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Through her bedroom wall, she heard Spencer's comical voice read to his niece.

"I will not eat them in a box, I will not eat them with a fox, I will not eat them wearing socks..."

She closed her eyes and dreamt of green socks and baby bottles.

Thanks to SquishyCool for suggesting I elaborate more on when Carly tells Spencer. (:

Indeed, this is a continuation of my twoshot "Mostly Everything." They both coincide, and if you want more information about this story and what the heck is going on, I suggest you check it out. It's pretty short, but if you don't want to, that's cool. This will still make sense. (:

B'yeah. I wrote this first chapter in like an hour...if I need to go back and edit it, let me know and I will definitely do that.

Review?