"Negative"

/Waitress/

Chloe Saunders/Derek Souza

Chloe chewed her lip until she tasted blood as she stared worriedly at the pregnancy test kit.

"Chloe, time to pee on a stick," Rae informed, her dark eyes narrowed at the blonde. On the counter beside her, Liz swung her legs back and forth happily.

"I don't wanna know," the blond insisted, trying hard to ignore the sweat gathering under her armpits as she crossed her arms tightly. She still couldn't believe things had come down to, well, this. The box marked "Pregnancy Test" mocked her stupid decision. Clenching her jaw, she pushed past Rae, who caught her arm.

"Come on, honey, you've waited long enough," Rae said flatly, pushing Chloe backwards.

Liz hopped off the counter and crowded close.

Rae and the tall blonde shared a look. "Get to it and do it," they stated.

Chloe frowned at them. "Okay, girls, enough!" she yelled, glowering at them with her hands on her hips. Her stomach was in knots at the mere thought of being pregnant; she knew she wanted kids...eventually...but she wasn't sure how Derek would react. He didn't even like her, much less love her; she wasn't stupid. She knew she wasn't a catch—not bust, curvy, or even decently tall—and she still looked like she belonged in middle school.

"You know what we mean," Rae and Liz said in unison as Rae reached for the box. Liz wrapped an arm around Chloe, holding her tenderly.

With a smile, the tall blonde offered, "I hope you drank enough this morning."

Rae turned and shook the box at Chloe. "Come on, sweetie, it's better to know. We'll be right here with you, so..." She smiled at Chloe, offering the box.

Chloe took it gingerly, like it would blow up any minute. The disgruntled look on her face didn't help things.

"It's nor or it's yes, but either way you gotta take this test," Liz cooed.

The brunette nodded solemnly, wrapping both arms around all of them. Chloe was squished between Rae's bulging chest and Liz's hard stomach. "A squat and a squeeze. A prayer and a please. It's nothing." Her teeth shone bright against her bronze skin.

"A stick and a line," Liz said, resuming her position on the counter. Her long hair gleamed in the light as she swung her feet again.

Chloe swallowed hard. "Just one of 'em, if I'm lucky," she muttered, scowling at the box in her hands. She really didn't want to know; what if Derek thought she did it on purpose? What if her aunt found out?

"A pot and a piss. Here we go, sis! We'll keep our focus on the—" Rae and Liz shared a look. Chloe breathed deep.

"—The negative!" they blurted together.

Rae took the box from Chloe's trembling hands as she pressed a test into the blonde's sweaty palm and pushed her towards the door. As the stall door swung shut, the copper-skinned girl said to Liz, "read the instructions."

Liz began in Spanish and Rae clarified, half-amused, half-exasperated, "In English." Liz turned pink around the edges of her hair and squinted to read.

She beamed suddenly. "Do not insert test stick into your vagina." She looked very proud of herself, and then realization dawned in her gray eyes. Her smile dimmed and she looked back down, as though she couldn't believe she'd said that.

Rae snorted. "Wow, thank you, Liz."

Chloe moaned as she sat on the lid of the toilet and stared at the wrapped pregnancy test disbelievingly. "How'd I ever get myself in this mess? One drunk night and that stupid red dress!" she groaned as she lifted her skirt, unwrapped the test, and peed on it. She set on some toilet paper as she redressed.

Liz hopped off the counter and sound in circles. "Oh, I love that red dress! The way it sparkles, it looks like a skating outfit," she hummed.

Rae shoved her. "Ugh! Stay with us, Liz."

The blonde turned to Chloe's stall. "Maybe his machinery's broken somehow?" she suggested absently, chewing on a hangnail. "What if his boy don't swim? I mean, wow! Miraculous luck." She laughed nervously.

The brunette smiled, but it was strained. "Yeah, miraculous. To get away with an unprotected f—"

Chloe, slightly panicked, squeaked, "Funny how one night can ruin your whole life." She poked her head out of the stall to see Rae and Liz standing side by side.

They both scowled at her and it reminded her of Derek. "Don't go there yet! We don't know what the test says."

"I'm already panicked!" Chloe squawked.

The brunette rushed forward and gripped her friend tightly by the arms. "Just calm down, goddamn it!"

Chloe pulled away and strode to the sink. As she ran her hands under the tap and splashed her face, she murmured, "Maybe it'll all be fine."

"Maybe there'll be just one line," Liz and Rae said helpfully from behind her.

They all looked at each and breathed, "Come on negative!"

Liz turned to the other blonde, a confused look on her face. "I thought you don't sleep much with your husband anymore," she admitted.

"We-ell, I—he got me drunk. I do stupid things when I'm drunk—like sleep with my husband," she grumbled.

Rae patted her back gently. "Honey, we've all made that mistake." Her smile did nothing to calm Chloe's frantic nerves.

"Focus on the negative!" they cheered weakly.

"This will all be alright," Rae murmured.

Liz finger-combed her hair. "It was only one night," she explained.

Chloe fell to her butt then. "Someone send me a sign!" she begged.

Rae and Liz stood over her. "One line."

"One line," Chloe added as they repeated it.

A loud buzz made the blonde jerk to her feet.

The black girl and tall blonde shared similar terrified looks. "That means the test is ready...this is it!"

Chloe stepped into the stall, picked up the test carefully, and stepped back out lightly. Her stomach was in uproar. When Rae or Liz didn't say anything, she peeked down.

Two lines.

"Shit."