So I know this is probably really wrong, for me to start posting a new story when I have two going now I can barely keep up with. Honestly, I've had this idea for a few months now and I kept playing with it in my head and thinking about what I can do with this. So whenever I had an idea I just...well, started adding to the story. I've got a total of 21 chapter written as of this posting, but that doesn't mean I'm going to post everything all at once. I don't know how long this story's gonna be. It is based off of the reality series 16 and Pregnant - for those of you who've seen the show, think of the italics at the beginning of each chapter kind of Taylor's narrative. This isn't meant to be an accurate story about teen pregnancy or a pregnancy itself, so especially when it comes to talking about what goes on during the pregnancy or what can happen, I will screw some things up. But I want this story to focus on the emotion and development of Chad and Taylor's relationship. I won't keep blabbing on and hold you off on reading this any longer, so I will shut up until the end of this chapter and I hope you enjoy. :)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own High School Musical. ...And for that matter, I don't own 16 and Pregnant either.

Chapter One

Hi, my name's Taylor. I'm sixteen and from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm keeping this log to document the biggest change in my life. I want to look back on this experience and remember that no matter what I'm going through, this will always be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. So let me start by telling you a little about myself. I'm currently finishing my junior year of high school and I've got a lot on my plate. I'm president of the Chemistry Club, head of the Scholastic Decathlon team and maintain straight A's. I've got big plans for next year, too. I'm going to run for senior class president. That's only my first step to becoming a politician. My dream is to attend Yale University and become president. But I still have to finish high school first. My family isn't too supportive of my dreams, though. My mother passed away when I was young so it's just my dad and me. He and I don't get along so I try to stay out of the house as much as possible. That's why I'm always with my boyfriend Chad. We may be attached at the hip now, but no one ever suspected us getting together because he's a jock and I'm a nerd. Luckily I get along great with Chad's family. He lives with his mom, older brother and younger sister so they always make room for me to spend a night. But they're going to have to make room for one more because I'm pregnant.

Two weeks. That's how long it's been since Taylor found out she was pregnant. But to her it felt more like one long day. Every time she glanced at the clock to see what time it was she didn't see the hour hand move, only the minute hand. She found herself uneasy, nauseous, and unable to sleep. Taylor couldn't even focus on school like she normally did. She skipped Chemistry Club and Scholastic Decathlon meetings, and now she was even having second thoughts about running for class president next year. She tried to concentrate on all her schoolwork, hoping that if she put her mind to it hard enough then she could stop thinking for five minutes about her being pregnant and it would go away.

But it wasn't going away. It was there to stay. For roughly two months Taylor woke up every morning sick. It didn't even hit her until she confided in her best friend Gabriella. But not even she thought Taylor could be pregnant; Gabriella initially thought it was a stomach virus or something. Taylor was sure she could recall Gabriella's exact words:

"Well, it must be the flu because there's no way you're pregnant."

It couldn't have been a more awkward moment between the girls. Yet in the end Taylor was relieved she had her best friend by her side. She was grateful she avoided her dad so much at home and she wasn't ready to tell Chad. If Taylor had to go through this alone until one of them found out then she would probably lose her mind. It was still a shock to Gabriella but she remained supportive nonetheless. It was a combination of concern and excitement; anyone would be worried that their best friend was going to bee a teen mom but there were so many times where they daydreamed about having families and raising kids. But the mixed emotions never stepped it from being a main topic of conversation.

"So what was your reaction?"

Taylor looked up from her homework. The girls were sitting across from each other on Gabriella's bed with textbooks and paper scattered across the sheets. It may have been a typical scene for them, but the fact that Gabriella kept bringing up the pregnancy made Taylor less and less comfortable.

"Gabriella can we please not talk about it?" she asked.

"You can't just keep pretending like it isn't here, Taylor," Gabriella responded.

"I can sure try," she muttered. Taylor looked down at her paper once again and attempted to figure out the answer to a math equation. She wrote down one thing, and then angrily scribbled it away with the eraser. Upon trying to answer it again, the reaction was the same. Gabriella raised an eyebrow and looked over her friend's shoulder. Taylor had been writing the same thing over and over again and erasing it over and over again.

"Uh, Taylor," Gabriella said, "I don't think b plus the square root of 4x times -6y over 12z equals baby."

One moment of silence and not only did Taylor drop her pencil as fast as she could, but she also crumbled up her paper and threw it on the ground. Gabriella reached out to her friend but Taylor yanked away and got off the bed. She stormed to the other side of the room and plopped herself onto the couch. She sat facing the wall, her back towards Gabriella, and her arms folded tightly across her chest. There was barely any hesitance before Gabriella followed her friend and sat next to her.

"You know you're going to have to talk about it some time," she said softly. Gabriella placed her hand on Taylor's shoulder but Taylor once again jerked away.

"I don't want to," she mumbled.

Gabriella sighed. "This is going to keep affecting you negatively if you don't talk about it. You can't keep things bottled up inside. This baby's coming whether you like it or not."

Taylor shook her head, "You just don't get it do you Gabs?"

"Then talk to me about it," she nearly begged.

"What does it matter? Until you go through this you're not going to understand," Taylor argued. "I'm having a baby at sixteen, Gabriella! I can't do that! I don't have a job, a high school degree…. It's nearly impossible to finish high school let alone college with a baby! How can I support a baby when I can't even support myself?"

"So what do you expect to do, get rid of it?" Gabriella gasped.

"I don't know, maybe," Taylor blurt out, not even thinking.

Gabriella's face fell. "Taylor how could you even think about that? Every child deserves a chance at life, why is this one any different?"

"Because it's my child, my body. I have a say in what I do," she answered.

"Just because you can get rid of something doesn't mean it'll go away. It means you'll have to live with that decision for the rest of your life," Gabriella said.

"And I'm not going to have a life if I have it," Taylor retorted. "My life will be all about the baby; I'm not ready for it."

"No one ever is, no matter how prepared or not they are but do you think that stops people from raising their babies?" Gabriella questioned. "People struggle with their kids every day but they live their lives. They do it to make a better life for the babies and for themselves. Don't you see, Taylor? Maybe this a sign."

"A sign that I have to drastically change me life?" she questioned. "Gabriella, all I've ever dreamed about is going into politics. I've seen how politicians run the country and how many of them have screwed up? I want to show the world that there can be at least one politician they trust and that can make the right decisions. That's me, Gabriella. It's all I've thought about my entire life!"

"But haven't you ever thought about kids? About having a family?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. She'd be lying if she said she never once thought about having a family. She imagined having children, raising them with a husband and living in a nice house. But when she compared that to the world of politics, it was impossible. If she were to become a politician then there'd be no time for families or kids. Work would be her life. Taylor wouldn't be able to spend quality time with her children or watch them grow up or even get to know them because she'd be too busy running a stupid country. And even if she had kids after she retired it'd be too late by then; how would she even know if she'd want kids when she's forty or fifty years old?

Taylor blinked, trying to conjure up a believable answer. When she found herself unable to she merely shook her head. "What are you saying?"

"Just that peoples' dreams change all the time. Sometimes in ways they'd never expect," Gabriella shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe this is what the baby's doing for you."

Taylor sighed. The way her friend was talking was filled with determination and stubbornness but also with hope and compassion. Gabriella was generally an easy person to agree with; she didn't care what everyone was doing as long as she was around her friends and everyone was happy. She wanted what was best for people and didn't want the slightest worry to get their fears going. Taylor knew that better than anyone; it was why she and Gabriella got along so well. While Gabriella saw the hope in everything and looked with emotions, Taylor saw everything from a logical perspective. She was just as determined as Gabriella but more short-tempered. Taylor would do anything to prove her point. It was probably why she would make such a good politician; when Taylor tried to keep her emotions inside and let passion and fury take over people saw her more as being a b*tch.

"Gabriella-" she started quietly but was cut off.

"Does Chad even know yet?" Gabriella asked.

Taylor's eyes widened. Chad had no clue. That was why she was trying so hard to avoid him. How does a girl walk up to her boyfriend of nearly three years and say, "Guess what, I'm pregnant"? There were a million different ways that could go. But Taylor looked at the statistics; she calculated and recalculated. Every statistic pointed to Chad not being there. Even if by some stroke up luck he said he would be there, the two of them would never last. Babies did things to couples, especially teen couples. No one was meant to find their soul mate at sixteen and even if they were it wouldn't last. Teens had their whole lives ahead of them and thought about nothing. They thought they were invincible and did what they wanted. That included intimacy, drugs, drinking, and cheating. And Taylor was positive that if she and Chad stayed together with the baby then that would be them in six months or less.

Judging from Taylor's silence, it didn't take rocket science for Gabriella to figure out the answer. "You haven't told him."

"I can't," Taylor whispered.

"Yes you can. And you have to," Gabriella responded. "He's the dad. Maybe he doesn't have as much say in this as you do, but he still has a say. He at least deserves to know."

"And what if he wants it?" she asked.

Gabriella quirked an eyebrow. "Then wouldn't that make the choice obvious?"

"I mean, what if he wants it and I don't?" she corrected.

"You're not going to know unless you tell him."

"And what if he doesn't want it?"

"I guess then you'll have the answer you want."

"And if he wants nothing to do with either of us?"

"His loss."

"But even if that does happen and I make the decision I think I'm going to, that's not going to change anything. It won't repair our relationship, it won't change anything that happened, nothing can be taken back…" she blabbed on.

"Taylor, get a grip!" Gabriella gasped, grabbing Taylor's shoulders. Taylor breathed heavily and Gabriella became more concerned watching her friend. "Wow, you're more worried about this than you thought, aren't you?" she realized.

Taylor couldn't bear to answer her friend. She just looked away, refusing to make eye contact. Taylor didn't want to show she had too much emotion towards the baby. She was sure she already knew what she wanted to do about it…so why was she having second thoughts now?

Gabriella sighed and put her hands in her lap. She moved some hair away from her face and thought for a moment before speaking. "Didn't you always say that you wished your mom was still here? So she could help you and be someone you always go to? Someone who takes care of you and you look up to?"

"Yeah," Taylor admitted.

"Don't you think that's what your baby wants?" she replied. "To have you there and know you'll always be there and care for him or her no matter what?"

"And what if the baby wants me to wait to do that when I actually have the resources to and I'm ready for that responsibility?" Taylor asked.

"And what if you're ready now?" Gabriella pointed out. "You've practically been raising yourself, Tay. How many times have you said you fought with your dad or he doesn't care what you do or anything of the sort? Don't you want better for your baby than that?"

"Of course I do!" Taylor insisted. "But how can I be sure of that now, especially when I still have to finish high school and can't guarantee either of our futures, let alone Chad's choice?"

"Then this is something you should be talking to him about," she urged. "Taylor, please. If not for yourself or me then please, just talk to Chad for the baby's sake. Even if he God forbid says the worst of the worst then at least you can say you talked to him and can go about doing whatever you want."

Taylor shook her head and looked at Gabriella in disbelief. "Why are you so insistent on this anyway? It's not like this directly affects you. This is my child, not yours."

"Because I want better for your baby…my future kids…any kids we ever have…than we've had," she answered. "You didn't have the greatest home life growing up. You only had your dad and you two try so hard to act as if the other doesn't exist. My dad walked out on me when I was three. I may have had the best mom in the world, but she went through so much just for me. She worked two or three jobs at a time so she could support me and feed me and keep a roof over our heads. No child deserves only one parent; regardless of how often they're around. But what they do deserve is unconditional love and that's why my mom gave me. And I know you can give it, too. And if Chad's feelings for you are anywhere near half as true as what he says then I'm sure it'll be enough for the baby."

Taylor highly doubted that any amount of love would be enough for a baby. Babies needed formula. Diapers. Attention. Toys. Clothes. A crib. Things that Taylor, with or without Chad, could barely afford. She appreciated the effort Gabriella was putting in and she couldn't ask for a better friend than that; but it didn't stop her fears for the future. She should have known to think things through rather than act on impulse and emotions and she didn't. Now she was paying the price. And as much as she hated to admit it, Taylor didn't want part of that price to be Chad.

So, we've reached the end of the first chapter. The plan is for the story to start out slow and start to pick up. I think I wrote this first chapter...maybe a couple months ago? Within the first month of my starting to type this story in Microsoft Word, I got up to four chapters and I didn't start again for a while. I'm beginning to think that when it comes to my stories the best aspect for me is to get an idea ahead of time and be able to write a bunch at a time, read it over, write more, and when I get to a certain point, post it. So that way I feel like I can kinda stay in the vibe of the story. Anyway, like I mentioned, I don't know how long this story will be but it definitely won't be short. I think what I'll do is when I get to a later point in typing the story, when I post the next chapter at that time I'll ask you guys how long you want it to continue for, like if it should mimic the tv series 16 and Pregnant and end when the baby's a few months old, or if it should maybe go till the baby's a year old. I should probably shut up now before i give too much away. I'm expecting, maybe once every couple of weeks adding a new chapter to the story so everything I've written doesn't get published too quickly. And I'm hoping that hearing feedback from you guys about this story will also give me the inspiration - during my not-so-good job search, of course - to get back into the swing of my Princess and the Frog and Deleted HSM Scenes Version 2 and continue those as well. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and are looking forward to where the story is going and I'm excited to share it with you. Until next time, have a happy Friday, an awesome weekend, and the upcoming holidays! =)
P.S. Just for the record, i did at one point draw each of the HSM girls what their pictures would look like if they were on 16 and Pregnant xD So if anyone's curious to see what they look like (Gabriella's picture came out the best in my opinion, which I find ironic since obviously we know who my favorite girl is xD) check them out on my deviantART page, pinkie-d :3