The stereo's still playing quietly in the corner, and Tina's still catching her breath as she lays on the bed, listening to Mike move around the bathroom. After football practice he'd driven straight to her house, and although they'd planned on studying, an empty house meant that they had quickly moved from studying to making out, and then laying on the bed with his hips pressed against hers. Things had spiralled from there, and now she feels sated and relaxed. When she hears the bathroom door open with a click, she doesn't even lift her head.
"Uh...Tee?"
"Mmm?" She's snuggling into her pillows, blankets pulled up over her still cooling body, and she's so sleepy from their just-finished physical encounter that at first she doesn't notice his tone.
"Tina. We might have a problem."
Considering he's just been in the bathroom disposing of the condom, it's enough to make Tina sit upright, the blankets falling to her waist. She pushes her hair behind her ears and frowns at him. "What do you mean 'a problem'?"
His face is twisted in an expression she can't quite read, boxers pulled hastily on and sitting crooked on his hips. He rakes a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in all different directions. "I think we had a malfunction."
Tina feels her heart begin to hammer in her ribs and she scrabbles out from under the blanket, grabbing Mike's t-shirt and pulling it on over her bare shoulders. "What do you mean a malfunction?" she asks sharply, searching around for her underwear and yanking them up her legs. Her arms wrap around her midriff, fingers clutching at her ribs.
Mike rubs his cheek, taking a half step towards her but avoiding her eyes. "It broke."
If Tina thought her heart was hammering before, it now seems to have stopped completely, and she can hear a ringing in her ears. "When?"
"I don't know." Mike drops down on the edge of the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees, his body hunched and his back curved like a question mark. Tina still stands near her desk, bare feet frozen against the floor, and when Mike looks up at her he can see how pale her face is. "Tina, I'm so sorry."
She knows it's not his fault, she knows these things happen and nothing is 100% effective or safe, but she feels like she's lost all feeling in her fingertips and she ends up staggering back to the bed, sitting next to him. Despite her irrational anger, when he reaches out and takes her hand, she tangles her fingers with his and holds tight. With the contact, her heart stutters painfully back to a beat and her anger begins to ebb, leaving only clammy hands and shaking fingers in its wake. "It's not your fault," she manages, even though her lips feel numb. When she looks up at Mike, he's staring back at her, his eyes wide and dark.
"What do we do?" he asks, sounding more unsure then she thinks she's ever heard him. His hand is still tightly in hers and he presses their knees together, and she's unerringly grateful for his use of the word 'we'.
She thinks hard, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. "I don't know," she replies, her voice very soft.
"It might have broken when I was taking it off."
"It might've."
They both sit in silence for a long time, half dressed, hands holding, until Tina turns her body and winds her arms around Mike's waist, leaning into his chest. He replies in kind, folding her into his embrace, holding tight and burying his face in her hair.
Her mother had always told her sex was a responsibility as well as a right, and she's never felt it more than right at this moment. And she's heartbroken, because she and Mike had been sensible, waited until they were old enough, waited until they were ready. They had always been careful. Protected. They'd always respected each other, listened to each other, talked about *everything* they could.
Tangled in his arms, she hopes it's not going to end up being a mistake.
xxx
Tina confesses to her mother after five days of not eating and barely talking and wandering around school and home in a daze. She manages to blurt "I might be pregnant" before dissolving into sobs, and is more than relieved when Gloria simply bundles her up in her arms, rubbing her back and murmuring comforting words and hushes. "I'm so sorry," Tina hiccups, fisting Gloria's sweater in her hands. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."
"Have you told Mike?" Gloria asks, stroking Tina's hair as she rests her head on her shoulder.
Tina nods her head, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. She hiccups softly. "We were being careful," she explains, biting her lip, pulling her knees up to her chest. "It just went wrong. I promise."
Leaning in, Gloria presses a kiss against Tina's temple. "I believe you. It's going to be okay."
xxx
Mike and her sit on the bathroom floor, watching the clock on his iphone count down three minutes. She's tucked in the v of his legs, his arms wrapped around her waist and his hand unconsciously pressed against her flat stomach, his fingers flexing gently as the time counts down.
"If it's positive we have options," Tina tells him softly, her back pressed against his chest.
He nods his head, kissing behind her ear. "Whatever you want Tina, I'm not going anywhere."
"It's your decision too Mike," she assures him, rubbing his denim-clad knee. The tiles are hard and cold against her bare legs, but getting up to pull on pants seems unfathomable.
Mike licks his lips, and his voice is gentle but prompting, ghosting her neck. His hand rubs over her stomach gently. "It's your body Tee."
Stilling his touch, she laces their fingers together atop her t-shirt and squeezes tightly. "Yeah, but it would be your baby too."
Just saying the word 'baby' makes both of them fall silent, because they've both avoided thinking about what the reality would be if this test does come back positive. Because the choices they would have to make - and Tina's open to all the options because she's 16 and still in High School and there are so many things she plans on doing with her life and being pregnant her Junior year isn't one of them - the choices they have to make are easier if they don't think about it in specific terms.
Time seems unfeasibly slow and Tina would swear Mike's iphone has broken but then the seconds continue ticking down. When it gets down to ten seconds, she can feel his grip on her tighten, and her stomach twists into knots. Somehow, those ten seconds go faster than the entire 2 minutes and 50 seconds previous, and suddenly the phone is beeping but neither of them move. Tina can feel her heart beating in her throat and her fingertips and it makes her want to throw up, but she's not sure that'll help their 'are we pregnant/are we not' nerves at this point.
She's on the floor and trembling, and the stick is up on the sink and she knows if she's going to look, she'll have to get up, but her body is frozen. She's never been more thankful for Mike's calm, reassuring presence, because after a couple seconds she can feel him moving behind her, and then he's standing and his hand is on her elbow and prompting her up. "Come on," he tells her softly. "Do you want me to look?"
He reaches for the window ledge where they'd shoved the box so he can read over the instructions. Tina chews on her bottom lip and inches towards the sink where the stick sits, wringing her hands. "What does the paper say?"
Mike reads the paper carefully - once, twice, three times - his brows furrowed, not wanting to give her the wrong information. "Two lines yes. One line no," he explains succinctly. "Ready?"
Nodding her head, Tina reaches out for the test, her eyes screwed shut. She can feel Mike step up behind her so his chest is pressed right against her back. His hand comes to rest on her hip, and it gives Tina the strength to peek out from between her inky lashes. What she sees makes her knees buckle, and her breath bursts from her lips in a blunt exhalation. "One line."
She feels Mike sigh against her neck, and when she turns to face him his eyelashes are fluttering against his cheeks. Dropping the test in the sink, she reaches up, cupping his cheeks. "I'm not pregnant," she tells him against his lips, letting the words sink into both of them. "We're okay."
The hug is desperate and fierce and Tina isn't sure that there's space for even air between their bodies. Mike's hands are in her hair, and he presses his lips against hers, hard. When he pulls back, he feathers kisses across her cheeks and nose and eyes. "One day," he tells her, "we're gonna do this Tee. Me and you. But I'll be honest...I'm really glad it's not today."
She nuzzles her nose against his cheek. "Me too. One day - but not today."
xxx
A week later, Rachel is in the ladies' room when she hears someone burst into tears in a stall. Peeking underneath, the small brunette recognizes the black lace-up boots, and knocks lightly. "Tina? You okay?"
She's even more confused when the tears turn to laughter, and Tina's voice comes through the door. "Yeah, I'm okay. Do you have a tampon I could use?"
Rachel's searching through her backpack and then passing it under the door; she waits against the sinks until Tina opens the stall door, coming out to wash her hands. Tear tracks are on her cheeks but she's smiling brightly and Rachel is completely confused. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Looking in the mirror, Tina pushes her hair behind her ears and closes her eyes briefly, and her smile is one of complete relief. "Never better."
xxx