~Chapter 1~

Frida Suarez sighed heavily. How on Earth was she going to tell Manny? He was her best friend and secret crush. Long ago she'd assumed she would get over this crush, but whenever he was around she got butterflies in her stomach. Well, she guessed it was better that she was his friend; it was definitely better than if he didn't know she even existed.

She looked down at her small belly. A minute, nearly unnoticeable bulge was beginning to protrude from it. Maybe it was time she start exercising... She cleared her throat as she stood in front of the mirror and practiced her speech to Manny. "..." The girl only found herself wordless. She puffed out her chest, put on a brave face, and tried again. "...M-M...Manny...I...I...I..." Immediately, her lungs deflated and she could no longer find the words. Again. Even with a mirror as a practice dummy, she still found it too hard to say.

"Frida! You'll be late for school!" Chief Suarez, her father, called to her from downstairs.

Yeah...what did it matter to him whether she was late or not? It wasn't like he should care! The bulge in her belly would only grow, just like cancer does. Then he would notice. Then he would know. Frida shuddered at what might occur after he found out. It would be worse that what Manny would do, that's for sure...

He'll hate you. He'll hate you more than any villain he's ever fought. He'll hate you and you know it. Her mind had been split between telling him and keeping it a secret. But it might not be a secret for much longer.

She reluctantly made her way to school.

The whole day, she wanted desperately to tell him. They'd never kept anything from each other before, but now...now she had to lie to an entire school. In a nutshell, her life was slowly turning upside down.

"Frida? Frida? FRIDA!" Manny shouted, finally catching her attention.

"Yeah?"

"What's with you today? You're kind of...I dunno...off," he said.

"Sorry. I'm just going through some stuff. You know, thinking of a new prank for my sisters. Thinking of what kind of punishment I'll have in store for me after I pull the prank. Stuff like that," she replied.

"Wow. You're really into your prank war, aren't you? Come to think of it...shouldn't that have been over like a month ago?"

"Yeah, well...who knew my sisters were so good at it?"

Ah...yep. The perfect alibi for her distractedness...a prank war between her and her older twin sisters, Anita and Nikita. It was a total lie, of course, but it lead him away from the truth. Anything that worked, she'd use.

He'll hate you... Yes, she knew he would hate her! Her brain didn't have to remind of it! "DARN IT!" she shouted, a complete and unexpected accident that she herself hadn't anticipated. "Um...they're just so good at the war...that I'm running out of ideas...and need more...but can't think of any." She gave him her best smile, and he had no choice but to go along with whatever she told him at that point.

"Oh...uh...well, you could slap some steaks onto their backs and let your dogs chase them," he suggested. Something was wrong; Frida never just up and screamed out anything, no matter how upset or distraught she got. He knew something was up, but he trusted her to tell him when she was ready. She always had before, so what would be so different about now?

He'll always hate you... Her mind, her thoughts...they were eating her alive! "Uh...Manny, what would you hate the most that would involve me?" She practically feasted on her lips, letting them circle ever closer to their bleeding point.

He gave her a wry look, and was instantly prepared to ask her why she'd ask him something like that, but the worried expression, coupled with her biting her lower lip nervously, urged him to keep his mouth shut and just answer the question. "Um, well...I don't really know off the tip of my tongue."

As soon as you tell him- "You sure? Nothing at all? Or too many to tell?" -he'll hate you for the rest of eternity.

"Uh..." God, he wanted so very badly to ask her what was wrong now. But there had been a few times before. She rarely ever acted like this, but she had gotten to the point of bleeding lips before. But every time she'd told him what was wrong and he'd helped her by giving her advice or, and this only happened once, by shooing off a weird stalker. "I guess if you turned on me, I think I'd hate that the most."

If she turned on him? As in..betrayal? No! She would never...! You already have... You have long before you met him... "Shut up..." she whispered so softly, not even the legendary El Tigre could hear her. He couldn't hear. He wouldn't hear. But couldn't he tell something was wrong? Why wasn't he asking her? The least he could do was show some kind of hint or clue that he knew something was up with her. And little did he know, it wasn't like all the other times...it was much worse. Or at least, to her knowledge it was. Who knows? Maybe it was normal. But then...all the other girls didn't go walking around in her condition. So was it normal? Yes. Maybe. No. Those were her options. Which would she choose? "I'd never turn on you, Manny. Anything else?" Stay calm, stay collected. Stay anything!

"Um...I don't really know." Okay, now he couldn't resist asking her. Yeah, it had happened before, but today...today there was something big. He could just sense it. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but he could sense it. "Why?"

"Would you hate me, Manny, even if I turned on you?" she asked, completely ignoring his question. She had her reasons for ignoring him, whether he knew it or not. No matter what he says, you know the real answer...

"I don't think I could bring myself to hate you. After all, you're my best friend, Frida."

He...will...HATE...you...

A/N

Confused much? Well, that's because it's just the first chapter. Believe me, there will be better chapters to come, and you will begin to understand much, much more. But here's a helpful hint, just in case you guys haven't caught on yet: The italics in this story are actually Frida's conscience speaking directly to her. (via her mind) (also, there will be exceptions, such as flashbacks and such, in later chapters as far as the italics go)