Credit to Donny who wrote the odd chapters while I wrote the even chapters.
Chapter 1: Ivy's POV
If you looked into Ivy Katherine Clarke's life right now, you would say she had it all, everything. The fancy house, the amazing fiancé who she adored, the perfect job she had always wanted and people who she could properly call family now. The one thing she hadn't wanted, hadn't asked for and hadn't even been thinking about had been given to her and now the young girl didn't know what to do about it. For days she had found herself staring in the mirror constantly, for the first time in her life she wasn't checking herself out or looking at how beautiful she was. No, she was frowning at her reflection as she thought over what she ought to do thinking she might get some sort of answers by doing so but all it was doing to the girl was making her worst. Her normally toned and flat stomach was protruding a little, something that was hard to hide from her devoted fiancé but she wouldn't at least try to do so.
She hadn't meant to hide it, well, she had but what other choice did she have? How could she tell him such big news when they were just getting started, just beginning to build a foundation for themselves with so much promise. He might leave her, or that's what she had convinced herself he might do if she told him the secret she was so desperately trying to conceal. He wasn't ready to be a father and nor was she ready to become a mother so what other alternative did she have? She couldn't face telling him yet, she couldn't bear to see that look creep onto his face at the prospect of her being pregnant with his child. It was why she hadnt told him for near enough two months now. Ellie knew about it though and that was making the load upon her chest feel a little lighter what with her constant words of encouragement making Ivy feel much better. "As much as i love knowing secrets and there always pretty fun, this is major Ivy and you should tell Ethan," Ellie's voice murmered through the phone, a sentence that was similar to what she had been constantly saying for weeks now. A deep sigh escaped Ivys lips, the mobile phone floating in mid-air near her ear where she could properly hear her best friend whilst doing the dishes by hand. "Yeah but Elliebell -," she began , using the nickname that had been fashioned for her in Hogwarts "Who's to say he wont just turn around and leave? He doesn't want a baby, and he wont want me if i tell him," Ivy whispered, repeating the phrase she had used to counteract Ellie's previous sentence a thousand times already.
"Ivy, for merlins sake woman you know thats not -," but Ellie's words of wisdom were cut of when Ivy grabbed the phone, shut it closed and threw it across the counter just in time for Ethan walking in the front door shouting the clique "Honey im home!," before running upstairs to change like normal. As she busied herself with the dishes quickly, she was overcome with the weight of her situation all over again and leant both hands against the counter with he head bowed. Unexpectedly, Ethan laced his arms around her body, his warm touch sending a shiver down her spine that was growing with intensity the more she felt it linger upon her waist. "Whats wrong?,"he asked softly while Ivy steadied herself as he brushed his lips against her ear, her breathing becoming ragged as he trailed his hand down her back placing open mouthed kisses towards the crook of her neck. His breath felt hot against her skin and it distracted her a great deal from the chaos that was going on inside her head. She was barely able to answer him, the touch of his hands making her feel weak and unsteady.
"Nothing, its…nothing," she murmured, her eyes closing from the way Ethan was holding her, pressing his lips to her neck, her soft spot between her ear and neck, letting his mouth wander across her bare skin. "You're washing the dishes…without magic, there is defenaitly something wrong," he whispered, spinning her around to meet his gaze with so much intensity it took Ivy's breath away for a moment. He grazed his mouth across her jaw, purposely avoiding her lips as he let his own press against her collarbone, smiling when he caused her to moan softly and pull on his hair in a way that made him want to continue their actions into their bedroom. "Wow wow wow," She murmered, pushing him away quickly when his hands moved towards her stomach. She couldn't risk him being suspicious and what if he felt something? What would happen then? Besides, he'd notice how her stomach stuck out more than usual if she allowed him to touch it. "Whats wrong with you lately Ivy?," Ethan asked, unable to take away the edge in his tone and the annoyance lacing his words. "I mean, you're always on edge, you barely let me touch you at all, you keep pushing me away and you're acting all wierd," He rushed like he had been holding it in for a while but Ivy didnt look at him, she couldn't bear to meet his gaze for fear of her giving in and just telling him everything that she was keeping from him. She focused on his hands, his rough, safe, familiar hands at his side and closed her eyes when he began to walk away from her.
Ivy had managed to stay clear of Ethan for going on two weeks now, hiding out at Ellie's house and doing a number of other things that kept her well away from her fiancé. Bringing the cup of tea to her lips having no intentions of drinking it seeing as Ellie made the worst tea imaginable, Ivy sighed deeply wondering what she ought to do. "You know, that might help," Ellie said, nodding towards the warm tea that Ivy was noticebly not drinking. Snapping out of her train of thought, Ivy focused on her best friend again and smiled ever so slightly at her. "Have you tasted your tea?" she asked, giving her a raised eyebrow before setting her cup on the table with a soft thump. She couldnt help but roll her eyes playfully at Ellie seeing the way she faked a shocked expression and Ivys words.
"So, its nearly reaching the two and a half month mark now. Don't you think Ethan deserves to know about his unborn child, Ivy?," Ellie said without the worry of being yelled at dispite having had been before when she asked about the topic at hand. However, Ivy shook her head slowly and didn't answer her friend and instead, forgot about the fact that Ellie sucked at making tea and took a sip before trying to refrain from spitting it out. "Ivy Katherine Clarke, now you listen to me," Ellie began, taking her hand and holding it tightly in her own as she stared into Ivy glistening green eyes, her expression stubborn. "You're going to get married to Ethan, married! And trust me, you start keeping secrets now its just going to do the relationship damage," Ellie told her, trying to convince he to see what she was getting at and if Ivy was honest, she was beginning to get through to her. The mention of marriage reminded Ivy of the thing she had meant to ask Ellie, to which a sudden burst of excitment jolted through her. Her face lit up as she leaned toward her, green eyes alight with the news she was about to spill to her.
"Speaking of," She started, the words rushing to her mouth like she couldn't wait to tell her what she wanted to say. "I was wondering...if a certain Elliebell would like to fill to position of being my maid of honor," she rushed, grinning widely at the bulging eyes of her best friend before she let of a very high pitched, exited scream as she leapt to her feet and hoped madly on the spot. Joining her, Ivy bounced and embraced the girl with the same amount of enthusiam, the feeling of utter happiness taking over her sadness for a good while. "Oh and while im at it, you're also going to be a godmother," Ivy threw in which only doubled their screams and excited bouncing to the point where it went on for a good while until they were both utterly exhausted.