The walk to Farkle's house felt as though it was the longest walk she had ever been on, but somehow it wasn't long enough. She hadn't even told her parents yet. No one besides Maya knew that this was happening to her, she herself barely had had anytime to process the information and make decisions. Her mind was a thunderstorm the whole way through the city, up the elevator, and into his room, only to be calmed when he welcomed her into one of his signature bear hugs.

"Hey Riles," he breathed into her hair and kissed her forehead, "Do you want to see my surprise for you?"

She let go of him, holding back tears she didn't realize were desperate to escape, "Of course! Lay it on me."

He smiled at her and grabbed her hand, leading her to sit on his bed as he stood before her. "Are you ready for this?"

She giggled, "Yes, just show me weirdo."

He made a face at her, over exaggerating his disbelief, "Are you sure you're ready? Because I'm not sure you are. This is one of hell of a surprise."

She tried to forget that her surprise is without a doubt magnitudes bigger than his, she just wanted to be with Farkle for one last moment before things change. Before they change. "Well I guess if you're doubting me, I can just leave," she began to get up before Farkle threw her back on the bed and hovered over her, "Oh you're not going anywhere."

He smirked at her as he got up and ran to his closet, returning with his hands behind his back and a big smile on his face, "Are you sure you're ready Matthews?"

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Yes! Now just show me, you know how impatient I am."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her, "Oh yes, boy do I know."

She scoffed at his insinuation. Though she'd be lying if she had said he was wrong, but that's not what she came over here to discuss.

"Anyways, are you ready for the best news of your entire life?"

"YES now just show me before I grow some gray hair!"

And then he showed her. In his hands was a wooden frame with a piece of paper in it, a piece of paper with her name, and the words "congratulations" and "star" on it. She was speechless, her watery eyes taking their sweet time taking it all in before they allowed her to look back up at her boyfriend's lip in between his teeth as he stared expectantly back at her.

"So, do you like it?" He asked as he teetered back and forth, hands around his back and a nervous demeanor he hadn't had around her since middle school.

She didn't answer, instead she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him as tight as possible, resting her ear on his heart beat.

"I can't believe you bought me a star," she whispered as he hugged her back.

"Well, they wouldn't let me buy pluto so this is the best I could do."

She giggled and stepped back from him, wiping her eyes and tilting her head at him, how was supposed to tell him now? How was she supposed to deliver the news that was going to ruin his life to him right after he did something so randomly special and beautiful for her. She's about to ruin his life in two words and she can't bring herself to it. He has given her the best two years of her life, and with college coming around this upcoming fall, she had no right to take his future away from him. She owed him at least that - she owed him that after everything he has done for her.

Once her eyes were dried and she had managed to push all of her thoughts to the side, she began to speak. "So, what's on the agenda for tonight?" She walked closer to him and grabbed him by the belt loops, "Heard the parents were out of town?" She began to kiss the part of his neck she knew drove him wild.

He hummed in response, resting his hands on her hips and guiding her back against the bed. Once they had both fallen, he attached his lips to hers and their bodies sang. He still wondered how he had gotten so lucky to call her his. He still wondered how he had gotten so lucky to get to be so close to her and know her in every single way possible. All of the ways no one got to see, and all of the ways she tried her best to hide but he saw anyways. He always saw right through her. Which is how he knew she was avoiding something.

"So," kiss, "What," kiss, "Was," kiss, "Riley stop trying to make out with me I'm talking," kiss, "This is really hot and all but," kiss, "I'm, kiss, "Speaking."

She threw her head back and rested herself upon her forearms, groaning, "You're such a buzzkill."

He smiled sweetly at her, "I love you too darling."

She shot back a sarcastic smile as he sat up and in front of her.

"So, what was the surprise you had for me? I know it isn't," he pauses and motions to her laying on his bed, "this because this happens almost every time. So, no surprise here."

Her head begins storming again. She really thought that she could distract him with sex. It works pretty much every other time, but of course the one time she actually needs time to rethink telling him something, he catches her. She was seriously starting to think that life was out to get her.

"Oh, that? That was nothing," she tried her best to be convincingly careless, but that had never been her thing.

He raised her eyebrows at her, "Oh yeah? Well if it was nothing then why don't you just tell me?"

"Let's do that kissing thing again, we're really good at that."

She was now straddling him and trying to kiss him, but he held her face in his hands instead. If he only knew he was holding an entire hurricane in his palms.

"You're deflecting, Riles," his voice was calm and concerned, eyebrows furrowed and blue eyes soothing, "What aren't you telling me?"
Her mouth had suddenly gone dry and the hurricane in her head had turned into a tornado and then an earthquake and now she was back to full on monsoon. She could barely say it out loud to herself, she couldn't tell him. There was no way. She wasn't going to be the reason that his life was ruined. Because then he would resent her. He would resent her and the baby and then their whole life would be nothing but yelling and sleeping in separate rooms and trading the kid back and forth and she wasn't going to let that happen. He was going to be happy.

"Riles," his voice almost sounded broken, "please."

She rested her head against his hand, kissing it and holding it in her hand. She closed her eyes so he couldn't see the tears forming. His happiness was what mattered, she reminded herself.

"I can't do this anymore, Farkle." The words came out like embers flying off a fire; sure to burn.

His hands dropped faster than she hoped they would and before she could even open her eyes, he was pacing and rubbing the back of his neck.

"What do you mean you can't do this anymore? Can't do what? Love me? Where is this coming from? Less than five minutes ago you were in my arms and kissing me and now you're, you're breaking up with me? What the hell is happening, Riley?" His voice had started out small and weary but had crescendoed into heart stopping and Earth shattering. Why couldn't he see that she was doing this for him? Why couldn't he see that this was destroying her?

She couldn't look at him, "It's not, it's not like that, Farkle."

He sat on the bed in front of her, urgently grabbing her face and looking into her glazed over eyes, "Then what is it like, Riley? What has made you change your mind about me so quickly?" His voice started to break as his hands moved from her face to her hands, "What did I do wrong?"

She stood up as quickly as she could and began walking to his door, leaving the words "You didn't do anything wrong", behind her as she drifted away.

But, he had always been known to ground her. With his hands around hers, he spun her around so she was looking at him again. "Just give me an explanation, Riles. You owe me that. Two years and a lifetime of friendship and you think I'm just going to let you go as quickly as the turn of a handle? You know me better than that."

She shook her hands out of his grasps, her voice growing stronger out of frustration and sadness, "Can't you see that I'm doing this for you Farkle? I'm only going to hold you back. I can't be with you if it means you're just going to resent me, I can't deal with you resenting me."

He scoffed with disbelief, his hands flying into his hair as he turned around and sighed before facing her again, "How the hell is you walking out of my life going to let me not resent you? How is you breaking my heart going to make me not resent you?" He paused, this time being the one to look away, "Please don't leave."

She sighed and looked down at her hands, "You'll thank me for this later," she dropped to a whisper, "Trust me."

He rested his hand on his hip and looked at the ceiling, scoffing, "You know what, Riley? I don't trust you. You know why? Because I know you," He was closer now, and her heart stopped, "And because I know you, I know that you're not telling me the whole story. I know you love me and I know that the type of love you give out isn't the kind that you can just switch off and on whenever you please," She was now pressed between his body and the wall behind her, the cold plaster hitting her back, "Your love, or more specifically, the love we have, is the kind that takes years to build and even longer to tear down. Something is wrong and you think I can't handle it. You think that you can deal with it on your own and you don't want to bother me with it. Well guess what, Riley Matthews? I'm in it for the long run. I'm in it until you're actually sick of me. But I know that's not today. So please, just tell me what the hell this is really about, I can help you. I promise."

She was speechless, lost in his eyes and his affirmations. He was so sure, and she was so weary. He's only saying this because he doesn't know, she reminds herself. He's only saying this because he doesn't know you're carrying his child.

Suddenly, the storm has calmed. His child. Whoever she has inside of her is going to be his child. Farkle would never abandon his child, his own blood? Right? She thinks back to what Maya said, they have her. He'll be shocked but he'll be okay. He'll be okay. They'll be okay.

The storm may have ceased but her mouth was still dry with all of the words she hadn't said.

"Please, Riley." Her hands were in his now and he kissed every one of her knuckles, trying to make her feel more at ease.

She looked at him, eyes wide with hope. "Don't leave." she spoke without realizing how broken she would sound.

"Never."

She smiled at him weakly and led him to his bed, sitting him down beside her. Her eyes began to water but she knew she had to do this. If not for her, for him. And if not for him, for the little bean growing inside of her as they sat there breathing in each other's air and unspoken thoughts.

"Ready?"

He nodded slowly.

She grabbed his hand and placed it on her lower stomach, and through watery eyes and a broken voice she said the words out loud for the first time since she found out.

"I'm pregnant."