I think it's fairly obvious what Spencer's secret is, but if it isn't, you will surely figure it out this chapter. So, here's the next one!

CHAPTER 3

SPENCER'S POV

Waking up in the morning was even more horrible than throwing up the night before. I felt so much pain. And, I felt sick again! I knew Aria told me to wake her up if I needed anything, but I didn't want to. It was so early. I could just throw up again, drink water, have a mint, and pretend like nothing ever happened. I didn't need them to care for me. I was seventeen years old, not six.

So, I got up a little earlier than people would at a sleepover, and went to the bathroom. To be fair, I slept early, too, so waking up earlier made sense. I felt the same upset stomach feeling from the previous night. I felt it coming up my throat again, and there it was. Once again, I emptied my stomach's contents out. It was odd, because I hadn't eaten much since I threw up last time. All I had was a water, and a mint, if that even counted.

I went back to Hanna's kitchen and grabbed the water bottle from last night. I drank it up, and popped another mint into my mouth afterwards. I heard footsteps coming into the kitchen. It was Aria. She walked into the kitchen, and she instantly known that I had thrown up. She could read me like an open book.

"Spencer, did you throw up again?" Aria demanded. "I told you to wake me up if you even felt a little sick! I told you I would take care of you. Are you all right now?"

"Aria, I'm fine, you don't have to baby me," I told her. "I can handle it. It was just a little more of that sickness. Everyone's been sick before!"

She nodded her head, understanding me.

"I can't help but feel a little bit worried about you," Aria said, taking my hand. "I mean, I know it's normal for people to get sick, but you're like my best friend in the whole world, and I would never want anything to happen to you. I just want to be able to take care of you if Toby can't."

I smiled and hugged her. Then, I said, "I love you, you little tiny girl. You're my best friend, too, and I love how much you care about me. It means so much to me." I hugged her again. Hanna and Emily were my best friends, too, but Aria and I always shared a more special bond. We were a slight bit closer, and it was okay, because Hanna and Emily were always closer.

"All right, you hang in there," Aria said, grinning at me. "I'm gonna go wake Hanna and Emily up. I think the host of the sleepover should be up and planning some entertainment. I would love to watch another movie, but I think we should pick instead. I've been having nightmares about that god awful slasher movie."

I laughed and said, "Definitely. I say a little chick flick would be exactly what's necessary. Rom-coms are always the best pick-me-ups. I can't believe Hanna thought that gruesome horror slasher movie would be a way to cheer us up before school!"

Aria giggled as she walked back upstairs to wake Hanna and Emily up.

While I waited for them to come downstairs, I grabbed my phone. As soon as I unlocked it, I saw the date. Shit. It was the day after my period was supposed to start. I was supposed to start it the day before! My first instinct was to believe that my stress was just giving me a late period, but then I wondered... about the throwing up and stuff.

It wasn't something I wanted to be true. Honestly, I thought it was crazy. Toby and I were always so safe when we had sex. Yeah, you probably guessed it. I thought I was pregnant, and it was the worst feeling. It couldn't be true, though, I had to reassure myself. It was a dumb theory. Maybe my sickness just made the period come a little late. Nothing big.

But once the girls returned, and we started watching a rom-com film, the thought wouldn't go away from my head. I kept thinking about it. Could it be true, or was I just being crazy? Everyone always thought Hanna was the one who would most likely get pregnant, but I didn't know. The thought stuck in my head. Could I really be pregnant?

"What's with you?" Aria asked. "You're acting strange again! Do you need to throw up?"

"No, not this time. I'm fine, Aria, but thanks," I lied, staring at the floor.

"Spencer, I know you. You're lying. What's bugging you?" Aria asked.

"Nothing is bugging me!" I cried.

"Come with me to the kitchen, let's talk," she said, and grabbed my hand. "Hanna, Em, we are gonna take a moment in the kitchen. We're starved."

"All right!" Hanna exclaimed, but she was too busy. She was in the middle of a tickle war with Emily, which I found slightly strange, but I kept walking. "Oh, guys! Get me a breakfast bar when you come back. Thanks!"

"Okay!" Aria called, and walked into the kitchen with me. As soon as we were alone, she demanded, "Spencer, tell me what's bugging you right now!"

"Fine!" I cried. "But you have to promise not to tell the other girls yet. I don't really feel comfortable telling them how I feel. I love them, but this is a personal thing, and I trust you a little bit more than them. You swear you won't say a word to them?"

"Unless it involves murder, I won't tell anyone," Aria promised. "Come on, you know me. I wouldn't violate your trust like that."

"Yeah, but this isn't like a dumb school girl crush that you can harmlessly go around and tell people," I said, sighing. "It's about something personal."

"Crushes are pretty personal," Aria said.

"Whatever!" I said, rolling my eyes. "Don't mess with me, Aria. This is serious. I'm scared out of my mind. I've been thinking about it all morning, and it's eating me alive, Aria, it's eating me alive!" I broke down into tears, and fell into her arms.

"Hey, whatever it is, it'll be fine," she assured me. "Come on, talk to me. I will do whatever I can to help you get through it, I promise. I'll always be here for you."

"Well... I've been throwing up a lot lately, and... and I missed my period by a day already... and fear is overwhelming me... I know it's not enough evidence to prove that I am, but I'm worried that I may be," I quietly said, sobbing. "Aria, I think I might be pregnant!"

Aria's eyes went wide, and she asked, "Spencer, are you sure about this? You may just be overthinking things. Your period being late could mean anything. It doesn't have to be the way you think it is."

"I know, but... I'm not sure. I'm not sure, but there's a possibility it's true, and it's scaring me!" I cried. "I don't want to be. Toby will be so mad!"

"Why? If you really are, it's guaranteed to be his baby, right?" Aria asked.

"Of course! He's the only guy I've ever done... stuff with," I mumbled quietly. "I'm scared, Aria. What am I supposed to do?"

"He is a reasonable guy, and he loves you very much, so if it's true, he will be there for you, and so will I. Oh, and I know Hanna and Emily will be there for you, too," she said, smiling. "Hey, don't worry about it too much. We are going to figure this out, Spence. There's one way we can find out if you really are. A pregnancy test. It's the best way we can access."

"I don't have one..." I said, sighing. "I don't even know how this works! I've learned all of this stuff in health class, but that was all to pass the tests and quizzes. I never thought I would be put into this situation, and it's scarier than I thought it would be! I thought all those pregnant teenagers were sluts. Look at me, I'm a slut!"

"You're not a slut, Spencer!" Aria cried. "You've only done that stuff with one guy, and one guy is only one. Do you even know what a slut is? I don't think you do, because you are not one! You don't have a problem with figuring out who the father is. You know there's only one guy who could be. Sluts screw around with several guys, and you don't. You would never. If you were a slut in this situation, you would be creating charts and more charts to figure out who the father is because you slept with so many different guys. You, my dear, are not a slut."

God, Aria always knew what to say. I pulled her in for a long hug. I was so glad that she was my best friend. I couldn't ask for a better one. She smiled as she pulled back. As much as her words were helpful, I was still beyond scared. I could have been carrying a living, breathing human being inside of me, and the thought was as scary as hell. What was I to do if it was true? Wait until Toby returned from his trip and drop the bomb that I'm pregnant with his baby? Make him leave the job early to help me get through the pregnancy?

I was scared! So many guys had left their girlfriends when they discovered the girlfriend was pregnant. I didn't want to lose my relationship with Toby, I really didn't. But, I guess it was a test to see if he was like all those other douche bag guys. I knew he wasn't like that, but I was still scared. What if he agreed to support the child, but didn't really want to? Our relationship would become weak and awful. He would only stay by my side because I had his baby. Those scary thoughts kept filling my mind no matter how much Aria tried to comfort me.

"We are going to figure out what's going on right now," Aria said, grabbing my hand. "We can tell Hanna that we have something to take care of, and then we can go to the pharmacy and get you a test. I'm gonna stay by your side, Spencer. I promise you that, I really do."

I smiled and said, "Thank you so much, Aria... for being so calm about this, and being here for me. Oh, and for being the greatest best friend in the world."

Aria chuckled and joked, "I try, I try." She smiled at me before continuing, "We should tell Hanna right now. The sooner we go, the sooner we can sort this out." She started heading for the stairs.

"Wait, Aria," I stopped her, chuckling quietly. "We almost forgot to get Hanna's breakfast bar!"

So, Hanna was understanding. She let Aria and I head out without explaining much. We were quite vague, just saying that we had something to take care of. Normally, the Hanna I knew would have butted into it and interrogated us like an officer, possibly making some lesbian jokes. Then, Emily would tell her to shut up (because she's gay). But, that didn't happen. Hanna was almost mute about it. She seemed distracted. She had been giggling around with Emily so much. But, if Aria and I got to have our secrets, then I owed it to Hanna and Emily to have theirs.

"I got two," Aria said, and we started walking to the check out counter. "Two always helps to be sure one isn't wrong. Oh, and I got you a two-liter bottle of water so you can drink up and pee like crazy. You know how pregnancy tests work, right?"

I nodded my head and said, "Of course. And if not, I'm sure the box has instructions or something. Or I can just ask you." I smiled at her weakly, and said, "I can't believe it. I never thought this day would come, especially so soon. I didn't think I would ever be the one to be in line to purchase... a pregnancy test."

"Hey, it's okay," she coaxed. "Sometimes, life just happens. There's nothing you can do to change that. What happens, happens. You can't go back in time and stop yourself from doing stuff with Toby if you really turn out to be pregnant. And you never know, this may just be a scare, Spencer. Pregnancy scares happen all the time! There's still a chance that we're freaking out for nothing."

"But this doesn't feel like nothing," I said, sighing.

"Well, only time will tell," Aria said.

We checked out our items, and then she allowed me to come over to her place to do it, since her parents weren't home. Unfortunately, my dad was home and doing some work in the house office, so we couldn't go there. He would murder me if he found out that I was using a pregnancy test. He would know that Toby and I were sexually active, too, and probably hate him again. They had just barely become friends. We had a dinner with the parents at my house, and they finally came to good terms after their longtime rivalry. I didn't want my possible pregnancy to mess that up.

I was about to step into Aria's bathroom, but then she grabbed my arm.

"Hey, good luck," she quietly said.

"Thanks," I breathed before walking into the bathroom.

That was it. It was time to find out the truth. Was I pregnant?