(Clare's POV)

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." I said softly, rising from the couch and walking over to the door. My parents sat on the other couch, sitting as far away from each other as possible, mindlessly watching TV. They had been fighting a lot lately, which meant this whole situation had really bad timing.

I knew who was on the other side of the door. I glanced up at the clock. It was 7:00 on the dot, the time I told Eli to be here. I paused before opening the door, trying to control my nerves. My palms were kind of sweaty and I had huge butterflies in my stomach. If this is how nervous I felt, I could only imagine how Eli felt. But he is usually calm and cool, no matter what situation he is put in.

I inhaled sharply then slowly opened the door. There stood Eli, wearing black skinny jeans and a baby blue button down and a purple tie.

"What's up with the new get-up?" I said, trying to lighten the mood. I knew he was nervous, as he had his arms crossed and kept fidgeting.

"I figured it would be best if I didn't show up wearing all black for this." he said.

I sighed. "I can't guarantee anything, but if things get out of control you can leave and I'll deal with them." I said softly.

"No, afterall it is 'my baby'." he said, making air quotes.

"Clare? Who is at the door?" I heard my dad's call from the living room.

I gulped. "Here goes nothing." I whispered.

Not only did we have to drop the whole pregnancy bomb on my parents, I also had to tell them that Eli was my boyfriend. I'm guessing that them not knowing he was my boyfriend in the first place before tonight won't help very much either.

Eli stepped inside and I closed the door. Then I lead him into the living room. My parents both looked up from the TV they were pretending to watch.

"Who's this?" my mom asked, kind of rudely. Off to a great start, I thought sarcastically.

"Urm, Mom, Dad. This is Eli. My uh, boyfriend." I concluded.

My parents both raised their eyebrows and exchanged a look.

"Oh, well nice to meet you Eli." my dad said, standing up and sticking out his hand.

Eli strode over and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too Mr. Edwards."

Then Eli stuck out his hand towards my mom. She just stared at it. Then he awkwardly smoothed his hair and dropped his hand.

"Now Helen, don't be so rude." my dad said, his voice rising.

"Randall, do not treat me like a child." my mom said, her voice acidic.

I cleared my throat, silencing them. My dad sat back down and then awkwardly motioned for us to sit down. I sat down next to Eli on the other couch.

"Mom, Dad, we have to tell you something..." I said, my voice trailing off as I stared at the floor.

I looked up and my dad's face was stern. My mom was pale.

"I... I'm pregnant."

My parents quickly exchanged a look. Then my mom jumped up.

"You... you slut!" my mom screeched.

I flinched and I looked over at Eli, who was pale as well.

"Mom... it was a mistake." I said.

"How did this happen? I thought we raised you with good Christian morals. Instead you're sleeping around with random boys?" my mom roared, pointing a finger at me.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "Mom-" she cut me off.

"And you!" she pointed her finger at Eli now. "You knocked up my daughter? I knew something was different about you Clare! Don't you see it? This boy took advantage of you! He changed you!"

"Helen, calm down." my dad said softly.

My mom slowly dropped her finger and then crossed her arms. "I can't deal with this right now." she said, grabbing her purse and running out the front door, slamming it behind her.

My dad looked from me to Eli. "Clare, this better not be a joke."

"It's not." I said sadly, a tear running down my cheek.

My dad, obviously disappointed in me, stood up. "I think we all need to sleep on it. We'll deal with this in the morning." he said, going over to the stairs.

I heard a door close upstairs and then it was just me and Eli. We sat in silence for several minutes.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked me.

"I was expecting worse actually." I sighed. "But that still wasn't... fun."

"You're telling me." he said.

I looked down at my finger. My purity ring was still on, but I guess I could take it off now. I slid it off and chucked it across the room, hearing the soft clank as it landed behind the TV.

"Well, I guess I should go then." he said, standing up.

I looked up at him, my eyes still gleaming with tears. "Okay." I said softly.

I walked him to the door, my legs feeling like jelly. "Eli?"

He turned around and looked at me.

"I think I'll get the abortion." I said, staring at the floor.

"Woah, why?" he asked.

"Because I'm already putting you through so much." I said.

"Clare, you don't have to worry about putting me through anything. This is all my fault to begin with." he said.

"No, it's not." I said.

"You don't have to get the abortion." he said.

I sighed. "Okay, alright."

...

(Eli's POV)

After leaving Clare's house, I headed over to Adam's. Honestly, I just really needed to talk to another dude. I texted him, telling him that I was coming.

I knocked on the door and a few moments later he opened it.

"Whats up?" he said, motioning me inside and then leading me downstairs to the basement.

I sighed. "Dude, Clare's pregnant."
Adam was sipping a soda and gulped and then choked when I said that.

"Dude!" he hollered. "You two had sex? You and Saint Clare?"

"No, we didn't." I said, sitting down on the couch across from him.

Adam's eyes widened. "You're kidding right?"

"I wish I was." I said sadly.

"Bro, who did she...?" his voice trailed off.

"Fitz." I said, clenching my fists.

Adam looked beyond shocked. "No way."

I explained the entire situation to him, the blackmail, the pregnancy, how Clare didn't want to press charges.

"Damn." Adam muttered. "You gotta convince her to press charges. Think about it. We could put Fitz behind bars!" he said, almost excitedly.

"We?" I questioned.

"Clare. Clare could put Fitz behind bars." he said, his face falling as he awkwardly played with the zipper on his jacket.

"Well, yeah. That'd be awesome to get Fitz arrested. But you know how Clare is. When she has got her mind made up nothing on earth can change that."

Adam sighed. "Then Fitz is just gonna walk around with the satisfaction of knowing he screwed up both of your lives. That's not right."

"I know. But there's nothing I can do." I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated.

"Yes you can." Adam said. "Kick his ass. Make him pay."

"Easier said then done. However much I hate to admit it, he can kick my ass way faster then I can kick his. Plus, Clare will kill me if I dead that."

Adam sighed again. "Harsh buzz man. I don't know what to tell you. I guess you'll just have to support Clare through all of this and hope for the best."

I sighed. "Yeah."

Don't worry! The BIG drama is coming.