I really wanted to work on my new story tonight, and I had every intention to. But there were a few things that had to be taken care of and then I watched the new episode of Degrassi and it pretty much got to the point where i was just too lazy to write anything at all. So instead I decided to post the next chapter of 16 and Pregnant, which is actually a better idea cause I have like 28 chapters written so it'd do some good to get more chapters up. xD Anyway, read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or 16 and Pregnant.
Chapter Ten
I finally gave in and agreed to tell Chad's family. We're going to tell them when they get home today. We were originally going to only tell his mom so we could ask what she thinks and get advice what to do, but Chad really wants to tell his brother and sister, too. He really values all of their opinions. I do as well, but I worry about his mother the most. She's the closest thing I've had to an actual parent since my mom died and I really don't want this to change anything between us or what she thinks of me.
Midterms came and went and the season for basketball and the academic decathlon came to an end. It was now February and Taylor was roughly seventeen weeks along. There hadn't been any rumors circulating since Taylor told the Decathlon team so things seemed to have calmed down. It seemed like the perfect time to tell Chad's family. They sat in Chad's living room anxiously waiting for his family to come home from school and work. Taylor remained on the couch, tapping her feet nervously and occasionally biting her nails. Every once in a while, Chad got off the couch and paced around the living room.
"What time is it now?" Taylor broke the silence.
Chad glanced at one of his watches, "Three fifteen."
Taylor sighed. The wait was agonizing. She almost wished she had already told them and just got it over with. "What do you think they're gonna say?"
Chad shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. "Lecture us, probably."
While Taylor expected that as well, she couldn't help but look at her boyfriend doubtfully. "You really think we're going to get a lecture about being parents from your ten-year-old sister?"
"Ok, probably not from her," he replied quickly. "Bryan's probably gonna be the worst."
"You don't think this is going to ruin your relationship with him, do you?" she couldn't help but wonder. She knew Chad and his family were close so the last thing she wanted to do was screw that up.
"I hope not," Chad admitted. "He thinks he knows what's best just cause he's the oldest."
"Great," Taylor said sarcastically. She looked down and resumed biting her nails.
Chad noticed her doing this and took his seat next to her. He gently took her hand away and caressed it a little with his thumb in attempt to relax her. "Don't worry about what Bryan says. I can take his comments. And if he goes too far, I'll beat him up."
Taylor appreciated him trying; she smiled and pecked his cheek. "Oh honey…" Then her smile fell, "He's a junior in college who has at least six inches over you. You don't stand a chance."
"Way to ruin my fun," Chad pouted playfully.
"I'm sorry, but someone had to say it," Taylor apologized. She ran her fingers through his hair. "And I don't want to see my boyfriend get beat up by his own brother."
"I can hold my own against him," Chad insisted.
"No you can't, Bryan'll kick your butt."
The couple turned to see Chad's sister walked into the house. She dropped her Hello Kitty backpack off to the side and took off her jacket. Her skin was a little lighter than Chad's and her brown hair tied in pigtails was a fine line between wavy and curly.
"Hey whose side are you on?" Chad joked. He got off the couch and scooped Hollie, playfully tickling her.
"Put me down!" she gasped. She struggled to get out of Chad's grip before running over to Taylor. "Taylor save me from the meanie!"
"I'm no meanie!" Chad gasped.
"Sorry Chad, she likes me best," Taylor playfully stuck her tongue out.
"Oh c'mon," Chad complained overdramatically. He slumped back onto the couch. "What does Taylor have that I don't?" He took a minute to look at them and think about what he just asked. "You know…aside from the body?"
"Brains," Hollie answered without even thinking about it.
"Well we all know-" Chad started but was cut off by his sister.
"And nicer clothes. And awesomeness. And she doesn't tease me or attack me. And focus. And she doesn't stay up past midnight playing video games. And she bakes good cookies. And she gives good advice," Hollie continued.
Chad folded his arms and Taylor giggled. "I think he gets the point, Hollie," she said.
"I know," she nodded with a smile, "I just like to remind him how much smarter we are and how much better we are."
"Ok, you made your point. Can we watch TV now?" Chad replied.
"But I wasn't done reminding you how much you wuv Taylor," Hollie teased before making smooching sounds.
Chad jumped off the couch but Hollie giggled and ran into the kitchen. Chad waited a moment before sitting back on the couch and fiddling with his shirt collar, having just been embarrassed by his sister. "Sisters…right?" he chuckled nervously.
"Oh yeah. They're…such a handful," Taylor agreed. Her cheeks turned a little red and she moved some hair away from her face.
There was an awkward silence between them.
"So…"
"So…"
The silence continued.
Hollie returned from the kitchen with a glass of milk. Seeing Chad and Taylor that way and obviously bored, she rolled her eyes. She crept up to Chad from behind the couch and whispered to him, "Pssssst…this is the part where you kiss her!"
Even Taylor could hear her rather loud whisper; Hollie wasn't good at keeping quiet, something that ran in the Danforth family. But something else than was in the family was their ability of distraction. Chad always had this way of taking Taylor's mind off of things and Hollie seemed to have that quality as well. Taylor glanced at Chad form the corner of her eye. He scooted a little closer to her. Taylor mimicked him. Another scoot, and then another one. Visibly bored at their slow pace, Hollie rolled her eyes and playfully pushed Chad forward so he landed on top of Taylor.
"Ok, you saw that wasn't me that time, right?" he quickly asked Taylor.
"Right, because you never decide to tackle me," she said sarcastically.
Chad looked at her innocently, "But if I don't tackle you, you might run away."
"Now why would I ever do that?"
"Cause I'm crazy."
"How crazy?"
"This crazy."
He filled the remaining space between the two of them and pressed his lips against Taylor's in a soft yet passionate kiss. For a minute it felt like they didn't have anything to worry about. That is, of course, until the front door opened and Chad's mom and brother walked through.
"Hi everyone," Mrs. Danforth greeted.
Hollie took it as her opportunity. "Mommy, Chad's making out with Taylor!"
The couple quickly pulled away from each other and Chad sent a glare towards his sister.
"Chad, please don't do that in front of your sister," Mrs. Danforth sighed.
"Yeah. That's how accidents happen," Bryan agreed, emphasizing 'accidents'.
Chad and Taylor sat up and exchanged glances. Suddenly they were reminded of what they were there to do.
"So how was school?" Mrs. Danforth asked no one in particular.
"We watched a video bout puberty today. And how we're gonna grow lots of hair and get all mushy bout stuff," Hollie answered.
"Did you learn anything else?" she asked.
Hollie shook her head. "No, but one kid asked if we were gonna find out where babies come from. But we don't find out till middle school."
Chad and Taylor exchanged glances, their nerves quickly escalating.
Bryan squeezed himself onto the couch between Chad and Taylor, as if to break them up. It was easy to forget when he was sitting down how tall he was; his height was sometimes intimidating. Save for that, he looked like an older version of Chad with shorter hair.
"So…what are you doing home so early, bro?" Chad asked, wishing he could find a way to get closer to his girlfriend. "Thought you had classes till five."
"It's the first week of classes, they let out early," Bryan replied. "So what were you two doing setting a bad example for the mini?"
"The 'mini' was the one that started it," Chad replied, using his brother's nickname for Hollie.
Bryan laughed. "You expect me to believe that a ten-year-old made you two make out?"
"It does sound silly," Taylor reminded Chad.
"But that's how it happened," Chad replied. "You saw it."
"If I didn't I may not believe it," she admitted. She had always been on his family's good side and so by siding with Bryan even on something so silly Taylor was hoping it would stay that way.
"I do like your girlfriend," Bryan told Chad as he got up. "Don't screw this one over."
"Yeah, um, about that…" Chad started.
"So, how was the last competition?" Mrs. Danforth asked Taylor. She sat on the chair across from them and eagerly awaited an answer, throwing Chad's thought off track.
"It was a close match," Taylor answered. "Gabriella scored us the final question at the last second."
"That's wonderful," Mrs. Danforth smiled. "So what are you going to do for the rest of the year?"
Taylor shrugged. "Just focus on school and try to get good grades."
"That's a very smart thing to do," she nodded in approval. "Junior year is what the colleges are going to look at the most. It's good to have your priorities straight."
"Right…priorities," Taylor agreed almost nervously. She twiddled her thumbs and looked down.
Chad saw it as an opportunity to take the lead; maybe try and get things started before it was dragged out too much. "What if we said we were gonna have more priorities?" he asked. "Like…. Work?"
"I think that's a great idea," Mrs. Danforth smiled. "You can start saving money for college and it's a great way to get some experience."
"But what if we needed work for more than just college?" Chad wondered.
His mother raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
Chad and Taylor looked at each other. Now seemed to be as good a time as any. They slowly turned their gaze back to Chad's mom. "There's…sorta…well there's something…" Chad stammered. "We gotta tell you something."
Mrs. Danforth raised an eyebrow. Bryan leaned on the chair behind her, looking at them expectantly. Hollie sat on the floor, tapping her feet together in a curious manner. Chad looked to Taylor, trying to telepathically ask her if she wanted to tell them. And while they couldn't communicate that way Taylor could tell by the look in his eyes what he was asking. It was hard for her to look them in the eyes with the way they were staring at her. She could already read their reactions. Bryan looked as if he were ready to burst. Mrs. Danforth looked more worried than anything else. Hollie only had a blank yet curious stare. None of those stares were making her feel any better. She looked down.
"The thing is…" she stammered quietly. This was nothing like telling Chad, just mindlessly blurting it out. She glanced at Chad from the corner of her eye, who was just as visibly nervous as she was. Taylor lightly grabbed one of his hands, as a way of asking for support. She knew Chad couldn't say anything to that; he was just as scared as she was. But he not only squeezed her hand back but held on tightly with both of his hands and rested his head against them. That was all Taylor could ask for. She looked at his family again and took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."
Bryan was the first to react. "Sh*t," he cursed a bit too loudly before angrily pacing around the living room. He rubbed his temples before turning furiously to Chad. "What are you thinking, bro? What's the matter with you?"
"Apparently a lot," Chad muttered.
"Don't tell me you're keeping it, too," Bryan groaned.
Chad didn't say anything. He just looked up at his brother.
"You're not serious…" Bryan's voice seemed to trail off. When there was no response from Chad, Bryan's rant continued. "Damn it, Chad! What are you doing keeping a baby? You're just a kid! You don't know anything about being a dad! You're screwing your girlfriend's life and you're screwing your life."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Bry," Chad muttered.
"Excuse you?" he scoffed.
Chad stood up and looked his brother in the eyes. "I said you don't know what you're talking about. You have no idea how hard we're working to plan for this and you have no right to tell us what to do."
"Do you have a job?"
"No…"
"Are you gonna finish school?"
"Yes."
"Where are you gonna live? What are you gonna buy? Do even know what a baby needs?"
"Bryan, shut it."
"How do you even know if that damn baby is yours?"
Chad shoved Bryan. Bryan nudged Chad. The brothers began to roughhouse with each other, one trying to overpower the other.
"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Danforth scolded. She got between the boys in attempt to break them up.
Taylor couldn't take it anymore. Hearing one reaction was one thing; Chad told her to expect Bryan to overreact. She wasn't mad or upset over that. There were two things Bryan was doing that were sending her over the edge. The first was fighting with Chad; she didn't want them to fight over anything because of her. But what made it even worse was that he dared to question if Chad was even the father. It was one thing for people at school to question; they didn't know any better. But hearing Bryan react the way he did; the way he said it; not to mention the fact that she proved to Chad's family how loyal she was to him…. It infuriated her. Taylor had seen her father around enough women to know not to turn into one of them. Chad was the first and only person she had ever been with. She didn't care if it was said out of anger or fear; as far as Taylor was considered, implying that she would be intimate with anyone besides Chad was demeaning and hurtful. And she didn't want to be part of it for another second. She didn't even bother to grab anything of hers, she just ran out of the house as fast as she could. She stopped at the curb and sat down. She rubbed her eyes in attempt to dry them. She needed to calm down. But it was hard to calm down when she had been given such a large insult.
Some of the pain seemed to go away when Taylor felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She paused from the sudden sensation before looking next to her and seeing Hollie. Taylor let out a soft sigh of relief. She had to admit, it was nice to see someone who ran after her and cared about her.
"Are you ok?" Hollie asked quietly.
Taylor nodded and hugged her back. "I'll be fine," she replied though a bit shaky.
"Bryan didn't mean it," Hollie said.
"I know," she replied.
"What's it like? Being pregnant?" Hollie wondered.
"It sucks," she answered. "You're sick all the time, you have these crazy mood swings, there's all these cravings…"
"I don't think I wanna get pregnant," Hollie replied.
Taylor nodded, "Just remember that when you get older. It's not right for a teenager to have a baby."
"So why are you and Chad?" she asked.
"I don't know," she admitted. She took a breath. "We just like doing things the hard way, I guess."
"Chad likes to do things the hard way. It's why he never does his homework," Hollie giggled.
Taylor let a chuckle escape her. "He has to make up for his other flaws, I suppose."
"Like laziness and his hair?" she asked.
"I happen to love his hair," Taylor admitted.
"He loves your hair, too. I caught him playing with it sometimes," Hollie replied.
Taylor's face turned red and she tucked some hair behind her ear. This must have been what it was like to have a sister; saying these cute yet embarrassing things and making someone look like a nut in front of their significant other. Taylor liked this sister-esque relationship she had with Hollie and she knew she was close with Chad as well. The three of them blended together nicely. Taylor couldn't help but wonder how long it would last now.
Hollie rested her head on Taylor's shoulder and broke the silence. "I think Chad's excited bout the baby. Or else he wouldn't be getting his butt kicked by Bryan," she said. "How does he even make a baby anyway?"
This wasn't the kind of conversation Taylor didn't want to have with Hollie. Heck, she didn't even know how she'd talk with her own child when the time came. "I think you should ask your mom," she answered quickly.
"But you know how he did," Hollie replied.
"Ok, I think that's enough of that," Taylor blurt out. She blushed wildly and moved away from Hollie a little. This girl was good at treating Taylor like her sister; she gave her that.
Hollie giggled. She sat up on her knees and looked at Taylor expectantly. "So what do you think it is?"
"I think we'll find out next month," Taylor answered.
"I hope it's a girl," she replied. "I'm tired of being stuck with brothers all the time."
"We sort of do have a name picked out for a girl, a middle name at least," Taylor admitted, "but I just want a healthy baby."
"You and the baby are gonna stay here, right?" Hollie asked. "Cause I don't want you to leave."
"I'd like to stay, if I can," Taylor admitted. "But I don't want to intrude."
"We can kick one of my brothers out," Hollie smiled. "My room's right in between theirs and they snore a lot."
"Really? Are you sure you don't snore, too?" Taylor teased, playing with one of Hollie's pigtails.
Hollie giggled. "I'm no snorer!"
"I think you are."
"Am not!"
"Are so."
"Am not!"
"Are so."
"Hey here comes Chad!"
Hollie jumped to her feet when Chad stepped out of the house. She ran over to him and practically dragged him to Taylor. She pulled him to the ground so he was sitting next to Taylor. Hollie then sat off on the side, waiting eagerly to see what the couple would do.
"Hollie can you go inside?" Chad asked.
"No, I wanna see you guys make out," she pouted.
Chad rolled his eyes. "Hollie, go," he said in a more strict tone. "We'll be right in."
"Lemme see," she begged.
"Now," Chad repeated.
Hollie pursed her lips. She folded her arms and then ran back into the house.
Taylor bit her lip. "She has such an imagination, doesn't she?"
"She really does," Chad agreed. He turned to Taylor and moved some of her hair away from her face. "Are you ok?"
As much as Taylor loved it when he touched her hair, she was only reminded of how much she was hurting. "How could Bryan say that?"
"Bry's a d*ck," Chad answered simply.
"But it doesn't give him the right to make assumptions like that," Taylor replied. She opened her mouth to speak but chose her words carefully before continuing. "One of the reasons my dad and I never got along was because he chose women over me. And I swore I would never turn into one of those women. How do you think it feels to be told I'm a sl*t after being with only one guy?"
"Sucky?" Chad guessed.
"To say the least," she nodded with a sigh.
Chad took her hand in his. "Then don't listen to what Bryan said. If I questioned it I would've said something. But you never gave me a reason to doubt you so why should I now?"
Taylor shrugged. "I guess if you chose your brother over me or if you believed him."
"Does this look like I believe him?" Chad asked. He pressed his lips against hers in a brief kiss. But it was enough to get the message through.
"I guess it doesn't," she answered with a smile.
Chad extended his hand to help Taylor up. "How about we go inside then? My mom probably wants to talk to us."
"I don't know…" she pulled away slightly.
"She's not gonna be mad," Chad promised.
"How do you know that?" Taylor responded.
"I don't," Chad confessed. "But can you trust me?"
He'd done a bit to prove himself to Taylor, more than she expected. How could she say no so easily? There was no sense in avoiding it now anyway; the secret was out so they had to face it. Taylor reluctantly took Chad's hand and followed him inside. After they closed the door behind them Taylor quickly came face to face with Chad's mom. She had her arms folded and held a disappointed look on her face, but the last emotion she appeared to have was anger. Taylor could see that, but the disappointment was enough for her. She looked at the ground in guilt.
Mrs. Danforth sighed. "I'm not going to yell at you. I'm telling you that now. What I want to know is why. What happened to using protection?"
Chad opened his mouth to respond but his mother held a hand up.
"Let Taylor answer, dear. I want to hear from her."
Taylor sighed. "Just twice…two times we didn't," she explained softly, rubbing her arm. "And the first time was enough for it to happen."
"So how far along are you?" his mother asked.
"Around seventeen weeks," she answered sheepishly. "I have an ultrasound at the end of the month."
"What are your plans?" Mrs. Danforth asked. "If you're keeping it then you need to start saving money and look for jobs. You'll have to think about what you're doing for school, maybe take some parenting classes to prepare…"
"I know," Taylor said quietly. "I've already resigned from the Decathlon team. I quit Chem Club and I'm going to tell the student council that I'm withdrawing my nomination for student body president."
"Well now hold on a minute, having a baby doesn't mean you have to give up your entire life," Mrs. Danforth replied. "Sweetie, it's senior year, you should be able to enjoy yourself. Have at least one thing to call your own. If you want to stay after school a day a week next year for a club meeting it's far from me to stop you. I'll be happy to watch the baby for an hour."
"With all due respect, Mrs. Danforth, I'm not in any position to ask you for help. I know I'll have to give up a lot. It's my child and I'll take the responsibilities I need to so I can raise it. I don't want to burden you with doing my job," Taylor said.
"This is my grandbaby we're talking about, watching it would absolutely not be a burden," Mrs. Danforth insisted. "Why would you even think that?"
"Because that's all I was to my dad," Taylor blurt out. Her breathing became heavier and her eyes grew watery. Taylor wasn't sure if it was a touchy subject for herself she brought on or if it was just the mood swings. But she was starting to show more vulnerability than she was used to. "My mom died when I was six because of cancer, but all I've heard my dad say is that it's my fault. I don't want to hear someone else say I screwed up their life or that I'm screwing up my life. I made my bed and now I have to lie in it."
Chad stood behind Taylor and wrapped his arms around her tight. It slowed her breathing but her voice was still chocked up form all the emotions.
"I just don't wanna disappoint anyone," she continued softly. "I didn't wanna let anyone down. And that was why I didn't say anything for almost four months. I couldn't even tell Chad until I was two and a half or three months along because I was scared of what he would say. And I was scared of what you would say because you've been so accepting of me and you're the closest thing I've had to a mom and I don't wanna lose that…"
Mrs. Danforth didn't let her go on anymore. She wrapped her arms tight around Taylor and gently shushed her. She waited a minute for Taylor to calm down before speaking. "I'm going to tell you something right now, young lady," she said lightly, "I'm not happy but I'm far from disappointed. You're absolutely right, you have to take responsibility now. And it's far from me to change your mind. All I ask is that you cooperate. I agree with you, I can't be raising your child. But I have no problem helping you. All I ask is that you at least start looking for a job, you and Chad. When you get a job, we'll go from there." She pulled away lightly and her eyes met with Taylor's. "If your father won't support you, I will. This mother-daughter relationship that you want, that we have, the baby won't change that. You'll still be like a member of this family. The baby will just make it more real. Things will get harder now, but not impossible. Getting pregnant doesn't mean you've let anyone down. It just means you can't let anyone down. Understand?"
Taylor nodded.
Chad looked up at his mom, arms still around Taylor. "Mom, I already showed Taylor the room upstairs. Is it ok if we fix it up, make it brand new?"
Mrs. Danforth bit her lip and thought about it. "Well it would be nice to see some new life in that room…" she confessed. "Tell you what; I have a day off tomorrow. Let me clean the room a little. It'll take a while, but I would like to do it at my own pace, if that's ok with you."
Chad and Taylor nodded.
"I think we need to let the news sink in a little. So we'll talk more about this later in the week. In the meantime I need to get dinner ready," Mrs. Danforth said. She eyed Chad, "No more fights with your brother. I need you alive for this baby."
"Seriously, I can take Bryan. I almost had him going," Chad insisted.
Taylor shook her head, as did Mrs. Danforth. "No, son, you didn't." She looked to Taylor again, "As for you, remember what I said."
Taylor nodded. "I will. Thank you, Mrs. Danforth."
"Mom," she corrected with a smile. "And one more thing. Before you go worrying about what everyone's going to say, think about who has his arms around you right now." With that said, she went into the kitchen, leaving Chad and Taylor alone again.
Chad smiled and rested his head on her shoulder. "I told you she wouldn't be mad," he whispered into her ear.
Taylor smiled. Chad was right; his mom wasn't mad. She was far from it. The talk put her in a much better mood and she didn't feel so worried anymore. Taylor heard what she hoped to hear, what she needed to hear. She turned around to face Chad, whose arms remained comfortably tight around her. She looked into his eyes and Mrs. Danforth's words seconds ago ran through her head. "Think about who has his arms around you right now." She did. She thought about how supportive he was being. How worried he was about her. How lucky she was to have him. And she cuddled as close to him as she could in his embrace, resting her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck. And she never wanted to let go.
This is one of the chapters I actually liked how it turned out. It was fun to write and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. The hardest part was probably naming Chad's siblings. xD I decided to name Chad's brother Bryan cause Bryan Danforth sounded nice and it was also kind of a shout-out to one of the other Chaylor stories that used Bryan as a name somewhere for something. 0=) As for the name Hollie, I don't know where I got it from. I thought it was a nice name and it was maybe influenced a little by the last season of American Idol. I know, I have no life. XD And of course now as I'm typing this author's note and posting the chapter I'm watching Cars 2 so I can't even think of what else I wanna say in here. Ummm I got six chapters of my new story written and like I said, 20something written for this story so there'll probably be another update with this story before any one else. I'm hoping to write more and I'm also updating my HSM blog on a daily basis which probably isn't the best idea but I'm doing it anyway. xD Ok I'm gonna shut up now cause I'm probably gonna type a bunch of stuff that I don't know what i'm saying while i watch the movie.