Alright, here's chapter 10. Wow, 10 already. I think I might cry. This is the longest story I've ever made, and I am so proud of it right now. Thank you to all of the people who have read and reviewed; you really mean a lot to me.
This chapter is sort of a song chapter. I was inspired by Bruno Mars singing 'Talking To The Moon' and thought that it kind of fit Ricky's perspective. And I also chose 'A Thousand Years' for Amy, though I am really liking 'Teenage Dream' for her, too. I don't know, just make sure you review for this chapter and give me your opinion on it.
Third person POV. Very, very, very AU. Don't forget that.
Disclaimer: I do not own Secret Life of the American Teenager.
She sucks in a deep breath as soon as his eyes find hers. It felt like the past few minutes were in fast-forward. In the blink of an eye, she saw Adrian's dark eyes look over Ricky's shoulders and come to a rest on her. Adrian smirked, her gaze flying over to Ricky, who was shaking his head dismissively and looking at Ben. It came to her suddenly, what Adrian was going to do.
This was it; no more Amy and Ricky.
She took a step forward, arm outstretched as if to reach Ricky, lips forming his name, before Adrian surged forward, slapping her full lips onto Ricky's. It was like a full-blown punch to the stomach. She gasps, and stumbles back, clutching the buttons on her blouse. Her baby jumped in her stomach, and she felt as if the room was spinning. Adrian…kissing…Ricky… No, it didn't make sense. But it did.
She exhaled heavily, barely hearing someone say, "What the hell's wrong with you? No means no!" She places an arm on the wall for support, her face crumpling. She looks up, expecting to see Ricky's and Adrian's faces glued together, but instead looks up to stare right into his eyes.
"Amy," he whispers.
Wait, what happened? Weren't he and Adrian just kissing? He takes a step towards her, and she looks at him crazily, her face full of hurt and betrayal, almost an exact replica of her face when she was told her father was cheating on Anne. Why wasn't he kissing Adrian?
"Why'd you stop?" she asks. It comes out in a small, strangled voice, and Ricky shakes his head.
"How much did you see?"
She exhales through her nose, breaking free of his gaze and looking at the floor, tears swimming in front of her eyes.
"All of it."
"Good. Then you know exactly what happened." Ricky's voice sounds relieved. He comes towards her, about to wrap his arms around her when she pushes him away.
"What are you doing? You should be hugging Adrian – not me," she says loudly. The whole hallway buzzed with excitement as they watched the two of them.
"What? I thought you saw the whole thing."
"I saw enough to know that you kissed Adrian!"
"First off,' he starts in a heated tone, "Adrian kissed me. Second, if you didn't see the whole thing, then you wouldn't know that I pushed her away as soon as she came after me. We kissed for barely a second before I told her we were done and to leave me alone."
She looks up at his face. He was clearly upset about this and kept throwing glances behind his shoulder at Adrian, who was close to angry tears and was talking with Ben. Relief floods through her as soon as she comprehends the truth. No, Ricky isn't kissing Adrian. He's standing in front of her. He wants to hug her.
"Oh," she says, her face smoothing out and voice coming out soft. "Sorry, I guess I was just too shocked to realize what was actually happening."
He takes in a deep breath and lets it out as his face relaxes. He gives her a small smirk.
"Yeah, I figured." She pushes off from the wall and walks towards him hesitantly until he closes the gap between the two of them and wraps his strong arms around her, keeping her protected from everything that could hurt her. She's his to hold and keep safe and love. He respects her independence, and her diversity, but will treat her with the love she deserves, even if she doesn't want it because of her independence and diversity.
They walk down the hall, his arm till wrapped around her, towards the exit. The students watch them, and see the love they seem to radiate when they're with each other. They think maybe Ricky Underwood really has changed. They think maybe Amy Juergens isn't screwed for life. They think maybe their lives will be okay.
But God only knows.
He kisses her good-by softly, once they reach the parking lot, giving her hand a squeeze and not letting go of it until their arms are outstretched too far and they have to let go. He stuffs his hands into his pockets once again, keeping his head bent as he makes his way to his car. He unlocks it and gets into it quickly, getting out of there as quickly as possible. Hopefully his mom wouldn't be too mad that he was late. He turns on the radio impulsively as he drives as fast and legal as possible, not really recognizing the song or the voice.
I know you're somewhere out there
Somewhere far away
I want you back
I want you back
My neighbors think I'm crazy
But they don't understand
You're all I had
You're all I had
At night when the stars light up my room
I sit by myself
Talking to the moon,
Tryin' to get to you
In hopes you're on the other side
Talking to me too
Or am I a fool
Who sits alone
Talking to the moon?
His brow furrows as he turns it up. Was it really that coincidental that this song should be playing after what he and Amy have been going through the past few days? It almost scared him: he had stayed up one night in his living room, sitting near one of the front windows. The moon had been shining down on him and all he wanted to do was talk to her, so he talked to it instead. He even wondered if she was talking to the moon, too.
And then there was the line 'my neighbors think I'm crazy, but they don't understand'; it was like the neighbors were his classmates, outsiders that would never understand the problems he was going through. He listens again closely to the next line of lyrics.
I'm feeling like I'm famous
The talk of the town
They say I've gone mad
Yeah, I've gone mad
But they don't know what I know
'Cause when the sun goes down
Someone's talking back
Yeah, they're talking back
Ohh
At night when the stars light up my room
I sit by myself
Talking to the moon,
Tryin' to get to you
In hopes you're on the other side
Talking to me too
Or am I a fool
Who sits alone
Talking to the moon?
It's like this song is about his life. All the words fit with what's going on: 'the talk of the town', 'I sit by myself, talking to the moon', and 'or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?'
His head is still filled with song when he gets home. As soon as he walks through the door, Margaret smiles at him and puts him to work. She says something about a few kids coming through for the next couple of days, and he shrugs, not really listening. She pats his cheek before going into the kitchen. He cleans and prepares the other rooms in a daze, eyes often glazing over. He's distracted by that song for the rest of the day.
She spots her father's car not long after Ricky leaves. He's sitting in it, fiddling with his tie that he wore to work. When he sees her approach, his eyes light up and he smiles at her softly. She knows that he really does love her, but it's just hard to love him back, now. She tries to smile, but it comes out more like a grimace. He ignores the way her face twists with it, and gestures for her to get in. She opens the passenger seat and slides into it slowly.
"Hey, kiddo," he says as if their last encounter didn't happen at all.
"Hi," she replies quietly. She sees him glance at her stomach, then shake his head before pulling out of the parking lot. It's silent for a moment, before George breaks it.
"I've got a great day planned for the two of us."
"What do you mean? I thought you were just dropping me off at home?"
"No. Didn't your mother tell you we're having a little father-daughter day?"
"Not at all."
He frowns as he watches the road. Determined to stay clear of the subject of him cheating on her mother, she plucks up enough courage to make small-talk with him.
"So, how's the business?" she asks, inquiring about George's furniture store.
"Fine. Sales are doing great, but lots of long hours."
"Mmm." Her lips purse into a thin line, reminding George of Anne. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Out. Maybe we'll get some ice cream or something."
"That sounds nice."
"Good. Ice cream it is."
The silence is too much for George to bear, so he turns the radio on, switching it to her favorite radio channel. The song is sweet and slow, but loud enough for the car's atmosphere to soften.
Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone, One step closer
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
She likes the song, having heard it a couple times before. She listens to the lyrics carefully, given the situation she's in, and almost gasps when they sink into her brain. The song is like what would have come out of her brain if she was a musical genius writing about how Ricky makes her feel. It's like the song starts when they were at the hospital together, when she discovers the budding feelings she had for Ricky at the sight of their baby.
Her hands move to her stomach instinctively and rub it, the silky fabric of the blouse gently caressing the stretched-out skin. She rests her head back and listens to the song again.
Time stands still
Beauty is all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
They get to the ice cream shop after two more songs and six more minutes of awkward silence. She listens to her dad and talks when she's supposed to, all while licking her double-chocolate chocolate chip ice cream cone. Her mind is somewhere else as she listens to her dad's apology with glazed eyes and an indifferent face. She hugs him robotically when he gets up from his side of the table. They finish their ice cream and go to one of her favorite restaurants. She laughs at the right places, she smiles at the right places. But it's all an act.
In a way, the song has helped her figure out some things that she was having trouble with. She has feelings in her that she couldn't identify earlier, but when she heard what the song is about, she knows now that she's been waiting for Ricky for a long time, now. It was one of those epiphany moments; the ones where it's like nothing is around you and you feel as if your mind and body are in a different world. And when it's over, she smiles so wide, her cheeks ache later from it.
She thinks they have that sort of love that's inevitable; the love that's only in the movies; the love that people are jealous of and will stop at nothing to have it, too. The kind of love that seeps into her very soul and puts a new light on things. She doesn't know that the tears are streaming down her face until her father has got up from his seat and wraps his arm around her.
"Why are you crying, Amy? Is it something I did?"
She shakes her head, laughing and crying at the same time.
"No," she whispers. "I'm just so happy." She laughs again, and after a few seconds, her father joins her. She places a hand to her belly and rubs it soothingly. For once, she likes the emotional roller-coaster she's on.
Her father drops her off at her house before he speeds down the road. She thinks it has something to do with the fairly-sized bruise he has above his left eyebrow. She walks up the driveway slowly, noticing her mom's car parked in it. She sighs, thinking of this morning's almost-argument with her mom about Ricky, and what she had let slip. She enters through the back door, coming into the kitchen.
"Mom…Ashley, I'm home." She shuts the back door and spins around to find her mother with her hand on her hips, staring her down.
"Hi, Mom. How was your day?" she says as sweetly as possible, taking her bag off of her shoulder and placing it on the kitchen table, ready to do some homework.
"Amy, don't avoid this. This is serious. I need to know what you're doing with that boy. I don't even remember his name and I haven't even met him, yet!"
"Um, I kind of have a lot of homework…" She trails off at the sight of her mother's face.
Anne groans and sits at the table next to her.
"Amy, please tell me what's going on between you and…"
"Ricky?"
"Yes, Ricky."
"What's there to say besides he's the father of my baby?"
Anne puts a hand to her forehead and lets her head rest on it.
"I don't know," Anne says sarcastically. "How about your relationship status with him?"
She looks away from her mother and focuses on turning to the correct page in her math book. Why must she have this conversation now?
"Can we talk about this later, Mom? I really need to do my homework since I was out all day. Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me I would be with dad all day!"
"Don't turn this on me, young lady," Anne threatens, a gleam shining in her eye. "I want to talk about your safety first."
"Safety? What about safety relates to mine and Ricky's relationship?"
"So you are in a relationship with him?"
"Mom!"
"Amy, just tell me…you used to tell me everything, and now I feel like you're pushing me away. I want to know who you date because I want them to feel welcomed. I don't want them to be scared off because your family is going through some tough times."
"You mean since our family is messed up," Ashley says, suddenly sneaking into the kitchen.
"Out!" Anne yells. Ashley rolls her eyes and trudges out of the room.
She remains silent, her lips sealed shut, staring at her math book.
"I know that since you're having a baby, getting a guy will be…a little harder than it would have been if you weren't pregnant at all. I know that you want to keep this baby now, and I completely support you, but it will have its consequences. But now that you have someone, I need to know so that I can help you stick with this guy for a long time. He may be the only one you get. No pressure to him, by the way."
She manages a small smile as Anne nudges her playfully. Her mother was just looking after her, that's all. And she does probably deserve to know that Ricky would be in her future a lot, whether if they were in a relationship or not.
"Thanks, Mom," she says quietly.
"No problem. Now, let's hear about Ricky…how did you…?"
She smiles. "Well, last Thursday, Ricky told me something really important. He said he wanted to be the father of his baby, like literally. He wants to help me take care of him…" Anne's jaw falls open.
"Are – are you sure? Can you even trust him?"
She nods her head fervently. "I'm getting to that part. So then, he and Ben got into this fight and I actually – uh, brought Ricky here because his fingers were all bloody and his nose was swollen, so I thought I should probably help him since my boyfriend was the one who started it. And he kind of…kissed me while I helped him." Anne raises her eyebrows but she continues quickly. "I promise that's all we did – one kiss."
"Didn't look like that to me," Ashley calls out from the hallway as she passed the kitchen entry. Amy ducks her head as her face heats up, but ignores the look her mom gives her.
"Anyway, when he left I broke up with Ben, then we got back together and I know I didn't do the right thing by getting back together with Ben. It was just because I felt guilty for cheating on him, and the worst part was I didn't even tell him. But then we ended it together because I told him I cheated on him and didn't regret it."
"Amy!"
"Just be patient here, please. And yesterday me and Ricky finally talked about the kiss and…I told him I loved him. I guess I still have feelings for him." She bites her lip, trying to hide the smile that begins to form on her mouth.
"And he was okay with this?"
She takes her time before answering, looking into her mom's eyes that were so much like her own.
"He told me her loved me back."
Done. Hope you liked this chapter. I know it's a little shorter than the last one, but I'm gone for the weekend. Heading back to Essex! I really wanted to write a closured chapter before I left so you guys could leave the next one to your imagination. If you have any ideas, I would love to read them. Don't be afraid to ask what's happening next, too, because I could PM you and maybe give you a little sneak peak!
Have fun! Stay safe. Don't do drugs. Stay out of jail. Love you!
TeamSwiss737