Pssh, I told myself I wouldn't update this so quickly, but you guys reviewed and I appreciate it, and besides I'm trying to get through the sap quickly.

So I hope you've all got your knee high boots on, because the next few chapters will have a copius amount of sap.

For Juju.

Disclaimer: Meg Cabot owns all characters you recognise. I own the ones you don't, and I own Rivers, too. He is MY pregnant dog, not Lucie's.

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Mia's POV...

Mom wasn't sure what to think when I walked into the Loft sobbing, less than twenty four hours after I'd last left it, with Lars behind me carrying my suitcase, a confused look on his face.

"Mia!" she cried when she saw me. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Since I'd only arrived in the country the day before, I guess it was a bit much to think that something could have happened to make me go back to my mother in tears. But it had.

Frank took my suitcase from Lars and Lars left without a word. As far as bodyguards go, I couldn't ask for a better one. But he's not one to stick around when things get teary.

"Honey, sit down," mom guided me like a sleepwalker to the couch. "Do you want some tea? Frank, go make some tea."

Frank left obediently, seeing that this was a situation for mom, not him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as soon as Frank had left.

"I don't know what to say... I don't know where to start... Mom, I don't even know what's going on myself!" I burst into tears and cuddled against her chest.

Frank came back a minute later with two cups of tea. He set them down on the coffee table in front of us before grabbing Rocky and leading him out of the room, telling him I needed some 'mommy time'.

Once they were both gone, mom said, "It's ok, honey. You don't have to talk about it. But if you decide you want to, I'm here for you, ok?"

I nodded but didn't respond.

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On Sunday morning I woke up in my old bed, in my old room.

But things weren't like they used to be. And they never will be again. Nothing will ever be the same.

Mom gently knocked on the door and came in. She brought me breakfast in bed. It seems she only ever does that when I turn up on her doorstep in tears, she never used to do it. But nonetheless I sat up and ate it. She watched me like a hawk the whole time.

"You want to talk about it yet?" she asked when I was halfway through eating.

I shrugged in response.

"How about with Lilly? Do you want me to get you the phone?"

"No," I said quickly. "Not Lilly. She's his sister, not her."

Mom winced. Now she knows that whatever is wrong, it revolves around Michael.

"Ok," she said, looking as if she was running out of ideas. "What about Tina? Do you want to talk to Tina?"

Tina Hakim-Baba. Tina is the perfect person to talk to in this situation. She'll understand everything, even if I don't.

I nodded and mom took my empty tray away, returning a minute later with the phone.

Once she'd left again, I called Tina at Yale, hoping she'd be in.

She picked up after a few rings, and hearing her voice, even just saying 'hello' nearly made me cry. It was so familiar; so what I needed.

"Hi, Tina," I managed to sputter out.

"Mia!" she cried enthusiastically. "How are you? How's everything?"

"Uh, great, everything is great," I lied. I couldn't exactly just come out with the truth, now could I? And besides, if Tina was still as good a friend as she used to be, she'd know something was up.

"Uh oh," she said, just as I knew she would. "What's wrong? You don't sound 'great'. And you would not have called if everything were 'great'. Now what is it? Is it Michael?"

Just the mere mention of his name reduced me to tears again. I couldn't even get out another word.

"Oh, Mia," Tina said softly. "What is it? Calm down, it's ok, you can tell me."

"You remember how Michael was going out with that girl Holly?"

I'd kept Tina clued in during my problems with Alex and Michael a few months ago, she'd been my rock. It looks like she might be again.

"Yeah... Don't tell me she's trying to steal Michael back, Mia, because you have nothing to worry about. Michael loves you, not her."

"Tina, she's pregnant."

Tina was silent for a good while. I wasn't even sure if she was still there.

"Whoa," she finally said. "So what does this mean for you and Michael?"

"I have no idea! He's gone off to his parents to think things over. But Tina, I think things are over!"

"No, Mia, don't say that. He loves you..."

"Yeah, but now he has a child with someone else. Love might not be enough. And besides, is Michael the kind of guy to get a girl pregnant and then abandon her? No, and that's not the man I fell in love with."

"No, you're right," Tina admitted bitterly.

"Exactly," I sobbed. "So it's over! He's going to leave me for that bimbo and go and have really smart, really good looking kids with her!"

"Oh, Mia, I'm so sorry."

"Me too." I blew my nose on a tissue I dug from the bottom of my jacket pocket, next to my bed.

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School starts today. And since technically I'm not on my deathbed or lost in the wilderness, I don't really have a suitable excuse to not be there for it.

So I rolled out of bed at the Loft and got dressed.

Michael never called me like he said he would, I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I guess it means either he needs more time, or else he's decided to stick by fat-to-be Holly and the baby and he just doesn't know how to tell me.

Should I call him? What would I even say?

On one hand, I think he should be with Holly and do the right thing for his child, but on the other... I love him. I just want him to tell me that even the prospect of a baby couldn't keep him from me, because he loves me too much.

Does that make me a terrible person?

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So I arrived at Columbia for my first and only class of the day, my schedule being almost exactly the same as last semester, and who is one of the first people I see?

Holly herself.

Luckily I avoided her and she didn't see me. But I saw her. And I saw a lot more of her than I cared to, because she has a tiny, but definite bump on her belly; she's starting to show.

Looking at it now, I wonder how I could have missed it the other day. But I guess I was too distracted by seeing her in the first place to notice her stomach. And it's not that big, you probably wouldn't notice it if you didn't already know it was there.

But believe me, everyone knows it's there. She's parading around in front of anyone and everyone who will listen, patting her belly and gloating.

It makes me sick, even watching from a distance.

Finally, when I couldn't stand it any longer, I turned and stormed up to my first class, determined not to let it affect my concentration or focus.

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