Chapter Two
"Look who I found," Ryan announces when he and Anna walk into the Crab Shack.
"Rose!" Summer jumps to her feet and hugs Anna.
"Anna, hey," Seth hugs Anna as well, "what are you doing here?"
"I'm moving back."
"Moving back? But what about Pittsburgh? And Peanut butter cup pies, and Swifty, and the seasons?"
Anna shrugs, "I missed you guys."
"You moved back because you missed us?" Summer asks.
"Well, I did miss you guys but that's not why I moved back, the situation at my aunt and uncles changed. So I had to move back in with my parents."
"I'm so glad you're back!" Summer exclaims giving Anna one last hugs as they slide back into their seats. "Oh, this is my boyfriend Zach, Zach this is Anna."
"Nice to meet you," Zach greets and then asks, "but I thought you called her Rose?"
"I did," Summer nods without explaining. "So are you going to Harbor with us then?
Anna shakes her head, "no, since it's halfway through the semester I'm going to do independent study until the end of the school year. I'll start back at Harbor next year."
"You should come, you went back to Pittsburgh in th e middle of a semester."
"Dr. Kim wouldn't let me back in for the remaining part of the year, she said I could come back in the fall though."
"That sucks," Summer responds, "but we'll still hang out. It's not like our lives revolved around school."
"Well," Seth interrupts, "ours don't, Ryan, on the other hand, has turned into a bigger geek than I ever was."
"Hey," Ryan protests.
"Dude, it's totally true, all you do is study anymore. You haven't punched somebody in, like, months."
"Hey guys," Marissa appears beside the table with Alex.
"Oh, hey, look, it's Alex and Marissa. They're dating, but we're all totally cool with it."
Anna nods and suppresses a smile, "clearly."
"Anna, you're back?"
"I'm back."
"And you're pregnant."
"You're what?" Seth exclaims.
"Wait, what?" Summer stares between Marissa and Anna.
Anna's face turns a bright pink and Marissa looks equally embarrassed, "sorry I figured everyone knew."
"How-how'd you know?"
"You have that look, like Charisma Carpenter did on Angel right before we found out Cordelia was pregnant." Everyone stares at Marissa, momentarily taking the attention off of Anna, "what? I've been watching Angel with Alex."
"You're pregnant?" Summer's stare turns solely on Anna.
Anna nods, "I wasn't going to tell everyone just yet."
"Sorry," Marissa apologies again.
"It's okay," Anna smiles weakly. "It's not that I didn't want everyone to know, I just suck at actually telling people."
"Are you keeping it?"
"When are you due?"
"Who's the father?"
Marissa, Summer and Seth's questions respectively are one's that Anna expected when she thought about telling her friends in California she was pregnant and she answers them gracefully. "Yes, I'm keeping the baby. I'm due at the end of July. And the father is not involved in anyway. I know it's weird," Anna admits, "all if it. But is it possible to just keep things normal between all of us?"
The entire table laughs and Alex speaks for the first time, "hi, you must be new. It's impossible for anything to be normal around here."
Anna laughs too, "well I meant...well you know what I meant..."
"We know what you meant," Summer agrees. "Oh my God you'll never believe..."
"So," Ryan glances at Anna sitting in the seat next to him after their meal at the Crab Shack, "that didn't go horribly."
Anna smiles, "it was great. It's nice being able to fit so easily back into a group."
"Sorry about Marissa though, but she's still Marissa not the best with the thought process."
Anna shrugs, "I'm glad she blurted it out. I suck at telling people, my aunt found the pregnancy test and my aunt and uncle called my parents. Telling Damien, well it sucked so I guess that might have something to do with my nervousness." Anna's outburst is followed by silence that Ryan doesn't dare break. Finally though, Anna breaks it with a topic change, "are you really taking physics?"
Ryan nods, "yes, unfortunately."
"Good, I've got to take it in this home study program, you wouldn't mind help, right?" Anna offers Ryan a pleading smile.
"Sure, not a problem." Ryan laughs lightly, "whoever thought that you'd be coming to me for homework help."
Anna laughs too, "so you're really doing this school boy thing?"
"Yeah, the councilor cornered me on the first day of school and got me to take all of these AP classes. So, you'll be joining us at Harbor next year then? Kim'll let you back in?"
The smile leaves Anna's face right away and Ryan immediately feels guilty for asking the question, "she said I can come back next year. But..."
"You don't have to go into details," Ryan interrupts, "really. You don't owe me anything."
"No," Anna shakes her head, "I don't mind telling you. Basically Dr. Kim would prefer it if I didn't come back to school with a baby next year."
"She said that?" Ryan asks, stunned.
"Well she didn't come out and say it, but that was the point. She and my parents are pretty much in an agreement, they think I'm doing the right thing in having the baby, but they also think that I should give him or her up for adoption." Anna doesn't make eye contact after this statement, "my parents tell me its my choice, and Dr. Kim can't keep me out of school because I have a baby. In the end it's up to me to choose."
"Do you know what you're going to choose?"
"No," Anna whispers. "But, hey I have four months to figure it out."
"Anna, if you need anything..."
"I know, thanks Ryan, I really appreciate it, and at some point I'm sure I'll need your help with something."
And she did, the call came two nights later while Ryan was in the middle of finishing homework for school the next day. "Hello?"
"Ryan?"
Anna's voice on the other line still threw Ryan off, "hey Anna, what's up?"
"Remember that thing you were saying about if I need anything."
"Of course, is something wrong?"
"No, no," Anna quickly assures, "I just need a favor. Are you busy?
"Just working on some calculus, could definitely use the break. What's up?"
"It's nothing huge or anything, I just need a favor."
"I figured," Ryan responds, "what's up?"
"I'm bored out of my mind here, my parents are still out of town and leaving me without a car, and I'm having a huge double chocolate chip ice cream. So I thought maybe if you could come get me I could treat for some ice cream?"
Ryan rubs his eyes and glances at the mountain of homework he had, if he left now he'd be up all night finishing it but Anna's request was so innocent and held a semi-childlike quality to it he couldn't help respond, "I could do that. Give me about 10 minutes to finish up some of this calc homework and I'll be over."
"Thanks Ryan, you're the best."
"I'm sorry to just have called, I know you probably have a ton of other things going on. But not getting out to go to school and not having a car to drive is driving me nuts. My parents said they'll get me a car when they get back but they're away for another two weeks so that leaves me car-less until then."
"It's not a problem, really," Ryan assures as they both take a seat with their ice cream cones in the new ice cream shop that had opened just weeks before.
"I never thought I'd be missing school," Anna laughs.
"We'll you're more than welcome to some of my homework," Ryan promises.
Anna grins, "gee, thanks." Anna's tone drops as she states, "I should let you know that everyone in this little shop probably thinks that you're the father of my child."
Ryan looks up to find that most of the people sitting in the booths around then are stealing glances in their direction, "I hadn't even realized."
Anna nods, "I figured you hadn't. Um, I'm about to do something crazy, just go along with it, okay?" Before Ryan can even respond Anna shoves him hard in the chest and loudly exclaims, "I can't believe you!" With her words Anna stalks out of the ice cream shop with her purse and her ice cream cone.
Ryan stares stunned after her for a minute before getting up quickly and following, a blush tinting the tips of his ears, sliding behind the wheel of the ranger he finds Anna doubled over in laughter. "I can't believe you just put on a show for an entire ice cream shop full of people."
"What?" Anna asks between gasps of laughter, "if they feel like they have the right to stare at me then I feel like I have to the right to take advantage of their nosey stupidity."
Ryan just grins and shakes his head and once Anna has stopped laughing he asks, "so lots of staring then?"
"For about a month," Anna nods. "Since I started showing, but I refuse to be ashamed of it. I made a mistake, but I'm not going to hide it what decade are we living in?"
"Good for you," Ryan responds. "That's the way Theresa felt."
Anna offers Ryan a sad smile but it changes quickly and grabbing Ryan's hand and pressing it to her stomach she states, "feel that?"
Ryan attempts to pull his hand away but after a second he stops, "is that the baby?"
Anna nods, "isn't that amazing?"
Ryan nods, "yeah, it really is."
"I guess he got a kick out of our little scene," Anna laughs at her lame pun and Ryan can't help but grin as well.
"So it's a he?" Ryan asks.
Anna shrugs, "I don't know. I don't want to know. I saw a councilor when I was still in Pennsylvania and she said that for a lot of people who give their babies up for adoption it's easier for them not to know the sex of their baby. I don't know if it's true or not and I don't even know if I wan to give the baby up for adoption but..." Anna stops, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Ryan slowly moves his hand away from Anna's stomach and against his better judgement states, "I think you know what you want to do."
Anna sniffs, "yeah? What is it you think I want to do?"
"I think you want to keep the baby, but you're letting everyone around you sway your opinion."
Anna brushes her now completely wet cheeks with the back of her hand, "they all have good points."
"What that you're a teenager and you can't be a parent too?" Ryan asks. "You've said your parents will support what ever decision you make, you have their support, do what you think is right. I can see that you already love this baby and if it's worth anything I think you'd make a great mom."
Anna sniffs again and asks, "when did you become so talkative?"
"Right about when I got so smart," Ryan responds as he starts the car and pulls out of the parking spot.
Anna is quiet until they stop in front of her house, "thanks Ryan."
"Thanks for saving me from my homework."
With her hand on the door Anna stares intently at Ryan, "do you really think I'd be and okay mom?"
"I think you'll be a great mom," Ryan admits honestly. "The fact that you refuse to be ashamed about your baby is just one little bit of proof."
"Thanks Ryan," Anna whispers before slipping out of the car.