Hey, thanks for spotting that whole Spike or Snake thing I didn't even notice! Thanks for the replies, especially the complimens.

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It was the last place Craig wanted to go: The Girl's Bathroom. After completely abandoning Ashley, he had sped off in Emma's direction, only to come face to face with a door, clearly marked with a "Girls Only" sign.

All the excitement was happening on the other side of the door, and his stupid sense of self was keeping him stuck on the wrong one. Who would see him anyway?

It was an ongoing battle in his head, but overall, he knew which one should win, and he let it. Bravely, he put his hand on the door, pushing it forward while it creaked mercilessly. He couldn't help but feel like he was intruding on something very private, and the moment he passed the wall to see Emma sprawled powerlessly on the floor, he knew he had been right.

It was pretty much the most unromantic sight, the remains of her throw-up drooping off her chin. Not bothering to mask the face of distaste, Craig automatically snatched up a paper towel and offered it to her. She took it, not in the least surprised by his presence.

Quivering, she actually had the courage Craig didn't. She spoke. "I'm sorry I interrupted you and Ashley."

Nonplussed, Craig simply hovered in front of her, the same perplexed look he had been sporting since summer on his face.

"This is disgusting."

She threw the paper towel to the side. There were still no words proper enough for the occasion. He was going to be voiceless forever.

There was no right thing to say, no wrong thing.. Nothing could make this better or worse, but he had to say something.

"Ash and I... are over. We -- well, we were just about to break up when you came."

Emma didn't respond. Taking in a puff of breath, Craig plopped down next to her, turning to face her, although he could tell she didn't want him looking at her.

"Uhh, listen I know you're with Sean and everything, and that's okay, I'm fine with it, but... well are we just going to ignore it?"

The madness of waiting for an answer. What tension must have been caught in his gaze.

"I don't know," Emma said. "Craig, I like Sean, I've liked him for the longest time. Just... if we do just 'ignore' it, I'm sorry, okay? If I avoid you, yell at you, spit in your face, whatever, I'm sorry."

She was predicting her actions. She was flat out telling him that she was going to treat him like dirt, and he still did not give up. He just persevered. Grabbing her hands in his, he brought them to his chest, staring straight into her eyes.

Eyes... hah... he had never understood why they were so meaningful until now.

"If this is what I think it is, Emma, I swear I'll be there, okay? For you."

She was just that lucky. To have someone to love her relentlessly. How unfair.

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The prospect of impregnating another girl was just all too much for Craig to bear -- the facts were right in front of him, he couldn't ignore them any longer. He was an idiot.

What a difficult concept -- protection.

The whole walk to Emma's was silent and could basically be whittled to one word: scary. And picking up a pregnancy test at the drug store had been torture. Craig had never liked to go there for anything personal -- acne treatmeat, toothpaste, condoms.

Oh.

That might explained the predicament he was in now.

Emma motioned for him to be quiet as they snuck inside her warm, sunlit house. It was just plain comfortable in that house, he loved it.

"It's okay," Emma said as Craig shut the door. "I guess no one's home."

There wasn't much either of them could do to make their task any less awkward, so they just stood at the door, avoiding looking in one place for too long. It was pointless to mask their discomfort.

"Well, so should we do this?" Craig asked, taking the bag from Emma's hands. Reaching inside, he pulled out a pink ad white box. "Hmm... it's very girly, makes sense."

Emma took the box from him, reading the back.

"You should go sit on the couch. I'm gonna go... take this."

Waiting for a pregnancy test is... well, it's... who knows, really. It's just big, no matter what the circumstance. Craig's case was no different.

He sat on the same faded brown couch he had been lying on the past summer. Everything had circled back to this. To know that all the stress he'd been dealing with, all the questions, they all lead back to this one place. How many more times would he sit in that exact spot? It was a dumb question, he knew, but how much worse were things going to have to get for him to find himself back in this very spot?

And at this very single second, Ashley was probably at home, strumming along on her guitar, oblivious to the travesty that was going on just blocks away, threatening to shatter her perfect life, her perfect boyfriend -- Craig. He was held up on such a pedestal by her, and he was kicking himself off.

Why couldn't he have just left Emma alone? To her life... and him to his.

What would have been if he had?

And what kind of person has sex with someone they don't love? Emma. Emma was the answer.

"Craig?" Emma whispered, treading down the stairs. She looked down at her hands as she placed them on the rail. "I just want to get all the pointless stuff out of the way... okay? Whatever the answer's going to be." She stretched her hands out in exasperation, looking for the words and realizing there were none. There was just a shortage of them altogether, which was pretty bad. "God, I just need to know how you feel about it, like, are you mad at me? Do you want one, if there is one are you going to be around, will it screw up your relationship with Sean -- just..." she let out a moan, causing Craig to feel a large amount of pity for her. She was just a sad thing.

Staring off into nothing, Craig answered numbly, "I'll be here."

A bell went off, notifying the two that the test was ready. It was like it wouldn't wait, like it had no patience. Criag and Emma darted up the stairs, crowding into the bathroom, hitting doors and knocking over toothbrushes. Craig slipped like a clutz as he skid into the room, balancing himself on the paper dispenser next to the toilet.

Read, it Emma, please God read it.

Silence, eerie silence. Emma reached for the test, gingerly picking it up, but keeping her eyes averted. He wanted it read so bad, but then, he didn't. The anxiety of wondering was such a high, and after they knew, it would be gone, no way of getting it back.

Sucking in a gap of air, Emma gazed at Craig, both of them readying themselves for the answer.

"It's positive."

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PREGNANCY: The stage in which a sperm and an egg cell form together to form a human being within a woman's stomach. Often leads to unfavorable side effects, such as heat stroke, exhaustion, hemmroids, mood swings, and discomfort.

...So this is what was happening to her. This is what awaited Emma on her path to detroying her future. Well, it didn't sound too good... It was amazing that one night was going to ruin the rest of her life. A few hours was going to have a ripple effect on the next sixty years. It wasn't a happy concept.

Seized up, Emma sat scrunched on her bed, tensing up her shoulders and giving herself a headache. She didn't have the strength to relieve her aching muscles... who cared... Her face was a blistery red mess. She took hold of chunks of her tangled blonde hair, pulling hard behind her head. She vaguely wondered why after all the pulling her head wasn't bleeding.

Craig sat off in the corner in front of the vanity. His posture was laid back, but his hands kept moving to touch something then retreating away. He wasn't very comfortable. He felt as if he was an intruder.

And he was. He was the reason all of this was happening, the person behind it all -- and he was just sitting there like it was no big deal! He wasn't in half as much torment as she was, but he was getting off easy.

"I have a question." Emma spat.

Craig glanced up from the mirror, putting his hands together in a fret. He was self conscience, she could tell.

"What'd you want?"

Emma squinted her eyes in malice, putting her hands over the pillow that lay on her lap. "When you set up the whole thing for me to come over the night of the rave, did you plan for that to happen?"

Craig shifted in his seat uncomfortably. The answer was complicated. In truth, he hadn't anticipated anything of what had happened... but he had wanted it, and he had thought about the possibilities. He hadn't meant for it to happen, but he had known it could. But was that even an answer to her question?

Why beat around the bush?

"Sort of."

His answer came out throaty and weak. Couldn't he at least be a man?

"Sort of? That's all you can give me?" Emma yelled. She threw the pillow aside, putting her feet on the floor. She was livid. "I'm pregnant, because of your body, and sort of is the best you can give me?"

Because of you?

"What are you talking about, my body?"

Emma swiveled around, scratching at her arms and legs. "I mean, your body!"

Craig looked down at his knee. You naughty knee, you...

"You know what, Emma?" Craig said, standing defiantly. "This -- this whole thing -- is not only my fault. So instead of strutting around putting the blame on everyone else, do something! Think about what you're going to do!"

In response, Emma cocked her head and pursed her lips. She'd never been one to take orders well, nor one to be talked down to. Reaching for the bed, she grabbed her jacket and shrugged it on, her movments becoming more rapid.

"I am going to Sean's," she announced. "If you need me, I'll be there."

She proceeded to stomp up the stairs, leaving Craig alone. Yelling wasn't going to do anything. If she wasn't going to think ahead, Craig would have to.

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