Juju's pov
The weeks passed by, dragging on yet speeding by. I can't tell which is worse. Soon enough, though, I was done with the 6th grade and out of elementary school. I hang out with Callie and Preston almost every day. We go to parks, or swim at my pool, or hang out at an ice cream shop down the street. It's the best summer I've ever had, even though it's only the third week.
On the downside, the time passing had made my mom visibly pregnant. Not any sort of "Oh, maybe she had a big lunch", but undeniably pregnant. Which was annoying.
"Hey Jules, can I come in?" Mom asks, knocking on my door.
"Sure," I reply.
"How are you?" she asks sweetly.
"Fine," I reply. I talk to her less now. Everyone just wants to talk about the baby, and it makes me uncomfortable. So, as a result, my room was getting much more usage than it had before.
"So... I have an ultrasound in a few days, and I was thinking it might be fun if you and your brothers came along as well," she offers. "Do you want to?"
No, I don't. Not at all, not even a tiny bit. That seems a bit harsh to say, though. "I don't think so," I say slowly, trying not to sound rude or hurt her feelings.
"Juju, I think you should. I won't force you, but you might regret it later," she says, raising her eyebrows and giving me a small smile.
"I don't want to," I say softly.
She nods, looking down for a second. "Okay. See if you can stay at Callie's during the appointment," she says.
"I will," I reply, watching her closely to make sure she wasn't crying again.
"You can always change your mind, though. And I'll probably have another later on, so you can come to that one if you want to," she tells me.
"Maybe," I reply quietly. I already know that unless some universe-changing experience happens between then and now, I will not be attending an ultrasound for this baby.
"Also... it's your birthday next week," Mom says, smiling.
I nod, trying to fight the smile off of my face.
"Do you wanna go shopping together, like we did for your birthday last year?" she asks.
She looks excited, and I hate having to tell her no. "I think I'll go with Callie instead," I say, my voice barely more than a whisper.
"Oh." I can hear the disappointment in her voice."Well, I can drop you off and you call me when you want me to pick you up," she says.
"That works," I say, smiling and wishing she would as well.
Betty's pov
I didn't tell Jughead about the failed attempt with Juju until later that night. We were laying in bed, which was when I finally remembered.
"Juju hates me," I mutter.
"What makes you say that?" he asks, putting his arms around me.
"She said no to going to the appointment and ultrasound, and said she wants to go shopping with Callie for her birthday instead," I reply.
"She's growing up," Jughead tells me.
"She's doing this because I'm pregnant," I say.
Jughead sighs. "She'll come around, I know it," he says. "Just give her time."
"How much time? She's only got a few more years before she's an adult, she'll be out of here in no time," I say sadly.
"She loves you. She'll get over it, and she'll love her little brother or sister more than anything soon enough, and she'll come home from college or wherever she decides to go," Jughead reassures me.
I sigh. "I hope you're right."
Juju's pov
I wake up the morning of my thirteenth birthday to the smell of French Toast. Smiling, I walk to the kitchen.
"Good morning, my new teenager," Mom says, and then hugs me. I feel the baby kick at me. That will never not be weird. I can't imagine feeling it from the inside. "They wanna say happy birthday too," she says, touching her stomach lightly, resuming making the French Toast.
"Mm," I say, nodding. "Are Gray and Rhett up yet?"
"No, you're the first one," Mom replies, plating the French Toast. She hands me the plate and I take it to the table, where she joins me a minute later with a cup of tea.
I eat silently for a little while.
"So, we're gonna pick Callie up at 11:30, and then I'll drop you girls off at the mall. I'll give you separate money for lunch that you shouldn't spend on presents," Mom says, smiling, and I smile as well. "Then call me when you want me to pick you up, and we'll go get Preston so he and Callie can spend the night."
I nod. "Okay," I say.
I finish my breakfast and bring it up to the sink. I glance back at my mom, who looks slightly stressed and worried. "Is something wrong?" I ask her. My mind jumps immediately to the baby. As much as I don't want a sibling, I don't want something to be wrong with the baby, for everyone else's sake.
She looks up at me, surprised. "No, everything's fine," she replies.
"Okay," I say, looking at her unsurely. Everything was not fine, and I knew it.
The day went according to plan. Callie and I walked around the mall all day, laughing and buying clothes. But in the back of my mind, all I could think of was what my mom hadn't told me at breakfast that morning. That night, I went to get water for Callie, Preston and I and came across my mom in the kitchen, looking overwhelmed and texting someone.
"What's going on?" I ask her as I get cups down.
She quickly shuts her phone off. "Nothing, honey," she says.
I look her over. She's wearing a tight black tank top that highlights her stomach and loose grey shorts. Her hair is pulled smoothly into a loose bun.
"it's not... nothing," I say, filling up the first cup.
She smiles softly. "It's nothing you need to worry about," she tells me.
"Sure?" I ask.
She nods. "I'm very sure," she replies, smiling. I can still see the unease in her eyes, however.
"Kay. We'll be in my room for the rest of the night," I say.
"Okay," says Mom. "Come here."
I walk closer to her and she hugs me. "I love you, Juju," she says.
"Love you too, Mom," I say, hugging her back.
Betty's pov
Juju walks back to her room and I sigh deeply, leaning back on the counter. I open my phone to three new texts from him.
"Juggie," I say tiredly.
"What?" Jughead calls from the living room.
I take a deep breath and walk to him, cuddling up in his body. "Juggie," I repeat, my head resting comfortably on his chest. I feel my face grow hot.
"What's going on, Betts?" he asks me, concerned.
"Jug..." I say, and break down in tears.
Juju's pov
I get back to my room with the water. "Something's up with my mom," I tell Callie and Preston.
"Like what?" Preston asks.
"She seems stressed and worried about something, and she was hiding her phone from me," I reply.
"It's not anything with the baby, do you think?" asks Callie.
I shrug. "I'm not sure. I asked her if anything was wrong, and she said it was nothing I had to worry about," I say.
"You didn't ask if it was something with the baby, though?" Preston says.
"Not specifically," I reply.
"She could have to go on bed rest, maybe?" Callie suggests unsurely.
"Maybe... why'd she have to hide that from me though?" I say.
"I don't know..." Preston says, sighing.
"Is there anything else going on right now that might stress her out?" Callie demands.
"I don't think so," I say. "I mean, other than baby stuff, I can't think of what else it could be."
"You'll probably find out eventually," Callie reassures me.
"Yeah, I probably will," I agree. "Maybe if I'd gone to that appointment I'd know something..."
"What appointment?" Preston asks.
"My mom had a doctor's appointment a few days ago and said we could go, but... I went to Callie's instead. Gray and Rhett went, maybe I can ask them if something happened," I tell Preston.
"They're eight and six, what do they understand about pregnancy complications?" Preston says.
I shrug. "They could've heard something they don't understand that I could look up," I reply.
"I guess..." Preston says unsurely. "All I've gathered from this conversation is that you are much more comfortable talking with your mom than I'll ever be with mine."
Callie and I laugh, and Preston grins. He'd never been close with either of his parents, and was always bad at talking about deep things with them. That was our purpose, he would say. His parents were there to discuss grades and sports with. We were there for him to have people to discuss his feelings with.
"Well, whatever it is, let's not let it ruin our night," I say. "Come on, we can watch a movie on my TV," I offer.
Preston and Callie laugh. "Sounds great," Callie says. "As long as we're not watching The Little Mermaid, I'll watch whatever."
"Your sister on a binge of it again?" Preston asks.
Callie sighs. "Sadly, yes. All I hear the entire day is stuff about Ariel, or Ursula, or that Eric guy… he didn't even like her in the original fairytale! Ariel's supposed to die!"
"Did you try telling that to your sister?" I ask.
Callie looks at me as if I'm crazy. "My mom might murder me if she found out I told her that. 'You'll traumatize her!' she'll say. 'Let her have something she loves without ruining it!'"
"I think having you try to teach me how to do those variable fraction things was much more traumatizing than having an older sister tell you that Ariel dies at the end of The Little Mermaid," I say.
"That's just because you're terrible at math," Callie points out.
"I'm not terrible! I'm just not Callie level. We've all got our own talents. Yours is math, mine is art, and Preston's is science and sports. So he's both nerdy and a jock at the same time," I say.
"Real nice," Preston says.
"You know it's true," I say.
He sighs. "I mean, I guess I do."
"I'm always right," I say. "Except in math," I add when Callie opens her mouth to contradict me.