Disclaimer: The Secret Life of the American Teenager and all its characters are the sole creation of Brenda Hampton. I OWN NOTHING.

A/N: y'all are probably tired of me saying this, but sorry sorry sorry for the long wait. And to be honest, there's no telling when I'll get the next chapter up since I'll be working full time and going to school for my Master's (Even though I do tend to write when I'm procrastinating lol)

This chapter isn't beta'd, so I apologize now for any spelling or grammatical errors that I may have overlooked.

Chapter 4: A Beautiful Lie

Lie awake in bed at night

And think about your life

Do you want to be different?

Try to let go of the truth

The battles of your youth

'Cause this is just a game

~A Beautiful Lie, 30 Seconds to Mars

"You're free to go."

Ricky lies on his bed, smiling, as he thinks about those liberating words spoken two months ago. While he's extremely ecstatic to be out of that cell and to have his record clean again, a part of him is kind of grateful for the experience of the situation. First of all, he knows he never wants to be locked up in a cell ever again. Second of all, and most importantly, he realized how precious John really is to him and how messed up his life could be if he didn't have a father in his life - a good father. So, from the moment those words passed through the judge's lips, Ricky pledged to himself that he'd do whatever it takes to be a better father to John and to always be there for his son.

So now, he's back in school and he's already made up all of the schoolwork he missed. The counselor told him his GPA was hardly affected, and that he should start looking at universities - that with his grades there were a lot of options. But Ricky already knew that he wanted to attend the local university. It was an excellent school with a great business program and of course it would keep him near John.

The thought of John always brings a smile to Ricky's face. It's Thursday night, and he's looking forward to his upcoming weekend with his son. To be honest, before John, Ricky never wanted kids, for obvious reasons. But now, he couldn't imagine his life without his son, and even Amy. Now that they are getting along, everything is great.

Well...

Almost great. Things have actually been a little weird since...

Ricky sits up, shaking his head of those thoughts. On the nightstand, his cell phone buzzes and lights up. He glances over at it, and a wave of disappointment hits him when he reads the name that has popped onto the screen. Picking up the phone, he opens the message.

To: Ricky

From: Adrian

Thursday, 9:28 pm

hey, how 'bout I come over now and spend the night ;)

Ricky sighs. If he thought the past couple of months with Amy have been a *little* weird, then things with Adrian have been downright awkward. Now that he's out of jail, Adrian has been practically throwing herself at him as if nothing had change. But things *did* change, and Ricky can't ignore the fact that Adrian never tried to contact or see him during those months behind bars.

To Adrian

From: Ricky

Thursday, 9:32 pm

Not today

Adrian angrily glares at the message in disbelief. Not only is that the third time this week that Ricky has rejected her advances, but he's also been treating her like a pariah ever since he was let out of jail. Her lips purse in thought as she jumps off her bed and heads for the kitchen.

"He can't seriously be mad that I never visited?" Adrian asks herself as she pulls a bottle of water from the fridge. As she opens it and takes a sip, she catches sight of Amy and Ben through her kitchen window.

Adrian can't help but laugh at the awkward way they are sitting next to each other on the couch. She knows exactly why Ben looks all nervous and guilty, but what's Amy's reason, she wonders.

Did she and...no.

Is that why...of course not.

Adrian shrugs her shoulders as she pulls her phone out of her pocket and quickly composes a message.

To: Ben

From: Adrian

Thursday, 9:40 pm

after you're done with miss goody two shoes over there, you should come over

She smirks as she watches Ben's eyes widen as he reads the text. Amy must have asked him about it, because he shakes his head and his lips move in a quick response, as he types out something on his phone.

To: Adrian

From: Ben

Thursday, 9:41 pm

What? Are you crazy?

Adrian laughs out loud, shaking her head. Ben is always so fun to mess with, she thinks as she composes her reply.

To: Ben

From: Adrian

Thursday, 9:42 pm

oh come on, Ben, you know you want to, and everyone knows you're not getting any from Amy

As Ben responds to another text from his 'dad', Amy stands up and begins picking up after John. As she passes the living room window, she sees Adrian laughing at her phone. She must be texting with Ricky, she thinks with narrowed eyes.

Before Amy can comprehend the bitterness that accompanied her thoughts, Ben stands up and walks over to her. "I think I'm gonna go ahead and leave now."

"Oh ok," Amy responds distractedly as she turns away from the window. "Yeah, um, I'm sleepy. Goodnight." And not for the first time in the past two months, Amy and Ben part ways without even a kiss or hug goodbye.

Amy walks into John's room and finds her son fast asleep. After kissing him gently on the forehead, she goes to her room and prepares for bed. Unwillingly, her thoughts once again return to Adrian and Ricky.

Are they still...I don't wanna know.

But she never...guess it doesn't matter.

What about the...did he just forget?

Amy shakes her head as she rolls onto her side. Without thinking, she grabs her cell off the nightstand. After a brief hesitation, she sends the text.

To: Ricky

From: Amy

Thursday, 10:04

Good Night and Sweet Dreams from John and Amy!

Ricky smiles as he reads the text. He quickly replies with goodnight before rolling onto his back and falling asleep, smile still in place.

"Arrrrgh!"

Grace rolls her eyes as she continues to dig through her locker. In her peripheral she can see the brunette roughly running her hands through her hair, frustration very evident on her face.

"Are you seriously ignoring me?" Adrian whines.

Grace slams her locker close and turns toward her friend with a bright smile. "Of course not, what's up?" she cheerily asks.

"Ugh..." Adrian groans. "why is Ricky avoiding me?"

Grace shakes her head and walks away.

"What? Tell me," Adrian pleads as she walks beside her best friend.

"Did you try, you know, asking him what's wrong?"

The majorette shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. "Figured he be ready to jump into my bed once he was out."

"Adrian!" the blond gasps as she stops and stares at the other incredulously. "Do you seriously-"

Adrian's brow furrows in confusion at the abrupt stop in conversation and she turns to look in the direction of Grace's wide eyed stare. "You've got to be kidding me."

Down the hall, against some lockers, is Amy and Ricky in what appears to be a very deep conversation.

"Well don't they look...*friendly*"

"Shut up, Grace."

"Sorry, it's just...you don't think-"

"No," Adrian shakes her head fiercely. "No, of course not. Ricky would never...with Amy," she states not even convinced by her own words. Still staring at the teen parents, she pulls out her phone.

To: Ben

From: Adrian

Friday, 8:04 am

what's up with Amy and Ricky recently?

"Amy and Ricky?" Ben gasps out loud, as he slams his locker closer and states wide eyed at his phone. Alice and Henry cock their heads to the side as they stare at Ben questioningly. He frowns at them. "You don't think anything is going on between them, do you?"

Alice and Henry shrug their shoulders. "They're getting along," Alice comments.

Henry nods. "But that's for the sake of John, so..."

"I guess...it's just that...i don't know. Adrian is suspicious or something."

Alice rolls her eyes. "Adrian?" she questions as they walk away from the lockers. "Since when do you care what Adrian thinks. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was you two who got closer."

"What?! That's crazy! Of course, I would never!" Ben quickly denies.

Alice and Henry come to a halt as they turn on their friend.

"Ben..." Alice gasps.

"...you didn't?" Henry shakes his head.

"You don't know what you're saying," Ben huffs indignantly before stomping away. Unaware as he storms past Amy.

Eyebrows furrowed, she walks up to the couple. "What's wrong with him?"

They slowly shake their heads as they continue to stare in the direction Ben ran off too. "No idea," they reply simultaneously.

"This is ridiculous," Adrian bellows as she flops back onto the bed. Grace frowns sympathetically at her. "I mean, why am I even putting up with this. I'm Adrian."

Grace shrugs. "Yeah but he's Ricky," she points out.

"I know, I know," the brunette groans as she throws her arm over her eyes.

There's a quick knock on the door before it opens to reveal Kathleen. "Here you go, Grace."

"Thanks mom," Grace says as she takes the plastic bag from her and closes the door. She tosses the bag onto her vanity chair and plops onto the bed next to Adrian. "Man, I hate being on my period."

With lighting speed, Adrian bolts into a sitting position. "What did you say?" she frantically asks.

Grace leans slightly away from her friend as she stares at her with suspicious worried eyes. "My period. I hate it," she repeats slowly.

For a minute or so, the brunette is silent and motionless as her eyes glaze over. Then without any forewarning, only a gasp of Oh no, she's off the bed and out of the room before the blonde's jaw has a chance to hit the floor.

Ricky eagerly opens the door as soon as he hears the knocking. "You're here!"

"I am so so so very sorry for being late," Amy exclaims as she walks in and automatically hands John over to him.

"It's ok." Ricky offers as he happily bounces John in his arms.

Amy doesn't hear him. "There was this huge incident at the nursery, but I won't bother you with the details," she continues as she moves further into the room and starts digging through her purse.

"I said its ok," Ricky repeats as he places John on the floor near his toys.

Amy shakes her head in frustration, unaware of Ricky approaching her. "And to top it off I can't find my phone or I would have-"

"Amy."

Amy's head snaps up and her eyes widen at their super close proximity. Any closer and they'd be... "Huh?"

Ricky smiles as he lifts his hand to caress her cheek. Amy's eyes grow impossibly wider. "I said it's ok," he replies softly, as his hand slides down her arm to rest on her elbow.

"Oh." Amy blinks and unconsciously licks her lips. Are we...

Ricky blinks, his eyes lowering to focus on the recently wetted skin. Should I...

"AAAAAAHHH! Someone please help!"

Ricky and Amy jump away from each other and turn to face John, who stands innocently in front of the TV, which is blaring a random crime show.

"John," Ricky admonishes as he goes to the TV and changes the channel to something more kid friendly.

"I should probably go now," Amy states.

Ricky frowns. "So soon?"

"Uh," she nods. "I have...uh homework...and stuff."

"Oh," is all he can say, disappointed.

"Yeah, so, you boys have fun."

Amy's feet can't seem to move fast enough but she quickly makes it to the safety of her car. She takes deep breaths, her brain going crazy as she tries to make since of what (almost) happened in there.

The tell-tale buzzing sound of her phone vibrating instantly catches her attention. She glances around frantically, running her hands all over the car in search of it. Finally, she triumphantly pulls it out from under the passenger seat. Leaning back into her seat, she opens her message inbox and finds a new text from Ricky that simply says "Drive home safe."

Amy mumbles under her breath, "Kinda hard to do when I'm thinking about..." She shakes her head as she lays back on the head rest and closes her eyes.

"That was so lame," Ricky exclaims to his phone. "Wasn't that lame?" he asks again, this time to an oblivious John. "Ugh," Ricky groans as he leans back on the couch. "What am I thinking?"

Flashback

Amy's eyes widen as she feels Ricky's lips press against hers. She immediately pulls back, her right hand flying up to her mouth. "I am so sorry," she quickly apologizes.

Ricky shakes his head, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. With one hand, he pulls her hand down and away from her mouth, while his other hand lifts to gently cup her face. "Thank you," he says genuinely.

Amy's eyes slip close this time when she feels the soft, warm pressure against her lips. Her arms automatically find their way around Ricky's neck just like his hands find their way to her hips. She feels his tongue run across her lip and is about to open her mouth when...

"Mama!"

The two jump away from each other, the spell they seemed to be under instantly broke.

"Mama!" John repeats. "Browie!" he exclaims holding up the big chocolaty mess for her to see.

"Oh no," she gasps dramatically, "look at this mess you made." John can only giggle in response.

Adrian sits on her bed staring intently at something in front of her. A minute passes of her not moving, just staring at that spot, when her phone's alarm goes off. She ignores it as she slowly reaches out and lightly grasps a small white object. Closing her eyes, she flips it over and let's it fall back on the bed. Taking a deep breath, she hesitantly opens her eyes.

"Shit..."

A/N: yeah so there it is. Thanks so much for reading. Hope y'all liked it, or at least appreciated my finally updating lol Please REVIEW! Those are sometimes the only inspiration that can make me continue or finish a chapter. Next chapter story update should be Last Chance. But like I said before I'm busy with school, literally buried in projects right now since we're nearing the end of the semester, so unless I get a random burst of inspiration, it probably won't be updated till the holiday break at the earliest.

~Nichelle