We had a couple of more drinks, shared a few more kisses (some chaste and some quite passionate), and were suddenly and rudely interrupted by the only other resident of the village who, as Darren eloquently put it, bats for both teams.

His accent washed over us and I cringed quite visibly.

"Well well, if it isn't Arthur, Martha and John Paul!" Kris smirked, resting a hand on each of our shoulders. John Paul, who always seemed impressed by the Northern lad's comments, smiled up to him.

"Hey Kris."

I just grunted my hello before sipping deep from my pint glass.

"So, what's the occasion – no wait, don't tell me, this is the meeting of the newly-created Hollyoaks LGBT society – and I wasn't invited? For shame! So, to make it up to me, why don't you go off to the bar and buy us all a round while me and your darling closet-case here can have a wee chat?" Kris said, practically pulling John Paul's shoulder from the socket as he lifted him from the chair.

John Paul sighed, but relented his seat. He kissed me before moving to towards the bar.

"So, you left the cover girl of ripple for the superstar DJ finally?"

I gritted my teeth, placed a steely look upon my face and replied, "Yeah, and?"

"Like I'm gonna make a comment – except, I will say, if you do wanna borrow my high-heel boots and me leather skirt, you better give notice of at least a couple of days."

I groaned, but still laughed – what else could I do?

"I may get off at undressing boys, just as much as girls, but I still don't wanna take said girls clothes and try them on!"

He laughed, his eyes full of mirth, and replied, "I still can't believe you've become so secure in who you are to actually get with him. I remember that chat we had before your dance... I could tell you were reeling in the knowledge that someone liked you, but you still seemed to taken your decision serious enough, and now I can see the results."

I leaned back in the chair and just looked at him, contemplating his words for a moment before finishing off the last of my drink.

"So, why are ye two in here when you live at a pub?" he asked as he drank some of John Paul's abandoned drink.

"I wanted to spend my birthday with my boyfriend, and Jake and mum were working at the Dog this afternoon, so we decided to come here for a few pints before heading into town for dinner and a movie and back to his for some... personal delights." I smirked at him, waggling my eyebrows suggestively, which caused him to laugh.

"Your very secure in this relationship – never thought I'd see the day!"

We laughed together and John Paul finally returned with three glasses in his hand.

"What's so funny?" he asked, passing out the drinks before grabbing another chair and placing it between both of us.

"We were just discussing yer plans for some 'nighttimes delight' after your date."

I have no idea how the both of us kept a still face for so long as John Paul turned a darker shade of red. The dam burst and me and Kris finally fell into fits of laughter.

"Oh shut up," came John Paul's lame reply.

"Sorry, babe, but it was too tempting not too!" I said, leaning over to kiss him.

He complied, returned the kiss, but we were rudely interrupted by a loud coughing fit. We separated to see Kris drinking his pint as he faced towards the bar.

The afternoon wore on, and the laughter continued and empties piled up and we missed the starting time of our film and, soon afterwards, the reservation that John Paul had made for our dinner.

He pulled out his phone, made a quick call to his sister who got her boyfriend to have a table ready for us in a half hour.

"I'd better make my way home, before you two miss your dinner date again. It's been a good evening, but if I continue drinking, my mind may race to indecent thoughts of the three of us enjoying some Grecian delights! Night all!"

He curtsied, and left, leaving the pair of us blushing as a silence fell. We soon finished off our drinks and made move.

–

Arriving at Il Gnosh, we found it reasonably busy, bar from one spar table. Jacqui showed us to the table, passed us the menu and took our drink orders.

And so the evening continued, with laughter, the odd kiss as we consumed through our drink-addled brain. It got relatively quiet, with just two other couples positioned around the room.

Finally our pudding arrived, and it was only 9pm, when the doors opened once more; Sarah and Rhys entered eatery, Sarah looking worse for wear and Rhys, as per usual, smug.

Thankfully, we weren't spotted, by some kind of miracle, and Sarah and Rhys sat a table across from us.

I excused myself, and dashed off to the loo, casting a look in my ex's direction. She really did look poorly – for the first time in an age I saw her without her usual mask of makeup.

I entered the gents and just stood at the sink, my mind running a mile a minute as I came up with scenario's of what had happened to her to make her look so upset... and tired, and I almost always came back tot he fact that I dumped her for her gay friend.

But I'd already given up on caring what people think of mine and John Paul's relationship, so I simply washed my hands, toweled them off and returned to my table were our empty dishes were escorted away.

I collapsed into the chair and it groaned loudly. I quickly glanced in Sarah's direction once more and she caught me looking. She, out of the blue, burst into the tears. She got to her feet and stood suddenly, knocking her chair to the ground. I watched as she walked towards me and timed seemed to slow. I felt John Paul take my hand in his reassuringly squeeze it as Sarah weaved a path towards the table, her glass still firmly in her hand.

Time sped up as she emptied the glass in my direction and placed it on the table beside her. She fought back a sob as she grabbed at the chair beside her to support herself.

I instinctively made a move to help her sit down, but she held one hand before her, halting my movements. I repositioned myself, my hand from John Paul's as I waited for the onslaught of abuse to begin.

But instead she just broke down, gave into the tears and clutched at her stomach.

Rhys rushed to her side as I stood up once more and took her into my arms. She fought for a number of seconds and then gave in, soaking my shirt as cried out her grief. Her words were non-nonsensical and mumbled.

"What?" I asked, my voice hitched high and I pulled back so her voice would be clearer.

"I'm 7 weeks pregnant – I'm havin' your baby Craig! I'm pregnant!" She screeched.

It was as if all the air had been knocked from my sails. I stumbled backwards as her announcement sank in. Pregnant. She's pregnant. With my kid.

"How... how are you? I mean, we were always careful, weren't we?" I ran on, words rushing into another.

"Condom's don't always work," Rhys advised us as he placed his hand over her shoulder and began to escort her from the restaurant.

After they'd gone, I returned to my seat and the world fell to the wayside. I'm gonna be a dad. I'm gonna have son or daughter. All my plans that I'd been making, asking John Paul to come to Dublin with me, spend the rest of our lives together... but I just didn't seem to care.

I got to my feet, hearing white noise and nothing else. I got to my feet and ran from the eatery and ran away.

I ran till my chest ached, forcing my way into the flat through the back door. I climbed the stairs two at a time and finally reached my room. I collapsed on my bed, forgoing undressing and pulled the quilt about me. I stared at the ceiling, watching as the moonlight bounced off it in shimmering shapes.

My thoughts ran into each other as Sarah's cries echoed in my head, over and over again. I pulled the duvet above my head, snapping my eyes shut as I ignored the vibrating of my phone in my pocket.

I cried myself to sleep that night, for the first time since first realising the feelings I had developed for my best mate.

The next morning Jack knocked at the door to announce that both Sarah and John Paul were outside and shouting the odds at each other. I quickly got up and launched into action, moving down the stairs.

I unlocked the pub doors and ran outside, standing between my ex and my boyfriend.

"She's lying Craig! She just admitted to me that she's lying! There is no baby!" John Paul said, glaring at his former friend.

"I only said that to shut you up! You're a McQueen, how'd I know what you'd do to me? I had to protect myself and my kid!" Sarah pleaded, her trade-mark puppy eyes staring at me imploringly.

"Look at her Craig, she's still as thin as a rake! She's hysterical!"

"Please Craig, don't listen to him – I'm carrying your child! You're going to be a father soon!"

Both of their arguments washed over me like rain as I spoke up, "Shut up the pair of ye, and go home!" I instructed, staring at them both with my hands held wide.

"Craig, don't tell me your falling for this?! She's just doing this out of revenge! You dumped her for me, a bloke! C'mon, you can't really take this seriously!" John Paul asked, his eyes dark with disbelief.

"I donno what to think Johnny! If it's the truth and I ignore it then I'm no better than my old man! But if I do believe her, I'm going to want some proof – pregnancy test and a paternity test." I said, my voice too calm for the situation at hand.

"I'll get a pregnancy test now, I'll get it in Drive'n'Buy right now and prove it to you, alright? I will! I'll do anything you want! I'm just so glad you're giving up on this nonsense with the gay and getting back with me!" Sarah cheered, her puppy-eyes quickly replaced with joy of joys, like Christmas and her birthday had come at once.

"Oi! What the hell are you talking about? We're in love!" John Paul insisted, a dark look clouding his normal life-filled eyes.

"Sarah, even if you are pregnant AND it is mine, I'm not getting back with you. Even if I wasn't in love with John Paul, I wouldn't get back with you – I'm not in love with you to want to be with you. You know we were just going through the motions the last few months we were together. Alright?" I explained, trying to keep my voice at the cool, calm and collected level as it was earlier.

"W..What?" she mumbled, stumbling away from the pair of us, her hand to her mouth.

"Sarah, are you alright?" I asked, moving towards her once more.

"I tell you I'm pregnant with your child and you're going to stay with him?"

"What?" I shouted, my mouth falling open, "You only said that to try and get me to leave John Paul? What would you have done if, in a month's time and you didn't start to show? What then, eh?" I roared, my throat burning from the shouting.

"I AM pregnant, you bastard! I'm going to get a pregnancy test and I'll be back here to show it to you, alright? Wait right here, you wanker!" she cried, huddling off on her high heels.

I turned away, breathing heavily. I collapsed onto a bench and placed my head in my hands.

The wood creaked and it lowered to the ground as JP sat beside. I didn't move.

"You alright?" he asked, placing his hand on my back and rubbing soothing circles into my back.

"How can I be alright, John? Sarah's possibly pregnant, and I'm more than likely the father! Alright? No fucking way am I 'alright' John Paul!"