Claimer: I own this entire story and all of its characters!

Enjoy, my readers!

Later that week on Thursday morning, Alison's alarm went off at its usual time, 6 AM. She pressed the 'snooze' button, rolled onto her back, and rubbed the crusty sand out of her eyes. Ever since Joey's party, Alison had been feeling sick to her stomach, but regardless she forced herself to go to school so that it wasn't obvious to her friends that she had gotten drunk. Meanwhile, Jake had missed school on both Monday and Tuesday and then finally recovered. This puzzled Alison, for she knew for a fact that she had not nearly had as much to drink as Jake had at the party.

As she sat up, sudden and unexpected pain surged through Alison's breasts.

"Ow! Jeeze…" she exclaimed, automatically putting a hand to them. Even the contact of her fingers caused them to ache. She frowned and guessed they were only growing pains before slowly getting out of her bed to prepare herself for school.

An hour and forty five minutes later, Jake and Alison walked into the school hand in hand. Underneath her heavy coat, Alison was wearing a black, skintight turtleneck shirt. It stopped about an inch above her dark, destroyed low-rise jeans. She was also wearing a pair of short heeled boots on her feet. Over her shoulder was her usual gray satchel bag. Her hair was as straight as a board and she liked the way it fell down her back. In her ears were her hoop earrings and a few rings occupied her fingers. As not to overwhelm her outfit, Alison had only put a bit of makeup on. Meanwhile, Jake was dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a pair of boots.

When the couple reached the end of the hallway, they exchanged a quick kiss.

"See you in a bit," Jake smiled at her as he started towards his locker. Alison waved and turned in the other direction to do the same. Her girlfriends were all there, chatting amongst themselves.

"Hey!" they greeted her in chorus once she reached them. All of them had their books and supplies for class.

"Hey," replied Alison with a slight smile. She took her coat off and then spun the dial on her locker.

"Why so quiet?" Riley asked her after a brief silence.

"Is something bothering you, Ali?" Britney followed.

"I'm fine," replied Alison as she opened the locker door. "My boobs kinda hurt today for some reason…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!" said Britney sympathetically.

"Do you think they're just growing pains?" asked Erika in a concerned voice.

"Yeah," answered Alison embarrassedly.

"Alright," murmured Britney, gently stroking Alison's shoulder. "Well, we'll see you in homeroom!"

"Bye!" Alison gave them a little wave before turning back to her locker. She pulled her Spanish textbook and notebook out of the locker and just as she was stuffing them into her bag, she felt a tap her on the shoulder. Alison immediately turned around.

A smiling girl around Alison's age stood before her. She had dark, curly hair that touched her shoulders and big, matching eyes. She was fidgeting with her fingers in a bashful way. Like Alison, her heart shaped face only had a bit of makeup on it. The girl was quite petite, but she had a curved waist. She was wearing a white, moderate scoop sweater, blue jeans, and a pair of snow boots. There was a silver cross necklace hanging around her neck and a heavy looking backpack was slung over her shoulder.

"Hi," said the girl quietly. Her voice was very kind, but sounded rather nervous.

"My name is Rachael Gilmore," she continued without breaking eye contact with Alison. "We're in some of the same classes."

"It's nice to meet you," said Alison. "I'm Alison Former."

"Do you live in the neighborhood, Rams Gate?" asked Rachael inquiringly.

"Yeah," nodded Alison as her brow began to crease, "Why?"

"I live three houses down from you on the right," stated Rachael.

"Oh, cool," said Alison, trying to sound interested. "I didn't know that."

"I saw you drive back to your house from the party down the street last Sunday morning," said Rachael somberly.

"Oh, um, okay," said Alison as she closed her locker.

"And didn't you have someone with you?" Rachael went on in the same inquisitive voice.

"Yeah, my boyfriend, Jake Reeves," replied Alison with a slight nod of her head. She crossed her arms in front of her, causing pain to surge through her breasts.

"I'm sorry if that was a little random," said Rachael, finally looking down at her feet, "but I've noticed that you seem a little different since that night."

"How so?" asked Alison curiously.

"You seem tired and rather ill…" said Rachael directly.

"Yeah, I am," said Alison. She shifted her weight over, once again making her breasts ache. Her face contorted at the feeling and one of her hands jumped to them. Rachael automatically caught this.

"Are you alright?" she asked anxiously.

"It's nothing," replied Alison curtly, adjusting the strap of the bag on her shoulder. "I need to get to homeroom…"

"Me too," said Rachael. Alison turned without another word and started towards the stairs. Much to her irritation, Rachael followed suit and walked alongside her.

"I'm sorry if I'm annoying you with my questions," said Rachael sincerely as they climbed the stairs. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine!" said Alison concisely. "I just don't feel all that well!"

"Alright," Rachael said in a low voice before Alison quickened her pace and left the girl behind.

"When two values go together in a pair, we call it an ordered pair," stated Mr. Hartman, the Algebra teacher, "and the rule that defines the relationship between the two values is called a relation. The first value in the ordered pair is the independent quantity and the second value is called the dependent quantity." Alison, her girls, and all the other freshman students were sitting in the classroom together, reading their textbooks along with Mr. Hartman. Alison was having a difficult time paying attention to the lesson. Behind her, she could practically feel Rachael's eyes glancing up at her every few seconds. To make matters worse, Alison's stomach was feeling worse than it had all week.

"The first value in the ordered pair is the independent quantity and the second value is called the dependent quantity," continued Mr. Hartman. He faced the board behind him, picked up a piece of chalk, and began writing everything down.

"Suppose we have a group of 6 people and the color shirts they are wearing," Alison felt her throat was tighten up and her stomach lurching slightly. She quickly shot her hand up into the air, knowing that she only had a matter of time before her cereal resurfaced from inside her.

"We are determining – Yes, Alison?" asked Mr. Hartman upon seeing her hand.

"Can I please use the restroom?" Alison hurriedly choked out.

"Of course," nodded Mr. Hartman.

"Thank you," Alison quickly got to her feet and fled from the classroom. With her hand over her mouth, she ran down the empty hall towards the nearest bathrooms. Once she reached them, Alison pushed the girls' door open and ran into the nearest stall. As she knelt down in front of the toilet and held her hair back from her face, her stomach lurched fiercely and she threw her breakfast up into the bowl.

A minute later, Alison finally stopped puking. Panting despairingly, she pushed the toilet's lever before leaning against the stall's wall. The aftertaste in her mouth was absolutely revolting.

"What is wrong with me?" Alison asked herself miserably. For a little while, she sat there in deep thought, trying to figure out what was causing her illness. She meditated on Saturday night and everything she had done. She knew that she had only had around four beers that night and no more. Maybe she had drunk out of somebody else's cup by accident and the original owner had been ill? Alison didn't remember doing so… She continued to ponder upon the night and recalled that she had driven Jake's car back to her house. Falling deeper into thought, she vaguely remembered getting ready for bed and nothing more. The next thing she had known was waking up at 3 in the afternoon with Jake on the other side of her bed.

Alison's train of thought came to a complete stop. She sat up straight and her eyes widened slightly as she turned over everything in her mind. Did she and Jake have unprotected sex last Saturday night after she passed out? It certainly was a possibility, seeing as neither she nor Jake remembered.

Then she gasped as another thought hit her like a soaring baseball. Her heart began pounding against her ribs and a freezing chill surged throughout her body.

Could she be pregnant?

Alison carefully thought everything through. There was a definite possibility that she and Jake had had unprotected sex last Saturday night. What if the birth control pill she was on had not worked properly? She was also having early signs of pregnancy. She had been feeling tired and sick all week, her breasts had begun hurting, and she had just now thrown up…

"Oh no!" cried Alison, burying her swimming head into her hands. If she was pregnant, her friends would soon find out that she had abused their vows. What about Hayden and Vincent? They would surely kick her out of the house. And how would Jake react if he found out that he was a father? What if he left her?

Alison finally calmed down after a few minutes. She realized there was still hope for her because she had no verification that she was pregnant… She slowly pulled herself to her feet and left the stall. Her stomach felt a little better, but her breasts continued to ache as she quickly washed her hands. Alison exited the bathroom after drying them and walked back to Mr. Hartman's classroom. Upon entering, everyone's anxious eyes automatically jumped upon her.

"Are you feeling alright, Alison?" Mr. Hartman asked her in a concerned voice.

"No…" she replied. "I-I think I should just head home."

"Alright," said Mr. Hartman, "You are excused." Alison nodded appreciatively before walking towards her desk to gather her things. She kept her head down and ignored everyone's stares. Once she finished stuffing everything back into her bag, she quickly left the classroom.

After returning her books to her locker, Alison put her coat on, popped a stick of gum into her mouth, and exited the quiet school. Tiny snowflakes were gracefully falling from the overcast sky as she walked across the white school grounds. She hardly noticed that she was the only person outside, seeing as her mind had thousands of worries bouncing around inside. Alison reached the sidewalk and strolled along the path towards downtown.

In twenty minutes, Alison arrived at CVS, the nearest drug store. She swallowed as the automatic doors opened before her.

"Hi! Welcome to CVS!" said a cashier at the counter when Alison entered the building. She nodded at him and then slowly started towards the aisles. She wasn't sure where to go, so she paced each isle with her arms crossed tensely in front of her until she found what she was looking for: early pregnancy tests…

Alison nervously looked up and down the aisle and swallowed the painful lump in her throat. She stared at the many boxes in front of her before picking one out and examining it. It was a $12.00 test and looked fairly simple to use. Alison sighed and fought back her fearful tears as she walked to the counter. She kept her eyes down as she approached a female cashier and handed the box to her. The girl scanned it in and Alison gave her fifteen dollars from her bag. Once the cashier returned the test to Alison, along with her change and receipt, Alison stuffed the items into her bag.

"I hope everything works out for you…" the cashier spoke softly to her. Alison nodded in reply before turning on her heel and embarrassedly leaving the store. The snow was still steadily falling from the sky as Alison hailed down a passing taxi. It screeched to a halt right in front of her and Alison climbed inside at once. She was the only passenger, other than the driver up front. It was a young man in his twenties. He was dressed in a warm coat and a newsboy cap that covered most of his dark curls. His matching eyes were observing Alison in the rearview mirror. A little bracelet with a cross hung from it.

"Where to?" asked the driver. Alison gave him her address and a minute later he found it on his GPS. Then he started driving straight down the road. Meanwhile, Alison stared out the window and continued to fight her fears. I don't have any proof yet…I don't have any proof yet, she repeated to herself decisively.

"I'm sorry for prying," the driver struck up a conversation after a minute of silence, "but shouldn't you be at school?" Why was everyone pestering her with questions today? Alison looked into the rearview mirror where his dark eyes were watching her every move.

"I'm not feeling well today," she replied shortly.

"And that's why you got something from the drugstore?" he went on. Alison nodded and continued to stare out the window, lost in her worry.

Fifteen minutes later, the cab finally arrived in front of Alison's house. She quickly paid the driver for the ride and got out of the cab without a word. Her boots left tracks in the snow as she crossed through her white yard. She reached the porch and started searching for her house key in her bag. Once she found it, she unlocked the door and entered the silent house. Alison climbed the stairs to her bathroom and placed her bag on the counter before going into her room and changing into more comfortable clothes (a white T-shirt, a pair of long, fuzzy pants, and her slippers).

She went back into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Then she opened her bag and removed the pregnancy test from it. She heaved a nervous sigh before opening the box and pulling the instructions out of it. Alison read them as calmly as she could, but her hands were trembling so badly, it was hard to make anything out. Her forehead was clammy with sweat and her stomach was beginning to feel sick again as she opened the plastic bag containing a little plastic cup and a test strip.

Alison placed the filled cup back onto the counter as carefully as she could. Her hands shook with fear as she picked the test strip up, immersed it in the cup, and slowly counted to three in her mind. Then she removed it and set it on the counter.

Alison slid down to the cold floor and hugged her knees to her chest, ignoring the pain that surged through her breasts. She took deep breaths as she watched the clock on her cell phone. Please be negative…please be negative…please… Suddenly, her throat began to tighten painfully and her stomach lurched. Alison automatically lunged for the toilet and threw up the rest of her breakfast.

Once she stopped puking, she flushed the toilet and wiped the residue from the corners of her mouth. Then she took a look at her phone. 9:54. Three more minutes…

Alison continued to wait in silence on the floor. She only stared at her phone, trying, but failing miserably, to clear her mind of all worries. A tear rolled down each of her cheeks and finally dripped onto her pants. She looked at the glistening droplets and attempted to focus on how pretty they were in the light.

9:57. Alison swallowed and climbed back up onto the toilet seat. With trembling hands, she picked up the test strip and observed the result in the little window.

Tears rushed down her face as she gaped at the little cross... She was pregnant…

Alison broke down into irrepressible sobs as she sank to the floor. She leaned her throbbing head against the cabinet and cried into her hands. She felt like crawling underneath a rock and dying… She had betrayed her friends…and now she was paying for it…

Suddenly, a loud vibrating came from the floor. She gasped and hesitantly picked it up.

803-533-0967. It was the same person who had called her twice last Saturday. Alison opened the phone and put it to her ear.

"Leave me the hell alone!" she sobbed hysterically before ending the call and turning her phone off. She dropped the phone on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably into her knees.

Oh no... What is Alison going to do? It has been confirmed and there's no going back now!

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