All mistakes are mine. Also about the ship thing—I have narrowed it down to two ships (one I am majorly favoring at the moment) and I will let you know when I finally decide but it might take a few more chapters so I can really cement my decision! Thank you now please enjoy!

Two weeks passed, two agonizingly long weeks in Amy's opinion because wow keeping this thing a secret is a lot fucking harder than she thought it would be, before a certain flamboyant, self-absorbed, kind of best friend of Amy's noticed something.

(yes, she's talking about Shane)

She and Liam were talking—something else that was becoming quite frequent—when the boy rounded the corner and crashed in on their conversation "Ooo, what's got you two talking? Karma come up with another shit idea?" his eyebrows waggle and he's smiling brightly and it's quite clear he's ready to be let in on whatever was just being said.

Amy sighs and crosses her arms over her chest, and swallows back an insult that sits on her tongue (maybe she's been hanging around Lauren too much) "Nope I was just asking Liam if he, um, got the homework from—from English" it's a simple enough lie, nothing too big that could give them away but she sees it . She sees the eyebrow rise and she knows she's fucked because this boy can smell gossip from a mile away and this, a pregnancy that was the result of two people who were heartbroken, one who happened to be half of Hester's favorite couple, sleeping together was the story of the year.

And he could smell it.

"Really?" his tone isn't accusing or bored, just somewhere right in the middle and it made both Liam and Amy nervous "Why not ask Karma? I mean, no offense Liam I love you, but it's not like you two are friends"

Liam answers before Amy does which is probably a good idea because she was about to say that Karma wasn't here and Karma was very much here, Shane saw her speaking to said girl earlier and that lie wouldn't have held.

"We're working on forging a friendship" he's smiling and looks to Amy for support in this sentence and all Amy can do is scrunch her face up because what the fuck?

She knows it's true, she knows that they trying to conjure up any kind of relationship within the next nine months so this baby isn't completely fucked when it's born, but Shane doesn't have even the slightest idea as to why they would try and be friends. It's a completely out there idea to be people who don't know of Amy and Liam's current situation. So basically everyone that isn't Lauren.

"What?" yeah, and that made it pretty clear that Shane's just as confused as she thought he would be.

"I, um—" Liam spares a look to Amy and she can see he's panicking. This guy, for whatever reason, didn't like lying. Okay so Amy gets it but at a certain point, there' s just no choice but Liam must have some deep seeded issues with lying if telling a simple white lie to Shane is making him stutter and look to Amy, of all people, for help.

"We felt that it was time to bury the hatchet" Shane doesn't believe her, she can see it "I mean, everyone is friendly—me and Karma, Liam and Karma, Lauren and I and even you and Lauren so, I mean, it's just time, right?"

Shane squints at them, there is no possible way he believes them a hundred percent, but Amy and Liam aren't looking for a hundred percent—they're looking for fifty, at most.

And in a flash Shane goes from scrutinizing to happy and wraps his arms around them both bringing them into the weirdest group hug ever "Oh, I'm so happy that my two best friends are trying" he leans his cheek against Liam's head and sighs happily.

Liam looks at Amy and smiles and she smiles back because, yeah, they pulled this off for at least the current moment.

x

They're off school campus. The little diner that Liam first heard the news that he was going to be a daddy and the day Lauren and Liam got a little too excited about placenta eating had become a nice place to go.

It was a nice neutral territory where Liam, Amy, and Lauren could be without having to worry about the place being tainted with memories of anyone else.

Lauren sighs heavily after a few minutes of them looking at their menus in silence "Shane texted me earlier"

Liam's head snaps to look at her while Amy sighs—she should've expected that "What? What did he say?"

"Said how the two of you are trying to become friends and how he feels like there's something else going on" she lets out a deep breath and takes a sip from her cup "Asked me if I knew anything or some bullshit"

"What did you say?" it was a curious question, not accusing; Amy knew Lauren wouldn't sell them out to Shane Harvey. No matter how civil the two could be

"I said fuck off" she smiles softly and speaks wistfully "Oh, how I have missed being mean to someone" Amy can't help but laugh—Lauren, bless her heart, hasn't said anything mean to Amy since finding out she was pregnant. There was an occasional barb and nickname that the blonde wasn't too fond of but it was all of jest. Lauren meant no harm and Amy could see that she missed being a bitch to someone so she laughs and then Liam laughs and Lauren can't help but chuckle as well.

It's a nice moment in the shit storm they were in and Amy can't help but think, if only for a second, that this is possibly the best it's gonna get.

x

"Okay, so, I gotta ask" it's the middle of dinner at their little diner, Amy's look to her side where Liam sits "What's with the whole telling the truth thing?"

Lauren nods at Amy's words "I wanna know too because I, at least, tell ten lies daily and you can't even seem to say one most days"

Liam sighs "It's family stuff—some kinda messed up family stuff"

Amy nods and doesn't push, he'd tell them both when he's ready "Yeah, I get that" she spoons some more food into her mouth and her mind goes back to her own family "most days family stuff is messed up"

"It's just—" he sighs "there's a secret that no one told me and I had to find it out on my own and, I guess, that kinda fucked me up in the whole 'lie telling' department"

The smaller blonde cocks her head to the side "I don't mean to pry—" she pauses "Well, okay I kinda do but what was the secret"

"Lauren!"

"What?" she raises her hands "I wanna know and you can't tell me that you don't wanna know"

"Still you can't just ask—"

"It's okay" Liam lays a hand on Amy's shoulder "It's a fair question" he sucks in a breath and looks across the table to where Lauren sat "I found out my parents adopted me—"

"wow"

"—and my birth mother is actually my sister"

"Holy shit" Amy sends a hard stare to Lauren "Sorry, sorry but—holy shit"

He nods "Yeah"

Lauren leans back "So, do they know you know?"

"Yeah and no one is happy about it"

"I just—" Lauren sighs "That's gotta be a tough pill to swallow"

Liam nods "It was"

Amy squeezes his arm, she doesn't know when contact was normal between them but apparently now it was "I'm sorry"

"It's no one's fault. Apparently my sister was sixteen and my parents thought it was the right thing to do"

Amy swallows and, of course, can't help but think about the life growing inside her. She's sixteen and she's scared of her fucking mind most days but she's not sure she could ever just watch her mother raise her baby as her own.

Lauren sighs heavily "My mom left" Amy and Liam's head snap up to look at her, Lauren doesn't look sad but the amusement that had been in her eyes is gone "My daddy likes to say she died, as fucked as that is, because he doesn't want anyone knowing that she left"

"Lauren—"

"No, it's okay" she shrugs, Amy can see it hurts because her face betrays her words "It happened when I was six and, since then, it's just been me, my daddy and an endless parade of his flavors of the month" she pauses "Well, until Farrah"

Amy smiles softly and reaches over and takes Lauren's hand, the last two weeks have been hard and Lauren's been there for every second—squeezing her hand to try and give her some kind of comfort is the least she can do.

"She's never come back around?"

Lauren shakes her head and takes her hand out of Amy's "no, but I don't blame her"

Liam's brow furrows "Why?"

"just—just family stuff" she sighs "Messed up family stuff"

Amy leans back into her chair and lets out a deep breath "Wow we're all kinda fucked in the family department, huh?"

"Yeah" Lauren and Liam say in unison

Her hands go to her still flat tummy and she sends a silent prayer up to anyone who's listening that, if anything, at least give this baby the people she has around her now. Its mother, father and aunt—and maybe that will be enough for it when they're older just like how it's enough for Amy at this current moment.

x

"So, I can only assume this goes without saying but you tell anyone about what we talked about and I make sure you never get to see your child" Lauren warns as the three of them walk outside

Liam smiles despite the fact that Lauren kind of just threatened him and raises his hands "My lips are sealed"

"Good" she sighs heavily and looks over at Amy "now let's go home, all this emotional shit tired me out"

x

"My dad left too" Amy says quietly as they drive home "I didn't want to say anything at the diner because I'm scared he's gonna leave too" Lauren doesn't say anything "I was seven and him and my mom were, just, always fighting and one day he just kissed me on my head and left" Amy sighs "Haven't seen him since and my mom stopped talking about him about two weeks after that"

Lauren spares a quick look over to Amy "I'm sorry"

"It's nothing—he left and divorced my mom. That's that" she sighs "I mean, obviously it kinda fucked me up if I'm scared Liam will leave but, you know, it happened and I just have to deal with it"

Amy feels Lauren's hand slip into her own "He won't leave"

"I know or, at least, I like to think that but—but my dad waited till I was seven before he left and broke my mom's heart. It's scary to think that it could happen to this thing too" she vaguely gestures to her stomach

"Liam won't leave—when you have fucked up family stuff, you tend and try and make sure that never happens to your own child and, like you said, we're kinda fucked in the family department" she smiles lightly "So you just know this baby is gonna have the best and weirdest family ever"

Amy smiles, it's odd how there's no one else she would want as this baby's aunt.

x

The next day brings some interesting events. Or one event in particular.

Amy walks on campus with a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, it's heavy and it makes her even more nauseous that her mother's cooking. Lauren quickly slips off to class and Amy starts towards her building when a hand wraps around her wrist, she spins around to see Shane

"Jesus Christ—you nearly gave me a heart attack, Shane" the blonde puts her hand on her chest "Wait, why aren't you in class?"

"Because you and I have to talk" he drags Amy towards a closet and pushes her into it, not hard, and follows suit slamming the door behind him "Okay, Miss Raudenfeld—spill"

Amy's face scrunches up "Spill what?"

"Spill why you and your Satan like step-sister were having dinner with Liam" he raises his phone and Amy sighs when she sees his screen—pictures of them at the diner last night. Her hand is on Liam's arm and Lauren looks sympathetic—it was right after Liam told them about the whole adoption thing.

"I told you we're trying to be friends"

"Nu-uh" he waves his finger "This—" he gestures to the photo "This is more like we're already friends and I have never seen Lauren look like this. She doesn't do empathy, Amy—I've only ever seen pissed and smug on that girl's face so, again I say, spill"

"Shane—"

"Don't 'Shane' me. There's something going on"

"No just—"

"Amy you're an awful liar. I barely bought that story yesterday and now I don't buy it at all"

"Shane, just—" she sighs "Some things are just going on" bullshitting a bullshiter is not a good idea so she goes ahead and chooses to say the very, very, very vague truth "And Lauren's been there"

He squints at Amy "And Liam?"

Her mind in racing trying to come up with some kind of solution to this but nothings coming to her, she opens her mouth to say anything but nothing comes out.

"That big, huh?"

"Shane—" her sentence is cut off when the janitor opens the closest

"What the hell are you two doin'?" and with that Amy slips out of the doorway and races off to class. Shane sighs heavily and plucks his bag from the floor and heads to his own class leaving a very confused janitor looking at him leave

"I thought he was the gay one"

x

Pls review and lemme know what you think!