A/N: Some of you have been asking for more Patricia&Fabian moments, so I tried to focus this chapter on them. More of their moments to come though, I promise! :)
Rushing to the stairs, Fabian wasn't looking where he was going and bumped smack into Jerome, who had been laughing previously. "Whoa, why the rush, Rutter? Where are you off to this fine evening?" Jerome had that look on his face that only he himself could have. It was not a pleasant look in the least. Fabian rolled his eyes at the tall blonde.
"Move, Jerome, I have to go see if Patricia's alright." Jerome held an arm out to stop him, and Fabian glared.
"Well of course she's alright, Fabian. I mean, I would be just fine as well if I were carrying a child in my stomach at sixteen!" Jerome started dying laughing at his own comment. It took everything Fabian had not to lash out on him farther than he did.
"You're a right foul git, Jerome! You know you should really be ashamed of yourself!" Jerome was still laughing as Fabian ran up the stairs to Patricia's room. He knocked on the door so that she could hear, and heard her reply, 'who is it?' Fabian tried the door first, but she locked it. He didn't blame her. "It's me," I answered. Patricia unlocked the door, yanked him inside, and threw herself into his arms after the door slammed closed. Immediately tears began to stream down her face, her cheeks turner redder and redder.
"I told you I wasn't ready for anyone to know, Fabian! They're all laughing at me! I heard them, Fabian! Mara already came up her trying to comfort me or whatever and find out who the baby's father is. I didn't tell her, Fabian but I know she won't stop trying to find out." Fabian had wrapped his arms tight around the girl, embracing her, and stroking her hair.
"Shhh, Patricia it's going to be fine. I know you weren't ready but trust me, it's better that you told everyone now, because if you hadn't, you might not ever have been ready." Patricia gave a tad nod, burying her face further into the boy's shirt. "I promised you that I would be there for you during this entire process and I'm not about to break that promise. If they want to know, I don't see why we shouldn't tell them. They'll find out sooner or later." Patricia pulled away from his shoulder and looked at him.
"But Fabian, I don't want them laughing at you too. It's bad enough they do it to me." The brunette cupped the girl's face in his hands, and kissed her nice and lightly. It was a comforting kiss, she felt. It made her feel a lot better about this whole thing. There was one thing that Patricia couldn't stand, and it was jerks. She didn't need the jokes, or the rumors, or any of this. She didn't need it, and certainly didn't deserve it; neither did Fabian. It's not like they asked for this to happen and then were shocked at how people would react. It was a mistake, and even so, they knew that people would react cruelly.
Fabian let the girl go after a minute, and looked her in the eyes, still holding her face. "No, Patricia. If they want to know, we'll tell them. If they want to make fun of someone I'd rather have them make fun of me than you. There's only so much they can say about me, Trixie. But there's a lot of stuff that they could say about you. I don't want you getting hurt any more than what happened downstairs just now. You don't deserve any of it, do you understand?" Patricia nodded, her hands placed on his shoulders.
Her makeup was running and she could tell. Fabian brushed away some of the mascara that ran down from her eyes gently with his thumb. The girl reached her hand up and caught his, holding it as he brushed away the makeup. "I don't like to see you cry," Fabian told her.
The red haired girl titled her head and sniffled, wrapping both arms around her boyfriend's neck. "Really?" she asked, looking down at the floor. Fabian tipped her chin back up so he could see her, and nodded.
"Beautiful girls shouldn't cry," he whispered, bringing his lips down to meet hers. Patricia kissed back, feeling her cheeks grown hotter from blushing slightly, but she blamed it on the tears though. Fabian brought her closer to him so that their bodies were touching. When they broke away, Patricia rested her head on his shoulder. Fabian held her for a few minutes, and neither of them said anything. Finally, Patricia spoke up.
"I can't believe you'd be willing to get almost just as much bullshit lies spread about you as me by telling everyone that you're the father." Fabian ran a hand through the girl's hair as she said that.
"I'm not going to stand by and let them make fun of you, and the way I see it, they won't go after you as much if they have two targets." Patricia couldn't believe that he was willing to do this for her. He obviously knew the consequences, and he yet still didn't care. The girl didn't whether to call him brave, or stupid. In a way, he was both. Trixie picked her head up and kissed him one last time.
"So, when are you going to tell them?" she asked, sounding concerned. Fabian shrugged at this question, looking Patricia in the eyes.
"Whenever they want to know. If they ask, tell them," he answered in all seriousness. Patricia laughed under her breath, smiling up at the boy.
"You're insane, Fabian. I hope you know that," she teased. "You're an insane, crazy person." Fabian smiled back at the girl, kissing her forehead and drawing her closer. He brought his lips to her ear, and whispered to her.
"Correction, I'm your crazy, insane boyfriend who cares about you way too much to let you deal with this on your own." Kissing her on the cheek, Fabian rested a hand on the small of her back. Patricia smirked, looking down and then back up at the boy.
"Then what does that make me?" she asked, somewhat flirtatiously. Fabian thought for a minute before answering.
"It makes you my amazing, beautiful girlfriend who I love and care about very much." Patricia seemed satisfied with the boy's answer. "I have to go finish some homework. I'll come by and see you before bed, and if not, first thing in the morning, alright?" The girl nodded, allowing him to go. Once he left, Patricia sat down on her bed and combed her hair with her fingers. There was a knock at the door. She yelled for them to come in, and waited to see Mara Jaffray standing there, yet again.
"Hi Patricia," she greeted, coming in and taking a seat next to her. "Listen, I know you probably don't want to talk about it anymore, considering you didn't want to talk about it at all the first time, but I really just want to help you." Patricia sighed, knowing that this girl would not leave until she got the redhead to spill.
"Alright Mara, fine. What exactly do you want to say," she granted. Mara smiled, happy that Patricia saw this her way.
"Well I just wanted to ask you a few questions, that's all really." Mara continued when Patricia granted permission. "For instance, you weren't really trying to get pregnant, were you? Because if you were…" Mara was stopped right then and there.
"No, Mara, I wasn't trying to get pregnant. Do you think I want to be like this for nine months while I'm sixteen?" That came out a little snippier than Patricia thought. Part of it was the mood swings. Mara nodded, and moved on.
"Okay, well when did you find out? How far along are you?" Patricia thought, and answered almost nineteen weeks. "Oh, wow… okay, but I have to ask you, who's the father? I mean, I didn't even know you were dating anyone. Well, I assume now that you are, unless I've got it wrong." Trixie shook her head.
"No, I am dating someone, in fact. I'm dating the father, actually." Mara's eyes widened at this, and she leaned closer to the girl.
"Really? Well, who is it? Unless… unless you don't want anyone to know," the smaller girl added. Patricia assured her it was okay for asking.
"Well, we weren't going to tell anyone, at first. But, he said that if they asked to tell them. So to answer your question…" the girl took a deep breath. So, Mara would be the first one they told. Patricia hoped she could keep a secret because if the others didn't ask, she didn't have to tell them. Which would mean less people would know, and it would be better for them. "It's Fabian." Mara's eyes widened farther and her jaw dropped, leaving her mouth wide open.
"Fabian? Are you serious?" she repeated. Patricia nodded. Mara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Patricia and Fabian had always been very close friends, but she never imagined them dating really let alone having a child together. "Wow…"
Patricia looked at the girl, waiting for her to say something else. When she didn't, Patricia replied. "What? Is there something wrong?" Mara looked at the girl, and realized she probably sounded offensive.
"Oh, no, nothing, I'm sorry. That probably sounded really mean, I'm sorry. It's just that I never thought that you two would end up as a couple. As far as I knew, I thought Fabian and Joy liked each other. I knew she was with Mick though, but I just thought the two of you were friends." Patricia listened to the girl babble on, and eventually heard enough.
"Okay, Mara please stop, I get it. You never thought we'd be a couple. Well guess what, we are and this is his daughter as well as mine," she exclaimed, standing up. Mara stood up as well.
"So you found out it's going to be a girl?" Mara waited a moment before asking if Patricia would mind sharing the name of the baby.
"Her name is Annabel Scarlett," Patricia said, smiling to herself for a brief second. They were still unsure of what they would do for her last name though. Whether they were just going with Fabian's last name or both of their last names they hadn't decided yet. Mara smiled when Patricia mentioned the name.
"It's a beautiful name, Patricia. And I'm sure she'll be beautiful too." Patricia gave the girl a half smile and a hug.
"Thanks Mara." Mara promised not to tell anyone else, which was good. Fabian would probably announce it eventually, but for now it was better if almost no one knew.
*Meanwhile, Fabian sat in his room doing homework until Mick came in and shut the door loudly. "When were you going to tell me?" he demanded. Fabian stood up, somewhat confused. "When were you going to tell me that you got Patricia pregnant?" Mick walked over to him, crossing his arms.
"Mick, let me explain. First of all, she hid it from me for almost four months! I wouldn't have known at all if Joy didn't eventually come and tell me. She was so scared that she almost got an abortion, Mick. And this was one of the things she was afraid of; everyone finding out and treating her completely different. It was better to keep it hidden for as long as we could, and that's why I didn't tell you." Mick uncrossed his arms and relaxed his expression.
"You have to be there for her, every step of the way, Fabes. She needs you now more than ever. Joy and I will be right there with the two of you, I promise."
"Thanks Mick." Mick patted him on the back comfortingly. Fabian looked at his expression, and almost read his mind. "It's a girl," he answered without Mick having to ask the question. "Annabel Scarlett." Mick smiled and laughed at the fact that Fabian knew what he was going to ask.
"Well, congratulations," Mick replied. Fabian smiled back and put his books away, checking the time. It had already gotten to be 9 o'clock. Since he finished his homework, he figured he'd go up and see Patricia earlier, and he did.
Patricia was slightly surprised when she saw him back at the doorway so soon. "Finished early," he told her. "I came back to see you." Patricia smiled, and motioned for him to lie next to her on her bed. He walked over to the bedside, climbing in next to her. Patricia almost instantly rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arm around his abdomen. Fabian looked down at the girl and smiled.
"I'm glad you came back," she said, sleepily. "Mara asked…so I told her." Fabian stroked the girl's hair as she spoke, a relaxing gesture. "She seemed surprised, at first."
"I think that's how everyone's going to react when they find out. So far Jerome's the only one being a jerk about it. And of course Mick's figured it out, but then again he knew about us." Patricia nuzzled against Fabian, moving closer to him. He could tell that she was overly tired, and probably going to fall asleep any minute. "Patricia, do you want me to go?" he whispered to the girl. She shook her head as her eyelashes fluttered closed.
"Stay, please," she whispered back. "Joy won't mind." Fabian looked down at the sleepy redhead again. She even looked cute when she was asleep.
"Okay," he replied. "Good night, Patricia." Fabian kissed her goodnight, although she was already asleep. He turned the lights out, and went to sleep himself.