Chapter 4:
That night, I continued to think about what Tucker had asked: what did this mean for Sam and me?
The next morning, Sam was still sick. And, despite my protests, she refused to stay home and rest, claiming that she wouldn't be able stay home for the next few weeks, which is how long the morning sickness could last. But I knew the real reason: she didn't want her parents to get suspicious.
I get it.
I get why she didn't want to tell them, she was afraid of what they would do. I didn't want to tell my parents either, but at least I could put it off a little longer. Her parents, even if they're never around, might notice if she skipped two weeks of school and had neon green strains all over her bathroom.
We decided not to tell anyone until the end of the first trimester, which, according to Sam, is the first 12 weeks, especially since she probably wouldn't be showing too much before that and it gave me time to figure out the best way to tell my parents.
I'm pretty sure there I no easy way to tell your parents that you knocked up your best friend. I almost considered asking Jazz for advice, almost. But I quickly reconsidered. She would freak out, not to mention there is no way that she would not be able to tell anyone. I'm actually amazed that she has kept the Phantom secret for so long, and even then, with my life potentially on the line, she has still almost slipped up a few times.
I can see it now. I would tell her, she would freak out and promise not to tell. Then, at a particularly quiet moment at dinner she would blurt out "Danny got Sam pregnant!"
And then I'd probably spend the night in the Fenton Stockades.
In fact, Jazz probably already knows something. She might be a nerd, and sort of a social introvert, but she's not immune to gossip, especially gossip involving me. The only question is, why hasn't she said anything yet?
Well, whatever her reasons may be, I was glad that she hadn't mentioned it. One more awkward conversation that I can prolong.
I waited by the cafeteria door for Sam to come to lunch, this was the first class I had with her all morning, and I really wanted to talk to her. I saw her approach; her head was down, like she was in deep thought.
I put my hand on her arm. She looked up at me and I pulled her aside, out of the traffic flow of the student body into the cafeteria.
"What, Danny?" she asked, a little irritated at my interruption of her thoughts.
"I've been thinking a lot about what Tucker said, you know, about how this would affect us..." I said.
"I thought we said we wouldn't let it affect our friendship," she stated.
"Well, yeah, but that was before...there's a little more at stake now, don't you think?" I pressed.
She nodded.
"So what are you saying? Do you think we should be a couple?" she clarified.
"...I think...I think it might be worth a shot. If nothing else if we're dating it will be less of a shock to everyone when they find out that I got you pregnant," I explained. She seemed to consider this.
"Okay," she agreed, "We can try that." I grinned at her, relieved.
"Oh and Danny?" she added, "We have an OB-GYN appointment after school."
"An OBG-what?" I asked. Sam rolled her eyes.
"The pregnancy doctor," she simplified.
"Oh…okay, where is it?" I inquired.
"It's just outside of town, in Fairview," she told me.
"Sam, that's like half an hour away," I informed her.
"I know, but it's far enough away that not everyone will know about it tomorrow," she explained.
"Okay," I recognized her logic, "But how are we going to get there, you're still too sick to fly and we don't have a ride and—" I stopped when I noticed the look she was giving me. It only took about five seconds for me to get her implied message.
"Oh no! No!" I held up my hands in protest.
"Oh come on Danny, she's going to find out eventually. So either Jazz finds out today, or the rest of Amity Park finds out tomorrow, your choice," she crossed her arms. I huffed. Obviously, she was right. Jazz has a car, and considering there is a very limited taxi service in Amity Park and there are no busses that run between here and Fairview, that makes her our only option.
"Ugh, fine," I surrendered, "What time is the appointment?"
"Five, we're the last appointment of the night so we have to be there on time, so you better go talk to Jazz now so we can leave right after school," she told me.
I nodded, sighing. It was fourth period, so that means that Jazz has study hall, which she would be spending alone in the courtyard, at least that's a plus.
"Okay, catch up with you later," I told Sam, turning and going out the front doors into the courtyard.
Jazz was pretty easy to spot. She wasn't seated at the crowded picnic tables in the direct sunlight; instead, she was on the far end of the courtyard reading her psychology book under a tree.
'Well,' I took a deep breath, 'Here goes nothing.' She was so engrossed in her book, she didn't even notice when I was standing right in front of her until I cleared my throat. She immediately closed the book and looked up at me.
"Oh, hey Danny," she greeted me, "What's up?"
"Umm…"I gulped, "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course. Actually, I wanted to talk to you too. I heard an interesting bit of gossip today…" she trailed off, arching her eyebrow at me.
"Actually," I rubbed the back of my neck, "That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."
"So you were buying pregnancy tests?! Danny! What did you do?! Please tell me it wasn't that Paulina girl, you know she's telling everyone that she's pregnant!" Jazz exclaimed as loudly as she could without attracting the attention of everyone else at school.
"Yes," I whispered, "But not for Paulina, okay?" At this, Jazz calmed down a little, but she still scrutinized me with sharp eyes.
"Who?" she asked.
I sighed, "Sam."
Jazz's eyes widened, "Just to clarify, are you…I mean, did you…er…um…you know."
I nodded, "It was after the party a few weeks ago, but neither of us can remember anything. All we know is, we left the party, my ghost sense went off, and the next morning we were in Sam's bed."
"Okaay, too much information," she exclaimed, cringing in disgust. "So you think a ghost…"
"We don't know. I've never heard of such a thing, I've never been overshadowed, and I don't know why a ghost would even do that. Oh, and if you have some kind of psycho-analysis about it, I'd rather not know," I informed her. Jazz, who looked like she was about to say something, closed her mouth and stayed that way for ten seconds.
"So," she lowered her voice, "Is Sam pregnant?"
"Yeah," I admitted. Jazz sucked in a sharp breath, like she wasn't sure what to say, "And that's kind of where you come in."
"Oh?" she wondered.
"Yeah, Sam got an appointment at the OY-BGN after school and we need you to drive us."
Jazz chuckled shaking her head, "OB-GYN, Danny. Wow, you need all the help you can get. Okay, I'll tell mom that I'm working on a project, and you tell her that you're doing something with Tucker and Sam."
"Okay, thanks Jazz," I hugged her.
"No problem little brother. But when are you planning on telling everyone? You can't hide it forever," she said.
"Sam said after the first trimester," I replied. Jazz nodded.
"Well, why don't you go back to her, I'll meet you two in the parking lot after school," she responded.
"Okay, thanks again, Jazz," I said.
She waved off my gratitude, once again, picking up her book and going back to where she had left off.
…
After school, Sam and I were in the parking lot, waiting for Jazz. She came out a minute later, her arms loaded with books and her messenger bag whacking her thigh.
"Sorry, I'm here. Let's go," she clicked the unlock button on her car keys and Sam and I got in.
The three of us were quiet on the way to the doctor (partially because Jazz's music selection sucks), and partially because none of us knew what to say. I could tell this silence was really bothering Jazz. I mean what is she supposed to say? Congratulations? I'm sorry?
I'm just glad she didn't launch into the "a baby is a big responsibility spiel."
We arrived at the doctor with fifteen minutes to spare, just enough time for Sam to fill out the paperwork and have the bill sent to her personal account instead of her parents.
A few minutes later, they called Sam and me into the back while Jazz sat in the waiting room. Sam went into the bathroom, coming out in a blue paper gown, and sitting herself in the chair.
"So," said the doctor entering the room. She was a short woman with a short blonde haircut and a friendly smile; I breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't a man, "What are we here for today?"
"Um…we're pretty sure I'm pregnant, and we just wanted to know for sure," Sam said uncertainly.
The woman nodded, and sat down on the stool next to the chair.
"Are you the father?" she asked me.
"Yes," I replied and the woman smiled a little, putting some clear jelly-stuff on a wand.
"Okay this is going to be cold, alright?" she told Sam, who nodded in response.
"Do you know how far along you are?" the doctor questioned.
"Four weeks," Sam replied, cringing at the cold.
"Well, it might take a few seconds since you're not very far along…oh, look, there's a heartbeat," she pointed to the grainy black and white image on the screen where a little dot flickered inside of a black mass.
I stared at the little orb. It was unbelievable, that that little dot would turn into a baby.
"Oh, hold on wait a second," the doctor said, adjusting the wand a little, "…Oh, you see that right there?"
"Is that another heartbeat?" I questioned.
"Yep. It looks like you two are going to have twins," the doctor smiled. I stumbled a little, gripping the support rail on the bed to steady myself. I looked at Sam. All the color had drained from her face, as she stared at the monitor, her mouth agape.
"I want you to start taking prenatal vitamins," and the doctor scribbled something on her pad, "And if you want to go to a support group. I have the number for a teen mom class," she tore off a little piece of paper and handed it to Sam, who took it numbly.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you to get changed," the doctor gave us one last smile and exited the room.
We sat in stunned silence for a minute.
"Um…wow, twins," Sam breathed and all I could do was nod. And I thought one super-powered baby would be enough, now we are going to have two. I dazedly helped Sam out of the chair, and she went into the bathroom to change.
I sat down, putting my elbows on my knees, and my head in my hands.
We're not even seventeen yet. I never expected having to grow up this quickly. Now, Sam would probably start showing even more quickly, which would mean that either she would have to wear a lot of sweatshirts, or, everyone is going to know even sooner than we wanted them to.
I stood up when Sam entered the room.
"Ready to go?" I asked her, and she nodded, as the two of us walked back into the waiting room.
"So, how did it go? Is everything alright?" Jazz asked as we walked into where she was sitting.
"Yeah, everything is fine and healthy," I told her, "But we're having twins."