Here's chapter 24! I hope you like it! Please R&R! I do not own anything from The Secret Life Of The American Teenager! Thank you! I really appreciate everyone's reviews! :)
Italics=Grace
Bold=Ricky
Plain=Other characters
The next morning in New York...
Amy and Ben got out of their cars at school.
"How did your project go last night?" Ben said smiling.
"Oh...yeah...It went really well...Natasha and I pretty much finished it." Amy said awkwardly.
"That's good...Are you all right Amy? You seem a little jumpy this morning..." Ben said concerned.
"No I'm fine...I'm just a little tired...Heh...I'll see you later Ben..." Amy gave Ben a quick kiss on the cheek and she walked the other way.
"Uh...Later Amy! I love you!" Ben said as he watched Amy walk towards a building.
"It feels good to be back at school doesn't it?" Adrian said from behind Ben.
"I guess...I'm excited to get this semester over with." Ben said nicely.
"Me too...How's Amy?" Adrian said concerned.
"She's doing all right...I got her some birthday presents last night. Her birthday's on Saturday so you should get her something if you want." Ben said happily.
"Aww! You're too sweet! I guess I could get her a little something...Are you two doing anything special for her birthday?" Adrian asked intrigued as they walked to class.
"Yeah...It's a surprise so don't tell her...But I'm going to take her to Niagara Falls for the weekend...It's going to be amazing." Ben said sincerely.
"Ooooh...It sounds romantic too...I promise I won't tell her. You haven't thought of anyone who might have keyed Omar's car, have you? He thought you might have done it...but I thought that was ridiculous." Adrian said sweetly and then seriously.
"I hope it will be really romantic. No I haven't...And I swear I didn't do it...I still think Max lied to you about not keying it..." Ben said honestly.
"Hmm...I might have to talk to him again...I hope you have a good day Ben. See ya later." Adrian said as she went into a building.
"Thanks Adrian! Later!" Ben said as he walked towards the building where his first class was.
Meanwhile in California...
Ricky woke up to his phone ringing.
"Ugh...Hello?" Ricky said sleepily.
"Hey Ricky...I'm sorry I missed your calls yesterday...I was busy with homework..." Amy said nicely.
"Hey Amy. I'm glad you're all right! It's totally fine. How's John doing?" Ricky asked intrigued.
"Thanks Ricky. He's doing really well...And he misses you of course...When are you coming over here?" Amy said seriously.
"That's good...I should be there the week of December fifteenth. I really miss John too. How's Ben doing?" Ricky asked nicely.
"Sounds great! Ben is doing really well...I'm excited that my birthday's on Saturday! I'm doing something with Ben but I don't know what exactly." Amy said excited.
"Oh yeah! I forgot your birthday's on Saturday! I should get you something!" Ricky said surprised.
"Thanks Ricky but you don't have to do that...You've done enough for me already." Amy said a little irritated.
"What's that supposed to mean? If you're trying to give me grief, then I don't want to hear it." Ricky said annoyed as he rolled his eyes.
"What?! I'm not trying to give you grief...I'm just saying that I really appreciate everything that you've done for me...You really don't have to get me anything for my birthday..." Amy said sweetly.
"You're welcome...Sorry for snapping at you...I'll get you something Amy...It's the least I could do for you since you've been taking care of John the entire semester." Ricky said happily.
"It's ok Ricky...He's my son too so I love taking care of him...But it has taken me a while to get used to being a single parent again..." Amy said sadly.
"It's not like you're taking care of John on your own...You have Ben to help you too...Are you saying that you miss the three of us being a family together?" Ricky said concerned.
"That's true...Ben is really good with John...At first I did but...I'm really happy right now...Are you?" Amy asked sincerely.
"Of course I am! Grace asked me if I want to get baptized yesterday and I think I'm going to do it. I love her so much." Ricky said sweetly.
"Oh wow! That's really exciting! Congrats I guess...I need to get to class so I'll talk to you later. Have a good day Ricky." Amy said smiling.
"Thank you Amy! I hope you have a good day too. Bye." Ricky hung up and he got out of bed to get ready for school.
Meanwhile at Grant High...
Ethan was getting books from his locker when he saw Kathy walk by.
"Kathy! Hey! I tried calling you last night!" Ethan said as he closed his locker.
"Ugh...What do you want Ethan? I know you called me." Kathy said irritated.
"I'm really sorry about Chloe...Can we at least be friends for now? If I do want to go out with you again...then I will let you know." Ethan said sincerely.
"All right Ethan...I guess we can be friends...If you want to be with Chloe, then go ahead...I don't really care." Kathy said honestly.
"Oh...I hope you know that I do still care about you Kathy...I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings yesterday...You know I never mean to hurt anyone." Ethan said sweetly.
"Thanks...I still care about you too...If you need help with math again, just let me know. I need to get to class." Kathy said smiling.
"Ok cool. I'll see ya later then..." Ethan said happily as Kathy walked down the hallway.
"Hey Ethan...Can I talk to you before you go to class really quick?" Katelyn, the school counselor asked.
"Uh...Sure...Is there a problem?" Ethan asked concerned as he followed Katelyn into her office.
"There's no problem at all...I was just looking at your file and I noticed that you haven't applied to any colleges yet." Katelyn said seriously.
"Oh...No offense but I am only a sophomore so I'm not really planning on applying to any colleges until next year. I'm also not taking the SAT until next semester." Ethan said honestly.
"Yeah I know...But based on your grades, I don't know if you will do well on the SAT...I think you should apply to a couple colleges after you get your SAT results..." Katelyn said awkwardly.
"Um...I'm sorry but aren't you supposed to be the school counselor? Aren't you supposed to be encouraging students to believe in themselves and to do their best without judging them? I know my grades aren't the best but I'm going to improve them. And I am going to try my best to do well on the SAT." Ethan said seriously.
"You do have a good point Ethan...I'm sorry for saying that...I hope you do improve your grades because that will help you get into a good school. I'm glad to hear that you are going to take the SAT next semester...We also have prep classes after school for it and I think you should do them." Katelyn said sincerely.
"Thank you...I will do some prep classes. Is there anything else that you needed to talk to me about? I gotta get to class." Ethan said nicely.
"I don't think so...You're welcome...Oh, how's Ricky doing? You still see him right?" Katelyn asked sweetly.
"Yeah I do...He got me a job at the butcher shop and he's doing really well." Ethan smiled as he stood up.
"Oh good! I'm happy to hear that. Have a good day Ethan!" Katelyn said happily.
"Thanks Miss O'Malley. I hope you have a good day too." Ethan said as he left her office.
A couple hours later at Grace's school...
Grace was walking out of class when she bumped into a familiar face.
"Oh, I'm so sor..." Grace's eyes widened as she saw a tall guy standing in front of her.
"You're fine...Grace! What are you doing here?" The guy asked shocked.
"I go to school here! What are you doing here Jason?" Grace said surprised.
"No way! I'm thinking about transferring here actually." Jason said smiling.
"Really? When?" Grace asked intrigued.
"Next semester. I've been doing this medical training program this semester. My parents thought it would be good for me to do it before I went to college." Jason said seriously.
"Oh wow! Is it like med camp? I thought about doing something like that too but I wanted to come here first." Grace said nicely.
"It's similar to med camp but it's a little more intense. You get to work with some real doctors. I've been enjoying it so far and I also get some credit for a few science classes that I won't have to end up taking here." Jason grinned.
"Lucky you! I'm glad you've been enjoying it. You're going to love going to school here! I could show you around some time if you want." Grace said sweetly.
"Thanks Grace but I've already been on a tour of the school so I know where everything is. How are things with Jack?" Jason asked seriously.
"Then maybe you could show me where everything is...Heh...Jack didn't tell you that we broke up?" Grace said kindly and then surprised.
"I haven't talked to Jack since May actually...I'm sorry that you two broke up." Jason said awkwardly.
"I'm not...I'm with Ricky now and I couldn't be happier." Grace said smiling.
"Oh...That's interesting...It's hard to believe a guy our age with a kid almost always has a girlfriend or something...But at least I have plenty of time to focus on school stuff right now anyway." Jason said seriously.
"Ricky's a really great guy. What are you saying? That you're having a hard time finding a girlfriend?" Grace asked concerned.
"Uh...No! I could get almost any girl I want. I'm smart, athletic, funny, and a pretty good kisser...Ha ha..." Jason said confidently.
"Oh yeah...I almost forgot that you were a good kisser...Ha ha!" Grace smirked.
"Heh...I gotta get going so I hope you have a good day..." Jason said nicely.
"Yeah...I hope you have a great day too Jason!" Grace said sweetly as she walked the other way from Jason.
Meanwhile at Ricky's school...
"Hey Ricky! So have you thought about that scholarship?" Jack said as Ricky walked out of his class.
"Hey Jack...Yeah I have and I think I might do it..." Ricky said nicely.
"That's awesome! I bet you're gonna love it! Grace also mentioned to me yesterday that it would be cool if I...baptized you someday." Jack said kindly.
"Oh yeah...She talked to me about getting baptized too...I don't really get how that works but...I wouldn't mind if you did it." Ricky smiled as they walked into the cafeteria.
"I would like to do it. Basically what happens is...I just dunk you in some warm water after you tell the entire church that you're going to follow God for the rest of your life." Jack said honestly.
"All right...Sounds easy enough...Whenever you want to do it is fine with me..." Ricky said as he grabbed a tray.
"Uh...It's not just something that you can do whenever...You need to really understand what Jesus has done for everyone first and want to actually be like Him and follow His teachings." Jack explained sincerely.
"Oh I see...So you're saying that I'm not good enough how I am now to get baptized? This is why I've never been very religious..." Ricky said a little irritated as he got some food with Jack behind him.
"What? I'm not saying that at all Ricky! It's not that hard to be like Jesus. For the most part, you should just be nice to people and show them love. I know, that I haven't always done that but...that's why Jesus died for us..." Jack said seriously.
"Listen Jack...I have tried my hardest to be nice to people...And you have no idea how long it took for me to do that...I do show people love so as far as I'm concerned, I'm already as much as a Christian as you are..." Ricky said honestly as he looked at Jack in the eyes.
"All right...I'm just saying that Jesus wants us to get baptized..." Jack said nicely.
"Why? So everyone at your church can approve of me just because I decide to be baptized and follow Jesus?" Ricky said seriously as he sat down at a table.
"No...You're getting the wrong idea about this entire thing, Ricky...Baptism is a symbol of you turning your life over to God...It's kind of like getting married...When people get married, they have a wedding right?" Jack asked as he sat down.
"Of course they do. Unless, they elope or whatever..." Ricky rolled his eyes as he opened his sandwich.
"Yeah...That doesn't matter...The point is, people do some kind of ceremony when they get married...And they decide to be committed to each other...So when you get baptized, you're saying that you are going to be committed to God. And here's the really cool part...God loves you no matter what and He will always help you, even when you mess up...Even when you think you aren't good enough...God knows you are because He died for you on the cross...He knows you better than anyone else because He created you. And when you turn your life over to Him, your life will be so much better. Am I making sense to you, Ricky?" Jack said sincerely.
"Yeah...A little bit...I'm sorry for being a little hostile towards you, Jack...But one thing that I don't understand is...why has my life been so hard? Why did God give me a father who never loved me and who abused me after getting drunk or high every night? Why did God give me a mother who was too high to even help me get away from my father when I was a child? Why did God allow me to become a father when I wasn't ready to be one?" Ricky said seriously with watery eyes after taking a bite from his sandwich.
"It's ok...Nobody's life is easy...Everyone has problems, Ricky...Throwing yourself a pity party isn't going to do you any good...But it's called free will...God didn't make your parents do anything...They decided to be those terrible people...At least your mom is sober now...And I'm really sorry about your dad...You decided to sleep with Amy, so you have to deal with the consequences of that...God didn't make you or anyone else do anything. You're the only person responsible for your problems, but God is always here to help you get through them." Jack explained nicely after taking a bite from his pizza.
"Grace told me the same thing about free will...I guess I forget that sometimes...Thanks Jack...I sure hope God does help me with my problems." Ricky said as he wiped his eyes.
"I'm sure he will and you're welcome. It's not always easy to rely on God but He knows what He's doing." Jack smiled as he took a sip of his water.
Meanwhile in New York...
Amy was walking out of her last class when she bumped into Jimmy.
"Hey Jimmy! How are you?" Amy asked happily.
"I'm doing really well...I'm done with classes for the day...Are you?" Jimmy asked nicely.
"Yes I am! I gotta pick up John in about a half an hour from preschool...You can come if you want." Amy said excited.
"Thanks but I gotta get back to my grandma's house...We should do something on Friday." Jimmy smiled slowly.
"Oh...Yeah we should but...I can't...Ashley's coming up here on Friday for my birthday...We're going to spend the weekend together." Amy said nervously.
"Ashley? Your sister? I didn't know you two were that close..." Jimmy said surprised.
"We aren't but...we've gotten better this semester so...you know...I haven't seen her in awhile and I want to see her." Amy said as she smiled slowly.
"All right...I hope you two have a good time...Maybe we could do something next weekend then. I gotta go so I'll see ya later." Jimmy said kindly and he gave Amy a short kiss on the lips and walked towards the parking lot.
Adrian watched their entire conversation from a distance after she walked out of the building where her last class was. She quickly walked over to Amy.
"Amy wait!" Adrian said as Amy started walking.
"Ugh...Hey Adrian...How are you?" Amy said annoyed.
"Are you...cheating on Ben?" Adrian asked surprised.
"What?! Are you crazy? Of course I'm not cheating on Ben. Don't be ridiculous, Adrian...Geeze...Why would you even say that?" Amy said irritated as she crossed her arms.
"Because I saw a guy who wasn't Ben, kiss you. Comprende?" Adrian said a little angrily.
"Oh...yeah...That was just Jimmy...He wanted to help me rehearse for this play he's going to be in...He has to do a kissing scene...It didn't mean anything at all." Amy said as she rolled her eyes and faked a smile.
"Uh huh...If it didn't mean anything, then why did you have a big smile on your face with flushed cheeks after he left?" Adrian asked suspiciously.
"Don't you always get that way after you've been kissed, regardless if the kiss meant anything or not? I love Ben, Adrian. I would never cheat on him." Amy said seriously.
"I didn't get that way after the last time I kissed Ricky. But that's because I no longer had feelings for him after I kissed him. I'm not stupid, Amy. If something is going on between you and Jimmy, I'm gonna find out. Mark my words." Adrian said coldly.
"But you've slept with multiple guys that you didn't have feelings for. How is that any different? I don't care that you're married, you're always gonna be the slut who puts her nose in everyone else's business." Amy said harshly as she looked at Adrian in the eyes.
"And you're always gonna be the band geek who got knocked up by a guy who will never love you. By the way, I put my nose in everyone else's business because I care about them. Ben said I should get you a birthday present...but I've changed my mind. I thought we could be friends Amy but...I don't see how that is ever going to happen. I hope Ben dumps you because you deserve it. How can you call me a slut, when you're locking lips with multiple guys? And that sweet and innocent act that you pull probably won't save you when Ben finds out whatever the hell it is that you've been doing with Jimmy. I gotta go." Adrian said angrily and she walked away from Amy.
Later that night in California...
Grace was reading her Bible when Jack called.
"Hey Jack...I wasn't expecting you to call...I've been reading over some scriptures about baptism in the Bible that you could use to help teach Ricky about it." Grace said sweetly.
"Oh thanks Grace...I did talk to him about earlier today at lunch...He does seem interested in getting baptized. I just don't know if he fully understands the meaning of it though." Jack said concerned.
"Yeah...It is hard to explain that to him especially since he's been through so much...But that's why I really think he needs God in his life." Grace said honestly.
"So do I...Can I ask you a serious question?" Jack said nicely.
"Of course you can...What is it?" Grace asked intrigued.
"Do you think if we had helped Ricky get baptized sooner, then he wouldn't have made as many mistakes as he did in high school? I think he's worried that God doesn't love him because of what he's done in the past." Jack said seriously.
"Well...both of us got baptized in middle school and we made a lot of mistakes in high school...Just because Ricky gets baptized, it doesn't mean that he won't make anymore mistakes...I really do hope we can help him be closer to God though...I am really appreciate you wanting to help me out with this Jack." Grace said sincerely.
"You're defiantly right about mistakes...I would do anything for you, Grace. I know I haven't always treated you in the best way, but I want to make it up to you. I love you...As a friend of course." Jack said honestly.
"Heh...You...love me still? I still love you as a friend too...And I want you to do this for Ricky, not me." Grace said kindly.
"Of course I still love you...And I'm glad you still love me too...Both of us are doing this for Ricky. And hopefully he will be a lot happier after he is baptized. I just hate to see him in so much pain." Jack said seriously.
"Thanks Jack...I know I don't deserve for you to still love me...I hate to see Ricky in pain too...After we get through a baptism class with him, I think he'll feel a lot better." Grace said sweetly.
"Like I said yesterday...it hurts to get your heart broken but...it doesn't do you any good to mope about it. And you deserve all the love in the world, Grace. I hope Ricky is able to give you all the love that you need. I need to work on some homework though...so..." Jack said sincerely.
"Aww! I really appreciate that Jack! You deserve all the love in the world too! Before you go...did our last kiss...mean anything to you?" Grace asked awkwardly.
Woah! There's some drama starting to heat up again! What is Jack going to say next? And Amy keeps digging herself into a hole. It's just one lie after another...Now that Adrian found out, is she going to tell Ben? At least Kathy is on good terms with Ethan for now. How is Ethan going to bring his grades up if he wants to get into a good school? Is Grace crushing on Jason or was she just being friendly to him? What's Ricky going to get Amy for her birthday and is he going to get baptized by Jack? Will he also do the scholarship? Stay tuned to find out! Let me know what you think! Thank you! :)