"Geez finally!", I groan.

"Sorry that I couldn't answer your six calls to me Casey! I do have these things called classes that I have to use my weekends to study for you know! Classes that are seriously kicking my ass right now! Classes I need to pass!", Rusty argues.

I can tell he's obviously stressed about balancing his time with the fraternity and with being a science geek. But still... my problem was worse in my eyes.

Finally he'd picked up after me calling him a few times over the last three hours.

It was Sunday and I was at the KT house, of course. It was basically where I spent all my time now. I could go to the library but it was too risky. The last thing I needed to do was run into people from the greek system and then end up upset when the stares and whispers start.

"Right… sorry. I guess me being pregnant and starving can wait", I sigh.

"No, no, it's fine", Rusty sighs. "I'm sorry, it's just been stressful with pledging and classes… but I'm here for you. I told you I would be and I meant it Case".

I pucker my lip out at how sweet he was being.

"You're the best little brother", I say in a sad voice.

"Oh god, please don't tell me you're going to start crying Case", He sounds worried. "Cappie told me that you're starting to get hormonal and stuff because of the baby and—"

"What?!", My feelings of sweetness for my baby brother go out the window now and are just replaced by pure annoyance for his new big brother. His new big brother who also happens to be the father of said baby growing day by day in me. "Seriously?! That's not even true Rus! I'm gonna kill him".

"Yeah um… no offence… but you're not really helping your case by saying that Casey", Rusty laughs and I just roll my eyes. "Anyways… speaking of Cappie… can't you just like, get him to get you what you want?"

"Rusty!", I groan now. "Can you please just help me out? It's just a simple thing that I want from the dorm residences food court. And you're there all the time because you live there so… that's why I'm asking you. And… Cappie told me he had to go out for the afternoon to some study group thing so he's busy".

I speak a matter of fact. I'm sitting with my legs crossed on Cappie's bed, it was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

Technically I wasn't just asking Rusty to get me what I wanted because he lived in the boys dorm and was close to the food court. The same food court I used to go to all the time in freshman year with Cappie. I was actually asking Rusty because I didn't want to ask Cappie.

Sure, me and Cap had been getting along well lately and we'd had a few good couple of days where we weren't bickering half as much… But I still didn't want to make him go and run errands to go get me what I was craving at a drop of a hat. That was… boyfriend territory stuff.

And he'd already done it once, I'd asked him to pick me up some ice cream on his way home from a night class a week ago and he did. But asking him weekly, or even daily, well… that bordered on relationship stuff. Like two people in a relationship that were having a baby together stuff.

"Okay fine", Rusty groans overdramatically, agreeing to help me.

"And it's not me that wants it Rusty, it's the baby so… it's not my fault", I add.

"Yeah it's just… don't you think that the other person responsible for the baby should be running around doing these annoying little tasks for you? Not your brother who had absolutely nothing to do with the getting pregnant situation?", He argues, but I can tell he's joking because he laughs slightly at the end.

"Ugh", I groan in annoyance. "Rusty! I'll just get up and drive to the place myself if you're going to be this annoying about this. I just thought that—"

"No, no", Rusty says immediately. "I'm just messing with you, don't worry. I'm literally already on my way. And I'm happy to come over to the house anyways and see everyone, so I'll get it and be over there soon".

"Thank you! I love you", I smile.

"Yeah yeah", Rusty laughs. "So what is it exactly that you want from the dorm food court?"

"I want a red velvet cupcake", I explain. "They're in the bakery section there".

"Okay", Rusty says. "You only want red velvet? What do I do if there's no red velvet?"

"Yes, it has to be red velvet", I say strongly. "They're the best cupcakes ever, I used to have them all the time when I lived in the dorms. They're like so cakey and soft and the icing is like… this amazing vanilla buttercream. Well, it used to have this good vanilla buttercream, now they changed it to this just okay cream cheese icing. They're still amazing though. Ugh, I want one so badly!"

I sigh now, practically drooling as I describe every feature of this cupcake to him.

"Okay… you're kind of scaring me a bit Case", Rusty chuckles.

"Cravings hit different when you're pregnant Rusty!", I roll my eyes. "Seriously, I've never felt a craving this strong for something in my entire life. It honestly feels like I would kill someone for this cupcake right now Rusty. That's how intense the craving is".

"Whoa… pregnant you is kinda scary Casey", Rusty laughs.

I roll my eyes back with a laugh.

"This is my first time going through this and… This is the first major one I've had too, the first really intense craving", I explain. "Now I can understand why pregnant people talk about them so much".

I scoff to myself.

I was 10 weeks along now so I kind of figured it would start sometime. I do wish I'd stop throwing up though. Even if it was a tiny bit better than the past 4 weeks, I was still nauseas a lot.

"Okay well don't worry", Rusty scoffs. "I'll be over in a bit, probably like half an hour, it'll just take me a little while to walk there because mom and dad gave you a car and not me".

He says that last part sarcastically.

"I needed it more! I actually had places to go in high school Rusty", I joke with him.

"Wow thanks a lot. Also don't you remember back in the Summer mom and dad said that when we're at school here you could lend it to me sometimes? So far you haven't lended it to me even once Case", Rusty argues.

"Ugh", I sigh deeply, and loudly so he can hear. "Fine. Only because you've been really nice to me through me being pregnant and because you're going to get this cupcake for me… I guess I'll let you use the car a few times. If I'm not using it, because I think I need it more than you do currently… I'm the one that has a baby appointment to go to tomorrow".

I feel the nerves rise up in my chest just mentioning my appointment tomorrow.

"Not to mention I feel like crap and don't wanna walk everywhere Rus", I add. "You're not the one whose pregnant… or the one who wears heels".

"Yeah but… I think that you're forgetting that you live with a guy that has a car and would drive you anywhere wherever whenever. I mean, he's the one driving you to the appointment tomorrow, he already told me about it", Rusty says.

"Dammit! You know, it's getting really hard to lie to you when you've become best friends with my…", I just about say boyfriend but then I shake my head, unsure how the hell I almost made that mistake. "My… I don't exactly know what to call him".

"Your baby daddy?", Rusty laughs.

"Bleh", I grimace. "That term is so… weird. Let's just call him… the father of the baby. Because right now it's just 'the' baby. We don't even know if it's going to be ours yet".

"Okay well… I am sort of patiently waiting to find out if I'm going to be an uncle or not. Not to mention there's the fact that mom and dad are gonna have to find out if they're going to be grandparents or not Casey", Rusty speaks seriously.

I sigh loudly, groaning.

"Rusty!", I roll my eyes even if he can't see. "You're right, I should've just asked Cappie to get me my cupcake because you're seriously stressing me out now!"

"Sorry, sorry", Rusty apologizes. "I'm not trying to it's just sort of… the reality of the situation is that you're gonna have to deal with this eventually".

"I know", I frown. "But sometimes it's easier to live in delusion… I know I have to deal with it and make a decision but… maybe I'll feel more strongly about what to do after tomorrow".

I shrug to myself. I'd been saying that the whole week, that maybe this appointment tomorrow would bring me some clarity.

"Yeah, hopefully. Anyway Case, I'm walking into the food food court building now! So see you soon!"

"Okay bye Rus! Thank you!", I say with a smile and then hang up.

Now I lay back on the bed and wait.

I had to do some work on my English paper so I decide to do that, getting my laptop out.

It was funny, as I looked around the room I felt like I had kind of 'girlified' Cappie's room. I'd definitely had to clean it up, obviously, I wasn't going to live in the squalor that he did. And he had helped me clean it… Well more like just thrown things into a few of his drawers, found an old vaccum from downstairs, and called it a day. The closet was still empty and he told me I should just put my stuff in there. The closet that I still couldn't bear to barely even look at considering I knew full well it was where I got into this stupid mess.

I had Ashleigh bring over a ton more of my things the other day, making this whole move seem pretty set in stone. And making Cappie's room an array of girly colors now. I'd even had Ash send over my pillows so I could have some nice decorative pillow action on the bed since Cappie had absolutely zero design skills.

So I liked it better in here now, but still… it made this whole situation seem a lot more real, a lot more permanent.

I grab my laptop, resting it on my stomach as I lean back on my pillows, laying back as I open up my English project in my files.

I look down at my belly then.

Crap… was it bad to put a laptop on top of your stomach that now contained a fetus in it?

I didn't know these things. How was I fit to be a mom in any capacity when I didn't know these things?!

So just in case, I take the laptop off my stomach, instead putting it on the bed beside me and turning onto my side to work.

It makes me realize that… I suppose some part of me wants to keep it safe. Even if I had very little knowledge of how exactly how it was best to do so.

Half an hour or so later, just like he said, Rusty texted me that he was here.

"Rusty!", I come bouncing down the stairs and out into the living area of the KT house to see him standing with some of his pledge friends.

I look him over, he's wearing his backpack, looking a little awkward as he waves at me. But that was sort of just his usual state of being.

"Dude this is your sister?", One of the pledges next to him speaks up.

"Yeah, this is Casey", Rusty gestures to me.

"Oh yeah, you must be Cappie's girlfriend. The one that lives here", One of the other guys nods. He was a short brunette guy who looked just about as scrawny as Rusty.

"Well, not really", I pipe up. "I'm not his girlfriend, and this is just my living arrangement for now because of… well…"

I'm surprised he hasn't heard. A little relieved though. Maybe it wasn't spreading around as bad as I thought it was.

"She's pregnant dumbass", Beaver yells over to us from the couch, crunching on some chips and then wiping the grease on the front of his t-shirt.

"Yeah… uh… what he said", I give this guy an awkward look.

"Oh", the pledge looks surprised. Then he turns to Rusty. "So your sisters having a baby with our president? Is that why you got in and got to be his little brother?"

"No", Rusty looks kind of annoyed. "I was in before she even got pregnant. Or before she found out she was pregnant at least".

I think to myself then. Funnily enough, Rusty got offered a bid by Cappie the morning after our night together when I got pregnant. While me and Cappie were busy hooking up all night, Rusty was hitting Evan with a pledge paddle and ending up in a jail cell.

A crazy night for both Cartwright siblings I suppose. Mom and dad would be so proud, I think to myself with a sarcastic scoff.

"Casey this is Ben Bennett, he's a new pledge so he doesn't know everyone yet", Rusty interrupts my thoughts as he explains this to me with a look of his eyes.

"Oh okay. Well... I'm Casey Cartwright", I nod awkwardly.

I guess that's why he didn't know I was pregnant, because he's new to the greek system, not because they're letting the gossip around it die down too much.

"Ben Bennett why don't you… go see what Ferret and Jeremy are cooking up on the grill for dinner?", Rusty urges him.

"Okay cool", Ben Bennett nods happily. "Nice to meet you".

"Yeah you too", I give him a wave.

When he's gone I'm more than ready to get my cupcake.

"So?!", I bop up and down a bit excitedly. "Where is it? Is it in your backpack?"

"Um…", Rusty gives me an awkward grimace. "Actually…."

My excitement immediately dies down as I frown now.

"No!", I whine. "What happened?"

"They didn't have red velvet today. I'm sorry", He frowns too. "If you let me use your car I can go try and find you a red velvet cupcake from another place around here Case."

"No! It had to be that one!", I throw my hands up.

I'm sure I probably look like an idiot right now. Throwing a fit in a house full of frat guys who were just sitting here in the living room drinking their beers and playing video games. I obviously stick out like a sore thumb, standing here in my Victoria's Secret Pink sweatpants and a grey Henley longsleeve. The sweatpants were really so my stomach could breathe, since a lot of my jeans were a bit suffocating on me recently. The pants say 'Pink' on the butt and out of the corner of my eye I can see Beaver trying to make out the word. At least I hoped that's what he was doing and not trying to check out my ass.

"You're not gonna cry right?", Rusty looks at me worriedly.

"No", I sigh in a huff. "I'm just really disappointed".

"Well I'm sure that they'll be something else you're craving soon and then I could get you that instead", Rusty suggests with a shrug. I know I really can't fault him because he's being so incredibly sweet to me right now. "Plus the guys are cooking something on the grill outside for dinner… not that it'll be very good, the only one that can actually cook anything decent on there is Cappie".

The two of us laugh slightly as I run my hands back through my hair.

"It's okay Rus", I purse my lips together and shrug. "I've gotta work more on this paper I have… even if it does seem a little stupid to focus on school right now when I may not even graduate".

I scoff to myself, looking down so Rusty can't see how sad and worried it makes me.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll be able to", Rusty tries to make me feel better as he gives me a hopeful shrug, but I can tell he doesn't really know what to say. "You only have one year left after this one…"

"Yeah I know but the baby's due in May so… it just all depends on if I keep it or not I guess", I say.

"Well if you do then there's online courses, there's… taking a lighter course load, taking a year off, or Cappie taking a year off", Rusty lists off options. "Plus you'll have like a billion babysitters around here".

Rusty gestures around the house with a smile.

I can't help but laugh then, smiling a bit now, my heart warming up at the way my brother truly was trying his best to lift my spirits.

"Yeah and only one of the people here would I actually trust with my baby", I scoff.

"Me right?", Rusty laughs.

"Yes you", I smirk. "And… well… Cappie too obviously. But the rest of the guys here would probably be doing something dangerous with it within like, ten minutes".

The two of us laugh together.

"Plus… you know, you would be it's uncle… like you said on the phone earlier", I approach the topic, my tone a bit more serious now.

This was the first time we'd actually talked about it. The first time he'd ever mentioned being an uncle to the baby.

"Yeah… I never thought that I'd be an uncle as a freshman in college", He laughs slightly. "But… I also never thought I'd get to be in such an awesome fraternity and have this cool new life I have now… Maybe you could think of being a mom like that too".

He shrugs and I look at him to explain further.

"You know, to shed your old life a bit, to move onto something new even if it's scary. I was scared to leave home and come here to college but look at my life now! It's more than I could've ever dreamed of", Rusty looks truly happy.

"Well you know I'm happy for you Rusty but… making friends and joining a frat in college is a bit different than having a baby at 20 that you weren't trying to have", I sigh. "But I do see what you're saying… that maybe if I jumped into it it could be better than I would've expected?"

"Yeah exactly", Rusty nods. "Not that I'm telling you to keep it, I'm not saying that you should, just that… sometimes something that seems really new and scary ends up not being quite so bad".

"How'd my baby brother become so wise all of a sudden?", I giggle a bit as I squish his cheeks in that way he hated.

"Casey! Not in front of everyone!", He whispers to me in annoyance while swatting me off.

"Sorry, I don't wanna embarrass you", I laugh. "I'll be upstairs".

I lean in to give him a quick hug.

"Hopefully that didn't embarrass you too much in front of your brothers either", I smirk at him.

"No, a hugs fine", Rusty laughs. "See ya later Case".

I give him a smile and then go down the hall to go back up the stairs.

I don't know how long it's been exactly but it feels like hours later when I finally finish my English paper.

I sigh of relief when I get to the last paragraph and put it on my USB to hand in later. Then I stretch a bit, my shoulders and back sore.

There's a knock on the door then so I put my laptop back into its case and sit up straight.

I'm not sure if it's Cappie or Rusty at the door.

"You can come in", I call out.

When the door opens and it's Cappie's tall and familiar presence standing there I can't help the part inside me that's a little bit happy it's him and not my little brother.

"Hey", He smiles at me. "How's it going? I just got home and I thought I'd see how you're doing".

"I'm okay", I nod, giving him a smile. "Just finished some schoolwork. How'd your study group go?"

Even though it was completely blowing my mind that he was actually prioritizing school and going to a study group I wasn't going to tease him about it too much. Because I knew why he was doing it.

"It was okay", Cappie laughs to himself a bit, smirking now. "Kind of interesting actually, sometimes I wonder why I avoided going to those things for so long".

I can't help but giggle a bit.

"Uh… probably because you were drunk, or high, or… asleep Cap", I list off on my fingers jokingly.

"Yeah true", Cappie laughs, but he looks like he wants to say something to me. Something serious perhaps. "Well uh… I wanted to talk to you about one thing quickly".

I nod up and down.

"Next time you don't have to ask Rusty to get you what you're craving, just ask me", He says seriously, softly too, but void of his usual smirking.

"Okay… yeah I guess Rusty told you", I laugh slightly. "I have had you get me ice cream lately. I just… I knew you were busy and I didn't want you to have to go completely out of your way…"

I sigh now.

"And honestly it's fine, they didn't have the red velvet cupcakes I wanted there today anyways", I shrug.

Cappie reaches into his messenger bag that's hanging off his shoulder. He used it for school, for his laptop and books. I'd only really seen him use it recently since he'd never really cared too much about classes when I knew him.

I watch him sift around and then pull out a white box.

"Here", He hands it to me nonchalantly while I give him a confused look, my brow furrowed.

"Um… okay?", I laugh slightly, not knowing what the hell this mystery box is.

I look up at him but he's not giving me any explanation so I decide to just open it.

What I find is six perfect looking red velvet cupcakes. The ones I wanted too, not another red velvet cupcake, the red velvet cupcake.

I look up at him now with pure shock on my face, my mouth hanging open a bit but no words seem to come out.

"The guy that works in the bakery there is sort of my weed dealer", Cappie explains. "Or was…"

"Of course he is", I scoff, still in shock that the cupcakes are here in front of me since I never ever thought I'd be able to fulfill that craving today.

"So I kinda sorta blackmailed him into making half a dozen", Cappie shrugs like it's no big deal, still standing in front of me, one hand in the pocket of his jeans, wearing his usual flannel and jeans look.

"What?!", my eyes widen at him speaking so casually about this.

"Yeah, well you said you wanted them. Actually, you said you'd kill someone for them. That sounds pretty serious Case", He says like it's obvious.

"The baby wanted them", I argue, putting my finger up to correct him.

"Okay well, I did it for the baby then, you don't have to think of it as something I did for you", Cappie says with a shrug. "Rusty told me about the whole thing, said that you were okay you didn't get one but… if I know you you've probably still been wanting one all night, haven't you?"

He smirks at me now for the first time since he's walked in here really, and it makes me unable to stifle in my smile.

"Well... I do. But… I don't know if I can eat blackmail cupcakes, you know, morally speaking", I say with a bit of a laugh.

"Oh c'mon, I know you're going to", Cappie laughs now and I can't keep it in anymore, I let out a giggle.

"God", I put my head back with a slight roll of my eyes as I laugh. "Okay I'm gonna do it even if… you got them in an… unsavoury way".

I'm giggling now as I pull one of the cupcakes out of the box, Cappie watching me carefully, and happily.

"Oh my god!", my jaw drops again. "How did you get the frosting I wanted Cappie? The old frosting, the vanilla buttercream kind that they used to have on them when we were freshman!"

Maybe it seemed crazy to care this much about frosting. But to newly pregnant me it wasn't crazy at all.

"Well I know you like that kind better so I just asked him to do that one instead", Cappie shrugs. "Well more so… told, not asked, but you get the picture".

I can't help but give him a sheepish grin now.

"You didn't have to get me six by the way but… thank you Cap", I give him a genuine smile. Maybe even the most genuine smile I've given him since I told him I was pretty sure I was pregnant back a few weeks ago.

"It's no problem, you'll eat them, and if not there's a house of guys here who will eat the rest in like, ten seconds flat", Cappie jokes.

"True", I laugh as I unwrap the cupcake, taking the paper off.

"So yeah, just, in the future, you can ask me for whatever you need. It's not a bother to me", Cappie says casually. "Rusty is a good brother to try, and… to be fair I've used him as my own personal errand boy a time or two…"

I laugh at that.

"But he's… he's not the one in this with you Case. I am", Cappie looks serious now.

"Yeah I know you are", I match his serious tone, blushing a bit as I give him a sincere look.

The two of us stare at each other now, both of us sharing this serious moment, me standing still instead of digging into my cupcake like I should be.

"I just… ", I break this moment of tension between us to try to joke with him. "I asked Rusty because Rusty does this thing called following the rules".

I smirk at Cappie devilishly now, trying not to laugh but failing a bit.

"Yeah and did Rusty get you your cupcakes?", His eyebrow raises.

I'm left silent.

"That's what I thought", he grins. "Anyways I uh… I'll leave you be now, I can see you were working on something. I should go see what's going on downstairs maybe, somethings going on with the barbecue I think. Hopefully they didn't break it again".

"Okay", I can't help but laugh a bit more. But when he turns to go I really really don't want him to leave. I spent a lot of time by myself now and truthfully, the times when I felt the least worried and depressed were when I was with him. Something about his specific presence lately just made me feel less alone with this bomb of a problem. "Wait Cap!"

I blurt it out without really thinking, feeling a little bit awkward now because I didn't want him to think I need him. Or worse, want him.

He turns around, looking like he absolutely didn't expect me to stop him from leaving.

"Why… why don't you stay and have a cupcake too?", I stammer awkwardly, lifting one up out of the box for him. "There's definitely enough. Plus um… it's your birthday tomorrow so it's only fitting".

I look up to him with a smile. But I'm also looking at him in what feels like a pleading way. I'm really just using the cupcake as an excuse to get him to stay here with me for a bit. Even though… if I just straight up told him I wanted him to spend time with me I'm sure he'd never leave my side. But it felt too vulnerable to do that.

"You're the one that should be getting cupcakes since… you're turning 21 tomorrow", I shrug with a slight laugh.

"I guess you're right", He laughs a bit, his smile gentle and sincere right now, a departure from his usual joking look he often had. "Yeah sure, that sounds good".

He walks over and sits beside me on the bed, the bed springs creaking a bit as he gets comfortable. I can tell he's feeling happy that he'd done something nice for me, that he'd done what felt like the impossible for me simply because he cared.

"I uh… I didn't know that you would remember my birthday Case", Cappie says with a laugh as I pass him a cupcake.

I give him a look now, a look that tells him that I think he's insane.

"I would never forget your birthday Cappie", I scoff like it should be obvious. "I mean… you probably didn't forget mine".

I shrug.

"Yep. March 11th", He gives me a smirk.

I nod with a sheepish blush.

"It'll be uh… it'll be right before the baby's born", Cappie comments awkwardly.

"Yep…", I sigh out in fear and then take a bite of my cupcake. "Happy 21st birthday to me… I get a baby that I have absolutely no idea what to do with. I thought I'd be spending it on spring break partying".

I can't help but giggle now at how crazy the difference is going to be. It was depressing but at the same time... I was trying not to harp on things too much. I was trying to make the best of it. And so was Cappie.

"Yeah I guess no keg stands at 7 months pregnant", Cappie laughs.

"Hey, I never even did keg stands anyways", I give him a playful look, laughing. "That was more you Cap".

I give him a joking smile now as we both eat.

"Okay then none of those girly mixed berry slushy drinks like those ones you like there then", Cappie jokes. "And… no getting your belly button pierced again obviously".

I laugh hard now, remembering how I got my belly button pierced there in Myrtle Beach when we were in freshman year. He'd held my hand while I'd had it done because I was so scared. I remember squeezing it so hard that I was pretty sure I was hurting him, not that he seemed to care.

This year he'd be holding my hand through my pain and fear for an entirely different reason... both of which involved my belly. Although this one was much, much more serious than just a bellybutton piercing I'd gotten on a whim on vacation. This one would result in a tiny little person that's half of each of us.

"Yeah my belly is gonna be a little too busy for that", I scoff.

Me and Cappie look at each other a little bit fearfully now.

"You know, I don't know how you can eat these Case, they're way too sugary", Cappie says, and I can tell he's trying to change the subject because he can see how scared I'm getting.

"You ate them with me in freshman year and you never complained!", I laugh.

"Well I was trying to get in your pants then", Cappie jokes, looking off with a smirk.

I give him a light smack on his arm making him laugh.

"Hey!", I scold him but I can't help but giggle. "How many things did you do in freshman year that you hated just so I'd sleep with you?"

"A couple", Cappie shrugs, still laughing. "What I didn't say to you then too was that… I know you like these cupcakes Case and that these are the only ones you wanted today but I've gotta say… red velvet is just chocolate with red food coloring".

"What?!", I cross my arms across my chest in annoyance. "It is not Cappie! It's totally different!"

"I don't think it is", He keeps laughing. "Pretty sure they're just putting red food coloring into chocolate cupcake batter".

I give him a faux glare which amuses him, making him smile devilishly at me.

"Well you could ask your weed dealer so we could end this debate but he probably hates you now", I joke with him, giving him an annoying smile.

"Hey! I lost my weed dealer for you! That's pretty serious in my books Case", Cappie laughs.

I can't help but smile to myself now.

"Yeah um… if you're not still trying to get in my pants like you were in freshman year… I'm not really sure why you did this for me today", I give him a look, the chemistry palpable between us right now.

It was like an electric current sparking up between us in this room, on this bed. On this bed where things had happened between us just a few weeks ago, this bed that I now sleep in every night and try to pretend that it never happened. Even if I do have the evidence changing my body, making me don sweatpants for just about every occasion now.

Cappie shrugs now in response to me playing around with him, in response to what some would call flirting even though for us it was just our usual banter.

"Who says I'm not still trying to get into your pants?", He grins at me with his usual ever smirking, mischievous look. The same one that he'd had the night we met, the one I knew so well it was basically what I associated with him most.

My mouth opens now, hoping to maybe find something sassy to say back. At the very least something cheeky, something witty in response. But all I'm left with is my heart beating fast, sitting here speechless with my face hot with what I hope is a blush that he can't see.

Why did his words have to have this effect on me? I really wish they didn't.

"The cupcakes thing though, that was really no problem. I wasn't doing that to try to get into your pants, really. I honestly just want to make your life easier Casey", He looks at me seriously. "I want to be there to help you because… I promised you that you wouldn't be alone in this and I meant it".

"Thank you", I nod, looking into his eyes and then looking away, unable to look at him any longer because my cheeks feel too hot and I'm sure he'll notice the effect he's having on me. And I didn't necessarily want him to know.

I let out a bit of a laugh now.

"Even if you don't like them, this really really hit the spot for me", I give him a grin, popping the last piece of the cupcake into my mouth. "It's like all I wanted the entire day, I even woke up thinking about having one".

I talk to him between chewing.

"It's the first major craving I've had where I've like, had to have it or I felt like I was going to die", I laugh.

"Well… you're 10 weeks now so", Cappie shrugs with a scoff. "I'm sure that's only normal".

"Yeah, already it's like sugary stuff seems to be all I want these days", I smirk before my expression becomes a bit more serious, the two of us sharing a look. "All the baby wants I mean".

"Yeah I've definitely noticed that happening too", Cappie scoffs. "That's okay though, we'll just keep a ton of sugary stuff around. Hidden well though, so the guys can't get to it first".

"Okay good", I smirk and then decide to do something a bit scary. But it's something I think I should probably do. "You know… on the subject of the getting in my pants thing…"

I let out a nervous laugh as he smirks at me. Then I go serious, feeling the nerves bubbling up in my stomach.

"A lot of my pants aren't really fitting like usual just in the past week or so and… tomorrow obviously I'm gonna have to have my stomach out I think…", I ramble.

I move back on his bed and lay down now, lifting up the hem of my top so I can show him my belly.

He watches me carefully, piecing this together, his whole expression going completely serious. As soon as I lift up my top his eyes go wide.

"Case… You're showing?", He asks me as I get comfortable, laying my head on one of the pillows I'd brought over from my room at ZBZ. He looks surprised.

"Well I can tell I am", I say meekly, looking him up and down to try to gage how he's feeling about this. "I'm not sure if anyone else would notice from just looking at me but… I can tell. Some of my clothes don't fit me the same way and I feel like I look bloated 24/7… Unless it's all in my head... I haven't showed anyone my stomach yet. Until now, to you".

I meet his gaze nervously as I see a slight smile break out on his face. A subtle, shy smirk as he stares down at me.

I think he can tell that I'm nervous about this. Can tell that it scares me to death. And he probably also knows it took a great deal of courage for me to even show him.

And maybe he was smiling at me like this because I had just told him that he was the first one I was letting see my belly like this. Or maybe it was because he was sharing this sort of emotional moment with me, a moment that would usually be reserved for… people who loved each other in a pretty serious way. Or maybe it was just about the baby for him. Whatever the reason, he looks soft and gentle as he sits beside me.

He looks like he's not going to be his usual joking self, like he's taking this moment really seriously.

"I think I see it too. That's it there right?", He gestures to my lower belly, where I used to have a completely flat stomach. Now it was replaced by a small swell, as though I was perpetually bloated. I could just tell my body was different. My stomach, my hips, my breasts… Honestly Cappie probably could tell too since I would, begrudgingly, categorize him as the only person who knew my body pretty much inside and out. Only second to myself of course.

"Yeah", I nod up and down, putting my hand flat against where the baby is, fingertips grazing lightly against my skin. "I've been sort of noticing it for the past week or so… just, you know, when I'm getting dressed and stuff".

I stutter awkwardly as I speak but I don't think Cappie even notices anyway because his eyes are glued to my belly.

"Wow… that's crazy. I didn't know that this would start so early", He lets out a bit of an anxious laugh, looking shocked still as he runs his hand through his scruffy brown hair.

"Yeah I didn't really expect it either, but, of course, I ended up looking it up...", I blush sheepishly, knowing that he'll probably make fun of me for that.

"Of course you did", Cappie chuckles, smirking at how predictably type A I am.

"Well it said that apparently smaller and younger women can actually start showing sooner. Like shorter, petite women like me", I explain. "Because I didn't have a lot of extra weight in this area to begin with it's just… making an impact on my body earlier than people who have more space for the baby to grow, or people who've been pregnant before and their uterus has already accommodated a baby before".

"That makes sense", he nods, surveying my face. "Are you… doing okay with all this? Or is it totally freaking you out?"

He looks like he honestly cares how I feel about it.

"Well obviously it's freaking me out Cap", I sigh. "Having my body change like this, it all happening so quickly… it's making me realize this whole thing is already well set in motion".

"Well you are a quarter ways done now Case", Cappie shrugs. "10 out of 40 weeks down".

"God you're right", I look at him wide eyed.

"Hey don't freak out, we've still lots of time left to figure things out", He touches my leg to try to calm me down.

"I-I guess you're right Cap", I nod up and down, my voice breaking a bit out of sheer worry.

I sigh now, worried about everything. Worried about the fact that I'm losing time second by second to make this life changing decision.

But still, cutting through my anxious thoughts is the feel of his hand on my knee. I can't ignore it no matter how hard I try. Can't ignore how much I like it there, can't ignore how I was really happy he came home tonight and was spending time with me. I just didn't want to tell him how much I was actually cherishing it. How much it helped. Because at the end of the day he was the only person who would understand. The only person.

"I didn't know if you'd want to know these things Cap. I just thought that… I guess I should tell you about it", I let out awkwardly. "Especially since the appointment is tomorrow and I might be showing Dr. Thomas so…"

I trail off, my voice rambling quickly and then hitting a point where I don't know what else to say.

"No I definitely want to know, want to see I mean", Cappie nods, speaking strongly now, like he wants me to take it in, wants me to take him completely seriously. "I want to know everything that happens with it".

His blue eyes seer into mine, both of our faces worried I think. Worried and serious.

I can hear my heart pound in my ears because… because I feel it. Of course I feel it.

"If that's okay with you obviously", Cappie adds quickly, his eyes searching through mine.

"Okay", I nod up and down, unable to help the small smile that comes over my face. "And yeah, it's okay with me".

I can't really wipe the smile off my face and unfortunately I can tell that he's seen it, that he knows that he's made me feel something. He's looking at my face instead of at my belly now with a smile of his own.

A scared smile just like mine.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading! Please like, review, leave comments, etc!! The next chapter will be fun!