Hey babes! Back with another chapter for you! As I said in the notes of the last chapter, I want to publish ch.25 on Christmas Day, so I think I've figured out when I'm going to post the next couple of chapters in a way that works well for everyone. So I hope you're all excited.

Enjoy!

*November 25, 2020*

A heavy yawn escaping past her lips, Clarke stretches her arms above her head to help wake herself up. She rolls onto her side to grab her phone and check the time, finding a folded piece of paper sitting next to it with her name scribbled across the front. She grabs the paper and lies on her back again, relaxing into the warmth of the mattress beneath her and the comforter on top of her.

Unfolding the paper, she lets her eyes scan over the words, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips when she recognizes Bellamy's handwriting.

Morning. Hope you slept well. I have to run a few errands so I most likely won't be there when you get up. Mom and O are both out too, but I don't think they'll be gone for too long. I know morning sickness has been giving you some issues lately, but please at least try to eat something. If not for me, then for Little Bean. I'll see you when I get back.

Setting the note aside, Clarke tosses the covers off her body and rolls out of bed, stretching and yawning one more time. She runs her hands down the fabric of her shirt, looking at her stomach as she does. She lifts the hem just enough to view the still-flat, yet taut skin around her middle. She definitely looks more bloated than anything, and if her news wasn't already out, and somebody noticed, then she could probably just write it off as such. But she's not that lucky.

After going through her usual morning routine, she makes her way down to the kitchen of the Blake's house—she crashed last night since it's now officially Thanksgiving break—to try and find something she'll be able to keep down for breakfast. There's no way that Bellamy could know if she has or hasn't eaten breakfast, but she knows that he'll find out somehow. He always does. It's sort of freaky.

Shuffling her way to the kitchen, her brows furrow tightly at the noises coming from within. Bellamy said everyone would be gone unless Aurora decided to stay back.

Moving slowly, she peers around the corner and then lets out a relieved breath.

"What are you doing here?" she asks as she steps into the kitchen, running a hand through her hair to get it out of her face again.

Murphy turns away from the stove and smiles at her. "Well, good morning to you too, sunshine. Sit down." He gestures to the table and then turns back to whatever's in front of him. "I'm almost done."

Clarke's brows furrow again as she hesitates and then sits down at the table. She has no idea what's happening, but she sure is curious to find out. She can't remember the last time she saw John Murphy in any kitchen of his own free will. Unless he was trying to find snacks after getting high.

But this is not that. This is something else entirely.

Moments later, she's drawn out of her head by Murphy setting a bowl, plate, and cup down in front of her; oatmeal, toast, and orange juice.

She looks up at her friend with slightly furrowed brows. "What is this?"

"Food," he answers deadpan. "Are you gonna eat it?"

She blinks. "Uh, yeah."

"Good." He turns away from her and moves back toward the stove, shifting things around and dropping various dishes and utensils into the sink.

Focusing on the food in front of her as the water in the sink starts running, she grabs the spoon sitting in the oatmeal and stirs it a bit. It doesn't look like any oatmeal she's had before; somehow it looks even better. "This isn't takeout," she remarks, looking up and over to where Murphy still stands in the kitchen, a scrub brush in one hand and a pot in the other.

"No, it's not." He scoffs lightly, glancing at her over his shoulder. "What? Did you think I lived solely off takeout, junk food, and whatever garbage they serve in the cafeteria?"

She shrugs. "I mean...kind of."

Murphy sighs heavily, setting down the dishes in his hands, and then turns around to lean back against the counter and cross his arms over his chest. "I've been cooking since I was a kid. You remember how my dad kind of fell apart after my mom left; I had to learn how to fend for myself. Food was a big part of that. At first, I just made whatever I could with the scraps I would find lying around the kitchen, just something to get me through each meal, you know? Then I started watching YouTube videos and did what I could to get food to make decent meals. I never told anyone because I didn't think it was anyone's business and I—wait." He shifts on his feet, his brows furrowing together. "What are you doing? Stop that."

Clarke shakes her head, wiping under her eyes to try and get rid of the tears that had started falling while Murphy was talking. "I can't help it. It's the hormones. Blame Little Bean." She glances at her meal and then back at her friend. "This is sweet of you to do for me, Murphy."

He stands up tall and points a finger at her. "No. Don't say that."

"Too late," she says with a smile.

Murphy sighs heavily. "Fine. Just don't tell anyone else, alright? I have a reputation to maintain."

She snorts. "What? As the school's resident asshole?"

"Something like that. I've gone this long without it being ruined, why start now?"

Clarke nods. "Ah. Well, let's hope I can keep this down." She turns in her seat again and scoots forward to be closer to the meal. "It looks great, and I'd hate to waste it, but being pregnant means I can't always eat all the foods I love."

"That must suck," Murphy remarks, turning back to the sink.

"It does." Focusing on her meal again, she takes a hesitant spoonful of the oatmeal, worried that she will, in fact, not be able to keep it down. She lets the food linger on her tongue for a moment, allowing her taste buds to get a feel for every ingredient she can pick out among the overall taste. Then she lets it roll down her throat and toward her stomach.

She lets the food settle, waiting and praying that the inevitable doesn't happen, and then leans back in her chair. "Wow."

"What?"

She glances over her shoulder. "Your oatmeal is incredible. Why does it taste this good?"

Murphy shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe I just make it differently than what you're used to."

"Well, whatever you do to this, it's amazing." She eats spoonful after spoonful of the oatmeal, washing it and the toast down with the orange juice, thankful that her baby is allowing her to keep this meal down. She hopes this will continue, and that she won't throw up her meal every time. And maybe she can find a way to convince Murphy to make her meals more often too.

.

.

.

The sound of the front door opening pulls Clarke's attention away from the sketchbook in her lap. She looks over her shoulder toward the doorway, smiling brightly when Bellamy steps into her view. "Hey."

He smiles back as he shrugs out of his coat. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

She lets out a breath. "Okay. Not super queasy, thank goodness. I even managed to keep down most of my breakfast which made Murphy pretty happy. Speaking of that." She shifts on the couch and furrows her brows slightly. "Why was Murphy here when I woke up?"

Bellamy shifts on his feet, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I uh, I asked him to come over. It took some serious convincing on my end, but eventually, he agreed. I just wanted someone to be here when you woke up and he's the only one who wasn't busy. You don't hate me for that, right? I didn't go too far?"

She smiles softly. "Under any other circumstance, you might have. But I know you meant well. So I don't hate you for this. Promise."

"That's good. Because it would put a really weird mood over the room when I show you your present."

Her brows furrow together again, her head tilting. "You got me a present? But it's Thanksgiving."

"I know," he says with a smile. "But I don't think you'll mind once you see what I got you. Or, I guess...who I brought you." Bellamy steps back and nods his head in the direction of the front hall.

Clarke shifts on the couch again, sitting up a little, and then her eyes go wide as soon as she sees who walks through the doorway. "Wells?!" She's up off the couch in an instant, tossing her sketchbook aside, and rushing toward her childhood best friend. She throws her arms around him and buries her face in the crook of his neck, breathing deeply.

Wells' chuckle rumbles deep in his chest. "It's good to see you too, Clarke."

She pulls back enough to look at him, the widest smile on her face and tears in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Bellamy called me last week," he tells her with a smile. "Asked if I had time to come visit. Thankfully we have the same Thanksgiving Break so I bought myself a train ticket and Bellamy came and picked me up from the station. I've missed you."

She wipes the tears off her cheeks. "I've missed you too. So much." She pulls him into another tight hug before letting go completely and walking over to her best friend. She stops directly in front of Bellamy and tilts her head back, watching him with a smile. "You really did this for me?"

He nods. "Yeah. I know it's been over a year since you two have been able to hang out in person, and you're always pretty happy whenever you get to see him. I figured that in light of everything that's been going on lately, you could use some of that happiness right about now."

Stepping just a little bit closer to him, she grabs one of his hands and squeezes. "Bellamy Blake, you are the sweetest, most caring, most giving person I have ever known." She rises on her toes to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."

He's smiling brightly at her when she pulls away. "No problem. Anything I can do to help, you know that."

The smile still on her face, Clarke moves across the room back to Wells and drags him with her over to the couch. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches Bellamy turning and making his way toward the stairs.

Pulling her legs up under her so she's sitting cross-legged, she focuses all of her attention on her oldest friend. "So how are you?" she asks him eagerly, bouncing a little in her seat. "I know we text and FaceTime as often as we can, but we haven't actually seen each other in person in over a year. I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too. I've missed you, Clarke."

"I've missed you too. How's your dad?"

Wells breathes deeply, relaxing into the couch, leaning against the back of it with his shoulder. "He's good. Keeping busy with work."

Clarke sighs heavily. "Yeah. Mom too. At least I have Marcus around."

"And Bellamy."

Clarke smiles involuntarily. "Yeah. He really is the best friend I could have asked for."

Wells chuckles. "Wow. And here I am thinking I'm the best friend you could have ever asked for. And now I find out I was completely wrong and totally replaceable."

She rolls her eyes and tilts her head, the smile still on her face. "Don't start. You know you'll always be my oldest friend, so you have that over everyone else. And if we still lived in the same city, let alone the same state, you know we'd still be attached at the hip."

Wells nods. "Yeah, I guess so. But now it's Bellamy that you're attached at the hip with. I always knew that you'd find a new friend once you got here, you've always been good with people. Even when we were in PreK."

Clarke smiles. "The amount of times people referred to the two of us as two peas in a pod is honestly a little hilarious."

Wells laughs, the corners around his eyes crinkling. "Yeah. So how have you been lately?" he asks her. "Been a while since we've talked. We keep missing each other whenever I try to call."

Clarke's breath catches in her throat, suddenly remembering that he's the one person in her life who doesn't know what she's been dealing with. She knew it would be something better told to him in person as soon as possible, but given that they no longer live on the same street, it's been difficult to try and find a time to do so. But now she has the chance, the opportunity to tell him exactly what is going to be happening over the next several months.

"Hey, you good in there?" he asks, pulling her out of her head.

She nods, pulling her lips in tight. "Uh, yeah. I'm just...there's something I need to tell you. Something that I've wanted to tell you since not long after I found out, but I wanted to do it in person."

His brows furrow together tightly. "Should I be scared?"

She shakes her head. "No. But uh, you're probably going to be really concerned and worried. But I promise you I am fine, and I'm handling this the best way I can, and I'm going to have a lot of help moving forward."

"That's good," he says with a slow nod. "Now is there any chance you can tell me what's going on instead of making me run through every possible scenario in my head?"

"Right. Sorry. Well, uh, there's no use in trying to beat around the bush anymore with this so I guess I'll just say it." She takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders. "I'm pregnant."

Wells' eyes go wide and then he blinks a few times, leaning back against the arm of the couch. He's silent for several long minutes, and then he leans forward again. "Is it Finn's? I mean, Bellamy mentioned that you two broke up, but I'm assuming it's Finn's."

Clarke nods. "Yeah. But he's not going to be involved. He made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to have any part in any of this. Doesn't help matters that I found out that same day that he'd been cheating since the moment we started dating."

Wells' eyes go wide. "He'd been what?"

"Yeah, I know. And I was the other woman in the scenario, so that's just the icing on the cake." She breathes deeply again, fighting back whatever tears want to spill over. "But I'm choosing not to waste any more of my energy thinking about him." She runs her hands down over her stomach, a small smile pulling at her lips. "I'm just gonna focus on growing Little Bean and then bringing him or her into this world and raising them the best way that I can."

Wells leans forward, one brow raising. "I'm sorry. 'Little Bean'?"

Clarke chuckles lightly, brushing some of her hair behind her ear and looking down at her stomach. She looks back up at Wells and smiles. "Yeah. It's uh...Bellamy came up with it after my first ultrasound. And since we don't know if the baby's a boy or a girl yet, it works. Better than just saying 'the baby' all the time."

Wells nods. "Uh-huh. And you and Bellamy are doing all of this together?"

"I mean...kind of? He was the first person I told because I was beyond terrified about what was happening when I found out, and he's been really supportive of every decision I've made since day one and he's always there for me, and he's—what?" she asks with a heavy sigh, frowning at the look on Wells' face. "What is it?"

He holds his hands up. "Nothing. I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to. What's with the look?"

He shakes his head. "It's nothing, really. I'm glad you have Bellamy to help you through all of this. I may not know him as well as you do, but I can tell how good you are for each other."

Clarke beams. "He is pretty great. I honestly don't know if I would have survived moving here if it wasn't for Bellamy. You know how upset I was when my dad died, how inwardly I retreated. Bellamy helped me get out of that. He's been my saving grace in more ways than once since the day we met."

Wells nods, shifting on the couch. "Uh-huh. And when, in your many years of friendship, did you fall in love with him?"

Clarke nearly chokes on her saliva, her eyes going wide at Wells' words. She sputters as she tries to form her own words back to him. "What? That's not...I'm not...you're delusional, Wells." She does a quick glance around to make sure no one is nearby and then looks back at her friend, lowering her voice, "I am not in love with Bellamy. He's my best friend. That's all there is between us."

Wells chuckles. "Whatever you say. But I can see it. Your entire face lights up when you talk about him, Clarke. You may not want to admit it right now, but the man is literally helping you with your pregnancy. And I know you spend as much time here as humanly possible. He even offered to pay for my bus ticket out here because he knows what I mean to you. I won't be surprised if he helps you raise your kid too."

Clarke lets out a huff of air, pushing Wells' words as far back in her mind as she can. "Can we not talk about that, please?" She leans forward and grabs his hands, holding them tightly. "My oldest friend is in town and I want to spend as much time catching up as I can."

Wells smiles, reaching out to grab one of Clarke's hands and squeeze it tightly. "Now that...that is something I can really get behind."

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Wells has arrived! He won't be in every chapter moving forward, but after the Thanksgiving Break section, he will pop up again, I just don't remember how many times. :)

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!