Forever Friends

Chapter 8

Annie couldn't stop thinking about the test she'd gotten earlier. She was supposed to take it but that was about the very last thing that she wanted to do right now. Sometimes it the whole ignorance is bliss thing was actually true. She'd already talked herself out of taking that test twice since she'd gotten home. The first time she feigned hearing her parents near her room. Surely she couldn't find out if she was going to be seventeen and pregnant while her mom was picking up her dirty clothes to do laundry. After an hour of waiting, Annie finally got back into the bathroom again but convinced herself that she was overreacting. She couldn't be pregnant. Sure she'd slept with Conner but it was only once. And it takes a lot more than that to get pregnant.

Besides, people were late all the time. Especially if they were under stress.. And she'd just recently started senior year. What more stress was there that that?

So with the test hidden securely under the sink in her bathroom, she'd gotten dressed and head out to the party. That would definitely get her mind off of that test. Or so she thought. For the better part of the past hour, Annie leaned against a counter and looked down into the red solo cup filled with frothy beer. It used to be cold but judging from the outside of the cup, it was getting luke warm. But how could she drink while worrying about whether she might be pregnant or not? And if she was pregnant, then wouldn't drinking hurt the baby?

The baby.. God that just sounded so wrong. She couldn't even imagine herself walking around with a big ole pregnant belly. If she couldn't imagine that, there was no chance in hell she saw herself with a baby on her hip. She wasn't mother material. And Conner.. while she was sure that one day he'd make a great father, he was still young. They both were.

One thing was for sure. If she wasn't pregnant, Annie was already sworn off the thought of having s*x again. Sighing, Annie pushed the cup aside and rest her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbow keeping her up. She was wrong, for sure. The party wasn't getting her mind off of that stupid test. What was she supposed to do though? She wanted to just move on from all of this but she had a feeling she wouldn't until she found out what that test said. That meant she'd have to take it.

All of a sudden she was back at square one and all she wanted to do was finish off that cup of room temperature beer.

While in the midst of her day dreaming, she felt an arm hang over her shoulders and she jumped a little until she saw TJ's face. He shook her a little, "What's going on B? You've looked like someone ran over your dog since you got here."

TJ was an excellent friend, that was something Annie knew for sure, but this wasn't something she could tell him. It wasn't anything that she could tell anyone. If Sara's brother found out--well, she wouldn't let herself finish that sentence because he wasn't going to find out. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind." She tried to flash a smile, hoping he would accept it. Maybe he had enough to drink. He smelled like he'd gotten into the tequila.

"That's what the party is for." He said, looking around at everyone being able to just let loose. "You aren't even trying to have fun. You haven't touched your beer." Then he held out the untouched drink in his hand towards her. "Here, have mine. I'll make myself another."

She sniffed the rim of the cup and could practically taste the booze on her tongue. "Damn. Want some lemon juice with your liquor?"

He chuckled, "Nah. That's just how I like it. Hard, strong and quick. Does the trick every time."

"Nice adjectives." Annie said with a little roll of her eyes.

A drunken TJ looked up a little perplexed, "Huh?" Annie couldn't help but chuckle and just shook her head, playing with the cup between her palms. She would love to drink that cup right now. It was one of TJ's special drinks. Usually they'd all have one to start the party. Annie had purposefully arrived late so she didn't have to explain why she wasn't having a drink. He nudged her, "Drink up."

How was she going to get past this one? If she said she wasn't in the mood to drink, he'd probably bug her until she made up some kind of lie about why she wasn't in the mood; one that he'd probably see through anyway. But she couldn't drink.. just in case. She opened her mouth to try her hand at a lie when she heard her name.

"Annie?" Conner didn't like seeing it, and he couldn't exactly explain how he felt. No, actually that was a lie. He was jealous, but he didn't want to be that guy. Sure he knew it was just TJ but that didn't matter. Someone had his arms around his girlfriend. Maybe Conner was just old fashioned but he didn't like the thought of some guy holding her.

He'd watched them for a few minutes, trying to pretend that it wasn't bothering him. And it worked for a few seconds. Until he saw them locking eyes. At least that's what Conner assumed.

"Conner!" Both Annie and TJ's voice rose up. TJ let his arm slide down from her shoulders and he stepped back. Using this as a distraction, Annie pushed the drink away and then stepped in and gave Conner a little squeeze. "I was wondering where you went.." Annie whispered against his neck. Conner wrapped his arms around Annie and held her close, then looked up at TJ. He didn't say anything, he just wished that he'd go away.

It was almost as though he'd said it out loud because TJ gave a little nod and then turned, disappearing back into the party.

Annie pulled back and when she looked into her boyfriend's face, she wondered if she should tell him. He did deserve to know, even if she ended up not being pregnant. He should know that there was a possibility that she could be. That would be the right thing. She was far from the kind of graceful her sister was, and she hardly held the poise that he best friend had, so how was she supposed tell him news like this? It's not like she'd been in this position before. And in her mind, she certainly didn't plan on being here again.

"What's on your mind, sweetie? You look a little pale." Conner was an incredibly wonderful boyfriend. He was very kind, very attentive.. Her mind was made up. She had to tell him.

This was her in. "Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about." Taking a breath, Annie took his wrist and pulled him to a corner of the room so there could at least be some kind of silence. "Look, I know this really isn't the right place for me to say this but there's something that I think you should know." She looked up into those hazel eyes and she just wanted to let it out. She wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs, if it got this weight off her shoulder.

Conner could sense that there was something really big going on and it made him nervous. But not hardly as nervous as it was making Annie. How would he react? Would he leave? Would he be okay? Would he walk away? Only one way to find out, she thought. The butterflies erupted in her tummy and she was started to feel light headed and a little sick to her stomach. "I--I um," Looking down at the floor, Annie felt her cheeks redden. Her chest felt tight with nerves, her knees weak.

"Annie, what is it?" His brows were pressed together a little as he looked at her. She really didn't look well. She kind of looked like she was about to be sick, or like she was about to cry. Neither of which were traits that Annie Maxwell ever carried.

All she could do was stare for a moment. Her heart felt like it was about to pound out of her chest. "I--"

"You.."

Just do it, she urged herself. "I.. think I might be--" But the word wouldn't come out. It couldn't. It was stuck on her tongue.

"You think you might be what?"

No, she realized. This was not the right place. What had she been thinking? This wasn't how she was going to tell him! It was all wrong. She couldn't do it like this. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him, green irises sparkling with worry and fear. She blinked a couple times and took a step back from her boyfriend. "I think I might fail my anatomy test on Monday. I really have been kind of slacking so I'm just.. gonna.. go." She hooked her thumb behind her and then took another step.

"I know this isn't your thing and you only came for me but I really really need to study so--" What a coward, she thought about herself as she finally turned and started to weave through the crowd towards the door, leaving Conner standing in the midst of all this chaos with a confused look on his face. She needed to just go home and make herself take that stupid test. Maybe she wouldn't have anything to worry about.