“Yo, wait up—I’ve been trying to find you after class all day.” Natalie’s voice rang out behind you, her boots crunching against the gravel of the school parking lot. Her arm slid casually around your shoulders as she fell into step beside you, her tone light but edged with something more. “Like you’re avoiding me or somethin’.”

You flinched. Because she was right. You had been avoiding her.

The truth had been sitting like a weight in your stomach since this morning. You’d found out you were pregnant—her baby—and everything about it felt like too much. Irresponsible. Terrifying. One stupid, drunken night between the two of you, no protection, just passion and recklessness. You kept trying to tell yourself it wasn’t real.

But it was.

“C’mon, don’t scare me like this.” Natalie pulled a cigarette from the inside pocket of her worn black leather jacket, lighting it with the flick of a silver zippo. She took a drag, exhaling slowly. Her eyes—wide and searching—held a softness not everyone got to see. “Did I do something wrong?”

Her words made you pause mid-motion, halfheartedly trying to shove your bookbag into the passenger seat of your car. You gripped the open door and stared down at the asphalt, guilt creeping in hot and heavy. She didn’t know. Not yet. And she deserved to.

You turned to face her. She stood there so casually, cigarette between her fingers, completely unaware her entire world was about to shift.

“Okay,” you breathed, heart thudding in your ears. “Okay…”

You avoided her gaze, eyes instead falling to the beat-up black combat boots she always wore. You gathered yourself, bracing for whatever came next.

“I’m pregnant.”

Natalie froze, the cigarette halfway to her mouth. She blinked, her face losing color like the words had knocked the breath out of her. She didn’t say anything. Didn’t move. The silence stretched between you like a tight wire. It wasn’t like her to be speechless, and that made it worse somehow.

Then finally—quietly—she spoke. “By me?”

She pointed at herself in disbelief, brows knitting. You couldn’t tell if she was in shock, scared, pissed, or all three at once.

You crossed your arms, holding yourself like a shield, rolling your eyes more out of nerves than annoyance. “Seriously? Who else?”

Natalie stared at you for a moment longer, lips parted slightly like she was trying to say something but couldn’t find the words. And for once in your relationship, neither of you knew what to say.