Hi. I am back. I won't be able to post new chapters to this story as I could with the last one, but I promise I am not one to abandon a story and stop updating. So as long as you don't read 'the end' at the end of the chapter you can trust I'll post a new chapter as soon as I can.
I had to change a few character's a little bit to make this work but I hope you enjoy reading this story.
Chapter 1: How I met your mother
Carol hated that the family had to move. But her father had gotten a new job and that, as her parents told her, he'd earn more and have better work times than before. But that meant for Carol that she had to go to a new school in the middle of the school year. The first term was over and she'd start the second term at her new school. She was anxious of being "the new girl". She wanted the other girls to like her. With the move she had to leave all her friends behind. In this new city she didn't know anyone.
It was the first day of school and Carol stood in front of the school building. Her dad dropped her off the first day and after that she'd have to take the bus.
"You ready, sweetheart?" her dad asked her.
"As ready as I can be, I guess." ten-year-old Carol answered.
"Then let's go and see Principal Dambry, okay?" her father said and walked towards the entry. Carol soon followed.
"Hello, Mr. Peters, you must be Carol!" the principal greeted them when they entered his office.
"Hello Principal Dambry." Carol's father replied and Carol greeted him politely, just how she was raised.
Once everything was settled he showed Carol her classroom and she went in to greet her teacher Mrs. Hallen.
"Hi class. We've got two new girls to our class this term, I hope the other girl will arrive soon. Meet one of our new students, Carol Peters. Would you like to say a few words about yourself, Carol?" Mrs. Hallen introduced her. Carol perked up a little when she heard there would be another girl new this term and she wouldn't be the only one to be new to the class.
"Uhm, thank you. Hello. I'm Carol. My parents and I just moved here as my dad got a new job. I liked the city we lived in, but I think I might like it here to and hope to make new friends soon." she shortly said.
"Thank you, Carol. Why don't you go back to that empty desk there and the other new girl will join you as you desk neighbour."
As Carol sat down the classroom door opened and in came another girl, she had long black hair and was pale. Mrs. Hallen introduced her as Diane and let her say a few words, too. Then Diane took seat next to Carol.
"Hi, I'm Carol." she introduced herself as soon as Diane sat down.
"Diane." the girl answered a little shy.
"Nice to meet you. Don't worry, I'm new too. So you aren't completely alone as new girl." Carol told her as she was relieved herself to not be in the situation of being alone in this situation. She could see Diane's face light up a little.
"That's great. I was scared that it would be totally weird, but not being alone is a relieve actually." the girl replied.
The two girls chatted for a bit and decided to discover the new school and rules and everything together. They both found it was easier this way.
Over the next couple weeks Carol and Diane stuck together and got to know each other. Even though they noticed they were pretty different in their personalities it worked and they got friends.
XXXXX
Two years later when both girls were twelve they were best friends and did everything together. Currently the were at Carol's parent's house sitting on the bed in Carol's room and talked.
"Mary Andrews is such a brat." Diane complained. "And she's everywhere. It's like she's following me."
"Di, you gotta stand above those things. If you show her that what she says annoys you, she'll have her reward and keep on doing it." Carol repeated what she heard her parents say, everytime someone said something mean or offending.
"You wouldn't know. No one ever called you names. You've never been made fun of for not having the money to buy the newest clothes. My parent's just can't afford that." Diane replied sad.
"I'm trying to help you here." Carol said a little angry.
"By telling me what I already know? It's not that easy, Carol!" Diane shot back "I'm sorry, I don't mean to take this out on you. It's just hard hearing them say so mean things." she quickly apologized. She didn't mean to be this mad, but at some point she got tired of the other students calling her stuff that wasn't nice. Once the air was cleared they started to talk about nicer things.
"Did you see Tim Jenkins watch you, though?" Diane asked Carol. "He couldn't keep his eyes from you."
"Eww. He has to stop doing that. Boys are gross. I mean have you seen him?" Carol replied with a disgusted face.
"Yeah, I know. Some people in school say he even has a girlfriend. He shouldn't be looking like that at other girls. Besides, he's way older. I don't get why girls go out with boys anyway. They are just annoying." Diane replied.
Who would have thought, that about two years later their view on that topic had changed immensely and boys now were their favourite topic. How fast things could change…
Their parents were well aware of the bond the two girls had made and decided it would be best for them to continue to go to school together. This wasn't so easy considering the Vauses weren't earning as much as the Peters and latter wanted to send their daughter to a better school, which Diane's parents couldn't afford. The final decision between the families was to send the girls to different schools, but they were lucky enough to find two schools being geographically close so they could see each other often after school and still take the same school bus as there was one that collected students from both schools.
One afternoon, Carol and Diane were fifteen now, they met in the park close to their houses but far enough from them to not run into their parents to talk and hang out.
"Look at that! George Proso over there is totally checking you out." Diane nodded in his direction.
"Oh, he's not!" Carol replied. Diane was a bit annoyed. They both had developed an interest towards the other sex, but seen how Carol was brought up, she was rather - let's say stuck up - about boys interested in her. Because let's be true, she did look good and the family had a good image and was wealthy. So she was a good catch for any boy who liked the waspy lifestyle. Diane looked great, too, but with her sometimes worn out second hand clothes, that she tried to fancy up as much as possible, didn't get the attention from the same kind of guys like Carol. And again it showed how different the girls and their background was. Every now and then it would come up between the two of them and sometimes it caused bad fights but they usually cleared the air and were good and still friends.
Soon both girls had their own boyfriends but still tried to make time to hang out together and do stuff without their boyfriends. Just the two of them. Often enough they were chatting about how their respective boyfriend was and shared most things. Both knew, as they knew each other for so long already, that they could trust each other and tell the other everything. Both girls were happy to have someone they can talk to and who understands what is going on in each other's lives.
When Carol was sixteen her parents told her they'd get a divorce. Carol had noticed that they had been fighting for a while, but she never would have thought they'd get divorced. It came as quite a shock to her that obviously her dad had been seeing other women and of course her mother didn't agree. Especially as both her parents had always insisted on keeping up the image of the family. And a divorce was not good for a good image of the family and neither was a cheating promised herself that she never would let anything like that happen to her. Especially when she saw the judgy faces of the men and women when her mother and Carol arrived without her dad at one of the garden parties. She noticed how people were talking and gossiping. She again promised herself to never give anyone a chance to talk about her like that again.
Diane was right there to talk about it with Carol and Carol often stayed with the Vauses to avoid the drama at home. The girls talked a lot, watched a lot of movies and gossiped about the boys who went to school with them.
When both girls graduated the Vauses planned throw a little party for their daughter. Diane asked if she could celebrate with Carol and so the party got a bit bigger. They celebrated with family and friends in the Peters' garden. Carol and her mother were staying in their house after her father had moved out after the divorce. They both were happy to finally finish high school but both were anxious what the future would bring and how they would be able to keep in contact. Carol already had a place at a really good college but Diane knew that this wasn't in the cards for her as her parents couldn't afford to send her to college. So she decided to stay where they grew up and get a job. She was impatient to move out of her parents house, even though. She would love to live in a bigger city. Her dream and hope was to live in New York City one day.
One year after graduation Carol had finished her first year and Diane worked at a diner in their hometown about to move out of her parents house. She just couldn't stay there any longer. She felt like she missed so much of the experience of growing up and becoming an adult. Staying in her parents house made her feel like the kid and teen she had been growing up there. And with the experience from the diner she thought she could maybe find a job in the Big Apple. They met when Carol went home during summer break and hung out. They had called each other and written texts and seen each other when Carol was home, but due to the distance they hadn't had as much contact as they had during high school and before.
Carol had told her on the phone and in a few letters about her new boyfriend who obviously seemed to be the best she ever had. She was gushing over him, how polite and well mannered and handsome he was. She told Diane that maybe he was the one she'd marry one day. His name was Bill Chapman.
Diane hadn't been so lucky to meet the right guy yet but stayed positive. She had had a few dates but nothing serious. With her colleagues from work she went out when they had time and saw quite a few concerts and whatever was happening in a small town like the one they had grown up in.
When the summer ended Carol went back to college and Diane took the big step to move to New York. They tried to keep in contact, but both women were busy with their life so that the calls and letters got less and less. Diane knew that Carol and Bill had been going strong for a while so she wasn't too surprised to find a wedding invitation in her mail one day. She was happy for her friend and of course made it work to be there for her friend at her wedding.
They had a great party and Carol and Diane were happy to see each other again when it had been hard for them to stay in contact. They promised each other that they'd call or send a letter at least once a month to keep each other updated. And that's what they did. A year after the wedding Diane got a letter from Carol telling her she was pregnant and she and Bill would have a boy. A few months later Carol called her to tell her about her son Danny being born.
Diane was happy for Carol and Bill. Seemed like her friend had settled down and created a family. And that was great. Diane though didn't feel like that yet. She enjoyed living in the city, seeing different bands and enjoying the city life even though she didn't make too much money at the diner she worked at but keeping her standards down she was able to make it work. Four years went by and both women had managed to stay in contact, even if it was through one call or letter per month. Carol asked her friend quite a few times if she didn't want to stay with a man and get married at some point, but Diane told her that she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted at the moment.
Diane had seen a concert of a band, they allowed a few people to meet them backstage and after hanging out couple of times they offered her to travel with them and as she had a thing for the drummer she decided to go with them. She and Lee had a good time and Diane liked being with him and the band. When they were back in New York the band played a few gigs there. Diane had noticed some changes the weeks before and when she was sure about what was going on she went to tell Lee the news. Diane knew the band would leave at some point for more gigs in other cities. She had planned to go with them but when she wanted to ask them when they'd leave she couldn't find anyone anywhere. She checked their rehearsal room, the places the members usually stayed at but everyone was gone. Finally Diane came to the conclusion that they had left. And that Lee had left her.
When Carol coincidentally called the evening that Diane found out that Lee had left and heard the hurt and desperation in her voice she offered her to stay with her and her husband in the smaller city in Connecticut for awhile if she wanted to. Diane was so heartbroken and alone that she happily accepted Carol's offer.
The Chapman's house was big and it reminded Diane a lot of the one Carol had grown up in. But her friend seemed to be happy with her life and family so it helped Diane. Also being away from the city did a lot to calm her down and focus on herself.
One afternoon it was just Carol and Diane in the house and they finally got some time to talk about what happened.
"How are you, Di?" Carol asked. Diane was surprised to hear her teenage nickname her friend gave her again.
"Could be better." she answered vaguely.
"You sounded so down when I called you. Actually I was calling with good news, but you were so hurt, I decided to wait to tell you." Carol started. It got Diane curious.
"Yeah? What are the good news. I think I could use some right now." she faintly smiled.
"Well, I was about to tell you that Danny is going to have a little sibling. We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet. But we're excited." Carol beamed.
"Congratulations." Diane said. Now she had to get it out. "Seems like my baby is going to have someone the same age to play with."
Carol took a few seconds until she got the message. "Wait, you too? How? I mean, I didn't know you had a boyfriend?!" she was confused.
"I mean, I guess you know how?!" Diane chuckled. "But yes. I am pregnant too. I told you I was traveling with that one band?" Carol nodded. "So I was kinda dating the drummer. But when I told him I was having a baby he and the band left without saying something. He left me. So yeah. I got the same news as you, just not sure if they're good news, really." Diane finished.
"I am so sorry, Di." Carol said and hugged her. "If you want you can stay with us for another while. Are you planning to go back to New York, or what do you think?"
"Thank you. I'd like to stay until I found something for myself. And the baby. I think I want to move back here. I mean I got a child to raise, right?" the insecurity was clear in Diane's voice. She wasn't sure what was the right thing to do. She was heartbroken and pregnant. She didn't know what the right thing was.
"You sure you want to do this? All by yourself? A child is so much responsibility and work and then do it all alone. And how are the chances of finding a man when you're raising another man's child?" Carol asked her. "I mean there are ways if you aren't ready for that."
"I know this is not what I planned and not how it was supposed to go. But there is a baby growing inside me. Just as there is in you. And it's not the baby's fault that this fucker Lee decided to leave this poor kid. Sorry for the language. It's not its fault that it is existing. I couldn't do that Carol. So yes. I am going to have that baby." Diane told her. Maybe she didn't know what the future would bring and how she would make it work, but she was determined to be the best mother she could possibly be.