Her hand steered the mouse towards the user icon and she clicked it, selected 'video call' off from the menu, and then sat back and waited. The program on her laptop showed a little shaking phone icon and made the noise for the immersion. After a moment, the ringing and the icon stopped. After another moment, the video call finally connected and revealed a very familiar person on the other end.

"Hey Ronnie Anne!" Lincoln waved at her.

"Hey Lincoln." She waved back. Normally she was laying down on her stomach on her bed for these conversations. This time, she was sitting up. "How's it going?"

"Great." He answered, but didn't go into detail. "I uh…haven't seen you the last few days." These video calls were a daily occurrence, but they weren't organized. It was just an unspoken agreement between the two to check out this app around the same time every day when the other would be on. Except, for the last four days, Ronnie Anne hadn't been on at any time Lincoln had checked.

"Yeah, sorry." She shrugged. "I had a stomach bug, so my abuela made me stay in bed."

"Oh." He sounded concerned. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm good. So, what's been up on your end?" Lincoln took her explanation at face value, and was excited to share the latest news in Royal Woods.

"Something big happened here in town." Lincoln started ominously.

"What, did they install a new stop sign?" She teased.

"Flip got arrested." He told her.

"No way." Yeah, that had been a lot of kids and teens favorite place to shop, but no one would deny Flip was a sleezy and disgusting guy. "What for?"

"Tax evasion."

"Of course." The Latina chucked.

"It sucks that we can't get Flippies anymore though." Lincoln confessed. "Anyway, Lisa's spending the whole week in Europe for some conference. Lynn won last week's football match for our school again. Oh, and Lucy got a cash prize for one of her poems. What's going on in the city?" He asked.

"Carl got into trouble with health inspectors. Another crazy scheme of his." Her third oldest cousin was always on the lookout for ways to get some extra cash in his pocket. All he usually got was trouble though. One day, he was going to end up in jail for it. "I don't think anything's happened in the city." She hadn't been paying attention the last few days. "Want to hear what Lori's been up too?" Lincoln nodded. Lori gave her family her own line distilled version of about life in the big city. But Ronnie Anne saw more of it. She overheard it when Lori frequently visited. Complaining or talking about things she didn't bother informing her family about. Ronnie Anne had dirt, to be blunt, and Lincoln was not shameless enough to not want to not hear about it.

They talked about serious stuff, but a lot of their calls were like this: benign, casual, gossip, just recollections of their daily lives. Wasn't always exciting, but it was nice to talk to someone else, and to always have that opportunity to discuss something important.

The conversation stopped a few minutes later when they both heard something and Lincoln turned his head. Someone had opened his bedroom door; Ronnie Anne knew that sound even if she couldn't see it. His younger sisters had a tendency to crash their video calls to get help from their brother. Lincoln was the de facto eldest sibling in his family once his three oldest sisters had moved out. Luan still lived there, but when she wasn't at school, she was trying to get an entertainment business off the ground. Lynn was there too, but she was Lynn. Obviously, any of them would've preferred Lincoln.

"Hi Lincy!" A blond four-year-old holding a stuffed rabbit walked into frame. She looked over and noticed the video call. "Hi!" She waved at the screen.

"Hi." Ronnie Anne smirked and waved back. The girl didn't say anything else, she just leaned on the desk and looked around the room and at her brother before looking back at the screen.

"Lily, do you need anything?" Lincoln finally asked.

"No." She turned her head briefly to answer him, then turned back to the screen. That was her thing. The other sisters would inevitably drag Lincoln away to do something, but Lily just liked to be on the calls. She was nosy, as little kids tended to be. "What you doing?" She asked both of them. Lincoln looked put on the spot, but his conversation partner came up with a quick lie.

"Talking about Halloween." Ronnie Anne leaned towards the camera. "Are you excited for Halloween, Lily?"

"Yeah!" She nodded. "I'm going to be a tiger!"

"She saw tigers at the zoo and now she won't stop thinking about them." Lincoln explained. "She's been asking since May."

"Oh yeah?" Ronnie Anne asked in amusement. She leaned back. "Sounds like my primos." She focused on Lily for another few seconds. "It was nice talking with you again Lincoln, but I'm still pretty tired. I think I'm going to doze off already. I just wanted to check in with you since it's been a few days." He leaned back a little, looking kind of surprised and disappointed. Definitely disappointed. The corners of her lips started to turn upwards.

"Ok then. I'm just glad you're feeling better." Lincoln stayed upbeat about her sudden exit. "Talk again tomorrow?"

"You know it." She stuck her fist out. That was the dumbass little ritual they had for these calls: ending them with an imitation of a fist bump. Lincoln mimicked her, then patted his little sister on the back.

"Say goodbye, Lily." He told her.

"Bye!" Lily smiled and waved into the camera. Ronnie Anne waved back, then she scrolled her mouse to a little red telephone icon at the bottom of the screen. She clicked it, and the video screen turned black, and she saw a blurry version of herself in the little window.

She stared at her reflection, thinking about the person who'd been on the other end. Ronnie Anne Santiago sighed and threw her head back, staring at the ceiling. "Missed your shot." She said out loud. She glanced over to the mini fridge beside her bed, specifically at the three things that were sitting on top of it.

Positive pregnancy tests.

Her birthday had been over six weeks ago; it was almost October. That night had been on her mind for all of them. For the first while, it had only been fond recollection. Neither her nor Lincoln had brought it up on in their daily video calls. They weren't avoiding it,; they were just content and didn't see a reason to bring it up. But after two weeks, she'd been late.

She hadn't panicked. She was too cool for that. They'd used protection and they'd played it safe, so there was no reason to worry. She just figured her mind was making her body act funny by thinking about what had happened. Biology was weird like that. So, she'd stopped thinking about it for a while and went about her days.

Then she was late for one week. That turned into two weeks. And by the third week, she couldn't exactly ignore it. So, she just stubbornly clung to the notion it was something else. Again, they'd used protection. She wasn't going to consider that they might've screwed up when she was so sure they hadn't. She was hardheaded like that.

Yet, she didn't bother consulting her mom or anything anyone else to explain it. She just kept it to herself.

Then, on the most recent Saturday, she'd thrown up at lunch. Her abuela had quickly declared it a stomach bug and advised her to rest. Ronnie Anne had really wanted her to be right. She'd spent the rest of Saturday and up to this morning-Tuesday- staying in bed, trying to act sick like it would help. She even purposely missed her usual video calls with Lincoln and started ignoring Sid's text messages. She played the part like it would make it real.

She'd only gotten the tests today. After throwing up yet again, she'd figured that at least proving it wasn't what she was worried about what would help put her mind at ease. Except they didn't. All they did was prove what she should've always suspected.

She was pregnant.

She still didn't get how though. Everything had seemed to work at the time. A few hours spent surfing the internet had come up with nothing. Protection was only 99% effective, as they said. Maybe Lincoln and her were the unlucky 1%. She couldn't find anything else.

In all honesty, all the revelation did at first was maker her royally pissed off. All that caution and preparation, and it had still gone wrong? Come on!

But that fact was looming over her now. She couldn't ignore it, and she couldn't pretend it was something else. It was there and she had to react. She thought she'd been ready when she'd gotten onto the videocall app right after wrapping up her research. It was a logical first step-telling the only other person involved. But the call had played out like any normal nightly interaction the two had.

She'd been in a kind of shock; every time the thought had crossed her mind to mention it, a lump formed in her throat and the thought just dissolved. She'd just let the conversation play out, and now she regretted not using that chance.

She rubbed her eyes, feeling tired mentally and physically. That was her first opportunity, gone and wasted. What the hell was she going to do?

She wasn't mad at Lincoln or anything like that. They'd taken precautions and she was still sure they hadn't messed that up. And if she was honest, she'd been the bigger pull of the two towards what happened. She didn't regret that either.

But a baby? She liked Lincoln, but that was something way more different then the relationship they already had. This would completely change things between them. For years. And that actually scared her most of all. She didn't want that or the risks it brought.

There was always was the other option. Even thinking about it caused a little lurch in her stomach. She reached for her laptop again and changed the page to a search engine. She typed out 'abortion' and hit the search button. She'd spend the next hour searching page after page for information on it. By the end, her stomach was unsettled in a way that had nothing to do with her morning sickness.

There was nothing wrong with it. It was perfectly legal. In this day and age, it was morally acceptable. If she really wanted to, she could do that on her own without anyone knowing. But the thing was, it didn't feel right to her, the idea and the procedure itself. The latter subject made her squirm just thinking about it.

She went back to the first option and realized she didn't want that either for even more reasons. She was 15. Lincoln was still 14! They had school. They lived three hours apart. They couldn't provide. It'd be impossible. She rubbed her eyes even more aggressively and groaned.

The full reality was setting in: She was screwed. They were screwed. She really wanted to share this burden with someone else, but she'd just chickened out of her chance with Lincoln and there was no one else she thought could help.

Telling her family was out of the question. Her mom was a nurse and her father was a doctor. They both knew a lot about this subject. They had both warned her about this subject, painfully warned her even. They'd been open with her because they thought it would dissuade her. She wasn't sure if they'd freak out more about what her and Lincoln did, or that she'd made the exact mistakes they'd warned her about. Either way, she knew they were going to lose it for a good while before they gave her any help. She didn't need that drama.

She actually wished she could've told Bobby. He was a smart man, a caring man, and a great big brother. He'd never had any problem helping her with her antics since they moved here to Great Lakes City. He could keep a secret. But the magnitude of this was a lot greater. Bobby could get emotional, and that's what she was worried about. He had his own life now, and burdening him with her problems would only make her feel guilty.

She loved the rest, but she didn't feel close enough with any of them to share a secret like this.

Screwed, both of them.

"Ronnie Anne?" There was a knock on her door to accompany her grandmother's voice. It startled her so much, she slammed her laptop closed and pushed it under the covers immediately. She'd gone from being paranoid about her body to being paranoid of about her own family. Great. She swiped the pregnancy tests and hid them too.

"Come in!" The door opened, and Rosa appeared balancing three plates with grace unexpected for her age.

"I brought your dinner!" She explained. She'd insisted her granddaughter rest to get better from her 'stomach bug' and had been bringing her food while she did so. It would've been a bad idea to have her sit at the table with her family and get them sick too. If only she had been sick.

"Thanks." Ronnie Anne watched her set them down on the mini-fridge. "You know, I think I'm feeling better enough to go back to school." It was just now occurring to her, but she needed to put on an act if she wasn't going to tell her family. She didn't want them to suspect anything until she had an idea what to do.

"Hmm…" Her grandma said skeptically, holding a hand to her chin. She reached out and felt the teen's forehead and the side of her face. "You haven't been sick all day?" She asked.

"No." She lied.

"Queasy?"

"No." She lied again. She was still queasy. And tired. She could expect a lot of that for the next few months.

"Well…I'll tell your mother when she gets home." Rosa decided. "We'll see what she says." Ronnie Anne could game her mom. That wouldn't be a problem. "Sid will be so happy to see you back at school. She came to the door today and yesterday to ask about you." Her abuela told her.

Maybe ignoring Sid had been an extreme over reaction. The girl did live above her. Ronnie Anne had already gotten back in touch with Lincoln, so Sid was the obvious next choice. She decided to text her after she finished eating, blinking at the 47 unread messages clogging up the screen.

'Hey.' She sent the text. A response came in seconds.

'Hey! You ok girl?' Then, 'I sent you a million messages.'

'I was sick'. Ronnie Anne messaged.

'Your grandma told me. Feeling better?'

'Yeah.'.

'Still contagious?' Sid messaged next.

'Nope'. Ronnie Anne hit send and stared expectantly at her screen for a reply.

Not a minute later, there was tapping at her window. She twisted around and saw Sid out there on the fire escape. Ronnie Anne got up and opened it, allowing her friend to swing through and into the room. Sid made a high-pitched sound of excitement and hugged her. Sid may have had other friends, but she only had one best friend.

"Ronnie Anne, girl, your grandma made it sound like you were in here dying." Sid told her as they both sat down on her friend's bed.

"Yeah, she worries too much." The teen was secretly grateful though; the old woman had given her a cover story. "How was your weekend? At the other zoo?" Sid's mom had gone to another zoo a state over to inquire about some baby animals to possibly bring to the Great Lakes City Zoo, and Sid had gone along.

"It was great!" Sid brought pulled out her phone and quickly went to the photos. "Look at this!" He She shoved the phone in Ronnie Anne's face. It was Sid, hugging a baby hippo. "His name's Erwin."

"Aww." Ronnie Anne had never seen an animal so shiny.

"And they had baby lions too!" Ronnie Anne laughed when Sid changed it to a picture of her in a tug of war match with one using her own shirt.

"So, did she get them?" She asked. Sid shook her head.

"The lions are going to other zoos. But we got the hippos!" Sid counted that as a win. "Did you read any of my other texts yet?" Sid changed the subject.

"Eh heh," Ronnie Anne rubbed the back of her head. "I haven't read all of them yet. Something up?"

"Halloween!" Sid explained.

"Halloween?" Her friend parroted, mentioning the holiday for the second time tonight. It wasn't even October yet, not for a few more days.

"I saw stores that already had supplies stocked." Sid laid it out. "We should get started early."

Yeah, they were both 15. But Sid had her little sister trick or treating, and Bobby was going to do the haunted mercado again this year. Both perfectly valid excuses for getting into costumes again and having fun.

But Ronnie Anne couldn't drum up any excitement for the holiday. She had other things on her mind and other things she needed to do now.

"Uh, how about we talk about this at school?" She suggested. Ronnie Anne was glad Sid had come all the way down just to visit, but she hadn't counted on it. "I'm coming back tomorrow. I just need to rest tonight since I'm honestly just still feeling a little down and wanted to check in after ignoring you the last few days." Sid looked let down at being led on then blocked again, but she didn't hold it against her. She still thought her friend had been sick, after all.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning." Sid agreed. Ronnie Anne didn't take any pleasure in disappointing her best friend, but she didn't really have a choice. She got an extra hug before Sid went back up out the window and up the fire escape to her apartment.

Dinner for the rest of the family came and passed. Her mom got home after it, as she often did. She agreed with her daughter about being able to go back to school and promised she'd call the school tomorrow to explain things. She did remark about her still looking a little unwell though. That had to be stress showing. Ronnie Anne promised her mom she'd go to bed early and get a good night sleep to make up for it.

In actuality, Ronnie Anne stayed in her room and started browsing the internet. She wasn't looking up anything specific, she was looking up a lot of information on a variety of subjects related to her predicament. She wasn't trying to make a decision either; she was still sticking stubbornly to telling Lincoln first. She was just gathering information. It was a digital hunt that lasted far into the night.

Morning came, and Ronnie Anne realized something: She didn't want to go to school. It might've had something to do with the two hours of sleep she had. But it was probably the weight she still had on her shoulders. She didn't have the energy for anything else.

So, she didn't go to school. When she exited her apartment, instead of going down to the front steps where Sid would've been waiting for her, she kept going down into the apartment's basement before ducking into the little hangout Sid and her had carved out of an unused section of the level. She slumped in the beanbag chair they had there and pulled her laptop out of her backpack. She continued her research, rubbing her eyes and occasionally shaking her head to stay awake.

The beanbag must've gotten cozy though, because she fell asleep without even realizing it. She woke up later, groggy, stiff, and dehydrated in the same beanbag chair. She cracked her eyes open and saw her laptop precariously balanced on her knees at the edge of the seat.

And someone she didn't immediately recognize hovering right next to her face.

Waking up and seeing someone right next to her face triggered the Latina teenager's fight or flight response, and she ended up half pushing and half punching Sid away. She realized her mistake before her best friend had finished falling. She jumped up, barely saving her laptop from hitting the floor.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Ronnie Anne grabbed her arm and helped Sid stand back up. The blow had stunned her, but caused no outward damage except a little coloring on Sid's cheek.

"Dang, girl. Remind me to stay on your good side." Sid rubbed the spot.

"You're the one that surprised me! Don't get so close to people when they're sleeping…" Ronnie Anne muttered in embarrassment. "What were you doing?" Sid straightened up.

"Looking for you!" She pointed. "You weren't at school today." Her expression changed, looking more concerned and curious. "Were you doing something down here?"

"What?" Ronnie Anne started to sweat. "No." She started backing up and grabbed her laptop, closing it. "I uh…just decided to skip school today." Sid looked skeptical, then she looked anxious.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." Ronnie Anne knew she sounded sketchy as hell. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uhh…" Sid laughed nervously. "Maybe I just made a mistake when I saw your computer screen. What were you looking at?" What had she been looking at? She couldn't remember the moment she dozed off. But she knew what it had to be related to. If Sid saw it, then she must already suspect. She was embarrassed about making a really awkward mistake, so she was playing stupid.

Ronnie Anne should've used that opportunity. But she was never good at lying. And even if she did, Sid would still know and still be suspicious. And you know what? She was scared of telling her family. She was too nervous to tell Lincoln indirectly. But looking at Sid's concerned face, Ronnie Anne realized she felt no fear for any reason telling her. It wouldn't have helped her situation, but it wouldn't harm her it either. And damnit, she just wanted to complain.

"What do you think you saw?" She asked.

"Uh…" Sid hesitated.

"Just say it." Ronnie Anne told her.

"It looked you were looking…pregnancy facts?" Sid mumbled in embarrassed.

"Yeah, because I am." She admitted. Ronnie Anne surprised herself with how easy that had been.

"You're pregnant?!" Sid shouted, then realized the error of her ways when her friend's eyes widened in horror. She shook her head and leaned in close. "You're pregnant?" She asked again in a whisper.

All Ronnie Anne could do was nod.

"Are you sure?" Sid asked. "How do you know you're not just late?" Her friend reached into her pocket and pulled out the pregnancy tests. She'd never had problems with her family snooping in her room, but she'd been so tense she wasn't going to take chances and took them with her. Sid's eyes widened in shock.

"You actually bought some tests?!" She grabbed one to see. Ronnie Anne cringed a little.

"I didn't." She admitted. "I swiped them from the mercado yesterday when Bobby wasn't looking." She had asked Lincoln to buy something embarrassing and he'd done it. She'd been so ashamed that she'd stolen from her own family. She didn't miss the irony and she felt even worse for doing it.

"You stole?" Sid leaned back in surprise. "Girl, this is so not like you."

"I know!" Ronnie Anne threw her hands out. "I wasn't expecting the stupid things to be right! I swear, I'm going to sneak some money into the register to make up for it. But I got a lot on my plate right now! I'm freaking out!"

"No time to panic." Sid told her. "Focus time, girl." Sid stepped back and gripped her shoulders firmly. "Tell me what happened." She steered her back over into the beanbag chair and stood there expectantly. Ronnie Anne had already admitted it, so what was the point of hiding anything else?

Besides, Sid was her friend. They'd been through thick and thin, incidents and hijinks, and other things only true besties could go through and still come out on good terms. They had talked personal issues before. And after a whole month of stonewalling herself and an all-nighter of research, she was even more tired mentally than she was physically. She had to get this off her chest. She had to rant a little. Besides, Sid had been her partner in crime for a lot their crazy adventures, so maybe she could help plan a solution.

"Alright." Ronnie Anne sighed. "It happened when Lincoln was here for my birthday." She admitted. Sid's eyes lit up and her hands shot up to cover her mouth as she understood all at once. And for a moment, serious Sid disappeared and giddy Sid took her place.

"You guys didn't!" She gasped. "How? Where?"

Sid was actually standing where it had happened; they'd come down here to do it before going back upstairs. A blanket on the floor, an unfolded sleeping bag on top of that, and a pillow for good measure had been good enough. It wasn't what you'd consider a romantic setting, but one or both of them might've been in a rush for things to happen. She didn't intend to let Sid know what she'd done in their hangout though.

"I'm not telling." She shrugged.

"Was it fun?" Sid jumped to her next question. And in spite of everything, -the worry, the indecisiveness, the lack of options, the confusion-currently enveloping her life, Ronnie Anne snorted and crossed her arms. The question allowed her to go back and remember the event in a different light. An amusing and happier light.

"Yeah." She rolled her shoulders, still stiff from falling asleep here and to avoid looking Sid in the eyes as a slight blush crossed her face. "Eventually."

"What happened?"

A first time is meant to be magical? Hell no. That was a fantasy. The first time was clumsy and awkward. It had been her birthday. She wanted special treatment. Not To treat herself for a change. Get 'warmed up' for the main event. And it had taken Lincoln a bit of time and some embarrassing trial and error to make that happen. Enough time that her upper back started to ache from laying there.

But once he got some direction, he wasn't bad. He was definitely trying to make her feel special. And he wasn't complaining about having to wait for the part where he could have fun. She hadn't belittled him. Besides, she'd made her own hiccups during the whole thing.

But that had just made the whole thing better overall. Ronnie Anne found Lincoln's mistakes endearing, and he took satisfaction in the fact she made mistakes in front of him and didn't immediately get angry and defensive about it.

That didn't mean either wasn't embarrassed. There was plenty to remember, and plenty they'd silently agreed to never speak of again. But those memories, good and bad, were theirs and theirs alone.

"I'm not saying that either." She warned her friend, then she got back on topic. "But it happened, okay? And we used protection, so I don't know why I got…" She waved her arms around. "You know." Sid seemed to snap out of gossip mode and back to serious girl mode.

"Does he know?" She asked. Ronnie Anne shook her head.

"No." She sighed, throwing her head back. "I tried." She knew she could've told him yesterday. She should have. But she didn't. She could tonight or even tomorrow, but she didn't think she would. "It feels weird talking about something like that over a video call."

"Have you told anyone at all?" Sid asked. Her friend shook her head again. She was still decided on that.

"No. I can't. My parents will blow up at me. Bobby will probably faint. I just know Lori will tell Lincoln's family if she finds out." She definitely didn't want that. "I have no idea what my abuelos will do." Rosa was kind, but she was also assertive and traditional. Her grandpa wasn't the first, but he fit the second just as much. "I'm screwed if I tell anyone here."

"What about your cousin?" Sid suggested. Ronnie Anne had actually reconsidered Carlota last night. They got along well, but romance was a topic they'd never covered. Ronnie Anne never inquired about her romantic pursuits and, beyond the rest of the family's light teasing, Carlota didn't intrude on hers. It would've felt weird bringing it up. She probably would've helped her, Ronnie Anne admitted, but she just didn't feel like it.

"I don't know Sid. I just think I should tell Lincoln first. In person."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I have no idea." The Latina admitted. She'd been brainstorming that too last night. She couldn't drive. She didn't have any friends that could drive. Family was an obvious no-go. She considered a coach ticket-her and Lincoln had discussed that idea a lot in the past-but that cost more money than she had right now, and it'd be at least three weeks before she had enough. Her mind would probably break before that happened. Hell, she was already a month along at least, a few more weeks and someone else might notice.

And even if she did find a way to go to Royal Woods, that was a six-hour trip there and back, plus the probably hours the two of them would be spend talking. A full day would be needed at least, but she had no idea how to make up a cover story. People would notice her missing. Lincoln's family would probably rat her out if they saw her there. She could try and convince Lincoln to come to Great Lakes City, but he'd have the same issues. And if she heavily insisted on this heavily to him or anyone else, it would look really suspicious.

So really, Ronnie Anne Santiago was up the creek without a paddle. She couldn't do what she wanted to, and trying to get do it would end up badly for her anyway. And she knew she didn't have to tell Lincoln first. Heck, she never would; Sid was now and forever the first person she'd told. But she still felt like he should know before either of their families. It was frustrating and unnecessary, but she felt so strongly compelled to do it. It was a fixation that came before what should've been bigger concerns.

"You have any ideas?" She asked. Sid put a finger to her chin thoughtfully, her expression changing and switching up for a few seconds, then she shrugged and shook her head. "Dangit."

"I don't know what I'm going to do about any of this, Sid. Telling him is all I have right now." She finally admitted. It had only been 24 hours at most, but already this whole ordeal felt like being crushing with no way out. Her best friend squeezed her way onto the beanbag chair beside her, giving her some comforting pats on the back.

"Are you sure you can't do it over a call?" Sid asked seriously.

"I could suck it up and try." Necessity would eventually overcome her anxiety about saying it impersonally, but she didn't want to wait for that to happen either. Ronnie Anne was an action girl; she took her problems head on. She didn't ignore them till they blew up, even if her attempts to fix it blew up for them to force a resolve. "I'll try again tonight." It was a promise to her friend as much as it was her own self. Sid nodded, and then was abnormally quiet for a few moments.

"What are you going to do with it?" She asked more quietly. Ronnie Anne immediately understand understood what she meant and got defensive.

"I don't know yet! I've only known for a day!" A day! She couldn't be expected to plan for something this big in a day. She got more comforting pats on the back. "I don't want things with Lincoln to change. But I don't want to get rid of it either!" Sid was quiet again.

"Okay, I get it. Baby steps." Ronnie Anne shuddered. "Small steps." Sid corrected quickly. "Let's just focus on letting him know, and we can work things out from there. Well…whatever happens from here on out, I got your back." Her best friend offered her full support. "Seriously, if your family wants to give you a hard time, just come up to my apartment and we can hang for a while. It's a pinky promise." She held out the digit in question. Ronnie Anne exhaled a little while the corners of her mouth tipped upwards. 15 years old and they were both still doing pinky promises. Ronnie Anne stuck her own out and completed the pact.

"Thanks, Sid."

"But seriously." Her friend carried on. "If you can't tell him, you need to tell someone else." Ronnie Anne sighed. "I really think your brother would help you. He might even give you a ride."

Bobby really would, after he stopped freaking out about it. She knew he wouldn't tell anyone else, even Lori. But she was still scared of the guilt she'd feel if she put him through that.

Bobby knew she'd always had a soft spot for Lincoln. He'd known before Lincoln had, and he found the whole general idea adorable. But she didn't think that would extend to knowing what her and Lincoln had done together. Still, what choice did she have?

Telling him over the phone, cobarde. She told herself. But the other part of her was insistent on telling him directly.

Who the hell was she kidding? She couldn't do this alone. Her and Lincoln wouldn't be able to do it by themselves either. Keeping it or getting rid of it. They'd have to reveal the secret to someone even if they could talk it over before anyone else knew. And if it had to be anyone, she knew her choice would be her own brother.

"I'll need to tell someone in my family anyway." Ronnie Anne explained the conclusion she'd just reached. "I guess it'll have to be Bobby."

"I'm sure it'll turn out fine." Sid stayed reassuring. "Your family is great." Yeah, they could be. They could be forgiving too. But they'd never had a problem this big before, and everyone had their limits. Right now, she still wanted to keep them in the dark about anything being wrong. She still wanted to let Lincoln know first.

"What time is it?" Ronnie Anne suddenly asked, trying to get her phone out of her jeans. If Sid had come looking for her for not being at school, then school had to be over already.

"A little after four." Sid answered just before her friend got her phone out and confirmed it. The other teenager jumped up.

"I need to go home. My familia's going to miss me." Ronnie Anne urgently grabbed up her backpack and slipped it on. It was over half an hour since school got out. Her grandma had got antsy if she didn't come home from school before going out to do other things. She definitely didn't need to be interrogated now.

"Hey," Sid stopped her, putting her hands on her shoulders and turning her to face her. "You'll keep me in the loop, right? I'm here for you."

"You're a great friend, Sid." She hugged her. "I'll let you know." She let go and ran upstairs.

"Mija!" With only one leg through the door, she already heard her grandma's voice. "Where were you? I was just about to call the policia!"

"Sorry!" Ronnie Anne shut the door and started moving down the hallway, trying to avoid letting the old woman get close and corner her. "I got caught up in the subway." She got into her tiny room and quickly closed the door behind her. Safe at last.

It was only just after 4. Her video calls with Lincoln didn't normally happen until at least 5. So, she waited, laying out on her bed, moving her foot back and forth, and thinking with a bottle of water in her hand. She couldn't decide if she felt better or not. On one hand, she'd finally admitted the issue to someone and gotten full unwavering support. On the other, she'd been convinced to spill the news to someone in her family because she knew she wasn't making progress. Yes, it was necessary, but she wasn't going to like it. But maybe it would give her the willpower to admit it to Lincoln.

Impatient, she sat up and fetched her laptop from her bag. She opened the video call program first, but, obviously, he wasn't on. She just kept the tab up and ready and opened another one to do more research. She'd been so tired; she barely remembered the last hour or two of it this morning, so she tried to retrace her steps. She kept glancing at the clock on the bottom of her screen and switching tabs to see if Lincoln had maybe gotten on early. Once the clock hit five, she shut down the other tabs and focused purely on the video call tab.

Yeah, it was obsessive, but she took that as a good sign right now. She thought it meant she could do it. As soon has the icon next to his profile turned green to signal he was on, she clicked 'call'. Then she waited, tapping on the edge of laptop. The noise got deeper and more agitated as the seconds passed by. An annoyed expression appeared on her face and didn't go away until a boy with shaggy white hair appeared on her screen.

"Hey Ronnie Anne!" Lincoln waved at her. "How are you?"

"Good." She stretched her arms behind her head, realizing just then how stiff she'd gotten from sitting there. Did she seize the conversation now? No, that would make it weird. Best they got relaxed and in a good mood. But she was definitely going to do it!

They did their usual back and forth for a while, with Lincoln doing most of the talking. What happened today, what plans for the future, follow ups on things they mentioned before. Almost every word out of her mouth was evasive or vague, but Lincoln never picked up on it. The longer the call went on, the more her stomach started to twist and the more she started to sweat.

She kept her courage and ended up talking.

"Hey Lincoln," Rather than going back to him, she tacked it on to one of her own stories. "Do you remember my birthday?" She blushed, and on the screen, Lincoln started to blush too even while a dorky smile started to spread on his face. She might've smiled about it too, a few days ago.

"Yeah." He rubbed the side of his face. "I remember."

"Me too." She mumbled. She'd intended to use that as a way to lead into things, but she didn't really consider how. "I…uh…" Why the hell was this so hard? If he was right in front of her, she could just shove the tests in his hands and boom.

"You want to do it again?" Lincoln guessed. Her chest lurched, surprised by his answer and the audacity of it. His guess just surprised her. She stared hard into the screen. Lincoln's dorky smile paled into awkward fear and horror as he realized he might've stepped too far. He tried to stutter out a take back, but she started laughing and he realized he was in the clear.

"No, you're right." She managed a genuine smile. "Well, kind of right. I do want to see you." This was nowhere close to how racy these conversations could get, but they were both starting to be blushing idiots. "Seriously. We should hang out in person again. We talked about it before you left, remember?"

"Uh…yeah!" Lincoln remembered. "I'm still trying to think of something. I want to see you again too." Obviously, he didn't have an idea on how to make a face to face meeting happen either. What she should've done then was come clean and admit the real reason she brought it up. But she chickened out.

"Let me know if you do." Yet she didn't. She'd told Sid earlier right to her face, but she couldn't tell Lincoln who was still practically right in front of her.

The conversation drifted back to more mundane things and stayed that way for the rest of the call until Lincoln got pulled away to do something by his parents. With the call over, Ronnie Anne stared at the screen with the exact same feeling of unfulfillment as yesterday.

She did find a bit of amusement in recounting it though. That brief moment of panic on his face had been adorable. Lincoln was still a boy. A very sweet boy, but a boy. She didn't take any offense to it, since she knew he didn't really mean anything by it.

She tried to think of it as a success since she'd let Lincoln know she wanted to see him in person and that maybe he'd figure out a way on his end, but that was stretching it and she knew it deep down. She'd tried, and she'd failed. The hole was still as deep as it had been and she still needed help. If she didn't make any progress soon, she was going to snap. It left only one option.

'I couldn't do it.' She texted Sid.

'Don't be ashamed.' Sid texted back quickly. 'Take things at your own pace.'

'I'll tell Bobby tomorrow.' Ronnie Anne revealed.

'You should'. Sid quickly agreed. 'Trust me Ronnie Anne he's your best bet.'

'I hope so.' She fell back onto her bed.

She had a feeling she wasn't going to sleep well tonight either.