Gabriella cracked her bubble gum as she looked at the pregnancy stick, her hair was pulled back an in pony tail and she was wearing an ACDC t-shirt with a pair of low rise jeans. Conventional wisdom says that the most common craving of pregnant women is not to be pregnant. Gabriella thought back about week ago when she was searching for her panties while quietly trying to make an escape. Note to self she had to remember to put all jewelry and panties in her shoes before letting herself get ravaged by some guy. "Well fuck me," Gabriella mumbled as she leaned over to peak.

"What?" Taylor who was biting her lip looked over at Gabriella who was sitting on the rim of her bathtub. Taylor didn't have the guts to sit her stomach was in knots as she watched Gabriella pop and crack her gum. "What does it say?"

"I'm not pregnant," Gabriella said picking up her stick and holding it up. "Time to go have some hot celebration sex," Gabriella fist pumped into the air and tossed the stick into the trash can.

"Oh for the love of god," Taylor rolled her eyes, "What does mine say?"

Gabriella picked up the other test stick on the counter. Without hesitation or a change in voice she looked up at her and held up the stick. "Yeah, you're knocked up."

Taylor insides shattered to the ground like broken glass while her body leaned against the door frame for support. Gabriella watched the color drain from her friends face, picking up the wrapper she disposed of her gum."I hear child birth is a beautiful thing?" Gabriella said shrugging her shoulders. "I mean you always have a choice you know."

"What am I going to do?" Taylor said in a weak voice. "I can't have a baby right now; it's not part of my plan."

"Babies, are rarely a part of anyone's plan Tay," Gabriella said getting up from her seat and walking over. "If this wasn't part of yours why did you do it without a condom?"

"I'm on the pill." Taylor said forcing her legs to move so she can walk into her bed room across the hallway.

"Pill or no pill you wrap it up."

"What am I going to tell Chad?" Taylor placed both hands on her mouth and fell to the bed.

"Well, normally it starts off with I'm pregnant and then you just let things progress from there," Gabriella said sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Gabriella can you just be serious for one moment."

"Alright," Gabriella rolled her eyes and looked down at the hardwood floor of her roommate's bed room. After a sigh she rubbed her hands on her pants. "Could you possibly see yourself getting an abortion?"

"No, my parents would kill me let alone the act is repulsive." Taylor sniffled as she wiped a tear off her cheek.

"Okay, so you're going to have a baby." Gabriella bit the inside of her cheek and then laid back on the bed. "So we're probably going to need to buy outlet plugs and locks for the cabinet." She mumbled, "Where are we going to put the crib?"

Taylor let out a loud sob and her head dropped into her hands. "I've ruined my life."

Gabriella leaned up and rested on her elbows. "Taylor, it's not that bad."

"Everyone is going to hate me."

"Chad won't hate you."

"Especially Chad!" Taylor said in a loud voice. "He isn't ready to be a father,"

"Who is these days," Gabriella sat up. "Come on we have a party to get you dress up for."

"I'm not going,"

"You can't, not go to your boyfriend's 21st birthday party Tay," Gabriella said extending her arms to pull her from the bed. "You're going to go, once you see Chad and you two start doing that endless love crap things will look up."

"I hate my life."

"You and millions of others."

"I'm going to have stretch marks."

"Just think of stretch marks as pregnancy service stripes." Gabriella said as she pulled on Taylor's arms. "God almighty, the baby is already weighing you down."

"Not funny." Taylor got up and wiped her face with the back of her hands.

"Yeah so is life, you'll get use to it." Gabriella said as she made her way to the kitchen for drink. "Get pretty we have a party to go to."

About four hour later and a tissue box full of sniffles and "I don't know what I'm going to dos" Gabriella was standing in a living room, drinking from a red plastic cup. The music was thumping and people were laughing and drinking. Everyone was having a great time. Taylor had yet to leave Chad's side, poor sap, if he only knew. Gabriella looked around the room searching for no one in particular, if you counted a man of 5'9 height, godly ice blue eyes and perfect sandy brown hair as a no one. So she had a small crush on her best friend, not like she could act on it or anything. Being in the friend zone sucked more than having to sit through a 3 hour lecture on mass media theory, something she learned about three weeks ago when she thought that was her biggest problem. Gabriella was a music minor and communications major, what she was going to do with it she didn't know but did enjoy her studies all boring parts of it aside.

On a disappointed note she turned her attention back to Chad who was holding up a shot. His adoring girlfriend holding up a beer bottle Gabriella emptied for her and replaced with water. Gabriella lifted her cup to her lips. If men were equally at risk from this condition - if they knew their bellies might swell as if they were suffering from end-stage cirrhosis, that they would have to go nearly a year without a stiff drink, a cigarette, or even an aspirin, that they would be subject to fainting spells and unable to fight their way onto commuter trains - then Gabriella was sure that pregnancy would be classified as a sexually transmitted disease and abortions would be no more controversial than emergency appendectomies.

"Hey there good looking." Troy voice caught her off guard and she nearly spilled her drink. Gabriella took a sharp inhale as she looked into his ice cool blue eyes.

"Hey there yourself dick face," she said bringing her cup down.

"Did I scare you?"

"Not at all, I take joy in jerking my body around at the sounds of greetings from friends who pop out of nowhere," Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"That is what I love the most about you." He said tipping his beer in her direction.

"My lusciously brown eyes?" Gabriella suggested.

"Your blunt honesty," he corrected.

"Yeah," Gabriella said in an annoyed voice. "So how long have you been here?"

"A little bit, not too long, I was trying to talk to this red head but … just wasn't feeling it."

"Struck out didn't you," Gabriella said lifting her cup again. The idea that anyone had the will power to turn down a man like him was a step away from crazy.

"Yeah," Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like it me and you tonight."

"Yeah, because I couldn't possibly have a date? Right?" Gabriella said arching her brow as she spoke.

"Do you?" he asked with a smug smile.

"Yeah," Gabriella moved a strand of hair from face, "about that, … no, not really," her voice was dull as she scrunched up her nose and looked around the room. "My total lack of allure kind of shot that horse in the face."

Troy arched his head back in a full chuckle that made Gabriella's every fiber tighten with joy and she felt herself smile from ear to ear. Troy smiled at her as he wrapped an arm around her. "I say we drink to numb the loneliness."

Gabriella bit her bottom lip and shrugged. "If we drink together were not really alone," she tilting her cup a bit.

"Troy! Gabriella! Come take a shot with me!" Chad voice boomed across the room and Gabriella almost let the frown she felt showcase on her face. Quickly recovering she raised up her cup and screamed out in false joy.

Seven shots later Gabriella was sitting down at the kitchen table with Taylor and Kelsi. "Have you told him?"

"Not yet," Taylor said lifting her soda to her lips.

"She's chicken of the consequences," Gabriella muttered as she looked at her class ring on her finger. She hated Kelsi.

"Well I don't think he's going to leave you." Kelsi said as she put her beer down on the table. "Chad isn't like that."

"Well babies make men do weird things," Gabriella said as she took a deep breath and reached for her own beer.

"Not that weird," Kelsi defended.

Taylor shrugged her shoulders, "I have no idea what to tell him."

"Approach with caution," Gabriella said after gulping down her beer.

"Gabriella why don't you go get something to eat." Kelsi said motioning to the table of snacks. "You need to sober up a bit."

"Whatever." Gabriella got up and walked over to the table to pick up a small premade sandwich. Gabriella had never been good when it came to moments of despair, she hated consoling people. It's why she didn't have many girlfriends, living with Taylor was just convenient and it was more acceptable than if she were to move in with a guy best friend. Back in high school Troy and Chad were her best friends, her click, and the center of her world. When her parents died she moved in with Troy's family who treated her like their own. She played basketball and she wore jeans with grass stains, she was a regular old fashion one of the guy's kind of girl. She leaned against the wooden door frame and looked out into the living room full of people. Some making out, some playing cards and others just mingling and joking around.

"Hey where did you get that?" Troy asked looking at her sandwich.

"Table," she said as she pointed behind her. Turning her body so she was leaning flat on the wall not the frame of the door she watched Troy grab two sandwiches.

"I'm starving," he said with a smile as he lifted one to his mouth.

She watched as he ate the sandwich in three bites and she smile. It wasn't as though she had a crush on him all her life. To be honest she didn't actually know why there was a sudden tingle whenever he touched her or a belly flip when he smiled in her direction. She saw this in a movie once, best friends falling apart because one had fallen in love with the other. Looking back into the room were couples were dancing and having fun Gabriella secretly wished to be one of them. She'd never had a boyfriend, just flings and hook ups. Like the boys she went out to the bars, played pool, drank and watched the occasional sports games. She knew about makeup, about dressing right, it wasn't like she was completely a lost cause thanks to Troy's mom, however she just lacked in the department that considered anything long term.

"Hey Brie," Troy voice called her back from the long journey her intoxicated mind was on. Her eyes readjusted on him and she pushed hair out from her vision. "You alright, you look a little lost."

"I'm good, just got a buzz is all," she said with a shrug.

"So you don't want to talk about it?" Troy said with small smile. "Oh well, maybe another shot?"

"God no, and there nothing to talk about, I'm fine."

Troy offered her bottled water. "Drink this, might help you out a bit." He said leaning to one side more than the other. "I'm drinking the same." Holding up his own bottle he winked at her. "Our secret,"

"Thank you," as she reached for the bottle their fingers glazed each other's and Gabriella heart beat did a skip and she felt the color rush to her face.

"You sure you're alright, you're a little red in the face." Troy placed a hand on her shoulder and Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah, I got water," she said with a smile.

"Alright," Troy held up his hands and chuckled a bit. "I'm going to get on the poker game, tap me when you're ready to leave; I'll walk you girls back to the south campus."

"Thanks." She watched as he disappeared into the crowd and Gabriella looked down at the water bottle. Why couldn't she just grow a pair and tell him how she felt. Gabriella rolled her eyes, because unfortunately she wasn't good at talking about feeling either. It was she loved playing her guitar; it was like a tool that allowed her to express her feelings with going to a panic attack about it. Some she could thank her own mother for.