-4 Months Later-

"Hey Coooooor?" The voice of the brunette woman under blankets on the couch radiated into the bedroom as Cory got ready for band rehearsal. "Yup? In here." He relayed, glancing towards the doorway. "What do ya need?"

"Can you come do something with me for a sec?"

"I'm kinda getting ready to go rehearse." Cory brushed off the pair of jeans he was sporting for the second day in a row and walked out to meet the pregnant woman. "I have a few though. What's up?"

Lea was sitting on the couch comfortably, her laptop, papers, and pita chips occupying the coffee table. "My dad and mom were suggesting we start making a budget. Ya know estimate how much we need to set aside in our salaries to pay for college and private school and any sort of extra-curricular thing the baby might want to do."

Cory raised a brow at his friend's abruptness. The baby wasn't due for another 5 months. And of course they'd set money aside. Did they really need to form an intense money plan at this very moment? They were just settling into the idea of having a baby, period. "Uhhh...Well we'll talk about the private school thing later because I think that's kind of a waste of money considering I'm still trying to find a more stable acting job so I'm not just doing little gigs here and there and then the band on the side. Second of all, can this wait a few.. I don't know, months? The baby's not even born yet let alone going to college for another couple of years."

Lea arched her brows and rummaged through a few papers. "Yeah well I think it's smart to be on top of things. We're going to have a lot on our plate when it arrives and money is the last thing we need to worry about. My parents had their budget set up for me before I was even physically conceived. They knew they wanted one child, they wanted he or she to be able to attend college and life a full life-"

"Yeah well we weren't exactly planning this, Lea. Sorry if we're a little behind in the game."

"Hence our planning now."

"Hence maybe you should relax."

"Maybe I could relax after I know we're going to have a way to do this, Cory. Hence forming a budget!"

"Hence, maybe you should stop saying 'hence'!"

"Hence why maybe you should find a real job." Lea mumbled as she rummaged through the mess of papers on the table. She had hit a nerve and she knew it. But there was no going back.

Cory was silent for a moment before shaking his head and grabbing his jacket. She wasn't giving him credit for looking. Lea Michele had been thrown into the world of acting at the tender age of eight and she would never understand what it meant to be a struggling actor. Before everything had gotten so twisted she had always encouraged him to follow his passions even if it meant the rockier road. Now it was all about logistics. All about the baby who would always be their's but would never be apart of the family Cory couldn't deny he wanted with her. This was one thing his best friend would never understand. "You know what?" The tall man shrugged. "I didn't really want to have a kid with my best friend. I'm still trying to grasp that. So maybe give me some time-"

The actress didn't filter her words as she coldly shrugged a shoulder back, keeping eyes on the laptop in front of her. She blamed all she said on the hormones. "Fine then just get out now before you even get involved. I'd rather you leave now if you're just going to chicken out and leave later like your father did to your mom."

Cory swallowed and fought the urge to punch something as he slammed the door. Lea heard a few of the pots and pans hanging above the kitchen counter come crashing down from the angry force.

Author's Note: I know this story isn't all sunshine and rainbows but I promise that things will get better! They only go uphill from here!