The Kings IV II

47

Hero

"Fuck," I muttered, leaning my head back as I swallowed a huge bite of pancakes.

Josie smiled, folding her arms on the table in front of us. "Are they good?"

"Bro, takeout breakfast for the fucking win," I muttered, dousing the pancakes in syrup again.

"Wait, you don't like school breakfast? I thought everyone loved those shitty ass sausage biscuits."

I looked over at Eros, grimacing. "Fucking nasty. Swear to God the meat isn't even real."

He chuckled, taking a sip of his water as he pulled Josie closer to him. I scanned the lunchroom for Henry, and found him and Zach disappearing together.

Why Zach, I wondered- Henry and Zach had been enemies since they'd literally laid eyes on one another.

I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder, making me turn around and see Amelia standing there.

"Oh, hey," I said, standing up quickly, "h-here. Take my seat."

She bit down on her lip and looked up at me. "N-no thanks. I just wanted to talk to you for a sec."

"Yeah," I said, leaving Josie and Eros to themselves.

Amelia and I walked towards the exit, standing at the door. She made sure no one was around or within hearing distance, pulling me closer to her.

"How are you?" She asked.

I nodded. "I'm eating pancakes. You should try some, they're amazing."

She nodded. "Well, I'm glad."

"How are you?" I softly asked, brushing my hand against her stomach softly.

She pushed my hand away, looking away from me. "I'm fine. I got sick this morning."

"Seriously, eat the rest of my pancakes, since you probably threw up everything else-"

"I'm good," she said, smiling up at me, "food kind of sounds unappealing now."

"Yeah, I can imagine," I said, "I'm sorry."

She looked up at me, chewing on her lip. "I literally have to wait three weeks before I can get an appointment."

I nodded. "Okay, well, I support you."

She seemed guilty, just by the way she was twiddling her thumbs and avoiding eye contact if she could.

"D-did you already do it, or something?" I asked, my stomach flipping at the possibility.

"No," she said, "I thought about it, I can't lie."

I bit down on my lip. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry," she said, "for the way I've been acting. I was worried. I still am. But if this thing's gonna provide you with some temporary joy, I shouldn't take that away from you."

"No, I understand," I said, shaking my head, "I-I can't pin the responsibility of literally waking me up in the mornings and keeping me on the right track on an unborn child. It's a lot of pressure on you, too."