Three weeks later
I threw my head back and laughed uncontrollably at Isaac’s comment on “double dates.” I’d been bedridden for the past three weeks, but had just gone through my first week back at school now that I was all healed up. It was Friday night now, and Isaac, Alice, Derek and I were on one of those fatefully clichéd double dates – movie, dinner, ice cream, the whole deal.
“Seriously, though – you guys are freaking engaged and this is our third date! We’re not exactly at the same level of couplehood,” Isaac snorted, finishing off his ice cream and dumping it into a nearby trashcan as the four of us walked around downtown Beacon Hills. Derek and I were sharing a large double chocolate shake, and Alice had a vanilla cone; secretly, I’d been keeping tabs on my friend to make sure none of us accidentally let something slip about werewolves. After all, it was almost too easy to forget that Alice wasn’t actually Erica – they were both blondes. Just as I licked chocolate off of the corner of Derek’s mouth, which earned me a knee-shaking kiss, Alice leaned over to press her lips against Isaac’s almost aggressively. And there is the key reminder that that is not Erica, I joked to myself in my head, smirking as I broke the kiss and instead settled for squeezing Derek’s hand in mine and grinning at him auspiciously. Another change that had occurred since I’d gotten back to school was the fact that everyone now knew we were engaged. I’d told Alice, and she’d told Lydia, Allison, and Danny, who’d told all their friends; then I’d made the announcement to my basketball team, who were already bummed that I wouldn’t be able to play until the end of the season. But everyone had been happy for me, congratulating me and that had been a nice segue to telling my closer friends about the baby. So far, only Alice and Monica knew, but I was planning on telling my other friends sometime soon. Until then, I’d been covering my small baby bump by wearing loose shirts and sweatshirts.
“About time you popped the question,” Derek joked, elbowing Isaac playfully. Alice giggled, and clutched my arm as though to keep herself from falling over with laughter. Secretly, though, she leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “Girl talk. Now.” I nodded, delicately excusing the two of us to use the ladies room in a nearby Barnes & Nobles.
“What’s wrong?” I spun around, examining Alice’s face frantically the instant we were in the privacy of the girls’ bathrooms.
“Nothing, nothing…I just, um, I’m worried about Isaac.”
“Why, what’d he do?”
“Nothing…yet. I just feel like maybe he likes me a little more than I like him?” Alice blanched, ending her confession as though it were a question. Immediately I went over to her, wrapping my hand around her shoulder and trying to assuage her worries.
“It’s okay. Just tell him you wanna slow things down, and it’ll be fine-“
“But I don’t wanna slow things down! I really like him, Chris.”
“Okay, well now I’m confused,” I said, scrunching up my forehead.
“I think…I’m sorry, I lied. I think I might like him more than he likes me. And I’ve never liked anyone that much,” Alice confessed, color staining her perfectly made-up cheeks a rosy pink. I couldn’t help but sigh, squeezing my friend into a tight hug and grinning broadly.
“That’s a good thing! Go, Alice. Tell him how you feel.”
“Absolutely not! That’s not how you keep a guy!” Alice exclaimed, regarding me as though I’d suffered another head injury. I sighed again, this time exasperatingly.
“Trust me, Isaac will appreciate it. Go,” I told her encouragingly, leading Alice out of the bookstore and back to where our boyfriends waited by the frozen yogurt store. The minute he spotted me, Derek jogged forward to wrap his arm around my waist and kept me plastered to his side for the rest of the night.
*** *** ***
I walked around the kitchen table behind Derek, who pulled off four slices of pizza and put them on a paper plate for me. The date had been great, and after a good night’s sleep and a day of relaxation with Derek, I was ready to snuggle in and have some family time with my friends. Unfortunately, Cece was still a very real and present problem, and was tagging along on our movie night. The five of us were watching Fast Five together in the living room and had ordered three pizzas to share. I was eating like a monster now, seeing as I was twelve weeks pregnant and eating for two.
“I don’t understand why we can’t watch Harry Potter,” I grumbled, carrying my plate into the adjoining room and grabbing an icy Coke from the fridge on my way.
“You know why…Voldemort freaks out Cece.”
“Wimpy bitch,” I growled under my breath, settling down on the couch beside Isaac while Derek turned down the lights and hit play on the remote before squishing in next to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. Things between me and Derek had almost repaired themselves since Cece had arrived; after the incident, I’d refused to go anywhere without him. Not like he’d let me – Derek had been glued by my side just as much as I’d been attached to his. Part of it was because the attack on me and Erica in broad daylight had frightened me, but it was mostly due to the safety of our child. I knew that if anything happened to me, the baby was at risk. So I’d been extra careful around the house, mostly staying away from pointy objects and stairs that I could potentially fall down.
“So what is this movie anyway?” Cece asked, curled up on the lone armchair in the corner. Isaac, Erica, Derek and I were scrunched onto the couch, although it provided a comforting warmth that I enjoyed immensely. I rolled my eyes at her question, earning me a frown from Derek, who leaned forward to answer her.
“It’s a Vin Diesel movie. Lots of action, car chases, things blowing up.”
“Ugh. Couldn’t we watch something a little more…classy?” Cece complained, and I had to say I agreed with her. Although we could be watching Harry Potter if she wasn’t here.
“Like what?” Isaac shot back, interrupting whatever Derek was starting to say.
Ten minutes later, the opening credits for The Notebook danced across the screen, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Cece, Erica and I were now curled up together on the couch while the guys went into the kitchen to “get snacks.”
“They’re never coming back,” I cackled, pulling the blanket closer to my arms and in turn baring more of Erica’s body to the unforgiving late-April temperatures. Cece sat on the other side of my blonde friend, which was perfectly fine with me. I did owe her some points for convincing Derek to let us watch The Notebook.
“God, I’m so jealous of her hair,” Erica commented, pointing at Rachel McAdams as she floated into view.
“I’m in love with Ryan Gosling,” I sighed, admiring his ruggedly handsome looks. Just then, Derek came strolling back in, a beer in hand.
“You better not be in love with anyone but me,” he joked, wriggling into position by my side. I turned my head to examine Derek’s face with utter astonishment as his arm snaked back around my shoulders.
“You’re going to watch The Notebook?”
“Sure, if that’s what my fiancée wants to do,” he replied smoothly, which earned him a resounding “Awwww” from Erica and Cece. I grinned, biting my lip a little as I leaned forward to capture Derek’s lips with mine.
“I love you,” I mumbled against his mouth, enjoying the spicy-sweet taste of him.
“Love you, too,” he whispered, kissing me on the head before I let out a contented sigh and snuggled in closer to my fiancé. It was pretty late for me, and I knew I wouldn’t make it till the end of the movie; I never did. And soon enough, my eyes grew heavy and begged to be shut, shipping me off into a deep slumber.
*** *** ***
Too soon, I felt someone shaking my shoulder vigorously and a loud noise blasting through my eardrums. I shrieked, lashing out violently to defend myself, and caught something hard under my balled up fist. It was pitch black in the bedroom, so I figured it was at least one or two in the morning. What the hell?
“Chris! Chris, it’s me, it’s me,” Derek shouted, and my eyes flew open, a relieved sigh huffing out of me. I sat up and adjusted myself, pushing my hair off my face and trying to soothe my pounding heart.
“What the hell, Derek?”
“Chris, I thought…I thought you were dead,” he whispered, sitting down heavily beside me on the bed and clasping my hand between his. Derek’s eyes were glassy and shone in the faint moonlight peaking in through the blinds.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because suddenly I couldn’t hear your heartbeat anymore. It just…stopped.”
“Can you hear it now?” I asked breathlessly, my heart rate accelerating of it’s own accord.
“No, I can,” Derek said hoarsely, the color draining from his complexion. “Chris…”
“What?”
“I just realized…it’s not your heartbeat that just stuttered and then stopped…it’s…it’s the baby’s.”
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Oooh CLIFFHANGER!!! So I dont want to say too much in case I spoil it for you, but....how bout you just tell me what you think that means? Leave me a comment with your reaction, because im hoping most of you understood that last part! Anyways, cute little romantic chapter but it ended fairly sadly :(((( Thanks for all your votes and comments guys, and if you havent already i reccomend you check out my rant on last night's Teen Wolf! It's posted right before this chapter :) Btw pic of Alice, played by Candice accola, on the right! >>>>>
thanks a bunch! xoxoxo