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The next few days, Courtney avoided going in public at all costs. Whether she liked it or not, she practically had no choice.

When she returned to school – still sick nonetheless – Gerard was worried. Everything she complained about – back pains, sore breasts, morning sickness, and plenty of other things – all said 'you're pregnant'.

Gerard told Courtney, of course, that he thought she was pregnant, but she reacted like it was nothing. She thought it wouldn't happen.

"Gee, I swear, I'm okay. I'm just a little sick. I probably just have a bad case of the stomach flu or something," she told him, trying to set his mind at ease.

"What about everything else? Just because you're throwing up, doesn't mean the other symptoms are just coincidental," he told her, growing slightly aggravated.

"Trust me, Gee, nothing bad is going to happen. Hell, I can't get pregnant, Gerard! We were safe every time, as was my jackass of a father," she said, kissing him.

Gerard sighed in relief, though it only lasted a moment. He remembered the last time they had sex. "I wouldn't get so far ahead of yourself," he said, "stranger things have happened before. The condom could've broken," he came up with the first excuse that came to mind. Whether he liked it or not, she probably was pregnant with his child. And the one time he forgot to use a condom, too.

"But you would've told me if something like that happened, right, Gee?" she asked, suddenly becoming worried. She moved up on the bed, sitting up. "Gee, it didn't break, right?"

"No, of course not! But do you really think you could count on your father when it comes to something like that?" he asked, suddenly realizing what he said.

"So I might be carrying my father's baby?" she felt sick. She wanted to hide somewhere, and curl herself in a ball in the corner. She felt disgusted. Her father never would've told her if it broke.

Gerard stated silent after that, trying his hardest to comfort Courtney. "Gee, what if I really am pregnant and it is my father's child? What am I suppose to do? I don't think I could ever abort a child – my father's or not."

Gerard sighed, "Don't worry about it right now, okay? It'll fix itself, baby, I promise," he kissed her, placing his hand behind her neck. "I love you, no matter what happens. No one's going to think badly of you if you are pregnant, anyway."

~x~

Courtney's foot shook, her hands resting at her sides, and her back firmly laid against the bed, and she looked at her mother like she was losing her mind. "You're kidding, right? What if I'm not pregnant! You'd be doing this to your daughter, and it'd all be for nothing! God, Mom, are you mental?" she asked, sitting up. "Is this because of Gerard?"

Her mother laughed. "Sending you away? How would that contribute in any way to Gerard?" Katherine asked, sitting beside her daughter. "I just want what's best for you, honey," she put her hand on Courtney's shoulder.

Courtney stood up, trying to avoid her mother getting close to her at all. "There's obviously something wrong with you if you think I'm leaving mid-year – much less now that I have a legitimate reason to be here. I don't care about your silly little infatuation with my boyfriend, Mom. I love Gerard, and I'm not leaving because you seem to think it's what's best for me."

"You'll do what I say, you're my daughter, you have to listen to me. You do realize that, right?" her mother said, walkin toward the door. "You have three weeks. If you're pregnant, you're leaving the state, if you're not, you get to stay," without another word, her mother closed the door.

Courtney sighed, grabbing her keys from her desk. "Only a few days before my birthday, and this is what I get?" she said to herself, walking out of her room, down the stairs and to her car.

She drove to the drug store, walking toward the pregnancy tests. Her hand shook as she walked to the cashier.

When she finally got home, she ran to the bathroom, doing everything of necessity and waiting for fifteen minutes. When her timer beeped, she grabbed the stick, her nerves almost getting the best of her.

Her stomach dropped as she saw the two pink lines that adorned the stick. She grabbed her phone, calling Gerard before she even knew what she was doing.

"Hi," was all he said.

Courtney covered her mouth, still in shock. "Gerard, I really need to talk to you," she said, her voice cracking. "It's extremely important."

"Would it be better if I came over?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's something I should probably tell you in person," she told him, biting her thumb.

She waited the next few minutes, pacing her room, worrying about exactly how Gerard would react. For some reason, she thought he would yell and scream, and tell her to get rid of the baby.

Her door opened slowly, revealing a smiling Gerard. "Hey, what's up?" he said, walking into the room, closing the door and enveloping her in a hug.

"Gerard, I..." she found it impossible to even finish. "Gee, I'm pregnant," the words came out of her mouth made her cringe. "And my mother thinks that sending me out of state is the best idea – if I'm pregnant. Needless to say, this is only between us so far."

Gerard stood still in front of her, staring. He didn't know how to react. "Courtney, I need to talk to you about something," he said suddenly. He couldn't let her have this child thinking it's her father's.

~x~

Gerard and Courtney walked down the stairs, seeing her mother with Courtney's little sister, watching TV.

"Mom," Courtney said, drawing attention to her, "Gerard and I really need to talk to you."

Her mother nodded, telling her daughter she would come back soon, and walking to Gerard and Courtney. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Courtney's nerves kicked in. She was regretting this already. She didn't want to tell her mother, she was petrified. She stood stone solid, looking at her mother, her lips slightly parted.

"Courtney, are you okay?" Gerard asked, looking at her intently.

She nodded, "Mom, I..." she didn't bother saying it, she handed her mother the test, not another word to be said. "I'm so sorry," Courtney whispered, unable to make her voice any louder.

Gerard wrapped him arms around her, trying to comfort her, kissing her forehead. She held him tightly, almost like a security blanket, and rested her head on his shoulder. Neither of them wanted to move, they both hoped her mother would look past it, ignore it, or even pretend it wasn't happening.

"Is there one single second you two aren't acting so..." her mother trailed off, not being able to find a word that would suffice. "God, would you two please break apart? Courtney, you'll be sent out in a few days," her mother was perfectly calm. She even sounded happy, just a bit.

Courtney pulled away from Gerard, facing her mother, "Actually, Mom, if you want me out of the house so quickly, I could try to convince Gerard to let me live with him," her mothers eyes widened.

"No, absolutely not, I forbid it!" her mother shouted, staring at her daughter, then glancing down at her hands, her fingers interlaced with Gerard's.

"Mom, I'm turning eighteen in a few days. I don't need to listen to you after that, whether you like it or not. I could live with Gerard if I wanted," Courtney explained, grabbing Gerard's hand tighter.

"Well, I doubt Gerard would want to have a teenager in his home! We wouldn't want to impose, Gerard," she tried to get the idea out of their heads. The last thing she needed was for Courtney to live with Gerard. That way, Courtney was about ten over her. She saw this almost as an odd competition with her daughter over a boy.

"I wouldn't mind," Gerard said. "I'd love to have her there. At least she'll be here," he said. He knew this would anger Katherine, and he didn't care, actually. He found it kind of entertaining – comedic, actually. Though, he couldn't lie, he did like the idea of Courtney living with him.

Courtney smiled at Gerard, mouthing a, "Thank you," to him. "Whether you like it or not, Mom, I'm going to live with Gerard."

Her mother sighed, annoyed. "Then don't come over here anymore if you're going to bring that... thing with you once you leave," she said, walking back to her Courtney sister.