So it's been a hot sec since I've written nearly anything on this platform. But, due to COVID-19 sweeping the nation, I've decided to write!

Enjoy!

PEGGY POV

I stood in the middle of our living room, crying my eyes out and Tom, holding me in his arms.

Dad was dead.

My father was dead.

I pulled myself away from Thomas, wiping the tears off my cheeks. "What's wrong?" he asked me, still holding his arms out, waiting for me to jump back in.

"'What's wrong?'" I repeated, backing away slowly. "My dad's fucking dead, I'm pregnant, I don't know who the father is, and I have two sisters who want different things for my life: to either keep or get rid of this baby. That's what's fucking wrong."

Tom was speechless. He stood there with his mouth wide open, about to say something, but the doorbell rang. "I can get it," he said, but I cut him off from walking to the door.

"No, I'll get it." I walked to the front door and opened it, revealing Lafayette, standing there with a worried expression. He looked behind me and at Tom.

"What is -" Laffy stammered. "What is he doing here?!" Laffy stormed into the house and ran toward Tom with fire in his eyes. I grabbed him from behind and pulled him back to face me.

"Angie and Eliza invited him," I lied, but only to protect him. I loved Laffy and didn't want to hurt him. "I told him about the result."

Laffy took my hands into his, kneeling to my eye level. "Is it…positive?" he questioned softly, and I nodded in response. He sighed and gave me a big bear hug, making Thomas visible to me from over Laffy's shoulder. Thomas turned away and stared at the floor, not wanting to make any contact with me whatsoever.

Angie and Eliza came out of the kitchen and spotted Laffy and me. "Oh," Eliza commented, making Laff let go of me and turn around to face the two. "Is everything okay?"

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to have to say the same thing I said to Thomas just five minutes before. "I don't know, is it, Eliza?" I said in a faux-happy tone, at which she and Angie cringed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room."

I stormed upstairs, knowing that Laffy would follow me. "Peggy, wait," he said once we reached the upstairs floor and into my bedroom. "Please, talk to me. I don't care what about; I just want you to talk to me. Say something, s'il vous plaît (please)."

I started tearing up again, plopping myself on my bed with yellow sheets. "I don't know what to say," I murmured through my cries. "Everything's going wrong. My junior year was supposed to be about me, planning my future and finding a good college to go to, and possibly, planning my future with you."

Laffy sat down beside me, not touching me, not looking at me; instead, he looked where I was looking: at the wooden floor. We both fell silent for a while, but I needed to tell him what else was wrong. "My dad… he died in the Las Vegas shooting."

He jerked his head toward my direction. I looked at him, too, and he allowed me to bury my head into his chest. I let out so many held-in sobs.

"I'm so, so sorry," he whispered, placing his chin on the top of my head. "Je suis là pour toi, mon amour."

I laughed at his use of French, lifting my head from his chest and looking him in the eye. "Okay, you have to tell me what that means - I'm a hot mess right now, and I needed that laugh."

Laffy chuckled. "It means, 'I'm here for you, my love.' And I said what I meant, okay?" He brushed a strand of hair out of my face and behind my ear. "If you want to keep it, I will be here for you. If you don't want to keep it, I will still be here."

I kept him from saying anything else by giving him a big kiss. Laffy kissed me back, making me feel like I was floating in the air.

"I love you so much," I whispered once we stopped kissing.

"I love you, too, mon cheri."

ONE WEEK LATER - FRIDAY

Dad's funeral was lovely and straightforward. We held it after school on a Friday after we found out, even though Angie, Eliza, and I took the whole week off to plan the service. Several people came - almost too many. He knew far too many people, that's for sure.

I invited every single one of my close friends: Alex, John, Maria, Mulligan, and even Thomas and Aaron. They were all very supportive of my sisters and me. No one except for Thomas, Laffy, and my sisters knew about the pregnancy, though.

For some reason, John and Alex were very…distant. Throughout the service and during the reception, Alex hung around Aaron, whereas John mostly talked with Laffy and me.

Several of Dad's former co-workers were gathered around the reception, speaking with one another about Dad's restaurant. I swam my way through the sea of businesspeople and found John, talking to Mulligan. "Hey," I said to Mulligan, "do you mind if I talk with John for just a little bit?"

Mulligan nodded and left the two of us alone. "So," John began, "How do you feel about-?"

"What's going on between you and Alex?"

John gulped and looked down at his shiny black shoes, trying to avoid the question. "I-I don't know what you mean."

"John." I snapped my fingers in his face to make him look into my eyes. "We've been best friends since the 6th grade. As cheesy as this sounds, we've told each other everything about our crushes and love lives. So, as your best friend, you're obligated to tell me what's going on so I can at least try to help."

John sighed loudly and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. When he started speaking, he turned his direction back to me. "James Madison drugged me, and he…did stuff."

My eyes widened. "John, that's rape," I whispered aggressively. "Did you tell Alex?"

"Alex found us. And, before you say anything, I told him everything over the phone because on the day after, I had to stay home from school - I was completely hungover."

My head started spinning from all the information. I led John to an area in the room, farther away from the crowds of people. "How did…How did he react?"

John's voice began to tremble. "He told me he loved me." He cleared his throat. "He was also at Aaron's house when I called him."

I wanted to comment on the situation and how insane it was, but I needed to know the whole story - I needed to ask more questions. "What did you do after you called Alex?"

"Nothing. I just stayed at home. Mulligan was there with me when I called him."

"Did anything happen at school after the call?"

"Yeah. We talked earlier this week at lunch, and Alex told me he kissed Aaron. He told me he regretted it, but he needed some time to himself after everything that went down. I don't blame him, but either way, it still hurts."

"So are you two, like, broken up?"

"No, we're calling it a 'break,' though. Maybe we'll get back together; maybe we won't. The whole in-between part sucks ass. All I want to do is text Alex or call him, expressing my love for him."

John continued to speak, but my eyes drifted off to Laffy and Alex, who were talking with one another, just like John and me. Suddenly, Alex caught me staring, and I immediately looked back at John, pretending I was listening to him the entire time.

"...so yeah, I want to just serenade him with a song and roses and stuff like that, but I know I'll have to wait."

I snapped back to reality and finally paid attention to what John was saying. "I-I mean, I'd wait until Prom, to be honest. Y'know, that'd be, like, a prom-posal."

John nodded sadly. "I just miss him so much, I guess," he muttered. His sentence immediately made me think about Dad how I'd never see him again, how I could never tell him that I loved him ever again.

John finally noticed what he said and stammered, "Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Peggy. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," I said with a fake smile. "You're fine." I walked away abruptly, already sobbing. What was I supposed to do? My father had just died, I was one week pregnant, and I didn't know the father of my child. Or children.

I stormed into the bathroom, where Laffy was adjusting his tie in the mirror. He turned my way and said with a laugh, "Peggy, this is the men's room. What are you-?" He stopped when he saw the tears streaming down my face. "Oh, mon amour, I'm here."

Laffy rushed over to my side and gave me his signature bear hug. "I hate everything right now," I wailed between sniffles and sobs. "I just want things to go back to the way they were. Is that too much to ask?

Time froze for a moment. It was just Laffy and me against the world. Or against the men's bathroom, because that place smelled terrible.

Thanks for reading, gamers! Comment what you think should/will happen next!

See ya!

~MJ