Knocked Up

Deciding to skip his math lesson completely this friday afternoon, Jimmy started to walk out of the building when Isabella had rushed off to their classroom before Jimmy had had a chance to talk to her. He had already skipped the first half of the lesson, so why not skip the rest too? He had too much shit on his mind right now after what he had seen just moments ago, so he wouldn't be able to concentrate in class even if he wanted to.

Isabella Sawyer was pregnant and his best friend, Brian, was most probably the father. Jimmy didn't know for sure, but that would make sense, considering Isabella had wanted to talk to Brian on more than one occasion, and Brian's foul mood the last few months.

Reaching the bleachers at the football field, the place Jimmy and his friends always could be found at at the end of a schoolday, Jimmy greeted Johnny as he was sitting alone at the bottom of a bleacher.

"Hey Johnny!", Jimmy sat down beside the younger boy. "Why are you still here? Don't you end at like, one?"

"I had detention", Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "Thought I'd wait for you guys here, so I didn't have to walk home", he continued giving Jimmy a small smirk.

"Who said anyone wanted to give you a ride?", Jimmy teased as he smirked back at Johnny, leaning back on his elbows.

"Maybe you could say that you want to give me a ride home?", Johnny asked with raised eyebrows before biting the inside of his cheek, hoping that Jimmy would say yes.

"I can't wait 'til you get your license", Jimmy laughed shaking his head at Johnny's grin. "I'd love to, but I kind of need to talk to Brian alone, and I don't know how long that'll take, so if you don't want to wait, I suggest you go with Zack, he took his car today."

"Oh, okay", Johnny nodded his head slowly.

"Besides, he lives just a few blocks away from you, so it just makes more sense if he drives you now when he's got his car back", Jimmy said with closed eyes as he leaned his head back to try and get some tan in his face. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before they saw Matt walk towards them from around the bleacher.

"Look Jimmy, it's big, bad Matty and his guns!", Johnny said in a childish voice with big eyes when Matt flexed his arms to show off his muscles.

"Just wait 'til these are filled with tattoos, dudes. It's gonna look fuckin' amazing", Matt said as he looked down at his arms. "Mom and dad said I could have my first tattoo when I turn eighteen, just three long months left. I can't wait."

"Why don't you just get fake tattoos? You know, the ones you just rub on. I'm sure there's plenty of cool skulls and butterflies that'd look cool on you", Johnny grinned teasingly as Matt took a seat next to him.

"I'm not a kid anymore, I'm allowed to get real tattoos, you know the ones who don't go away when you take a shower?", Matt teased back, grinning down at Johnny.

"I don't have tattoos like that", Johnny whined, but sighed when he saw Matt smirk and raise his eyebrow, before pouting. "Okay, I have some, but I don't use it."

Matt and Jimmy laughed out loud at Johnny's confession. He was such a good sport.

"What are you laughin' at?", Brian asked lightning a cigarette as he and Zacky joined the group.

"Johnny, like usual. He and his fake tattoos", Matt smirked as he looked up at Brian.

Brian laughed shaking his head a little. Trust Johnny to have fake tattoos.

"You are just something else, Jonathan", Zacky laughed sitting down, puffing on his cigarette.

"I don't use them anymore! Geez!", Johnny exclaimed exasperated at his friends' teasing.

"Relax, you know we're only messing with ya", Matt clapped Johnny on his shoulder, smiling. Johnny just rolled his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest, muttering under his breath about how immature his friends were.

The friends chatted for a while before Zacky, Matt and Johnny took off after Jimmy had explained that he needed to talk to Brian.

"What is it?", Brian asked warily as he sat down beside Jimmy, who was staring at him intently. The last few times someone had wanted to talk to him alone, his life had changed forever, and there was nothing he could do about it. He had spent every day for the last few months thinking about Isabella and the baby, and the night they had slept together, slowly but surely becoming more and more freaked out as the days went by. He was on the verge of breaking, and he had no one to talk to about it, because he wanted no one to know about the situation he was in.

He was angry and ashamed. He was angry that he had made such a huge mistake not using any protection that night he had slept with Isabella, because he knew, even when he was drunk, how important it was. He was ashamed that he had basically told Isabella that he wanted nothing to do with her or the baby, because he knew he had to take responsibility for his actions, not ignore the problems he caused. He had been raised better than that, he knew not to ignore the problems that his actions had caused, he knew he had to make his mistakes right.

But he was a coward in this situation, and he fucking hated it.

"I'm concerned about you, Brian. You haven't exactly been yourself lately", Jimmy shrugged his shoulders a little. He wanted Brian to confess and tell him about Isabella himself, he didn't want to catch him off guard and accuse him of such a thing as getting a girl pregnant, if he, contrary to expectation, hadn't. "Has anything happened?"

"No, not really...", Brian smiled as he tried to make Jimmy believe that nothing was wrong.

"Are you sure? Because your mood hasn't really been that great lately... You know you can tell me anything, right?", Jimmy looked into Brian's eyes, trying to make Brian understand that he was being serious, that he actually was concerned about him.

"Everything's fine, Jim. I just haven't been so lucky with the ladies lately, I guess that has made me a little, I don't know, angry, as stupid as it sounds", Brian lifted a corner of his mouth, trying to convince Jimmy.

"So you haven't stopped sleeping around by choice then?", Jimmy asked, looking knowingly at Brian.

Brian laughed a little, acting like that wasn't the case, when in fact, it was. "Are you serious? Of course not! You're crazy, man", Brian said before swallowing hard, seeing that Jimmy didn't believe him for a second.

"Just tell me, I know something's wrong", Jimmy demanded, tired of Brian's little act.

Brian just stared at Jimmy, and his heart dropped. Jimmy knew. Don't start crying. For the love of God, don't start crying he chanted to himself inside his head, feeling his emotions taking over.

Starting to feel tears well up in his eyes, Brian looked away from Jimmy, putting his elbow on his knee and his head in his hand, trying to cover his trembling jaw.

Jimmy put his hand on Brian's shoulder, seeing the tears in Brian's eyes and knowing that he was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check

"Brian...", Jimmy pleaded.

Brian stayed quiet, debating wether to tell Jimmy about Isabella or not. He was tired of bottling things up inside, driving him more and more insane the more he thought about it. He just needed to talk to someone, because he couldn't keep everything to himself anymore.

"I fucked up, okay?", Brian quietly sighed out frustrated in a strangled sounding voice, turning his head in Jimmy's direction as he finally let his tears of anger and frustration fall before leaning his forehead against his hand, closing his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?", Jimmy asked softly as he rubbed his hand over Brian's back as he sat with his head in his hands, letting his tears fall down onto the wood bleacher.

"Because I thought if I ignored it, it would go away!", Brian cried out looking at Jimmy through watery eyes, still with his forehead against his hand.

"But it won't, Bri", Jimmy said softly, still rubbing his back soothingly. It was heartbreaking to see his best friend crying out of frustration. Brian never cried.

"I know that, but I just want it to go away! Or go back in time and undo that whole night!", Brian wiped at his tears angrily before shaking his head. "I can't believe I'm crying. I'm such a wuss."

"No Brian, you're not a wuss for crying", Jimmy shook his head trying to make Brian feel better. "You just finally had enough, bottling things up like I assume you've done for the last few months isn't healthy. You're gonna reach your breaking point some time if you do that, and it just so happened for you today. I just wish you would have told me, or anyone for that matter, sooner, because then you wouldn't feel this frustrated about it."

"But even if I had told someone, the problem would still be there. Isabella's still going to have the baby, and she's not gonna give it up for adoption", Brian sniffled wiping under his nose with his wrist.

"That means she's taking responsibility for her actions, even if she wants to have the baby. Actions have consequences, but I don't have to tell you that because you already know it, I know you do. And I know you know what's the right thing to do in this situation, I don't have to tell you that either", Jimmy stopped rubbing his hand on Brian's back when he stopped crying, and clasped his hands together as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I know, but I'm freaking out, I'm too young to be a dad!", Brian exclaimed. Didn't Jimmy understand his situation at all?

"I know you are, but what about Isabella? She's almost a half year younger than you. And don't you think she's freaking out too?"

"I know, but she's acting like she's okay with this, like she wants to have this baby. I don't. I don't want to be a dad", Brian shook his head. He needed a cigarette.

"Don't you want to have kids at all?", Jimmy asked, looking up at Brian as he lit a cigarette.

"No", Brian answered immediately, blowing out some smoke before sighing and shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know..."

"So you're saying that my future kids won't have any friends?", Jimmy smirked a little when Brian looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"No... I don't know! Okay, maybe I want kids some day when I'm much older, but definitely not now!", Brian said flipping some ash off his cigarette.

"I understand that, I do. But now you won't be eighty when your kids go off to college", Jimmy grinned.

"Don't joke about it, it's not funny", Brian glared at Jimmy. "I just want to go to the musicians institute I got into and study, I don't want to get some shitty job at a gas station where I have to take the night shifts all the time just to get money so I can support a baby."

"You're still gonna have to get some shitty job, I know your folks won't pay for the school all by themselves. Have you even told them you're having a baby?", Jimmy asked, getting serious again.

"No. I don't want to tell them."

"Why?"

"Because at first I didn't want to be there for the kid, but now when you've smacked some sense into me with your smart ass words, I don't have a good answer for that", Brian ranted stomping his cigarette out.

"So you're gonna tell them that they're gonna be grandparents then?", Jimmy smiled a little.

"I guess I have to, they're gonna find out sooner or later anyway", Brian pouted before interrupting Jimmy as he started to talk. "But you're gonna have to be there when I tell them, I can't do it alone".

"Of course I'll be there if you want me too. And you're gonna tell Isabella that you're gonna be there and support her and my nephew or niece?", Jimmy grinned.

"It's a girl."

"What?", Jimmy's grin vanished as he stared at Brian with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"It's a girl, the baby", Brian started before continuing with a small smile as he saw Jimmy grinning harder than he'd ever seen him grin before. "You're gonna have a niece, you goof."

"Sweet!", Jimmy exclaimed before giving Brian a long and hard hug.

"But promise me you'll talk to Bella, I think she needs your support more than you can imagine", Jimmy mumbled against Brian's shoulder, still hugging him.

"Promise", Brian mumbled back before letting go of Jimmy.

"You feelin' better now?", Jimmy smiled clapping his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah", Brian nodded as he smiled softly. "Thanks."

"Don't worry 'bout it", Jimmy smiled meeting Brian's gaze, before standing up, stretching a little. "Ready to go tell your mom then?"

Brian stared up at Jimmy with wide eyes, still sitting down. "Now?!"

"Yeah, it's better to tell them sooner rather than later", Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "Come on."

"I think I'm having a panic attack again", Brian gripped the neck of his t-shirt and pulled at it a little, feeling like it was getting harder to breathe at just the thought of telling his mom something like that.

"Oh come on, you'll be fine, you'll have me there for support, and if she gets really mad, I'll just use my charm to make her forget her anger! Now get off your butt so we can go tell your mom!"

"I hate that you can make me do stuff against my will", Brian shook his head a little as he stood up.

"That's good to know. No wait, that's great to know. Now come on, let's go tell your mom she's gonna be a grandma! I bet she's gonna love it!", Jimmy skipped away from Brian just in time to not get hit by Brian's fist.

"Don't tell anyone I was crying, got it?", Brian demanded as the started to walk back to the parking lot.

"Too late, kiddo, it's already on the interwebs", Jimmy tried to hold his laughter in at Brian's incredulous look on his face. "I'm kidding, relax. I promise."

Brian looked up and saw that Jimmy was serious with his promise. Jimmy really was an amazing friend who could make anyone feel better even if they were at the lowest of lows, and Brian thanked his lucky stars that he had him as his best friend.

"Stay calm the whole time you talk to them, and everything'll be fine", Jimmy smiled over at Brian as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Alright", Brian nodded his head as he leaned his head against the passenger side window, trying to mentally prepare for the talks he was going to have to have this afternoon. He reached over and turned the radio on to hear some Iron Maiden be played at the local rock station, thinking that music would help him relax.

Who am I kidding, no amount of cigarettes or music is going to help me Brian thought as he shook his head. I'm doomed. Dad's gonna kill me when he finds out.