We Couldn't Change It If We Tried

Was she really pregnant? There was no way – it had only beenonce twice. It couldn't happen after that, could it? Of course I knew the answer. It could. I could potentially become a father, at a mere 19 years old. I, Joseph Jonas, could be a father. I couldn't grasp my head around it. I could barely take care of myself. How could I raise a kid?

Why hadn't she told me that she even might be? Didn't she think I deserved to know? I mean, if she was, then what did she think? That I'd abandon her? Didn't she trust me? Didn't she see that I had to know? Of course not, because she didn't know that I knew about the test. She thought I was oblivious to the possibility of our having conceived a child together. But I needed to know. It was killing me. I had to know if I was going to be a father. But should I ask her? I mean, there was obviously a reason she hadn't told me about the test, wasn't there?

I silently walked over to Dani's house, deciding to find out myself rather than agonize over it. "Hey you," she wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me when I walked in. "What are you doing here right now?" Why did she sound scared?

"I forgot my belt upstairs," I lied.

"Your belt," Blair walked over, scoffing. "And what is your belt doing in my sister's room?" Why did her voice sound bitter? I watched Dani through her sister a warning look. Oh my God! Blair knew! Of course Dani would tell her we – had sex – if she was pregnant. She needed to tell her older sister. And now Blair hated me because I had gotten her little sister pregnant.

"I slept here," I told her calmly. No need to get into all the gory details for my girlfriend's older sister. "So I'm going to go get it really quickly." I started towards the stairs. "I'll be right back."

I went right into the bathroom, not really sure what I was looking for, but from what I remembered from when my mom got pregnant with Frankie, I knew the best place to start looking for a pregnancy test would be in the privacy of her own bathroom.

I didn't have to look hard, because on the sink counter was the box. Looking around, I saw the actual test on the floor. Pink plus sign, I noticed, quickly getting the box to see what that meant. I gasped, dropping it. Pink meant pregnant. Dani – my girlfriend – my Dani was pregnant. I backed out of the bathroom, too shocked to think of anything else. She – she – she was pregnant. I was going to be a father. Without thinking, I ran home, unable to stop.

I bumped into Kevin on the way. He looked at me, worried, and grabbed my arm before I could keep running. "Whoa Joe, what's up man?"

"Kevin," I sighed. "I – I" I couldn't finish.

"Now you're scaring me," Kevin said. "What's wrong?"

I sighed. I might as well tell him. "You're – you're going to be an uncle."

He gawked at me. "You broke your vow," he observed.

"That's it," I exasperated. "Dani is pregnant with my kid, and you're upset that I broke my vow?"

"I'm not upset," he said quietly. "I was just saying that. But wow. Dani's pregnant?" His words came out slow, comprehending.

"Yes Kevin," I rolled my eyes. "I said that like a bajillion times." I threw my hands on my head to make it more dramatic.

"What're you going to do," he asked.

"What do you mean what am I going to do," I snapped. "I'm going to be there for her no matter what. She freaking has my kid inside of her! Not that she knows I know, so don't say anything, but still! I mean I love her. And it's my fault too, so of course I'm –"

"Wait, back up there Joseph," Kevin interrupted me. "What do you mean she doesn't know you know?"

I sighed, frustrated. "When she made me go buy tampons with her, I saw she had a pregnancy test with hr. I didn't know what it came out as, and she didn't tell me. So I went to her house and saw it in her bathroom. It was a pink plus sign Kevin! Do you know what a pink plus sign means?" I looked at him, and then answered before he could even open his mouth. "It means she's pregnant, that's what it means."

"Wait," Kevin said. "You think she's pregnant because you saw a pregnancy test?"

"No Kevin," I rolled my eyes. Man, why was he being so slow today? Kevin was usually good at these things. And today he was being a butthead. "I think she's pregnant because I saw a bag of baby food on her counter. Of course it's because I saw a positive pregnancy test!"

"How do you know it wasn't Blair's," he asked quietly.

"Blair's," I asked, confused. "Why would it be – oh." It dawned on me. I looked at Kevin's hand. His purity ring was missing. I punched Kevin's arm. "You broke your vow!"

"Ow," he rubbed his arm. "So did you!"

"Oh yeah," I chuckled. "So how about we call it even?"

"How is that even," he asked.

"Kevin, I'm not letting you punch me," I held my arms.

He rolled his eyes. "Focus here Joe."

"Right sorry," I said. "No Kevin. It was Dani's."

"But how do you know," he asked.

"Because it was in Dani's bathroom," I said firmly.

"And," he said. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"If it was Blair's, it would be in her bathroom," I shrugged.

"Not necessarily," he pointed out. "Why would that matter?"

"It's all about the privacy of one's bathroom Kevin," I rolled my eyes at the fact that I even had to explain this to him. "Remember mom and Frankie?"

"That's cause we only had one bathroom at the time Joseph," he rolled his eyes.

"I'm telling you Kevin," I yelled. "Dani's pregnant!"

"What," Nick's voice rang in my ears.

>>><<<

I left that situation quickly. As bad as I felt, Joe would have to deal with Nick on his own. It was his own fault for yelling that. Right now, Blair had been sick for the last few days. I was pretty sure it wasn't dire since she didn't need to go to a hospital, but I was still worried. She had left with Dani as soon as she felt a little better, but when I had called her a little while ago, she had sounded really sick again. Not waiting for an excuse, I hung up and now started my way over to her house.

"Hey Dani," I said, walking into the living room. She was sitting on the couch, looking scared and holding her stomach. Maybe she was the pregnant one. "What's wrong?"

"Kevin," her face brightened when she saw me. But I wasn't fooled. I could tell she was hiding something from me. My future niece or nephew, perhaps? "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for my girlfriend," I said, looking around. "Any idea where she is?"

"Oh, um," Dani looked nervous. "She's uh –"

"What's going on Dani," I said, getting just as nervous. "Where's Blair?"

"Okay, don't freak Kevo," Dani put her hands up. "But um –" she looked behind me. "Maybe you should just follow me."

"Lead the way," I said, throwing my hands up to indicate that she go on.

She sighed and started walking up the stairs. "Blair, honey? Kevin's here," she called out. Suspicious now, I followed Dani as she walked into Blair's bedroom. She looked even sicker. And I saw something else in her face – something that surprised me. I saw sadness and panic.

"Blair honey," I went to sit by her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Kevin," she buried her head in my chest and started sobbing.

"Blair baby," I rubbed her back soothingly. "Honey, you're really scaring me now."

She sniffled as Dani came over and put her hand on Blair's back. "Blair, we have to tell him." Blair shook her head. "Blair it'll affect him too. It's kind of his life too. He has a right to know."

"Why are you so calm," Blair blurted out to her sister. "Why am I panicking? And you're so damn calm Dani?"

"Blair, what's going on," I asked, really nervous.

"Blair," Dani said again, encouraging her, though her voice sounded a bit bitter all of a sudden. Why was she bitter? Did she know what I did to her sister? That I took her – innocence? "Come on. He should know if he's going to be an u--"

"Dani," Blair cut her off.