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Post by starcrossed on Jul 5, 2008 21:44:04 GMT -5
Spotting Jasper, Elena froze, fighting her instinct to dart straight back into the bathroom. She took another deep breath and took a few cautious steps forward. She started to reach a hand out for Jasper's, then just let it drop to her side. Staring intently down at her shoes, she said quietly, "Hey.. Erm.. Promise you won't hate me?"
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 5, 2008 21:48:02 GMT -5
Jasper stopped in place when he heard Elena. He turned toward her and fought his instinct to wrap his arms around her. "How in the world could I hate you?" he asked. He looked to Autumn for some help, but she just shook her head and gestured at Elena. He sighed. "I promise I won't hate you. Though I have no idea how I could."
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 5, 2008 21:51:02 GMT -5
Elena chewed her lower lip for a moment, then blurted out, "I'mkindasortaalittlebitpregnant."
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 5, 2008 21:54:51 GMT -5
Jasper's jaw dropped at the last two syllables of the word. His mind started racing. What did she say? I thought I caught it, but maybe- Autumn cut him off with her own thoughts. She's pregnant. You heard correctly. She knew he needed that confirmation, but she couldn't make Elena say it again. Jasper's expression started to slowly creep into a smile. "Really? You're pregnant?"
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 5, 2008 21:56:52 GMT -5
Elena nodded, still staring at the ground. "Either that or someone upstairs thinks it's funny to give me a false positive and a complimentary heart attack."
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 5, 2008 22:01:19 GMT -5
Jasper hurried forward and hugged her. He kissed the side of her head before pulling back a little so that he could look at her face. "We'll have to start planning, I guess. Figure out if the professors will let us bring it to classes, which one of us is going to take it when during the day, figure out a way to take care of it together at night.." He trailed off, listing other things in his mind. Autumn caught on that he was trying to distract himself from something bigger. She made a note to talk to him about it later.
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 5, 2008 22:04:47 GMT -5
Elena stared up at him, looking utterly startled and confused. "Y..you're okay with this?" She asked dubiously, scrutinizing his expression for any indication of hate.
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 5, 2008 22:08:37 GMT -5
Jasper smiled down at her. "Of course I am," he said. "I mean, I didn't expect it and I don't think any kid our age should have to be a parent, but it's happened. I'm up for the challenge if you are." It finally clicked in Autumn's head. Jasper was scared shitless. He was putting up enough of a good front to fool Elena, but he couldn't fool Autumn. She needed to talk to him alone.
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 5, 2008 22:16:34 GMT -5
Elena stared at him a moment longer, then flung her arms around him in a tight hug. "Oh, thank fuck! You're crazy for not being scared, but I'm so glad you didn't run for the hills like.. Well, like I would if I were you."
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 5, 2008 22:24:54 GMT -5
Jasper hugged her back and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Of course I wouldn't run," he said. "I can't leave you. I won't leave you." He tried not to sound like he was convincing himself. He caught sight of Autumn looking slightly pissed at him. Please don't tell her I'm scared out of my mind, he pleaded silently. Autumn nodded. But you better know that if you run without telling her where you're going and that you'll be back, you're going to have a lot of people to answer to. His fear showed in his eyes and his hold on Elena tightened a bit. I'm not ready to be a father, but I can't leave her. I can't let this kid grow up hating me for leaving. I won't do that to her.
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 5, 2008 22:35:46 GMT -5
"Oh, thank you thank you thank you," Elena breathed, still shaking a little. "I couldn't do this on my own. I just couldn't."
And then Chaosti appeared at the end of the hallway, carrying a stack of books to return to the library.
Elena's eyes widened as she spotted her best friend, and she wriggled quickly out of Jasper's embrace, grabbing his hand instead and setting off at a dead run. So accustomed was she to hanging out with telepaths now, she forgot for a moment that Chaosti wasn't one and she began to sing loudly, to occupy her thoughts with something besides the pregnancy, "OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS, TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO! THE HORSE KNOWS THE WAY TO CARRY THE SLEIGH THROUGH THE WHITE AND SOMETHING SNO-OW!"
Chaosti raised his eyebrows as he approached and Elena fled singing some inane song about 'Grandmother's house', but seemed to find nothing particularly weird with this. He was used to Elena's odd behavior.
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 5, 2008 22:39:17 GMT -5
Jasper was startled when Elena suddenly took off running and singing. "What are you doing, Elena?" Then he turned back and spotted Chaosti. "Okay, you're just making it more suspicious now. He won't be able to tell just by looking at you. Not yet."
Autumn watched Elena and Jasper run off before bursting out laughing. She went to Chaosti and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "She's a bit excited today," she said. "Can you tell?"
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 5, 2008 23:36:24 GMT -5
Once they were a considerable amount away from Chaosti, Elena tugged Jasper into an alcove and, breathing hard, said, "I panicked. With so many people around being able to read my mind, I kind of forgot he couldn't. You do realize he will kill us, right? He will kill us dead. If you thought it would be bad if he found out we were having sex, it's a whole other world of bad now. He will burn us to a crisp. He can do that! He's a dragon!" Then the other part of Jasper's comment hit her and her expression became horror-struck. "Oh my God. I'm going to get fat!"
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 6, 2008 10:27:09 GMT -5
Jasper wrapped his arms around her again, hoping to calm her down. "He's not going to kill us," he said. "He might yell and scream and scare the crap out of me, but he won't kill us. He cares about you too much and killing me would hurt you more. Plus, I think Autumn will keep him from doing anything too drastic." He moved back from her slightly and moved some hair out of her face. "And you'll still be beautiful even when it starts to show." He made a note to avoid using the word 'fat,' knowing she would react badly to being described that way, even if she used the word herself.
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 6, 2008 15:05:01 GMT -5
"Really?" Elena asks, looking up at him worriedly. "Even when I'm bloated and.. and my feet swell up and.." She's clearly despairing too much of these thoughts to continue. "'Special and magical time' my ass!"
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 6, 2008 15:06:38 GMT -5
Jasper nodded. "Even then, I'll still think you're beautiful," he said. "And even if you don't believe me, I'll still be there for you. No matter what."
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 6, 2008 15:27:15 GMT -5
"So.. You think we should go through with this?" Elena asked hesitantly. "Because, I mean, there's always that other option if you don't want to."
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 6, 2008 15:31:15 GMT -5
"It's up to you, really," Jasper said. "But I'll go along with whatever you decide. If you want to go through with it, I'll be happy. If you would rather go the other route, well... I never was a fan of that, but if you want to do that, okay."
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Post by starcrossed on Jul 6, 2008 15:40:36 GMT -5
Elena sighed heavily and said, "Well.. Well, if you're okay with this, then.. I guess we'll go through with it."
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Post by Sharkbait on Jul 6, 2008 15:43:13 GMT -5
Jasper smiled down at her. "I'm perfectly okay with this," he said. He leaned down and kissed her, pulling her close to him once again.
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