AU Explosion (The Beginning!)

This is what inspired all of the nonsense. It's amazing how much more writing I get done at school than at home...

"You do realize that you're kissing my sister, right, Eliot?" I leaned against the door frame, looking annoyed.

It had been a clever set up; Shira was in on it, of course, or it would have had no chance of working. Borrow my sister's clothes, wait until she and her beau got a little too busy, and then it was time to spring the trap. We planned to do the same thing to my boyfriend some tine in the near future.

Eliot blinked at me for a second, and then a grin spread across his face. "Yes, Calyen, I know. I kiss your sister rather often."

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"You're what?" Shira was the only one willing to break the awkward silence.

I chuckled nervously, staring down at my toes (oh, how I would miss my toes in the months to come). Explaining the situation a second time was not something I was particularly looking forward to, but it had to be done; parents and siblings needed to know that kind of thing before I got huge, I figured. "I'm pregnant," I mumbled again. Mom let out a weird sound. So she'd thought she'd misheard me after all. Well, she was my mother.

Daddy did not look pleased.

"I-I've already told him about it, Daddy. Sal, I mean. He was a little shocked, but he says-" I swallowed back a nervous "uhm", as well as the shaky lump rising in my throat. "He says that we can do it. I mean, it's not like we have much of a choice because it's too late now, but-" This was harder than I thought. I bit my lip. "I'm going to keep the baby, Daddy. Like, keep it keep it." Oh yes, my child, no matter how accidental, was still my child, and there was no way that he or she was going up for adoption. I also knew something that Daddy didn't- that I could trust my boyfriend on this one. He wasn't going anywhere.

But it was Daddy's job to think that men were pigs, especially men who were involved with his daughters.

"Calyen, sweety-" Mom began. I could tell she didn't know what to say on the matter; she seemed to be floundering around hopelessly, looking for words. "Sweetheart, a child is a lot of responsibility. How do you expect to finish high school with a baby strapped to your back? What about college?" She sighed, shaking her head. "How are you going to support yourself and a baby?"

"You're not kicking me out, are you?" Mom made a motion to speak, but I held up a hand. Daddy still looked sour. "Anyway, I'm graduating early, remember? I'll only have another year of school by the time the baby's born. Or I could take more summer school before it's born. And it's not like I have to support us on my own.

Now Daddy decided it was his turn to speak. "Do you really think he's going to stay with you, Calyen? He's a kid. You're a kid. Kids aren't ready to be parents."

I put on my determined face. "Well, I guess it's a little late for that, Daddy. Once a parent, always a parent. Aren't you the one who told me that? Even if I put this child up for adoption, it would still be my child. I don't see the point in going through all of that heartache just because you think I'm too young to be a parent." And with that, I marched upstairs to my room, grabbing my backpack on the way.

After a few minutes of waiting, Sal finally answered the phone. "Hey," I mumbled, cracking my calculus book out across my knees. "How did it go with your parents?"


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Daddy cradled my head in one hand, brushing the hair away from my face with the other. "How're you doing, baby?"

I grinned at him as best I could- it probably looked like a twisted grimace. "I'm doing alright," I lied. Well, sort of lied- the end, I figured, would justify the means. "Been better, but still doing alright." Then another thought occurred to me, one slightly more important than how I was feeling. "Is he here yet?"

My father's face dropped a little bit, and he sighed. "Yeah," he said, "he's right outside the door."


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"He's beautiful," Sal mumbled sweetly, pressing his lips against my forehead. The little toothless ball of pink skin and blue blankets squirmed in my arms, and were it not for the fact that, like many new mothers, I was scared to death of this whole 'parenting' thing and having a minor psychological attack, I probably would have been asleep. As it was, I was still not very awake. "We decided on James, right?"

Oh. Names. That had to be done, didn't it? "We did, but-" My little boy did not look like a James, though. Not in the least. "But he looks more like a-" I had to give my brain a few minutes to catch up with my mouth. We could meet in the middle on names, I decided, seeing as only one of them was coming to mind at the moment. "-like an Elan. Elan James Viridis."


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"Hey, you," he whispered sweetly behind my ear. "That's an impressive stack of books you have there. Tell me, do you even have a locker?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I have a locker, Scott, or I would be carrying a backpack. Did you need something?"

"Oh, not really. I was just wondering if you had plans for Saturday night." He grinned at me, and I melted a little on the inside. Only a little, though; I had already decided I wasn't going to let him get to me After all, there had to be at least one girl too good for Eliot Zachary Scott- he had the rest of them at his beck and call, so it was only fair that the one who knew him best wasn't planning on falling for him. Delusions had never gotten me far, of course, but it was worth a shot.

"I think I do," I snapped.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged, producing a moment later two concert tickets. "Guess I'll have to find someone else to share these box seats with," he smirked. Pity; I can't imagine anyone wants to spend their Saturday evening with me and a couple twelve packs of Coke. Hell, I probably couldn't even talk Salem into it, now that I think about it. And we've been pals since Kindergarten." He sighed, defeated (undoubtedly he had seen that his tactics had failed), and turned on his heel.

And I started to feel bad. Apparently my delusion-meter was turned down a bit too low. "Wait!" I nearly shouted, as though he'd already made it down the hall. Smooth. That made me look that much more intelligent. He did turn around and look at me, though, which had been the intended affect. It would have to do. "I, uh- I could try to make a rain check on those plans. Break old Aunt Belinda's heart, but-" Belinda? We didn't have an Aunt Belinda. Calyen would probably rat me out about that later. "I mean, I would hate to force you to go on a date with yourself. Or with Math." We both shuddered simultaneously. Mathilda really could have been very pretty some day. She probably would be, once she got out of her awkward phase. But for now, those shudders were well deserved. "I need to get out of the house anyway."

"Great," he said, the grin returning. "So it's a date, then?"

Author's Note

Not intended for the gourmet reader's delicate palette, as it was spontaneous.