in a heartbeat

ten

the new year has begun as East High is once again filled with students. January means that they're inching closer to Beauty and the Beast, meaning rehearsals are back in full swing.

Nini was nervous to come back to school as her bump began to pop over the break, meaning she was finally showing. her belly was small but since she's petite, you can tell right away if she's wearing tighter clothes. she's been wearing loose shirts and sweaters all week, hoping that it'll cover it a little better.

her nausea was back in full swing as well, knowing that she was nearing the end of her first trimester. luckily Ricky was there to soothe her and cover for her when she had to run to the bathroom.

nobody besides their immediate families knew yet. they were keeping everybody in the dark since they didn't want to constantly answer questions or be treated differently. that was Nini's biggest fear, the school finding out and being shamed for having a teen pregnancy.

they were on stage running through some of the new choreography for the opening number of the show. Ricky was seated in the auditorium on his phone while Nini and the majority of the cast was on stage learning the routine from Carlos and Gina.

"okay and then we're going to travel this way..."

Nini winces as she begins to move and feels a cramp. she'd been having them all day and chalked it up to her body changing.

"now you're going to do a ball change and a jump..."

she tries to focus on what her friends are saying as she learns the dance but she gets another cramp.

Ashlyn's eyes widen from her spot behind her friend and quickly and quietly makes her way to her, "hey Neens, i think you just started your period. you're bleeding." she whispers to her.

Nini hand flies to the back of her leggings, pulling it away to see blood before her face pales a bit, "oh god, Ricky!" she calls out, stopping the rehearsal.

"is everything okay Nini?" Jenn asks, concerned.

Ricky looks up at her from his seat, seeing the blood on her hand, immediately beginning to freak out, "shit." he jumps up on stage, pushing through the group of students to get to her.

tears are streaming down her face as he gets to her, small whimpers coming from her.

"Nini it's okay, it happens to all of us, it's no big deal." Gina says supportively.

"i need to get her to the hospital." Ricky says more to himself than anyone else, pulling his phone back out to call Carol.

Jenn makes her way to them, "Ricky, it's a feminine issue, she doesn't need to go to the hospital."

he looks up at his teacher and tries to speak quietly, "she's not on her period, she's pregnant."

a few of the students around them gasp and Nini begins to cry harder as her boyfriend pulls her through the group and grabs their stuff, hurriedly making their way to his car.

she cries as he drives her to the hospital but she isn't quite sure what she's more upset about: everyone finding out she's pregnant, or possibly having a miscarriage.

on one had, if she's loosing the baby that would potentially solve their problem, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit attached to the baby growing inside her. it breaks her heart to even think about them dying inside her.

they pull up in front of the hospital and he rushes her inside, finding Carol at the front desk again, bringing her back into a room. he brushes her hair out of her face and wipes her tears as doctors fill the room and begin to assess her.

Carol is speaking with the medical personnel in the room as the two teens panic over what's happening.

"Ricky?" she whimpers.

he brushes her hair back, "yeah sweetheart?" he asks, his voice breaking from emotion.

she shakes her head, "i don't want to lose this baby."

a few tears fall down his cheeks, "i know, me either."

a doctor is doing a sonogram on her as they speak and are broken out of their world when the young male doctor shouts through the room, "i've got a heartbeat!"

that familiar whooshing sound fills the room again and Nini lets out a sob at the sound, Ricky letting go of a breath he didn't even realize he was holding in.

"wait, if the baby is still alive, then why was she bleeding?" he asks as the doctors begin to clean her up.

Carol makes her way over to the teens, "bleeding is normal in the first trimester. it can be jarring and you did the right thing by coming here, especially since it was a good amount of blood. but everything looks normal and the baby is healthy."

Ricky nods and presses a kiss to his girlfriends head, resting his forehead against hers, "our baby's okay, you hear that? everything is fine."

Nini grabs his hand and they share a quiet moment together. Carol feels for the two kids. it was an emotional hour for the two, and she figures the stress was a lot on both of them. she can tell that they are starting to think through what they truly want to do regarding their baby, knowing that this experience might've changed how they feel about everything.