Someone Like Us | Completed ✓

Chapter Five: Changes

A/N: Mentions of abuse. Sorry if this chapter's a little awkward 🥴

Week 2: April 18

Joan had gone to school the next day wearing a t-shirt with the bold words "BABY MAMA" on the front so she could surprise her friends. She had convinced Ace to wear one, too, that had the words "BABY DADDY" on it. It hadn't taken much convincing.

Ace had wisely worn a hoodie over his, and wasn't getting as many stares as Joan was. Joan was getting stared at, pointed at, gaped at, and whispered about. Everybody at school knew that Joan was the purest girl in her class and had never... ahem, made love, if you will, with any guy in her entire life. What had happened that she was all of a sudden pregnant?

Joan's friends Alyssa, Brittney, and Clara ran up to her. "Joan!" Clara shrieked. Joan laughed. "Hi, guys," she said. "What's up?" "WHAT'S UP!?" Alyssa cried. "Joan! You come to school wearing THAT and then pretend everything's normal?! COME ON, GIRL!!"

Joan laughed again, and a crowd gathered as she pulled a copy of the ultrasound picture out of her backpack. "I'm pregnant," she said.

Alyssa screamed and jumped up and down. "OH MY GOSH!!" she yelled, and tackled Joan in a hug. "I'm so happy for you!" "Thanks!" Joan laughed. Brittney and Clara hugged Joan next, and Brittney asked, "Who's the dad?"

Joan smiled and pulled Ace away from his conversation a few lockers away. "The one and only!" Joan said. Ace blushed. He took off his hoodie and showed them his shirt. "Ta-da!" he said. "Aww!" Brittney said. "We should've guessed!" Clara laughed. "Are you excited, Ace?"

"I'm more than excited," Ace said with a smile. "I don't think there's even a word to describe what I'm feeling!" He wrapped a protective arm around Joan, and she smiled at him. "That's so sweet," said Clara. "I've heard about way too many boys who leave their girlfriends after they get pregnant. You're such an amazing guy, Ace." Ace blushed.

"Wait, Joan's pregnant?"

Ace jumped and turned around to find all of his friends gaping at him. Ace smiled again, but this one seemed a little more forced. He showed them the ultrasound picture. "Say hello to daddy-to-be," he joked. Adam laughed and hugged his friend. "That's crazy, Ace!" he said. "I'm so pumped for you! This is going to be great!" "Thanks, man," Ace said, his genuine smile returning. "You're going to be the best dad, Ace," said Gabe. "I know, right?" Joan agreed. Ace laughed.

In the moment it might have seemed like a joyful calibration, but as the day went on, things started to change. Rumors spread fast in small-town schools, and although Joan and Ace already knew this, it soon became reality for them. Girls didn't want to be seen next to Joan anymore. They made fun of her, mocking her for keeping her virginity for so long "and then finally cracking". The guys gave Ace a hard time, scolding him for supposedly pressuring Joan into making love. So Ace was the most hated guy in school because everyone thought he was abusive, and the girls were scared of him. Joan would be called either a wimp for giving in to her "abusive boyfriend's demands" or be made fun of for finally making love after such a long time of resisting.

Joan and Ace held hands and stayed close to each other the whole day, trying to communicate that they weren't afraid.

But deep down in their hearts, they began to think about Nick's suggestion a little more. Had their decision to keep the baby really been a good idea?