Teenage Romance - Or More Than That? (PAUSED)

34: A Huge Storm Makes Damage...

A little time had passed, and Harumi was already in her 4th month.
She slowly didn't know how to hide it anymore. The baby bump.
It's small but definitely visible.
Sometimes, she wasn't sure if keeping the baby was the right decision.
But every time she looked at the image of the scan, she realized that it was definitely the right decision.

Now she was sitting in her room reading a book.
"Harumi? Can I come in?"
There was a knock on the door.
Her mother.
"Yeah, sure." She replied politely.
She entered.

"I have your laundry. I'll put it in your closet."
She opened the closet doors and was about to put a sweater in the closet when she saw a scrap of paper between a few other sweaters.
"It could be a note she left in her hoodie pocket by accident."
She thought to herself.

She pulled it out and... dropped all the remaining things that were in her arms up to that point.
"T-That can't be"!

Harumi saw her mother drop the clothes out of the corner of her eye. But why-
"Crap!" MY SCAN!"
Harumi squeaked and jumped up. Too late. Her mother had already read her name on it.

"H-Harumi? Tell me it's a joke!!!"
Her mother sounded disappointed and angry at the same time.

"Oh man. I wasn't ready to tell! Shit!"
In response to her mother's question, she only responded by hanging her head and swallowing.

"You're crying? I should be crying! Apparently, I failed to raise you properly!" Her mother now also had tears in her eyes. She left Harumi's room, leaving a completely distraught and desperate Harumi behind.

Lloyd was listening to music in his room and was almost falling asleep when his father's loud voice brought him back to reality.
"LLOYD MONTGOMERY-GARMADON! GET HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"What have I done now? Do they know? But how - Did this girl unpack the truth?!"
He got up and went into the hallway, then down the stairs. His parents looked at him indignantly.

"Do you have ANYTHING to explain to us?" His mother asked sternly.
"You obviously already know it..."
"And when did you think you were going to tell us?!" His father asked.
Lloyd just shrugged. "I have no idea. But I'm not interested either."

"NOT INTERESTED?" His mother repeated. "Can you own up to your mistakes for ONCE in your life? I thought you loved her!" Lloyd sighed and walked past his parents. "Where are you going?" his father asked. "Kitchen. I'm hungry." And with that, he disappeared.

A few minutes later, Garmadon made his way to the front door.
"Where are YOU going now?"
Misako asked her husband.
"Catch some fresh air."
With that, the door closed.

Misako sighed and went into the bedroom. It was all just too much.
Her SON is becoming a FATHER?
"Damn! It's my fault, too. I ended up removing the condom from his drawer and didn't bring it back."
She stopped and finished her thoughts.
"But we needed it too..."

George was in the kitchen at the window trying to sort out his thoughts when suddenly there was a mad banging on the door.
He rolled his eyes.
"Well, that can only be one..."

He went to the door and opened it. "We didn't order a gilf stripper, sorry. Wrong door." He was just about to close the door.

Too late. Garmadon had already placed his foot between the door. "Very funny. We need to talk!"
With that, he entered.

"Make yourself at home..." George hissed, annoyed.

~5min later~

"Can you explain to me why MY DAUGHTER is PREGNANT by YOUR SON?!"
"Because she's forgetful and won't take the damn pill!?"
"WRONG! Because your son can't manage to use contraception! HE HAS NOT LOST ANYTHING HERE!"
"Apparently, he did! His virginity! Just like your daughter's!"

"IT IS ENOUGH!"

Silence.

"Do you think it's just hard for YOU? Do you think we wouldn't know that it could have been avoided?"

She sniffled.

"Harumi..."

In all the drama, George had forgotten that Harumi was in the house.

"I'm at least trying to make the best of it. But I would have expected support from Lloyd..."
"Me too..." Garmadon said quietly, disappointed in his son.

"I'll... go then." Garmadon made his way to the door. Just before he left, he turned to Harumi.
"Take care of yourself. And the baby... Okay?"
She just nodded. With that, the door closed.

~A few weeks later~

"Our Graduators!"
There was a big applause. Lots of beautiful young women in dresses throw their hats. Just as many young men did the same thing.

Including Harumi and Lloyd. Harumi wore a dress different from the others and kept her cloak more closed.
The entire school already knew it, but their parents didn't have to find out too...

And Lloyd? Standing at a great distance from her. Even to his friends. He had scared away almost everyone. Except for a few who shared his opinion. But those were very few.

"Congratulations, Rumi!" Her parents hugged her. No, the mood was still tense, in case you think otherwise. But it was her graduation. It's never going back to the way it is now.

Lloyd's parents also pushed the conflict aside. They were proud that he had made it thanks to Harumi's help. He also knew what had to be done.

Harumi was standing with her friends, trying to look as happy as possible, when she suddenly saw Lloyd running towards her.

Skylor noticed it, too.
"Girls, let's go over there, shall we?" Everyone agreed and started walking. "Harumi?" Skylor asked her.
"Hm?"
"I'm here if you need me."
"Thanks."
With that, she went after the others.

Lloyd arrived.
"What do you want?" Harumi tried to appear as strong as possible.
She found it difficult to hold back her tears.
"I wanted to thank you. I would never have graduated without you."
"Thank me? Are you serious? That doesn't help me either. You know exactly 'how much' you've been showing me your gratitude lately!" She spat venomously.

"THESE are two TOTALLY different topics! But if you don't want my thanks, please!" With that, he left again.

"Damn! Are we really not able to talk to each other normally anymore? I miss him more and more every day, even if it sounds damn illogical. But it's still his child. And I still love him. I'm just way too pregnant to think logically..."

Well. Now they stood there. They did have a degree. But school was nothing compared to what lays ahead. Neither of them could ignore this fact...