A Do Or Die Situation (Sequel to To Offset The Shakes) // Andy Hurley/Trohley

Out Of The Woods (Andy's POV)

Joe and I left the house with Summer, going to pick up Libbie from her first day back to school. I had to admit, I was nervous throughout the day, and it was fairly easy to tell. I was worried about Libbie, worried about what might have gotten said to her, what might have gotten done to her. Of course all these scenarios were in my head, but I tried my best to ignore them. As a father, even for such a short time, I'm always going to worry about my daughters.

As we pulled up in front of the school, students were piling out of the school, some sitting at the tables, on the curb, or getting into cars of their own. Soon, the students piling out of the school died down, and Libbie still hadn't come out. I jumped at the sound of my phone buzzing in the cupholder. I read a text from Libbie, saying to come into school and go to the principal's office.

"Look," I showed Joe. "Think something's wrong?"

"Guess we'll see," he said, then turned around and told Summer to get out of her seat.

The three of us walked inside the school, Joe holding onto Summer's hand.We turned the corner and walked into the principal's office. Libbie was standing to the side of his desk, next to Gage. I instantly noticed a splint on her hand and wrist, making me immediately run to her. Upon further investigation, I noticed her jaw and cheek were slightly bruised as well. I kept asking her if she was alright, and she couldn't help but chuckle, telling me she was.

"What's going on?" Joe asked.

"Thank you two for coming in. As you can see, Elizabeth is a bit bruised up," the principal said. "Seems as though she had a little run-in with Halle. Earlier this morning, Halle slammed your daughter's hand in her locker, then as the day progressed, thought it was a good idea to get Libbie on the ground and start hitting and kicking her," he continued, and I was seething with anger by now. "You have a right to know that this isn't the first time Ms. Halle has done this. We've taken the necessary precautions and have decided to expel her."

And at that moment, Halle's mom stood up from the other chair and began yelling at the principal. While I rolled my eyes and while the principal tried to calm her down, Joe and I went over to Libbie and Gage, making sure she was alright again. She let us ask her questions over and over, even though we knew the answers. She began laughing again, and I was surprised she was in such a good mood for all that had happened.

We were soon dismissed after they had gotten Halle's mom to calm down for a few minutes. As we walked out of school, we could hear her yelling again, which actually made us laugh. Like mother like daughter, huh?

"Gage, do you need a ride home? Or would you like to come over for dinner tonight? We'd love to talk," I asked.

"Sure," he smiled.

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"So all wasn't bad today," Libbie giggled as we walked into the house. Joe and I both looked at her with confused looks. "Gage finally asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Finally," he mocked. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

"Took ya long enough," she chuckled again. "And he also asked me to prom in the cutest way! Oh, I think Mrs. May might have posted the video to Facebook already!"

Libbie scrambled to get her phone out of her pocket, then quickly pulled up Mrs. May's Facebook page. She eagerly showed us the video fo Gage asking her to prom, and I had to admit, it was pretty adorable. We talked about that for a while, then Joe and I started making supper, while Gage and Libbie entertained Summer in the living room, which consisted of putting in Big Hero 6 and those two sitting on their phones, while Libbie iced her jaw and hand.

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"So, Gage, Libbie, let's talk," I said, sitting down at the table with everyone else.

"Boy, do we have a lot of questions," Joe chuckled next to me.

"Shoot," Libbie said.

"So, to start things off, are you not a lesbian anymore?" I asked. 

"Well, I honestly don't think I ever was, now that I think about it. I think I thought I was because I hadn't ever experience even dating a man before. I was only used to girls, but then Gage came along and I guess he opened my eyes, you know?" Libbie answered, we nodded. 

"Are you happy with him? Does he treat you well?" Joe asked.

"Considering we've known each other for months now, yes, I'm happy being with him, and yes, he does treat me well. Always has," she replied.

"Now Gage, do you have every intention to treat my baby girl with the respect you know she deserves?" I asked.

"Without a doubt," he answered quickly. "If you don't mind me saying, I love your daughter very much. Sure, we only just started dating, but like she mentioned, we've known each other for months, and every part I've come to know about her, I love with all my heart."

"Are you ready to be a father?" Joe bluntly asked, and the room fell silent. In all the happiness and joy about things, we had all seemed to forget the real issue on the table - Libbie's pregnancy.

"It'll be scary," Gage sighed shakily, "but I think that I can do this. Libbie can do this."

"Lib, are you prepared to keep going to school in your state?" I asked. 

"I think I can handle it," she sighed, smiling. "If I can handle all the crap Halle has put me through, then I think I can handle backlash from everybody else. And, while we're on the topic, I've been thinking of something. Hold on, please," Libbie said, leaving the table and running down the hallway to her room. She soon came back, small notebooks in hand. "Here, she said, passing one out to myself, Joe, and Nick, then keeping one for herself. "Look, it's going to sound stupid, but I saw it in a movie once and I think it's actually a good idea ... When I start getting bigger, obviously people are going to talk. And, when they talk, it'll spread around fast. That's where these notebooks come in. I want you guys to write down every bad thing you hear about me and write it down, okay? And before you say no, just think about it for a second, please. I'm strong, I can handle this; I can handle hearing the crap about me, okay? I want to turn it into a project and make a big presentation about it for my English final. I think it'll be really good for people to hear, and to break down the stereotypes about teenage pregnancy," she explained, leaving me speechless. "So, you guys in?"

It took a while for any of us to speak, but as I looked around, everyone seemed to be onboard. 

"Of course we are."