From the Ground Up H.S.

Chapter 1.5

*Flashback*

"Em, just look at him." I sigh happily, placing my head in my hands as we sit down at the lunch table.

"Yeah, yeah yeah. He's so perfect and dreamy and good looking. I've heard it a million times Jo. When are you going to get the guts to actually talk to the guy?" My friend Emma asks, as she takes a bite of her lunch. Said guy is Ryan Henderson. I've been crushing on him for as long as I could remember.

Okay, so maybe I swoon constantly over the guy. Can you blame me though? The guy's basically a god with his piercing blue eyes, dark brown hair, swept up out of his face effortlessly and his smirk that seems to never leave his face. His eyes have a squint look in them that says, 'I know I'm hot, and you know it too.' It's no surprise that girls -and guys- are always competing for his attention. I've accepted the fact that I'll never get a chance with him, but that doesn't mean I can't window shop.

"Probably not, but I'm still gonna stare. He's just so yummy."

"Yummy? Joey, you need help." She laughs. "And you don't think you'll ever have a chance with him? Not even as friends?"

I shake my head, "Nope. It'd be a strange combination anyways. I'm too me, and he's too him."

"You never know. Anything's possible," she shrugs, going back to picking at her disgusting cafeteria food.

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As I grabbed my notebook, textbook, and calculator from my locker for third period, I felt a presence from behind me.

Shutting my locker cautiously, I look up to see who it is. My jaw almost drops when I see Ryan there. Ryan freaking Henderson. The Ryan Henderson I swoon over every single day. He stands before me with a smile on his face, and a twinkle in his eyes.

"You're Joey, right?" he questions, but I can't read his expression.

I froze, looking up into his icy blue eyes. Is he really talking to me right now? This must be a dream. I pinch my side, jumping slightly because of how hard I actually did it. His eyebrows furrow at my actions. Great! I haven't even spoken and I'm already embarrassing myself.

Realizing I've yet to answer him I quickly -almost too quickly- reply, "Yes!"

Ryan smiles again taking a step closer to me, he's less than a foot away from me! I suck in a breath.

"Cool. I just wanted to see if you'd like to eat lunch with me and my friends tomorrow, and maybe go on a date with me Friday." He takes a strand of my hair in between his fingers, looking down at it while twirling it, then looking up to meet my eyes.

"Sure, I'd love to!" I reply eagerly.

"Awesome. I'll see you tomorrow then." He surprises me by leaning down and placing a lingering kiss on my cheek and walks away. My cheeks immediately heat.

I scan the empty halls quickly before I let out a happy shriek.

Just wait until I tell Emma.

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Ryan and I have been hanging out constantly for the past two months and my feelings for him have only gotten stronger. I won't tell him that though.

I make my way out to the school parking lot. When I reach my car, I hear rapid footsteps behind and turn to see Ryan.

"Hey." He says, breathless.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask him. He looks worried. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I've just got a question for you." He says, switching from foot to foot, almost nervously. It's cute.

"Shoot. I'm all ears."

He shoves his hands into his pockets and takes a deep breath, nodding to himself. "Will you be my girlfriend."

I stare at him in absolute shock. "Really?" Is all I manage to say, and I mentally facepalm myself.

"Yeah. What do you say JoJo?" He asks again , using his nickname for me and shooting me an irresistible smile.

"Yeah, okay." I reply with a massive grin. As soon as the words are out of my mouth, he grabs my face in both his hands and kisses me. It was perfect. Too perfect.

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It's been almost a week since I told Ryan that I'm pregnant, and all my attempts to get him to talk to me have ultimately failed. I've called, no answer. Texted, no answer. I even showed up at his house, only for his mom to tell me that he wasn't there. I saw his silhouette in the kitchen. And, just for kicks and giggles I emailed him. Still nothing.

I'm calling for one final time. If he denies me, I'll be done. I'll do this all on my own.

I dial the still memorized number into the phone as I sit cross cross on my bed. He picks up on the lastring.

"I told you to stop calling." He sighs, seemingly uninterested.

"I understand that, but Ryan, we both played a part in this. You can't expect me to do this on my own." I roll my eyes, I don't understand how he thinks this is all my fault. We both decided to do what we did, and we knew the risks. It sucks that the risks have become a reality, but we are both to blame for this. Without him, we wouldn't be having this problem.

"I'm going to college in the fall. Do you really think that I'll have time to take care of a baby?" He snaps harshly. He's being so unbelievably selfish right now.

"Well because of this I can't go to college in the fall Ryan. How do you think that makes me feel? Everything has changed. The least you could do is man up and help me." I yelled, getting worked up.

"Sorry, Joey. I can't." He hangs up before I could respond.

I called him once more to, at the very least, finish our conversation. He never picked up.