A great deal can happen to a person in the course of a year. Stronger friendships can be built, a romance can bloom into something that neither person expected...It felt just like it was yesterday when they kissed for the first time.

~~~~

Well it's more than a feeling

When I hear that old song they used to play

And I begin dreaming

Till I see Laura Charles walk away

Laura smiled at JC's quick improv and began to play another song to see if he could catch what it was within the first few bars. She tried her best to change up the beat to throw him off, but he was too good at their little game. JC smirked and proceeded to sing the next song.

You drive a pretty car, you know how fine you are

And nobody needs to say it, no way

They love the clothes you wear, they compliment you

And I just love the way you play it

JC slowly walked over to Laura who was banging away at the keys as she smiled at him. He sat next to her at the piano and poked her in the side as she continued to play. He decided to tease her a bit more and leaned over and sang right into her ear. A tingle passed right through her spine when she felt his warm breath brush passed her ear.

But the only thing you dream of

Money can't buy for you, oh

And in my dreams I'll make your wish come true

For the girl who has everything, I bring you love

I bring you love

'Cause the girl who has everything can't get enough

Of my love

Laura struggled to finish the song.  It was becoming harder and harder with each shot of hot air near her ear and neck. She stopped playing and slid off the edge of the piano stool to stand. JC decided to mess with her even more and mimic an old Michael Jackson video as he followed her around the house singing the last part of the song acapella.

Why do you run and hide, say what you feel inside and

Why must you always fake it, oh yeah

Laura rolled her eyes as she tried to ignore him. She reached the refrigerator and opened the door to block him from being close to her. When she closed the door and walked over to the counter with a few strawberries in her hand JC decided to corner her.

Girl you need to understand

Your heart's safe within my hands

JC placed his hand over the middle of Laura's chest as he continued to belt out the tune while staring deep into her eyes.

I promise I'll never break it, oh

I know that you still dream of

What money can't buy for you

And in my dreams I'll make your wish come true

Laura pushed JC out of the way and walked into the living room and sat like a pretzel in the middle of the couch as she flipped the channels on the television.

"I guess this is your way of cowering in defeat" he said as he looked in the fridge for something cool to snack on.

Laura continued to flip through the channels, never looking his way. "No. You just decided to make the game all about pop acts tonight. You planned that out so that you couldn't lose this time. You must have used a two headed coin or something when we were deciding the theme."

JC laughed lightly to himself as he opened up the freezer door. Laura turned up the volume on the television and yelled out, "Oh yeah baby! Lower the camera just a centimeter...Damn!!! I have got to go and buy the "Fight Club" later and just fast forward to this part so I can go to sleep satisfied with thoughts of you and only you, Brad!"

"Yo, have you seem my little container of sorbet?" JC asked as he rummaged through the freezer.

"I ate it earlier when you were in the shower." she said quickly as she tried to get back into the movie.

"You did what?" he asked in dismay.

"I'll buy you another one. There was only like two spoonfuls left in there anyway."

"That's not the point, Laura. The point is that they were my two spoonfuls...I hate when you do that shit!" he yelled, slamming the freezer door shut.

Realizing he was serious, Laura looked away from the tv and over at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you would get so upset over a little jar of ice cream."

"You do it all the time! I get so psyched about a certain dessert or treat that I am going to let myself indulge in late at night...And then when I go to get it, it's gone!" he yelled.

Laura was upset over his reaction to something as trivial as a dessert. She turned the tv off and stood up, "Well if it's that important to you I'll go and get you one right now so you'll shut the hell up about it."

"Forget it now! The moment is gone. I'm not craving it anymore!"

"Then why are you still acting like I shot your dog? Get over it. Quit yelling at me over something so dumb."

"Dumb? What's dumb in wanting to be able to open up my own refrigerator and having food I bought for myself in there so that I can eat it? Why can't you just eat before you come over here?"

"Why don't I just make it easier on the both of us and just not come over here anymore." she said as she slid her feet into her flip flops and headed towards the back door.

JC stood there momentarily before calling after her. "Laura, wait!"

It was too late. She had already slammed the door shut behind her. JC stood there with his palms planted on the counter as he cursed himself. He glanced over at the end of the counter and could see her keys sitting there.

A few moments later Laura stormed back into the house and noticed JC standing by the counter looking down. "I left my keys." she stated she walked over to grab them. JC got to them before she could and held them behind his back.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to reach around his back to grab her keys. "Just give me my keys so I can get the hell out of here."

JC smile at her as he put his hand up high over her head. She reached up for them but he switched hands. Laura was already visibly upset with tears running down her face. She had, had enough of JC's games and tried to kick his legs from beneath him so she could recover her keys. That didn't seem to work either. He held the keys out of reach once more. She looked up at him and asked, "Dammit JC! Why are you always playing these games?"

He leaned his head down quickly and began to kiss her full on the lips. Laura feverishly kissed him in return, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.  The keys fell to the floor and he brought his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to his body. A moment later, Laura pushed JC away from her and gasped for air. "This isn't right. We shouldn't be doing this." she panted.

BANG BANG BANG

Startled by the loud noises coming from her front door, Laura was awaken from her dream. She dragged herself out of bed and walked to the door and opened it slightly. "yeah?" she asked letting her eyes adjust to the light.

"Yeah? I fly all the way over here to see if my friend is dead or alive and all you can say is 'yeah'?"

"Hey, Hallie. I'm not dead. Sorry you had to waste the trip." she said sarcastically.

"Why do you smell and look like utter and complete shit?"

Laura rolled her eyes and she motioned for her to come inside. "I think I'm coming down with something."

Hallie waited for Laura to lay down on the couch before she checked her forehead to see if she was hot. "Well you feel a little warm. What are you symptoms?"

"For the past week I have been really tired. No matter how much sleep I get, it's never enough. I don't have an appetite...I just feel really weak. And I am always dehydrated."

"Are you about to start your period?"

"Nope. My schedule is weird. I'll go three months normally and then I will go a whole month without it...Which used to be a good thing when I wasn't single.  I stopped taking my birth control pills and I know it takes a while for things to get back to normal."

"You could be getting the flu. It also could just be fatigue and stress from the move and everything else going on right now." Hallie told her to lay back down and wondered where the closest store to her new apartment could be found. After getting directions she told her best friend she would be right back.

Laura sat back against the pillows and remembered the last time she had seen Hallie. It was during the time when her life was going straight down the tubes. She started to daydream again and found herself back in time to that night at the club.

"...You weren't even worth the effort..."

The words kept resonating inside her head. She must have been daydreaming for awhile because she was soon brought out of her daze when she heard the front door open and Hallie walked back inside with a large bag. She got up and followed Hallie into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

"Okay, I got some Tylenol, Nyquil, vitamin C, soup, and a few other things." Hallie called out as she placed the items on the counter.

Laura stood next to her friend and sipped her water as she watched her unload the bag.

Hallie slid a small box over to her, "Here. Go and pee on the stick."

Laura looked down and noticed it was a pregnancy test. She lightly chucked and asked, "What's this for?"

"Just to make sure all your symptoms aren't attributed to something else." she said as she looked down towards Laura's stomach.

Laura slid the box away and waved her hands.  "I don't think so."

"Well, didn't you say you stopped taking your birth control pills?"

"Yeah, but I haven't slept with anyone lately." 

"Then I will have just wasted ten bucks.'  Hallie smiled. 

Laura quickly covered her mouth right after she spoke.  "Oh shit!  That night at the studio, before I left town…"

"You slept with him?  And you didn't tell me?"

"Because I knew you were going to give that judgmental look that you are giving me right now"  Laura pointed.

Hallie put her hands up defensively, "I'm not giving any looks over here."  She pushed the box over to her friend.  "Just do it...This way we can be sure and we can rule it out and move onto other reasons why you look and feel like shit."

Laura knew there was no arguing with Hallie once she got into nurse mode. She took the pregnancy test and went into the bathroom. When she was done she placed the tester on the sinks edge and sat down on the toilet staring at it.

~~~~~~~~

"...Maybe one of each. It all depends on my husband and what he wants."

"Well, I can tell you right now that I want a boy and girl. Not necessarily in that order. Whatever you come out with first would be fine." he joked.

"So confident that I would actually marry you someday huh?"

"You'd probably marry me and then only wear your wedding ring when no one else was around…."

~~~~~~~~

"You okay?" she questioned as she leaned up against the doorway with her arms folded across her chest.

Laura snapped out of her daze. "Hmm? Oh yeah. Just waiting for the 5 minutes to pass."

"You've been sitting there staring off into space for the past 10 minutes already. I'm pretty sure it's done by now."

"Have I really?"

"Yes, goof-ball."

Hallie walked over to the counter and looked down at the test. Laura tried to read her face for the results but Hallie showed no expression whatsoever. She looked back over at Laura and asked, "How would you react if you weren't pregnant? Would you be relieved or disappointed?"

Laura sat there and thought about it for a moment. "A part of me would be briefly disappointed, and the other part of me would be extremely relieved."

Hallie picked up the test and walked over to the toilet where Laura was still sitting and crouched down in front of her

. She went to hand Laura the test and said, "Well it's official. You are positively pregnant."

Laura thought she was going to say 'you are positively right for feeling relieved'. The words didn't sink in until much later when she finally looked down and noticed the light blue plus sign in the display window. She dropped to test onto the floor and immediately covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God…What am I going to do?"

She looked over at Hallie who was rubbing her back and again asked, "What am I going to do?"