a/n: keep them reviews comin' :) lovin' them by the way. i like the luke fans. he's a babe ain't he.

Chapter Seven –

Notes to self –
None, as of today.

I stared at Ellie as she walked around the kitchen the next evening after tea. Her bump was huge on her tiny body. I was finding it hard to picture my best friend looking like this. I really wanted to tell Ellie about Judy, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I twiddled my thumbs and stared at my mobile, resting on the table. It buzzed twice and, at lightning speed, I grabbed it and opened the text message.

From: Ben
Received: 20:23
Hey u alright? U didn’t look 2 happy yesterday
Xx tb

To: Ben
Fine thanks. No its just some personal stuff. Nothing to worry about.
Xxx

“Amy, don’t just sit there and watch Ellie do all the work – she’s due in a week the baby could pop out any second.” Mum said sharply from the kitchen doorway.

“Thanks, Etta.” Ellie laughed and dried the dishes. “I’m finished anyway.”

“Is it easy being pregnant?” I inquired gently, standing up and unloading the dishwasher so I could put the clean plates into the cupboard.

“It wasn’t at first. I didn’t really notice the first month, the second and the third I did and it got easier after…” Ellie sighed and shrugged. “I was scared…you know, pushing life out of my body. But I don’t know…”

“Yeah,” I smiled and rubbed the bump on her belly; my future nephew.

When the house phone rang, and no one else went to answer it, I rolled my eyes and grabbed the device, holding it up to my ear and sighing; “Hello?”

“Hey,” there was a static, crackling sound. “Hi, sorry, hi, is … do I have the right number?”

“I don’t know; who is this?” I replied.

“Oh, sorry, it’s Luke. I’m calling for Amy.”

I paused.

Luke was calling me?

Yes, Luke was calling me.

“…Amy?”

“Yeah, this is Amy – sorry Luke.” Ellie and mum cackled about something. I covered the mouthpiece quickly and moved into the living room where dad and Jeremy were watching the telly. The conservatory was cold and I shivered when I sat down on the bench by the window.

“Lively house – hi, yeah this is Amy.” I said.

“Oh you sound different on the phone.” Luke mentioned. “I know I’ve dialled your house phone before, but y’know I had second thoughts just as you picked up.”

We both laughed. I looked up to see Jeremy peering in; I scowled and shut the curtains. When I made a sound which signified I was cold, Luke stopped describing this dodgy bloke he saw down the Co-Op and asked me; “Are you alright?”

“Oh it’s just freezing in my conservatory.” I explained. “Carry on.”

“I didn’t even call you to explain the dodgy man I saw at the Co-Op.” He laughed. I smiled. It was silent.

“Well?” I asked. “What did you call for?”

Luke laughed and this made me laugh. He trailed off and then said the inevitable, “Do you want to go for coffee on Friday after school?”

“Yeah…?”

“Yes?” Luke inquired.

“Yes.”

“Alright…” Luke paused, his voice lowered and he said; “How was your day?”

I curled my legs underneath myself and thus begun the first conversational chat Luke and I had.

- O -

On Monday I had missed the first half of my science lesson because I was holding back Judy’s hair from her face as she puked up the contents of her breakfast into the toilet. She finally confessed that her morning sickness had been happening for a while, but she hadn’t thought much of it.

“I mean,” she puked, “I didn’t,” puke, “I didn’t think it would be,” puke, “like this.”

“Just…just get it out of your system.” I said, looking away so I myself wouldn’t start upchucking. Judy finished a couple seconds later and then washed her face at the sink. She looked rough; quite a lot of people had remarked this.

“I’m going to tell Harry.” Judy told me. “It’s been a day. There’s a lump starting.” She pulled her school shirt up and showed me the little protruding bump.

“…If you want to talk to anyone about it, you can talk to Ellie. She’s due next week, hopefully.” I leaned against the sink and fixed my tie.

“No! I can’t tell -,”

“Judy…Ellie wouldn’t mind.” I told her. “Trust me.”

Judy was ranting about how she couldn’t smoke; drink, ‘live her life to the full’, and then the bell rang for the next lesson, which was maths. I hugged her tight, told her to meet me in the hall at break time and then we parted ways.

“Cardigans are not part of school uniform young lady.” A low voice said into my ear as I was queuing to go up to the maths block. I smiled, laughing, and turned to see Luke, grinning back at me. I didn’t know what we were exactly. I assumed we looked like a couple when Luke began to peel off my cardi, just so he could feel me up when we made out. I hope I could lose my virginity to him. He’s nice. And I … yeah, I like him.

“Amy!” Someone called from behind me. I turned my head away from Luke’s and spotted Ben, pushing past some year seven’s to get to me. “Alright, Luke?” He smiled.

Luke’s jaw twitched, but he smiled back. I took my cardigan from Luke’s hand and rolled it up, shoving it in my handbag. “Hi.” I said to Ben.

“You alright?” Ben inquired. “I ran out of credit, I didn’t get to text you back.”

“I’m fine. We just…had some stuff going on.” I replied. I couldn’t feel Luke next to me anymore and I panicked, begging him telepathically to not get the wrong idea.

“If you want to talk, I am here.” He said, earnestly. I glanced behind me and Luke was rolling a cigarette, leaning against the wall.

“Thanks Ben,” I smiled to show him my gratitude. Okay, maybe he could be nice. When he hugged me, I hugged back because it was a nice reassuring hug.

“See you later.”

“Do you still like him?” Luke asked, monotone as he played about with the cigarette.

“He’s alright; I’m not in love with him.” I admitted. Luke looked up at me, and nodded. He made a contemplative face and then pushed off from the wall with his right foot, smiled fondly at me, and walked up the stairs to the maths block.

The day breezed by; Judy went home ‘sick’, her mum picked her up and when Judy was home in her room she text me non-stop. At lunch, I ate with Halley, who wasn’t very interested in conversation, and I knew she didn’t know about Judy’s pregnancy, despite the fact she’s her cousin and lives with her.

“So Judy might have flu or something,” she commented simply, toying with her new nose ring. She was in so much trouble with the teachers; not that she cared.

After lunch, I myself wanted to go home, so I did. I told the front office my mother was waiting for me up the road, and because I am a sensible prefect, they let me go and I walked straight to Luke’s house. It was odd, I kept getting this funny feeling in my gut, especially when I knocked on the door, I nearly fainted. I propped myself up against the wall of the alcove and waited for Gareth to answer the door.

“Yo – oh, you’re not Nick.” He ran a hand through his brown hair and raised his eyebrow.

Gareth is probably the hottest junkie I have ever seen. I can see where Luke gets his looks and his charm. I don’t fancy Gareth or anything, but I’m just saying, he really does have his way. And he smiled at me, the dimple which Luke also had, appeared in the left corner and he folded his arms.

“Well, well, well, what can I do for my brothers girlfriend?” He taunted me.

I smiled. “…Uh, give me a lift home?” I asked, clasping my hands together. “It’d be greatly appreciated.”

“Alright,” he sighed and picked up some keys from the shelf by the door. “Come on.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” I asked as we stopped at the traffic lights on the way to my house. He smiled, not looking at me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” He countered.

“I asked you first.” I huffed.

“Yeah I signed off sick.” He admitted. “I guess you did too. What’s troubling you, Mimi?”

Mimi is Gareth’s personal nickname for me; because everyone calls me Amy, he’s taken the M and just called me Mimi. I hate it. I ask him to stop, but to no avail; he continues.

“Oh, just school, can’t be bothered at the moment.” I replied conversationally. Gareth played his Nirvana CD and sang along while he drove at 60 on a 40mph road. By the time we kidded to a halt in front of my house, my knuckles were as white as my horror stricken face. I smiled shakily at him and thanked him for the ride before hobbling into my house.

The house was quiet, Jeremy had flown back to Paris to get a few things from their flat, Ellie was asleep up in their room, and mum and dad were at work. Jess was the only living being making a noise. I made myself a glass of Coke, and then I headed to my room, and lay myself on my bed, listen to my music, and shut my eyes.

It felt like I had shut my eyes for two seconds, but there was a gentle hand stroking my head, and when I finally registered being awake, I felt the horrid burning in my throat, the throbbing in my head and my sinuses were blocked.

“Mum?” I asked, rolling over and facing my mother who was laying next to me and smiling.

“Hey sweetie, you were coughing so I came up to see if you were okay.” She felt my forehead with the back of her cool hand. “You sure have got a temperature there.”

“I have a cold?” I asked. “Are you serious?”

“I’m afraid so babe.” She sighed and sat up, reaching my bedside table and picking up a glass of water and a pill. I swallowed it gratefully. I sneezed, hacked, and groaned.

“I hate bloody colds.” I muttered sulkily. Mum kissed my cheek and lay back down again.

“What I’ll do,” she said as she stroked my head. “I’ll make you some soup, some nice hot tea, and then you can go to sleep, have the day off tomorrow, and go back to school Friday, alright?”

“Just stay here. Stroke me and talk to me.” I whimpered. Mum laughed and kissed me on the head again.

“See you in a bit, chick.” She said softly. When the door shut, and she’d reached the bottom of the stairs, my arm flung out and I grabbed my phone from its base, dialling one number I’d only recently learned off by heart.

“This is Terry,” she answered laughing.

“Hey,” I lowered my voice, which helped because I had a cold anyway. “This is Jim,” how creative, “is Luke there?”

“Yeah sure Jim, I’ll just get him for you – Luke! There’s someone on the phone called Jim!”

There were two clicks. “Jim, what can I do for you buddy?”

“You actually know a Jim? Wow.” I laughed amused with myself.

“What?”

“It’s Amy.” I said as if talking to a mentally ill person.

“Why call yourself Jim?” Luke sounded irritated. Do men have some form of periods too, possibly?

“Sometimes I think I have issues where I get subconsciously flustered and I say the wrong things.” I put my hand over the mouth piece and cleared my nose.

“I’m beginning to think that too.” Luke sighed; I heard something explosive happen in the background. “What’s up?”

“I’m ill.” I muttered, sulkily.

“So is Judy,” he said distractedly. “Halley says she’s been throwing up again.”

“Luke,” I whined, confused; first the silent treatment throughout math, and now this?

“What do you want, Amy?” He laughed, the laugh sounded exasperated, as did his inquiry. I was flustered beyond belief; it took me a lot of courage to talk to Luke in the first place. He kissed me. And we’ve kissed a few times in between. I even stopped liking Ben because of him – does he think I like Ben?

This is what I heard next: “click – doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,”