Joel ran to the end of the hallway and looked both ways. No Fe. He ran to the emergency steps, hoping that maybe she had opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Of course she did not. He considered damn near jumping down the stairs, even though he was already panting and sweating hard both from exhaustion and from getting caught by the girl of his dreams. Even though he wanted to run down the five flights of stairs to the lobby, he knew there was no way that he'd catch her. Plus, Fe would be steaming mad by now. He once learned the hard way on the wrong end of her shoe to leave her alone for awhile when she was super-pissed. That was a lesson he wasn't in a hurry to learn again. He sighed dejectedly and walked back to his dorm room. In the heat of trying to catch up with Fe he had forgotten all about Maggie being there. That is until he walked into his room and saw her standing in the middle, her arms crossed across her chest, her foot tapping and her breath coming out in huffs.

"So, what happened to Fe?" Resentment oozed from every word that she spoke.

"You're still here?"

Joel spoke those words out of surprise as opposed to spitefulness or hatefulness. But considering all the things that just happened in the past few minutes, that message wasn't conveyed very well to Maggie. She took the statement at face value and immediately her eyes welled up with tears.

"Fine if you don't want me here, then I won't stay here. Goodbye Joel."

She pushed passed him hard in an attempt to knock him off balance and possibly knocking him into the wall because she had caught him off guard. However, the adrenaline flowing through his veins had made him as steady as a rock and he barely moved. His head turned on a slight swivel as he watched her walk out, mumbling a soft "bye". Maggie ignored it and hoped that her exit was dramatic enough to make him run after her the way he ran after Fe. It wasn't. She even stood outside of his door for a few seconds, wishing that it would fly open and Joel with be standing there with puppy dog eyes and apologizing profusely for chasing after Fe the way he did. Of course that didn't happen. Instead Joel opted for crashing on his bed for the night, hoping that he would wake up the next morning and all of this would be a nightmare. Or at least that he would've thought of a good way to make it up to Fe.

As he crossed the room, he stubbed his toe on the corner of the box Fe dropped. He groaned and cursed a number of times as he bent over to see what in the box in the first place. It was nothing but a bunch of books. Some thick, some thin, some pamphlets. In true Fe fashion, the books were organized from thickest to thinnest. A couple of the thinnest books lay on top, their backs facing Joel. He picked them up and read the titles. Suddenly he felt sick to his stomach.
"My Baby & Me, How does your body change after pregnancy?, Breastfeeding: Good for Mommy and Baby." He stared at the books in deep regret. It was bad enough that he thought he had only hurt Fe, his best friend. In actuality, he was hurting Fe, the mother of his first child. If he couldn't feel any lower, the title of the last book pushed him over the edge. It read New Fatherhood. Fe brought him a book about fatherhood because...she was actually going to keep the baby? That was the only explanation Joel could come up with. With the pain in his toe long forgotten, Joel put the books back in the box and began getting ready. He had to see and talk to Fe, tonight. If that meant risking getting kicked in his boys, that was a risk he had to be willing to take. _________________________________________________ It was after midnight when Fe finally returned to her room from the library. Originally, that's where she wanted to go to seek solace from the world after catching Joel...she couldn't even finish the thought. It would've only been around 4:03 when she returned to her room and her roommate Kayla would've been having her weekly make-out session with her less then attractive boyfriend Matt. So, Fe decided to spend the rest of her day in the library instead. When she entered the newly renovated building, she went and took care of first things first. As she raced to the basement bathroom, she could feel the tears around flowing down her face. She could barely contain herself as she burst into the abandoned bathroom. Locking herself in the farthest stall, Fe sat on the toilet seat, now completely unable to control herself. She cried harder than she ever had in her entire life, to the point that not only did her head hurt, but she was actually nauseous. It felt like it had been only moments but she had cried for over an hour before the urge to hurl was more than she could bear.

She turned around just in time to aim and empty the contents of her stomach in the white porcelain bowl. After about two minutes, it was mostly dry heave and the fact that she was incredibly upset that kept her stomach in knots. A couple of girls had entered the bathroom during Fe's emotional breakdown but had quickly retreated in an attempt to give her some "privacy". It was almost 6 when Fe finally stopped crying and felt her stomach settled enough to even dare to try to exit the bathroom. She opened the stall door on unsteady legs and grasped on the edge on the sink, resting all of her weight on two shaky arms. She didn't dare look into the mirror, afraid of what sight might greet her. She washed her hands and face a few times, hoping to rid herself of not only germs but the appearance that she had just lost a bit of her sanity in the third stall. Fifteen minutes passed before she felt somewhat satisfied that she had accomplished her goal and Fe dried herself off and made a slow exit into the unforgiving world.

She spent the next 5 ½ hours pretending to read and comprehend her biology textbook in the farthest corner of the library. It was, of course, in vain. Fe read the same lines over and over before leaning over and falling asleep in pure exhaustion. At quarter to midnight, she was rocked gently awake by a kindly older librarian. Fe thanked her and gathered her things and slowly began to get up when she looked across the library and saw Maggie sitting at another table with some of her sisters. She threw her head back, giggling at something one of them said. Fe was hoping that she'd be able to slip out unnoticed by the dimwitted girl but there was no such luck. As if on cue, Maggie put her head back down and of all the directions in which to look in, she looked directly in Fe's. The two of them locked eyes on each other and neither was willing to lose this idiotic game of chicken when Fe felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Slightly irritated but mostly worried as to who it might be, she reluctantly broke the eye contact and began digging up her phone. She looked and that caller I.D. and almost instantly wished she hadn't. It was Joel, calling and leaving his 15th message. She wondered how she could've run into Maggie and not Joel in the last place she ever expected to run into a girl who thought the UK was the capital of Europe. She pressed the ignore button once again and began making her way for the door. She continued staring down at her phone as she walked past the girls' table, hoping to appear busy so that none of them would feel the need to talk to her.

"Felicia! Hey, girl. How are you doing?"

Fe froze in her tracks and shuddered visibly. She turned back to Maggie's finger wiggling hello. She put on the most fake smile she could and tried not to look completely disgusted. Why was she calling her over?

"Hi, Maggie, Shelley and...friend. I'm sorry I don't know your name." Fe was referring to a brunette girl sitting next to Maggie. She had seen the girl at a couple of the Cherry gatherings but had never spoken to her. Good thing.

"Oh this is Marsha. She's the girl that introduced me to Joel. Best thing that's ever happened to me."

Maggie shot Fe a knowing grin, making the other two girls giggle softly. Fe wanted this nightmare to end but Maggie kept going, rubbing in the fact that Fe, Joel's best friend and biggest crush, knew that they had had sex and had even seen it firsthand. But Fe kept her composure.

"That's great. Anyways, you ladies have a good night." Fe turned to leave, with most of her dignity intact. But Maggie began speaking again, delaying her desperately needed departure.

"You know, I really want to apologize for this afternoon. I thought I locked the door. Maybe next time I'll hang my panties on the door so you'll know not to come in. That is, if Joel doesn't rip them off. In that case, you'll just get another free show."

At that comment, the two girls couldn't contain their amusement and began to laugh out loud. It being midnight and almost empty no one was around to shush them. Maggie too had a big smug grin on her face, seeing the look on Fe's face and knowing she had hit below the belt. Fe could feel her dark face burning and the embarrassment she felt was more than she could take.

"Honey, there won't be a next time."

The girls giggled again softly but Maggie's smiled disappeared off her face.

"How do you know? Joel loves being with me."

A thin smile spread across Fe's lips and it sent chills down Maggie's spine. "You want to know why he tolerated being with you? It's because he didn't know how to handle the news I gave him and what's going on with us."

Fe could see Maggie's pale face becoming red and she decided to go for broke. "Oh, he didn't tell you? You do know I'm pregnant, right? And yes, it's Joel's baby."

Maggie tried to pretend like the words didn't touch her. But the look on her and her friends' face made Fe knew she had made an impact.

"Oh, and if you don't believe me, ask Joel. Have a good night ladies."

She gave them a wink and walked away, knowing full well that if eyes could shoot lasers, Maggie would've shot holes right through her. __________________________________________________ Fe wasn't sure whether or not she was surprised at seeing Joel sitting outside her door, his head leaned against the wall and his eyes closed. She opted to feel nothing. She was hoping that by feeling nothing she wouldn't just laugh this off and let him off the hook easily. His deep breathing told her that not only was he in a deep sleep, but he had also been there for awhile. That touched her but considering the reason why he was there in the first place made the feeling disappear fast. She put her key in the lock quietly and tried to open the door without alerting him that she was home. Fe was more than exhausted and after the showdown with Maggie, she wasn't up for talking anymore.

She turned her key and heard the click. She paused, waiting to hear any sign that Joel had woken up. There was none. So she opened the door and was just about to walk through the threshold when something, or rather someone, grabbed her by the ankle causing her to let out a short yelp.

"You were just going to leave me out here all night? I've been sitting on this fucking hard ass floor for two hours waiting for you to come back. My tail bone is killing me."

The next words that came out of Fe's mouth surprised the both of them, "Who gives a fuck? You weren't waiting for me this morning." She knew where the hateful comment came from but she wasn't expecting to hear it come out of her mouth. Joel released her ankle and stood up to face her. But after her words his eyes could only travel as far as her stomach without feeling like an asshole.

"Fe, I made a mistake. Bigger then I'll ever know. I can't tell you how sorry I --"

The door slammed in his face. Fe was able to back up enough into her doorway without Joel realizing it. He lifted his hand to knock but knew that there was no point. She had made her decision. She was closing the door on him. Still, he felt the need to speak into the door.

"I know you hate me right now but know this: I'm sorry baby. I love you."

"Go home Joel." He stood there a couple minutes then turned to leave. Fe watched through her peephole as the man of her dreams and the father or her unborn child walked away. __________________________________________________ Joel looked over at his clock for the 50th time that night. The red lights beamed brightly with the numbers 4:03 a.m. It hadn't even been a full minute since he last looked at it. He had only slept about four hours in the last three days and yet he wasn't tired or anywhere near falling asleep. He knew that this was yet another night that he was going without sleep. He sat up unwillingly and turned on his desk lamp. Even though he had been lying in the dark for almost six hours, his eyes didn't seem to have any trouble adjusting to the bright light. His cell phone jumped and bumped as it vibrated for the umpteenth time in so many days. He picked it up grudgingly knowing full well the name that was going to stare back at him on the caller ID.

It was Maggie. Apparently she had run into Fe the night of the "incident" and Fe had told her their little secret. Maggie kept calling or texting him trying to hear the news from him but instead, he thought it best to ignore her and maybe talk to her at one of the gatherings that he was bound to run into her at. He just wished that she would leave him alone. She wasn't really his girlfriend and he didn't owe her an explanation if she got Fe or any other girl pregnant. As annoyed as he was he understood her persistence. It was the same way with Fe. He called or texted Fe no less than 20 times a day with no response. He stopped her dorm at least four times a day. He would stand outside her door knocking for ten minutes on end and receive no answer. He wanted to give up trying to have any contact with her because if there was one thing he couldn't stand it was being ignored. But Fe wasn't just some girl and she wasn't ignoring him for a stupid reason. Still, this feeling sucked.

He sighed heavily and leaned over, burying his head in his hands. After letting his frustrations subside, he lifted his head up and his eyes rested on the box of books Fe had brought in that day. He picked up the one on top, New Fatherhood, propped himself in his bed and began reading. If he couldn't be the man Fe wanted, maybe he could be a good father.

Fe chewed the top of her pen absentmindedly, completely ignoring anything that was going on in her Economics class. She was both worried and relieved. It had been almost two weeks since the showdown with Maggie and a week since Joel had tried to have any contact with her. The one class that they had together, Accounting, he hadn't shown up to in two weeks. Fe was just about give in and text him to see how he was doing when a manly whisper interrupted her thoughts.

"It's amazing how someone can drone on for two hours about nothing."

Fe turned her head in the direction of the voice, blinking several times to drive her out of her trance. The husky voice can from the guy sitting next to her. His grey eyes twinkled with amazement as he realized that he wasn't the only one bored almost to sleep during the lecture. Fe couldn't help but blush at the handsome guy. His grey eyes complimented his dirty blond hair, deep dimples and perfectly pouting lips. In a word, he was cute. He smiled at her making his go from cute to fine. After sitting in silence with Fe staring at him, he thought it best that they introduced one another.

"I'm Clint. And you are...?"

Fe finally realized and blushed lightly, looking down at her paper that still sat blank even though class was half over. "I'm Felicia but most people know me as Fe," she whispered back obviously embarrassed.

He smiled even brighter at her embarrassment but continued their conversation. It was easily in classroom filled with almost 200 people and they sat in the middle not really surrounded by anyone so they weren't disturbing anyone. "I'm a Business Administration major."

"I'm Hotel and Restaurant Management with a minor in Business." Clint chuckled softly. "My dad owns a restaurant. He wants me to take over."

Clint nodded in agreement. "I understand. My dad is an electrical engineer. I wanted to him proud so that was my original major. After failing my second calculus class he and I came to an understanding. I change my major and he's not embarrassed by his 58-year-old freshman son."

Fe giggled, careful not to disturb anyone sitting within earshot. Clint smiled, obliged that the pretty girl laughed at his joke. "So, how'd you do on the last test? That part about the economic climate of America versus the 1920's killed me."

Clint nodded. "I think he does that crap to screw with us."

Fe giggled again. Suddenly the lights came up in the auditorium and everyone began to pack their things. Fe picked up her backpack, forgetting it that she had left it open and a slim book slid to the floor and in front of Clint. Fe didn't notice and packed up her bag to leave. She stood up and extended her hand.

"Well, Clint. It was nice meeting you. Hope to see you soon."

Clint chuckled softly and took her soft brown hand and shook it slowly, not wanting to let it go but instead pull her towards him. "The pleasure was all mine. Trust me." He gave Fe a smile, one that made her clit tingle. Fe had to turn and walk away before she did things to him that were illegal in most states. Clint stared at her as she walked out, admiring her flattering backside. He finally shook his head clear enough to begin packing his own backpack when he saw the book on the floor and picked it up. Out of curiosity he read the title.

The 3 trimesters of Pregnancy: What to expect and how to prepare. There were two reasons why she would have that book. Research or someone else had already touched her beautiful little body. There was only one way to find out. He hurriedly finished packing his things and ran out of the classroom, hoping to catch her in the hallway. Fortunately, she was standing just a few feet away, checking missed text messages.

"Hey, Fe, you left something in class." He extended the book and watched the expression on her face. It wasn't the one he was hoping to get. It was a cross between embarrassment and shock. Fe took it from him and gave a weak "thank you".

Even though the look on her face was more telling than any words she could have spoken, Clint felt he needed to ask the question. "I know it's not my place but are you-"

"I've got to go." Fe turned and walked away, even though it look more like she was about to break into a sprint. Clint tried to speak and call her back, but she was gone before his brain could even process what had happened. Suddenly he felt like he was being watched. He looked over and saw some guy about his same height with bright green eyes staring at him, or rather staring a hole through him. When Clint blinked, he was gone.