Avery opened the door to JD's room quietly, watching the way he sat at his desk, intently typing on his laptop, completely unaware of her prescence.
"Hey," she said, closing the door gently so as not to disturb him too much.
JD turned to her and greeted her with a smile, before clicking save on his computer and closing the top. He stood, crossed the room to her, and lifted her up in a hug.
"Hey, I didn't hear you come in," he said, once he'd put her down.
Avery shrugged slightly, giving him a weak smile. One hand rested on her stomach.
"You ok?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. "Come sit down."
She followed him over to his bed and she sat down, sliding back against the headboard.
JD noted her silence, but didn't push, knowing she would tell him whatever was on her mind when she was ready. He had learnt long ago that Avery didn't respond well to constant questions, it made her close up even more. The only way to be let in was to just wait patiently. It was something a lot of people hadn't yet found out about her.
"Lay with me?" Avery asked timidly, glancing up at him.
"Of course."
JD hopped onto the bed beside her, laying down against his pillows. He reached over and pulled Avery down against him, kissing the top of her head lightly.
Avery buried her face in his chest, her frail shoulders shaking lightly as hot tears made their way down her cheeks.
"Aves?" JD moved her gently, careful to keep the panic out of his voice. "Avie?"
She let out a strangled sob, and JD realised at once that she'd been trying to hold it in.
"Hey, bub..."
Without warning, Avery looked up at him and for the first time since she'd entered the room, he noticed how terrible she looked. Black rings circled the underneath of her eyes, she looked thinner, as if she hadn't been eating, bones protruding from her chest, arms, thin and frail.
"I'm pregnant," she whispered.
JD was silent for a long moment, taking in the news and trying to make sense of it. There was no way that she'd just said that. She couldn't be. They hadn't been back together long enough. And she would've known sooner if it was before they broke up...
"It's not mine, is it?" He was honestly surprised at how steady his voice was, considering inside he was screaming.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he thought wryly. "I was the reason you went that way."
"I can hear you," she reminded him.
JD looked sheepish.
"Are you... are you mad?" Avery asked.
JD stared into her big blue eyes for what seemed like an eternity. These were the eyes he fell in love with, looking into them was like staring into a crystal clear lake. So still, yet so expressive at the same time, and right now, it killed him to see them so bloodshot and red with tears.
"No, bub, no, I'm not mad," he finally answered. "It's Talan's?"
A slow nod.
And now, even though he really didn't want to ask, but somehow, a sick part of him wanted to know, needed to know, he was going to ask. "Do you love him?"
There was a long silence from Avery, in which JD sat there, sweating, waiting for the answer.
"I do," she said, making his heart jump, but then she clarified. "As a friend. He's one of my closest friends, and maybe once upon a time we thought it was more than that, but it wasn't. It's never been him. It's always been you."
JD breathed a sigh of relief. "So, what happens now?"
"Talan said he'll support whatever decision I make, he'll help out if I go ahead with it, he's not pressuring me at all about it," Avery told him. "But I still don't know what to do. I haven't even told Mom or Dad. Or Ike or Tay. Only Zac knows. Well, and you. And Talan. And Lo. Oh and LC. And Trey and Stephen. But they were the ones that took me away from the Space Station so I could think."
JD nodded, understanding that when it came to her friends from Laguna, there was a bond there that he would never be a part of. And that was ok with him, in a life where she had grown up sharing everything, she deserved to have something all to herself. Besides, he was grateful for them. They saved her in ways he knew no one else could. Not even he could.
"I'm sorry," Avery whispered again.
"No," he replied, kissing her forehead. "Don't be. I'll be here, no matter the decision. I'll help in any way I can, just... promise me something?"
"Anything."
"Please just show me how to get you back to good. I can't stand to see you this upset."
"I'll try. For you."