"like sands through the hourglass so are the...Days of our Lives"

Christyne's

"The Teens" Fan Fiction Site

Shawn felt his stomach do flip-flops as he stood outside the door of the penthouse. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves; after all, it wasn’t like he and Belle hadn’t ever been a date before. He had been telling himself the same thing ever since he had gotten up that morning. But he also knew that this date was different – they had been going out now for six months and in honor of that he had decided to treat Belle to something special and romantic. A lot of planning had gone into this evening so he had been sure to pull out all the stops. Pushing everything out of his mind, he took one more deep breath and knocked on the door. After only a few seconds, Belle threw open the door.

"Shawn," she cried, immediately noticing the yellow roses in his hands. "They’re beautiful."

"Thanks…there’s ahh…one for each month that we’ve been going out."

"That’s so…"

"I know - sweet. I thought you promised to stop saying that," he said smiling as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I did, but then you go and do something like this." Belle reached up and gave Shawn a quick kiss before turning to head towards the kitchen. "Let me go and put these in some water and then we can go."

"No one else here?" Shawn asked as he walked further into the living room.

"No," Belle replied from the kitchen. "Mom’s at the hospital, Dad had some errands to run and Brady’s at therapy." Belle re-entered the room, smiling.

"Hmmm…I’m surprised that they trust us," Shawn said raising his eyebrows as he pulled Belle into an embrace. At first, Belle wanted to resist but as soon as Shawn placed his lips to hers, she knew that she couldn’t. Every time that Shawn kissed her, she lost track of all time and could think of nothing else. She broke away as a small giggle escaped her lips.

"What?" Shawn asked, unsure of what she was laughing at.

"I was just thinking of how long that it took you to finally kiss me. Each time I thought it would happen, something would come along and interrupt us. I was beginning to think that it would never happen!" Shawn smiled as he too remembered back to all of the flirtatious moments between the two of them before they had begun to go out. "I thought for sure it was going to happen when we were skating after your parents wedding but then you had to go and point out that dumb can…"

"I was curious!" Belle laughed as she broke away and headed to the table next to the door to retrieve her purse. "We better get going. I’ve been promised a romantic evening and I want to take full advantage of it."

* * *

"Shawn," Belle giggled as held tightly to his hand. Helpless as to figuring out where they were, she continued to let him lead her. Earlier after they left the penthouse, Shawn had surprised Belle by insisting that he blindfolded her so that she had no clue as to where the two of them were going. After a short drive, they had arrived somewhere and as the two of them got out of the car, Shawn assured her that they were almost there.

"Ok …we’re here," Shawn whispered from behind Belle. He reached up and untied the blindfold. Belle gasped as she began to take in the scene before her. What was once the Brady’s backyard had been totally transformed. Small Chinese lanterns hung everywhere, illuminating the yard with a romantic glowing. Soft music played in the distance and a table for two sat before her. She looked around in awe as she tried to take the entire picture in.

"Shawn…this is so wonderful. Did you do this all yourself?"

"Well, kind of. Since it took so long cooking dinner, my Mom and Dad ended up helping me set this up back here."

"You cooked?" Belle replied amazed. The only thing that she had ever seen Shawn make was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Yeah," Shawn said, somewhat embarrassed. "It may not be very good, but I did it myself. My mom kept wanting to help but I didn’t want to; I wanted to do it on my own." Belle placed her arms around Shawn’s waist, smiling.

"This is amazing. Thank you."

"Your welcome." Shawn bent down for another kiss. Their kiss continued until Belle reluctantly pulled away.

"We better stop."

"Why?" Belle giggled as Shawn began to kiss her neck. "Well, the food is going to get cold…"

"It’s in the oven; it will be fine." Shawn answered as he moved onto the other side of her neck. Belle tilted her head, allowing Shawn better access.

"Shawn," Belle protested again as she felt his hands slip under her shirt. "What if the neighbors are watching…Your grandparents live in the house right behind yours." With the mention of his grandparents Shawn reluctantly broke away from Belle. Shawn ran his hand through his hair as he took a couple of deep breaths in order to calm himself down. He was surprised though when he found Belle taking his hand and leading him inside. Once inside the kitchen, Belle wrapped her arms around him again. "It’s a little more private in here," she whispered as their lips met in yet another kiss.

"Wow Shawn if I didn’t know better I would think that your mom was the one to make that lasagna," Belle said as she laid her napkin next to her plate.

"It wasn’t that bad, was it," Shawn said, quite pleased with the finished project. Shawn gathered up the dishes and walked them into the kitchen. Belle followed, thinking that she would start on the dishes but Shawn was quick to stop her. "Let’s leave those for later. I something else that I want to do right now." Belle looked at him quizzically as Shawn led her outside once again.

Belle smiled as Shawn took her hand and led her out to the patio. Before gathering Belle into his arms, Shawn reached over and turned on the CD that he had placed in the radio earlier that day. The two began to sway back and forth as the song "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith floated through the air. The two continued to dance quietly, just enjoying the feeling of having each other in one another’s arms. Without knowing who initiated it, the two found themselves wrapped in what was quickly becoming a passionate embrace. Belle pulled away, placing her hands on Shawn’s chest, trying to put some space between them.

"We need to stop," she said reluctantly sighing.

What’s wrong?" Shawn asked concerned that he had done something wrong.

"Nothing," Belle began. "It’s just…"

"What?" Shawn urged.

"Well…It just seems like when we are kissing like that…well, I’m finding it harder and harder to stop…" Belle looked away from Shawn, somewhat embarrassed by what she had just admitted.

"Hey," Shawn said using his fingers to turn Belle’s face back towards him. "I don’t want you to ever be embarrassed when you tell me something…actually…I’ve noticed the same thing." Belle relaxed as Shawn told her this. It was such a relief to her to know that he was feeling the same thing – there were times that she felt like she could lose herself in him and all of the feelings that he was creating deep inside her. She didn’t want to do anything hasty though – after all when it came to having a physical relationship, she was still very naïve and unsure. She just hoped that Shawn understood all that. "Belle," he began softly as he saw the uncertainty in her eyes, "it’s not up to just me to decide if and when we take that next step - that’s something that we’ll decide together. You should know that I would never push you to do something that you’re not comfortable with or ready to do."

"You’re the best, you know that Tough Boy," Belle said, her smile shining brightly up at him.

"Your not so bad yourself Perfect Girl," Shawn said as he gently kissed her lips. As the kiss ended, the two continued to hold on tightly to one another, their foreheads leaning against one another.

"I love you, Isabella Black" Shawn whispered. Belle took in a deep breath – Shawn had never said this before and the words were music to her ears.

"I love you too, Shawn-Douglas Brady."

Belle sighed as she slowly dialed the combination to her locker. Today of all days was definitely not one that she wanted to spend cooped up in school. The sun was shining brightly and even though it was still early March, you could feel that spring was just around the corner. Trying to perk up some, she swung the locker door open, oblivious that Shawn was standing just a few feet behind her.

"Happy Anniversary, Perfect Girl," Shawn whispered leaning in from behind to kiss her cheek.

"Shawn," Belle said jumping. "You scared me!"

"I’m sorry," he said turning Belle around so that she was facing him. "Do you forgive me?" As he said this, he pulled a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses and babe’s breath from behind his back. Shawn pulled Belle into a hug and he whispered in her ear.

"I can’t wait to our celebration this weekend." Belle giggled as she broke away from the embrace.

"Awww…"Philip said as he walked up, Chloe at his side. Belle looked over at Shawn and winked, knowing that he understood this meant that they would talk about their weekend plans later. Philip had his arm around Chloe, gently rubbing her shoulder; Chloe’s arm was around Philip’s waist as two of her fingers idly played with the belt loops to his pants.

"Its hard to believe that its been entire year since you to FINALLY got together," Philip said making sure to put as much emphasis as he could into saying the word "finally".

"Stop it," Shawn chided him, the smile never leaving his face. "We hear enough of that from our parents – we don’t need to get it from you too." Belle - who had in the mean time taken the flowers from Shawn – leaned back against him as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"So do you two have any big plans to celebrate?" Chloe asked. Shawn and Belle both looked at each other, not totally sure how much of their plans they wanted to reveal.

"We’re not really sure yet," Shawn said awkwardly.

"Yeah, we’ll probably just go to dinner or something," Belle said trying to act as though she really didn’t care. Both Philip and Chloe eyed them suspiciously. Belle and Shawn were saved though from any further interrogation when the bell rang. Surrounded by a rush of students, both couples began to head towards the senior homerooms.

"You’ll have to fill me in later, man" Philip whispered to Shawn as Belle and Chloe chatted together, just a few steps in front of them.

"There’s nothing to tell," Shawn said smiling, while trying not to laugh. Philip stared at Shawn until both broke out in laughter. Shawn shook his head as Philip continued to rib him. He was quickly learning how difficult keeping a secret could be.

* * *

The sun shone brightly as Belle plopped down under the shade of a tree that was located in the school’s courtyard. She loved when the weather warmed up enough that she and her friends could enjoy eating their lunch outside. As she began munching on her food, she began to look around to see if she spotted any of the others.

"Hey beautiful," Shawn said taking the seat next to Belle. "This seat taken?" Belle smiled at his joke.

"As a matter of fact it is – it’s saved for my boyfriend. You better move because if he sees you in his spot he might get really mad." Both laughed as they leaned in for a quick kiss. "Where’s everyone else?" Belle said as she quickly scanned the other groups of students, looking for the rest of their friends. Shawn shrugged.

"Actually I’m glad they’re not here yet. Now maybe you and I can really talk about this weekend. So, what do you think about my idea of spending the weekend at the Horton family cabin – it would be a perfect place to get away."

"Yeah, it would be perfect," Belle stopped as she reached over and pulled out a pretzel from Shawn’s lunch bag and began to munch on it. "But what are we going to tell our parents…Mom and Dad, Shawn and I want to go away together this weekend…oh by the way, were thinking about having sex for the first time while we’re there." Shawn raised his eyebrows, surprised by Belle’s blunt words. "I’m sorry Shawn," Belle said looking down at her hands, "I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just afraid how my parents are going to react. You can’t tell me they’re not going to have an idea of what’s going to take place up there." Shawn nodded. He, too, had wondered how they would be able to pull it off with their parents.

"Belle…if you think we should wait…"

"No, that’s not it. Maybe we should just talk to our parents and see wait they say…you never know. Besides I can’t think of a better way of celebrating." Shawn leaned over and kissed Belle gently. A bell rang, indicating that their lunch period was over.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too."

"Ugh!" Belle sighed, quickly becoming frustrated. She had been standing outside of the penthouse now for five minutes and she still hadn’t found her keys that were buried somewhere in her purse. Belle was startled as the front door flew open.

"Hi honey."

"Mom – you’re home." Belle said relieved that she could stop looking for the keys.

"Well, I was just on my way out to go shopping."

"Oh…I was hoping that I could talk to you about something." Marlena saw the seriousness in her daughter’s face.

"Sure honey, that’s fine. Let’s go inside and sit down." Belle began to feel the beginning of nerves in the pit of her stomach as she laid her purse and backpack next to the door. Her mother took a spot on the couch and Belle sat done next to her, wiping her sweating hands on her legs as she did so. Belle took a deep breath and began.

"I was wondering how you and Dad would feel if Shawn and I wanted to go away for the weekend by ourselves." Marlena sat quietly as Belle tried to gauge what her mother was thinking.

"Well, I can’t speak for your father, but I think that you two are old enough and responsible enough to spend a weekend alone together."

"Really?" Belle squealed. "Thanks Mom!" Belle reached over and hugged her mother. Belle got up to run upstairs but her mother was quick to stop her.

"Belle, wait…I think that you realize this already but there are certain responsibilities that go along with you two going away." Belle nodded sitting down. She should have known that she couldn’t get away without some kind of lecture.

"I know Mom…I…we’ll be careful, I promise. Shawn and I, we love each other very much." Marlena nodded.

"Oh my baby’s growing up," Marlena whispered emotionally as she touched the side of Belle’s face. The two embraced again. "I’ll talk to your father about it tonight but I’m sure that he’ll be okay. I talk it Bo and Hope are okay with it too?"

"Shawn was going to talk to them when he got home this afternoon…Can I go call him now and tell him its okay?" Marlena nodded. Belle began to run up to her room but quickly stopped and turned around, hugging her mother once again.

"Thanks Mom, I love you."

"I love you too baby. I love you too."

"Looks like everything’s set then," Shawn said later that evening. Belle giggled. The two had been talking on the phone for hours, making plans and deciding what they needed to still get to take with them. "Well, I hate to say this but I think I better get off. I don’t know about you but I’ve got quite a few hours of homework ahead of me."

"Yeah, me too." Belle sighed as she looked at the clock – it read 11:59pm. "I don’t know how much sleep I would be getting anyway. I’m still pretty psyched that our parents are letting us go. Maybe Chloe and I will head over to Salem Place and do some shopping for this weekend…"

"Don’t tell me you don’t have anything to wear…If I play my cards right though, that won’t be a problem."

"Shawn," Belle squealed blushing even though she knew that she was the only one that heard him. "I want something special to wear, you know like maybe from Victoria’s Secret or something…"

"Well then by all means…do you need a ride…some money maybe."

"I’m hanging up now…"

"Goodnight, beautiful. I love you."

"Goodnight Shawn, I love you too."

~ the next day at Salem Place ~

"So what exactly are we shopping for Belle," Chloe asked as the two strolled along Salem Place.

"For this weekend…what if we go in here," Belle said pointing to the entrance of Victoria’s Secret.

"Belle…what exactly are you and Shawn planning on doing this weekend?" Chloe asked looking around at the contents of the store, somewhat embarrassed.

"What do you think of this?" Belle asked holding up a white see-through nightie. Chloe raised her eyebrow as she eyed it suspiciously.

"It looks an awful lot like something a bride would wear on her wedding night…wait a minute…you and Shawn aren’t planning…" Belle giggled as she grabbed Chloe’s hand pulling her towards the dressing rooms located at the back of the store.

"You mean to tell me that you and Philip never…I mean I know that we never talk about that kind of stuff but I guess I just thought" Belle asked as she closed one of the stall doors and began to change while Chloe waited outside.

Chloe shook her head not wanting to reveal too much about that part of her relationship with Philip; but at the same time, she didn’t want people thinking that they were sleeping together when they weren’t. "Well…we’ve talked about it… but its never happened yet…" Belle emerged from the dressing room and headed towards the register.

"We were both pretty surprised when our parents agreed to let us spend the weekend at the Horton family’s cabin. We just decided that if it happens while we’re there, fine and if not, that’s fine too."

"Don’t tell me that you seriously think that it won’t happen with you wearing that to bed?" Chloe asked pointing to the bag that Belle was now carrying. Belle shrugged and both girls collapsed in giggles as they exited the store.

* * *

"Okay man, when are you going to fess up or what?" Philip asked. He and Shawn had met after school at Dot.com to hang out while the girls were shopping. Shawn slammed his hand on the counter as the videogame that the two had been playing ended with Philip winning.

"I can’t believe that you beat me."

"The score says it all," Philip replied as the two boys moved to a close by booth.

"Now, seriously, are you going to tell me what’s up with this weekend. And don’t tell me nothing either because I heard Belle tell Chloe that they were shopping for something special for her to wear this weekend."

"Okay, okay. All I am going to say is that we are spending the weekend together at the Horton cabin." Philip practically spit his drink across the table at Shawn. Philip’s eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of his head.

"Your kidding, aren’t you…hahaha…okay if you don’t want to tell me I’ll just wait until I talk to Chloe later." Shawn smiled and shook his head.

"Okay, believe what you want. So are you ready for another round or what?"

Belle snuggled closer to Shawn as the two continued their drive into the mountains. "The cabin is just around the bend." Belle nodded.

"I know that I’ve been here before, but I really don’t remember much about it." Shawn’s car stopped only a few feet away from the cabin’s entrance. Belle reached for Shawn’s hand as the two approached the cabin. "You were right Shawn, it is beautiful up here." Belle looked up into the night sky, amazed by the amount of stars she was able to see. "I have a feeling this is going to be a perfect weekend." As Belle continued to admire all of the natural beauty around her, Shawn swept her into his arms. "Shawn what are you doing?" she asked giggling.

"Taking you inside."

"But all of our bags are still in the car," Shawn silenced her with a kiss. Belle gasped as the two entered the cabin. Candlelight illuminated the room, a small fire burned within the hearth and flowers seemed to be everywhere. The room itself seemed to give off a feeling of love and romance.

"Shawn," Belle began as Shawn put Belle on her feet. "When did you find time to do this?"

"Earlier today when you were taking hours to pack." Belle made a face at Shawn. She then plopped down on the couch, allowing her body to sink into the soft cushions. "You stay put. I’ll run out, get our bags and I’ll be right back." Belle sighed as she took in her surroundings. As she did so, she suddenly became extremely nervous. She and Shawn were there alone, for the weekend – and chances are that they would make love while they were there. The reality of it all seemed to hit her – was she and Shawn really ready to take that step? Shawn burst through the door, overloaded with bags.

"I think I got it all in one trip…Belle…is something wrong?" Belle looked over at Shawn as he laid the bags on the floor and made his way over to her. He sat down next to her and placed his arms around her. Belle saw his love and concern overflowing in his eyes and all of Belle’s doubt was washed away. She loved Shawn. She – they - were ready for this. Belle bounded off the couch and grabbed her bags.

"Nothing…nothing…I’m fine. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back." Belle blew Shawn a kiss and went into the bathroom. Shawn sat back on the couch. A few minutes later the bathroom door creeked open.

"Well what do you think?" Shawn turned around and his jaw about dropped to the floor. Standing just a few feet in front of him was Belle, wearing what he could only assume to be what she bought at Victoria’s Secret. Shawn stood up speechless. "You don’t like it?" Belle asked, her voice breaking.

"No…no…that’s not it at all. You look amazing," Shawn replied as he continued to take in the full effect that it was having on him. Belle smiled as Shawn gathered her into his arms and kissed her with more passion than he had ever before. The two made their way over to the bed, their lips never breaking their connection. Belle sighed as Shawn began to kiss his way towards their neck – if this was any indication of what the rest of the weekend would be like, Belle knew that it would be one that neither of them would forget for a long time.

Rays of sunlight filtered into the cabin as the late morning hours soon blended with those of the early afternoon. Belle snuggled closer to Shawn, not wanting to get up just yet. She opened her eyes to find Shawn staring down at her.

"Morning," Belle said yawning as she stretched her arms up over her head.

"Morning to you too Beautiful." Shawn smiled and leaned down capturing her lips with his. Belle immediately responded amazed by the newfound passion that she felt brewing inside. The previous evening’s events were a thousand times better than she could have ever imagined and it left her with an urge for more. She felt so close to Shawn; and waking up in his arms – she didn’t know how she was going to sleep alone again. The rumbling of both of their stomachs caused them to break away. "I guess we should get something to eat," Shawn said reluctantly. Belle laughed as she reached for her nightgown and robe which had been deposited on the floor the night before. As Shawn began to slip on some clothes as well, Belle decided to see what she could find for them to eat. Belle was studying the contents of the grocery bags that they had brought with them when she felt Shawn’s arms slip around her middle. "You know, I could really get used to waking up with you in my arms every morning." Shawn whispered as he began to nibble at her neck.

"I wouldn’t mind but I don’t think my father would like that idea. Apparently it took a lot of persuading from my mother for him to agree to us going."

"Can you blame him?"

"No, not really. I think he’s just having a hard time adjusting to the fact that I’m not a little girl anymore." The two began to munch on the pop-tarts that they had found in the bottom of one of the bags. "So what do you want to do today?"

"Well, we could take a picnic down by the lake; maybe take a dip in the lake…"

"Damn – I knew I forgot something. Shawn, I forgot my bathing suit!"

"That’s ok, we don’t need them. There’s no one around for miles so you don’t have to worry about that." Belle giggled nervously. This new intimacy she shared with Shawn was new and exciting while at the same time it scared her a little. She wondered if their friends and family would be able to look at them and tell that they had slept together. The thought of her parents, or worse yet, her grandparents being able to observe such a thing totally horrified her.

"Belle…did you hear me?"

"Huh?"

"I was asking what kind of sandwich you wanted me to pack for you. You look like you’re a million miles away - what’s bothering you?"

"I don’t know…I just was thinking…you know what if when we go back home and say we go to the Pub for something to eat. What if you Grandparents look at us and are able to tell that we’ve slept together…I would be so horrified."

"What you think sleeping together makes us look different?"

"No, not really. But there’s a certain feeling of intimacy there that wasn’t there before… don’t you think?"

"Yeah, I do and I think that it feels great. Belle, I wouldn’t worry about that. Sweetheart, come here." Shawn pulled Belle onto his lap. "I love you and I think my now my grandparents have figured that out already. Afterall, they’ve heard me say that I planned on spending the rest of my life with you…"

"You told them that?" Belle interrupted.

"Yeah, I did. Awhile back we were talking about the future and everything. Someone bought up about getting married and I told them that I already had found the girl that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." Belle leaned over and kissed Shawn tenderly.

"I feel the same way. I guess your stuck with me then." Shawn laughed as he picked Belle up and began to make his way over towards the bed. "Shawn," Belle giggled, "what about the picnic?"

"I think its supposed to rain." Belle swatted at Shawn playfully because they both were able to see the sunlight filtering into the cabin. The two embraced passionately and all thoughts of the picnic was quickly forgotten.

The weekend ended too soon for the two lovers. Before they knew it, the two found themselves standing in front of Belle’s front door. Belle inhaled deeply, "Well, here goes nothing." Shawn placed his free hand (the other was carrying Belle’s bags).

"I promise nothing’s different…we just spent the weekend relaxing." Belle gave Shawn a look. Most of the weekend was spent in bed, but they were exactly relaxing. The two’s conversation was interrupted when the door flew open.

"I thought I heard voices," John exclaimed. He pulled Belle into a hug.

"Izzy…boy, I missed you. Shawn," John placed Belle down and shook Shawn’s hand. John raised his eyebrow as he looked at the two. "Did you enjoy yourselves? I trust that you too behaved yourselves this weekend?" Shawn and Belle glanced at each other quickly.

"Daadd," Belle said smiling. "of course we did."

"John," Marlena called walking into the living room. "Belle, Shawn! Your home." Marlena walked over and hugged them both. "How was your weekend?"

"It was great," Shawn answered as he placed an arm around Belle. "It was cloudy for most of Saturday but Sunday we managed to get out and do some hiking."

"Well I’m glad that you had a good time. John, why don’t we take Belle’s bags upstairs," John looked at Marlena as if to protest but then he realized that she wanted to give the two some privacy to say goodbye. The two adults gathered the bags and headed upstairs towards Belle’s room. Shawn and Belle wrapped their arms around one another.

"Bye Shawn, thanks for the wonderful weekend." Shawn smiled and kissed Belle’s nose.

"You’re welcome." Shawn lowered his voice to a whisper. "I don’t know how I am going to sleep tonight without you in my arms…" Belle sighed.

"I was just thinking the same thing." The two of them kissed.

"I guess I better head home. My parents will probably wonder where I am. I’ll see you in the morning." Shawn kissed Belle quickly one last time and then left the penthouse. Belle continued to stand staring at the door for several minutes until she heard the phone in her room ringing. Belle rang up the steps thinking that it was probably Chloe wanting to find out how the weekend was.

"Hello," Belle breathed, somewhat out of breath from her run up the steps.

"Hey, beautiful, you miss me yet?"

"Shawn," Belle said laughing, amazed at what just the sound of Shawn’s voice could to do her. "What are you doing calling me already. You just left here a few minutes ago."

"I know…this is just the first time we’ve been apart in past 48 hours and I was starting to miss you." Belle smiled as something deep inside tugged at her heart. She couldn’t believe how in love she was with him.

"I love you Tough Boy, you know that."

"I love you too Belle."

Beep, beep, beep. Belle reached over and slammed her hand down on her alarm clock for the third time that morning. Even though she had been awake, she definitely did not feel like getting up and going to school. Belle rolled over, hoping that if she just laid there for a few minutes that she would began to feel better but instantly she was met with an overpowering wave of nausea. Belle jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. After she was finished, she took a cool washcloth and wiped her face with it. Belle was about to lay back down when the phone next to her bed began to ring.

"Hello," Belle said wondering if she sounded as bad as she felt.

"Hi," Shawn’s sexy voiced said. "You about ready to leave?" Belle took a deep breath, trying to fight off another urge to get sick.

"I don’t know Shawn. I don’t feel so good. I might lay down awhile and try to come in after first period. It’s only my study hall anyway so I won’t miss anything."

"Ok. I’ll see you later then. Hope you feel better." Belle just nodded and said goodbye. She then laid back on the bed and fell fast asleep.

"Are you feeling any better?" Chloe asked. Belle had reluctantly drug herself out of bed and made her way to school just in time for a pop quiz in her second period class. She still was not feeling to well so she knew that she did not do as well as she could have on the quiz. She was now in her third period class, French, with Chloe. Belle nodded as she sat down in the desk next to Chloe. "Shawn said that he thought that you may still try to make it in anyway. So what’s wrong?"

"Nothing really. My stomach was just a little jumpy this morning." Belle pulled out her organizer so that she could jot down that night’s homework, which was already written on the board, before she could forget. As she did so she noticed a date circled in red about ten days earlier. Belle stared at the date, unable to believe that she did not realize that she was late until now. No, she thought to herself, I probably marked the wrong date. She flipped back to the previous month; nope, the date that she had circled was right. She should have started exactly ten days earlier. Oh god, she thought, that would explain why I felt sick these past few mornings. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. How could they let this happen?

"Belle," Chloe asked. "Are you okay? You look like you’re a million miles away." Belle looked up as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. She nodded and took a deep breath, trying as hard as she could not to break down in tears. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn’t keep them from falling. Belle rushed out of the room, not wanting the rest of the class to she the tears that she had begun to shed.

"Mademoiselle Black?" the teacher asked concerned. She had seen the look on Belle’s face so she could tell that she was crying. Chloe jumped up and quickly explained to the teacher that Belle had been sick earlier and would she mind if she went and made sure that she was okay. The teacher nodded her approval and went on to begin the class.

"Belle?" Chloe asked as she stuck her head into the girl’s restroom. The sound of someone sobbing was all the answer that she needed. She found Belle leaning against one of the sinks sobbing.

"Honey…what is it? You know you can tell me…whatever it is, I’ll help you?"

"I haven’t even told Shawn yet," Belle whispered. "So please, if I tell you, promise me that you won’t tell anyone…not even Philip." Chloe nodded as she put an arm around Belle for comfort. Belle took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. Finally when she was able to talk she turned to Chloe and said what she knew was going to change her life forever.

"I think I’m pregnant."

Neither the bell signaling the end of the period or the dull roar of the cafeteria could wipe the shocked expressions from Chloe and Belle’s faces. Both girls had spent a majority of their French period in the bathroom and when they did make it back to class, their teacher could tell that something serious was going on so she decided not to question them. As the period ended, she just made sure that both girls had a general understanding of what was discussed during class, reminded them of their homework and then sent them on their way. Now, it was time for lunch and due to the rain that was falling outside, everyone was crowded into the small lunchroom. Chloe squeezed Belle’s hand in support as they approached the lunch table where Shawn and Philip were already seated.

"Remember what we talked about Belle. It’s best that you tell Shawn as soon as possible. That way he can be there for you, Belle. It’s as much his problem as it is yours."

"Yeah, but what if he doesn’t feel that way?" Belle asked, tears already welling up in the corners of her eyes. Chloe stopped and faced Belle.

"Belle, this is Shawn that were talking about. Shawn is not like that and I know that you know it. Its going to be okay, I promise." Belle nodded as she wiped the tears from her face and clutched her books tighter against her chest.

"Afternoon ladies," Philip said as both girls stood in front of the table. As soon as Shawn looked at Belle’s face, he could tell that something was definitely wrong. It was obvious, at least to him, that she had been crying and her usually cheerful smile was no where to be seen. Shawn jumped from his seat and walked over to where she was standing.

"Belle, honey what is it? What’s wrong?" Belle looked up and at the first glimpse of his face, she broke into tears. Shawn pulled her into his embrace.

"Ah, Philip, I think we need to find another table…" Chloe said as she tugged on his arm.

"No, I want to find out what’s wrong…I…" Philip was interrupted by Chloe pulling him from his chair.

"Now’s not the time, Philip. Let’s give them some privacy. I have a feeling that Belle has to talk to Shawn about is private." Chloe looked at Philip meaningfully – she had promised Belle that she wouldn’t give away that she knew what was going on, but at the same time, she wanted to be sure that she could tell Shawn privately. He quickly got the hint and joined Chloe at a table nearby.

By that time Belle had managed to calm herself down. Shawn pulled his chair close to Belle and took her hands in his.

"Shawn…what I have to tell you is one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to say." Shawn nodded as Belle continued. "But first I need to know, do you really love me?" Shawn wasn’t sure if he heard Belle right.

"Do I really love you? Belle, what kind of question is that? You know how I feel for you. I love you more than anything else in the world. You’re the first person I think of when I get up each morning and the last person I think of before I fall asleep. Without you, I feel empty inside. You are what makes me complete." Belle smiled through her tears. The loving words that Shawn had just said made what she was about to say somewhat easier, but not much. She took a deep breath.

"Shawn, I think that I might be pregnant." Shawn faces seem to show a thousand emotions at once – surprise, excitement, love, anxiety, fear – Belle had a hard time trying to gauge what he was thinking. "Shawn, please say something." Shawn leaned forward and kissed her lips gently.

"I love you."

"I love you!" Belle practically shouted. "I just told you that I think that I’m pregnant and all you can say is I love you?" Shawn was taken back by Belle’s response. He knew that neither one of them had planned on having a child any time soon but that didn’t mean that this wasn’t something that they could handle.

"What was I supposed to say, Belle? So, you might be pregnant – we’ll deal with it. That doesn’t mean that my feelings have changed any and just a second ago you asked if I really loved you. I thought repeating that it might be something that you would want to here, especially after what you just said." Belle broke down in sobs. Why was this happening? Belle looked up and noticed a tear was also running down Shawn’s face.

"I’m sorry Shawn, I shouldn’t have said that. I just can’t believe that this is happening. What are we going to do?"

"Well I think the first thing that we need to do is find out for sure whether or not you are pregnant." Belle nodded.

"I guess I’ll get a home pregnancy test and if that turns out positive then I guess I’ll have to go see a doctor…Shawn, I don’t want to tell my parents yet, do you? Not until we know for sure." Shawn nodded in agreement. He had always had a much more open relationship with his parents than Belle did, but he wasn’t sure how comfortable he would feel telling them that Belle could be pregnant. A bell rang once again, which meant that there was only about five minutes left in their lunch period.

"After school, we’ll get the test. I know my mom has to take JT to the doctor so we can do the test at my house if you want. That way there will be no suspicious parents looking over our shoulders." Belle agreed as she glanced over at Chloe and gave her a small smile. Chloe gave Belle the thumbs up sign as she and Philip cleared their lunch area and headed towards the door.

"I guess Chloe knows what’s going on?" Belle turned to Shawn, worried that he would be mad that she shared something with Chloe before she was able to tell him.

"Shawn, I’m sorry. I was in French class when I first realized I was ten days late. Then I began to put things together, like throwing up in the morning, being so tired. I ended up crying so I left the room. Chloe came after me to see what was going on and I just kinda blurted it out." Belle looked down sheepishly, afraid of how Shawn was going to react.

"Its okay," Shawn answered as the pair began to make their way towards the door. "I guess if I was there it would have looked kinda funny if I was the one following you into the girl’s bathroom." The smile that Shawn had been hoping for played on Belle lips as she swatted him playfully. As they walked along, Belle began to feel herself start to relax. Everything is going to be okay, she thought to herself - as long as I have Shawn standing right beside me.

to be continued....

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