"Hey Ryan, did you hear that Dan's date is Melssa Biddle?" asked Stever.

"Melissa Biddle?" repeated Ryan. "Isn't she. . ."

"That's the rumor," he replied as he turned on the stereo. "Does Dan know about this?"

"Apparantly not," he replied. "Should we tell him?" Ryan helped him set out the refreshments for the party, and then helped him move around the furniture. "I don't know man. If it's true, I think that's something that Melissa should tell him, not us."

"You have a point. . .but he's got a right to know ahead of time before things get serious." Stever was interrupted by Dan and Melissa entering the house.

"Hey Stever, Ryan! Guys I want you to meet Melissa," he said. "Melissa, meet Ryan and Stever. Ryan is our lead singer and guitarist, and Stever is our other guitarist."

"Hey, nice to meet you guys," she said a little shyly.

"I think we had a class together last year," said Stever.

"Yeah, English I think," she agreed. By this time more people were showing up, and everybody started mixing and mingling. Melissa was surprised at how many people she knew were there, she hadn't known that they knew Stever, or had a connection for that matter.

Melissa had a heavy heart, she felt guilty for not telling Dan the truth. He had a right to know. She set down her drink and found Dan in the living room. He was having fun showing off his drum talent, playing an impromtu solo. Once Dan saw her he set down his drumsticks and ran to her.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Not much," she said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. He led her outside to the front porch and sat on the steps. "What's goin' on?"

"Look Dan. . .um, I really like you," she said. "And I'm really hoping that we can keep seeing each other. . ."

"There's a 'but' in there isn't there?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighted. "A small 'but, yet a big 'but'. And I'll completely understand if you don't want to see me again."

"Is it really that terrible?"

"Dan I'm pregnant," she blurted out. Dan sat motionless unable to form words. Pregnant, fourteen years old, and his date is pregnant. This was completely new to him, it's the kind of stuff you read about, not real life as far as he was concerned. "Dan, you're kind of freaking me out. .say something, anything?"

"Pregnant?" he said, still in disbelief.

"Yeah."

"Well. . .there's something you don't normally hear on the first date," he smiled slightly.

Melissa let out a small laugh. "Yeah, well this is strange to me too."

"How far are you?" he asked.

"About two months. That's why Derek and I broke up, well one of two at least."

"What do you mean one of two?"

She sighed. "He kinda pressured me into it, and I thought he loved me. But then I told him that I didn't want to have sex anymore, and he got all mad. Then I told him I thought I was pregnant, and that was the straw that broke the camels back."

"So what are you going to do?"

Melissa sat quietly and looked at her fingers. "I don't know. I can't keep it, there's no way I can raise a baby," she said. "I don't believe in abortion, and I don't know if I can handle giving it away." It was going to be hard for her, Dan could see that, but he too didn't know how to handle the situation. He couldn't even fathom how one could possibly be feeling, but despite that she was going to need a friend.

He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "I'll be here for you when you need me," he said. "Except for when I'm somewhere in a bus touring the country. But even then I'll still have a phone, so in theory I'll still be here for you."

Melissa laughed. "Of course. That's the price you pay when you're dating a rock star."