Chapter 30:

Sophia's POV:

I am going to find out what is wrong with Jayden. It's worrying me so much so I need to know. Jake moved in two weeks and it's been great so far. Everyone loves him, even James, surprisingly. They're quite good friends now and I'm so glad. The bell rings loudly, interrupting me from my thoughts and signalling that class is over and lunch has started. I hate when I get snapped out of my thoughts like that. I try get up off my chair which was to no avail. Charlie gets up off his desk beside me and chuckles softly while watching me trying to get up.

"Quit standing there and help me! You can see that a pregnant woman needs help here!" I order. Charlie chuckles louder and guides me up, holding up my back and pulling my arms forward carefully.

"I'm sorry, I just found it so funny watching you that I wanted to keep seeing you squirm around like that," he explains with a grin.

"I need to find Emily and Jayden," I note.

"Let's go find them then. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to ask what's been up with him leaving all the time and Emily going off with him. He's my best friend and I love him so much. He needs to tell me what's wrong, I deserve to know. I always tell him things about me, he used to but now I feel like he doesn't want to confide in me anymore, sometimes he can't even look at me." Charlie stops in the middle of the hall, suddenly.

"Soph, there's more to it than you think. He does tell you everything, bar this one thing, it's really best if you don't find out, he doesn't want you to. Not in a mean way or anything, it's just best, we all agree."

"So he told everyone else besides from me? What type of best friend is he? Am I not his best friend anymore? Is it because I've been spending time with Jake? What's going on? I can't believe he told you all before me! What's wrong, Charlie, please tell me, I'm so worried."

"I can't, it's his decision. It's difficult to explain why you can't know, he doesn't mean to hurt you by not telling you this. Jake doesn't know this either because of, well, an obvious reason that I again can't explain. Just leave it be, Soph, or shit will get messed up and none of us want that. Look, here, they're coming over to us. Don't tell either of them what I've told you, I wasn't allowed say a word."

"Hey, baby," Emily greets, wrapping her arms around Charlie in a hug while he kisses her cheek. I smile my thanks at him and he smiles back. I still want to know though and I think I'm still going to ask. "Hey, Soph, how's my niece and nephew?" She bends down and kisses the curve of my belly twice and then hugs me.

"Great, like usual, they were kicking earlier. Can you do me a big favour and tell Jake to wait for me in the lunch hall with the rest of you? I need to get something at my locker with Jayden." Charlie opens his mouth to object because he had an idea of what I was planning to do but I interrupt him, "Tell him I'll be there in ten minutes.

"Fine," Charlie sighs, giving me a small smile.

"What's wrong with you?" Emily asks, studying him with concern.

"Nothing, let's leave these two be, Ems, let's go for lunch. Bye, guys, see you later," Charlie says, taking her hand. Emily gives Jayden and me a kiss on the cheek and says her goodbyes after we bid them farewell. They walk off and I was left with Jayden giving me a big, welcoming smile.

"Let's go to your locker," he suggests.

"I don't need to go, I need to talk to you about something," I disclose. His expression changes from happiness to complete worry and nervousness.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to know something, that's all. You've been worrying me, you keep walking off, Jake says he's even seen your face and eyes all red from crying. What's been going on, Jay? Charlie's told me you've told everyone else what's up except for Jake and me. Have we upset you or something? Do you not like Jake?"

"I do like Jake, Soph, I promise," he cuts in, "He's a really great friend and guy, I'm glad you and him are together. You deserve the best. I have nothing against either of you, I just can't tell you, I'm so sorry. Stupid Charlie can't keep his mouth close, I told him specifically not to say a word about any of it and look what he does."

"I'm glad he told me, it's not his fault, either way I was going to find out what it is. You have to tell me, Jay, I thought I was your best friend."

"You are, believe me, you're the perfect best friend a guy could ask for. I love you, Soph, so, so much."

"I love you too, Jay, please tell me."

"I have..." he says softly, leaving me very confused.

"What do you mean?"

"When I said I love you, I didn't mean it in a friend way, I meant it in the..." he trails off because he didn't have to finish the sentence, I know what he means now. He looks down at the floor awkwardly, his hands start to shake and he bites his lower lip. I stare at him with shock and my mouth hangs open. He couldn't possible mean it in that way. "That's why I've not told you."

"Jayd-" I stop because I don't know what else to say.

"It's okay, I should go, there's nothing else to say." He quickly starts walking off but I start after him.

"Please, Jayden, wait," I beg, doing my best to keep up with his pace. My feet are all swollen that I can hardly keep up. I slow down because I can't go on any longer. My breathing becomes ragged and I hold onto the wall for support. Jayden must have heard me breathing heavily because he looks over his shoulder to see if I'm okay. When he sees me, he runs back to me and holds onto me for support.

"Are you all right? Any pains anywhere? Let's sit you down," he frets frantically.

"Shh, Jayden, calm down, I'm all right," I assure, giving him my best smile. He smiles back and I wrap my arms around his neck since he was still holding onto me. He hugs me back and hovers me over the ground a bit. I giggle and he puts me back down gently. "I'm so sorry, sweetie."

"No, I'm sorry, this is my entire fault, I should have never told anyone, and then you would never have found out. I've ruined our friendship now; you won't want to hang around me anymore. Jake's going to hate me, beat me up and I'll have no one. No one's going to want to hang around with me at all. I can't help my feelings, Soph, I didn't mean to feel this way, it's been like this for four years." I place my lips on his and he hesitates before kissing back. The kiss was soft and quite good, actually. I start to pull back because I don't want him to think it means anything but he tries to linger it on by continuing to kiss me. I pull back and he looks back down to the ground. "I'm sorry for not pulling back, I couldn't help myself," he admits, turning away from me. I place my hand on his shoulder and wrap my arms around his waist.

"Come here, Jay." He turns back around and hugs me back. I only kissed him so he would feel better. I hope he doesn't think it meant something else. "I'll always love you as a friend; I'm not going to stop hanging around with you because of this. I love spending time with you; you're my best friend and one of my favourite people in the world. I'm always going to be here for you, I wish you told me sooner. Maybe if you had told me before all of Jake and the babies happened, I could have been carrying your babies." He chuckles and glances down at my belly. "I definitely would have went out with you before Jake if you had asked me, you know. You're an amazing guy, one of the best."

"I hate those 'ifs'. Like what if we never went to that party where you hooked up with Jake and what if I had told you how I felt when I knew I had fallen in love with you?"

"I know those 'what ifs' might upset you, and I'm really sorry. There's a perfect girl out there for you, Jayden, you just need to look for her."

"I've already found her," he confesses, cupping my cheek and staring into my eyes. "But it's too late." He takes his hand away and I feel so bad for him. I would have loved to go out with him before all of this happened but I'm in love with Jake and carrying his babies. This must have been so hard for him, no wonder he goes off and cries when Jake and I get too lovey-dovey. If he had told me his feelings, I would have stopped being all lovey-dovey in front of him so he wouldn't get upset.

"I'm so sorry, Jayden."

"Please don't apologise," he pleads. "It's my fault, all of this is."

"Don't say that, none of it is, people can't help their feelings. Are you going to be okay with still being around Jake and me?"

"Of course, I can control my emotions most of the time. Can you please not tell Jake? I don't think he'll want to be my friend anymore and he'll take you away from me by forbidding us to be friends."

"If he ever finds out, I won't let him forbid me to not be your friend anymore. This is my life, I can be friends with whoever I want, you've helped me through so much and if he ever found out and can't except us being friends, then, maybe him and I shouldn't be together if he can't understand."

"Thank you so much, Sophia." I tackle him with a big hug and he kisses my cheek. "Do you want to go to lunch now?"

"Sure." We walk to the lunch hall where I find Jake and the others. I notice Jake looking upset while the others look quite shocked as they look from Jayden to me and back to Jayden. "What's going on with everyone?"

"We need to talk privately," Jake answers, standing up and going over to an empty table. I give the others a look to see if anyone is going to tell me but they just bite their lips.

"So, you told her then?" Danny guesses, talking to Jayden.

"Um, yeah, what's wrong with Jake?" Jayden inquiries.

"Someone came over here and said they saw you and Soph kissing, so he's really upset," Bennett says.

"Oh shit, it wasn't a romantic kiss, it didn't mean anything!" I proclaim. "Jayden just told me how he felt and I felt so bad, he's got it all wrong."

"We know that but Jake doesn't, he doesn't know about Jayden's feelings," Alex says.

"I'm so sorry, Sophia," Jayden says.

"No, don't be, it's my fault, I'll go tell him it was nothing, be back soon." I go over and sit beside Jake who is giving me an upset and confused facial expression.

"Do you love Jayden?" he asks simply, ready to burst into tears.

"Jake, you have it all wrong. Whoever's told you that the kiss was romantic and meant something, they took it wrong. It was just a friendly kiss, you know all my friends give me kisses, you see them do it but it doesn't mean anything. I just did it because he was really upset and I felt so bad for him. He told me why he's been so sad and why he was crying a few weeks ago. I just kissed him so he would cheer up. You have to believe me, Jake. I only love him as a friend, I'm in love you."

"I know," he smiles and takes my hand from across the table. "I don't know why I jumped to conclusions like that. A friend from my team just came up to me about a minute ago and said they saw you and Jayden kiss, he never said anything about it looking romantic, I just assumed it was. I'm really sorry that I thought it meant more, I don't know why I did. I guess it's just because he's one of your best friends and you always hug and kiss each other's cheeks. I promise to not jump to conclusions like that ever again, I totally trust you, Sophia. Please forgive me."

"No, don't apologise, Jakey. I can understand how someone would jump to conclusions like that. If you don't feel comfortable with me kissing his cheek or on the lips in a friendly manner, I totally get it. I'll stop straight away for you because I don't want to lose you."

"You'll never lose me, and of course I don't want you to stop. I know it doesn't mean anything, I don't mind. It didn't ever bother me before so I don't see why it should bother me now. Come here, baby." He takes the seat beside me and sits me on his lap. I tangle my arms around his neck and I rest my head on his chest while he kisses the top of my head. "I feel so bad for needing to ask if you loved him. I love you, Sophia, thanks for forgiving me." I break the hug and kiss his lips softly, feeling the tingles from his touch straight away. "Can I ask something?"

"Course, ask away."

"I know it's not really any of my business but why has he been so upset lately? Is everything okay with him?"

"It's...complicated," I decide to go with. I promised Jayden I wouldn't say and I would break my promise if I tell him. But I also want to know what Jake will say if he finds out because if he gets really mad and stops us from being friends, then, maybe he really isn't the one I'm destined to be with. I want to know what he'll say but I'm afraid of his reaction and betraying Jayden's trust.

"Okay, I just hope he's okay now. You'll tell him for me that if he ever needs to talk, I'm here for him, okay?"

"I will, I'm sure he knows that already anyway. You and him are really good friends."

"Yeah, but maybe he doesn't see me as a really good friend since he didn't confide in me also. I know he's confided in some of the others, like Austin and Brad because whenever I go over to them when they're with Jayden, they stop talking for a second and change the subject. It hurts me a lot because it makes me think that they're talking about me in a bad way and also that he doesn't want me to know."

"You should have told me that, Jakey. And please don't worry, I promise it's nothing bad about you, there's no need to feel hurt, just forget about their talking," I coax.

"I will, baby," he promises, then, gives me a quick peck on the lips. "We better get you some food in you, I bet you're starving."

"Always am," I joke and he chuckles.

"I know, you get the weirdest cravings ever and you're always eating," he agrees.

"I can't help it, I'm eating for three," I remind.

"Not for much longer," he points out, flattening his hand on my burgeoning bump. I don't think it's possible for me to get any bigger but I keep getting bigger week by week. Thankfully, I only have seven weeks left until my little bundles of joy arrive and then, I can get rid of at least some of this weight. I hope I can get rid of it; I'm so big that I think I might not be able to. I did some abdominal exercises all through my pregnancy that are said to help lose the weight easier and quicker after they're born so hopefully all those exercises will work. Jake places a hand on my back and helps me up. We walk back over to our usual table with the others and they give us a look asking if it was all sorted. "Everything's great," Jake tells them.

"Practice time," Cameron announces

"We better go over quick so we can get it over and done with and then, we can come back. It's our last match in two weeks for the final so we need to practise so we win the league," Liam says. Our school made it to the final like we do every year. We win almost every year because our team is really skilled at football. I feel so proud to be the team captain's fiancée because Jake is the best player I've ever seen and I'm not just saying that because we're together, he really is great.

"You girls make sure my girl gets some food into her, she hasn't had anything yet," Jake orders Emily and Avril. I roll my eyes at him but smile secretly inside. He gives me a long kiss goodbye and they all say goodbye, leaving just Avril, Emily, Ty, Taylor and I once again like they did every week this time of day on Tuesdays.

"I gather Jake doesn't know about Jayden's feelings?" Taylor assumes.

"No and I don't think he ever will. I feel so bad for Jayden; I never even noticed that he did! I wish he had just told me, I don't like him feeling that he should hide things from me," I sigh.

"Just try and forget about it. Jayden wouldn't want you to be feeling bad about it and getting all stressed out, he wants you to be happy. Let this all go and act as if you don't know about his feelings," Ty advises.

"I can't do that though, it's a difficult thing to forget and move on from. Anytime I see him, I'll always know he loves me, it's going to be hard but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop being his friend. I'm his best friend and I will always be here for him. What I found out today isn't going to change anything," I confide.

"Good because I know it would break his heart if this caused you to stop being his friend. If you think about it, after all the years we've been friends, it all makes sense now. I don't know how we didn't realise it sooner," Emily chimes in. She's right, after all he's done for me, said to me, I don't know how I didn't see it.

"Don't ever tell Jake though, you know how he reacts better than the rest of us. He'll be furious and probably not talk to Jayden for a long time," Avril warns.

"I won't, it's probably best not to. I just hate keeping secrets from him, I'm his girlfriend, we should tell each other everything," I complain.

"I know but it's not your secret to tell, it's Jayden's and it's doubtful that he wants Jake to know," Taylor says.

"How long have all of you known?" I enquire.

"He told all of us about five weeks ago and Emily found out about two and half months ago," Ty replies.

"Ems, I wish you had told me but I know you probably promised him you wouldn't say anything," I say.

"Yeah, I promised him but I would have told you if I hadn't. Everything's good now though, everyone's friends, two weeks left until school is over and seven more weeks until those babies are here!" Emily exclaims, placing both her hands on my belly and nuzzling her nose against it. "I can't wait until I can give them kisses!"

"I'll have to spend my summer holidays looking after two screaming babies and well, the rest of my life also," I mumble.

"Forget about all the screaming and focus on all the good things, like all the cute memories! I can't wait for my baby, you shouldn't be complaining!" Avril says.

"Yeah but you're only sixteen weeks, wait until you're in your final trimester, all you do is complain and mutter because you're so uncomfortable and fat," I murmur.

"Oh, no, another fat rant is about to stir," Taylor grumbles.

"Oh, shut up, if you were thirty three weeks pregnant with twins and huge, you'd think you're fat too," I remark.

"She has a point," Ty concords. "But you're not fat, you're sexy, adorable and beautiful, Sophia. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

"Thank you, Ty, we need more gentlemen in the world like you," I comment.

"And what about me? Am I not a gentleman?" Taylor pouts.

"Of course you are," Emily adds. Taylor beams at Ty and they cuddle with each other. Avril makes a gasping noise and places her hand on her belly that was starting to get bigger and curvier as the weeks go by.

"Everything okay?" Emily asks, examining her with concern.

"The baby moved for the first time!" Avril squeals, grinning to her heart's content.

"Aw, that's great, Avril!" I congratulate and so does everyone else. This pregnant excites her so much, she's much more excited than when I was the same amount of weeks as her. I'm really happy for her because she deserves it after everything.

"I need to text Liam!" she denotes as she gets get out her phone quickly and sends him a text. He replies almost instantly and she giggles away to herself.

"Speaking of Liam, have you gotten the courage to ask him yet about what will happen if he's not the father?" Taylor wonders.