you and quinn were never close. fuck buddies, yes, but you weren't best friends. you guys were sort of always stuck between 'we shouldn't be friends' and 'we shouldn't catch feelings.' it was weird so you both never got emotionally attached to each other.

sure you guys talked, — he texted you before he came to fuck you but that was it.

you guys only used each other for sex. it wasn't until you realized you only let yourself give in to quinn that you figured you may be catching feelings.

a month later, quinn hasn't texted you back. you spent countless days and nights wondering what went wrong, if you did something to make him leave, but you simply couldn't come up with anything. it hurt but you just think that maybe he found someone else to sleep with.

weeks pass by and you start feeling a bit worried. you missed your period and thought it might just be late but it never came. tiredness, nausea, things that were never a problem for you before have been wreaking havoc in your daily life and you're 99% sure you know why.

bundling up, you muster the strength to go out and grab a pregnancy test. you hope you don't feel nauseous on the way there because you definitely aren't going to ask anyone to get it for you.

luckily, the short journey isn't too much of a hassle and you make it there and back home safely. you were smart enough to drink a ton of water before leaving so when you get home, you don't have to wait to take the test.

you feel your heart beating in your head as you shrug your jacket off and shakily walk over to your bathroom, test in your hands. you feel like you already know what the answer is and there's only one person that could be the father. you aren't sure if you're more worried about the baby or telling quinn you're bearing his child.

positive.

your eyes widen, heart leaping in your chest as you throw the test across the room.

"what the fuck?" you ask yourself, running a hand through your hair.

quinn was always serious about protection, which is why you can't think of a single time where maybe you guys somehow just forgot. the condom must have broken or had a hole in it and he just never noticed, but what the fuck.

with a drum beating against your ribcage, you grab your purse and walk out the door with only one thing on your mind.

--

"brock!"

you run towards him, engulfing him in a massive hug the second you reach him. almost as if an emotional wave washes over you, you begin crying into his neck.

"hey, what's wrong?" brock asks in concern, eyebrows furrowing as he holds your shaking body in his arms.

he wasn't expecting to see you, and definitely not right after practice. he was on his way home just before you saw him and he's confused as hell.

you shake your head, unable to answer him at the moment. all you want right now is the support of your best friend. you don't know how you're going to handle everything by yourself and it's too much for you to take in.

"breathe for me, c'mon. take deep breaths, you gotta chill out," he tries soothing you, a hand rubbing your back comfortingly.

it helps. after a couple minutes of him reassuring you quietly in your ear, your sobs turn into sniffles and you pull away from his grasp. with a pounding head, you can't bare to look him in the eyes. what's he going to think of you? how's he going to feel about you sleeping with one of his closest friends?

"what's wrong? you can't just come to me crying and expect me to not want answers," he tells you, lifting your head up with his palms and wiping your tears.

"i—" your voice sounds scratchy and gross, making you close your eyes and take a deep breath before speaking. "can we go to your place please? i'll explain there, i promise."

brock's about to refuse, not about taking you to his place but about you telling him once you get there. he's dying to know what's got you so worked up but he sees the look on your face and sighs, unable to say no.

"alright, let's go."

"yay," you whisper, which makes him chuckle.

he rests his hand on the small of your back as he leads you to his car. looking out the doors of the arena, he sees the pouring rain and takes a double take when he looks at you again.

"how did you get here?"

"i ran."

"in the rain?" he asks in disbelief.

"no, it wasn't raining when i got here. guess i got lucky," you shrug and he rolls his eyes, stopping in his tracks to set his bag down.

he pulls out a hoodie and hands it to you. "you're not getting sick on my watch, little missy."

"can i keep it?" you ask excitedly.

brock bites the inside of his cheek when he sees the grin on your face, the redness of your eyes making it a sore sight.

"yeah, why not?"

--

you need to tell someone. it would be a bad idea not to, no? you can't keep it in for too long, especially when you know you're going to need some help. quinn can't be kept in the dark either, but the thought of telling him about your pregnancy makes bile rise to your throat immediately, so you try to push that thought away as best as you can.

taking a seat on brocks couch, the colour drains from your face when coolie comes to your side and begins sniffing your stomach. you peak over at brock to see him looking through his pantries in the kitchen so you smile and pet the dog beside you.

"i know you know," you whisper. "but you can't tell anyone, okay?"

coolie pauses his sniffing to stare at you and you simply laugh, although your stomach beings feeling even worse. guess you couldn't push away that thought for too long.

brock finally walks over with your favourite snack which only makes you want to gag. milo starts barking loudly from his seat on the ground and you clutch your ears, suddenly feeling sensitive to the sound.

"milo, stop that!"

you shouldn't be feeling as anxious as you are. it's probably bad for the baby but you can't help it. you close your eyes and try taking deep breaths but you can't, forcing you to open your eyes and look at brock.

"i'm going to puke."

his eyes widen but before he can say anything, you run past him. he follows swiftly behind you and brings a fist to his mouth in disgust when he sees you throwing up into his toilet.

he fights back his hesitations when hot tears escape your eyes and you begin coughing as saliva drips out of your mouth. bending down to take a seat, he scrunches his nose at the horrid smell but holds your hair back for you as you continue emptying your stomach.

after a couple minutes, you don't feel anything coming up and you take heavy breaths, leaning back into brock's chest. he uses his hands to brush away the stray hairs that are sticking onto your damp forehead, once again pushing away every thought of disgust that flows through his mind.

"y/n, you need to tell me what's wrong."

"i want peanut butter," you mumble. you start to feel tired, not having eaten much throughout the day and just puking it all out. you have nothing in your system. "with pickles. pickles 'n peanut butter."

brock furrows his eyebrows. "you're a fucking weirdo. c'mon, let's get you cleaned up."

he helps you stand up and thankfully you have enough energy to walk on your own and brush your teeth (using a spare toothbrush of course, not brock's). he lets you do your thing while he goes back to his kitchen to find you pickles and peanut butter.

when you walk out and meet him, you see a jar of pickles set out for you with peanut butter. you grin, taking a seat and digging in. brock stands on the other side of the island and grimaces at the sight.

"mmm, brock, this is so good! you wanna try?"

"no! no, i'm good. i'm perfectly fine standing right over here," he says quickly, watching as milo comes over to sit beside you. something feels weird to him. he senses a change in his pups, noticing that they seem a bit more.. protective of you. they had even been sitting by the bathroom while you were in there puking your guts out.

"you good? you look like you're stressed," you ask with your mouth full.

"why were you crying? you came to find me at the arena and you were crying. you said you were going to tell me what's wrong but you haven't," he gets straight to the point and your heart drops.

"uhm, well.." you swallow the food in your mouth, thinking about how to tell him. "please don't be mad."

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"i'm pregnant."

"you're what?" his eyes bulge and he dashes around the counter. "did i hear you correctly? did you just say you're pregnant?"

"yes! yes, i am but please don't be mad and please don't tell anyone, brock, please."

"i won't tell anyone, i just," he lets out a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he sits beside you. "who's the father?"

you give him a sheepish look. "pinky promise you won't be mad?"

he rolls his eyes and gives you his pinky. you lock yours with his and look directly at him.

"quinn."

"hughes?"

"who else?"

"i'm gonna kill him."

your eyes widen as brock stands up from his seat, making you rush over to stop him. you grab his arms and hold him in place, making him glare at you expectantly.

"it wasn't his fault—"

"wasn't his fault? y/n, he's been hooking up with girls and you're over here pregnant with his kid! don't fucking defend h— wait, how the fuck did this even happen?"

"listen, i'll tell you everything but can we please sit down and talk it over. i really need your help, that's why i came to find you."

he gives you a reluctant nod and you drag him over to his couch, his eyes softening as he finds you unconsciously resting a hand on your stomach. you both sit down and you tell him everything, from the minute you and quinn decided to be fuck buddies up until now. surprisingly, you aren't in tears by the end, you're just scared and brock can see it. he's so incredibly happy for you but he knows you're young and don't know what to do, which breaks his heart.

"i'm sorry i hid everything from you and i'm sorry i came to you with all this. i just found out about this today," you tell him, gesturing to your stomach. "you were the first person i wanted to tell."

brock gives you a small smile. "i appreciate that. you have no idea how happy i am for you but it's okay to be afraid, you know? i can see that you're unsure of everything but i'm here for you, i promise."

you don't waste a moment pulling him into a hug and he rubs your back soothingly, hoping to ease your tensions.

"i want you to stay with me."

your eyebrows crease at his words and you try pulling out of his grasp but he doesn't let go.

"i need to know you and your baby are safe at all times. please, i don't want you living alone. at least until you tell him," he explains.

"i don't want to be a burden—"

"you're not, you'll never be. you need to understand that i really don't think it's a good idea for you to be pregnant and alone, all i want to do is help you. please."

you nod in the crease of his neck, pulling him closer. "okay. i'll stay."

--

you're 16 weeks pregnant now. your bump is starting to show but it's easily hidden by the endless amount of brock's clothes you've stolen. you've been staying with him like you said you would and it hasn't been the best time but he couldn't be any more understanding.

tonight, you guys are going to a small get together at bo's house. you decided you've waited way too long and you can't keep quinn in the dark anymore so you plan on telling him tonight. he deserves to be given the opportunity to support you and his child if he wants, and you won't blame him if he doesn't want to but he needs to know it's an option.

you've seen him and his girlfriend on social media and to say you're a bit intimidated would be an understatement. she's a model but she doesn't seem the nicest and things look like they're getting pretty serious between the two. at least, that's what brock's been saying, which only makes you feel worse about quinn not knowing.

you get ready and pull on a pair of sweats and one of brock's hoodies. making your way out of your temporary bedroom, brock laughs when he sees you.

"you're really gonna wear my clothes?"

"yeah, is there a problem? i can take it off if you want me to."

"no, it's not a problem. i was just thinking that people might think we're together or something."

you blink slowly in thought, realizing he's right. no one even knows you're living with him, what'll they think when you show up in his clothes?

"i'll just pretend i bought a really big hoodie. no big deal," you shrug. "i doubt they remember this is yours, right?"

"we'll have to wait and find out," he says breathily before opening the front door.

the car ride is silent, other than the soft radio hum in the background and you tapping your foot anxiously as you think about talking to quinn. you don't know how he'll react and you're scared he's going to freak out or get mad at you for some reason.

"you okay?" brock asks, sensing your distress.

"just thinking about quinn.."

"you still like him?"

"mhm," your eyes trail off as you look out the window. "but he's in this perfect relationship and here i am about to screw it up."

"don't say that. it takes two to make a damn kid, you're not screwing anything up. if anything, he screwed it up himself. and if he says or does anything to hurt you, i will personally beat his ass," brock tells you, making you smile at his overprotectiveness.

"i don't know if i want you to beat up my baby daddy," you joke.

"he'll get it if he deserves it," he says as he parks outside bo's.

he sees you eyeing the house carefully and notices your hand shaking a bit. he grabs it softly with one hand and holds your face with the other, forcing you to look at him.

"hey, everything's going to be okay. you know quinn, he's a good guy. it might be a shock to him at first but he'll get over it.. and if he doesn't, you have a whole group of guys in there who'll happily play uncle for your little one. we got your back."

he wipes a stray tear that fell from your eye, your heart melting at his words. you know he's right. no matter how this goes, you have other friends who'll support you no matter what. you nod your head and give him a small smile, he sends you a grin in return. you both make your way out of the car and walk over to the front door where holly greets you instantly.

"hi guys! long time no see, how are you?" she asks happily, pulling brock in for a hug.

"i'm great, you?" he wraps his arms around her and gives you a look, hinting at your stomach.

your eyes widen as you realize she'll feel your belly when she hugs you so when she comes over, you give her an awkward side hug instead. thankfully, she doesn't seem to notice anything and ushers you both into the house.

in the living room, you see a couple of brock's teammates (who are also your friends) and their significant others hanging out. noticing that most of them are drinking, you pray that they don't give you a drink as well, thinking about how you're going to convince them that the girl who never used to pass up a free drink doesn't drink anymore.

conor sees you and jumps up from his seat, making you grab brock's arm. you weren't planning on telling anyone other than quinn about your pregnancy but if people keep trying to hug you it's not going to stay a secret for too long.

"hey, y/n/n! how are ya?" conor asks, standing in front of you. his eyes flicker down to your hold on brock but he doesn't question it.

"i'm good, how are you?"

"i'm great. missed my friend, that's for sure."

you look at him guiltily. "sorry.. i've just been a bit busy."

"no worries. glad you're here now though. c'mon, let's get you a drink."

you hadn't realized the group had quieted down at yours and brock's arrival. each of them waited to greet you but they'd been listening on your conversation and as soon as conor mentioned the drink, it felt like a pin dropped because of the way you remain quiet.

"uhm, i can't.." you squeeze brock's hand, silently pleading for help.

"since when does y/f/n not drink? that's news to me," elias says, making brock chuckle.

"she's my designated driver for tonight. i'm tryna get drunk so she's gonna drive me home, no biggie," brock saves your ass. you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding when everyone drops the case and goes back to their conversations.

"thanks," you whisper as conor retreats.

"you're welcome. now where's quinner.." brock trails off, looking around as you both take a seat on the huge sofa.

"he's probably just not here yet—"

you stand corrected as quinn walks in the room with a girl on his arm. you feel like the whole world stopped. everything around you blurs with him as your main focus and your heart leaps when his eyes meet yours.

you swallow the growing lump in your throat and try forgetting about the feelings you have for him, his girlfriend being an indicator that whatever you once had is over. butterflies consume you, your mind almost mistaking the feeling for nausea as he and the girl take a seat beside you.

you give him a smile but your expression changes when you look down and notice he's wearing a jersey.

you furrow your eyebrows. "what are you wearing?"

"we were running late so i grabbed the first thing i saw," he chuckles, running a hand through his hair. "it's nice to see you."

it's almost pathetic how that simple sentence brings an unwelcomed warmth to your face. "it's nice to see you too. how've you been?"

"good.. great, actually. there's someone i want you to meet," he tells you, looking to his side. he taps the girl on her shoulder and she turns to look at you.

"candice, this is y/n. y/n, this is my girlfriend, candice."

"hi," you wave lightly. "nice to meet you."

she chews her gum aggressively and looks you up and down before meeting your eyes and shooting you a fake grin. "yeah. nice to meet you too."

no words are spoken between you and her after that, for she gives her attention back to holly so they can resume the conversation they were having before quinn interrupted.

"she's a gem.." you say sarcastically.

quinn chuckles. "she doesn't really like meeting new people. anyway, how are you?"

you feel a heavy weight on your shoulders, fidgeting with the hem of brock's hoodie as quinn sits tight for an answer. your throat runs dry and your mind is jumbled with too many thoughts. before you can think of the right thing to say, one stupid sentence comes out of your mouth.

"i'm going to puke on your jersey."

his eyes widen. "what? are you oka—"

he doesn't get an answer because you quickly stand up and walk away, trying your best to hold in your sickness before it spills onto the ground. you don't want to cause a scene by running so you keep a steady pace, tugging conor with you on your way to the washroom.

"woah, you good?" he asks as you push the door open.

you shake your head, bile pooling in your mouth as you push him in and shut the door. taking a seat in front of the toilet, it doesn't take a minute before you're spilling into the bowl. conor gags but reaches over to hold your hair.

you both stay in there for a while and quinn starts to worry. if he wants to be honest with himself, he'd admit that he only came here because he wanted to see you — but not for any reason other than that he felt bad about ghosting you.

he looks over to brock who'd moved to sit beside him. "you think she's okay?"

"huh?" brock asks confusedly.

"y/n, she wasn't feeling well. it's been a while since she left.."

"conor's with her, she'll be fine."

that doesn't help quinn one bit. he hesitates, wondering if maybe the pair are actually hooking up in the washroom, but the sick look on your face flashes in his mind and that thought disappears in an instant.

he stands up and makes his way to the washroom which luckily isn't too far. he enters the hallway and sees the door open, to his relief. taking small steps, he halts as he hears shushed voices.

"what do you mean you're pregnant?!"

"i'm fucking telling you i'm pregnant, conor! how do you think i got pregnant, do you need me to explain conception to you?"

quinn's mouth parts and he raises an eyebrow. you're pregnant? it doesn't click in his mind for even a split second that he might be the father. yeah, he remembers that you both used to hookup but he figures that you would have already told him if he was.

he hears some shuffling and bolts into the laundry room beside him, not wanting to get caught. that definitely wasn't something he was supposed to hear and he doesn't want to upset you.

"well, who's the father?"

he's able to see you and conor standing in the hallway through the crack of the open door he hides behind. he watches as you hesitate and huff in frustration.

"quinn."

"hughes?"

"no," you deadpan, waiting a moment. "yes, quinn hughes! quintin jerome hughes, what is up with men and thinking i didn't fuck quinn hughes? yes, i fucked quinn hughes and now i'm 4 months pregnant with his child, is that. what. you wanted. to hear. conor?"

quinn's face pales as he continues listening to you two bicker like children. it all goes in one ear and out the other as he tries to stomach the fact that he's going to be a father at 22 years old. and four months. you hid your pregnancy from him for four months. those are four months he could have cared for you and his child. he doesn't know how to feel. he shouldn't be mad because after all, he's the one who put you in this situation, but he had the right to know, didn't he?

you both walk away and quinn slowly exits the laundry room, tugging at his hair in frustration and confusion. he feels angry and he doesn't know what to do.

sighing, he makes his way back to the living room and watches as you stand in the kitchen with some of the girls.

it all happens in a spur of the moment.

he walks over to you as quick as he can, grabs your hand and tugs you upstairs to one of the guest rooms, locking the door behind him.

"quinn, you okay?"

"why didn't you tell me?"

his words send a shock to your gut but you think that maybe he's talking about something else. maybe he doesn't actually know and you might just out yourself by saying the wrong thing.

"what do you mean—"

"our baby, y/n. why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

you blink at him, anger raging through your veins in an instant. he sees the change on your face but it doesn't phase him one bit, seeing as he's also engraged at the moment.

"you fucking ghosted me, quinn! do you know how long i've been thinking about telling you? how guilty i've felt about not telling you? i was planning on doing it today but you found out, how the fuck did you find out?"

"well, it wasn't too hard when you were practically shouting it to the world in the hallway downstairs!"

"god, quinn don't fucking yell at me," you grit through your teeth, glaring at him. "it wasn't easy, these past four months have been hell. i dont wanna argue, can we please just talk this out?"

"i don't want to talk, y/n. you hid this from me for so fucking long and now i'm in a committed relationship with someone else! maybe i would have tried to stay with you if i'd known we were having a goddamn family together—"

"i don't want you to be with me because of a mistake—"

"our baby is not a mistake!"

"quinn! we're not even 25 yet, yes, this baby is a mistake. it's not wrong to admit that, you know? just because it's a mistake that doesn't mean i care about it any less!"

both your chests heave as you finish screaming at each other. quinn closes his eyes and tries grounding himself as you start to feel bad about screaming at him. the room quiets down and you bite your lip, heart pounding as you realize you yelled at the man you love instead of having an important conversation about everything.

"listen, i'm sorry. you're probably under a lot of stress and i shouldn't have lashed out on you," quinn apologizes.

your heart grows in size. quinn could mess up in the worst ways possible and you'd go back to him every time. "it's okay, i shouldn't have yelled either. i wanted to have a real conversation but here we are.."

there's an elephant in the room that you both know needs to be addressed but neither of you know how to bring it up. you sigh, taking a seat on the bed and looking up at him. he walks over and takes the seat in beside you as you lean your back on the bedframe.

"i should have told you—"

"no, it's not a big deal, really.. are you showing?"

you give him a small smile. "a little, yeah. the baby's the size of an avocado."

"can i.. um," he hesitates. you know exactly what he wants but you want to hear him say it.

"can i see it? the baby— or, your stomach, i mean."

nodding, you stretch your legs out in front of you and lay down a bit, lifting up brock's hoodie and your shirt to show him your bump.

it wasn't supposed to be emotional but you can't help but tear up when quinn's eyes gleam. you can see that he's overwhelmed with feelings and it makes you think back to the day you found out you were pregnant.

"i know this is a lot. you can take your time to think about it.."

he looks up at you, eyes glossy like yours. "i want to be here for you and the baby, i know that for a fact. i'm not leaving you by yourself."

"are you sure? i've been staying with brock and you might need time to process," you tell him, reassuring that it's okay if he's not ready to commit right now.

"y/n, i'm telling you. you're not going through this alone. this is our baby and i'm here for you both, that's a promise."

"thank you."

"don't thank me.. i should be thanking you. i should have been there to help."

"it's okay. brock makes a pretty good baby daddy," you laugh and quinn smiles.

you both take in each other's prescence for a moment, quinn's eyes flickering back and forth between you and your bump.

"look.. i know you like me. that's the reason why i left in the first place," he tells you. your heart drops but you shrug it off, listening to what he's saying.

"i don't want to break your heart. i want to take care of you but i still want to be with my girlfriend."

you nod, although your heart strains against your chest. "that's alright. i totally understand that, no worries."

"you sure?"

"quinn, i can't force you to like me. maybe if i'd told you about the baby earlier we could have tried something like you said, but i didn't and that's okay. i'm happy you're happy, that's all i ever want."

"thank you."

"you're welcome. but, there's also one other thing i want."

"what is it?"

"a chicken quesadilla from taco bell with extra cheese, and cinnabon delights."

"oh—"

"can you get it for me?"

"why do i need to get it for you?"

"hello, quintin! i'm pregnant with your child, did you already forget?" you ask in disbelief and his eyes widen.