» CHAPTER FIFTEEN «

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"It`s YOU ." Alex said , angrily .

"Yeah , it`s me . Your point ?" Amanda asked in a sassy manner .

"Girls , PLEASE don`t get mad at each other ... or me ..." Joe added . "You guys need to SETTLE this ."

"Oh , we`ll settle this RIGHT NOW ." Alex said , taking out her earrings . She assertively pushed Amanda . Without thinking , Joe said , "Alex , don`t stress yourself out over her ! It`s bad for your baby !" He quickly covered his mouth , HOPING Amanda didn`t hear , but she did ; Alex`s "secret" had now reached to Amanda . Alex looked at Joe in shock and glanced at Amanda . Amanda`s jaw was WIDE open .

"What do you mean 'the baby' , Joe ?" Amanda questioned cautiously .

"Uhm ... I mean ... her baby cousin ... because it`s a ... hippie baby ... and it doesn`t ... believe in ... violence ?" he hesitantly lied .

Alex couldn`t take it anymore . "I`m pregnant ." she finally admitted freely to Amanda .

Amanda looked bug eyed , her lime green eyes were opened so wide , they were about to rip . She then let out a loud laugh -- a little TOO loud . She started laughing so hard , she nearly cried .

"I knew you would get yourself into trouble one day !" she said , continuing to laugh . "So who`s the dad ?" she teased . Alex gave her an evil look . "Seriously , who is it ? Oh , I know ... it must be Frankie !!!" she said obnoxiously . That`s the CORNIEST 'joke' I`ve EVER heard . Joe thought to himself . Was that even meant  to be FUNNY ? Amanda continued laughing in her annoying voice until Alex finally lied and said ,

"It`s Joe ."

Amanda immediately stopped laughing ; almost as if on cue . A dead silence came over the room . Joe looked at Alex confused , but had a feeling of where she was going with this .

"JOE ?!?!?!?!" Amanda asked loudly . "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME ?! YOU PICK HER OVER ME ?!"

"Uhhh ... yeah I did ..." Joe remarked cautiously . "Wow , you must really hate me now ." he began again sarcastically .

"Yeah , I do !" Amanda started again . She began to cry .

"Well , sorry , better luck next time ..." Alex began again , rubbing her stomach softly . "That should teach YOU to stop making up rumors . LATER ." And she pushed Amanda out the room . 10 seconds later , they heard the front door slam and they`d finally gotten rid of Amanda . Joe just stood quietly for a minute .

"Wow ." he started . "I NEVER would have thought of saying that , Alex . If you never did , she probably wouldn`t have left ..."

"I know ." Alex began . She took a seat on Joe`s bed . He followed . "What rumor do you think she`s gonna start about me now ?"

"Well , I`ll take care of that ; trust me . I`ll make sure she doesn`t mess with you ." Joe reassured her , putting his arm around her shoulders . He took a look at her stomach . "I`m REALLY sorry for saying that out loud . It just ... came out of me . I had NO control over it . I promise ."

"It`s OK , Joe . She was going to find out sooner or later ." Alex told him .

"Yeah , I guess you`re right ." he added . "Well , let`s not waste any time and let me help you move your stuff downstairs , OK ?" Joe suggested . They both got up , heading down to the basement -- hand in hand .

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Aweee ... :) find out what`s next in chapter sixteen ! :D