“Oh, you heard me.” Bella turned and threw herself onto Leon’s bed, more tears running down her cheek. “I’m pregnant. And the best part: Lain might not be the father.”

                Everything went silent; the only thing that could be heard were the crickets chirping outside and the sobs coming from the girl on Leon’s bed.  She was pregnant. Pregnant. Leon’s mind shook as the word bounced around like a wound up spring, creating a ringing noise louder than anything he had ever heard. Pregnant. Leon couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. It was as if the world was ripped away from him, leaving only black. Bella was pregnant. Leon felt weak. Bella was pregnant, and there was a possibility that Lain might not be the father.

 “Well, can’t you just abort it?” Leon spat, his mind still unable to filter the simplest of thoughts.

                 “Of course, not,” Bella sobbed. “Lain would notice right away if that kind of money were to suddenly go missing. And you probably can’t pay for it since you’re still trying to get the money back that you lost buying this lot.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. As Leon pieced his thoughts together, a feeling of guilt grew inside of him as the silence grew in the room. “I know Lain and I had been fighting, but this isn’t the kind of revenge I wanted.”

                “Well, what if,” Leon paused, “what if it’s his baby?” He felt better when he saw Bella’s head tilt up. “You’re probably ten weeks along, right? We could go to the hospital tonight and easily get a paternity test with just the two of us. It shouldn’t be that expensive, and, even if it’s not much, there’s still some hope in it.”

                After a long pause, Bella sniffed. “Alright.” She sounded much more confident now. “Let’s go.”

                The two departed for the hospital not long after their conversation, but even after the two left the hospital there was still a sense of unease. Leon couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the baby was his. He had hoped more than anything that he could be with Bella one day, but not because of a child born out of wedlock. If that unborn child did happen to be his would Bella even decide to leave Lain and raise the baby with Leon, a man she barely even knew? And what if she decided to go to her grave stating that the probably blonde haired child was fathered by Lain. With these questions and many more buzzing around in Leon’s head, he didn’t know what he would do to keep his sanity over the days before the results were in. He didn’t even know what he wanted the results of the test of this whole event to be. But until the results were in, Leon figured he might as well spend some more time with the soon-to-be mother.

                For the two weeks following the night Leon and Bella went to the hospital, the two began spending more time together than Leon had ever thought possible. They learned more about each other than a married couple would in years. And for those two short weeks, Leon could tell that Bella actually felt happy. And, slowly but surely, Leon fell in love.

                “The test results are going to be here any day now,” Bella said, burying her face in Leon’s jacket.

                Leon smiled. “I know,” he said, “it’s hard to believe it’s that time.”

                Bella laughed. “Finally, I can get a solid confirmation that Lain is the father and just put this whole thing behind me.” She smiled. Leon forced a laugh, but he knew it sounded sarcastic.  “What?” she asked curiously. Leon shrugged. It went without saying that they both knew now that Leon wanted to be the father of that child, even if Bella didn’t know exactly who she wanted to be with. Her life with Lain so far had been everything a girl dreamed of. Lain was smart, and that meant that he made money. If Bella really wanted it, she could’ve had it. When she was with Leon, though, she felt like she already had the world. She knew Leon, and Leon knew her, and that was everything compared to the emotionless relationship she had with Lain. Lain hadn’t even noticed that Bella started wearing maternity clothes. It would take a signal in the sky for Lain to notice that his wife was pregnant.

                Suddenly, Bella sat up. “What is it?” Leon asked as she began fixing her hair. She climbed off of the bed.

                “I think I heard the door click.” She said. “Lain’s probably home.” Leon sat up and slid off of the bed. As he fixed the sheets, he watched Bella run into the bathroom to check herself and run back. Leon checked his jacked to make sure there were no hairs or any makeup left behind. When he and Bella made eye contact, he couldn’t help but laugh. The two met in front of the door leading to the main part of the house, they kissed, and Leon reached for the handle.

                As the two stepped out, Leon noticed something was wrong. Lain was holding a large, grey folder in his hand, and he was reading it intensely. The smiles faded from both Leon and Bella’s faces as the files fell to the ground. Leon looked up, his icy blue eyes were on fire.

                “What’s wrong?” Bella asked worriedly, stepping out from behind Leon.

                “Oh, nothing much,” Lain was fuming. “I just found out that you were pregnant.”

                Leon’s eyes widened in horror, as did Bella’s. “Oh God,” she whispered, falling back against the wall. Leon felt his heart beating in his throat. “How did you find out?” she asked, breathing heavily. Lain turned his hateful gaze upon Leon.

                “Oh, just a normal day at the hospital when someone I work with hands me a file and tells me it’s the results from the paternity test you took a few weeks ago. Curious, of course, I took a look inside. Turns out my wife is pregnant and the father is this guy.” Leon gasped, and tears began streaming down Bella’s cheeks. Leon had no idea how he wanted things to play out, or how he wanted to find out he was the father but this wasn’t it. Taking a sledgehammer to his best friend’s marriage wasn’t the way this was supposed to happen. Lain removed his resentful, icy eyes from Leon and placed them upon Bella. She let out a loud gasp among her tears when he did.

                “Why didn’t you tell me?” Lain said. His icy blue eyes began to melt as tears trickled down his face. “I loved you. You are-“ he sniffed. “You were my everything. I loved you and you threw me out like yesterday’s newspaper. We met in high school! You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, damn it, and you threw me away!” Bella’s moans echoed through the house. Lain wiped his face with his sleeves. He sniffed. “I loved you and you didn’t tell me. You . . .  you . . . you.” Lain’s cold gaze returned to Leon. Leon watched, not knowing what to do as Lain’s breaths grew louder and louder. Suddenly Lain let out a cry of rage as he clenched his fist and ran toward Leon.

                Everything went white. Leon felt his head hit the door. The only thing that Leon heard was Bella yelling:

                “Lain!!”

              Leon and Bella stood in the living room locking lips, barely taking enough time to come up for air for what seemed like hours. After what was, in reality, only about five minutes, Bella finally let go of Leon and took a step back. The two stood there in awkward silence until finally, Leon walked over to the door. “I should go.” He said. Bella nodded, wiping her lips. Leon pushed the door open and took a breath of the morning air. He departed from the Blair home without even looking back.

                As the weeks tip toed by, Leon worked until he was finally promoted to Rookie. Even with people buying front row seats to watch Leon play alongside his Sunset Valley teammates, he didn’t feel any satisfaction in it because of the front row ticket he’d bought right by the phone. Somehow, Leon knew Bella wouldn’t call him, but he didn’t want to give up hope. A lengthy two months passed and Leon couldn’t help but think something had happened to her. He waited for the call, but, sadly, it never came.

                Finally, Leon awoke one day eager for a change. With it being his day off, Leon decided to renovate his belongings into something of a home.

                Leon took a step back outside and marveled at his new and improved home. He had always been a fan of red brick, and his house had lots of it. With a bay window over the stove and counters, the cottage consisted of a small room with a bed, kitchen area, and a small bathroom tucked behind everything else. Leon was proud of what he had done.

                Opening the door and stepping inside, Leon heard the jingle of his phone coming from the counters. Running over to pick up his phone, Leon flipped it open and put it up to his ears. “Hello?”

                “Hey.” Leon almost dropped his phone in shock. “Can I come over?” Bella said, almost distraughtly.

                “Yeah.” Leon said. The phone clicked.

                When Leon opened the door, Bella immediately ran inside, explaining how she couldn’t be too cautious. After taking off her jacket and throwing it on the counter, Bella and Leon sat on the edge of the bed. They talked about everything- their jobs, their adventures in Sunset, themselves. Finally, Bella asked if she could stay the night, calling Lain and telling him she was going to work an extra shift. “I’m sorry I didn’t call for two months.” She said.

                “Yeah,” Leon said, “what’s up with that?”

                Bella began unbuttoning her sweater, throwing it onto the floor once it was off. “Well, in all honesty, I thought that night we kissed was a mistake.” Bella looked to the floor in shame. “It was just- Lain and I have been fighting a lot recently. It just got to be too much so I went with the first person available.”

                Leon frowned. “Oh?”

                “I’m sorry. I just,” she paused. “I just didn’t know what I wanted two months ago.” Bella stepped in front of Leon, who was still sitting on the bed. She bent over, kissing him passionately, only to push him backward onto the bed afterward. “But I’ve had time to think- and I missed you. And I think now I know what I want.”

                “What do you want?” Leon said with a smile, taking off his jacket.

                “I don’t know.” Bella grinned and unzipped her dress, throwing it down to hit the floor by Leon’s pants. Bella crawled onto the bed and embraced Leon, kissing him more and more passionately. Slowly, the two rolled until Leon was sitting over Bella, the two locking lips. Bella gently pushed Leon up. The two looked each other in the eyes. “Let’s go all the way,” Bella whispered.

                “She is so weird!” Pauline yelled, swallowing down her burger.

                Leon laughed. “Don’t say that,” he said playfully.

                “No really!” Pauline said loudly. “After all the time I’ve lived next door to that girl, I’ve known her to be evil- but never like this!” She lowered her voice. “Cheating on her husband and then keeping her secret love affair waiting for two months only to come to his house, spend the night, and then leave him waiting for two more months!”

                “Remember, you can’t tell anyone about that!” Leon whispered.

                “Yeah, yeah- I know. But cheating! She must really like you for only have known you for five minutes.”

                Leon grinned. He felt like a kid in grade school in love. “You think?”

                “Definitely!” Pauline took the opportunity to leave and pay the bill for their food.

                Leon sat and stared at the table in thought. He was glad he’d called Pauline. He needed a shoulder to cry on, and, with Lain being his only other friend in Sunset Valley, Pauline was the obvious choice. But would he regret telling her so much in future? Sure, he and Pauline were close since the night they shared a few months back, but he didn’t know he well enough to know if she could be trusted. Leon looked up as he saw Pauline walking back toward their table. He scooted out of the booth, and the two made their way outside.


               “Thank you for the meal,” Leon said with a small grin. Pauline smiled. “Also, I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. I like Bella. And I just want-“

                “-to be friends? I know- I figured.” Pauline laughed. “I mean, I have a boyfriend anyway.”

                Leon raised his eye brows. “Oh yeah- Hank something right?”

                Pauline sighed. “No. Hank and I have been on and off for a while now.” She smiled, looking back to Leon. “Anyway, some advice I’d give to you since it’s been two months since your one-night-stand: A) Call her! Or B) Do something to take your mind off of her.” Leon nodded and thanked Pauline. The two said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

                Leon knew she was right. He had to talk to her and find out what was wrong. He knew all about taking a small break from talking to someone, but two months in between visits was insane! The moment he got home, Leon took out his phone and called Bella.

                There was an answer almost immediately. “Hello?” Leon said anxiously.

                “Yes?” Bella finally said after a long pause. She sounded distraught.

                “Can you come over? We need to talk.”

                “You’re right- we do. I’ll be at your place soon.”

                About a half an hour after Leon hung up the phone, there was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Leon yelled from the bathroom, as he put on his clothes and fixed his hair from a quick shower. He heard the door open and close, and as he put on his jacket he heard a sniff. Leon turned his head, hearing Bella sobbing softly from the other room. Leon stepped out of the bathroom and stopped, standing by the side of the bed opposite Bella. “What’s wrong?” Leon said urgently.

                Bella sniffed. “I’m pregnant.”

                As the days passed and Leon worked, Leon eventually stumbled upon a promotion, making him a Snack Hawker. With his newfound cash, Leon put his wallet to use by buying a new stove and replacing his sleeping bag with a new, comfortable bed. “That’s better,” he said as he finished creasing the sheet on his bed.

                “Hey, there!” Leon looked up. A post man was standing on the edge of his lawn, carrying a small package under his arm. “Leon Astro, I take it? This is the last of your things from Bridgeport.” Leon smiled and ran over to the man, signing for the package. He walked over and set it on the grass, tearing it open. Sitting inside was one thing: a high school diploma from Public School 67 in Bridgeport. Leon smiled and proceeded to take it out and hang it on the wall above his first kitchen counter.

He took a step back in marvel at what he had accomplished so far on his own in Sunset Valley. In Bridgeport, his parents had helped him pay for everything that he had- they even helped him when he first started renting his own apartment. It felt nice to know that he actually owned something and that he earned it all himself. Even if it wasn’t much, it definitely was a start.

After a quick shower, Leon called a taxi to take him to the park. He wanted to see Bella again, and he knew that he’d have a good chance meeting her at one of the two places he’d previously seen her. So, it wasn’t to his dismay that when he arrived at the park he spotted his red-headed heartthrob.

“Bella!” Leon said as he ran over to her enthusiastically. His heart leaped forward, skipping a good four or five beats when she turned around. “I figured that was you!”

“Are you stalking me?” she said with a grin. “You see me at the gym and once here, and then we coincidentally meet me at the park again? Sketchy.”

“How are you?” Leon asked. “You’re still looking beautiful.”

“No,” Bella said, half joking. “Stop it.”

Leon grinned. “No, I mean it-“

“Stop.” Bella pursed her lips and sighed. “I can already tell where this is going and I can’t do this. I’m married.”

“And?” Leon’s smile slowly disappeared.

Bella looked to the ground in thought as if she was trying to find the words to say next. “I need to go,” she said after a while. She turned and began to walk away. Leon stepped forward, grabbing her wrist gently.

“Can I at least have your number?” he asked when her eyes met his. She bit her lip.

“555-7399.” She said, yanking her hand from Leon’s grasp. She turned and walked away hurriedly, leaving Leon with only her number and his thoughts.

Leon took out his phone and put in Bella’s number. He then scrolled to the only other contact he had of a person who lived in Sunset Valley. He pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear. “Heeeeyyyy Lain! Are you free?”

The two met up at The Grind, a dance club in the basin of two hills with The Plasma 501. They talked, they laughed, and they partied until Leon decided he needed something more to take his mind off of things.

Leon scoped out the most attractive person in the club, and that turned out to be Pauline Wan. The two danced until the club closed, and then left for more fun. Just as the sun rose above the horizon, Leon could barely get himself to remove his lips from Pauline’s as they kissed in the dining room of her moderate sized home. The two stumbled up the stairs, lips locked, and into the bedroom. Their clothes hit the floor, and the two enjoyed their quiet morning.

Leon’s phone shook as it buzzed under his pillow, waking him from his midday slumber. Picking up the phone, Leon was promptly greeted with a loud hello from Lain asking how his morning had been. “Fine,” Leon replied, “I just rode with Pauline home and then went back to my place alone.”

“Well that’s lame,” Lain joked. “If I would’ve left with her, I would’ve tried to ‘spend the night’- you know- get to know her.” Wasn’t he supposed to be married?

“I get you. I guess I’m just not that kind of person.” Leon laughed, crawling out of bed and over to his sink.

Lain chuckled. “So, I’m having a party tonight at my house tonight and you’re going to be there.”

Leon covered his toothbrush in mint toothpaste and began brushing away. “Are you inviting me or commanding me?” Leon spat into the sink. Lain laughed and then hung up the phone. “Well that’s one way to treat people.”

Leon stripped and hopped into the shower. It wasn’t until the hot water hit him though that he realized something. First being that his shower was glass, meaning that if one really wanted to they could just look right in. The second of which being that Lain and Bella were married, meaning that they lived together. Leon grinned and began shouting in excitement. He would get to see Bella again.

The party was a blast but short lived at best. With it only being Thursday, people were running out of the party as if a disease were spreading wildly. Around midnight, the party died out leaving only Bella, Lain, and Leon together in the living room. The three joked for hours, that was until Lain said he wanted to make a quick run to the store to get a few ingredients for something he wanted to whip up for breakfast leaving Leon and Bella together on the couch in silence.

“So,” Leon said to break the silence, “how are . . . things?”

“Things are fine.” Bella said blankly. “You look nice tonight.”

Leon looked at Bella in disbelief. This was the first time she had ever complimented him. “You too?” The two began a steady conversation that eventually turned into pure flirt. Leon complimented Bella; she complimented him. Leon made witty, flirty jokes; she made a few back at him. That was until Bella came to her senses.

“What are we doing?” she said almost to herself.

“I should go.” Leon got up and headed for the door in an awkward guilt. Bella got up and grabbed is wrist, the same as he did hers in the park the previous day.

“Wait,” she said. As sunlight began streaming through the windows, Leon turned and looked her in the eyes. He couldn’t stop himself. Bella’s face was full of vulnerability and want. She pursed her lips provocatively. Leon turned and slowly put his arms around her waist. She eased her arms around his neck, and their lips touched. Leon’s hands slowly travelled along the arch of her back towards her shoulders, and her arms slowly travelled down from his neck. Leon took his lips from hers, enjoying their sweetness. He put his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed as their hands continued to explore the other person passionately. “Lain,” Bella whispered in a quiet anxiety.

“He won’t know,” Leon said. “You have my word.” He kissed her again.

                Leon awoke the next morning feeling homesick. He much preferred the sounds of a busy city to the crashing of distant waves on the shore. He climbed out of his sleeping bag, rolling it up. As Leon began to brush his teeth, he walked over to the fridge. Putting his hand on the door, he paused before opening it up. He stared blankly not really sure of what to think of the now empty space between his fridge and kitchen counter. Finally, it sunk in. Leon’s arms dropped to his side. Someone had stolen his stove.

                After a quick bowl of cereal, Leon used what he had left of his money to buy himself something essential to any training athlete: a brand new stereo to work out to. After a quick workout, it was soon time for his first day of work. Unfortunately, the hours at work crawled by slowly; making everything Leon did seem completely pointless. He knew he had to work harder to get a promotion.

Soon enough, the clock struck 9, and Leon was released with barely any money to show off his hard work. Rubbing his neck, Leon looked over Sunset Valley from the front of the stadium. He needed fun- and he needed it now. He hailed a taxi and climbed into the backseat.

“Where to?” the driver asked. Leon sighed and scratched his head.

“How about . . . a gym?” Leon said finally. The driver nodded and the car slowly began to inch forward. If Leon was going to have any fun in this new town he first was going to need to get some friends.

As the taxi slowed to a halt in front of a foreign building Leon gave his money to the driver. He climbed out of the taxi and began walking towards what he assumed to be the front doors, looking the building up and down.  Leon stopped in front of the doors, looking through the glass at the ugly teal walls. Leon smiled optimistically.

“And now to socialize,” he stopped, taking a deep breath. The door of the gym swung open, and a slim figure strolled past him angrily.

Time stopped, and so did Leon’s thoughts. Leaving the gym was a girl unlike anyone Leon had ever seen before. Her bobbed, shoulder-length, auburn hair glistened in the glow of the moonlight. Her breathtaking dark mahogany eyes shimmered with spunk. There was something about her that Leon found breath taking, and when he turned around to talk to her she was nowhere to be found. He knew he had to find her somehow, no matter how long it took. And when he did he had to have her. She looked as though she as everything he had dreamed of- the being of his imagination- and he had no idea why. Leon sighed and turned back toward the gym. No use in trying to find her when it was already close to 11 o’clock at night.

He opened the door to the gym and waltzed in. Looking around, he spotted one person: an angry-looking man with messy spiked brown hair who was wearing a lab coat. Leon shrugged and walked over to the man.

“Excuse me,” Leon said, “I’m new here and I wondered if you could help me out?”

The man raised his eyebrow at Leon and rolled his eyes. “Well it’s probably just like any other gym, I’d assume.” He muttered sarcastically.

Leon forced a laugh to try and hide the scowl that immediately came to his face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Leon looked at the man and extended his hand with a smile practically attached to it. “Leon.”

“Lain.” The man said skeptically. “Lain Blair.” Lain reached out and shook Leon’s stiff hand.

“Where are you from?” Leon asked, trying even more to break the ice.

“I was born and raised here, Sunset.” Lain began. “Actually, all of my family resided after my great-great grandfather moved out here to be an inventor. You might see him around sometime if he comes to visit- he’s about my age. He’s a vampire, you see. All of my family, including my Vamp Grandpa, moved to Appaloosa about a month ago, though.” Leon smiled and nodded, wondering why such a simple question was answered with an anecdote of the Blair Family History. “What about you?” Lain asked.

                “I’m from Bridgeport.” Leon replied. Lain nodded, smiling a bit.

                “That’s cool.” The room became silent, and the silence soon became awkward. Lain just stood there staring at Leon with a half smile, waiting for him to ask another question.

                Leon’s anger was really starting to get to him. “I moved here to become a professional athlete, actually.” Leon forced a smiled. “What about you? Tell me about yourself Lain.” Lain smiled as if he thought Leon would’ve never asked. The two began talking into the night, Lain especially. Before Leon knew it, it was close to 2:00 a.m. and he hadn’t even touched the exercise equipment. After a while, Leon dismissed himself from the conversation and finally got around to working out, pocketing a single new friend.

                The next morning, Leon awoke home feeling as if he hadn’t rested at all. After a long night, he was exhausted. But he dragged himself into work barely on time only to leave later that night with no more than a few extra dollars in his wallet. Feeling adventurous, Leon decided to take a cab into town to explore during the night.

                First stop: City Park. Leon really wanted to see if there were any good places to really lie down and watch the late night stars without distractions.

 As Leon took his first steps into the park, he couldn’t help but notice someone who still managed to take his breath away. Leon made a beeline to the girl he had seen at the gym, walking as slow as he could before his excitement had completely filled his body. “Hey,” Leon said as he took his final steps, “I’m sorry but I have to know your name. You’re just way to beautiful.”

The girl laughed and then looked at Leon, slightly smirking. “Cool story, bro.” she said with a seductively mocking grin.

“Aw, c’mon,” Leon said taking a step in to get closer to her. The girl took a step back, raising an eyebrow at him.

“If you must know, it’s Bella.” She said.

“Well, Bella, I’m Leon.” Leon smiled at her.

Bella laughed again. “Sorry.” She said, holding up her right hand. “I’m married.” She smirked at Leon, lighting a fire of rage inside of him. He bit his tongue.

“To who, might I ask?” Leon bit his lip.

Bella turned away from him and looked back, “Lain Blair. Maybe you know him?” She turned her head, walking over to a nearby picnic table and sitting down. Leon followed, sitting down next to her. Suddenly she stood up, looking at Leon with her eyebrows raised in annoyance. “I’ve got to go.” She said, running off without another word. Leon stood up, wondering where she had gone.  He bit his tongue and hailed a taxi home.