Three days.
Three days of nothing.
Asher stared at his phone for the hundredth time that morning, willing a notification to appear. Any notification. Even just Kael viewing his messages would be something.
But there was nothing.
ASHER (Saturday 11pm): Hey, are you okay? I'm worried about you
ASHER (Sunday 9am): Good morning! Want to grab coffee later?
ASHER (Sunday 3pm): Did I do something wrong? Please talk to me
ASHER (Sunday 8pm): Kael, you're scaring me. At least let me know you're alive?
ASHER (Monday 7am): I'll see you at school today, right?
All delivered. None read.
Monday morning, Asher got to school early and went straight to Kael's locker. His heart raced with a mixture of anxiety and hope. Maybe Kael's phone was broken. Maybe there was a family emergency.
But when Kael finally appeared, flanked by Jax and River, he looked right through Asher like he was invisible.
"Kael!" Asher called out, relief flooding through him. "I've been trying to reach you—"
Kael grabbed books from his locker without acknowledging him.
"Kael? Can we talk?"
Nothing. It was like Asher wasn't even there.
Jax smirked. "I think he's busy, Quinn. Maybe find someone else to bother?"
"I just need two minutes—"
"He said he's busy." River stepped between them, blocking Asher's view of Kael. "Take a hint."
Asher's chest constricted. "Kael, please. What's going on? What did I do?"
"Nothing," Kael said, his voice flat. "You didn't do anything. We're done. That's all."
"Done? What do you mean done? We were fine on Saturday before—" Asher's voice cracked. "Did I do something wrong? Was I not good enough?"
Kael's jaw clenched, but he still wouldn't look directly at him. "It was a mistake. All of it. Just... leave me alone."
He walked away without a backward glance, Jax and River following like loyal guard dogs.
Asher stood frozen in the hallway, aware that people were staring. Phones were out. Whispers started.
"Did Kael Everhart just dump the nerd?"
"In the hallway? Brutal."
"I knew that wouldn't last."
Elliot appeared at his side, his expression murderous. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
"I have class—"
"Fuck class. You need to not be here right now."
Elliot pulled him to the parking lot, and Asher went numbly, his brain refusing to process what had just happened.
In Elliot's car.
I don't understand," Asher sobbed. "Everything was fine. We were happy. We said we were falling for each other. And then we—we—"
"Oh, Ash." Elliot pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry."
"He won't even look at me. He acted like I don't exist. Like I never existed."
"Because he's a coward and an asshole."
"But why? What changed? Was I that bad? Did I do it wrong?"
"No! Listen to me—this isn't about you. This is about him being a terrible person."
"You don't know that—"
"I do know that! Decent people don't do this. They don't make you fall for them, sleep with you, and then ghost you completely. That's sociopath behavior!"
Asher pulled away, wiping his eyes. "Maybe he just needs time. Maybe I'm being too clingy—"
"Asher, no. Don't do this. Don't make excuses for him."
"But I love him." The words came out broken. "I love him and I gave him everything and I don't understand what I did wrong."
Elliot's expression softened with pity. "You didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes people are just cruel. And Kael Everhart is showing you exactly who he is—believe him."
But Asher couldn't. Wouldn't. Because the Kael who had held his hand at the art gallery, who had listened to him ramble about books for hours, who had looked at him like he was precious—that Kael was real.
Wasn't he?
The week that followed was torture.
Kael avoided Asher completely. He changed his schedule to dodge him in the hallways. Sat on the opposite side of every shared classroom. Left immediately when classes ended.
When Asher tried to approach him at lunch, Jax physically blocked his path.
"He doesn't want to talk to you, Quinn. Get a clue."
"I just need to understand—"
"Understand what? That you were a fun distraction and now he's bored? It's not that complicated."
Asher stopped trying after that. Stopped texting. Stopped calling. Stopped hoping for explanations.
He moved through school like a ghost, ignoring the stares and whispers. Someone had started a rumor that Asher had been "awful in bed" and that's why Kael dumped him. The story spread like wildfire.
Every day was humiliation. Every class where he had to see Kael—vibrant and laughing with his friends like nothing had happened—was agony.
"You should transfer," Elliot said one afternoon, two weeks after the breakup. "My cousin goes to Westbrook Academy. It's a good school. You could get a fresh start."
"Maybe," Asher said listlessly.
But he didn't have the energy to even consider it. He barely had the energy to get out of bed.
His parents noticed, of course.
"Sweetheart, you've barely eaten in days," his fer father said gently. "What's going on?"
"Just stressed about college applications."
"This isn't about school. This is about that boy, isn't it? Kael?"
Asher's silence was answer enough.
"Did he hurt you?" his mer dad asked, his voice taking on that protective edge.
"No. I mean,We just... broke up."
"Then why do you look like someone died?"
Because something did die. The version of himself that believed he could be loved by someone like Kael. The naive boy who thought genuine connection mattered more than social status.
"I'm fine," Asher lied. "I just need time."
His parents exchanged worried glances but didn't push.
Three weeks after the breakup, Asher started feeling sick.
At first, he attributed it to stress and heartbreak. Not eating properly. Not sleeping. His body was just reacting to emotional trauma.
But then the nausea got worse. He couldn't keep food down. The smell of coffee—which he used to love—made him want to vomit. He felt dizzy constantly, exhausted no matter how much he slept.
"You look terrible," Elliot observed one morning. "Like, actually terrible. Are you sick?"
"I think it's just stress."
"Stress doesn't make you throw up every morning for a week."
"It's fine. I'll be fine."
But he wasn't fine.
One morning, three and a half weeks after that awful night with Kael, Asher threw up so violently he couldn't make it to school. His fer father found him curled up on the bathroom floor.
"That's it. We're going to the doctor."
"I don't need a doctor—"
"You're going. No arguments."
The doctor's appointment was routine at first. Temperature, blood pressure, basic questions about symptoms.
Then the doctor asked: "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"
Asher's brain short-circuited. "What? No. I mean—I—we used protection—"
"Protection isn't always one hundred percent effective. Given your symptoms, I'd like to run a test. Just to rule it out."
"Okay," Asher heard himself say.
The test took five minutes.
Those were the longest five minutes of Asher's life.
When the doctor came back, her expression was gentle but serious.
"The test is positive. You're pregnant, Asher."
"That's... that's not possible."
"I know this is shocking. Do you have a partner we should contact? Or your parents—"
"No!" Asher's voice came out too sharp. "No, I—I need time. To process. To think."
"Of course. But you should know—based on your symptoms and the test, I'd estimate you're about three to four weeks along. You have options, and we can discuss—"
"I need to go." Asher stood up too quickly, the room spinning. "Thank you. I just—I need to go."
He stumbled out to where his fer father was waiting.
"Well? What did the doctor say?"
Asher couldn't speak .
"Sweetheart? What's wrong? What did they say?"
"I—" Asher's voice broke. "Dad, I—"
The world went dark.
Asher woke up in a hospital bed.
Both his parents were there, his fer father holding one hand, his mer dad gripping the other. Their faces were etched with worry.
"There you are," his fer father said, relief flooding his features. "You scared us half to death."
"What happened?"
"You fainted at the doctor's office. They brought you here to run more tests." His mer dad's expression was carefully neutral. "The doctors told us... about your condition."
Asher's blood ran cold. "They told you?"
"They had to, sweetheart. For your medical care." His fer father squeezed his hand gently. "You're pregnant.,"
Asher started crying. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen—"
"Shh, baby, it's okay. We're not angry." His mer dad moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "We're just worried about you. This is a lot to handle."
"Who's the father?" his fer father asked quietly. "Is it Kael? The boy you were seeing?"
Asher nodded miserably.
"Does he know?"
"No. We—he—" Asher couldn't explain the ghosting, the sudden abandonment. It hurt too much. "We're not together anymore."
"When did you break up?"
"Three weeks ago. Right after—" He couldn't finish the sentence.
His parents exchanged a loaded look.
"We need to tell him," his mer dad said firmly. "He has a right to know."
"No!" Asher's voice was sharp with panic. "Please, no. He doesn't want anything to do with me. He made that very clear."
"This changes things—"
"It doesn't! He'll think I'm trying to trap him or—or that I'm lying for attention. Please, I can't—I can't face that rejection again."
"Asher—"
"Please." Tears streamed down his face. "Please don't make me tell him. I can't. I can't do it."
His fer father looked at his mer dad, who sighed heavily.
"Okay," his mer dad said finally. "Okay. We won't force you. But sweetheart, you need to think about this carefully. This isn't just about you and him anymore. There's a baby to consider."
"I know." Asher's hand moved to his still-flat stomach. "I know."
"What do you want to do?" his fer father asked gently.
The question that had been circling his mind since the doctor's office.
What did he want?
He thought about his options. About what his life would look like with a baby at seventeen. About finishing school, about college, about all the dreams he had for his future.
But he also thought about the tiny life growing inside him.
want to keep it," Asher whispered. "The baby. I want to keep it."
His parents didn't look surprised.
"Then we'll support you," his mer dad said. "Whatever you need. We're here."
"What about school? And college? And—"
"We'll figure it out. One step at a time." His fer father kissed his forehead. "You don't have to do this alone, sweetheart. We've got you."
Asher broke down completely, sobbing in his parents' arms.
He was seventeen, heartbroken, and pregnant.
And the father of his baby wouldn't even look at him.
Meanwhile, across town, Kael was in his room, staring at his phone.
He'd been doing this every night for three weeks. Opening his messages with Asher. Reading the texts that had started hopeful and slowly devolved into desperate pleas for explanation.
ASHER: Please just talk to me
ASHER: I miss you
ASHER: I don't understand what I did wrong
ASHER: Please Kael
The last message was from a week ago. After that, Asher had stopped trying.
Kael had won his bet. Jax and River had been planning their Bali trip. Everyone at school thought Kael was a legend for "hitting and quitting" the scholarship nerd.
His reputation was intact. His friends were satisfied. The bet was won.
So why did he feel like he was dying inside?
Every time he saw Asher in the hallway—getting thinner, paler, more withdrawn—Kael wanted to run to him. To explain. To apologize. To beg for forgiveness.
But he couldn't. The lie was too big now. The hurt too deep. There was no coming back from what he'd done.
It's better this way, he told himself. He'll get over me eventually. He'll move on. He deserves better anyway.
But late at night, alone in his room, Kael would let himself imagine a different world. One where he'd never made the bet. Where he'd approached Asher honestly. Where they could have been something real.
He'd almost convinced himself it was for the best.
He had no idea that across town, Asher was carrying his child.
And soon, the carefully constructed walls of lies were going to come crashing down.
Author's Note: ASHER IS PREGNANT AND KAEL HAS NO IDEA. This is so heartbreaking 😭 Poor Asher is dealing with so much alone while Kael is drowning in guilt but too cowardly to do anything about it. Next chapter: Asher tries to move forward, and the truth about the bet is about to come out in the WORST possible way. I'm not ready for this angst but here we go! 💔 Comment your thoughts! -AzureSkies