I take the burger into my mouth, savouring the fantastic taste. I personally think my own food is the best but I would never miss out an opportunity on fast food. I know how chemical every ingredient is but you can't deny that the flavours feel almost perfect.
Carter grabs one of my fries and I have the urge to roll my eyes at him.
"I asked you if you wanted fries." I tell him bluntly, glaring at his fingers as he licks them to get the salt away.
"I just wanted like two." He shrugs as if taking someone's fries is okay. It's never okay.
"Well you won't get the second one." I stick my tongue at him and snatch my fries, placing them in my lap.
"It's rude not to share." He tells me, but I just scoff.
"It's rude to steal." I retort and he just mimicks me to himself, taking another bite of his own burger. I glare at him for a couple more seconds before returning to my meal.
"Guys." Sarah whines as she sets down the wrapper from her finished burger. She might be tiny, but she eats extremely fast and much more than some people I've met.
"Hm?" I raise an eyebrow, not taking my eyes off of my food.
"I want a smoothie but the line is so long." She nods towards the gigantic line in front of the pult. It wasn't this long when we arrived but seeing as it's lunch time, people have gathered enough to create a queue all the way to the end of the restaurant. And the noise of all the kids asking their parents what the big poster says is becoming louder every second.
"Babe." She glances at Carter but he shakes his head immediately.
"Nah, sweetie, I'm eating. Can you wait just three more minutes?" He waves his burger around and I have to sustain myself from glaring at him again.
"I'll go get it for you." I move to stand up but Sarah grabs my hand instantly.
"No." She stops me and pulls me so I sit back down. I raise a confused eyebrow and she tries to communicate with her eyes. I just furrow my eyebrows and sulk down in my seat, utterly dumbfounded.
"Carter, be a man." She tells him and he rolls his light eyes.
"Fine." He squishes the wrappers between his hands and dramatically throws them on the table before standing up. "The things I do for you, woman."
He walks away while shaking his head and stands at the end of the never ending line. He places his hands in his pockets and I have to fight the urge to laugh at how awkward and lost he looks. I glance at his phone on the small table and realise he's about to be bored to the core.
"I think I'm pregnant."
The fry I had just placed in my mouth comes spilling out and I scramble to cover it with napkins, not wanting people to gag at what's in front of me. My eyes quickly find Sarah's and I can see the uneasiness surrounding her as she bites on her nail, studying my reaction.
"Pregnant?" I ask, just to make sure I heard her correctly.
Her foot is tapping against the hard floor and she leans in, sighing heavily. She nods and searches my face for something.
"There's a difference between I think and I know." I say, honestly unsure of what I should be telling her. I'm not good at stressful situations and this seems like one.
"I know." She confirms. "I'm a month late."
"Did you take the test?" I ask and she shakes her head.
"I'm afraid. Hailey already told me I should do it but I just can't." She mumbles, her gaze suddenly transferring to the boy standing in the long line, examining the posters around him.
"I love him, Kat, I really do." She says, her tone becoming more quiet and secretive, as if she thinks he can hear us. "But neither of us is capable of being a parent."
I can hear the sadness in her voice and see it in her eyes as she looks back at me. I'm trying to figure her out but it's hard, since she's obviously trying not to show too much.
"Sarah, hey." I take her hands on the table, giving her comfort. "Look, the first thing you should do is take the test. I'll buy it for you and Hailey, Jess and I will be there when you see the results. No matter what they are, that should be the first step. We take it from there and figure it out."
She looks at me for a couple of moments before nodding slowly and I smile to myself.
"My dad." She mutters, looking down at the leftovers of our food, picking up the straw she previously used. "And my mom as well. They're very strict and you know, it's not that kind of strict where you can't go out or you have to be home by 11. They're like really strict, borderline obsessive over me. Since I'm the last child I guess they just didn't let me do stuff that they allowed my sisters and I've grown up basically being forbidden from anything that I wanted. This trip is the only time when I can have my freedom and I had to beg for years for them to let me go on this trip. I'm actually the last one from our group to come here because for almost two years I had to prove it to my parents that I am old enough and smart enough to go. When I told them about Carter they freaked out."
She stops for a second and looks over her shoulder, shuddering at her own words before looking back at me.
"They banned me from coming here and I actually had to drag in one of my sisters to stand up for me because I just couldn't do all of that on my own. Eventually they allowed me to go back but they told me that if I'm with Carter again, they will not tolerate me or any of my actions." Her face falls as she continues her story.
"Even though I was raised in such an environment I still care about their opinion and it matters to me that they approve of him because I love him so much." I notice her eyes watering and I lean over the desk to wipe her tears away. She shakes her head and forces a weak smile.
"I'm sorry." She mumbles. "I'm- I'm talking too much. I'm just under stress and I know I look like I'm keeping my cool but inside I am freaking boiling."
I give her my best smile before I squeeze her hands again. It must be hard for her being in the middle of a war between her own parents, who she clearly loves a lot, and her boyfriend who is her soulmate. I actually don't mind her speaking about her problems at all. Sometimes it's a refreshment knowing that you're not the only one suffering and that other people have turbulent lives as well.
"Sarah, it's alright. You don't have to apologize. I'm actually really glad you trust me enough to tell me all those things and I admire you so much for not holding that way of parenting over your parents because I know a lot of children who are on bad terms with their parents because they were strict to them and didn't give them enough freedom. And about Carter." I say and look over to where Carter is just paying for Sarah's smoothie, the pink liquid already in his hand. "Trust me, one day they will understand but clearly they need more time and if you are willing to give it to them they'll be willing to approve your relationship because I know for a fact Carter is not a bad person and he treats you well and they will see that, one day."
Sarah's own smile widens and I can't help the joy growing inside of me. I wink at her just before the tall boy plops down in his chair, placing the what I assume is a strawberry smoothie in front of his girlfriend.
"With extra strawberries." He mentiones, confirming my assumption.
"You can do that?" Sarah's eyes gleam at him.
"Nope, but I asked them to." Carter says with a smirk and taps the plastic bottle as Sarah shows a delighted expression, immediately taking a sip of the drink.
"Are we ready to go then? You got everything you need?" He places his hands on the sides of his chair and looks between Sarah and I with a quiestioning glance.
"I think so." I nod and my friend does the same thing, already picking up her purse. Carter nods and stands up, taking the trays and placing them in the tall metal rack.
"Oh, I forgot." I smack my head and stop in my tracks. "I have to get tampons. You guys go and I'll catch up with you."
Carter rolls his eyes and snickers a little bit but nevertheless, grabs Sarah's hand and starts walking towards the exit. She only gives me a thankful smile before following after him. I rush to the store on my right and stroll through the aisles, searching for a pregnancy test. As I spot the small package, I take it in my hands. Fast & Accurate, it reads. I shrug and walk over to the cashier. The redhead lady with a blue name tag and a name I certainly cannot pronounce takes my money and chucks the box in a plastic bag.
I walk outside with the pregnancy test hidden in my backpack and immediately spot the loved up couple laughing next to Carter's car. As they look over to me I notice Sarah trying hard to muffle her laughs.
"Hey, Kat!" Carter calls over to me before I even approach them. "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
I furrow my brows and stand in front of them.
"To get to the other -"
Carter shakes his head before I can even reply, his lips pressed in a tight line as he's clearly suppressing his own laughs as well.
"What? Why?" I ask dumbfounded. I was never a fan of jokes mostly because I take too long to understand them.
"I don't know. Ask her." He shrugs then points to the end of the parking lot.
No joke here while a small boy with a chicken shaped balloon is undoubtedly crossing the road. I hear Sarah's giggles and let out one myself.
"Okay." I pull a smug look and try a step in that direction but both Carter and Sarah grab my hand and pull me back.
"Let's embarrass ourselves some other day." Carter says through his chuckles and I react the same, walking around the car and into the backseat.