Mixed Emotions

[Aethie White]

Aethie strolled aimlessly along the path, keeping her eyes peeled for signs of Jaden. She'd owled Jaden a few days ago, asking if they could meet up to talk, and having received the affirmative, had suggested they meet here, a little park in central London, not too far from Diagon Alley. She'd chosen it partly because she loved the flowerbeds, and partly because it was very rarely busy, meaning she wouldn't have to worry about five hundred Muggles overhearing their conversation.

She pushed up her sleeve to check her watch; it was bang-on eleven; Jaden should be here anytime. But then again, since when had Jaden ever been on time for anything? Aethie took a seat on a park bench overlooking a small duck pond and allowed her mind to wander.

How strange that she should be sitting here waiting for Jaden, of all people. Only a few months ago, the two had hated each other's guts. But after a rather strange scene in Madame Malkins, they had sort of become...friends. Granted, they were hardly best friends of any sort, but Aethie had never really had a close girl friend. And she needed to talk to someone about what was going on.

She sighed deeply, and stood up again, heading slowly up the path as it curved around the duck pond. Her stomach tended to loosen its knots a bit when she was moving.

[Jaden Aerins]

Jaden was in a frenzy. Having woken up later than planned, she threw her hair into a messy bun on top of her head and pulled a bejeweled red tank top over the top of her short white denim shorts. After stepping into some red flip flops she checked herself in the mirror before closing rushing out the front door of her new apartment in London. She stepped out onto the busy London street and looked for a quick opening before jumping into her usual alley and apparating to the meeting place.

The sudden 'pop' that announced her arrival to the near empty park made a duck jump and fly away from the pond it had called home. She sighed and shook her head falling back onto a bench and looking at the clear blue sky. Letting out a deep breathe she stood up and ran her fingers through a lock of hair that hadn't made it into her messy bun. She started up the winding path back toward the main part of the park wondering where Aethie could be and what she wanted to talk about.

[Aethie White]

The sudden flight of a duck caught Aethie's eye, and she spotted Jaden on the other side of the pond, clearly having just Apparated there. "Jaden, over here!" she called, waving at the dark-haired girl and walking towards her.

"Hi," she said breathlessly, once she'd gotten close enough to Jaden to talk without yelling. "Thanks for coming on such short notice, I know it's still a little weird between us but I just..." she glanced up at the sky, blinking back the sudden tears that filled her blue eyes. "I don't have anyone else to talk to about this," she finished, her voice breaking a little. She sniffled slightly, embarrassed at her own patheticness, and sank onto a bench, wiping her eyes with her thin silk scarf.

[Jaden Aerins]

This time three months ago Jaden would have laughed at her ex-rival's obvious dilemma. She would not have given sniffling girl a second glance and would probably have told her to suck it up and played it off as one of Aethie's weaknesses. But now was different. Only slightly, but different nonetheless. A stab of pain and sympathy for Aethie went through Jaden's heart as she smoothly took a seat next to her.

"Well you called the right girl, tell me what's wrong?" Jaden placed a hand on Aethie's shoulder in what was supposed to be a comforting manner, "I'll help in whatever way I can." A caring smile graced Jaden's lips.

[Aethie White]

Aethie took a deep breath, and opened her mouth; but the words wouldn't come. She took several more deep breaths. "God, there's just no good way to say this, is there?" she said with a bitter laugh. It seemed so strange that she was here, telling Jaden of all people, this secret...but like she'd said, there wasn't really anyone else for her to talk to. Well, except Padril. But somehow Aethie didn't want to be having this conversation with him - she needed a female's perspective. As great as Padril was, he really couldn't understand what this was like. It wasn't his fault...he was just a guy. He'd never know.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted finally. "It's...Padril's."

What a relief to finally say it out loud. Despite the fact that she was terrified that Jaden would freak out at her, it made her feel intensely better about the whole thing now that it was no longer bursting to get out of her. "We...we're going to keep it," she went on hastily, as Jaden sat in stunned silence. "But I'm just, I'm freaking out a little, you know? I mean, am I really ready to be a mother? And Padril...he's being so supportive, but I can tell he's just losing his mind about it, and he's trying to be strong for me...and it just makes me feel so guilty..."

She blew a stray piece of hair out of her face and wrapped her arms around herself. "I just need to talk about it, you know? And Padril...he doesn't understand what it's like for me. He's a guy...he can't understand."

[Jaden Aerins]

If Jaden had been drinking anything it would surely have become a nice addition to Aethie's outfit. Jaden racked her mind for any moment that she can remember being told about them even being together let alone in a 'baby-making' sort of relationship.It took a few moments for Jaden to catch her breathe and keep herself from falling face first onto the sidewalk. After Aethie finished her little speech of sorts, Jaden took in a deep breathe and let it out slowly before saying, "Pregnant?"

For a while it was all Jaden could do not to pass out from shock, "So you're keeping it, that's good. I guess I can see Padril getting a little stressed." Jaden was still trying to figure out what to say when random words spilled from her lips, "I don't know if you are ready to be a mother because that's something only you can decide but I'm sure you'll make a good one. Hey, what would that make the kid? Quarter veela? Unless it's a boy naturally..." Jaden bit her lip to keep herself from rambling on further and looked to Aethie for some sort of reaction.

[Aethie White]

The question about Aethie and the baby's Veela heritage threw her off balance; of all the things she'd expected Jaden to say, she hadn't expected the whole Veela thing to come into it. "Well my great-grandmother was a Veela..." she said slowly. "So I'm...one-eighth Veela? So the baby'll be...one-sixteenth Veela. I dunno if that'll really influence it in any way. Maybe it'll just be really good-looking."

Her hands slipped down to caress her still-flat stomach. "It's just hard to wrap my head around," she said. "That in seven months, I'm going to have a baby..."

[Jaden Aerins]

"Hold up, seven months? It took you two months to find a girl to talk to about this???" Jaden criticized, "Even if we aren't best friends I'm always an option!" Jaden glared and slumped back into the bench. It wasn't very apparent to her why she cared so much that she wasn't told before but she fet bad for Aethie for not having someone to go to.

"Okay so what have you decided to do when the baby comes? Do you have a place for yall to live and all that jazz?" Jaden asked getting a serious look on her face, "If you need help financially I got oodles of money, though I doubt yall'd take it with your stubborn attitudes so I guess I'll just go crazy at the baby shower ... you do plan on having one of those right?"

[Aethie White]

"No - Jaden, it's not like that!" Aethie protested. "I just found out about it last week...you're the first person I've told! Well, other than Padril..."

But Jaden's next words brought a smile to Aethie's face, and she had to hold back a laugh. "I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet," she admitted, in regards to the baby shower. "I guess we'll have one...and as for living - I dunno. I've got my flat, and Padril's got his, I guess we'll move in together at some point..."

Jaden's questions made Aethie realize that she and Padril had a lot of planning to do. She felt a sudden, inexplicable rush of affection for Jaden. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "For..you know, b-being here..." she sniffed back the tears that were threatening to pour down her cheeks, and let out a short laugh. "S-sorry, it's just the hormones, they m-make me crazy...well, crazier than usual, anyway..."

[Jaden Aerins]

Jaden giggled and suddenly thought of something, "Hey why didn't you think to check while you were puking your guts up? Or are 'one-eighth veelas' immune to morning sickness?" Jaden laughed and shook her head, "Also if you're looking for a place to live, there's an apartment open in my building, the floor just above mine. They are pretty expensive though they are very nice. You'd never guess they were apartments!"

[Aethie White]

Aethie chuckled. "Honestly, the morning sickness hasn't been that bad," she said. "I'm kind of grateful...you always hear these stories about women who are living in the bathroom for the first three months of their pregnancies. But no...I didn't even really think I was, I thought I was just being paranoid. I really just did the stupid test thing as a bit of a laugh, and now, here we are."

"Also if you're looking for a place to live, there's an apartment open in my building, the floor just above mine. They are pretty expensive though they are very nice. You'd never guess they were apartments!"

"I - well, maybe," Aethie said, not wanting to sound rude. She knew that Jaden was rich, however, and well...for all that the hours at the Leaky Cauldron were good, it didn't pay that well. She was pretty sure Padril didn't make all that much money, either. And she couldn't accept Jaden's offer for help with money without talking to Padril first, although she was pretty sure that he'd be proud to accept it - in any case, it wasn't Jaden's responsibility to support the three of them.

"I like the name River," she said thoughtfully. "For a girl...or maybe for a boy. Probably for a girl, though. What d'you think?"

[Jaden Aerins]

Jaden wasn't terribly offended by Aethie's unexcited response to the apartment idea. She knew it was probably more expensive to most than it seem to her. She was, after all, going to inherit an insane amount of money from her parents who even still let her milk as much money as she likes from them. Jaden was actually putting money toward something big soon.

The mention of name sent Jaden reeling and she was suddenly feeling very jealous of Aethie for being the pregnant one. A natural human instict to someone like Jaden, who is motherly by nature, "River is pretty for a girl but I'm not so sure for a boy. I think it is a bit too effeminate but that's just me."