Breeders

Chapter Thirty One: The Art of Keeping a Secret

"What the hell are you eating?" Louis asked in distaste. I looked down at my pickle and ice cream before looking back up at a sour faced Louis. "Ummm a pickle and some ice cream?" I answered in more of a question. I looked down at the odd pair in confusion. Why the hell am I eating this?

Louis stared at me hard before shaking his head. "I'm not even going to question it," he sighed as he left the room. Wow, that's a first. He'd usually ask me a thousand and one questions when I did something that he considered weird. I guess he had finally given up and accepted me for the person I truly am. I heard the shower turn on in the distance and I sighed in relief, relaxing into my seat.

Keeping this pregnancy thing from Louis has proven to be harder than I thought. Those frequent trips I took to the bathroom to puke my brains out had become more difficult to hide from a man as keen as Louis. I even have reason to believe that he suspects something is wrong with me. He had told me it would be better for me to stay home yet again from work, but of course I still went anyway.

I don't know if I would be able to last the couple of days until his birthday without spilling the beans. It's like I could sense him becoming more aware of the changes. It's obvious that he knows something is up, but lucky for me he hadn't actually figured out exactly what it was. I was jerked out of my thoughts by the sound of the doorbell and I stuck my pickle into the ice cream container before sitting it on the table. I walked over to the door, happy for the distraction.

"Who is it?" I called out and a familiar voice replied with a 'me.' I smiled before opening the door, revealing a wide eyed, energetic Harry. "I think he's catching on," Harry said frantically as he pushed himself inside.

"Well come on in," I said sarcastically to the empty space in front of me before shutting the door and following after him. I grabbed the container off the table, which seemed to catch Harry's attention. "Give me that," Harry murmured taking the pickle and ice cream out of my hands and sitting on the couch.

"If you didn't seem so frantic, I'd go ape shit on you," I grumbled, sitting in my chair and folding my arms. "I think Nate knows something," Harry exclaimed and I hushed him, looking towards the bathroom where Louis was.

"Louis is home," I whispered loudly and Harry bit his lip before silently apologizing. "Why do you say that?" I asked and Harry sighed. "He's been awfully nice to me. Like scary nice. I can't help but think he's on to me," Harry whisper-yelled and I rolled my eyes.

"I think Louis is on to me too though not for the same reason as you," I confided, looking out for Louis. "He gives me these hard looks and he's always questioning what I do," I whispered and Harry nodded.

"He's going to ruin the surprise. I swear if he figures it out, I'm going to knock him out and pretend that everything he thought was in a dream so-" I put my hand over Harry's mouth to shut him up. "Eat that pickle," I said sternly and removed my hand from Harry's pouting lips. He huffed, biting the pickle and leaning back.

"Look Harry, the more you act jumpy and nervous around Nate, the more he'll know something is up. Although he may not seem like it most of the time, Nate is pretty smart and would probably figure out something is wrong and the last thing we want him doing is investigating," I explained to him in a whisper and Harry nodded, although his pout was still evident on his lips as he chewed the pickle.

I placed my hands on his shoulders, looking him directly in his eyes which cause him to momentarily stop chewing. "The art of keeping a secret is all in your ability to act like you don't have one. The better you are at pretending there isn't a secret, the better you are at keeping it," I said and Harry gave another nod as he took another bite of the pickle that I was beginning to want back.

"You know, hushed whispers just makes it ten times more obvious that you're up to something," Louis voice interrupted us and both Harry and I jerked up. Louis stood leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. I bit my lip, looking towards Harry who watched Louis with wide eyes. We didn't mention anything about a baby, so I'm sure we're safe, but I know Louis is now completely sure that Harry and I are planning something.

"I get you're trying to surprise us for our birthday and all, but you two are very bad at hiding it," Louis commented with a smirk. I cleared my throat, hoping to break Harry from his current daze. "Well now you know that we're trying to do something very special for you two," I played it off, hoping to try to throw him off from the real surprise growing in my belly right now.

"And what exactly is that?" Louis questioned and I scoffed, crossing my arms once again. "Well it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you our plan now." Louis gave me a tight lipped smile as his head cocked to the side, examining me. I visibly gulped as he pushed off the wall, walking closer to me with that same tilted head. He was trying to make me crack, but he should know better than anyone that stubbornness is what I'm all about.

I watched as he inched closer and closer to where I was sitting. Although I was good at holding my ground against Louis, Harry wasn't really sure what to do. He had stopped a few inches in front of me, his head straightening as he let out a sigh of defeat. I grinned, gloating in the fact that I had won.

"Fine. Don't tell me," he sighed and I huffed, turning my nose up at him. "Oh trust me, I won't," I challenged and Louis gaze turned cold, his annoyance showing from not knowing what I was hiding from him.

"Tell. Me." Louis said through gritted teeth and I scowled at him. "No," I stated sternly. Louis and I continued to stare at each other, our match so intense that Harry shifted anxiously in his spot.

"I think I'm going to leave now," Harry had finally said after minutes of us watching each other. "Do you need me to drive you home?" Louis asked but his eyes never left me. If he thinks he's going to punk me into telling him, he's got another thing coming. Plus, we both know why he wants to drive Harry home. He's going to try to force poor Harry into telling him what we were planning. Harry awkwardly stood, brushing the wrinkles out of his clothes as his eyes raced from me to Louis.

"No it's fine. I have a ride waiting for me outside," he said as he quickly shuffled to the door. "Later and um, have fun!" He called out before I heard the door shut. I sighed. Leave it up to Harry to scatter and leave me in such an awkward situation.

"How about you just tell me and I'll pretend to be surprise," Louis continued as he found his way to the spot Harry was sitting at before. I hummed. He's just not going to let it go. "I'd find it much more entertaining for you to lay woke at night wondering what it is I'm keeping from you," I smiled.

Louis threw his hands in the air. "Forget it. Don't tell me," he huffed as he stood. "Good because I wasn't," I mumbled. I just had to keep it from him for a little longer. I definitely could do that..... I'm pretty sure I could do that....... I hope I could do that.

Louis gave me one last hard look before groaning and storming out of the room.  He was genuinely curious about what we had planned, and although I was flattered about the attention, this inquisitive side of him made things difficult.

My hand rubbed my stomach as I bit my bottom lip. I'm so conflicted right now. I still couldn't make sense of the fact that I was actually pregnant. I'm nervous, scared, and a little disappointed in myself, but at the same time I'm somewhat happy. I have grown quite fond of Louis, so having his child isn't as disheartening now as it would have been in the beginning.

I stood and stretched my limbs. Lou bear needed some attention at the moment. I had found this new grumpy, childish side of his quite amusing, so what better way to pass the time than to poke at it. I started to walk but paused as nausea came over me. First, I'll have to take a trip to the bathroom.

Hello once again!! This chapter is a little short so I apologize for that 😩 But I'll work on making the next one longer. It was pretty much a filler chapter if you know what I mean. Again, thank you all for the support and nice comments. You're Smart. You're Loyal. I Appreciate That. Anyways, thanks for all the love!

Until Next Time ❤️