Something Different

By: Cynthia

Email: cyn_rs7@yahoo.com.ar

Rated: PG

This story takes place in England, when S Club finally gets there. They live in the same house they had in “Hollywood 7″ and they found out they’re really famous there. Every member start to return to their own private lives. Hannah and Paul start to date each other, and Rachel goes out with “Holby City” actor, Jeremy Edwards. But not everything is alright. Why is Rachel staying at her boyfriend’s house? What’s up with Hannah and Paul? When Tina and Jon started not to talk to each other? Well, maybe things are changing…

Chapter 1 – Rows

Early morning in the S Club house. It was too cold and windy, and it was raining a lot. Jon and Bradley were out; Jo was in the kitchen with Tina, making breakfast. Rachel was on the couch talking on the phone. Hannah and Paul went downstairs, kissing and hugging each other.

- Good morning, everybody! – greeted Hannah happily.

- Good morning, Han! – said Jo and Tina.

- Hiya! Good morning! – greeted Paul taking a vase of milk and sipping it.

- Good morning, Paul! – said Tina. – Did you sleep well? – added later.

- Yeah. So good! – said Paul a bit asleep.

- Did you sleep well, Hannah? – asked Jo.

- Yep. Wonderfully. Where are Jon and Bradley? – asked Hannah looking around.

Rachel was still on the phone.

- OK. OK… At 9… Alright! Thanks so much. Have a good day! – she hung down the phone and sighed. – Well, it’s all ready. Oh! Hey, you two! How are you? – she said later when she noticed that Paul and Hannah were there.

- Fine. Who was on the phone? – asked Hannah.

- The doctor. I was verifying my appointment for today morning. I have to go at 9. – answered Rachel. Then she took a magazine from the table and started to read.

- The doctor? Why are you going there? – asked Paul curiously while he was taking a toast with marmalade.

Rachel closed the mag, looked at him and then said:

- I was feeling a bit sick and I wanna know what’s wrong with me.-

- OK. – said Paul a bit asleep.

- So, where are Jon and Bradley? – asked Hannah taking a toast.

Jo and Tina left the kitchen and put the cups of coffee, a plate with toast, marmalade, butter and the cups of tea on the table of the dinning room. Then Rachel, Paul and Hannah went there and joined them. They all sat down and started the breakfast.

- Jon’s with his brother and Bradley’s with his friend Gavin. – said Tina sipping some tea and taking a toast with marmalade.

Suddenly, Brad and Jon came back. Rachel and Jon went upstairs. They all finished the breakfast and did their own things. After a few minutes Jon downed the stairs and Rachel started to hear some screams. She ran downstairs to see what was happening.

- Why did you use my hair straightener?! You’re not supposed to touch it!! – yelled Jon.

- I’m sorry. I thought everybody could use it. It hasn’t got your name on it. – said Tina furiously.

- And why did you use my shampoo? Huh? – asked Jon even more furious than before.

- I hadn’t got mine and I needed someone’s. – yelled Tina. – You know what? Take your damn hair straightener and your damn shampoo. I don’t need them. And I don’t want to talk to you for a while. – she added then. And then she left the room. Rachel was stuck there. She was surprised about the reactions of her friends.

- Fine for me! – screamed Jon, and went upstairs.

Rachel left the house upset and went to the doctor’s. After two hours she went back home, wondering why they were so mad with each other, but she forgot about that thing soon. She felt so good with the notice she’d just received that she wanted to share it with all her mates. She had a big smile in her face. She opened the front door, trying to think that things were better, but she was wrong. In the middle of the living room, Hannah and Paul were falling out.

- What do you mean I don’t spend time with you?! I kiss you all the time!! – started Paul angry.

- That’s not enough, Paul! I want you to be with me sometimes. You’re always in the bar with those rude guys. We don’t go… anywhere anymore! – yelled Hannah.

- I can’t be there for you when you want to. I have my own life too. – yelled Paul louder.

- You have your own life too! Well, I’ll tell you what about your own life: it’s over. Yeah. This conversation is all over. Now you have your own life. See? – screamed Hannah. – And I don’t want to talk to you since now!! – she added later and went upstairs furiously.

- Fine for me!!! – screamed Paul louder than before, and then he went to the kitchen. Rachel couldn’t resist more. It was so much for her. It was really hurting. That wasn’t the right moment to say them her notice. She calmed herself down, took the phone and called her boyfriend Jeremy.

- Hello? – answered a man’s voice.

- Hi, honey! It’s me. – said Rachel a bit upset.

- Oh. Hi, sweetheart! What’s up? – asked Jeremy.

- Well… nothing really. Listen: could I stay with you for a few days? Actually, I’m not feeling really well here and I need to talk to you as soon as possible. – said Rachel looking at her belly. – It’s… It’s something really important. – she added later putting her hand on her belly and looking at it. A tear fell.

- Sure. No problem. Remember we have the party tonight? 8 o’clock? – asked Jeremy.

- Yes. I remember that. Would you mind if I go now? – asked Rachel looking around. She had tears in her eyes and was nearly crying. She didn’t want her friends to see her like that.

- No. Come here. I’ll wait for you. – said Jeremy.

She hung down the phone and went upstairs, drying her eyes with her hands. She quickly made a little suitcase, took her mobile phone and went down immediately, crossed the door and took her car.

Chapter 2 – Rachel reveals her secret

She drove to her boyfriend’s house. He lived in an apartment near Hampstead Park. She parked the car, pulled her suitcase and rang the doorbell. Jeremy opened the door and she immediately hugged him. They entered the apartment. It was cosy and really bright. It had a big living room with a big couch in the middle, two armchairs and the TV in front the sofa. Then, in the left, there was a kitchen. It was big, with a table and chairs to have the meals there. Then there was Jeremy’s bedroom and the bathroom next to it. Jeremy took her suitcase and put it in his room. Then he gave Rachel a glass of water and they sat down on the couch. She was so scared and was shaking as a leaf. She took a deep breath and said:

- I’m pregnant. -

- What?! – exclaimed Jeremy jumping from the couch.

- I’m pregnant. I’m four weeks and half pregnant. – said Rachel.

- How? – asked Jeremy surprised.

- You know “how”, Jez! It just happened. – answered Rachel.

- But we… I… you… – started Jeremy. Now he was walking around the room.

- I know. And it’s your baby. – answered Rachel looking at him. Jeremy sat down.

Before he could say something, Rachel’s phone rang. She answered it.

- Hello? – asked Rachel standing up from the couch.

- Rachel? Where on the hell are you?! – it was Jo and she was a bit furious.

- I’m with Jez. I’m staying here. We have a party tonight. – answered Rachel.

- What?! Why are you staying there? – asked Jo surprised. She was nearly shouting to Rachel.

- I’ve been feeling upset lately. I need some time off and things aren’t really good there. – confessed Rachel.

- What do you mean? – asked Jo confused.

- Tina and Jon are not talking to each other; Hannah and Paul are not talking to each other and I’m feeling all alone. I don’t want to be there if you’re all mad with each other. – answered Rachel remembering all the fights she had seen that morning. She started to feel upset.

- I’m not mad with anybody. But listen: if you really need some time off, I’ll support you. Just keep in touch. OK? You know you can count on me. We’re friends! Right? I’ll be there for you. Always. – said Jo.

- Thanks, Jo. I’ll see you tomorrow. – finished Rachel.

- See ya, Rach! – finished Jo, and hung down the phone.

Rachel hung down the phone, sat down and looked at Jeremy. He was shocked and so quiet.

- Are you alright? – she asked. He startled and nearly spilt Rachel’s glass of water on her lap.

- Yeah, I’m fine. I was thinking about me, you and the baby. Listen: I’m so sorry for my reaction. It’s great news actually. I know you need all the help of the world and all the support you can get, and I’ll give it to you. I’ll be there for you always, you know that. We’ll have this baby and take care of it. We’ll be OK. – said Jeremy hugging her, and after that he kissed her. Rachel felt better.

So that was. Rachel was going to stay there for some time. But she didn’t want to tell the others she was pregnant if they were fighting. She needed them.

Chapter 3 – The damage

That night Rachel and Jeremy went to the party. It was from a friend of Jeremy. They lived in a luxury house and they’d wanted Jeremy to marry his friend’s wife’s sister, but Jez found Rachel before he met her and that was the reason the couple hated Rachel. So the friend’s wife poisoned Rachel’s drink, not to kill her, just to make she feel sick.

When they got there, the couple greeted them and the woman gave Rachel a glass of water (which was poisoned). Rachel drank it and after a couple of hours she started to feel sick, so Jeremy decided to take her to the house. She went to bed immediately and after some hours so did he. In the middle of the night Rachel got up to throw up and found she had a damage. Jeremy heard her throwing up and got up too. Rachel told him about the damage and they went immediately to hospital.

The night was very long and painful. They were all alone in a hospital room, and she soon started to have contractions and was in so much pain. She threw up all night, but the pain never went out. After that she had more damages and the pain was getting worse. Rachel was crying for the pain she had and she couldn’t stop. It became worse and worse at every move she did. Desesperated, Jeremy called a doctor and she soon gave Rachel a medicine. After a while, the pain was gone and Rachel fell asleep. At 10am Jeremy knew the results of Rachel’s last test: She’d lost the baby.

Chapter 4 – In hospital

At 12pm Rachel’s phone rang. She was still asleep so Jeremy answered it.

- Hello? – he asked.

- Hi! Jeremy? What are you doing answering Rachel’s phone? – asked Jo confused.

- She’s asleep at the moment, Jo. – answered Jeremy looking at Rachel.

- But you aren’t at home, are you? I mean, I called you there and you didn’t answer. I supposed you were out or something. – said Jo.

- Yeah, we’re in a hospital now. – answered Jeremy still looking at Rachel. He took her hand.

- In a hospital?! What happened? – asked Jo worried.

- Rachel was feeling sick so I took her here. – said Jeremy.

- What was wrong with her? – asked Jo.

- I can’t tell you all the rest by phone. Please, come here. Promise me you won’t be mad with her. She was scared to tell it to you all. – he answered.

- OK. I’ll promise you. We’ll be there in a minute. – said Jo. Then she hung down the phone.

Jez hung down the phone and looked at Rachel. She was still asleep and she looked so lovely, he thought.

Rachel woke up a bit later. She smiled at him and he smiled her back. Seemed she was a bit better.

- How are you today, honey? – asked Jeremy kissing her hand.

- A bit better, I think. Thanks for being with me, Jez. It means a lot to me. I mean, I was quite scared, and I think I couldn’t have coped with it if I’d been all alone. – said Rachel smiling. Then she looked at her stomach and asked:

- Do you know something about the baby? Is it OK? -

- Yeah, I know something, but it’s not good. – started Jeremy.

- What? What happens to the baby? – asked Rachel desesperated.

It was difficult for Jeremy to say it, but he knew he had to do it. He knew he was going to break Rachel’s heart, but she had to know it. After all, she was the mother of the baby. He took a deep breath and said:

- You’re not pregnant anymore. -

- What?! – asked Rachel surprised.

- You lost the baby, Rach. – answered Jeremy.

After that Rachel kept quiet. She was shocked at all. Tears started to run down her face. She felt so, so bad. Seconds later she covered her face with her hands and cried. Jeremy hugged her and whispered things to her ear. He tried to comfort her, but it didn’t work out. She was crying so much and was so upset for that that he couldn’t calm down her.

In that moment the band appeared.

- What’s happening? – S Club asked.

- Why is she crying? – asked Hannah looking at Rachel.

Jeremy gave them a sign to go out of the room and they nodded. They all went out and left Rachel and Jeremy alone in the room. Rachel was crying harder. She was scared about the entire situation. She thought it was the end of the world and that it was all her fault. After an hour she finally was calmed down and fell asleep so Jeremy went out to talk to the band. They all went to the cafe, grabbed a table and drank coffee.

- She was pregnant. – started Jeremy.

- What?! – they all reacted surprised.

- She was pregnant but she lost the baby. She didn’t want to tell you until you all stop fighting. – said Jeremy looking at his cup.

- That’s why she went to the doctor yesterday morning. She was pregnant! – realised Hannah.

- And that’s why she went to your house. – concluded Jo pointing Jeremy. – She didn’t want to tell us cos we didn’t pay attention to her. We must be ashamed for that. – added later.

- I’m feeling so ashamed for that now. I supposed we could stop fighting and tried to help her, rather than give her the back. – said Hannah ashamed.

- Yeah, she really needed us. And we all made her feel so awful. We were really bad, guys. – added Tina. She apologized to Jon and Jon to her, and Paul and Hannah apologized to each other.

- Now we have to apologize to Rachel. – said Hannah.

- She’s still asleep. – said Jeremy.

They all finished their coffees and kept chatting. But Jeremy was wrong. Rachel was awake, and she was crying in her bed. She couldn’t believe it. She lost it! Then she thought: What will happen if she couldn’t have kids in the future? How will Jeremy react? Will he love her after all? She was so upset. She missed her friends so much and she regretted she hadn’t told them about the baby. She knew they were going to help her, but in that situation it was a bit impossible for her to tell them her notice. She was wondering what they would be doing in that moment when they all arrived to her room.

- Hiho! How are you? – they all greeted.

- Are you feeling better? – asked Bradley while he was giving her a little teddy bear he’d bought before he entered to the hospital. Rachel smiled at him and thanked him for it.

- Not really. What are you doing here? – asked Rachel surprised.

- Jeremy told us about the baby so we wanted to see you. – started Jo.

- There’s no baby. I lost it. – said Rachel sadly.

- We already know that, honey. But don’t be sad, you’ll have a baby soon. I’m sure of that. – said Tina holding her hand.

- I won’t! It’s all my fault. I… I lost it and it’s my fault! If only I’d been more careful… I… I hadn’t lost it. – said Rachel and she then started to cry again.

They all hugged her and said her it wasn’t her fault. Actually, it wasn’t. The doctor had said to them that that kind of things happened and that she’ll have a baby soon. Rachel didn’t believe that.

Chapter 5 – The next-door apartment

- We have to do something. – said Tina when they all got in the house. – We have to cheer her up. – added later.

- But, how? She’s upset. It’s a lot harder than when Matt chucked her. Remember? – said Jo.

- Yeah. It took us a life to cheer her up. But after all she forgot him. – said Hannah.

Paul and Bradley walked around the house. They were near the kitchen when they saw a door, the door that connected the house with a small empty apartment that belonged to them.

- It’s perfect! – exclaimed Paul.

- What? – they all asked.

- Here’s this apartment that we don’t use. So why don’t we give Rachel & Jeremy the apartment? They can live together and Rachel will be close to us. She and Jeremy will have their privacy, but she still be living with us. We’ll have to fix it, of course, but it’s worth, isn’t it? What do ya think, guys? – said Paul with a big smile.

They all agreed and started to buy paint, wallpapers and more things. They worked on that three entire days and they finished it on time. It was wonderful. It had a big living room, its own entrance, and two bedrooms, the big one for Rachel and Jeremy.

Chapter 6 – Happy end

Meanwhile, in Jeremy’s apartment, Rachel was having her “crying attack” again. She still was really upset for not being pregnant anymore.

- OK, OK. Don’t cry. Everything’s gonna be fine. Don’t cry, please. – Jeremy was trying everything to calm her down, but nothing worked.

- What will happen if I can’t have kids in the future? You really want a child, don’t you? What will happen if I can’t give you one? – asked Rachel crying.

- We’ll adopt one. But that’s not the case, Rachel. Didn’t you listen to the doctor? You’ll have another baby and everything’s gonna be OK. If you won’t be able to have babies, then it’s OK. I’ll still love you. I only want to be with you. I don’t care about it. – answered Jeremy.

- Really? – asked Rachel drying her eyes with her hands.

- Really. Don’t worry. Huh? – Jeremy kissed her on the lips and hugged her. Rachel stopped her crying. She felt better in Jez’s arms, laying her head on his chest.

The phone rang, it was the band.

- Hello? Oh, well… OK, OK. We’ll go… Bye. – said Rachel.

She told Jeremy that her friends had ordered her to go to the house cos they had a surprise for her and Jeremy. Jeremy was surprised about it, but he agreed to go there. They went to the car and drove to S Club’s house. When they got there, the rest of S Club were waiting for them. They all entered the house and they took them to the apartment. They entered it. Rachel was fascinated! She was looking at it as if it was her first toy or something.

- We know it’s not the same, but it’s something. You’ll have your own space and we will all be here together, I mean, in the house. The thing is… that we don’t want you to move away, Rach. We’ll miss you. – said Paul. They all nodded.

- Aw! I’ll miss you too, guys! Don’t worry. I won’t move too far. – said Rachel. – Thanks so much for the house. You didn’t have to do it. Really. It’s… It’s amusing! It’s really nice. – added then when she was walking around the house and looking every place of it. – I love it! – added after she saw the bedroom with the double bed and the big closet.

- There is still a lot of space to put furniture, so you can bring yours, Jeremy. – said Jo.

- So what do you think? – said Jon impatient.

Jeremy looked at Rachel and she looked back at him. They smiled and took a more careful look at the apartment. It was huge and bright. Like their “dream house”, but smaller, and really cosy. Jeremy walked to the centre of the living room and said smiling:

- I think the couch will be fine here. -

They all hugged them and had a party there. Two weeks later Rachel and Jeremy were living in the apartment. Everything was OK again. They soon got married and Rachel got pregnant immediately. Things were better and the best thing was that they all were together.

*** The end ***