"Stella, don't."


We were sitting in the living room of our new home, Stella's hand shaking as she clung to the Plan B pill she'd forced me to invest in earlier that day. It wasn't the first time she'd taken it, but we knew the last time there was no real risk of pregnancy. This time, it just felt different, like our entire world was shifted. Stella knew, I could see it in her eyes, and I think a part of me did, too.


She was just about to pop the little pill into her mouth, but something inside of me told me not to let her do it. I'm not sure why. It's not like we could manage a child right now, honestly there's a chance it could ruin our futures, still.. I wanted things to play out how they were meant to. If we were meant to be parents, we would be.


"W-What?"


"Don't take the pill, Stell," I whispered, taking it from her hand. "Let it be how it's supposed to be."


Stell cried in my arms that night, fear consuming her body. It was the very moment that led to this one, the one that would decide our fate...


She locked herself in the bathroom, leaving the wrapper and the box on the floor beside me. My body was shaking. In three short minutes, we'd know what our future held. I could hear the sound of her urine hitting the bowl, which meant that she'd successfully peed on the stick already. The instructions said no longer than five seconds of stream were supposed to hit. That, and I've been reading up on this for the last six weeks, while we were waiting to see if she'd get her period. No such luck.


We were so silent with anticipation that I could hear her tear the toilet paper, but it was the moment she flushed the toilet that I heard her screaming for me. My heart was beating against my chest as I swung open the bathroom door. Stella was standing there, mouth hanging up, holding a positive pregnancy test in my face.
We were going to be parents.


_____


"You've got to promise me he won't tell my dad," Stella tugged on my sleeve, preventing me from going any further into my childhood home. "Swear it, Jack. If my dad finds out from anyone but me, I'm dead. And so are you."


"He won't tell, Stella," I murmured, pressing my lips against her forehead. "Now come on."


I dragged her into the house and quietly closed the door behind us. We decided to wait until we knew the kids were asleep and my mom and dad were winding down. I inhaled a sharp breath and dragged my feet into the living room, where mom and dad were curled up on the couch together, watching a movie.


"Jack?" Mom poked her head up, a large grin on her face. She didn't see me much at night anymore, since I got my new place. "Oh honey, it's so good to see you! You too, Stella. Come, sit!"


So we did. Stella sat down on the loveseat by herself, keeping her gaze locked on the ground. My dad carefully eyed her as I took a seat beside my mom, welcoming her hug with open arms. I needed that right now. I needed the comfort of knowing things were going to be okay, if only for a moment.


"We have something we need to tell you," I let my eyes slip to my dad. Oh, he knew something was up. He wasn't being his giddy self. "Stella and I, uh, well.. We're.. Uhm. She's? Fuck it," I breathed, knowing I'd never find the perfect words. I didn't even mind the look on my mom's face over my cursing. "Stella's pregnant."


Silence. Even the sound of the television faded away from the heavy tension in the room. Stella's leg were now bouncing up and down, she was nervous. My dad had a stern look on his face and my mom looked like her entire world had come crumbling down.


"A baby?" She whispered, cupping my face in her hands. "My baby's having a baby?"


"Y-Yes."


"And you're sure?" My mom glanced to Stella now. I could see the tears pooling in her eyes. She was trying so hard to be strong. "No questions asked?"


"I'm sure," Stella responded with a husky whisper. Crap, now she's going to cry too. "I took four tests. They all instantly came up positive."


Mom tucked her lips in, tears running down her cheeks now. She got up from the couch and knelt down beside Stella, taking my terrified girlfriend into her chest with a motherly hug. At least mom was doing okay with the news. But dad? He scared me. His body flew off of the couch and his hand collided with the lamp on the table. I watched in slow motion as it crashed to the ground. Mom and Stella jumped, but they were still holding each other as dad stormed out of the room.


"I'm going after him," I frowned at the two leading ladies in my life. "Mom, please don't be too harsh on her. We need support."


Mom nodded, which made me feel more at ease as I took off out the back door to find dad. He was out by the tree, kicking leaves and cursing to the top of his lungs. Shouldn't Mr. Gaskarth be the one flipping out like this? It seemed almost ridiculous to think that my dad would react this way.


"Dad, please." I caught him by the arm before his fist was torn apart by the trunk of the tree. "Just talk to me."


"How could you do this, Jack?!" He'd never yelled at me like this before. Ever. "She's only seventeen, Jack! You just started your career! What are you going to do now, huh?! How are you going to tour when she needs rest, or has to to go the doctor, what if she's high risk like Jules was?! She's the lead singer of your band! Your life will not pan out the way mine or Alex's did - How are you going to manage this one, son?!"


My throat went dry. So maybe Stella and I hadn't considered every aspect of this pregnancy. Maybe we were just two young, dumb kids trying to do things way past our years, but this was life now. I'm sure there's way that we could stick to local shows for a while, maybe go out of town on the weekends if we have a babysitter. We could still make music. We could still make money, making a living.


"It sounds harsh when you put it that way," I sighed, taking a step away from my dad. My messy hair fell into my eyes as I shook my head. "But I'm not going to apologize for the baby. I'm not sorry that I'm going to be a dad, I'm not sorry that Stella's going to be a mom. And I'm not sorry that you're going to be a grandpa, because you might be mad now, but you damn well you're going to love that baby."


"Of course I'm going to love the fucking baby!" Dad ran his hands over his face and started walking back towards the house, his body shaking from emotions. I honestly didn't even know there was a side like this to my father. He'd never been this type of parent, or person, for that matter. Once we were under the glow of the light, I could see that he was crying. He was actually crying. "But not as much as I love you, Jack. You'll know soon what it's like to be a parent. You were supposed to go on and be better than your mother or I ever were. And you will be, I know that.. But you don't even know how to be a father, Jack. You have no idea what it's like."


I frowned. It was going to be hard, but dad was just worried about me.


"I have a pretty good example," I offered a smile, fighting my own tears. The reality of having a child was finally hitting me. "I'm scared to death, dad. You're right, I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know what comes next. I don't know how we're going to manage everything. I don't even know if I'll be a good enough father for the baby to like me... but I'm doing to try, because I love Stella, and I love that little baby growing inside of her."


Dad nodded, his blank, sad expression curving into a sorrowful smile. So what if I'd let him down - I was going to prove to everyone how much better of a person this would make me. I wouldn't be bitter of have regrets, I refused to.


"Come here," dad held his arms open, and I gratefully fell into them. Dad and I were both emotional bastards, this was something we liked to keep hidden from our lovers. "You're going to be great, I know you will. I don't like the idea of you having a baby, but I will support you in anything you do, okay?"


"Thanks dad," I mumbled, pulling away from the hug. "You don't know how much I need that.. Support.. We feel pretty lost and alone right now."


He nodded, wiping the dried tear stains from his cheeks. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and dragged me inside, putting on his best smile when he saw mom showing Stella my baby book. He bent down and kissed mom on her cheek, then pulled Stella to her feet. I smiled to myself as he gave her the biggest hug I'd ever seen him give anyone, but a laugh left my lips when I saw Stella cry on his shoulder. I knew for a fact those were at least mildy happy tears.


Pulling away from her, dad instantly bent down so he was level with her belly. He rubbed it for a moment, then stuck his mouth to it and made a loud kissing noise. Stella scrunched up her face, knowing it was something she'd have to get used to.


"I love you baby Barakat!" Dad shouted through her shirt. "You're going to have the coolest grandpa's ever!"


"All right, dad, don't freak her out too much," I stiffed a laugh, pulling Stella into my arms. "We should go. We have to tell Alex and Jules, too."


At this, my dad frowned. He pulled me into a hug.


"Love you, kiddo," he smiled, walking us to the door. "If he kills you, I'll help Stella buy stuff for the baby."


I snorted, rolling my eyes as we stepped down the front steps. We both waved to my dad one last time before we climbed into the van. Stella was breathless and nervous.


"I love you, baby," I kissed her cheek befor starting the engine. "We're going to be okay, I swear that much to you."


"I know," she smiled faintly. "I love you too, Jack."

Notes

Oh COME ON. Will THIS at least get a reaction out of you guys?!