Let It Roll

@ cinderblock garden.

"I guess you've got me beat there," he laughed as he finished off the rest of the pizza that was left on his plate. "You not hungry anymore?" He asked her curiously, eying the piece of pizza that she had put back. Normally Rachel could eat at least two slices, three if she was feeling really hungry at that particular time. Rachel's appetite came and went sometimes and it did kind of worry him but that was just how she always was. Jack on the other hand was basically hungry all the time and would eat anything you put in front of him.

--

Clarke smiled as she watched the scene before her, her heart practically melting as she watched him interact and take care of her. God, why couldn't Alex be the father? He was so much more caring and seemed to like kids, anytime Clarke had to babysit and her ex came over he was not happy, always declaring he hated kids. But she thought maybe he would change his mind once he found out she was having his kid, but that fantasy didn't last too long. "Thanks so much, Alex, it's really nice to have another set of hands around here." She ruffled his hair, smiling as as she turned and headed into her bedroom to rifle through the drawer she kept her babies jammies in, finding one she wanted her to wear.

Rachel nodded her head. "My eyes are bigger than my tummy," she said softly, yawning. Rachel gently jumped down from her chair and grabbed her soda. "Baby. Cuddle." She pouted, leading the way to the living room. Rachel grabbed the remote and turned on the tv, trying to figure out what to watch. She eventually settled on a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air marathon. "Jack, babe, your show is on!" She called into the kitchen, not wanting to get up now that she was comfortable.

--

Alex smiled softly as he began to gently wash Sophia's hair. "It's fine, Clarke. She's an absolute joy." He beamed, rinsing Sophia's hair. "Just like her mom." Alex continued to wash the baby. He finished a few minutes later, wrapping her in her little towel. "She's honestly one of the most well behaved babies I've ever seen. My niece was a devil child at this age." Alex laughed awkwardly.

@ acid rain;

You didn't have to tell Jack twice. Cuddling the most beautiul girl in the world and a fresh prince marathon? He settled down next to Rachel and wrapped her up in his arms as he sang along to the theme song. "That opening makes the show, pretty much." He said, leaning his head on top of hers.

--

By the time Clarke got into the bathroom with a pair of winnie the pooh jammies, he was almost done washing her. But, Clarke really wasn't going to complain about it because it was really nice to have someone else there to help her with Sophia. The daddy refused to help with anything and had ran with his tail tucked between his legs the moment he found out she was pregnant, and her mother just plain refused and sent her to come live here. "Don't let her fool you, she's a brat when it's just met." Clarke teased, tickling Sophia on her tummy. "Come on, let's get you dressed baby girl." Clarke sat her down on the counter and carefully put her clothes on so her poor baby wouldn't freeze. "I feel bad for bringing her into this world without a proper father figure, y'know? I know she's going to ask questions and I have no idea what I'm going to tell her." Clarke said with a small sigh, scooping Sophia into her arms and watched as her eyes started drooping, signaling she was tired.

Rachel nodded her head, silently watching tv. She pulled Jack's arm tight around her frame and just relaxed, enjoying the moment. It wasn't very often that the two got much alone time-- between their friends, part-time jobs and parents, they barely had time to breath.

--

Alex nodded his head, looking at the tiny princess. She already had him wrapped around her little finger. "I highly doubt this little sweetie can be a brat." He grinned, poking Sophia's foot. "Like I said earlier, forget about that loser. If Sophia asks questions, tell her the truth. That God thought you were going to be such an amazing mommy, you didn't need any help." Alex ran a hand through his hair and followed Clarke to Sophia's room.

@ acid rain;

Jack sighed, removing his arm from around Rachel so he could stretch his arms and legs out in front of him as commercials started. "I'm gonna find out how Alex is doing with his new lady love," Jack said with waggling eyebrows, grabbing his phone from the arm rest on the couch and unlocked it, pulling up the text messages and clicked on Alex's name. "Speaking of the little devil, did I tell you me and him were thinking about starting a band?" He casually mentioned, shooting Alex a quick message.

to Lexy:
seal the deal with your new boo yet? (;

--

Clarke smiled gently at Alex as she went to Sophia's room, pressing a kiss to the already sleeping baby's forehead and gently put her down in the crib as to not wake her. "I'm sorry for dragging you in this mess, I wasn't going to say anything but.. you have that face. Like I can trust you," she said quietly, peering down at her daughter. "My old school was terrible and my mother was worse. The second I told her she wanted nothing to do with me and told me she wanted me gone after the baby was here. At least she gave me that," Clarke muttered sarcastically.

Rachel raised a brow at the mention of a band. She knew Jack and Alex loved to jam together, but thought nothing of it beyond that. "No, you didn't tell me anything about that." She spoke, sitting up. "Are Rian and Zack gonna be in the band, too? Or are you guys gonna look for other people?" Rachel ran a hand through her hair as she listened to Jack talk. "Either way, baby, I'll be there at every show, screaming my lungs out."

--

Alex's jaw physically dropped. He couldn't believe that Clarke's mother could be such a bitch. "Holy cow... I'm sorry about that, sweetie." He looked down at Sophia, smiling slightly. "I don't understand how your mother could feel that way about her own granddaughter." Alex turned to face Clarke. "Don't even apologize to me, Clarke. You can totally trust me. Rachel and Jack, too. They may seem like a couple of knuckleheads, but they're good people. And they'll love Soph as much as I do."

@ acid rain;

Jack smiled slightly. "Yeah of course Rian and Zack are gonna be there, wouldn't be a band without them in it. Me and Alex were just messing around and toying with the idea of starting a band." He said with a shrug. "We don't know if it's going to take off but it's nice to dream, right?" Jack always wanted to be in a band, it was something he and Alex talked about lately. Alex was a damn good song writer and had the voice to match, all they needed now was someone to believe in them too. "Hey, we even have our first official fan." He nudged Rachel, quickly shooting Alex another message before locking his phone.

to Lexy:
pics or it didn't happen.

and of course Jack sent an array of winky face emojis with it.

--

Clarke giggled, nodding as Alex spoke. Rachel seemed like such a sweetheart and Jack was one big teddy bear under all that silly-ness. Her old school had been horrible to her, her ex spreading this rumor about how she cheated on him with someone and got knocked up. Of course it was a lie, she wasn't like that at all. But that didn't matter, her school ate that gossip up like it was candy. "You've been a big help today, Alex, I don't know how I can thank you." She said softly, giving him a small smile. He hadn't been here for long but he was already more help than Sophia's biological dad was.

Rachel rolled her eyes, nudging Jack back. "Something tells me that you guys are gonna do great." She mumbled, sipping her pop. Rachel knew that starting a band would be a ton of work, but something told her that Jack and the guys would make it. "Just make sure you don't forget about your girlfriend back at home when you're on the road and all of those hot girls are flashing you." Rachel teased, nudging Jack with her elbow.

--
Alex shrugged as if it was no big deal. And it really wasn't. He was just being a decent human being. "You don't gotta thank me, Clarke." Alex whispered as he leaned against the wall. "I'm happy to help with Sophia any time." He ran a hand through his hair and looked at his phone, shaking his head when he saw that Jack had texted him. Relax, man. I'll call you later. Alex stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

@ acid rain;

"What girlfriend?" He asked with mock surprise before bursting out in laughter as she gave him a dirty look, kissing her on the forehead. "I could never forget you, promise." He kissed her, this time on the lips instead. "Hey, maybe we could find a spot for you on the crew. You could be the merch girl, or something like that." He said with a shrug of his shoulders knowing they had a lot to figure out. First they had to arrange songs in an album and find any company they could to check their songs out. Of course they had to write more music and get Rian and Zack in on it too.

--

Her stomach growled in the quiet room, reminding her that they had yet to eat a proper supper. "How about we get some food? You still have yet to show me around this town," she said with a slow smile. Of course she'd have to wake her dad up and let him know she'd be leaving, someone had to watch her daughter. And while Sophia was mostly going to sleep through the night someone still needed to be there and make sure she was alright. "If you still want to, that is." She added quickly.

Rachel rolled her eyes and shoved Jack again. "Sometimes, you're a real pain in the ass." She teased, sitting up right. She nodded her head at the idea of working with the guys. "I could do merch, or I could run your website or something like that." Rachel was already getting tons of ideas, and the band wasn't even off the ground yet. "Maybe I could even design some of your shirts."

--

Alex nodded his head. "Yeah, that sounds great. There's this great little taco place downtown, if you're in the mood for Mexican. If not, we can still grab some Chinese." He followed Clarke down the stairs and into the living room, waiting for her to talk to her dad and let him know where they were going. Once they got the all clear, Alex led her outside to the car. "Can I drive this time?" He asked, leaning against the vehicle.

@ acid rain;

Jack smiled at her excitement. It was always nice, seeing her happy. Jack did anything and everything in his power to try and make her the happiest woman he could, he loved her so much. "Let's just hope this all works out, because those are some pretty good ideas," he commented. They hadn't even brought it up to Rian and Zack, but knew they would be all for it. They all shared the same dream, and that was to start a band and make a name for themselves in this world.

--

Clarke licked her lips as she followed Alex out to the car. "Tacos sound great, actually. They were one of my major food cravings when I was pregnant," she said with a laugh, raising her brows before tossing him her keys. She had to admit it was weird of her to let some guy she just met drive her car, but then again nothing about this situation was normal. They had just met, he came over to her house and met her daughter, and then bathed her like she was his own child. It was safe to say this whole situation was odd.

Rachel smiled gently. "Something tells me that it'll work out for you, baby." She spoke, patting Jack's arm. "Hell, if you work as hard on the band as you do at annoying me, then you guys will be winning grammys by next year!" Rachel teased, poking her tongue out at Jack. She rested back against him as the show started up again, finishing the remainder of her drink.

--

Alex climbed into the driver's seat and turned the car on, pulling out of Clarke's driveway. "Good, I was kinda hoping you were gonna say tacos. My sister's husband works there, so we get the family discount." Alex smiled slightly as he turned onto the main road. "Baltimore is a pretty cool place to hang around. Everyone is pretty chill. We do have a few bitches and losers, but I think every school does."

@ acid rain;

Jack poked his tongue out at her, wrapping his arm around Rachel and leaning back on the couch. "If I annoy you so much, then leave." He pouted as the show started up again, focusing his attention on that now because it was his favorite show. Of course, nothing would ever beat the home alone series, not by a long shot.

--

Clarke nodded her head while he talked, gazing outside the window while the trees and different buildings whizzed by. "It looks like a nice town," she commented with a small smile towards Alex. So far she hadn't run into any problems, just overly nosy people wondering where she used to go to school at and all that.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Jack, shush." She spoke, leaning over to press a kiss to his forehead. "You know I love you, baby." She rested her head on his shoulder and kept watching the show, curling up in Jack's lap. It was true, Jack did get on Rachel's nerves. But she couldn't imagine dating anyone else. He was her world.

--

Alex nodded his head as he pulled into the parking lot of the taco place. "Yeah," he spoke, turning off Clarke's car and handing her the keys. "I like it a lot here." He got out of the car and jogged around to the other side, opening Clarke's door. "Come on. Taco time." He grinned.

@ acid rain;

Jack smiled. "Can't get enough of this Barakat booty," he wiggled his butt on the couch before bursting out into laughter, hiding his face in his hands. "Okay even I have to admit that was kind of lame," he admitted between laughter.

--

Clarke accepted her keys with a small smile, getting out of the car as soon as he opened the door for her. "What a gentleman," she looped her arm through his and smiled, nodding to the Taco place. "Shall we, sir Gaskarth?" She said in a mock British accent.

"You are extremely lame." Rachel laughed. "But you are my Jackie, and I love you. So I kinda have to put up with you." She teased, leaning up to press a kiss to Jack's jaw. "And I love you even more when you can admit that you're lame."

--

Alex gasped. "Are you making fun of me?" He teased as they walked into the restaurant. "I happen to be British, ma'am!" He laughed and shook his head as they approached the counter, the man behind it happy to see him. "Ray, this is my new friend Clarke. Clarke, this is my brother in law. He makes the best tacos in the state of Maryland."

@ acid rain;

"I love you too, Rachey." He said with a quirk of his lips, leaning down to give her a kiss in return. Jack wasn't usually a serious person, he was always the class clown as he had been labeled in the yearbook since freshman year. It was just in his nature, Jack didn't like things to be serious because it made him feel awkward. But, he didn't mind this serious because he loved her and wanted to show her that he did.

--

"I had no idea!" She exclaimed with a laugh, wondering how she hadn't picked up on it. His voice did sound a little bit more.. different than the others but she hadn't wanted to say anything and make herself look like an idiot, which she ended up doing anyway. Clarke flushed as Alex introduced her to his brother in law, smiling softly as he reached out to shake her hand, which she accepted. "Nice to meet you, I'm a big fan of Tacos."

Rachel beamed at Jack's words. No matter how many times she had heard them, they always put butterflies in her tummy. "Good. That's what I like to hear." She grinned, patting Jack's knee. Rachel rested her head back against him and continued watching her show.

--

Ray nodded his head and grinned. "Nice to meet you, sweetie. New friend, huh? Well, any friend of Alex's is a friend of mine. Tacos are on me today." He spoke, beginning to ring them up. Alex smiled. "Thanks, Ray." He spoke happily.

--