Such a Surreal Place

*A few months later*

At the band meeting, I told the guys about the latest arenas booked and dates for a small break where they could get their significant others to fly in and spend some time together. I read out some good reviews from last night’s show and asked if there were any questions or comments. Zacky said he had one to make. I saw Mel’s eyes look down, and for once, I couldn’t read her expression. What was going on? Zacky stood and cleared his throat as he held out his hand to Mel and gently lifted her up out of her seat.

“We’re pregnant,” he said quietly, squeezing Mel’s hand. My jaw dropped to the ground. Mel was pregnant!

“Oh my God!” I squeaked with excitement and Mel smiled at me.

“Duuuuude...” Jimmy said slowly, staring at Zacky and Mel with an open mouth and dumbfounded (and slightly disgusted) look. I jumped up to hug Mel as Matt congratulated them. This was so exciting! Mel had a little baby her or Zacky inside of her!

“I’m so happy for you two!” I said, still ecstatic about their news as I hugged Zacky briefly. Johnny voiced his congratulations too and then we all looked at Brian who had remained quiet the whole time. He was sitting slouched on the couch, arms crossed and a blank look on his face. Zacky nudged me gently, as if I was expected to solve my husband’s problem straight away. “Babe?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just so overwhelmed...” Brian mumbled after a pause. He shook his head quickly and stood up, passing Zacky and slapping him on the back, as men do. “Congrats man.” Brian left the room, and soon after I heard the door to the bus shut behind him. Everyone looked at me again.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go talk to him...” I sighed, leaving after him. He so killed my friends’ happy moment... When I exited the bus, I caught a glimpse of his black clothes and tattooed arms walking around a corner to my right, so I went and followed him. He had stopped not too far around that corner, taking a seat outside a random shop, crossing his arms and putting his head down under his Fedora. I sat next to my husband, eager to find out what was up with him.

“Go away,” he grumbled, noticing that someone had sat next to him.

“Now, that’s not very nice to say to your wife,” I told him, still liking how I could say ‘wife’ and ‘husband’ now. He looked up at me from under his hat and apologized, those brown orbs incredibly miserable. He put his head back down and remained silent. “What’s up, hun?” I took his hand in mine and when he didn’t reply, I grabbed his hat and took it off him so he couldn’t hide behind it. He looked at me with terribly sad (but still gorgeous) eyes.

“I owe Zacky $500,” he mumbled and I got really confused.

“Why...?” I questioned, still really puzzled. Was he really this upset about some money?

“’Cause he got pregnant before me! He’s gonna have a little tyke running around before I do,” he explained, even though I didn’t understand why he thought Zacky himself was the pregnant one... “That alone is killing me. I really want a family and one of my best friends is doing that before me when I want it more! It sucks to just sit there and watch it happen to someone else.” I watched as his eyes started filling up with tears and I realised how much this actually means to him.

“But they’ve been married for longer, so of course they’re going to be ready to have a baby sooner,” I said, attempting to comfort him.

“But we’ve been together for longer,” Brian countered. “And I swear we are more in love.” I couldn’t help smiling ridiculously large after he said that. I kissed his cheek and we sat in silence for a minute, as I didn’t have any comebacks for him.

“How about...” I begun, but then got nervous. Was I really ready to say that? Or was I just doing it to comfort him? I started to really doubt myself and get confused about the whole situation.

“How about what?” Brian asked me, but I kept quiet. I had to seriously think about this. It was a big deal. “Babe? Ashleigh? Tell me...” He started to whine and even poked my arm immaturely, trying to get an answer out of me. I ignored him as I continued to seriously think about what I was about to say to him.

“Don’t worry. It was nothing...” I told him, but I doubt he believed me. He rested his head on my left shoulder and we sat there for about 5 minutes, the silence solving our problems for us.

“I’m sorry for overreacting before...” he muttered and I told him I was sorry for not being able to help him. We accepted each other’s apologies and kissed before going back to the bus to head to the next venue.

*A week later*

“How about we try to get me pregnant?” I suggested to Brian, finally getting it off my chest since a week ago when I just wasn’t sure about it.