Some Say This Can't Be Real.

“Babe, why are you waking me up so damn early?” I groaned, burying my face under the covers.

“I'm meeting up with the guys for tour rehearsals, and, well, we need a way to get in contact with Arin.”

I peeked out from under the covers, looking Zack directly in the eye. “Why?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Well I wanted my girlfriend to tour with us, but she had to go and get knocked up, so we need a drummer,” he said with a smirk.

Suddenly, I wasn't so tired anymore. “You're gonna take him?” I asked excitedly, sitting up. “Can I break the news to him? Please?” I begged.

“Nope, you're still tired. You complained about me waking you up just five minutes ago. All I need is a way to get in touch with him, and then you can go back to sleep.”

I rolled my eyes and reached over to the nightstand to grab my phone. “I'll just call him then.” I smirked, scrolling through my contacts list.

“Nooooo.” Zack whined. “We want to tell him in person!” He reached to try and grab my phone from my hand. Upon failing, more because he didn't want to tackle me for the device, he wore a look of defeat. “Okay, come on. You can drive so you can come back here afterwards if you want.”

Grinning with accomplishment, I got up and went to get dressed. With my ever-growing bump, I had to resort to sweatpants since I didn't have much motivation to go shopping for some new clothes just yet. I drove to my friends' apartment and let myself in, knowing that they most likely wouldn't be awake yet. To my surprise, Amy was awake, hard at work watching TV as we startled her.

“Jesus Christ, Lisa!”

I just laughed as Zack and myself walked into the living room. “We're here to kidnap your brother.”

“He went to bed like four hours ago, so I'd give him at least another hour or two.”

I was already on my way to his bedroom when I looked back over my shoulder. “Oh I'm sure we'll give him a burst of energy.”

“Whoa! There will be no threesomes with my brother!” Amy called out, running after us.

I barged into Arin's room and shook him awake. “Fuck off, Amy,” Arin groaned from under the covers.

“Hey, Arin, Zacky and I have some good news for you,” I said, smiling as I sat on his bed.

“Can I go back to sleep after hearing it?” He asked sleepily as he sat up.

I turned to Zack. “That's up to you, babe.”

“One day of missing rehearsals won't be bad. We're just gonna figure out what songs are going on the set-list pretty much.”

Smiling, I turned back to Arin who had an arched eyebrow. “They want you go to on tour with them.”

Arin's eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

“Yes,” Zack smiled. “Kid, you have serious talent, and since Lisa's unable to do it right now, we decided that we want you to join us. We only have a few weeks to rehearse and stuff, but we have faith in you. So meet us at Matt's place tomorrow at nine and we'll start.”

I thought Arin was going to tackle Zack right off the bed, but composed himself to nothing more than a hug and a 'thanks' to both of us. We told him to go back to sleep and I drove Zack to Matt's place. I stuck around to hang out with them for a while before I had gotten comfortable enough on the couch and fell asleep.



The few weeks had gone by quickly, and just like a few months prior, I had to wake up in the middle of the night to say goodbye to Zack, my brother, and my friends as they all met up here before heading to the airport. I was half awake the whole time, but remembered hugging Arin tightly and telling him that he would kick ass.

He did too. After the first show, videos flooded the internet, and I watched as many as I could in awe. Amy and Karlee were at my side watching with me in shock as well. The fan reception was something I thought wouldn't ever happen. I almost thought that it wasn't real. I could look away from the screen and convince myself that it was Jimmy sitting there playing those songs. The day after each show, the three of us would park ourselves in front of a computer and watch every video we could find.

“This can't be real,” I said with a smile. “I knew he would do fine, but this is just beyond amazing.”

“Fucking phenominal,” Karlee agreed.

Spending time with my friends had made the time away from Zack less upsetting. It was something I wasn't fully used to, but I knew I would have to eventually. I wondered if my potential musical career would be ruined now. I wanted to stay with my best friends-my band, I wanted to write music and play drums. I knew there were other musicians with children who still make it work, so I had some faith.

My thoughts were interrupted by a text message from Zack. Check the weather. Huge snow storm that we're driving into. Before I could react, my brother was calling me. I answered the phone after I told Amy to go to the weather on her computer.

“Hey, Johnny.”

“I think Zacky just told you to check the weather. We're in Moline, Illinois and there's this epic snowstorm starting.”

As he was saying it, Amy had pulled up the radar which showed the storm taking up almost the entire midwest, barreling down on the Chicago area with up to three feet or more of snow to be dumped across the entire area in warning. In an instant, I began freaking out. “Please tell me you guys aren't driving in it!”

“We're at the venue now and it's just starting. There's some talk about possibly canceling the show for the safety of the fans, but so far they're still going on with the show. Then tomorrow we have a show in Wisconsin and the day after off. Our guys are gonna make some calls and see if we can get tomorrow's show delayed until the next day since we might get snowed in here for the night.”

“Well whatever you guys have to do, please just be careful.”

“Don't worry. We will have your boyfriend back and he won't miss the birth of his child.”

“Just keep in touch and keep us posted. I want my brother, my boyfriend, my friends, and my best friend's brother to all come back in one piece.”

“We'll keep you guys posted.”

“Good. Put Arin on the phone now, or tell him to call one of us.”

“He's inside. I'll tell him to call. We need to start setting up, so we'll talk to you later.”

“Alright. Love you, big bro.”

“Love you too.”

The line disconnected and I leaned back in my seat. “Fuck that's an insane storm. They may or may not cancel tonight, and are gonna try and get tomorrow's show delayed to their following off day.”

I had faith that they would be careful if they were going to drive in the snow, but as the evening went on, I continued to worry. The show didn't get canceled and there was still no word on what was going on for the next night. If the show didn't reschedule, the guys would be driving through the snow on barely plowed roads. After we talked to Arin, I headed out to check on my brother's apartment, then went back to Zack's where I changed into my pajamas and laid on the couch to watch TV. I was almost asleep when my ringing phone had caused me to snap awake.

“Are you guys okay?” I asked when I answered after seeing Zack's name on the screen.

“We're fine. The storm is really bad, but a lot of people surprisingly made it out here. They're starting to pack up and then we're staying in a nearby hotel until the roads are cleared out. They moved tomorrow's show to the day after.”

“That's good to hear. I know you guys would've been okay, but this makes me feel a lot better.”

“Well I'm glad you're not worrying then. That worrying isn't good for our baby.”

“I'm aware of this, babe,” I said as my hand rested on the bump. “It's getting bigger faster now.”

“When do we get to find out that it's not an 'it' anymore?”

“The week after you guys get back I have an ultrasound scheduled and they should be able to see then.”

“I can't wait, and you should send me a picture,” he said, the grin evident in his voice.

I laughed softly. “What kind of picture?” I asked, trying to use a seductive voice.

It was Zack's turn to laugh. “Well now, I have no idea what was on your mind. I wanted to see the bump, but if you had other things in mind, please, feel free.”

I laughed. “I miss you, babe.”

“I miss you too, honey. Hey I gotta go help the guys. I'll call you tomorrow okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.”

After he hung up, I went to our bedroom and dug through the closet. I found the lacy lingerie that I wore the night I surprised Zack upon my return from Chicago. I felt insecure because of my growing belly, but took a few pictures and sent them to Zack before changing back into my pajamas. I took a moment to look at the bump, definitely starting to grow bigger with each passing week.