Romeo In Blue Jeans

"Suck it in." Kennedy advised.

"There's a human growing inside of me. I can't suck it in." I gasped.

I lay on the floor of the front of the bus trying to button my shorts. We were on our way to Ohio for the fifth show of the tour now and everything was going smoothly and normal. Except the bump starting to develop on my belly. So far, it had snowed since the second day of tour. It was freezing cold and I was partly used to the snow from Colorado, but each time we headed higher up north, it got colder. I was two months into my pregnancy and it was hard to fit into my jeans nowadays.

"You're going to hurt yourself, love." John worried, standing over me, trying to figure out a way to help. I groaned and dropped my arms to the floor.

"What am I supposed to do if my pants won't fit?" I sighed.

"You can borrow a pair of my shorts for now. We'll go buy your some new clothes tomorrow for our off day." John smiled, stretching out his hand towards me. I took it and he helped me stand. He gave my hand a soft squeeze as he led me to the back room.

"I'll find something that actually fits me later. I just wanted something comfortable to be around." I pouted as he searched through his small bag. I dropped my body onto the couch with a sight. I closed my eyes and thought back.

You slept with Kennedy?" Kirky's face paled. Vivi nodded, another tear sliding down her cheek. He just stared into her eyes, waiting for one of us to scream 'you've been pranked!', but that wasn't going to happen. Vivi had cheated on Kirky and we couldn't change that.

He was heartbroken. I could tell from the way his lips pressed into a straight line and his face paled. The bags under his eyes seemed deeper. He never had them. He hadn't been sleeping since Vivi had stayed with me and John for three days. When she went back home, she had that conversation with Kirky. He packed a suitcase and climbed on an airplane to Fort Worth the next day to take care of some band stuff. Even Simon was flying to start some new music. Melli and I tried to somehow get Vivi to stop crying, but she kicked Melli in the back and bit my arm. We kept our distance from her bed after that.

John and I talked to Kennedy and he blamed himself for everything. We tried telling him otherwise, but he was too hard headed. He believed that he had pushed Vivi into sleeping with him, but that wasn't true. Ken didn't know that Vivi had feelings for him. She was too afraid to tell him.

The night before tour started, I couldn't help but cry in John's arms as we lay under our covers. I wished I could make the pain of my three friends go away. Why did they have to go through this confusion and hurt? John told me that there's always going to be something I can't do to help, and that hurt. I know he meant well, but I wished I could be of help at this time of need.

John carefully crawled onto of me without putting his weight on me. He kissed me and I smiled against his lips. I grabbed the collar of his T-shirt with my hands and pulled him closer, as if it was any more possible. He chuckled against my lips and wrapped his arm around my waist, lifting me up from the couch. He somehow managed to take off my shorts and throw them aside.

“We can’t here. We can traumatize Pat if he walks in. He’s twelve and he’s not supposed to know these things.” I was out of breath, and so was he as he let out a soft laugh. He stood and extended his hand towards me. I took in and he pulled me up, picking me up bridal style.

“He needs to learn sooner than later.” He whispered before his lips pressed against my neck.

“He’s definitely not learning it from us. Leave that to Melli and Garrett.” I shuddered against the trail of kisses he left on my neck.

“So first you deny marrying me and now I can’t make love to my beautiful fiancé?” He pouted.

“I did not deny marrying you,” I retorted. “You agreed it was better to wait after the baby’s born. I’m just going to keep getting fatter from now on.”

I had convinced John into pushing the wedding back until after the baby was born. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about resizing a dress. That and I didn’t want anyone to think he had knocked me up and I was making him marry me so I would tie him down. No matter the baby or wedding, I was still going to tour with John and the guys. I wasn’t going to take him away from something that he loved doing. We were both happy that I could go on tour with him.

“I don’t care about that. You’re beautiful no matter how you look. I love you either way,” He assured me, staring me right in the eyes as he set my feet down on the floor. “I just want to marry you as soon as we can.”

“I know, but these nine months will pass by in a jiffy.” I assured him, kissing the corner of his mouth.

“I can’t wait.” He smiled. He bent over and lifted my shirt a bit to expose my belly. His fingertips left a soothing trail on my skin that sent shivers down my spine. His lips pressed to my stomach and lingered there for a while. I giggled and he ruined the moment by licking my tummy. I laughed and smacked his arm playfully. I changed into his shorts and he led me back outside to the front of the bus where the rest of the guys were.

“So, have you guys thought of any possible names for the baby?” Jared asked.

“No, we hadn’t really thought about it since we don’t really know the sex yet.” I shrugged.

“How about Garrett if it’s a boy?” Garrett winked.

“Why would I want my child to be named after you, Nickelsen?” John asked.

“Because I’m your number one love.” Garrett threw him a kiss, leaving John to roll his eyes.

“I like Mallory if it’s a girl.” I offered.

“And Bryce for a boy?” John offered.

“Mallory Lane O’Callaghan or Bryce Jared O’Callaghan,” The smile on John’s face grew at the sound of the possible names for our child. I turned to Jared, whose mouth was agape. “I know Jared helped you through a lot and you thank him every day of your life, and I hope this shows him how much his friendship means to you. Even I thank you for keeping him safe and sane for me, J.”

Jared stood and enveloped me in one of his love filled beat hugs. He whispered so many thank you’s and how glad and happy he was that John had found me. When he stepped back, I noticed a tear in the corner of his eye, but he wiped it away before any of the guys could see it.

-------------------------------------------------------

“Thank you.” John smiled as he helped me slide my sweater.

“You know I can dress myself right?” I chuckled. He had been extra cautious with everything I did. Every time I had a sudden craving, he made Luis, the bus driver, pull over the bus on a rest stop or a gas station. I would laugh as the guys would run around screaming emergency until John would come back with my snack.

“I know, but I want you to be comfortable.” He shrugged. I grinned and pecked his lips.

As the guys prepared for sound check, I went to the merch table to help Vito set up. Austin Gibbs was there setting up his merch with Trey. Trey had joined Austin and they joined the guys in this tour. Vito smiled when I joined him and handed him over the shirts that were in the boxes to hang them.

“Hey, baby momma!” Austin called, a beer in his hand. I waved back with a laugh and he leaned over the merch table. “How’s the bread in the oven so far?”

“Growing more each day.” I softly patted my stomach.

“I better be the second to feel that little guy kick.” He pointed.

“I’ll call you as soon as it happens.” I promised, sticking out my pinky finger to him. He wrapped his pinky with mine and we both laughed.

“Hey, Carter,” Kennedy cleared his throat. He stood in front of the merch table looking down at his shoes with his hands tucked in his pockets. “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course,” I smiled and followed him outside. A few girls yelled, but Kennedy just waved and put on the best fake smile he could. I watched him as we walked. He kept his gaze on the ground as he kicked a small rock. He seemed sad and the bags under his eyes seemed to keep getting bigger. I didn’t know where we were going, but it had to be important if we were so far from the rest of the guys. We sat in the bench of a park and the cold air made me shiver. I wrapped my arms around myself and stared down at my shivering legs, waiting for Kennedy to say something. “What’s up, Ken?”

“I talked to Vivi,” He sighed. “And she said she would rip my balls off and make me eat them with hot sauce if I kept calling her.”

“That’s good,” I nodded. “NOT THE PART WHERE YOU GET YOUR BALLS RIPPED OUT! But why are you so down? I hear you awake at four in the morning and later. Why can’t you sleep?”

“Because it’s my fault that Kirky’s angry with Vivi. It’s my fault that he left.” He admitted, his tired eyes finally staring into mine.

“Ken, it’s not your fault. It takes two to tango,” I answered. “It’s as much as Vivi’s fault as it is to yours and Kirky’s.”

“Why Kirky’s?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Whoops, I guess he didn’t know.

“Kirky cheated on Vivi last year,” I sighed. “So I gave him a black eye before she forgave him.”

“Please don’t give me a black eye.” His eyes widen.

I laughed, “I won’t because I love you and it’s NOT your fault.”

“Then why do I feel so guilty about it?” He sighed.

“Tell me something, Kenny,” I started. “What are your feelings for Vivi?”

He blushed at my question and stammered, “I-uh-what do you mean?”

“Come on, Ken. I know you better than to just hook up with Vivi for a night and then pretend nothing happen.”

“You know me too well,” He chuckled. “I really like her, but she’s with Kirky. She wants to be with him, not me. She hasn’t talked to me since we slept together. She avoids me like the plague.”

“Am I going to have to instigate and lock you both in a room together?” I asked. We all knew when it came to my instigating abilities, I always got my way. So, I was going to have to figure out a way to make Vivi admit to Kennedy that she felt the same way. This was going to be though. I knew Vivi was just confused about everything that was going on, but she needed to tell Kennedy the truth. He deserved that much.

“Thank you,” He chuckled. “I just hope my nuts are safe if you do.”

“That’s…disturbing.” I shuddered, he laughed. We walked back to the venue after we grabbed some hot chocolate for everyone.

The night flashed by, without me realizing. I know one second I was taking pictures, then helping Vito with merch, and packing up to leave, but I was in a daze throughout the night. All I could concentrate my mind on was the text message I had received when Kennedy and I had come back from the park. My mind wavered around Kirky. How long did he plan on ignoring Vivi? Did he plan on going back to Arizona or staying in Texas? I reread the message on my phone, still trying to figure out how I could help and fix everything going on, but I couldn’t think of anything I could do.

Why didn’t you tell me? I thought I could trust you, C. I guess I was wrong. –Kirky

I was in the middle of everything. The first thing the doctor had told me: no stress whatsoever. This was going to be the most stressful event in my life.