Where You Belong

"So, do you know the sex yet?" Lacey asked as she and I wandered through the mall, looking into the windows of various little shops and stores, hoping to find something to buy, "You're almost at six months, right?"

I nodded with a smile, "Six months next week," I confirmed before pulling her into a maternity store. It was officially time to start wearing maternity clothes, no matter how much I hated the idea. "And I'm scheduled to find out the sex once I'm at twenty five weeks, so that's two weeks from now." I said, causing her to squeal with excitement.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked a few minutes later, showing me an embroidered top with dolman sleeves. I eyed it, noting the fact that it had an empire waist, which was something I liked to wear. I nodded, and she smiled happily, "Which size?"

"Two," I answered, heading over to a rack that held a few dresses, "Or a two from the petite section, if they have one."

Lacey set to work, as did I. I'd actually found a few different dresses and tops that I'd liked after close to half an hour of searching. I'd decided that this would be all I'd try on for this trip; maternity clothes weren't cheap, and if I didn't find something a hundred and ten percent cute, then I wasn't fucking buying it. Lacey and I met at the dressing rooms, where she handed me a few items she'd found as a sale associate opened up a room for me.

"I don't know about that one," she scrunched her nose up at the first top I'd tried on. It was some sort of dark floral prints, and buttoned from the bust line up. I didn't find it all that flattering when I looked at it.

"You're right," I agreed with a sigh, walking back towards the dressing room, "I think I liked it better when it was on the hanger."

"I like it better in the trash," she mumbled lowly so that only I could hear. I giggled feverishly at her comment. I'd come to know her a lot better recently, given the fact that she often stayed quiet. But now that she was fully comfortable around me, she'd opened up a lot, and in a way, she was just as quirky as the rest of the girls and I. I could see how she and Johnny fit together.

I tried on the next few shirts, all of which Lacey and I agreed upon except for one. It went over to the reject pile of clothes that I'd tried. As I changed from outfit to outfit, Lacey had gone back and found a couple more things for me to try on that we'd both skipped over before. The majority of the tops and bottoms fit me well, and I decided to get them.

"Okay, I'm done for the day," I announced, stepping out of the dressing room after having changed back into my own clothes, pressing a hand to my stomach, "The baby is making me crazy."

"Time to eat?" Lacey guessed, and I nodded.

"Time to eat," I agreed, gathering the things I wanted.

Lacey helped me carry the clothes up to the counter, where we made small talk with the sales associate as she rang the clothes up. She began to read me my total, but I closed my eyes and clapped my hands over my ears, telling her that I didn't want to know. With a chuckle, she showed Lacey the total as I looked away, knowing Lacey's expression would give everything away. I gave the associate my card and covered the top part of the merchant's copy of the receipt as I signed it, knowing the price I'd paid was listed on there as well. I took my bags as Lacey picked up some of her own from another store, and we walked in the direction of the food court.

"Where to?" she asked, looking over at me as the food court came into sight, and I shrugged.

"I dunno, you pick," I suggested, looking around at all the different eateries, "I could eat a fucking horse right now, so it really doesn't matter."

Lacey frowned, "You sure? No special cravings or anything?"

I shook my head, "Nope, not yet. So I suggest you find a place before I suddenly get one." I said teasingly, elbowing her in the side. With a giggle, she led me over to the Sakura Express line, where we both ordered Japanese meals.

"Let's sit over there," she suggested lightly once we'd paid for our food. I nodded and followed her to a table towards the back of the food court with a smile. The girls had gotten a lot of attention since the boys were now famous, and the local fans here could spot them a mile away.

"So, how are things with Johnny?" I asked as I stabbed my fork into a piece of bourbon chicken, pausing a minute to eat it. Lacey looked up, chewing a mouthful of rice before she grabbed her napkin and wiped her mouth with a smiles.

"We're good," she nodded, taking a drink of the water in front of her, "He's been doing all this cute stuff for me now that they only have a couple more weeks before the tour starts."

I smiled at that. Johnny had always been a sweet guy once you got past his playful and childlike personality. I was glad that he'd found someone to share that side of himself with, and I was glad that he was treating Lacey so well. On the other hand, I knew the boys were all excited to tour again, no matter how much they would miss home. They all had this anxious feeling about them, and Val had explained that they got that way when a new tour was coming up. I thought it was cute to see them ready to go into rock star mode.

"I'm sure he's driving you crazy about the tour, though," I said, knowing Johnny's wild side came out whenever he was on tour.

Lacey threw her head back and groaned, "You have no idea!" she said with a laugh and a shake of her head, "He's sharing all the notorious tour stories, again. Particularly the one where he drunkenly pissed on Brian's dad."

I shook my head as well, "That's Johnny for you."

"Yeah," she sighed with a smile, "But I'll miss him. It sucks that they're not allowed to bring anyone with them."

I nodded in agreement, "I know. Brian told me that both Zack and Jimmy let management have it when they told them that even I couldn't go along," I chuckled, thinking of how protective both Zack and Jimmy had gotten of me since they'd found out I was pregnant. Brian wasn't much better in that department, but the other two went to extremes most of the time. "Of course, my doctor would never go for that plan, either way. He calls me every day just to make sure my stress levels aren't bad." I sighed with a shake of my head.

Lacey whistled lowly, "Well, you've sure got one hell of a doctor."

"I ought to," I nearly grumbled, "As much as I have to fucking pay for all these extra visits and tests they constantly run on me. And don't forget the ultrasounds; God knows those are expensive as hell."

"Yikes." she mumbled with raised eyebrows, turning back to her food.

I snorted loudly, "Yikes is fucking right."

We finished our lunch rather quickly, and after a stop to the restroom, we headed out to the parking lot and put our bags in the trunk of my car. As we both got inside, Lacey whistled at the interior, causing me to roll my eyes playfully.

"I think I'll be giving you a call when I'm ready to buy a new car," she muttered, leaning back into the cool, leather seat with a sigh, "This shit is nice."

I giggled, "That's a Bimmer for you, baby!" I smiled over at her before frowning, "Though I can tell that once I'm really ready to pop, driving in this itty bitty coupe is going to be miserable." I groaned, scooting my seat back several inches so that my stomach wouldn't poke the wheel.

"There's plenty of room to move back if no one is in the back seat," Lacey pointed out, and I shook my head.

"Not when my feet barely reach the pedals as it is," I grumbled, trying to sit both comfortably and at a point where my feet could still touch the brake, accelerator, and clutch. "Driving a stick is easy unless you're short and pregnant." I explained with a small laugh as we headed towards Brian and Michelle's house.

"You've got a point," she laughed loudly as I weaved in and out of the light traffic around us, "You sure won't be able to pull all these Fast and Furious stunts once you get close to your due date."

"Yeah, don't remind me." I sighed dramatically.

We talked a bit more before I reached Brian and Michelle's house, parking at the curb and cutting the car off. There were several cars parked around their front lawn and in their long, winding driveway, and I could already spot Val's car, along with Zack's and Johnny's cars right away. Lacey walked behind me with a hand on my elbow for support as we walked up to the front door and went right in.

"Honey, I'm home!" I announced shrilly, wandering through the foyer. I heard the light chatter of voices once we'd both walked further into the house, and I smiled when I saw everyone gathered around in Brian's private bar room.

"Hey, mommy!" Brian exclaimed, taking a stand and wrapping me up in his arms, "How's it goin'?" he grinned, releasing me so that Michelle could hug me next.

I sighed, moving from Michelle to Val, and then went straight for Leana's lap, "It's going."

"Uh oh," Johnny chuckled as I stretched my body across Leana and Jimmy, kicking my heels off, "One of those days, eh?"

"Yeah, you could say that," I smiled lightly as I lay on my side, Leana's fingers immediately rooting themselves in my hair. "Oooh, that feels good."

"Britt, your attention span gets worse every day," Michelle snorted from her seat in front of the bar, Brian standing beside her with an arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

I waved my hand at her with a smirk, "Eh, I'm allowed."

"Says who?" she countered with a laugh, and I smirked even more at that.

"Baby, I'm pregnant," I smiled smugly, "I can hack the fucking Pentagon at this point and get away with it. I'm just lethal like that."

"Oh god," Val snorted, and I replied by sticking my tongue out at her.

"Anyway," I sighed dramatically, "Are you guys ready for the tour to start?" I asked, directing my question towards the boys. At the mention of the nearing tour, I noticed each one of the guys' eyes light up.

"You have no fucking idea, man," Johnny shook his head, a small smile creeping across his face as he stretched out across the floor, "I can't fucking wait to go back on tour," he sighed dreamily, running a hand through his unruly hair.

Matt took a long drink of his beer and nodded in agreement, "Me neither. Shit, as grueling as it always is, I love it. Miss it. It's been so long since we've toured."

"Too fucking long," Zack smiled softly, walking in with a beer and taking a seat by Brian and Michelle.

"Here, here!" Jimmy howled loudly, causing Leana and I to jump at his sudden outburst. Val giggled, curling against Matt's side.

"Well, I think that about sums it all up," Brian stated sarcastically, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. I made a move to speak, but frowned as my stomach growled loudly, echoing throughout the room. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, and smiled sheepishly.

Lacey sighed loudly, "Britt, we just ate before we got here!"

"Yeah, but I'm hungry now!" I whined, standing on my feet with Jimmy's help, stretching my arms above my head as I worked out a few kinks in my back. I then turned and smiled innocently at Michelle. "Oh, Chelle." I sang softly.

She rolled her eyes, "Go ahead." she mocked in the same sing-song tone.

With a squeal and clap of my hands, I raced off towards the kitchen in search of something to eat. I wasn't craving anything specific, it seemed, so I began opening and shutting cabinets to see if I could find something that would interest me. During my search, I'd found a few things that I'd wanted, and because I couldn't decide between any of them, I simply picked all of them to eat.

As I laid out the food, I giggled to myself. It was a rather strange combination, that was for sure. I'd found a personal mini tub of Neapolitan ice cream, some peanut butter, cheese cubes, and goldfish. I'd also found some whipped cream and pepperonis, as well. I could barely contain my excitement as I laid everything out on top of the island in the kitchen and climbed atop, sitting comfortably in front of the food.

"Thank you, Jesus; thank you, thank you, thank you," I muttered, my eyes falling shut as I took a large bite of the ice cream, a mix of chocolate and strawberry hitting my tongue. I popped a couple of pepperonis in my mouth before I moved onto the goldfish, grabbing a handful and popping those into my mouth as well.

Leaning my head back, I squirted some of the whipped cream into my mouth and took another bite of the ice cream. It tasted absolutely amazing to me, that was for sure. I was reaching for more pepperonis and cheese cubes when I heard Michelle's voice from the other room.

"What are you doing in there?" she called loudly.

I would've given her an annoyed look if she'd been standing in front of me, "I'm trying to eat! What do you want?"

"Come back in here with the rest of us!" she beckoned, and I sighed.

"Then I'd have to stop eating!" I whined with a small stomp of my foot, reaching over and grabbing another spoonful of ice cream. I heard laughter from the other room, but paid it no mind.

"No, you don't. Just bring it with you!"

"I'd still have to stop eating just to walk back in there! I'm hungry!"

"Oh my God, Britt!" she shouted in agitation, and I smirked. I loved to get her worked up sometimes. She lacked as much patience as I did sometimes, so I found it funny to fuck with her every now and then.

"Fine, dammit!" I shouted back, hopping off the island and gathering all the food in my arms the best I could. Grumbling to myself, I walked slowly into the bar again, trying to be careful not to drop or spill anything. As soon as I entered the room, I hurried and took a seat on the floor, spreading the items back out in front of me. I grabbed a handful of pepperonis and another handful of goldfish, quickly popping them all into my mouth with a long sigh. "God, this is good."

I paid no attention to my friends at that point. I was so hungry in that moment, and all I wanted to do was eat until I was so sated that I couldn't think straight anymore. I groaned in happiness at the taste before happily digging back into the ice cream, deciding to mix some of the whipped cream in it as I went. Once I'd had a few more bites, I grabbed another spoonful of peanut butter and some goldfish, followed by the rest of the cheese cubes. It wasn't long before I'd finished off everything in front of me.

"Soooo fucking good," I mumbled as I fell back onto my elbows, sighing as I let out a rather obnoxious burp. I was feeling slightly comatose and dizzy, but I still felt pretty amazing. I hadn't even noticed that the room had gone quiet, and everyone was eyeing me strangely until I looked over and saw Johnny and Lacey on the floor just a few feet away, staring at me like I'd grown three heads.

I frowned, turning to see that the others had the same expressions, "What? Why are y'all looking at me?" I asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.

"Umm, cause you're eating like you've never seen a meal in your life before? More than you usually do?" Johnny asked dumbly, pouting when Lacey fixed him with a hard glare and smacked his side.

Uh oh. Here they come...

I could feel my hormones go haywire at that moment, as I looked over at my best friend with tears welled in my eyes, causing Lacey to sigh. I didn't know why I suddenly felt so miserable and sad, but I did. It was as if my body had completely taken control over me, as I burst into tears, pushing the empty containers away from me.

"Well, I'm sorry I just can't be fucking perfect, Jonathan!" I snapped tearfully, flailing my arms out to my side. "I'm pregnant! I can't help how I fucking feel! I can't help that I'm always emotional, that I always have to pee, that my breasts always hurt, that I can never sleep, that I'm always so motherfucking horny! And I sure as hell can't help the fact that I'm always fucking hungry! I can't fucking help it! So next time, before you fucking criticize me, why don't you fucking try getting knocked up and prepare for a fucking watermelon to pop itself out of your fucking vagina! Then you can fucking rag on me for how motherfucking hungry I am all the goddamned time!" I ranted in a high pitched shriek before Leana hurried over to my side, tissues in hand.

The room was silent as Leana smiled softly at me, "Sweetie, he wasn't trying to be mean, you know that."

"I know, but he just basically called me fucking fat!" I wailed pitifully about, throwing myself back onto the floor as I sobbed, "I know I'm fucking fat, okay? I know that! I can see my fucking self when I look in the mirror, and I have a fucking scale!"

"Oh hush," she giggled, pulling me into a hug as I cried into her shoulder, "You know you're not fat, Britt."

"But I've gained fifteen fucking pounds! Fifteen!" I howled, soaking her shirt with tears, "I'm a fucking whale now! A motherfucking blimp! Stick a Nazi flag on and call me the motherfucking Hindenburg!" I shrieked, and she fell out laughing at that. I glared meanly at her, and she held her hands up in defense.

"Babe, you're pregnant, okay? You're supposed to gain weight, and when you have the baby, it'll fall right off. In the mean time, your mood swings are the most adorable thing I've ever seen."

"Maybe for you," I heard Johnny mutter, and I looked at him, hurt filling my heart as he said that.

"He doesn't mean it like that, either," Lacey quickly interjected, shooting Johnny an evil look before smiling brightly at me.

Leana smiled, too, "Britt, Johnny's your best friend. You know he says things without a single thought as to how they'd sound coming out of his mouth. So try not to bite his head off again; I think you scared him."

I looked over to see that my friend was indeed looking a little shaken, as were the rest of the guys. Val and Michelle looked highly amused however, Val biting back a smile as Michelle raised a hand to stifle a laugh. I looked back to Johnny and frowned before sobbing again, getting on all fours and crawling over to him. The look on his face was one of terror, but I ignored it and threw myself at him for a hug.

Johnny grunted as I fell against him, wrapping his arms around me, "See, you do think I'm fat!" I wailed, burying my face into his tattooed neck, "Oh, Johnny, I'm so sorry! I never meant to get s-so angry and yell at you. I-I...it just kinda happens sometimes, and I just can't help myself. I still love you, please don't be mad at me!" I cried, clinging onto him. I felt his tense body soften and felt a hand rub my back comfortingly.

"Britt, I could never be mad at you," he chuckled lightly, pulling me away from him so that he could look me in the eyes. "I guess I should just be more careful when I say things, huh?"
I nodded innocently, "Yeah. That'd be nice, cause I don't feel like crying all the time. Makes me tired," I giggled, and he cocked an eyebrow at me.

"It really does come and go, huh?" he chuckled, and I frowned at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously, as I tilted my head to the side and looked at him.
He moved to speak, but Lacey elbowed him all the while smiling sweetly at me, "He means that you're the coolest friend he's ever had, and that he loves you." she answered, and I felt my heart swell with happiness as I looked over at my friend.

"Aww, Johnny, I love you too!" I squealed, placing a wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek as I pulled him into as tight a hug as I could muster, "Now come help me up, I have to pee, then I wanna go find something to eat. Like some pop tarts, or maybe a hot dog? And some chicken wings or steak, maybe?"

Lacey smiled and allowed Johnny up to help me stand, "Yes, ma'am."