Where You Belong

"Momma's coming, baby, hold on!" I called hurriedly as I rushed towards Mason's nursery room, his loud cries filling the apartment. I opened his door, walking into his room and peering into his crib. His face was beet red and his eyes were scrunched up as he wailed, a sight that completely broke my heart.

I wasn't sure why he was crying, but I knew I had to calm him down. I reached into Mason's crib and picked him up, shushing him softly as I cradled his small body into my arms. His eyes immediately opened and locked with mine, though he continued to cry. I leaned down and pressed several soft kisses to his warm skin, smiling at him when I noticed he'd started to quiet down some.

"What's going on, little man?" I spoke in a soft voice, swaying from side to side as I lifted a hand and wiped the tears from his face, "You can't be hungry; you just ate. What's the matter, huh?"

Mason hadn't fully stopped crying, but his face was no longer red. He kept his gaze trained on me as I slowly shuffled towards the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Taking a seat, I shifted him in my arms and slowly rocked us back and forth, hoping to soothe him. It wasn't easy, but I knew from experience that I had to have patience.

Mason had been born four weeks early, deeming himself as a preemie because he wasn't thirty seven weeks into term at time. He'd weighed a little more than six pounds and was nineteen inches long, which was fairly small, but not a small as most infants born prematurely. Overall he was healthy, but the doctors had wanted to keep an eye on him as he couldn't regulate his body temperature on his own.

The guys had continued on their tour the day after Mason was born, and because he'd been deemed too sick to leave the hospital, the girls and I had stayed behind in Virginia. I'd been released from the hospital a day or two after the guys had left, but I'd visited Mason as often as the hospital staff would allow me, and the girls and I had all rented rooms in the nearest hotel so that I wouldn't be too far from him. Both my parents had flown out so that they could see him as well, and they'd even stayed with us.

It'd been five months since then, and the girls and I had just begun our countdown for the guys' return home. It'd been hard not having the whole group together, but we stuck with each other and kept one another company. With Mason added to the group, I was never alone anymore.

Mason had to have been the most popular person on the planet.

There were always at least three people around me, and the combination was different every day. The guys' parents, especially Kim Sanders and Maria Baker, visited every week, sometimes every other day. My own mother was also present the majority of the time, as was my father. In fact, it was hard to keep my parents away from Mason. Even when he was red-faced and crying because he was hungry, my mother honestly wouldn't let me see him, as if she could just breastfeed him herself.

The girls often fought over who would hold him, or carry him, or change him, and the list just goes on. They were just as bad as the guys had been the day Mason was born. They made such a fuss over him, no matter where we were.

"You feeling a little better, baby?" I asked him softly once he'd finally fallen silent, curling his small body into my chest. My smile brightened as his eyes fluttered open in response, staring up at me with his big, light brown eyes.

My heart raced as I continued watching my son in wonder. He was my first born and had come to me a little earlier than we had all expected. I found that the love and protectiveness I felt over him had only grown and continued to grow after he was born. Mason meant everything to me now, and I couldn't imagine my life without him in it now that he was here.

I spent a few more moments with him before standing on my feet, holding him to me before making my way to the living room. I took a seat on the couch and spread one of Mason's plush blankets across the other half of it before laying him on his back. He was wide awake at this point, so I knew there was no point in trying to put him back down to sleep.

Leaning over, I plucked his scrapbook off the glass coffee table in front of my legs and sat it on my lap before Mason's whining met my ears. Turning to him with a frown, I watched as he whimpered and pouted at me, letting me know that he wanted something to do. I leaned over again and handed him his pacifier before placing a small, colorful rattle in his hand.

Once Mason was satisfied, I began flipping through the completed pages of the book. The girls, moms, and I had been working on it since I got into my last trimester, so there were quite a few pictures from when I was pregnant, the families, the girls, guys and I. Now that Mason was here, there were a ton of pictures of him, too. I took a lot of them, but there were a lot taken by everyone else, as well. Every waking moment of Mason's life had been documented by someone in our tight little group, and I was sure it would be something he'd love to see once he was a bit older.

I was snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of the cordless phone ringing from the table beside the couch. I set the scrapbook back down and glanced over at Mason, making sure that he was still in a safe position and wasn't too close to the edge of the couch before placing a hand on his stomach to hold him down while reaching for the phone.

I smiled at the caller ID and answered, "Hi, love."

"Hey, girl, Lacey's soft voice giggled from the other end of the line, "I hope you and Mas are up for some company; Val and I are on our way over."

"Well, I guess I have no choice, huh?" I drawled sarcastically, though I was honestly glad to have a few extra pairs of hands.

I loved Mason with everything I had, but I was tired, plain and simple. Mason was an extremely needy child for obvious reasons, and I rarely got any sleep beccause of it. I didn't mind losing my sleep and looking like a zombie so long as he was happy and healthy, but I knew it wouldn't be long before everyone started worrying about me.

Lacey laughed, "Nope, you sure don't," she said, and I could picture her smirking in my mind, "Leave the door open for us. We'll be there in under five minutes."

I yawned lightly, "Yeah, yeah," I said with a flap of my hand, though she couldn't see it.

We exchanged a few more words before we hung up, and I placed the phone back on the coffee table in front of me. Mason was still focused intently on his toy, staring at it in wonder as he lay on his back. I smiled and watched the way his eyes would light up when the toy lit up or made sounds that interested him; the look on his face was one of the most adorable things I'd ever seen.

A bark sounded from my left, and I looked down at my feet to see Icky standing next to them, looking up at me with his famous Icky puppy pout, one which no one, especially Zack, could ever say no to. With a sigh, I used my free hand to pat the empty spot next to me on the couch, and without further hesitation, he happily jumped up onto the couch, gaining Mason's attention, and curled up into my side.

"Hi, baby," I chuckled as he licked the hand that was by my side, tickling my sensitive skin, "I love you, too."

With another bark, Icky gave me what looked to be a wolfish smile before he settled on my lap, as close to my stomach as he could get. I guessed that he was still getting used to the fact that my stomach wasn't huge anymore, as I'd always placed him on top of my stomach when I was resting as if I was balancing a beanbag. I sat still for a while, allowing Icky to have his peace on top of my legs.

It wasn't long before the roar of an engine caught Icky's and my attention, though Mason lay unphazed with his little toy. Icky's ears perked up and he jumped to his feet, standing in what he probably considered to be a menacing stance on top of my legs as he stared in the direction of the door. Voices soon could be heard, and he instantly calmed down when Lacey and Val appeared around the corner, arms loaded down with bags, and bright smiles spread across their faces.

"Hey, y'all," I waved lightly at them, using my other hand to hold Mason in place as Icky let out a bark, hopping off my lap and making a beeline towards Lacey. Oh, how Icky loved Lacey.

Lacey bent down to pet Icky before smiling over at me, "Hey, yourself. What've you been up to?" she asked as she made a beeline towards Mason, scooping him up into her arms and covering him with kisses. I stifled a laugh as Mason scrunched his face up before staring up at her in wonder, seemingly taking in every feature of her face.

I sighed, leaning back into the couch, "Oh, the usual. Motherhood stuff." I chuckled tiredly, eyeing Val as she began ripping open plastic bags and stocking my already filled kitchen with more groceries, "Val, you do know that I went grocery shopping yesterday, right?"

Giggling, my blonde friend turned to me and flashed me a dazzling smile, "I realize this, but a certain green eyed guitarist for my husband's band has been calling us every second of the day, harrassing us to make sure you have everything you could possibly needs. Baker's orders."

I rolled my eyes, "He's so paranoid these days, it's absolutely mind-numbing."

"Ah, nonsense!" Lacey dismissively flapped her hand at me, "The man would do anything for you; you know that."

"Of course I do, but don't you think he's going a bit overboard with this stuff?" I asked her pointedly, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance as she cooed at Mason.

"Of course he is," Val shrugged haphazardly, keeping her eyes trained on the groceries she was putting away in the kitchen cabinets, "But it's because he carries about you. The both of you."

Lacey grinned, "It's cause he can't stop thinking about you."

I cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion, "Why's that?" I asked, feeling rather out of the loop.
Val didn't say anything, so I turned back to Lacey for further explanation, "Britt, you can't honestly be that blind."

I blinked, suddenly feeling a little dumb, "Blind to what?"

Lacey face palmed herself and Val broke out into hysterical laughter, for some reason that was completely unknown to me. I looked back and forth between my friends in utter confusion, watching as Val shook with laughter, and Lacey sputtered incoherent phrases to herself over and over.

What the fuck?

Val was the first to regain her composure, "Britt, sweetie, I've stayed out of the teasing in the past, but really," she eyed me with a raised brow, "It's pretty obvious nowadays, don't you think?"

I was beginning to get impatient here, "What the fuck is so obvious? You guys are being fucking cryptic as hell," I rolled my eyes, fixing my friend with a not so pleased look.

"Really?" Lacey rolled her eyes, "You and Zack!"

Oh, here they go.

"Seriously, guys?" I groaned in exasperation, "Y'all are still on this fucking kick about Zack secretly liking me or something? You're delusional!"

With that, I stood up and walked away from the two of them, shaking my head as I retreated to the kitchen. I went straight for the freezer, digging through the items inside until I came across a tub of neopolitan ice cream, causing a grin to spread across my face. I pulled that out and quickly found a bowl and spoon, along with some chocolate syrup and whipped cream. As I scooped the ice cream into the bowl, I could hear hushed whispers from the living room.

I took a few bites of ice cream before hearing Mason's cry from the living room. With a sigh, I held the bowl in one hand and trudged back out to where my friends were, setting my bowl on the coffee table and taking Mason from Lacey. I studied his facial features, and it didn't take me long to figure out what the problem was.

"Baby, for someone so small, you sure do eat a lot," I mumbled, pressing a kiss to my son's forehead, taking a moment to shush him as I swayed from side to side. I hated seeing him so frustrated, his face red and features all contorted, but I knew he wouldn't fully calm down until I fed him.

I plopped down onto the couch, cradling Mason in my arms before lifting the tank top I was wearing so that I could feed him. I grimaced as he latched onto my nipple; this whole motherhood and breastfeeding thing wasn't as gloriously comfortable as those tree-hugging fools on TV made it seem. Babies teeth, and they teeth hard. There's nothing wonderful about having my boobs gnawed on like they're fucking doggy chew toys.

"Well, you don't look miserable at all," I heard a chuckle, and it was only then that I realized that I'd had my eyes tightly squeezed shut and had been reciting the alphabet backwards in my head. Looking up with another grimace, I watched as Michelle strolled into the room with a smirk, and flipped her off with my free hand.

"Fuck you, DiBenedetto," I nearly growled, resisting the urge to roll my eyes, "Cause when you pop out a bigger, full term baby with better developed gums and incoming teeth than Mason, you're gonna wish you'd kept your pie-hole shut." I smirked, watching as the color instantly drained from her face.

Yeah, buddy. I got her on that one.

"Anyway," Lacey cut in, just as Mason's jaw clamped down even further on my sensitive skin, "Back to the conversation at hand!"

I couldn't help but to groan as Michelle looked between Val and Lacey, "What conversation is that?"

"Please don't get them started," I grumbled irritably, feeling the sudden urge to punch a hole in the wall at the way Mason's gums somehow cut into my skin, "Ah, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Lacey ignored me completely, "Britt and Zack."

"Ah, Britt and Zack," Michelle smirked knowingly at me, and I shot her a nasty look. She continued to smirk as she looked back at Lacey, "What about the two love birds?"

"Oh my God, enough of this shit!" I crossed my arms defiantly, but my friends continued to pay me no mind.

"Britt, one day, you're gonna realize just how important you are to that man, and vice versa," Val sighed after an hour of arguing back and forth about my lack of a love life.

The girls were just bound and determined to make me see things their way, which was absolutely absurd in so many ways. Lacey and Michelle had sworn with everything they had that my best friend was secretly harboring feelings for me, and Val even backed them!

I personally thought they were all smoking crack.

There was no romantic air between Zack and I. Sure, we were rather touchy with one another, but I was often fueled by raging hormones, and Zack had just gotten out of a difficult relationship. He was bound to feel needy, and I knew how much he needed the extra love and attention.

We were just friends, just as we always had been. I couldn't seem to stress that fact enough to my friends, but hell, they never bothered with listening to me. They told me that I was just blind, oblivious to my own feelings as well as Zack's. They each took turns pointing out details about Zack and I that they thought made us a compatible pair, much to my dismay.

I was happy when they finally let the subject go, each of the three settling for drinks and gathering around the TV, for one of the guys' televised interviews. Leana soon joined us, just before the interview on Fuse was ready to begin. Mason had long since finished feeding, and I happily replaced my shirt before burping him and laying him back down on the couch next to me.

"They're starting, they're starting!" Leana squealed excitedly, pointing at the flat screen in front of us.

Michelle rolled her eyes at Lee's antics, "No shit, Sherlock."

Damn, she was so much like Brian sometimes.

Val reached forward and turned up the volume once the camera zeroed in on Matt's face, causing the rest of us to roll our eyes in unison. The interviewer asked the guys a series of questions, and they each took turns answering personal ones as well as some for the entire group.

"Alright, and this next question is for Mr. Vengeance, here," the interviewer began, flipping through a few small notecards in his hands. Zack nodded in acknowledgement and shifted in his seat, something I knew that he did when he was preparing to listen to something he felt deserved his complete attention.

Zack smiled, crossing one leg over his other knee, "Go for it, man."

"Alright," the interviewer chuckled, looking down at the cards in his hands, "We got a viewer from Irvine, California named Sarah. Sarah says, There are several pictures circulating the internet of you and a girl with gold hair who looks to be very pregnant on several different occasions. Who is this girl and how do you know her?"

I felt my eyes widen in shock as the girls started squealing, and several pictures off Zack and I walking through downtown Huntington were brought up on the screen. Holy shit, I was on TV! It was a weird feeling, seeing myself in another light, I guess. I was used to seeing Zack's and the guys' pictures plastered everywhere, but seeing myself that way was somehow different to me.

Was I really that huge when I was pregnant? I found myself wondering.

Zack's laughter rang out, as did the laughter of the others, "That's one of my best friends, Brittany. We all went to high school together, even though she's a couple of years younger than us."

"So, there's nothing going on with the two of you?" the interviewer asked skeptically, and it was then that I noticed all of the guys snickering in the background. Zack's facial expression didn't falter as he maintained eye contact with the interviewer, but I could tell from his rigid stance that he was thoroughly annoyed with hearing that question, just as I was.

Zack shook his head, "Though everyone seems to think that, there's not."

The interviewer smirked, "I dunno, man, if everyone has their suspicions of you two, there must be a reason," he laughed, and the guys did as well.

"They've always been close," Jimmy shrugged haplessly, "Know each other inside and out. Weird connection they've had since day one."

"Ah, I see," the interviewer nodded in understanding, flashing Zack a quick smirk, "So, for all those jealous fan girls out there, what do you want them to know about the girl in all the pictures, Vengeance?"

Zack grinned, turning his bright green eyes directly to the camera, "The girl in all the pictures means the fucking world to me. It doesn't get any better than her, and it's just that simple."

Damn if that didn't rile the girls up.

"Did you see the way his eyes lit up the second he said your name?" Leana squealed, and I sighed loudly.

I had to admit it, the way Zack had regarded me made my heart smile. I'd do anything for my friends, especially Zack, and it felt good to know that he reciprocated that loyalty. I watched with a smile as the guys finished up their interview, stomach bubbling with butterflies as they all laughed and joked with each other, heart speeding up whenever Zack smiled.

It was then when I knew my friends were onto something. Maybe I was feeling more for my friend than I should've been.