Music and Passion

"B-Baby?"

"Sam? What`s going on?"

I gulped the second I saw Kaoru in the doorway with Shinya at his side. Shit. Now what?

"We`ll explain," Jeff assured. "Just uh, go get everyone first. We don`t want to explain this more than once."

Shinya nodded and dragged a gaping Kaoru away. So much for being the stoic leader. Poor thing looks like he`s in shock. I don`t blame him though. This is gonna be shocking to everyone.

"Sam?" Nikki whispered in me ear. "How do you want to do this?"

"I can`t," I whimpered, shaking my head and wiping at tears.

"Which one of us do you want to explain?" Keith asked.

"I don`t care. Just don`t make me do it," I answered.

A few minutes later both bands entered our small dressing room, making it slightly cramped. Everyone looked worried but it was clear neither Shinya or Kaoru had said anything. That`ll be left to one of us.

Nikki slowly rose from the couch and Keith took his place, letting me curl up into him and hide my face from the worried glanced. They`re gonna hate me. They are so gonna hate me. I`m done for.

"Alright everyone. Listen up. I`m only gonna talk about this once and then we`re gonna drop it for good, understood?" Nikki asked. "Good. A month before the tour we found out Sam was pregnant. After a lot of consulting with her doctor, we decided this tour would be okay. She`s not aloud to be stressed out and right now she sure as hell is. So you all need to try and keep her calm and relaxed right now. Understood?"

"P-Pregnant?" Atsushi stuttered.

"Why are we only learning this now?" Toshiya asked.

"Sam didn`t want anyone treating her differently," Jeff answered. "She didn`t want special treatment just because she was pregnant."

"What brought on this confession?" Die inquired.

"And where is James?" Imai asked. "Shouldn`t he be with her through this?"

"Both questions have the same answer," Randy chuckled. "James is a jackass."

"He broke things off with Sam and wants nothing to do with the baby," Nikki explained.

"She`s a single mother now?" Shinya asked slowly.

"Unfortunately," Jeff breathed.

"Who`s going to be the father?" Die questioned.

"Um, no one?" Keith asked.

Hidehiko, Yutaka and Imai suddenly looked at each other, to me and back to each other. They nodded to each other and the three of them stepped forward.

"We will then," Imai said.

"The three of you?" Jeff asked.

Hidehiko nodded, "The three of us. And anyone else who wants to help."

Nikki rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "This is gonna be one loved kid."

"That`s what we want," Yutaka said with a grin.

Kyo suddenly stormed out and Atsushi followed moments later, mumbling something about needing a smoke.

"Do they hate me?" I whispered.

Shinya immediately walked up to the couch and crouched down in front of me. "No one in this room hates you. Some of us aren`t happy that you kept this secret, but we don`t hate you."

"We don`t have it in us," Toll added.

"What about Kyo and Atsushi?" I asked.

"Kyo does not hate you. He`s worried and trying to process the situation," Shinya answered.

"And Atsushi?"

Imai chuckled, "No. He doesn`t hate you. Far from it. He`s processing and trying to get over the fact he`s been...oh what`s the word.." He trailed off with a frown and muttered something in Japanese and shook his head.

"Ogling?" Randy suggested.

"Yes. Ogling. He`s trying to get over the fact he`s been ogling you for the last month and now you`re pregnant. And with a child that will never be his," Imai finished.

I frowned, "I don`t understand."

The others snickered and Hidehiko spoke up, "He has a crush on you. He wasn`t going to act on it unless you broke things off with your boyfriend."

"And now that I`m single I`m also pregnant," I mumbled.

Hidehiko nodded, "Exactly. And even then he was skeptical there was any chance of you two being together because of the age difference. But now that you`re pregnant he knows it will never happen."

I nodded slowly and bit at my lip. So he liked me? That`s... "Am I the only one who didn`t know?"

Shinya chuckled, "Yes. It was obvious to the rest of us."

"Oh," I whispered, a blush rising to my cheeks.

"Would the age difference not of bothered you?" Die asked.

"I don`t know," I shrugged. "There is a big age difference. Sometimes a little isn`t bad but I don`t know."

"Do you have any feelings for Atsushi?" Imai asked.

"I`m afraid not," I replied. "At least not in the way he wants."

"At least I know now," Atsushi said as he walked back into the room. "And I could never hate you, Sam. I promise."

"I`m sorry," I whispered.

He shook his head as he walked up to me crouch down beside Shinya. "You don`t need to apologize for something you didn`t know about. Now, I am a bit disappointed in you for not telling us the truth from the start but I understand why you did it. I want you to be truthful and trust us from now on, okay? Can you do that?"

I nodded, "I can do that."

"Good," Imai spoke up. "Now, how about we get out of here and go eating something?"

"What does Sam crave?" Toshiya asked with a slight grin.

"Chinese," I grinned back. "Definitely Chinese."