Author's Note: This is a brand new story (and my first) that I'm writing! I've already written four chapters, so the next ones will be coming once I hit a certain number of followers on Twitter! Please leave comments here or tweet me at TheOtherSideFF! Thanks & XOXO!

Chapter One – Mac & Cheese

"Ooooouuuuh!"

At the sound of his girlfriend's painful moans, Beck immediately drops the plastic spoon he's been using to stir their dinner back into the pot and hurries into the living room. It's a short distance, as the apartment they share is just big enough for two, but he runs anyways. When he arrives at her side, she's still in obvious discomfort as she grips the pillows to either side of her. As Beck carefully replaces her hand into his, she begins breathing slower and deeper in her best attempt to stop the contractions.

In the absence of the constant waves of pain, Jade realizes how hungry she is. "Where's the mac and cheese?" She asks through an exhalation, turning just her head to look at Beck.

"Oh," he replies, standing back up, "it's almost—"

"Almost?" Jade asks in a whiney tone, tossing her head back to land on the couch's top.

Beck can't help but smile at his ever-moody girlfriend. "I'll have it ready in a minute." He bends over to kiss her forehead before returning back to the kitchen and finishing the pasta. Jade's in the stage of her pregnancy where she craves—and is usually only satisfied by—Kraft Mac & Cheese and mangos, so Beck does his best to make sure that those two items (and ketchup, which Jade generously dumps on both foods) are always handy.

As promised, Beck has her bowl of ketchup-covered mac and cheese delivered to her within the minute. After handing Jade her food and then getting himself the same, he joins her on the couch. "I'm sorry you keep having these... what are they call—"

"Braxton Hicks contractions," Jade finishes for him, taking another bite of her food. "Yeah," she continues, "I know you are. It still doesn't help the fact that I look like a whale or that I feel like someone is constantly punching me in the stomach, though."

"Well, technically, Babe, someone is constantly punching you in the stomach," Beck offers as he places his hand lovingly on her burgeoning stomach. "Just one more month before we can meet him," he says as he rubs around her belly. Giving Jade her daily "tummy rubs" is a win-win for the couple; while Jade loves the feeling of relief that comes over her as his hands massage her, Beck enjoys the time to feel his unborn child's movements.

"It's not a him," Jade retorts, holding back an eye roll towards Beck's comment. The ongoing debate over the baby's gender has been going on since Jade found out she was pregnant just over six months ago, with new updates in the arguments popping up every day. While Beck had wanted to find out the sex when the opportunity presented itself, Jade insisted that they maintain the "element of surprise" in order to have something to look forward to. "I'm going to be in an unbearable amount of pain," she had said, "but the sheer joy of me being right—and you being wrong—about the baby's sex will at least motivate me to survive labor."

"You don't know," Beck replies confidently, a charming smile on his face.

"I do know," she corrects. "It's a girl. I can…" She pauses, wondering if the ending of her sentence—"feel her"—is too sentimental to admit aloud. "I'm her mom," she finishes instead. "I'm the one that's incubating her," she says in a matter-of-fact tone, as if Beck doesn't know.

"So?" Beck asks, knowingly egging her on.

"What do you mean 'so'?" Jade asks, furrowing her eyebrows at her boyfriend's seeming stupidity. "So I can feel her. I know."

Beck chuckles. "Well we only have to wait a few more weeks to find out who's right." Although Jade's facial expression doesn't change, he kisses her cheek and uses the remote to flip on the television. As he slings his arm around her and slowly brushes his fingers against her shoulder, Jade nuzzles her head into his chest and tries to forget about the pain. Within minutes, the eighteen-year-old is sound asleep.