Hi, yes, I'm still alive, don't worry lol
I apologize for not updating in about 3 months, but I just got busy, that's all. The first half of this chapter has literally been sitting here since March, but I just didn't have time to write. But thank you all for your patience, and I swear, I will try my VERY BEST to get the future chapters out waaaay faster.
In the mean time, enjoy the next chapter! :)
"When I agreed to let you guys throw a baby shower, I was expecting...something a little softer and cuter," Brittany bit her bottom lip as she stared at the sight in front of her.
Two weeks had passed since she and Alvin made up. The morning after, Brittany decided that it was time to tell everyone that she had decided to keep the baby, so she gathered her sisters, Alvin's brothers and Dave together so that she and Alvin could break the news. Of course, they were all excited and extremely happy, and Brittany explained what made her change her mind, since they had all thought that she wasn't going to keep the baby. Her sisters were on another level of excitement because that night, Jeanette and Eleanor immediately started planning the baby shower.
"This is soft and cute though, isn't it?" asked Jeanette.
There were baby related decorations everywhere; balloons and streamers and a huge array of food. Brittany's guests were going to arrive in a few hours, which mostly consisted of her close friends and her coworkers. Of course, everything looked beautiful and amazing, but it was a little too much, even for Brittany, which was definitely saying something.
"Don't get me wrong, I love it, and I love being extravagant and everything, but for a baby shower? Don't you guys think this is a little too much? And that's coming from me..." Brittany trailed off.
"Eleanor and I are just excited to meet our future niece or nephew, that's all. We just want the best for you, Britt," said Jeanette.
"Speaking of that, when are you gonna find out the gender of the baby? This baby shower would've been a lot easier to decorate if we knew what the baby was gonna be," said Eleanor.
Brittany shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. Alvin and I really haven't, um, talked about it yet. I think I wanna wait until I give birth to find out, though."
"Do you want a boy or girl?" asked Jeanette.
Brittany paused for a second. All of these questions really did throw her off. Despite her almost being 6 months pregnant, she never really spoke about the baby out loud, because up until a few weeks ago, she was so sure she wasn't keeping the child for herself. When she first found out, she thought she was heading towards the option of abortion. When she realized she couldn't find the heart to let go of the child that way, putting the baby up for adoption seemed like the only choice left.
But now that she has made up her mind, now that she has decided to keep the baby, everything felt so new and scary. It was like a ton of bricks had hit her every time she realized that in just a few months, she was going to become a mom.
"I...I don't know. I mean, I'm sure every mom dreams of having a little girl. Do you guys remember when we were younger, when we used to play dress up, and I would dress you guys up in the most fancy, over the top dresses while we had the most ridiculous, girly tea parties?" Brittany laughed, and her sisters nodded. "Well, when I was younger, I always thought it would be cool to have a little girl, a little version of me."
"Yikes, then that girl is gonna be a full blown, spoiled princess, just like her mom," Eleanor joked.
Brittany rolled her eyes. "But honestly, I would love having a little boy too. I feel like I've been around girls my entire life, so having a little boy would be something new and different. And I know for a fact that he's gonna be a total mommy's boy."
Jeanette laughed. "Just imagine, a little version of Alvin Seville running around. If that baby is anything like his dad, well, good luck."
"Well, if I have a boy, I'm gonna make sure he doesn't grow up like his douchebag father, and I'm gonna make sure Alvin knows it too," Brittany snapped.
"Hmm, speaking of Alvin," Eleanor turned to look at her older sister. "Are you guys like, dating now or something?"
At first, Brittany had to stop and think. Where exactly did hers and Alvin's relationship lie nowadays? Sure, they've made up and are no longer fighting, sure they've shared many kisses since then, and sure they have faintly dropped hints about their feelings for one another, but that was it. She knows that she and Alvin aren't officially in a relationship, but she wasn't exactly sure what they were right now.
"No, nothing like that," she replied. "We're just...two friends having a baby."
"But there are obviously feelings involved, right?" asked Jeanette. "I mean, this is you and Alvin Seville we're talking about. You guys used to hate each other's guts! Now it's the complete opposite."
Jeanette was right. Who the hell would've thought that this would happen? Between them of all people? They were sworn enemies. They hated each other beyond compare. The night Brittany found out she was pregnant, she was so sure that she wasn't going to keep the baby, and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with Alvin Seville.
Crazy how so much can change in just a few months.
"I mean, yeah. Alvin and I wouldn't have agreed to this if there weren't any feelings involved, but that's pretty much all that there is between us right now," said Brittany.
"Do you see yourself in a relationship with him?" asked Eleanor.
Again, Brittany had to pause for a moment to think. "I want to. Ugh, it's insane to me that I'm even saying this about him, but I don't know. Look at where Alvin and I were exactly a year ago. We were two completely different people. We were both...horrible pieces of shit. Even during my first month of being pregnant, I couldn't see myself as a parent because I knew I wasn't responsible enough, and I didn't want this kid to have two parents who couldn't stand each other. But it's so different now. I've changed, and Alvin has changed too."
Jeanette smiled a little. "We're happy for you, Britt, we really are, but, well, Eleanor and I were talking about this last night. Even though you and Alvin are on good terms now, do you think you can trust him?"
"We all know Alvin. We've known him for years, and we've all seen the messed up stuff he's gotten himself into. And even though he claims that he's changed, we just want you to make sure. We don't want anything to hurt you," said Eleanor.
"I..." Brittany bit her bottom lip, before she nodded her head. "Yes, I trust him. I wouldn't be keeping this baby if I didn't see a change in him. And I know he's had a bad reputation before, but he's not that person anymore. The Alvin that got me pregnant at the party is a totally different person than the Alvin he is today. He cares about the baby, and I know he's gonna be a good parent."
"Okay, good, as long as you're happy, Brittany," said Jeanette.
"And let Alvin know, because I'm gonna murder him if he does anything stupid," said Eleanor.
Brittany laughed. "Oh, I think he knows. I think the only person he's scared of is you, Eleanor."
"As it should be," Eleanor grinned. "Now, go upstairs and get ready. Wear something cute."
Brittany raised an eyebrow. "It's literally 9am. The baby shower doesn't start until 1, I thought?"
"Yeah, but Jeanette and I have to finish setting everything up, and we want to keep you outta the house for a few hours, so we called your baby daddy to come pick you up in an hour," said Eleanor.
"Baby daddy? Is that what we're calling him now?" asked Brittany.
"Well, until you two decide to get together, then yes, that's what we're calling him," said Eleanor. "Now go, he's gonna be here soon."
Brittany just rolled her eyes and laughed before going back to her room to get ready. After doing her hair and makeup, she changed into a cute pair of black leggings and a pastel pink shirt before going over to the mirror. She was now 5 and a half months pregnant, and her stomach was definitely there. She used to feel so anxious and scared every time she looked at her growing stomach, but now, all she could feel was a huge rush of love and excitement. And besides, she thought she looked pretty cute as a pregnant person.
She walked out of her room and down the stairs, and to her surprise, Alvin was already sitting there, on the couch, chatting with her sisters. He looked up when he saw her, and smiled, which sent a stupid swarm of butterflies to dance in her stomach. Ugh, what the fuck was wrong with her? She couldn't even wrap her mind around the fact that she was getting all giddy because of Alvin Stupid Seville, but at the same time, it made her the happiest damn person on the planet.
He stood up and made his way to her. "Wow, it actually took you less than an hour to get ready? I think this may be a world record."
Brittany sighed out loud. If it wasn't for the stupid, charming grin on his face as he said it, Brittany probably would've slapped the shit out of him. Not really, but she really wanted to. "At least I look good. You on the other hand, did you just roll out of bed or something?"
Alvin chuckled, and Brittany rolled her eyes. Who the fuck was she kidding? Alvin looked so fucking attractive, it was almost repulsive.
"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing," said Alvin.
"You-" but before Brittany could even get a single damn word out, she was cut off by Alvin leaning in to kiss her. Obviously, their little fights were nothing but playful banter, and there was no real animosity there. Brittany felt herself melt, and slowly began to kiss him back, but then her eyes flew open when she remembered that they weren't alone. She pulled away and glared at him. "You idiot! My sisters are watching!"
"Oh, relax, Brittany," Eleanor called from behind them. "We saw you guys kiss last week, it's no big deal."
"And you didn't confront me about it?" asked Brittany.
"Well, we didn't need to. And besides, you guys are having a baby. I'm sure you two have done way more than just kiss to make that happen," said Eleanor, while Jeanette snickered beside her.
Brittany rolled her eyes so hard that it almost gave her a headache. "Alright, whatever, you're both hilarious. What time do you want me home by?"
"Doesn't matter, just don't be late," said Jeanette, as she gently pushed Alvin and Brittany towards the door. She opened it and pushed them out. "Bye, have fun you two!"
Brittany rolled her eyes again before turning to Alvin. "Kicked out of my own house. Love that. Anyway, where are we going?"
Alvin shrugged before putting an arm around Brittany's shoulder as they began to walk to his car. "It's up to you. We can grab breakfast or something if you're hungry. It's up to you, Britt. Your sisters just want you out of the house."
"Clearly," she said.
Alvin let go of her and helped her into the car before making his way to the drivers seat, before driving to the mall. They couldn't really agree on a restaurant to eat at, so they figured that the food court should have at least one place that they can agree on.
"So, what are you in the mood for?" Alvin asked.
Brittany scanned the food court until her eyes landed on a dessert place. "That. Chocolate chip waffles and vanilla ice cream."
Alvin stared at her for a second. "Brittany, it's literally 10am. People are still having breakfast and you want to eat sugar first thing in the morning? Is that even healthy for the baby?"
Brittany turned to glare at him. "Unless you're the one that's carrying an unborn child in your body while having pregnancy cravings at the same time, then don't even start with me, Seville."
Alvin rolled his eyes and sighed out loud. "Fine. You're lucky I care about your stupid self, Brittany. Go find a table and I'll order our food," he said before making his way towards the dessert place.
Brittany made her way around the food court, however, instead of going to a table, she couldn't help but notice one of the stores nearby. It was a baby store. She stopped in her tracks for a moment, before turning around to look at Alvin, who was still in line for their food. Brittany turned back and stared at the entrance of the store, and couldn't help but feel her heart begin to race when she saw the shelves of adorable tiny baby clothes and toys. She figured that she would just pop in and see what's inside, just for a second.
The moment she made her way into the store and looked around, Brittany felt her chest begin to melt and explode at the sights in front of her. Small little baby shoes, precious pieces of clothing, blankets, pillows, cribs, bottles, and everything else in between. A soft lullaby was playing throughout the store, and Brittany couldn't help but stare at a nearby customer, who had her tiny baby boy in her arms.
Brittany spent the next 5 minutes slowly roaming around the store. Everything looked so small and delicate, and it fascinated and frightened her at the same time.
"Are you finding everything alright, dear?"
Brittany turned around and was met with the warm smile of one of the employees, an elderly lady with brown hair. Brittany smiled back. "Y-Yes, thank you."
The lady smiled again and took a quick look at Brittany's stomach. "First baby?" she asked, and Brittany nodded. "Well, congratulations, dear, you certainly have that pregnancy glow. Now, have you taken a look at any of the cribs yet?"
Brittany shook her head. "Not yet."
"How about a changing table? We're having a sale on changing tables and matching dressers. Oh, and you can't forget a diaper caddy and a bottle warmer as well," said the lady.
"Um, I was actually just looking around. My baby shower is this afternoon," said Brittany.
"Oh, how exciting! Well, take a look around and let me know if you need anything, okay?" the lady gave Brittany one last smile before walking away.
Brittany gulped. Everything was starting to feel so real, so overwhelming, and just looking around and seeing how much stuff there was, how much baby stuff she needed, how much stuff she didn't even know existed, or was even necessary for that matter, made her start to feel uncomfortable. She only has a few more months to go; she didn't realize how extremely unprepared she was.
A crib? A changing table? A diaper what? There were probably a thousand more items that she was completely unaware of too.
And it made her feel so nervous.
Of course, since her pregnancy was completely unexpected, she didn't prepare herself in ways that most mothers should. She hasn't even started looking at baby furniture, she hasn't even been doing research on what babies can eat during their first few months. For fuck sake, Brittany wasn't even sure how to hold a baby!
"There you are. Seriously, Brittany?"
She turned around and saw Alvin walking towards her with two ice cream sundaes in his hand. "What?" she asked.
"Just trying to look for you, that's all. How about you try picking up your phone the next time someone tries to call you," said Alvin.
Brittany rolled her eyes. "Relax, asshole. I was just looking around."
"Well, luckily I walked past this store, and-" Alvin stopped mid-sentence when he realized what type of store he was in. He didn't even realize that he had walked into a baby store. "...Oh. Anyway, I bought the ice cream. Do you wanna sit down and eat, or do you still wanna look around?"
She shook her head and took her sundae into her own hands. "Let's go."
After a few minutes, as they were eating right across from one another, Alvin noticed that Brittany looked a little distracted. She only took a few bites from her ice cream, and was slowly picking off the sprinkles with her spoon as she stared hard at the table, as if there was something on her mind. She barely even spoke a word for the past 10 minutes, and a silent Brittany definitely did not seem right.
"So, you excited for the baby shower later?" Alvin broke the silence.
"Yeah, sure," she answered.
"How many people did you even invite? It's just your coworkers, a bunch of your friends and your sisters, right?" asked Alvin.
"Yeah, I think so," she said. She twirled her spoon inside her bowl. She had barely even taken 3 bites.
"How's the ice cream?" he asked.
"Good," she said. She suddenly lost her appetite.
Alvin watched her for a moment and frowned. "Okay, what's up, Britt?"
She looked up. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "Why are you acting all depressed and shit?"
Brittany rolled her eyes. "I'm not depressed, asshole," she snapped. "I'm just...well, I'm just a little nervous."
Alvin raised an eyebrow. "Of what?"
"Gee, I dunno, what the fuck do you think?" she fired. "I'm scared of everything, Alvin! Having the baby, raising it, taking care of it...everything. When I was in that store earlier, it made me realize how unprepared I am. It made me realize that there are so many things I don't know yet, so many things that I haven't even thought of! I don't know the first thing about babies. I don't know how to feed one, I don't know how to bathe one, I don't even know how to fucking hold one! How am I suppose to raise a baby when I don't know even know the basic things on raising one?"
Alvin stared at her, and was surprised to see tears starting to form in her eyes.
"I'm just not...ready. I'm having this baby in just a few months, and I don't even know where to start! I haven't even bought a single thing for this baby yet. I don't even have a nursery! How am I suppose to be a good parent when I don't even know what to do?" Brittany's voice trembled. She tried to fight back her tears, but they fell down her cheeks, the moment she blinked.
"Hey, look at me," Alvin said gently. "Brittany, you're gonna be just fine. You're just feeling this way because this is the first time you're experiencing something like this, especially something as big as being pregnant. And the only reason why you feel unprepared is because this whole pregnancy was not planned. But you gotta relax and realize that you'll be okay, trust me. I mean, look. You're doing a great job so far, way better than people your age who are in the same situation as you. You've changed and given up so much, just for the baby, and that right there is the first step in being a good parent."
Brittany sighed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She usually was very good at containing her sadness, but this was a level of emotions that she has never reached before.
"Besides," Alvin gave her a small smile. "I'll be by your side every step of the way. We made this kid together, Britt, and even though the baby was made on a stupid, drunken night where you and I hated each other, things happen for a reason. And, don't think that you have to go through this alone. You have your sisters, my brothers, Dave, and especially me to help you."
"I don't understand how you can be so calm about this," she said.
"Oh, trust me, I'm freaking out. I'm scared shitless as well, but I know we can do this, Britt. We're new parents. We're not gonna be perfect and know everything right away. It's a learning process, but everyone goes through that when they're raising kids. Dave went through it, and I'm sure Miss Miller did as well," said Alvin.
Brittany felt her heart sting when she heard the name of her estranged mother, the lady that abandoned her and her sisters at a young age, forcing them to grow up through their childhood. "I just...don't want to be a bad parent, that's all. I've never met my father, and my own mother left me when I was a kid. I've had a pretty fucked up relationship with my parents, and I guess that's what scares me. I just don't want to mess up with my own baby."
Alvin sighed. He truly did feel bad for her. He has known Brittany and her sisters almost his entire life. He knows that Brittany never likes to talk about her parents, and often pretends that they never existed because it just hurts her so damn bad. Alvin can see it in her eyes now, as she spoke, how badly the parental figures - or lack of - burned her so deep.
"And you won't, Britt. You're gonna be the best damn mom on the entire planet. Our baby is pretty fucking lucky to have you already. All the other kids are gonna wish that you were their mom," said Alvin. "Hell, I wish you were my mom."
"Okay, this is getting weird," Brittany tried to stifle in a laugh.
Alvin laughed. "All jokes aside, I know we're gonna get through this together, Brittany. Trust me."
She smiled, and nodded her head. Alvin was right. She was just feeling overwhelmed because all of this was so new to her. She just needs to stop thinking about it too much, and she'll be fine. She reached over the table and leaned in to give him a soft and gentle kiss. "You're gonna be a good dad, I know you are."
"Well, obviously. Our kid is gonna have the coolest, and not to mention, most damn good looking dad on the planet," he said.
Brittany wanted to vomit. "Ugh, I swear, if this kid grows up and inherits your ego, I think I might cry."
Alvin laughed. "Alright, c'mere," he said before cupping her chin with his hands, and bringing her in for another kiss.
They killed the next few hours by driving around the city for a bit, stopping to grab an actual lunch this time, and catching a quick movie. By the time it ended, Brittany realized that her baby shower was going to start in 10 minutes. All her guests were already at her house, most likely, but for once Brittany didn't care if she was late.
"Do I have to go?" Brittany asked. Alvin had parked his car at his house, only because Brittany's parking lot was filled with her guests' cars. She turned to him and pouted.
Alvin chuckled. "Yeah, I think you kinda do. What would people say if the mother-to-be doesn't show up at her own baby shower?"
"Can't I just let Jeanette and Eleanor take care of it? I'll just send everyone a thank you text at the end," said Brittany. "I just wanna spend more time with you."
Brittany's chest fucking exploded as she said that, and Alvin couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
"As much as I would love to keep you all to myself, your sisters would murder me - especially Eleanor - and we both know that she's probably capable of doing it," said Alvin.
She sighed. "Fine."
"Here, I'll walk you to the door," he said. As they both got out of the car, instead of wrapping his arm around her shoulder, like he usually does, he grabbed her hand instead. His palm was soft and gentle, and Brittany didn't want to let go.
"Wanna come inside for a bit?" she asked him when they reached the door.
"I don't think dads are allowed at baby showers. Kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Besides, I don't wanna take the attention off of you by being there, because I know everyone's gonna be looking at me," he teased.
Brittany rolled her eyes. "You're such a piece of shit. I swear, sometimes I wonder if your ego can get any bigger."
"It can," a sly, shit-eating grin appeared on his face.
"Okay, I changed my mind. You can leave now," she snapped.
Alvin laughed gently. "I'll call you tonight, okay? Have fun," he said, before leaning in to give her one last kiss.
And this kiss, for some stupid, annoying, heart melting reason, just secured Brittany's feelings for Alvin, and Alvin felt the exact same way about her. No, they haven't said it yet, nor were they even close to being ready to actually confessing what was flaming up inside each of their chests, but this, whatever this was - affection, admiration, or even...love. Ugh, whatever the fuck it was - was good enough. For now, at least.
Smell that? Yeah, love is in the air.
This chapter was cute, wasn't it? Well, enjoy it, because I'm about to stir the pot a little *evil laughs*
Thank you so much for reading, and please REVIEW! I would love to read your feedback, and every review is very much appreciated.
See you all in the next one :)