When we met

*Nervously walks away from behind wall* hey guys.

So umm… what can I say, hmmm, sorry?

Well this is a belated birthday gift to Gest, I don't know your name but thanks to you, I realize I couldn't just give up on this, so I started thinking and then started writing this, I hope that if you are here, you are not to mad at me so as not to read this anymore, I didn't give up, so don't you do so.

Very sad news. This is the last chapter before the epilogue, I'm very happy that I started writing this almost a year ago, and I'd like to thank this that have been with me since the beginning.

MileyRowling, Sarah Michelle13, ReadingManiac, Sillylilly765, obviously Lexiiii, Lexi Valerino, MaxericaForever17, Em, katewilliams248, Abizeau, puppylove26

Its incredible to think that almost twelve months ago I was just arriving to LA, that I didn't know any of them, that I didn't even want to be here, that I wasn't about to have babies. The thought alone of what we have been through makes me choke on emotions, on the fact that they are the best friends I could have ever asked for, but also in saddens, because despite the fact that I love my babies even now before they are even born, it makes me sad think about how things could have been if Maxon and I had waited, or taken more precautions, but it doesn't matter, what could have been, because things are fine and I don't need to think of things as impossible as something that never happened.

Graduation has always been something important to me, and now I think I value it much more, and so when the day came, the day we would get closure, and the day our separation was made much more real and official.

That day was perfection, not because everything went absolutely right but because we were together, and that, sometimes is enough.

It started when Marlee and I woke up, we didn't say much as we got ready, which we did much calmer than for prom. I did coffee, Marlee got a couple of sandwiches, and we ate them as we watched TV. Then Marlee took a shower as I put my makeup in order and took out my dress from the closet. Then she got out and I took a shower.

We both got ready, we put on makeup, we got into our dresses and we put on our shoes. So two hours later we were walking to the auditorium, we met the others there and got to our seats. I remember Ryan yelling something like,

"We are almost high school grads! Fuck you Professor Simpson, I did it!" we laughed for a while as we remembered all the funny stuff that happens through the year, from the time Ryan was rejected by all of the girls from the cheerleading squad, to the time Marlee and Carter had been discovered almost having sex in the janitors closet.

Then the dean got up to the podium and said a long speech about how they — the school board — were very proud of us, that it was amazing that he had met some of us as we were young and now we were going off to college, he also said that it was a miracle some of us had graduated; Ryan had stood up and yelled "Yeah! That's me baby!", then the dean continued the speech.

When he had finished he called the valedictorian, I didn't really listen to her speech but I guessed it had been a good one when people cheered for her, the varsity jocks had gotten up and carried her on their arms.

Then our names were called, I think it was by name order. I got called after Diana Shelley, I got up and walked to the podium, well wobbled as I was still too pregnant to walk well. They gave me my diploma and shook my hands, this was all they did, not that special, but good…I think.

When the ceremony ended, we separated to look for our parents, I found my mom and siblings, and was surprised to see Kota standing next to them, he looked awkward standing there with his designer suit, looking like the rich jerk he was, but then I saw Kenna with her baby and James behind her, May and Gerard standing together, albeit Gerard looked like he had been forced into his suit.

I ran to them, well walked as fast as I could, and wrapped my arms around my mom, May and Gerard joined the hug, then Kennan, but Kota stayed there looking even more awkward.

I had separated from them and walked to Kota, I had been mad to see him there, but I was happy he cared enough to come, or even cared enough to listen to whatever mom had threatened him with.

So I walked slowly and hugged him.

"Thank you, thank you" I had whispered into his ear, slowly his stiff posture had relaxed, and when his own arms had wrapped around me, I almost cried.

"Congrats little sis" he had whispered with a smile as we let go of each other.

Then we all got back together, we went to the parking lot and got on separate cars so we could all go to Maxon's house, we would be celebrating there, as our group was too big for us to go to a restaurant and Maxons' parents had been gone for the weekend, mom had asked me why they weren't there for their sons' graduation, I had only said that they were very busy people, she didn't ask anything after that.

We had such a great time, we ate from a buffet pared by the chaff that worked for Maxons' parents, there had been sandwiches, hamburgers, pasta, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, pulled pork, BBQ ribs and stuff like that. We ate in the garden, which I had never seen before that, it was magnificent, there was a little lake at the side with rose bushes and other flowers surrounding it and a kiosk with hanging pots and fairy light that were lit when the sun went out.

We had also invited other friends as it was a big party. Our parents got to know each other, we spent our time together, and enjoyed talking into the night when the parents and other guests left, we played games and fell asleep during the movie we had playing.

So that's how graduation day had gone, it happened just a couple of weeks ago, but it seemed as if it had been just yesterday. And now I was back in Carolina, I was going to be staying three weeks here before moving to Boston with Maxon, we are going to rent a small apartment next to campus, we had already seen it online but were waiting until we actually moved to see it.

"Ames! Kota is here" May yelled from downstairs, she sounded a bit annoyed, she had a right to be, I was the only one that has been trying to get along with him, I still wasn't completely sure of what I was doing but I was trying to get along with him like the old times when Kota and I were best friends.

I yelled a response and wobbled down the stairs and met Kota at the door, we got in his car and he pulled out of the drive way. We were going to Charlotte City that was an hour away from where we lived.

The reason we were going to Charlotte City is that Kota has an art exhibit there and asked me to go with him, I was nervous at first but now I feel giddy with excitement. It was the first time I was going to see his art in an official environment, I had seen him paint and draw when he lived with us. He has always been good at painting. At first I remember him being shy about anyone seeing what he did, but slowly he began realizing that what he did was actually amazing he became more confident in himself, but I can't remember him ever bragging about his stuff, though that changed when he left us, he started being arrogant, I think he felt that because he had managed to succeed at what he did, he was better than us.

I look at him and notice how there are many things that changed about him. His hair used to be cut close to his scalp, it now almost reached his shoulders, he used to dress in a more strict way, now he was dressed in a pair of jeans with a button down, which was unbuttoned on the first three buttons, his entire being looked expensive.

I reached and brushed his red hair away from his face, he smile a little.

"You couldn't cut your hair without mom, could you?" I teased him.

"Obviously not, can't you see how useless I am?" he teased back. I laughed a little, since that was all but right, he looked healthy, he even had some muscle, instead of being the skinny teenager I remember from before he left for college.

"So what are you studying?" he asked after a minute of silence.

"English literature" I said.

"Hmm, I think that suits you" he said and looked at me as he stopped at a red light. I blushed slightly, though I didn't know why.

We then just talked about random stuff until we got to the building where the gallery would be held. It was a brick building with ample windows overlooking the park in front of it, it was located near downtown and there were other little stores in the same street, so there were people walking through the park and entering the little stores.

We entered the building and I was amazed by the sight that met me behind the door; the whole first landing was covered in different paintings, some were done with pencil, others in oil and watercolor, there were so many textures and colors my breath got caught in my chest for a second.

"This are all yours?" I asked amazed.

"Well not all, most of mine are on the next level" he said and as I looked at him I realized he looked a little embarrassed, his cheeks were tinted pink as well as the tip of his ears.

"Well mister, show me your work"

He then started by showing me a painting filled with different colors and shapes, all arranged so it looked like they were a flower, he explained the meaning of it, which was that even the most bizarre of arrangements, if put in the right order, could create something beautiful. He did this with all of his paintings, most of them were done on the same style as the first one, some were paintings of people, he said that there wasn't a meaning to them, but he did tell me the reason he had chosen to paint that particular person, or what he felt as he saw them.

I had seen beautiful stuff before, and I would surely see more, but listening to my brother talk about something that made him as passionate as art, was something that certainly fell into the 'beautiful' category.

We were on the second floor when it happened. I felt something I had been dreading but also been looking forward to, I felt my water break.

I looked at the floor with wide eyes. The whole floor went silent for a second, but I could hear my heart beat, fast but also steady. I looked at Kota, who looked as shocked as I did, maybe more, as he wasn't expecting this to happen.

"Oh my god" I gasped as I clutched my stomach, not in pain, but in surprise.

"Oh my god, oh my god oh my god! Its happening! Kota!" I exclaimed as people started to make me mover down the stairs, they started asking if we needed a ride, if we had a car or if they needed to call an ambulance, by then Kota had snapped out of it and brushed off the questions. Kota helped me into the front seat and hurriedly to the other side. He looked for the nearest hospital in the GPS and started driving.

I then got out my phone with shaking hands and pressed on Maxons' phone number. It was ten and a half so I knew he would still be up, but he took a few rings to answer.

"Yeah?" he asked and I heard him yawn, him not instantly asking if I was okay, as he did now a days every time I called him, made me realize he had been asleep and hadn't checked who had called.

"Maxon" I said urgently.

"Ames? Are you alright?"

"It's happening" I whispered into the phone with a smile.

"What?"

"Maxon! The babies are coming!" I said with a teary laugh.

"Oh god! Really?!" he exclaimed and I heard rustling in the background.

"Yeah we are driving to the hospital right now"

"Which one?" he asked.

"It's the … in Charlotte" I said. I then gasped in pain as I felt the first contraction hit, it wasn't sharp or even long, but it came unexpectedly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just a contraction" I said as it ended.

"Okay I gotta call my mother but drive safely, I'll see you in an hour" I said and hung up after hearing Maxon whisper,

"I love you"

I then called my mom, we had a short conversation about labor, which she could have saved until we were at the hospital, she cried a little, but it was fine, she was my mother, she was allowed to cry when her daughter was about to go to labor.

We arrived at the hospital, they helped me into a wheelchair and wheeled me into a private room, where they connected an IV and left me there. Kota was pacing at the foot of my bed, he was nervously muttering under his breath and after a couple of minutes I grew tired of the sound his muttering was making.

"What?" I snapped at him.

"How are you going to do this?" he asked in a worried voice, it didn't sound like he was insinuating I was incapable and the fact that I was trying seemed impossible, it sounded like he was amazed of my — our, Maxon's and mine — capability, willingness to go through something as hard as parenting.

"We are just going to have to wing it" I whispered with a smile, he shook his face and walked to me with tears on his face, he brushed my hair away as I had done to him in the car.

"You are amazing to do this for them" he said with a chuckle, "But also a little crazy"

We didn't say much, he asked the name we had chosen, but I said he would have to wait to hear them, he asked about Maxon as he had only spent time with him once, but the only conversation they had was the "big brother talk", you know, the one where he threatens to kill him if he hurts me, yeah that one.

When the contractions came, he let me grab his hand when it was a particularly strong one. We watched TV as a distraction.

When an hour passed and Maxon hadn't arrived yet, I started to get fidgety, I twisted my hands on the bed sheet. I looked at my phone to check the hour, it had only been five minutes.

Finally, twenty minutes after he said he would arrive, he got here. He saw me and visibly relaxed, he had a bouquet of flowers on his hand, he set them on the table before rushing to me, he put his hands on my cheeks and kissed me hard on the lips, a very heated kiss, which my brother saw, he cleared his throat when we didn't pull away.

I looked at him and glared, he put his hands up but left the room, as my eyes had told him to do.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he brushed my hair away tenderly, I leaned into his touch.

"Fine, the contractions aren't that painful" I said, but in that moment a particularly painful contraction made me swallow my words, I clutched his hand as hard as I let myself, I saw him cringe at the froze but he didn't say anything.

"It's okay, it's okay" I said before Maxon could ask anything.

He had just gotten me a glass of water when my mom came in, she came to me and exclaimed,

"My baby" she then hugged me and I was left there awkwardly with a glass of water on my left hand and my right just hanging limply, I heard May and Gerard stifled their laughter.

"Oh yeah laugh all you want" I told them with a teasing note in my voice.

"May, Gerard, do not laugh at your sister. Kota, why don't you stay with them at the waiting room" mom orders, Kota nodded and ushered them out of the room.

A few minutes after they left, in which my mom spent fussing around me, a doctor came in, she looked like she was an older sister of Maxon, with the same eye and hair color, and a very similar facial expressions and her complexion seemed really similar to his.

"Healy, my name is Dr. Van Dijk. So how are your contractions" she asked as she took out stethoscope.

"Well they aren't that painful and still far en between" I answered.

"Like how much in between?" she put the stethoscope on my tummy.

"Like fifteen/twenty minutes" I answered unsurely.

"Well that's not much. I'm going to check how dilated are you" she then did some weird thing on my vagina.

"Seven centimeters, lets' just wait until you're torn centimeters, okay? It won't take too long" she said before leaving the room. I let my head fall down on the pillows and let out a long sigh. I then just stare at the opposite wall, thinking.

My first thought is that this are the last peaceful moments I have left, but that isn't really nice, my second thought I that I can't wait to meet my babies, I have been trying to imagine the way they'll look when their born, but none of the images I have constructed in my head seem right, I just feel like they will be perfect, but however they look, I'll still love them, no matter what.

I squeak as a very painful contraction hits me, I double in pain and breathe as the contraction slowly fades away.

As time moves, I feel every contraction taking longer and the next coming faster than the last one, soon I am crying out in pain and the doctor had come to check me again.

"Just one more centimeter"

But I can't take anymore, I usually don't have bad menstrual cramps, but even the worst one never felt quite like this.

I shake my head as tears ran down my face.

"I can't Maxon, I can't" I whimpered.

"Yes babe, you can"

"I'm scared" I whispered, "If this feels like this, I don't think I can get through giving birth to one, let alone two"

"Look at me, you can do this. Just think that when all of this is over, we'll be parents. You'll get to see their first steps, their firsts words, you'll be their mother" he whispered the last part, then he kissed my forehead.

After a few more contractions, I was finally deemed ready to give birth, and so they took me into another room, and prepared me for the most exhausting hours of my life.

"Push, push!" the midwife encouraged along with Maxon.

"Aghhhh!"

I gave pushed the hardest I could and a moment later I heard the most beautiful and reliving sound, the cry of my baby.

"Oh…" I gasped, sweat ran down my face along with some tears.

"It's a girl" the midwife exclaimed and I heard Maxon cheer.

She then passed me my beautiful baby girl, and I looked at her as I settled her against my naked chest. Tears of joy ran down my face. I grabbed her tiny hand and shook it in mine. I then passed her to Maxon, whose look of adoration almost made break down.

"Hi little lady. Hey Eady" Maxon said her name and then passed her to the midwife so the could take her to the incubator as she had been born a month earlier.

"Okay here comes the boy" she said seven minutes after Eadlyn was born. I was already exhausted from being up so long, but now my exhaustion became more unbearable to ignore, I felt it press at the back of my head, but despite that, I pushed, I pushed as hard as my body would let me.

"Oh god" I groaned as I gave another push.

"Just another one"

"You said that three pushes ago" I snapped, Maxons came to my side and tried to grab my hand, I slapped his away.

"Just give me a second" I said and breathed as calmly as I could, after a couple of breaths I started pushing again. I pushed until I started crying, but then I heard a small pop, but no crying came after it.

"He's not breathing" the midwife said urgently as they moved my boy to a table at the side and started to do some procedures on him.

"No, no, no" I sobbed into Maxons' shirt.

"It's gonna be okay" he said, but his voice sounded like he would break the minute they said something was wrong with our baby.

Then, we heard him cry, and in that moment, I felt all the pain and soreness leave my body, the only thing I wanted was to hold him on my arms.

They gave him to Maxon first, and he held him like he was the most precious thing in the world, and he was, along with his sister. He then gave him to me, and I carefully adjusted his little body against me, I grabbed his hand and watched as his fingers wrapped around my finger.

"I love you, you know" I whispered to him, Maxon stood beside me and gently caressed his face.

After getting to meet him, they took him away with his sister. Then they took me back to the room I had been before giving birth to them. And I slept, that's all I did until I felt like everything, every worry I had had, left my body and mind.

Since the babies were fine, deemed that way by the doctor after having been under observation for a few days, we were allowed to take them home. And so that's what we were doing now, I was in the front seat with Ahren in my arms, my mom was in the backseat with Eadlyn, we were going to have a small party so that everyone could meet the babies.

When we got there, Maxon helped me and my mother off the car before grabbing the bag in which we had all my and the babies stuff. We then entered the house and went to the backyard where everybody was, when we entered the backyard, the people we had invited erupted into cheers, our friends approached either me or my mother to meet them. I carefully put Ahren into Marlee's arms, so she could meet her godson for the first time.

"He's so cute" Savannah gushed as she twiddled with his hand.

"So what names did you decided?" Ryan asked, he had Eadlyn in his arms.

"That's Eadlyn" I said pointing to her, "And that's Ahren" I pointed to him.

That day I realized something when me and Maxon had gone to the apartment he was staying. I realized how much my life had changed since the last time I had lived here in Carolina, not only did I have the most amazing friends, but now I had a larger family, though I still missed my dad and even more now that Eadlyn and Ahren were born, but I realized I wasn't the same person, I was much more mature, and hopefully, better prepared for the future.

"So what now?" I asked as I settled beside him on the sofa.

"Nothing" he answered with a smile.

It all started with a letter, a stupid letter I didn't even want, now I'm here. But I wouldn't change it. Not ever. All the bad doesn't out weight the good, though I know we could have done better without it.