Chapter 17: Surprises

Sean

I pulled my hat lower over my ears as I jogged towards the apartment building. I had done a lot of thinking. About Ellie, about Jay, about school, about my parents, Tracker... I really wish Tracker would come back and visit. Even tough guys like me need their big brothers once in awhile. I pounded up the steps and put the key into my doorknob. Maybe I should be quiet- Ellie might be asleep. My heart warmed at the thought of catching her as she's sleeping.

I didn't expect to catch this.

Jay was lounging around in my armchair, a piece of pizza sitting on his knee, and the remote control in his greasy hands. What the hell was he doing in my apartment? Does Ellie even know he's here?

"Jay!" I barked.

He turned the TV off and stood up quickly, the pizza sliding onto the floor. I groaned and threw a roll of paper towels at him. "Pick it up!" I shouted.

Ellie came out of the bedroom in her pajamas. "Sean! Stop yelling!" she yelled at me.

"You stop yelling!" I screamed right back.

She crossed her arms and gave me a look that dared me to say anything else. I shut my mouth quickly. "Sorry," I muttered. "But what is he doing here? Do you have any idea what he said about you?"

"If you don't mind, I'd rather not here. Jay already told me about the fight. Can I talk to you alone?"

I wanted to punch Jay's lights out. I'm so pissed at him. He thinks he can insult my girlfriend and then use her kindness a few hours later. What a jerk. Only he is capable of this. Ellie's soft hands closed around one of mine and she pulled me towards the bedroom. I gave Jay the evil eye the entire time.

"What?" I snapped, pushing my hair away from my face. I'm just so frustrated!

"Don't talk to me like that. Stop causing a scene."

"I don't get it! Seriously, what are you thinking? He needs to go home. I don't want him hanging out here."

"Hang out here? Sean, he's living with us," Ellie threw her hands up and walked towards the closet.

"What?" I hissed.

"Yeah, you heard right. Jay's living with us. His mom kicked him out. He doesn't have anywhere else."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. It's just so totally unbelievable. Someone is making a huge mockery of my life. "Great, not only do I have to take care of you, I have to take care of that idiot, too."

Ellie turned around to face me, "Wow. I'm so sorry you have to 'take care of me'. Jeez, how about I move out like planned? Then, you know, you wouldn't have to waste your life looking after me."

She always does this. She turns my words on me all the time. "I never said..."

"Yeah, well you're acting like I'm such a huge burden to you. I'm sorry I'm pregnant and going to give birth in a few months. If I had known you felt so stressed out!" she screamed the last part at me, her voice not sounding like her own.

"Calm down, Ellie. Okay? Just calm down." I made the mistake of rolling my eyes as I turned away.

I felt a burning sensation on my cheek. I put a hand up to my face. "You just slapped me!"

"You deserve it! Stop acting like you have so much responsibility, Sean. For once, just for once, will you stop thinking about how hard life is on you? I really don't give a shit what Jay said about me. And I can't believe you'd try and start something between Jay and I by trying to tell me what he said! That's vindictive. Jay is in there- homeless- he needs us. I'm letting him stay. He's going to follow the rules. And you, you are going to get over whatever you have stuck up your ass. You think 'taking care of me' is hard enough? What are you going to do when we have a baby? Seriously, what the hell are you going to do?"

The only sound was her foot tapping against the floor, waiting for an answer.

I opened my mouth, but it took awhile to get words out. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm being a jerk."

"And?"

"And I shouldn't act as if you ask so much of me."

"And?"

"And Jay can stay."

"And?"

"And I'll be nice to him. And I'll never say you're a burden again."

"And?"

"And?"

"Well, are you going to kiss me or not!" Ellie pouted and raised her face to mine.

I licked my lips, trying to keep the smile off of my face. It didn't work. "You're such a slave-driver," I whispered before I kissed her.

She laughed against my mouth and we kissed for awhile, my hands on either side of her, her hands on my elbows. I parted and noticed that the kiss had been a very wet one. She rubbed her lips together and gave me a drunken smile.

"Was that one of your pregnant temper tantrums?" I asked pressing her against the wall lightly.

"Mmm, yes," she laughed huskily.

"When are you pushing that thing out?"

Jay

I pushed the heels of my hands into my eyes as I waited for either Sean or Ellie to emerge

from the bedroom. What the hell were they doing in there? A look at the clock on the wall let me know that they had been "talking" for about twenty minutes now. Every now and then I'd hear Ellie's voice raise- she was obviously ripping into him. Hell, if I were Sean, I'd be scared. From what I hear, she can be pretty vicious. The time she beat up Amy springs to my mind...

I hope she can talk some sense into Sean. Seriously. Him and I are buddies, were bros. We get into fights, and we're fine the next day. That's how it is and how it'll always be. Why can't he be cool with that? It's not like I meant to piss him off or anything tonight. I'm just telling it how it is.

The bedroom door slammed open and Ellie and Sean walked out, hand in hand. Really, too cute for words. It almost made me gag. Sean stood in front of me and I gave him a hopeful expression. He shrugged and we did our little handshake, ending in a one man hug.

"Cool man?"

"Cool," Sean answered.

Ellie tugged on Sean's arm. "You should see what Jay and I did while you were gone."

Oh no. She is not showing my picture to him. If word gets around that I colored with Ellie, my reputation is bust. I'll never be able to live it down. Never. Oh, but she did show him. She held up both of our pictures in front of Sean.

"Jay and I colored," she threw me a cheesy grin. She obviously knew I'd get teased for this.

Sean burst out laughing, falling to the floor. "You," he choked out, pointing a finger at me. "You colored?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh, funny man." I crossed my arms and glared at Ellie.

In return, she gave me a sweet smile, but it was totally sarcastic. She sidled up next to me as Sean had his little routine on the floor, hands pounding the hardwood floors and everything... "Don't ever talk about me again," she whispered to me out of the corner of her mouth.

I rolled my eyes and took the pinky she held out in mind. "Deal."

Sean finally found the energy to pick himself up off the floor. "Sorry man, but, uh, you coloring is the funniest thing I've ever heard of in my life. I can't even picture it."

"Well, I'm sure we can all sit down and see what it looks like later," Ellie smirked, jabbing me in the ribs.

"You guys are just too funny. God, I'm going to bed."

"Did you finish your homework?"

I glared at Ellie, but she didn't back down. Cursing under my breath, I brought my backpack over to the table and took out my homework.

So, this is what homework looks like.

Ellie pulled a chair up next to me. "Now Jay, this is called a worksheet. And the numbers on here are called math. You'd preferably use a pencil to do your math homework because I'm sure you'll be making lots of mistakes. Now, this part up here that says your name? You put your name there. That would be: J-a-y H-o-g-a-r-t. There, good."

"Will you shut the hell up?" I tried to use my arms to cover up my homework, but she managed to butt into my personal space.

"I'm just trying to help. What math is this? Geometry?"

"Algebra," I muttered. Great, now she's going to think I'm the stupidest person on earth.

She laughed, "You don't have to act all embarrassed about it. Believe me, I've already tutored Sean. Nothing you do will surprise me. Nothing," she shuddered.

"Hey!" Sean cried out from his mouthful of... donut?

"Donuts? Where are the donuts?"

Sean grinned and produced a package of donuts from his lap. "They're right here. At least Ellie is letting some junk food in the house now.

Ellie turned to me and shook her head, "He's a riot. He always acts as if I'm the worst person in the world. You know, just because I'd like everyone to eat a little healthy..."

"Yeah, yeah. Save it for some other time Miss Candyland."

Ellie wrinkled her nose, "Miss Candyland?"

Even I was a little confused, but Sean looked pleased as punch at his joke. He kept laughing to himself- with a mouthful of donut. "Yeah, you knot Candyland? The game?"

"Yeah..." she was still unsure.

"And you- you're such an addict for candy? It's genius."

"Yeeeah... genius," Ellie rolled her eyes at me, and I had to stifle a laugh. I don't want her thinking I'm enjoying her company just yet. I still have to show her who's boss. Me.

"Just so you know, Jay, Ellie's the boss around here. Don't even try to get anything past her. It's hopeless."

Ellie arched an eyebrow at me and pursed her lips slightly. If hers isn't the face of authority, I don't know whose is. I'm almost sad to say this, but the look on her face shares a striking resemblance to my mother's. Just what every bad boy wants- two mothers.

Ellie

I put down the phone and rolled over in bed, landing on my back on top of Sean. I reached behind me and ran my fingers through his hair. "Sean?" I asked throatily. I was still in the process of fully getting up.

"Grrrmargh?" he groaned.

"What?" I laughed. "Wake up, sleepy head. We have a big day ahead of us. With my... mother."

Sean wrapped his arms tightly around my abdomen, "NOOO!"

"I'm sorry, but she's going shopping with us."

"Noooo!"

"I already said she could."

"Call her back and say, 'NOOOO!'."

"You're so mean to her."

"I learned it from you."

I sat up and moved to his side, running a hand up and down his stomach. "Pwease, Seanny. Be nice to my mommy?"

The baby voice always gets him to pay attention. Now the puppy dog eyes will seal the deal. I widened my eyes and pouted my mouth a little, letting it tremble slightly. If this didn't get him to agree, then nothing will.

"You are so," he searched for a word. "Impossible."

"Hey!"

"Undeniable."

"Better."

"Perfect."

"Well, I try," I stated modestly.

Sean smiled against his pillow and opened his eyes to finally look at me. I smiled down at him and played with his hair. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Mmm. Yes."

"Any dreams?"

"Yeah, I one a race. I was driving this souped up-..."

"Yeah, I get it. You should be dreaming about babies and pink and blue, though," I kissed his temple. "Get up!"

Sean slowly rose to a sitting position. "I don't understand why we have to get up and go shopping at dawn."

"It's not dawn. It's 9. My mom is taking the day off to go shopping with us, so be grateful. It's a beautiful Saturday morning." I got up out of bed and went to the small window in Sean's room. On tiptoes, I looked out and saw the sun shining. "The sun is out. The glass feels warm!"

"It's supposed to be really warm today. I'm naked."

"What?"

"I'm naked. In here. You should get back in."

I rolled my eyes and went over to the dresser. "I don't care if you're naked. I'm getting a shower and getting dressed." I didn't look at Sean, but I could just imagine the look of shock on his face. It's been two weeks since Jay moved in, and two weeks since Sean has gotten any.

Can I help it, though? I feel like a disgusting, fat slob. My feet hurt, my calves hurt, my back hurts. Everything hurts. But soon, I'll have a beautiful baby in my arms. So, it's all worth it. I pattered to the bathroom, ready to feel the hot water on my skin.

"Jay!" I bellowed. I banged on the door.

"You'll have to wait!" he sang back at me.

That stupid jerk. He knows I like to take showers at this time. I told him yesterday I'd need the shower at 9. Things haven't been so bad with him here, but they're definitely different. I have to take care of three babies now: Sean, Jay, and the baby. It's almost too much for a girl in my state of mind to handle.

The door flew open and Jay emerged wrapped in a towel. "There, princess," he sneered. He shook his hair like a wet dog and splattered me with water drops.

"Ugh!" I punched him playfully in the shoulder and shut the door behind me before he retaliated.

"Sean! What are you doing?" I accused a few minutes later, entering the bedroom again.

Sean dropped my purse and tried to give me a guiltless expression. He failed. "Nothing!" he blurted out too quickly. "I was just looking for... gum."

"Uh huh..." I threw a piece of gum at him. "There. I'm taking care of the baby, Sean. You don't have to spy on me. All I have in here is a wallet, my keys, and some gum. No diet pills. Don't worry."

I can't believe he doesn't trust me yet. How am I supposed to get through this is my own boyfriend, and father of my baby, doesn't even trust me? I wouldn't let him live this down for awhile.

"I trust you, Els!" Sean wrapped his arms around me.

"No, you don't," I replied shortly. I unwrapped his arms from around me and sat in front of my small vanity. "Go take a shower before Jay decides he's going to take another one just to piss us off."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Hey, you wanted him here."

"And you can't stand having him here, right? He's just another video game buddy or someone else to gang up on me to buy junk food."

"We only tease you and bully you because we love you," Sean kissed my cheek sweetly.

I stopped running the comb through my hair. "Well... I'm supposed to be your video game buddy. Don't you forget that!"

Sean kissed my again, turning my face so he could kiss my lips. It was long and lingering and completely romantic.

"You're forgiven," I sighed.

"Thanks. You're the best, babe."

"Don't I know it..."

"Oh damn! I forgot my credit cards," my mom blurted out suddenly at a stop sign. "Ellie? Do you have your credit card on you?"

I opened my purse on my lap and rummaged through it. "Yeah, I should..."

I found my little credit card holder and looked through it. "It's not here! I had it right here- in this spot!"

Sean popped his head in between the seats. "You must have left it at home..."

Why did he sound so... ominous? I gave him a look. "I asked you if I had everything and you said I did. I told you to remind me to make sure. You didn't. Of course. Mom, what are men good for?"

My mom adjusted her sunglasses and smiled cooly, "Money and sex, Ellie. That's about it."

"Mom!" I squealed. "Please don't talk like you're some high-schooler... or off of Sex and the City. Because, you're not."

"Hey, I'm young. Don't forget- I popped you out at the ripe age of fifteen. I can act like Carrie or Miranda if I want to."

"Carrie? Miranda? Fifteen?" Sean was confused.

"Characters off of the show Sex and the City. And, yes, mom had me at fifteen."

"That's so young."

"Sean, dear, I'm sixteen. Don't forget that minor detail."

My mom stopped at another stop sign and turned to look at Sean, giving him a truly disapproving look. "You're lucky I was such a young mother and I'm so understanding. Otherwise, I would have had you buried alive. No one would ever have found you, believe me."

Sean sat back, his face completely white.

"She has connections," I explained. He sneered at me and I giggled. "Well, maybe we should just turn around and go back and get it. We obviously need a credit card."

"Yeah, we're only, what, twenty minutes away from your... place. Seriously, you two are going to have to look into a better apartment."

"Mom, this apartment is fine. You haven't even seen the inside in so long. The baby's room is almost finished. We just need to put the furniture and paint the baby blue or pink accents once the baby is born. Ugh, but don't mind Jay, he's Sean's friend and he's staying with us for awhile."

"Oh, and why's that?"

"He escaped from jail," Sean replied with a straight face.

My mom slammed on her breaks, "WHAT!"

I burst out laughing. "Mom, chill! He didn't escape from jail. He escaped from the psychiatric hospital."

"That's where I'm going to put you if you don't stop joking around..."

Like you already haven't put me there, you witch! I had to refrain myself from shouting it. I've made good progress in therapy. Come on, Ellie. Breathe, Ellie. Breathe. You don't need to start fights with your mom. You two have gotten along great lately. Don't start a fight. Don't start a fight. Don't start a fight. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized I had succeeded in calming myself down.

"Too bad dad is in Tokyo. I wish he could have gone shopping with us," I rested my head against the window.

My mom's hand slipped onto mine and squeezed it affectionately. Tears sprung to my eyes at the contact. "He wishes he could be here with you, too."

"Um, mom, the apartment is that way," I pointed towards the left. My mom had turned right.

"We'll just go get mine back at home. I left something else there anyway."

"Oh, okay."

Marco

"Shhhh! Everyone be quiet!"

"I'm sure she's already figured it out anyway."

"Will you shut up, Paige!"

"Ashley, you are being such a control freak."

"I'm going to kill both of you if you don't shut the hell up!" I bellowed.

Paige and Ashley froze and looked at me. Yeah, that's right. I did just yell at you. So, there.

Ellie's dad placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "Thanks for helping out with today, Marco. I was completely lost."

I grinned, "Yeah, well, tablecloths are my specialty."

"The place looks great."

"I helped out, too!" Paige piped up. She appeared at Mr. Nash's side and smiled sweetly at him. Ugh, somebody has a crush.

Christian was right. The place does look great. We'd decided to decorate it as Ellie and Sean were decorating the nursery. Marroon and silver tablecloths covered all of the small tables and baby blue and pink ribbons had been tied on the chairs. A big table in the corner of the sun room was covered with presents for the baby and parents-to-be. Ellie's going to flip when she sees all the hard work we've put into it.

And her dad really surprised me. He really was getting into this. He'd called me up a few weeks ago and asked me to meet with him and Sean to plan the baby shower. He had to go on a trip to Tokyo soon so he wanted to have the shower a little sooner than we thought. We had met at a nice coffee house and had planned the entire thing in one sitting- with lots of coffees- Christian's treat.

We couldn't have asked for a better day. Ellie's dad had been adamant about grilling out. He wanted to make Ellie's favorite barbecue chicken. The sun is shining and there's a soft breeze in the air: perfect weather for a cookout. I scanned my eyes over the room and the deck outside. Everyone who was invited had shown up. Of course, Paige, Ashley, Spinner, Jimmy, Hazel, Jay, and Alex were here. But Emma and Manny had also showed up. They brought two of their other friends: Darcy and Nate. JT and Toby were here, too. They were also hanging out with Emma and them. Emma's mom and Snake were here, also, with baby Jack. Craig's dad, Caitlin, and Angie, my parents, a few of Ellie's aunts and uncles and their families from overseas, her grandparents, all the teachers from school, Ellie's therapist Dr. Brahm and her family, and a few other people, either from school or other acquaintances.

The best part, however, was that Sean's brother was here.

And his parents.

I heard Ellies' mom's voice suddenly.

"Everyone! Be quiet!" I whispered. Everyone fell silent and stood at attention.

Her voice grew closer. "Oh, Ellie, you should see the new furniture I got for the sun room. Come and take a look at it."

Their footsteps became louder. Closer.

"SURPRISE!"

So next chapter will cover the baby shower. It's going to be interesting. I've been waiting a long time to incorporate Sean's parents into the story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the reviews!