Author's Note: I know it's been MONTHS since my last update, but I'm sorry about that! School has been so stressful with all of my college and AP classes, and I didn't have the time. But it's a new year, and I'm back! Enjoy this chapter, and Happy New Year! (:

4 months later

Loud cries blared from the nursery as Alicia rested her head on the kitchen table. She groaned lightly as she lifted her head up, wiping her tired eyes. Aaliyah had woken from her nap again. She couldn't have been hungry because Alicia had already fed her; she probably needed to be changed.

"Seth!" Alicia whined, her headache growing rapidly. She had spent majority of her day tending to the baby's needs, and the only thing she needed at that moment was a long, blissful nap—something she hadn't been getting much of.

Seth dragged himself into the kitchen with Aaliyah resting in his arms. He was rocking her gently, her cries letting up. The sight made Alicia smile; she loved seeing the two of them together.

"You look beautiful," he told her as he moved to sit across from her at the table. She glared at him and ran a finger through her messy hair; a shower was another thing she could use.

"Baby, can I please take a nap for a few hours? While you were at work, I couldn't get Liyah to sleep for anything in the world," she said, yawning slightly afterward. After Aaliyah's birth, Seth got himself a job at McDonald's. For a 17 year old with a newborn baby, that was a pretty good deal.

"Of course," he breathed, looking down at his daughter. She was balling her tiny hands into fists, her gorgeous brown eyes staring widely up at her father. He smirked lightly, pecking her forehead. He looked back up at Alicia, who was rising to her feet. "We'll just go watch some TV; she seems to like Sesame Street."

A grin tugged at Alicia's lips as she walked over to sit on Seth's lap. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist as she cozied up to his chest. She pecked Aaliyah's forehead, and then his. She took a moment to stare at him, a painful longing growing in her chest. With the hectic life that they were currently living, there wasn't much room for "alone" time. There was nothing she wanted more than to feel close to her boyfriend again.

"I love you," she whispered, staring into his eyes. "I really do." He smirked and nudged his face into her shoulder.

"I love you too," he responded, inching his face toward hers. She pressed her lips against his, sighing heavily into the kiss; it felt like it had been forever since they'd done something as simple as that. She couldn't help that urge deep within her that was yearning for more; that's another thing she was deprived of—sex.

She moved her lips against his with intense fervor, forgetting about everything around her; all she could feel were his soft lips engulfing hers. The only thing that could break them out of their moment was the sound of their daughters' irritated cry. Alicia frowned into the kiss, pulling away slowly. That's when the smell drifted into their nostrils, and she jumped to her feet.

"You can handle that, right daddy?" she said, pecking him once more. He groaned, staring down at Aaliyah's innocent face.

"You know I suck at changing diapers, momma," he said, rising to his feet as well. Alicia laughed lightly and headed for her bedroom.

"Let me know when my mom gets home," she yawned before collapsing into the bed. Seth and Alicia initially lived at their own houses, but they spent every night together. The thought of getting their own place with their daughter had come to mind on more than one occasion, but they weren't financially in the position to make that transition at the moment.

With the thought of Seth's addictive lips still fresh in her mind, she fell into a much-needed slumber.

…

As Seth lay on the couch with Liyah sprawled across his chest, he couldn't have felt more peaceful. He was convinced that his baby was a mini genius; she was genuinely intrigued in the episode of Sesame Street that was playing on the TV. The front door opened, and Seth craned his neck to see who it was.

Tiffany, Alicia's sister, walked through the door with her son asleep on her shoulder; he was almost two years old. She looked over at Seth and laughed heartily.

"Awwww, you two look adorable," she said. He laughed along with her as Liyah attempted to move around on his chest.

"How was the mall?" he asked, looking at the numerous bags hanging in her free hand.

"Boring. I wasn't shopping for myself; I had to get a few things for Demetrius' birthday," she joked, setting them down on the counter. Demetrius was her long-term boyfriend, as well as the father of her child. In a way, they reminded Seth of him and Alicia. He narrowed his eyes at one of the bags.

"Isn't that a Victoria's Secret bag?" he asked. She went pale in the face and hid the bag behind one of the bigger ones.

"Okay, maybe I did do a little shopping for myself, but it's still for him, ya know?" she said, laughing once more.

He looked down at his baby, and back up at her. "Yeah, I know." Tiffany caught onto his subliminal message and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Where's my sister?" she asked, setting Jaelin down on the opposite couch. Seth pointed in the direction of her room.

"She's sleepin' like a baby. She deserves it," he said, sighing tiredly. Tiffany noticed his exhausted eyes and frowned.

"And so do you. How about you let me watch Liyah for a while? She needs some bonding time with her auntie," she said, walking over to pick up her niece.

"Are you sure?" he asked, even though he was anxious to get some shuteye.

"I'm positive," she smiled. He pecked Aaliyah numerous times before handing her off to Tiffany.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," he told her. She simply nodded toward the room, urging him on.

He tiptoed into Alicia's room, closing the door after him. The sight of her sleeping soundlessly in the sheets brought warmth to him. He walked over to the bed and crouched down beside her, running his finger lightly over her lips. She stirred sleepily, but she didn't wake. He swiftly pressed his lips against hers, running his hand down her waist. She blindly kissed him back as she began to wake up, tangling her fingers in his hair. She moaned quietly and broke from the kiss as her eyes slowly began to adjust. She locked eyes with Seth and breathed a sigh of pure happiness.

"Hi," she whispered, scooting over to make room for him in the bed. He plopped down beside her and she didn't hesitate in cuddling into his chest.

"Thought you could use some company," he said, resting his chin on top of her head. She closed her eyes and yawned, running her fingers along his chest.

"Where's the baby?" she asked.

"Your sister's watching her for us," he whispered tiredly. He felt himself drifting off, but he didn't want to; he wanted to spend as much quiet time with his gorgeous girlfriend for as long as he could.

"How sweet of her," she said back, sleep evident in her tone. In less than a minute, he could hear her shallow breaths, indicating that she had fallen back asleep. He frowned a bit, and pecked her forehead before allowing sleep to engulf him.

…

A week later

The first day of school was the next day, and Alicia couldn't help but to feel nervous about it. They were staying over Seth's house, in the company of Jacob and Leah.

Jacob was pretending that Aaliyah was a human helicopter, flying her around the living room. Alicia and Leah were folding clothes on the couch, and Seth was getting ready to go to work. It was pretty late, and Alicia was upset that Seth had got called into work. She was just thankful that she had Leah and Jacob to help her with the baby for the night.

He walked toward the door in his McDonald's uniform with a frown on his face. Alicia got up from the couch and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. He held onto her hands and spun around to face her.

"Don't be surprised if I pop up to ask for a McFlurry," she joked, looking up at him.

"You need to get some sleep," he said, smiling reassuringly. "Tomorrow is the first day of our senior year. Just because I'm going to go looking like a zombie doesn't mean you have to."

She gawked at him and looked toward baby Aaliyah. "If our daughter has any say in that, I'll be looking a hell of a lot worse than you." He laughed out, knowing it was true. He pecked her quickly and waved toward his sister and Jacob.

"I'll be back at 2 am," he sighed. He locked eyes with Aaliyah and began cooing like a baby. She let out an excited squeal and flashed him her cutest toothless smile. Jacob walked over and handed Aaliyah to her father, playfully pushing Alicia to the side. She punched him in his stomach as retaliation.

"I wuv wooo," Seth said, placing a kiss to Aaliyah's tanned cheek. She squeaked again, placing her small, chubby fingers onto his face. Alicia smiled at the sight; she couldn't believe how advanced Aaliyah was at the mere age of four months. After a few minutes, Seth sadly handed her over to Alicia.

"I love you," he whispered to her.

"I love you more," she said back, cradling Aaliyah in her arms. He gave them one last wave before heading out the door.

"Alright, let's get this party started!" Leah shouted, rising to her feet. "Baby daddy's out the house, let's call the strippers."

"The strippers?" Alicia asked, her eyes widening. She looked over at Jacob, who was simply laughing at his girlfriends' theatrics.

"Baby Aaliyah needs to know the basics before she hits the real world," Leah reasoned. Alicia widened her eyes even further, covering the baby's ears.

"She's only four months old! The only basics she needs to know is how to suck on a bottle and not my tits," she joked, causing all of them to laugh.

"I'm just joking. Just a little aunt humor," she said, grabbing hold of the clothesbasket. "Excited for school?"
"Excited? No. Petrified? That's more like it," she responded.

"Petrified? Why are you scared?" Jacob wondered, plopping down on the couch.

"Because I already know what to expect. Everyone's going to sit there and judge me; they're going to ask personal questions and stare at me like I'm some sort of statistic," she said, sighing heavily. She stared down at Aaliyah—she was so beautiful. Her eyes were a soft shade of brown, her hair was thick, soft, and gorgeously curly, and she had such an angelic appearance that could bring a smile to anyone's face. Alicia was blessed to have such a marvelous daughter.

"Screw them. It's your senior year!" Leah argued.

"I know," she responded back softly. "It's just… not going to be the same. Things are different now. I'm a… mom."

"Yeah, but, that doesn't mean your whole life has to change," Leah said back. A sorrowful feeling sat at the bottom of Alicia's stomach at those words.

"To be honest," she began, taking a deep breath. "It kinda does."

…

Sleep was the last thing that Alicia received that night. Aaliyah had an upset stomach, which meant that Alicia was up changing pampers and soothing the baby the entire night. Seth came crawling in at 2 am like a zombie, so she didn't even bother to ask him for help.

The alarm blared loudly at 5:30, indicating that it was time to wake up. Seth groaned and slammed his hand on the snooze button. Alicia turned over on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She could almost cry at how exhausted she was. She looked over at Seth, who had managed to fall back asleep.

"Seth," she said, her tone coming out hoarse and rough. He grunted and opened his eyes after a few seconds.

"Just give me a few more minutes," he whispered, closing his eyes once more.

"We have to get up now if we're gonna be on time," she urged, even though she could care less about school at the moment; she had bigger things on her plate.

"Just… a few more minutes, okay?" he said back, drifting off without a word more. She groaned and threw the covers off of her, stomping to her feet.

"Fine. I don't give a shit if you get to school on time or not," she spat, marching out of the room.

She headed for the nursery, tiptoeing into the room. She walked over to the crib, staring down at the beauty in front of her. She looked so serene.

"It'd be nice if you were like this all of the time, baby," she whispered, trailing her finger down Aaliyah's soft cheek. She felt someone come up behind her, and she knew it was Seth. He rested his hand on her waist and pecked her shoulder.

"You okay?" he whispered, making his way to her neck; his lips were so soft and warm.

"I'm sorry for going off on you," she breathed, tugging at her lip. He placed a long, wet kiss to her jaw, causing her eyes to drift closed. If she had it her way, they'd spend the rest of the day making love like it was no one's business. Unfortunately, she didn't always get her way.

"It's okay," he told her, pulling away from her. She turned around with a frown, pulling him close to her.

"I wasn't ready for you to let go," she whispered seductively; she grabbed his face and attacked his lips. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer.

She moaned into the kiss, roaming her hands up and down his back. Before the kiss could intensify, the door opened. They broke away from each other, watching as Sue stood in the doorway.

"Aren't you two supposed to be getting ready for school?" she asked, a smile on her face; she had caught them. They looked at each other with embarrassed grins before nodding.

"Yes ma'am," Seth said, inching his way toward the door. Alicia quickly followed behind him, giving his mother an awkward smile.

That was definitely an interesting start to their day.

…

They walked through the double doors of the school hand in hand; the atmosphere was filled with everyone's excitement of the first day of school. Alicia was still nervous, and Seth noticed.

"Hey, it's not so bad," he said, squeezing her hand with reassurance. Just as he said that, some random tenth grader walked up to the two of them with wide eyes.

"Hi, you're Alicia, right? The captain of the cheerleading team from last year?" she asked; she looked as if she were meeting her favorite celebrity.

"Um… yeah, who are you?" she wondered.

"I'm Bianca. I saw that you had a baby on the last day of school!" she said excitedly. Alicia could feel her heart racing. "I saw some of your Instagram pictures and she's so cute—

"Fuck this," Alicia muttered, unlatching her hand from Seth's. She walked off from the two, heading for her old locker. Seth followed her after her, sighing heavily.

"Alicia, don't you think you're being a little ridiculous?" he asked.

"No, I already told you I wasn't looking forward to this," she spat, relieved at the fact that no one had taken her locker. There was also another locker beside hers for Seth.

"Look, things are different now—you can't get mad at every person who says something about the baby," he reasoned.

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered, placing a lock on it.

"Alicia—

"Just drop it, okay?" she asked, turning around to face him. As he was about to respond, they heard footsteps come up behind them.

"Ooooh, if it isn't our favorite teen parents," a hasty voice barked, following a snarky laugh. The two of them turned around, coming face to face with Lois and Hector. Alicia held in the urge to cuss her out, even though she hated her with every fiber in her being.

"How's it going?" Seth said, anxious to dial down the tension that was evident in the air.

"We're good! Had an amazing summer; how was yours? I bet it was crazy, you know, dealing with the baby and all," Lois said, folding her arms. She clearly was mocking them.

"It was fine," Alicia snapped; she was clearly losing patience with the two of them.

"I saw your kid on Instagram. You know, she looks like you, Alicia," she said, turning up her nose. That it was it for Alicia; she couldn't stand to be in her presence for another second. "What's her name again?"

"Ee-da," Alicia responded, receiving narrowed eyes from the three of them.

"Ee-da?" Lois responded.

"Yeah. Eat a dick, you stupid bitch," she spat, brushing past her. Seth gave them an awkward glance before trailing after his girlfriend.

"Leesh," he whispered, grabbing hold of her wrist. She turned around to face him with red, puffy eyes. His face dropped, and he instantly wiped her eyes. "Please, don't cry."

"Seth, I can't do this," she cried. "I can't handle this judgment. It's not fair."

"I know it's not fair," he began, resting a hand on her waist. "But you have to get stronger than this. People are going to talk; it's what they do. The thing you have to remember is, it's your life. You can't let people like Lois and Hector make you feel like this."

"I know," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "You're right. I'm just not used to this."

"It'll get better," he promised, holding her close. Suddenly, the bell sounded above them. Everyone began scattering to their classes, and they knew that they had to do the same.

"I'll see you in English," she said, wiping her face once more.
"See you in English," he winked before walking off. She tugged at her lip and watched him for a bit before heading to AP Calculus.

…

A week later

"Cheerleading tryouts start tomorrow after school! Sign up in the main office before it's too late!" the announcements blared. Alicia groaned as she sat at her desk in first period. As much as she loved cheerleading, she had a baby. How would she be able to stay dedicated to cheering, when her first and only priority was her child?

"I can't wait to be cheerleading captain this year! This year is going to rock!" Lois boasted. She was talking to fellow girls from the team, loud enough so Alicia could hear her.

"But what about Alicia?" Stephanie asked; she was always pretty fond of Alicia over Lois; honestly, everyone was. All eyes turned to Alicia's seat.

"Alicia's too busy to cheer this year, right Alicia?" Lois remarked, anticipating her response. Even though she knew it was true, she didn't want Lois to get the victory of saying she won. She just couldn't.

"Actually, I'm not. Yeah, I have a baby but I have plenty of family members who can watch her while I'm at practice. I'm also still in shape; my body hasn't even changed since before. So, no. I'm not too busy to cheer this year," she said, a triumphant smile on her face. Lois' face fell, while everyone else's lit up.

This should be interesting, she thought to herself.

Author's Note: I know I said that this was going to be the last chapter, but there's just so much that I want to put into this story! So, I'm probably going to add about two or three more chapters after this one! Yay, longer story. ;) Please leave reviews if you're still reading, and Happy New Year again! (: