Gray Area (sequel to White Noise)

Ch 2 - Off the Market

"So, what's your birthing plan, anyway?"

Tori and I were waiting on Calum and Michael to arrive. Their flight had been delayed, which meant we were extremely bored and had run out of things to talk about. It was the first random thought that popped into my head.

"Birthing plan?" Tori looked at me like I had two heads.

"Yeah. Don't tell me you've read all those childbirth books and you don't know what a birthing plan is. Even I know you should have one of those, dude."

"There's not really much to plan, though. I know I'm definitely getting an epidural as soon as I can. There's no sense in suffering through all that pain if I don't have to."

"Hmm. That surprises me. I thought you'd be more likely to go the natural route."

"No way," she said, emphatically shaking her head. "What would you do?"

I had never had a reason to think about it, but I knew how I felt about needles. I could stab someone else with them all day long, but keep that shit away from my skin. "I don't exactly like the idea of a ginormous needle going into my spine. So I think I'd try it without an epidural first. I'd probably wuss out in the end, though."

"Nah, I bet you'd hang in there. You're a tough chick, Lex."

"I dunno." As a nurse, the whole childbirth thing fascinated me, but the thought of going through that myself was something I couldn't fathom. "What does Calum think about all this birth stuff anyway? Does it gross him out?"

"Not at all. I think he could teach a class on it as much as he's researched. I'm surprised he hasn't made me take a birthing class yet, to be honest." Tori's phone buzzed at that moment. "Speak of the devil... they've landed."

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. I'd missed my boys so much, and now I was finally going to be reunited with two out of four.

They were just my friends, but I missed them terribly. I never could comprehend how Tori could stand it. I couldn't imagine being in a relationship and being so far away from the man I loved for such long periods.

I figured I'd never have to worry about that, though. As far as I was concerned, I was prepared to die an old maid. Romantic relationships didn't agree with me. For some reason, I seemed to always fall for the assholes and losers. So I had avoided the whole boyfriend thing for a few years. It was just easier. And safer.

When Calum spotted us, he literally sprinted to Tori, and before even saying hello, he squatted down and embraced her pregnant belly. I let them have their moment without a snide remark for once.

While that mush-fest was going on, Michael walked over and gave me a side hug and quietly remarked, "Sickening, isn't it?"

"So gross," I chuckled, hugging him back. We both knew we were joking and secretly envied the happy couple.

Our hellos were quick because we knew we had to get out of there before the guys were recognized. But we weren't quick enough. It never freaking failed. Never.

Thankfully, it was just one fan this time. The boys quickly obliged with a couple of quick selfies, and we were on our way. It wasn't a big deal. At least, not until a few hours later.

After we got the boys settled at Tori and Calum's place, we went out to eat. Michael chose the infamous café where we met that day nearly four years earlier. It wasn't too far from their house, so we agreed it was the perfect choice.

We ordered a bunch of appetizers, sat them in the middle of the table, and dug in. In the midst of our feast, we received a text from Luke. Ever since we met, we've had this ongoing group text thing, which basically amounts to a bunch of hilarity and nonsense. This, however, wasn't so funny. At least, not to me.

From Luke: You guys see this? It's all over Twitter right now.

We could always count on Luke to keep us up to date with all the latest gossip. I'm pretty sure he still has that secret fangirl account.

Upon seeing the attachment, the only words I had were, "Oh. My. God."

It was a photo of Michael and me at the airport, with our arms around each other, his head on top of mine, both of us smiling. It was a very nice picture, if I say so myself. But that was beside the point. I assume that girl at the airport must have taken it before she approached the boys. The caption read, "Looks like Michael is off the market, ladies."

When Michael read the caption, he nearly spit out his food. "The fuck? Lex, why didn't you tell me that we're dating?! Why haven't we consummated our relationship yet? You're holding out on me, dude!"

His remark was met with a not so gentle slap to the back of the head from both Tori and me, followed by a unison, "Shut up, Clifford." My friend always had my back.

I hadn't really had to deal with the wrath of the so-called "5SOS fam" before. At least, not nearly to the extent that Tori had. There had been a couple times that I had been in the background of a photo which caused fans to speculate as to which 5SOS member I was fucking. But I knew from Tori's experiences that I couldn't take it personally, so I didn't.

I just shrugged it off. "If they only knew."

"Knew what?" all three of them asked.

"If they only knew that Michael and I can hardly get along, let alone date. When are we ever not bickering? Out of the three single guys, he's the one I'm least likely to date." I just shook my head, trying to be nonchalant about it.

Michael pouted, "Wow. Thanks for the kind words and for talking about me like I'm not even here. I love you, too, Lex."

I think I may have actually hurt his feelings. So I apologized, ensured him that I actually did love him, and reminded him that he was still my second best friend. He accepted my apology, then I changed the subject.

"So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow anyway?"

Tori's face lit up and she squealed. "We're starting on the nursery tomorrow! The guys are going to put together some furniture."

I actually laughed at the image that was once again playing in my head of those two attempting to put together anything, let alone furniture. "I'll bring the popcorn. I'm sure it's going to be one hell of a show."