Growing with J.A.C.I.E. (All Time Low Fanfiction | Jack Barakat)

Chapter 9

I rocked back and forth on my feet as I waited for the door in front of me to open. It was pretty cold outside, and there was only so much I could do by hiding myself in my coat and stuffing my hands in its pockets. I had sent Jack a text saying that I had arrived, and he responded that he was coming. But the two minutes that had passed felt like an eternity.

Finally, the door opened, and Jack stood on the other side. As soon as his eyes landed on me, a smile turned the corners of his lips up. He leaned in to share a kiss.

"Hi," he greeted softly.

"Hi," I returned, still bouncing up and down a little. "I really need to pee, Meerkat's pushing on my bladder."

He stepped aside and gestured for me to quickly come inside. I rushed in, the warmer air hitting my skin immediately.

"Bathroom's there," he pointed towards a door just down the hallway.

I gave him a grateful look before dropping my bag down at his feet and practically dashed towards the bathroom. Once my... urgent... matter was attended to and I had washed my hands, I emerged again. Jack was waiting for me, leaning against the wall across from the bathroom with my bag hanging off of his shoulder.

"Feel better?" he asked with a chuckle as he pushed himself upright.

I left out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Much. Your daughter is making her presence known."

"How's Meerkat doing in there?" he inquired as he started leading me further into the venue.

"Well, she's active today. Probably warming up to copy your stage moves."

He laughed as we entered the dressing room for the day. It was much emptier than I expected. There was only one other person inside, simply standing in the room, scrolling on their phone, and sipping a coffee through a straw.

"Jacie!" Rian welcomed, with a big grin.

"Rian!" I greeted with equal enthusiasm, embracing him in a brief but warm hug.

"How's it going, future mom?" Rian asked, his eyes lighting up with curiosity as I pulled my coat off.

Jack took my coast from me as I chuckled and answered, "surviving."

"Future drummer in the making, perhaps?"

Our pleasant conversation got interrupted by a loud booming voice. "Holy shit, Jacie?!"

I turned around to see Alex in the doorway, staring at me with wide eyes. His mouth was agape as he glanced up and down my body.

"Look at you!" he gasped, making large gestures towards the bump I now so clearly had. "Last time we saw you, you were– holy shit!"

I laughed at Alex's dramatic reaction. "I told you I wasn't lying."

"Damn. Just seeing it is a whole different thing. I'm guessing you won't be singing with me tonight."

I frowned. "Why not?"

Once again, his gaze flickered down to my bump.

"Oh..." the realisation set in and I shared a look with Jack.

We were keeping this pregnancy off social media. Any photos we posted with me in it either strategically didn't show off my abdomen or were old images. It was just something we wanted to keep to ourselves, away from prying eyes. We weren't even planning on announcing the birth online when the time came. And that wasn't going to change for a show.

"I think I can still hide it..." I told them. Afterall, I started showing relatively late and still didn't look as far along as I was. "If you guys can lend me a super oversized hoodie."

"I think I've got something," Alex walked over to a corner of the dressing room where everybody's clothes were hung up. "Otherwise we'll go to the merch table."

He returned with a hoodie that was definitely large. It actually looked like it could have fit pre-pregnancy me in there at least twice. He handed it over to me and I slipped it on. Immediately, the room burst out into giggles. The sleeves went down just past my fingertips and I felt like I had been swallowed whole by the fabric.

"What do we think?" I laughed as I struck a slight pose.

"You look like a Gen-Z," Rian pointed out jokingly. With the old pair of blue jeans that were once Jack's and the oversized hoodie, I definitely did fit into the baggy clothes trend.

"I am part of Gen-Z," I shot back.

He gave me a disgusted look, which I returned with a big smile. The fact that these guys were ten years older than me was usually a thought that didn't even come up. I seamlessly fit into their group. Whenever something reminded them that I was actually born a whole decade later, then always acted like it was the weirdest news they ever heard.

"So, do you think I can pull this off?" I asked them all, stretching my arms out in front of myself and doing a little turn.

Jack watched me carefully to see if anything obviously gave my pregnancy away. "I think we can make it work. If you feel like it, of course."

I nodded with excitement. I hadn't performed in a while. The last time I was up on a stage was when I was an emergency drummer for Liam and his band at the festival. Since then, all my work was behind equipment in the studio. Getting out there again would be fun.

"That's the spirit!" Alex nudged my arm.

We continued to catch up, the atmosphere light and filled with laughter. The guys took turns updating me on the events that had happened on tour as well as the weeks since I last saw them. Rian had gone camping during his time off, while Alex took some time to rest at home. And, well, Jack and I got to recount some stories from our holiday as well.

As the showtime drew closer and closer, the room became more and more livelier. Zack joined us as did some crew members as they got ready and went through their pre-show rituals. While I usually would enthusiastically join in, I was content to watch from the sidelines with my cup of orange juice this time.

I accompanied them to the side of the stage, where they took some photos with the few fans who had gotten an upgrade to watch from the same angle as me. The anticipation coming from the crowd was almost tangible. I couldn't help but participate in the excitement, especially knowing that this would be Meerkat's first show.

The intro started playing through the speakers, making the crowd cheer, and Jack gave me a quick kiss before jumping on stage. I tried to both enjoy myself as well as stay hidden. With a couple of fans so close by, I didn't accidentally want to give away what was hiding behind Alex's much too large sweatshirt. I felt a few curious glances, but that was a normal occurrence, and I had to remind myself of that.

The real daunting moment was when I put my in-ears in and was given a microphone to join in for a song. A spotlight would be right on me, and I did not want this to ruin the secrecy Jack and I had managed to keep up until then. Jack's encouraging smile in my direction as he played the start of the song already helped me feel at ease.

When my part came up, I went out on stage and put all my focus on singing. I walked up and down the stage, even getting Alex's arm wrapped around my shoulders at one point. But I stayed cautious and didn't dance around as widely as I used to. Not because I was afraid for myself, but because I didn't want the hoodie to pull in a way that showed off the bump.

I gave Alex a dramatic bow when the song ended, and left back to the side stage, another successful performance given.