Twenty Five.

Chapter One

"Hi honey. Happy 25th Birthday! I posted your present yesterday. It should arrive shortly. Hope you have a great day! Sending you all my love. Mom."

Ellington read the text aloud, smiling to himself. "At least someone remembered." He slid his phone into the front pocket of his black skinny jeans and ruffled his facial hair. A gust of wind caused his brown hair to fall over his eyes. He casually flipped his hair to the side as it settled on the top of his forehead.

A gurgling sound came from down by his feet. "Hello baby boy." He said with a smile on his face. His seven month old son, reached his chubby little arms up to him whining for attention. Ellington scooped him up in his arms, planting a kiss on his cheek. His son let out an adorable giggle before latching himself onto his dad's shirt.

One raindrop fell from the sky and landed on Ellington's knee. Another one followed and before he knew it, rain was pouring from the sky, leaving the two of them drenched. Not wanting either of them to get sick, Ellington strapped his son into the stroller, pulling the hood over the top to shield him from the pouring rain.

Within a matter of seconds the two of them were strolling down the street, heading towards Ellington's apartment in the middle of LA.

After R5, the band he was in and devoted his life to, decided for no particular reason that they wanted to take a break, Ellington found an apartment not far from where he lived and moved into it. From what he had last heard, the Lynch's had moved to New York to settle down and find jobs. Not that he minded, he had a fairly decent job and his baby boy that he loved so much. He barely even thought about the band anymore.

Stepping into the shelter of the buildings' ground floor, Ellington crouched down in front of his now crying son. He grabbed his teddy bear from the bottom of the stroller and handed it to him. The crying died down and was replaced by baby language and gurgling between his son and the bear. Sighing slightly and wiping his wet hair away from his eyes, he began to ascend the stairs.

Living on the fourth floor of a block of apartments never proved being easy, especially having to carry a stroller up the stairs because the elevator had been broken for quite some time. Today was particularly worse as they were both drenched, cranky and tired.

"Almost there..." He said quietly although he wasn't sure who he was reassuring; his son or himself. He paused at the top of the stairs, resting his weight on the stroller as if he had just ran a marathon. The sweat from tackling the stairs blended into the rain on his forehead. He scrambled in his pocket, looking for his keys.

When he looked up, he stopped in his tracks. Someone was stood outside his apartment door, something tucked under their arm. The person was wearing a coat and above the expensive looking coat was long blonde hair that he knew all too well...