High And Dry

Big Ideas [Don't Get Any]

friends, i see so many fanfics where melanie is posed as an evil bitch, so i decided to make one where she was a nice girl, and it just didnt work out between the two of them like they hoped, so they had a simple, nondramatic breakup with a surprised pregnancy. she is a super sweet woman in real life, so i figured, why not keep it at least a bit accurate?

Dear Ian,

I really hate to do this to you, but I have to. He’s yours. Ours. I was not planning on having a child, but my friends convinced me to either give it up for adoption or give it to you. I decided to give him to you, figuring that it’s what you would’ve wanted. I know we broke up, but he’s still your son. I hope you can find someone who will love this child. I hope you can find him a nice home if he can’t find one with you. I hope you find time for him. I hope you find yourself. Pray to St. Anthony that you do.

Sincerely,

            Mel

Yes, Ian still had the note. Yes, Ian still read it every day. Yes, Ian named Anthony after the patron saint of finding things, even if he himself wasn’t strongly associated with any religion.

He tucked the note away in his drawer and pulled his blazer off, setting it on the chair.

Anthony came bounding down the stairs.

“Remember what I taught you?” Ian asked him.

“About Newbie?” Anthony frowned.

Ian sighed, “Buddy, his name is David.”

“Newbie.” Anthony said.

“Dave?”

Newbie.”

“Davey?”

“Newbie!” Anthony pouted.

“Alright, alright, Newbie.” Ian gave up, “You can call him Newbie.”

Anthony smiled triumphantly.

“Here should be here any minute, so be nice, okay? I’ll stay with you guys for a bit, but then he is going to watch you while I go to work, got it?”

He nodded, “Got it.”

Ian ruffled his son’s hair, “Good boy. You need to be good for Dav-Newbie.”

“I promise.”

“And one more thing….”

Anthony frowned.

“No funny business, understand?”

He nodded.

“Those are the Newbie rules.”

Anthony giggled.

Ian felt it come up, “Get it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

Ian smiled. That had been his thing with Anthony for as long as he could remember. It was how he knew that Anthony was paying attention.

The doorbell rang. Before Ian could even process what was happening, Anthony rushed to the door, tearing it open and revealing David.

“Newbie!”

David looked confused, but he squatted down so he was at Anthony’s level, “Hey buddy. Are you going to call my Newbie forever?”

Anthony nodded.

“Even when I’m old?”

He nodded again.

 David grinned, “Alright. What should I call you?”

“Mr. Fantastic!” He cheered, stretching his arms up as high as he could.

“You certainly are Mr. Fantastic. Look at that stretch! Amazing! Or should I say, fantastic?” David said with a smile.

Anthony hugged him, “Fantastic.”

“Look what I brought.” David opened his backpack and Anthony pulled out a dozen comic books.

“Whoa! Newbie! Fantastic!” He grinned.

Ian smiled, “Thanks a million for this, David.”

“Newbie.”

“Fine, fine. Newbie.” Ian put his hand on David’s shoulder.

David smiled over at him, “He’s too young for the movie, isn’t he?”

Ian nodded, “Maybe for his seventh birthday.”

Anthony jumped up and down, “Hurray!”

Ian went over the regular information about Anthony for his safety with David; allergies, medicine, diet, bed time, emergency phone number.

“Daaaaad.” Anthony lay on the ground, “What’s for dinner?”

“I ordered us a pizza.”

Anthony popped up like a rocket, “Pizza!”

David smiled, “Pizza sounds perfect to me.”

“Pizza pizza!” Anthony grinned, “Pizza!”

“Whoa buddy.” Ian stopped him before he could run into anything, “It’s just pizza.”

Anthony went limp and slipped out of Ian’s arms, “Just pizza? Dad, pizza is the greatest thing in the world.”

“I agree.” David nodded, picking Anthony up.

“See? Newbie agrees with me.”

“Well, Newbie is lame.” Ian grinned at David, who just rolled his eyes.

Anthony crossed his arms, “Take it back.”

“Fine fine.” Ian held his hands up, “Newbie is not lame.”

The doorbell rang.

“Pizza!” Anthony yelled, grabbing the money from Ian’s hand and taking it to the front door, paying the man who delivered it, “Keep the change because pizza!”

Ian took the boxes from him, “Keep the change because pizza I guess.”

Anthony danced around the table, setting out paper plates, singing about pizza.

“Is he always this excited?” David asked.

“He’s a six year old boy, what do you expect?” Ian laughed.

In all honesty, that was the best night Ian had had in a long time. He was actually laughing for real with someone his own age, and not just his son. He finally felt like he had someone to talk to, and maybe even open up to.

Of course, Ian had Mari, but, because she was a girl, Ian felt that she couldn’t quite fully empathize with his situation, since he was the male taking in the child and not the female. Not that Ian was sexist. He had Mari to shoot down every joke he had ever made about women and now he was trained to keep his mouth shut.

“Remember what I said?” He asked Anthony as he grabbed his jacket and headed outside.

Anthony nodded, “No big ideas.”

“Don’t try anything funny. No shenanigans.” He grinned, kissing the top of his head, “Go to bed at 9:00. I’ll let you stay up a bit since Newbie is special.”

“Good luck, Dada. I love you.” Anthony waved.

“Love you too, buddy.”

“Good luck.” David smiled. 

“No, good luck to you.” He winked at Anthony before shutting the door.