Fifty-Two Weeks

sixteen

"Come back and let me kiss the regret from your lips.

We always promised we wouldn't end like this." -K.W

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2:39

Ashton, with the support of Calum and Jessica, made it into the tiny apartment (barely) well beyond a reasonable hour. His thoughts were scattered and his speech was slurred to the point of gibberish. Needless to say, he had a good night. People kept offering him shots to congratulate him on the tour, their new album, and for becoming a dad. Ash hadn't told anyone besides Calum (who already knew since Jess cannot keep a secret) this was all new to him. He didn't want to tell anyone just how scared he was to raise a baby, so he downed shot after shot to distract him. Bad move.

"Take your shoes off, buddy." Calum reminded him and let Ashton lean on him for support. Jessica was tipsy, but not by much. She could easily maneuver herself around her home and made her way to the kitchen for some water. She jumped slightly when she noticed a dark outline on the couch, but relaxed when she realized it was only Scarlett.

"Scar, wake up." Jess spoke softly and brushed the hair off Scarlett's forehead. Scarlett grumbled something incoherent and swatted Jess's hands away. "C'mon, let's get you off the couch and into your own bed. Besides, Ashton deserves the couch tonight." Jess laughed and helped a very groggy Scarlett to her feet.

They walked past Calum and Ashton (who were still trying to unlace Ashton's shoes) and made their way into Scarlett's bedroom. Jess helped her change out of her costume and into some sleep clothes since Scarlett was still half asleep.

"What were you doing out there anyway?" Jess asked as she tucked Scarlett into the plush bed.

"Waiting for Ashton to come home." She sighed and snuggled a pillow closer to her body.

"But I thought you were mad?" Jess asked curiously.

"I am, I was gonna give him hell." Scarlett made a tiny fist and pretended to punch the air. "But then little bubba moved and I wanted to tell him and cuddle him." She tightened the blankets around her and settled in for bed.

"The baby moved? Like kicked?" Jess asked in awe.

"Not kicked, it's still too tiny to kick I think. But it felt like a bunch of butterflies, then a twitch." Scarlett smiled and rubbed her bump lovingly.

"I missed it!" Jess pouted but their little moment was interrupted by heavy stomps coming from the kitchen. The pair both looked at each other in annoyance as they realized Ashton had managed to get his shoes off.

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"Hey woah slow down, why don't you crash here for the night?" Calum suggested as he sat Ashton on the couch. Ashton giggled and drunkenly agreed, stripping off his clothes until he was left in boxers.

"Will you tuck me in like a mommy does?" Ashton pouted at Calum who gave in. Ashton lied flat and Calum threw a blanket on him, tucking in the edges around his body.

"I left water and two advils on the coffee table for you. Have a good sleep Ashton."

"Love you Cal!" Ashton yelled and Calum smiled.

"Love you too." He replied before shutting off the lights and heading to Jessica's room.

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5:45

The whole house was silently sleeping with the exception of Scarlett. She had been tossing and turning for hours but couldn't manage to get her mind to slow down. Millions of thoughts about the baby's movement flooded her mind. What if it was a bad feeling? Maybe the baby was in danger? Or maybe it was a kick like Jess said? She didn't know the answer to any of her questions and that drove her insane. All she wanted to do was cuddle up with Ashton so they could've experienced it together, but he was drunk and asleep.

Finally she couldn't take lying still anymore and decided to get a snack. Her feet touched down on the cool hardwood and she padded along to the kitchen. Upon opening the fridge, Scarlett was delighted to find strawberries and whip cream. She set the items on the island and dove in.

Fifteen minutes and countless strawberries later, Scarlett put the containers back in the fridge and grabbed a glass of water. She was just about to go back to bed when she felt the twitch in her abdomen again. At first she thought it was pain from eating too much, but when it came a second time she was sure it was the baby.

"Ash! I don't care if you're drunk wake up!" Scarlett squealed and ran over to the couch where Ashton was sleeping peacefully.

"Wake. Up." She groaned and hit him with pillows until he woke up and cursed several times.

"What was that for?" He pouted and reached into the barely lit room to find Scarlett.

"I wanted to show you something." She smiled and held the hand that was reaching out for her. Ashton used barely any strength to pull her onto his flat body.

"Couldn't that have waited until morning? Or when I'm not hungover?" He sighed and kissed her forehead.

"No." She rolled off him so the back of her body was pressed to the back of the couch and Ashton responded by rolling on his side to face her.

"Well what is it?" He yawned.

"Gimmie your hand." She ordered and placed his massive palm flat against the skin on her bump.

"Yes there's a baby there, we've established that." Ashton laughed.

"Wait for it." She mumbled and they waited. It wasn't long for her to feel another twitch. "See that! Did you feel it!" She asked excitedly.

"Not really." He mumbled, confusion etched across his face.

"The baby moved!" She squealed again, Ashton's face lit up.

"Really?"

"Mhm! Maybe it's still too small for you to feel it." Scarlett admitted sadly.

"It's really in there." Ashton whispered in awe.

"Don't call it an 'it'" Scarlett frowned.

"What do you want me to call it?" He laughed.

"Bub. Or Bubba." She smiled confidently.

"You're weird." He mumbled into her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I'm still mad at you." She tried to sound stern but failed.

"You can be mad at me tomorrow." He sighed, kissing her cheek before closing his eyes and drifting to sleep. Scarlett's slumber followed shortly after.

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Hey guys! Long time no see ;) sorry about the lack of updates :( but I'm going to try really hard to put up a new chapter every night this week! Leave a comment of your favourite city in the world if you've read this far!! Also I sort of picture Lauren Elizabeth as Scarlett but you're free to imagine her as you want :)