𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 - 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡

ｅｌｅｖｅｎ

"he's supposed to be here." francesca tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the father of her child to show up to her appointment.

"honey, i'm sorry but i think we need to get started." emilia sighed from beside her, knowing how disappointed her best friend was. she had believed him when he said that he would step up but now she knew that she should've known better than to trust his words.

the doctor squirted the cold gel onto francesca's barely grown stomach, causing her to gasp from how cool it was against her warm skin.

"okay, i'm going to search for the heartbeat and make sure the baby is healthy." the female doctor gave the brunette girl a reassuring smile, sensing how nervous she was.

within seconds, francesca could hear the heartbeat of her child and she could barely make out what it looked like on the ultrasound screen. her hazel eyes filled with tears at the sound, the experience all of a sudden feeling real.

"that's my baby." she whispered to herself and the doctor smiled, hearing the happiness in her voice. this was the best part of her job; seeing expecting mothers experience a joy like no other.

the doctor printed the ultrasound picture for the brunette girl and booked her next ultrasound before letting her leave.

"shit, did i miss it?" jack came running towards the pregnant girl from the car park to see her.

"yeah, that's what happens when you're late." francesca scoffed at the boy, trying to walk past him but he wouldn't let her.

"why are you acting like i'm your boyfriend?" emilia continued to walk to the car, not wanting to get involved in whatever fight they were about to have.

"fuck off, jack. i'm acting like you're the father of my child which you are! you either step up and be in the baby's life or you don't because i am not letting my child grow up thinking that their dad doesn't care because you're half in and half out!" francesca exploded. she was finally done with jack's shit because it wasn't just her who would be having to deal with it now, their baby would be involved too.

"i was late because i was building a cot." the brummie boy mumbled, knowing that he reacted wrongly..

"you what?" she questioned, not sure if she heard him right.

"i was building a cot. i know it might seem like i can't be bothered half the time but i do. i really do care." he pleaded as he pulled his phone out of his pocket to show her the cot that he had spent all morning building.

"you built that? all on your own?" when jack nodded, francesca felt the tears roll down her face as a result of his kind gesture and her pregnancy hormones. 

jack panicked. why was she crying? did he mess up that badly? he didn't know what to do to help her other than pull her into a tight hug.

"i'm sorry. i'll set more reminders and alarms so i remember in future-" francesca started to shake her head at his words. she wasn't annoyed at him anymore because he hadn't just forgotten about the appointment, he had proved to her that he wanted this.

"no, it's okay. i just got really overwhelmed when you showed me the cot," jack used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away her tears as she stopped crying and emilia watched from the car window, wishing that they would just hurry up and get together.

"what was it like in there?" the brummie boy asked once they both agreed to go back to his house so that francesca could see the cot. emilia was beyond excited for her best friend so she let her do it, hoping that they would finally come to terms with their feelings for each other.

"it was crazy! the baby's heart went like badoom, badoom, badoom." the brunette girl told jack, impersonating the sound of the baby's heartbeat, causing him to laugh.

"did it? really?" he laughed, his eyebrows raised at her humour and teasing her about it. he loved when they weren't at each other's throats. it always annoyed him when francesca acted like she didn't like him because he had been trying to push down his feelings for her ever since they first met.

once back at jack's house, he showed her the cot that was sitting in the spare room. it was plain wood and pretty basic but francesca was still in awe of what he had done.

"you like it?" he asked as the pregnant girl walked over to it and ran her fingers across the smooth wood, still not quite believing that their child would be sleeping in it one day.

"jack, it's amazing. i'm sorry that i ever doubted you." the short girl walked back over to the father of her child and gave him a tight hug.

"why don't we paint it?" leaving the hug, jack walked towards a corner of the room and carried over a tub of white paint and two small paintbrushes.

"let's do it." she took the paintbrush from his hand and dipped it into the can of paint, allowing for her brush to glide across the smooth wood.

they sat in silence whilst they painted together, only stopping to check the time every so often.

"hey, fran?" jack called out, catching the brunette girl's attention. she turned around to face him and when she did, he flicked some paint onto her face.

"you've just started a war, grealish." the brummie boy watched as francesca dipped her brush into the paint and splashed him with it.

they continued to cover each other in paint and when francesca went to get closer to the paint bucket, jack dropped his brush and ran towards her, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around. her giggles sounded throughout the whole room and jack couldn't feel any happier.

"you're so beautiful, even with paint all over your face." the two laughed softly at what jack had said and he moved one of his hands so that he could brush the hair out of her face.

he felt himself leaning in and she was too. they were both nervous and they didn't know why. they had kissed before but it never really meant anything, this time, it did.

a/n: hands down my favourite chapter so far! these two are so cute and i can't wait for what's to come for them both :) ❤️

thoughts on the chapter? was jack a dick or was fran too quick to judge?

also, happy pride month! i feel like this book is very appropriate and i hope that as an ally of the lgbt+ community that i am representing you all in a positive light with the likes of francesca, andrew and louis all being lgbt. i support you because love is love. if you ever want to talk, know that i am here ❤️

and in lights of the recent events and the black lives matter movement, i support you too. white privelage exists and if you don't see it, you're part of the problem. please do all you can to support and help the movement whether it be by donating, signing petitions, educating friends and family or stopping a racist incident. we should all be equal. lots of love to you all ❤️

enjoy and stay safe!

lots of love, e x