Then *Poof* I'm Here: A Sequel #Wattys2014

Chapter 1: A Late Night Drink

(Play music now!)

Spring rain. It had a musty smell to it that you couldn't get any other time of the year, and it seemed to give new life to everything it touched even in a thunder storm. Because when the clouds let up, and the day came back from it's deep sleep, it brought vibrant colors and a bright morning. I don't like being out in the rain, but the sound of it is usually quite soothing.

Except for now that is.

Nothing could have prepared me for tonight. Not if I had even planned it would I have been ready. Those words, like knives digging into my eardrums, were some of the hardest words to hear other than my dad's final words. She said the same thing to me this past summer. The exact same words and she probably didn't even think about it that way. Those words that were so painful but saved me from myself. She saved me.

I owe her too much. Even after her own incident I still owe her. I'd give her everything I have and it still wouldn't be enough. But this...this is too much for one night.

I knew there had been something wrong with her. How could I be so stupid?! Why wasn't that the first thing that popped into my head? Maybe because I'm not ready to be a...a...

A dad.

A father.

A parent.

A guardian to watch over a tiny innocent child.

I can't do it! I'm not ready yet. Look at me, I'm 26 and my job is making YouTube videos! I record myself playing games and upload them to some website and get paid for that. I get paid to play video games! It's every little boy's dream and I was living it. I loved it! I love geting up and making videos for my millions of fans, making them laugh every day. And now I have a girlfriend. A real girlfriend who supports me even though she was one of my fans not two years ago! She's helped with everything around the house even through our bickers and episodes, and waking up to her smiling face every morning made it all that much better. And on top of that, I've made some amazing friends over the years I've been doing this. Aaron, Daniel, Ryan, and Wade and Bob have been there for years and they're my still best friends! There's nothing more I can ask for. I love my life the way it is.

Being a dad will only get in the way. Not that I don't like kids, I do! It's just...I'm always so busy right now that it would be impossible to even think about having a family. Especially with Alexis. She's not even 20! Well, she's almost 20 but in two weeks. How could we have been so careless? I knew she took every precaution the morning after our first, and since then she's been on the pill. How did it happen?! It doesn't make sense. Could she....no! She didn't cheat on me did she? No, she's not that kind of person. Is she? No.

How long has she known? How long has she been pregnant anyway? How much time do we have until we're parents to some person we don't know? How long until the sleepless nights? Until I'm too busy with the kid to do anything for YouTube? Until we won't have any time to ourselves or each other or anyone else? How much time until we have to start buying diapers instead of games? Not enough time, in reality.

Here I sit, in this little run down bar we love so much, sipping on a small beer and watching the stormy spring night outside. The place was empty, set aside some lonely bums in the booths in the back. The only bartender on shift was cleaning mugs on the other end of the small room. I'd been here with Wade and Bob many times before, and even if I came here alone I never felt lonely. Until tonight, that is.

"What's got you so down?" The bartender, Peter, asked as he walked over to me. He's been our usual guy here since we started coming here. He was pretty cool but not someone I'd call a good friend.