A Certain Romance || Ashton Irwin

Lily or Alex

With wide eyes and quickly beating heart, I grabbed my backpack and quickly shuffled out of the bleachers. Typically I was always ready for some odd surprises. Never had I been caught off-guard by a confession like Samantha's.

I could hide in the bathroom until practice was over then catch a ride with Michael, but spending time in a place that smelt of permanent ass might not be appropriate for me or for the sake of my grade in that health class.

"Where are you taking my child?" Ashton called out, his mouth guard still very much in his mouth as he questioned and ran towards me, removing his helmet.

"Home, so I can nap before the Sons of Anarchy series finale tonight." The sleepy mechanical devil began to scream its head off, forcing me to bounce up and down to calm it down. There was a tiny voice in the back of my mind telling me that getting a nap before dinner and my show would be the smart thing to do because a good night's sleep most likely wouldn't be happening tonight.

"Okay, but my child is not going to watch that show." Ashton hooked his mouth guard on his helmet, shaking out his sweaty curls. I hated how perfect he still looked even after an hour of running plays and getting sacked. Without a doubt, I'd look like a dying clown if I were in his position. "It's inappropriate for a child his age!"

His. His. His. His. Over lunch Ashton one-sidedly decided that the baby would be a boy and he would be called Alex. With the approval of Calum, Ashton felt triumphant and didn't bother to listen to the idea I pitched in.

"What's the problem here?" Coach blew his whistle then placed his hands on either of his hips. He stood between us two arguing teens, looking to each of us for a response.

I didn't think it was everyday that he had to deal with his players leaving mid-play during practice because their baby was being hauled off.

"Sage is taking Alex away from me." Ashton whined.

"I'm sorry, but Lily said she wants to go home and nap." I insisted.

I had Luke on my side for gender and name. Luke thought it was cute and immediately named himself to be one of Lily's uncles because their names both started with L. He invited his partner to sit with us at lunch, where he and Elissa couldn't agree on a name and probably still didn't have a name for it.

"Suck my ass." Ashton snapped.

"I'd rather suck Calum's."

"Jesus Christ," Coach groaned and adjusted his baseball cap. "This was the worst idea Mr. Preston could think of." He rubbed his eyes, trying to stop a headache from forming. "Go home, both of you."

"But I-"

"Irwin, go home." Coach shouted then jogged back to the group of football players that were much busier pretending to hump each other rather than practice.

-

"Oh, you have a...doll?" Mom greeted with suspicion. I would be suspicious too if my seventeen year old daughter came home with a baby doll clutched to her chest like she was afraid she was going to lose it.

"It's a health project." She took my backpack hanging it with the coats and nodding her head in understandment.

"Things have gotten so...technical since I've been in school." She must've been referring to the fact that she used either a sack of flour or an egg and not a terribly real version of a baby. "What's the name?"

"Lily."

"Alex." Ashton entered the house behind me, wiping his feet on the doormat. I waited for Ashton to finish showering so I could go home with him. Only for the convenience that we were neighbors. When we pulled into his drive way I specifically ordered him not to follow me home and that I would be all right with the Lily.

"Lily is a beautiful name." At least the least likely person to have my back ended up having my back.

"I know it was you." Ashton spoke on the way up the stairs to my bedroom.

Mom gave me the usual talk before having a boy in my room; door stayed open and I must put "reasonable" clothing on and stay off the bed. I had heard it all a hundred times before and didn't need to hear any more. I wasn't a forgetful soul. My memory was too good.

"What was me?" I sat at the edge of my bed, taking the baby out of the blanket.

"The email." Ashton sat at my desk. "Or it was Michael."

"What makes you so positive that it was one of us?" I asked. Lily began making noises I'd never heard an actual baby make in real life, so I was clueless when it came to fixing whatever was wrong. Was she happy? Was she taking a shit? Was she trying to tell Ashton that he was a jackass? Google might be able to tell me.

"No one else calls me Aaron." He turned around in the chair with his arms crossed, giving me a glare.

"I'm not even capable of getting into an email account like that or grabbing hold of some vagina that looked like it found fun with a cheese grater." I scoffed, placing Lily aside. She couldn't really roll off the bed unless she magical spawned into a real child, then maybe Ashton and I would fail this grade. "It wasn't me." I tried to defend myself even though I was lying to him.

"You can't put the baby down like that and not keep an eye on it!" Ashton darted to the bed, picking up Lily and cradling her.

"Excuse me, Mr. Baby Expert." I mumbled.

"I say we take the baby to the park."

"I want to nap, not take a fake baby to a park." I threw myself back on the bed, my feet still dangling over the edge. "It won't even appreciate the park."

So we lied in my bed together. Lily lied between us, cooing every so often through our silence.

"If it was you, I won't be mad." Ashton said softly. "I was messaging her the other day, telling her I was cutting things off with her because it wasn't right to keep her around anymore. That I found someone better."

"Harsh."

"I'm taking the next steps to show you how serious I am about you, Sage. Getting rid of Margarita, being kind, I'm even going to let you name the baby Lily for good." He turned on his side to face me. "I'm just following your lead now."