Generation 2, Chapter 15: There's no running away from something like this

"Aaron, we need to talk." That one sentence, those simple words, they were loaded with much deeper meaning. The engagement ring hung on my finger, its weight barely recognizable, but that didn't make a difference. He and I were engaged, we were living together, and that meant that we make decisions together.

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace, my dear," he glanced over the rim of his morning paper, half interested in what I had to say. I knew now why many people didn't want to get married. Slip a ring on someone's finger and they're lazy. Worse than that, you were stuck with them until death parted you.

"You're not gonna put down your paper?" I frowned, ticking one long finger on the table in front of me. He had to put it down. Didn't he? Was he that ignorant of our current status? I was pregnant, for God's sake!

"Well, babe, I'm searching for a bigger house for us two and the baby... Is what you have to say more important than that?"

If he had been sitting close to me, I would have slapped him.

Crossing my arms across the length of my chest, I fixed my gaze upon the pictures on the wall. The tears wanted to come, but I didn't want them to. I couldn't let them flow. "No, I guess your morning paper is much more important than the future we're gonna share," I sniffed, idly dabbing away the wetness on my cheek.


I guess crying makes people notice you faster. "Oh my gosh, babe, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he quickly slammed down the paper, shooting up from his chair and taking me into his arms. "It's just... If you're dad came to visit, I just want him to know that I take care of his daughter, and that's why I'm so obsessed with finding us a better house."


"Forget about my dad and all his threats," I smiled timidly. "How about you and I go for a walk? We have some talking to do."

With the house keys in my grip, I locked the door behind us, setting out in a hasty sprint.

"KAYLIN! Jesus, you didn't say we were going to run the whole damn time!"

"You need your exercise, Aaron. You're picking up weight, and that's bad for your acrobat career!"

"Are you serious?" I heard his footsteps halt, probably stopping to examine his abdomen area. Boys and their muscles. It was almost as bad as their relationship with cars.

There was one place Aaron and I shared in our hearts. One place we would forever remember and cherish, one place we will always feel safe by. It was the place where everything between us started.

"Our park...," Aaron murmured, stopping to take in the sights of the jungle gyms.

"Yup. I haven't been here since...well, I wanted to say 'since that mishap with Charlie', but I'll just stick with 'since forever'. I thought it would be nice to come back here and, you know, chill out."

"Well then, let's...'chill', as you would say. How about on that bench over there."

"Alrighty," I smirked, taking a seat on the right side of the bench. My most favorite side. It was closest to the swings. It might be weird, but I liked sitting close to it.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"It's about the baby... I want to start thinking of name suggestions."

"Really?" Aaron visibly gulped. "Is it that far along already that we know the gender?"

"No! Definitely no!" I chuckled slightly. "The doctor says I'm about 8 weeks along, and that I could expect a baby bump to be visible sometime soon, maybe another month or so. I just thought it might be nice to find a name to call this little one in the meantime. Options are always nice to have, you know."

"Oh, well, that's a relief! Don't get me wrong, I'd love to know what gender it is, but... I desperately need those 9 months to prepare myself, or in this case, those 7 months."

"You'll be ready when the time demands it," I assured him, lightly resting my hand upon his. "Parenthood hides somewhere within us. It might be deep, but we just have to scratch it open. I wasn't ready at all, but the mother in me is starting to come out. SO! Baby names? Can you think of any off of the top of your mind? I like the name 'Charlotte' a lot, for a girl, and for a boy...probably 'Jasper'."

"Um..." He cleared his throat, and fell silent for a short minute. "How does Amelia sound?"

"Wow. It's...beautiful. Really elegant and old-fashioned, but in a good way... How did you think of that one?"

"It's, uh...," he spluttered, trying to clear his throat again. His cheeks glowed a bright red, which fit adorably with his eyes. "It's my mother's middle name. She always wanted to pass it down, but there weren't any hopes of grandchildren, so she gave up on that dream."

"That's nice... Amelia. That'll be its name. Let's hope it's a girl, otherwise your mom could be upset about that small fact. Maybe in four months time, we could find out if it'll be passed on."

He smiled, playfully nudging my arm. But his eyes lost its playfulness as he stared across the field. Without warning, Aaron jumped up from his seat, standing in front of me and offering his hand.

"You said your baby bump will be visible sometime soon?" he asked cryptically.

"Uh, yeah, and?"

"So you won't be able to fit into a wedding dress?"

"Obviously not. Are you insinuating that I'm going to be fat?"

"No, no, of course not," he laughed halfheartedly, a nervous edge tingling on the side of it. "I just thought if you wanted to get married in a dress... We should get married now."

"Seriously, as in, today? But what about inviting guests? A venue? We wouldn't be able to hire a minister in such short notice!" I protested, the tone of my voice rising with each word.

"We don't have to have a BIG ceremony for now. We can just go down to city hall and get married... Then we could go have a small wedding with just our friends there. How does that sound?"

I bit my lip, looking at the ground. The arrangement of a few pebbles closely resembled that of a heart. Follow your heart. Do the right thing. "Okay," I sighed. "But I know a lot of people will be having objections over this."

My heart soared as I quickly texted Bridget and Janelle the details of our arrangement, and the fact that they had to attend our wedding in the clothes they were wearing at the time. I was lucky that I already had a eye on a wedding dress at a store, making that decision much easier. My hair was a hopeless case, and I roughly pinned it up with a hair clip. Makeup was no issue, and I applied the usual amount I do everyday. It was a special day, yet I didn't feel special at all. And the weirdest thing of it all, I didn't care. I didn't want a fancy wedding, with the beautiful sunset and extravagant venue. I wanted Aaron and I to be together; the rest didn't matter at all.

City hall's ugly wallpaper came and went as we quickly finalized our wedding there. On paper, we were declared betrothed. We were Mr and Mrs Rose. I didn't want to keep the name Webber, and Aaron wanted to forget about his family, so we created a new family line, or technically, re-started my mother's line. The Rose family name was going to continue.

"How in God's name are you going through with this awful act of insanity?" Janelle  almost-yelled at us at the two of us when she arrived at small gazebo we decided to hold our real ceremony at.

"Thanks for coming, Janelle," I smiled at her, ignoring the condescending tone in her voice. "This is a special ceremony, and you're lucky we're sharing this with you."

As Janelle walked away muttering, I saw Charlie wink in our general direction, and Bridget holding up her two thumbs for us to see, grinning like a loon.

"You ready for this?" Aaron whispered close to my ear.

"Technically, we're already married, so I guess I have to be ready!" I chuckled softly.

"Hey..." He caught my chin, forcing me to look in those beautiful, big brown eyes. "You look beautiful, and you hardly put any effort into it. You're perfect to me. Always remember that."

And with those words, our little ceremony started.

Vows were a tradition at weddings, and the thought of promising so many things scared me. That's why we thought it smart to keep the longer version of our vows for a later date.

"Kaylin, you're my world. I was a blind man, no, a dumb, cocky bastard of a man before you found me and showed me the reality of life. We didn't start off perfect... But that's how many great things start. I can't promise you the moon, the sun, space craft to go visit other planets... But I can promise you that I'll remain faithful to you and only you. Thank you for making me so happy, and agreeing to marry me." Towards the end, his voice cracked, and I almost sneaked a kiss, only to remember that happens at the end of the ceremony.

"This ring is a symbol of my love, and the promise I made to you. As there is no end to a circle, there is no end to our love and no breaking of that promise," he murmured as he gently slipped the ring onto my finger.

My turn arrived. I didn't know what to say, what to promise. His speech was perfect, so how could I even try to upstage that?

No. I didn't have to upstage him. I had to speak from the heart.

"Aaron, you're a gift, a gift to everyone around you, a gift that I thought I would never need, want, or have. You showed me a path when I desperately needed a guide. You were my torch, the light in my life. Everyday I'm with you, I will show you that you're a gift that I deserve. You made me a better person, a person that's ready to face the world, and I want to spend everyday with you, learn from you what I haven't yet, and love you till the day I die."

"Perfect," Aaron whispered, grinning from ear to ear.

"This ring is a symbol of my love, and the promise I made to you. As there is no end to a circle, there is no end to our love and no breaking of that promise ," I repeated the same words Aaron spoke earlier.

My hand reached to cover his hand wearing the ring, and in turn he did the same. At that moment, we both stared into each other's eyes, smiling and crying at the same time. We had been fighting the feelings for so long, and at last, we were married, ready to start a family of our own.

Charlie noisily cleared his throat behind us, bellowing in a deep, low voice: "With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

He didn't have to ask us twice.

Caught in a passionate embrace, a part of my mind still cared about the world around me, and my left ear was tuned in on the conversation between Janelle and Charlie.

"Hey, Charles... How do you feel about getting married and making babies?" Janelle looked him straight in the eyes.

"I'm open to it. That is, if a certain someone would want to be stuck at my side for a long time..."

"I'm sure that 'someone' would make the sacrifice," she laughed. "It can't be that bad, being with only one person for the rest of her life! That just depends on how good you are in bed..."

At that point, I stopped listening.

But I couldn't deny something else that was happening... Not everyone was in a happy mood.

"BRIDGET!" I called after her as soon as I noticed she was gone from her chair. She was running away from us, across the bridge. Running away from the happiness that she had no part in. Despite her hardy outlook and changed nature, Bridget was lonely and soft on the inside.

Kicking out my high heels and leaving them on the deck, I ran after her, feeling the wet grass tickling across the bottom of my foot. Not comfortable at all.

"Bridget...," I gasped, trying to refill my lungs with air after that short burst of speed. "W-what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I'm crying 'cause I live a miserable life, Kay. I'm crying because I finally realize that I made the wrong decisions in life. Keegan targeted me because I was an easy target, too easily influenced. I let him, and see where that's gotten me. Lonely and without anybody loving me. If I could go back in time... I'd kick him in the nuts, and slap my teen self, just to teach her a lesson. No hooking up with a random guy that dresses like an emo."

"Come here, I have a secret to tell you...," I beckoned my sister closer, bringing my head closer to her ear. "If someone as demanding as Janelle can find love, then it's proof that not all guys are dorks. There is someone out there for you. You might just need a pair of glasses to spot him, because he might be hiding somewhere."

"Hah, you're right. I'm surprised Charlie actually went for Janelle... She's pretty, but damn is she stubborn!" Bridget and I laughed for a moment, remembering Janelle's antics. The laughter expired, and ended with a sigh. "Thanks, sis. I don't really put much hope in those words, but at least it cheered me up. Maybe the right guy is out there, maybe he's not. All I know is, I have Aura, giving me no reason at all to be miserable."

There was light at the end of the tunnel - well, at the end of Bridget's tunnel. Hope. Such a powerful emotion.

~♥~

I said there was gonna be a hiatus, right, and yet I'm posting this? Yeah... I guess I was stupid to say that, but it was just a warning I thought I put out in case I was prohibited of posting... >.< Anyways, I'll probably do horrible on the theory part of my Accounting test... At least there's still time to study in class!

:D