Breathe in.

Breathe out.

The tiny bathroom that came with her bedroom was smothering her as she hid for a few minutes to settle her frantic state of mind. Harley was heavily breathing, trying to control her nerves. She hadn't expected for Gray to show up at her grandparents' doorstep so early in the morning. Pausing for a minute, she was in deep thought, wondering if she had left some obvious signs that she was pregnant around her room. Hiding all her medication and vitamins, she shoved them all inside her mirror cabinet. She turned on the tap and splashed a handful of cold water to her face, soothing her recurring nausea.

Gray sat patiently on her made bed, grinning like a fool. He had been so excited to come home with no plans yet. The small town of Batesville didn't really have much to offer. They never really went out officially as a couple. The time spent together the last time he was home was mainly trapping themselves indoors. A drive to a different town might be a good idea. For now, they needed a huge breakfast to start the day.

The door creaked open as Harley put on a strained smile to her face. She had changed into a peach long sleeve shift dress and styled her hair into a messy top bun. Gray stood and appreciated the way she was looking adorable. With a charming smile, he said, "You look stunning."

She sincerely thanked him, "So, what are we doing today?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," he lightly laughed. "First things first though..."

Grabbing her by the arm, Gray pulled her closer, no longer wanting the distance between them. He lifted his hand, resting gently on her face as his eyes never left her soft brown ones. Their gazes lingered like it had been too long since they saw each other. The contact brought ease to Harley but at the same time, there was this small hint of dread found at the pit of her intuition, somewhat a ludicrous idea that this was one of the last time she would see him this close. All the negative thoughts that Harley harbored were set aside for the weekend. She could wallow back into her own problems when this was all over. For now, Gray was here and she needed him to give her the strength to endure all of it on her own.

"Hi," he murmured.

"Hey," she replied softly.

Without hesitation, Gray dragged his lips in a teasing manner from her forehead down to her soft lips. She remained still, taking pleasure in his gentle touch. He wounded his arms around her petite waist and gave her a tight embrace while he kissed her, properly this time.

♪ ♫ ♬

If it were up to Harley, they would have never left her room for the rest of the day. In spite of feeling constant nausea and body pain, she had hoped to just stay tangled under the covers and talk about his music. Gray had expressed his thoughts about staying in as well but he wanted to spend the day with her outside. In the past few months, he noticed that Harley rarely left the house. It was either going to work or doing her weekly grocery shopping.

He brought her into a café with an all-day breakfast menu. They sat at a corner with an overview of the breakfast bar counter. It was still quite early so there weren't many customers at the time. A server offered them a one-page menu of their delightful selections. Giving them ample time to decide, he left them to serve them glasses of water and bringing them the utensils. Harley got herself a stack of chocolate chip waffles while Gray ordered a plate of American breakfast with a cup of coffee. As they waited for their food to be served, Gray directed all her attention to the most important person in his life.

"I can't believe I'm home," he voiced out.

Harley reached out to put her hand on top of his, squeezing for assurance that she was happy as well, "I can't believe that you're here either. You're not in trouble, are you?"

"Oh no, Peter actually gave us the weekend off. Tour starts in January though so I got to make this stay count." He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Any luck that you're doing a tour here in Arkansas this year?" She perked in excitement, hoping to hear some good news.

He was in thought, remembering all the tour destinations planned across the state for the year 2006. "I think we're doing Little Rock in winter. But, I'm not too sure."

Squealing in delight, she was pleased about the news. She was also happy that his music finally went global. It had been her dream to see them live with a bigger crowd as they perform in a stadium filled with a thousand people. "You have to get me a VIP pass," she pleaded.

"You didn't need to ask, you know."

"I had to since you're a big shot rockstar now. You'll forget about me soon," she chuckled nervously, knowing full well about her future.

He reached out to ruffle her hair and gave out a boyish smile, "Never."

After fifteen minutes, their food had arrived. They ate while Gray asked about her plans about going back to school next year. The whole time she wasn't comfortable with the topic and the smell of waffles on her plate was off. She held it all in until she could no longer stomach it and rushed to the bathroom to puke.

"You okay? Your eyes are watering." Gray asked when she came back from the bathroom.

Harley plopped herself down and drank a glass full of water. Wiping her mouth off, she looked at him apologetically and lied through her teeth, "Sorry, my stomach has been weird since I ate tacos a few days ago. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? We can go to the pharmacy and buy meds for it."

She waved her hand, brushing him off to stop asking more questions, "Yes. I'm sure."

The meal went relatively well as Harley took a few bites out her plate of waffles to prove that she was fine. After Gray paid for their food, they went out for a walk. The fresh dewy air was a relief for Harley because the inside of the café was smelling like they were cooking a giant pot of sugar. She used to not hate it, however, the smell was too strong. There were still no plans on where they were supposed to go but Harley noticed an empty parking lot with a bunch of people coming in for something. As they neared the area, she finally saw that it was a flea market. Needing a few things for cheap, she pulled him inside.

He immediately noticed that there were a lot of people, pulling his cap lower for them to not notice who he was. "You can relax, people here go crazy over the cheapest stuff," she whispered assuringly.

He scoffed, "Getting recognized is not what you're expecting."

"Oh come on, I'm just here to get a few things. I hope I get lucky in finding a u-shaped pillow." She chuckled, grabbing onto his arm so she wouldn't lose him.

He stopped walking and looked at her in disbelief. "What do you need that for? I can buy you a new one."

"For my back aches? Look, I don't want you spending money on me. The phone was enough, okay?" she argued back.

She didn't let him continue to fight back. Gray knew too well that she couldn't be swayed. They walked around some more until Harley stopped at a booth where they sold some baby stuff. Seeing a cute pink rabbit onesie, she grabbed it to feel its soft fluffy fabric. It was going to look adorable during the winter, she thought if she was having a baby girl. She started getting emotional which usually happens when she couldn't control her feelings any longer.

"Gray?" she asked. Her voice cracking.

"Yeah?" He walked up to her and saw that she was holding a fuzzy material.

Looking up, her eyes were glassy but she had to ask, "What are your thoughts on babies?"

Gray just shrugged, "Not really sure what you're trying to ask but they're cute though."

"Would you like one someday?" Her lips trembled. The question went too far but she had to know, really bad.

There was a pause and every second was like a stab to Harley. Her throat started to constrict which was a clear sign that she was about to cry.

Grabbing her by the shoulder, Gray looked deeply into her eyes and sincerely replied with, "I don't know where all of this is coming from... But yeah, maybe someday. With you."

She didn't need to marry him.

She might not even deserve his love.

But, for him to identify and love his own child.

That was enough.

It was all that mattered.

♡ ♡ ♡

hello lovely people!

what do you think of the update? i think i have ONE chapter left. stay tuned for that!

x jovi