Devil's Fate

Complications

The sun felt extra bright when Chester stepped outside from his parenting class, and he replaced his reading glasses with his sunglasses immediately. He groaned as he made it down the steps and to the sidewalk. Going down or going up, stairs were harder with the extra weight hanging off his stomach. He had less than two weeks to go, and his fake pregnancy would finally be over. Even though he'd grown used to Ellie, maybe even attached, a bigger part of him was ready for life to get back to normal. He was excited to have energy again. Excited to be able to run up the stairs and bend over to tie his own shoes. He was ready to ditch the maternity shirts and get back to all the clothes he loved. He was ready to go back to sleeping all night and feeling sexy in front of the mirror.

"How's she doing today?" Jordan asked as he reached over and caressed the bump while they walked at their usual slow pace. They hadn't gotten to talk before class, and he was ready to catch up. He hadn't seen Chester for a few days, and that always left him curious about the world of Score and the adventures of Cheese.

The action caught Chester off guard. Even though he knew Jordan had touched Ellie a dozen times since he'd been pregnant, this time felt different. This time he knew it needed to be the last time. Chester looked over, and his heart sank at the happy expression on his friend's face. He knew he needed to tell Jordan about the tight lines he wanted to keep between them, but that wasn't an easy thing to bring up. "She's good. She's actually not kicking today, which I'm grateful for. Hey, man, I need to talk to you about something," he said, trying to ease his way into what he knew would probably be an awkward conversation.

The change in Chester's normally free-spirited voice was a little alarming. "Sure," Jordan answered, pulling his hand away from Chester's belly. "Everything okay? I thought you were a little off earlier." He stuck his hand out, tilting it back and forth. Jordan looked over his shoulder just as a louder group of students filtered past them. He jerked his head and nudged Chester's arm. "No one's been giving you trouble again, have they?"

"No, nothing like that," Chester assured him before he sucked his piercing in. He appreciated his friend's concern, and somehow that made what he was about to say even harder. Chester put one hand on his belly, his other went behind his neck as he tried to think of the best way to do this. "I'm sorry," he heard himself say, "for Mike being a little snippy when you came up to the apartment the other day. We got into a fight."

Jordan looked over to see Chester nursing his piercing, and he couldn't help himself. His arm went around Chester's waist. "That sucks. Fighting is so stressful."

"It is. Especially fighting with Mike."

"He seems to be a little intense. Touchy," Jordan stated. "I gotta tell ya', Chaz, he's not the person I figured you'd be with. You guys seem really opposite." It was the second time since he'd met Chester that there were problems with Mike. That seemed like a lot to Jordan, and he had to figure their relationship probably wouldn't last. Couples who were always fighting never did. They'd hang in there and drag it out and ultimately end up being really hurt. That was the last thing Jordan wanted for his friend. Chester Bennington was a sweet guy who made him laugh. He didn't want to see him sad or tortured with a bad relationship. "You know, maybe you guys need a break. It's no good to be fighting all the time. You deserve better than that."

Chester was about to refute that statement, that these days he and Mike really didn't argue very often, but he stopped when he felt Jordan's hand touch his ass. It shot a gasp from Chester's throat, and he stopped immediately. "Hey, hands off, okay?" he said, spinning out of Jordan's arm and sticking his hand out to put space between them. "That's not cool."

The break in contact was a shock. Damn. Too soon. "Sorry, Chaz. Guess I got carried away," Jordan apologized. He didn't want Chester to be upset with him, too. "Hands to myself," he added, raising them both in front of him as they stood facing each other.