The Trouble with Love

❝ the trouble with love is ❞

        He nodded again. "I will."

       "And come to the hospital after?"

       He gave me a small, but genuine smile. "Of course."

       Shawn grabbed my arm before I could kiss him. "Nuh-uh, none of that now, I have explicit instructions to prevent all and any kissing."

       I rolled my eyes.

       Some things never change.


♡ the trouble with love ♡


       It took Raine twelve very stressful hours to deliver the baby.

       "Raine Evans?" A doctor called, stepping into the room. Devon, Shawn and I shot out of our seats and followed him down the hall. We entered the room to see Raine lying on the bed, tired, but awake, and Kaden walking around with a small pink bundle in his arms, cooing softly.

       "So it's a girl?" Devon asked. Raine and Kaden had decided to keep the gender of their kid unknown, wanting it to be a surprise, and to decide on a name when she, or he was born.

       Raine nodded. "He's hogging her," she complained.

       "Shhh, let me have my moment," Kaden tossed back. "She looks like me."

       Raine rolled her eyes and gave him an amused look despite the fact that he wasn't looking at her. "Of course she does."

       "What's her name?" Devon asked.

       "Avril Summer Fleming," Kaden announced proudly. Avril gave a little gurgle at the sound of her name.

       "You're a cheesy motherfu-"

       "No swearing around her," Kaden cut in, glaring at Shawn.

       "You're right," Shawn commented. "He does hog her. Come on, you can't hide her forever."

       Kaden grudgingly made his way towards us, and even let me hold Avril. She was tiny, her hands barely the size of my pinky, with bright blue eyes that were identical to Kaden's and little tufts of curly dark hair.
      
       "I want another one," he told Raine as he took Avril back and went to sit down on the hospital bed beside her.

       "Oh no, no way," Raine said. "Don't touch me."

       "But-" he protested.

       "You try going through twelve hours of labor first," she interrupted.

       Shawn snickered. "Shot down."

       I grinned when Kaden gave him a dirty look. My smiled widened when Raine took Avril from Kaden, making kissy faces at her daughter. "Okay," she said. "Maybe one more."

       Kaden smirked, then stood up. "I should probably call Mom and Dad. And I think Kallie said she wanted you to Skype with her as soon as you could too."

       "Hey," Ashton said, walking in. He handed Kaden a balloon. "Congrats."

       Kaden raised an eyebrow. "Thanks."

       "Where were you?" I asked Ashton when he came to stand beside me. Ashton had come to the hospital the night before, two or so hours after the graduation ceremony. He had gone home for the night, but returned in the morning, at least according to Devon. I had been asleep at the time, and when I woke up he hadn't been there.

       Ashton glanced at Raine and Kaden who had opened a laptop and were in the process of video-calling either Kallie or Kaden's parents, or Raine's parents, I think. I took his cue and we both quietly left the room, walking a little farther down the hall.

       "I went to see Nate," Ashton told me. "He stayed overnight with Keira."

       I threaded my fingers through his, squeezing his hand gently. "Nathan's going to be okay. He's not as... Delicate as you think he is."

       Nathan had lost a lot, but I didn't doubt that he would pull through. In the past couple months I had gotten to know him better, and he was kind, like everyone assumed, but he wasn't so innocent. Not anymore, at least. Not after losing so many of his friends.

       There wasn't very much left of the Elite.

       Speaking of which...

       "Where's Jacen?" Now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen him at the graduation ceremony, wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to attend with Keira being how she was.

       "I think he's visiting Vanessa," Ashton replied. He had taken over a sort of big brother role for Jacen. It was something he felt he owed to Keira, he had told me once.

       I blinked. "I thought he was mad at her."

       "He's trying to get past everything. Said Vanessa was a good place to start."

       We were both silent for a moment.

       "Lena?" Kaden called from inside the room. He poked his head out. "Did you want to talk to Kallie?"

       "Yeah, we'll be right in," I told him. I tugged on Ashton's hand. "Coming?"

       He took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's go."

       And I realized this as we walked back in to see Shawn and Devon holding the laptop as Raine and Kaden sat on the hospital bed, laughing at something Kallie said, holding Avril between them.

       Loving someone wasn't easy.

       It could be rewarding like Raine and Kaden, or drive someone to do insane things like Vanessa. It wasn't black and white, like they made it in the movies, tragic or beautiful. It was something that you never really knew if it would be worth it until the very end, when it was too late to make any other decision.

        But I guess that's just the trouble with love.

 ♡ fin ♡

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QotC: Thoughts. About anything. Favourite character? When you started reading did you think it would end up like this? What surprised you most? Etc. Tell me everything. Especially if you've never commented before. Pretty please?

EXTRAS TO COME:
-Ashton's PoV on either the first time he met Elena or the Winter Formal dance.
-Facts about the TTwL, info about the sequel + Q&A (so comment any last questions you have about anything- from the characters, to the plot, or even about me)
-Introduction to the spin-off/sequel.