Sometimes reputations
Outlive their applications
Sometimes fires don't go out
When you're done playing with them.
~ Coyote Shivers "Sugar High"
The pack made their way inside— the atmosphere was way more tense than usual.
"Is everything okay?" Emily asked when she noticed the weird energy emulating from the pack.
"Seth imprinted," Embry said.
"Oh! Congrats!" Emily said. "Who's the lucky girl?"
"My sister," Paul said angrily.
"Oh," Emily said a little less enthusiastically. She knew how Paul got about stuff like this. Plus, the whole pack had just found out that Paul's sister was expecting a baby.
"Apparently, I'm gonna be an aunt," Leah added.
"Oh?" Emily said. "Well, yeah I guess that would make you a step-aunt."
"No. Leah's the full aunt," Quil said.
"Yeah," Jake added. "Jared just told everyone that Seth is the father."
"Oh," Emily said again. Seth was really young for a parent, but he was family, and family supported one another. "Congratulations, Seth," she smiled at him, and pulled him in for a hug.
"Thanks," Seth said sheepishly. That seemed to be the pack's cue to celebrate— they all congratulated Seth. Well, with the exception of Paul and Leah, who seemed completely uncomfortable with the entire situation.
"So, when do we get to meet her?" Emily asked.
"I don't know," Seth said. "She doesn't know about the pack or anything, and I don't want to stress her out right now. She's got enough going on."
"Yeah about that," Sam said. "I take back what I said before. Seth, you have permission to tell her. As an imprint, she's officially part of the pack."
"Cool," Seth said. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say to that. Emily brought out a platter of muffins, and the guys began to flock to the table. Before Seth could join them, Leah grabbed his arm.
"We should go home," Leah said. Seth allowed her to pull him along, and they began to walk home.
"So that was your secret?" Leah asked.
"Kinda," Seth answered. "I didn't know about the baby until Paul told everyone, but yeah. Jared found out that Brooke and I were sleeping together, and I was trying to keep Paul from finding out. And if I'm being totally honest, I would have preferred if you didn't know either."
"Yeah," said Leah. "I kinda wish I hadn't found out either. It's kind of a weird thing to know about my little brother... So you guys are keeping the baby then?"
"Yeah. We talked about it, and that's what felt like the right choice for us," Seth told her.
"Are you gonna tell Mom?" Asks Leah.
"I think I have to," Seth said. "Maybe just not now. She's gonna be so mad."
"Yeah, but she loves you," Leah told him. "And she's gonna love your baby too. It's her first grandchild. She's gonna get over the timing of things."
"God, that sounds so weird," Seth sighs.
"Yeah, it felt weird to say," Leah says. "Hey, but at least I'm not the biggest mess in the family anymore."
"We'll see about that," Seth laughs.
The next day was Seth's first day back at school. He wasn't looking forward to all of the stares and comments about his change in appearance and the fact that he hangs out with Sam Uley now. His mom drove him to school on her way to work.
"Have a great first day back, Seth. I love you," she said as he got out of the car.
"Love you too, Mom," Seth said quickly as he shut the door and rushed off. He wanted to look for Brooklyn before class started— he hadn't seen her since yesterday, and the imprint bond made it harder for him to spend time away from her. Plus, she was pregnant with his baby, and he wanted to be as involved as possible, so he wanted to check in on her. He walked around the entrance to the school for a few minutes before he found her. She was talking to Shawn— they were laughing about something. The bell rang, and Shawn waved and began walking to his first class.
"Hey, Brooke," Seth greeted as he approached her.
"Hey," she smiled. "It's good to see you back at school."
"Make no mistake," Seth said. "I'm only here because my mom is making me... And because I wanted to see you."
Brooklyn smiled at him. "We should probably start walking before we're late to class."
They began walking— Seth and Brooklyn weren't in the same class, but they were headed in the same direction.
"So, how are you feeling today?" Seth asked her.
"Fine," Brooklyn replied.
"No morning sickness?" Seth presses.
"It's mostly just nausea throughout the day," Brooklyn tells him. "I don't usually throw up— well some days are worse. But it's fine, I'm managing."
They arrive at Brooklyn's class. Seth speaks up before she can go in.
"Hey, do you wanna sit with me and the guys at lunch?" He asks.
"Are they cool with that?" She responds.
"Yeah, totally," Seth smiles at her.
"Then, sure," Brooklyn smiles back.
"Oh shit. I should warn you," Seth tells her in a hushed tone. "Paul told them about the baby— actually, that's how I found out— but I talked to them, so they know not to tell anyone. Sorry I couldn't do more."
"It's alright," Brooklyn sighed. "It's not the end of the world. Everyone is gonna find out soon enough, and in like twenty years or whatever, when we have our lives all figured out, I don't want to look back on this as if it's a bad thing. Like just because we're teenagers doesn't mean we should feel ashamed of our baby. If we were two or three years older, no one would even think twice about this."
Brooklyn had been thinking about this a lot lately. When she had found out she was pregnant, she had seen it as a horrible life-ruining thing, and now that they had decided to keep the baby, she had to change her perspective— she didn't want her kid to think she was ashamed of them or that she loved them less because of when she got pregnant. She still wasn't totally comfortable with the idea that she was about to be responsible for an entirely new human being, and she wasn't quite sure that she loved the blob, at least not the way that most mothers seem to talk about their babies, yet (it still didn't seem totally real to her, she was still in a bit of denial), but she was definitely getting there. She figured that the more it grew and began moving, and the more it resembled a baby in the scans, the more real it would feel, and the more her feelings would develop. But as of right now, she was less than two months along, and she was still coming to terms with the fact that her life was changing unexpectedly.
When she pictured what her life would look like in the future, the thought of what her baby would look and act like brought a smile to her face. She thought about all of the birthdays and Halloween costumes and first days of school, and it made her excited for the future. And she wasn't going to let a bunch of people who didn't understand take away her excitement. Brooklyn is an expecting mother, and she's allowed to feel excited to meet her baby. Her age shouldn't cancel out the joys of parenthood that she was beginning to experience, and she wouldn't let other people's attitudes corrupt her experience. She just needed to move at her own pace for a while— at least until the baby is born, and they have to move at the baby's pace.
Seth smiled at her. He was so glad that she was the person he would experience parenthood with. Like their situation was far from perfect, and he was terrified of becoming a father, but he loved her and she was carrying the life that their love had created— Seth knows it's sappy, but that's how he feels. The sound of the late bell ringing brought their attention back to school.
"I gotta go before they mark me late," Brooklyn tells Seth. "But, I'll see you at lunch."
With that, she turned and walked into the classroom, and Seth began to walk to his own class. Man, he couldn't wait for lunch so that he could see her again.