12 years later

"Come on, come on, come on," I mumbled under my breath as I drummed my fingers impatiently against the steering wheel.

Once again, the stupid traffic lights were taking forever to change over, and with it being a little after two we were already late. I was the worst fucking dad ever.

Lucas and I had just come from a morning shift at the hospital, and were now rushing on our way to make it back in time.

Lucas rolled his eyes from the passenger seat and let out a breath of laughter. "Relax, man, we're literally not even that late. You need to prescribe yourself some chill pills and strong ones," he said, in a little chuckle.

I gave him a flat look, only mildly amused. As a paediatrician, I'd heard just about every little doctor joke from his that there was.

Lucas hadn't changed a bit in all my years of knowing him. He might be a fancy thirty-year-old research scientist and a dad, but he was still Lucas. Honestly, I think he just took up his job as a research scientist so he could have an excuse to mess with chemicals and blow-up shit for free.

Soon enough we pulled up by the school park, and I neatly parked my car alongside the other parent's cars along the grass.

I took one last swig from my coffee cup on the side before hurrying out of the door. In the distance, I could see small figures of little four-year-old kids chasing after a ball in a little mob. I bit my lip in amusement and tried to find my beautiful baby in the crowd.

"Hey look, I see May and Mia," Lucas said with a smile as he led the way over to the side where all our parents were watching from.

I immediately spotted Mia from behind and I smiled foolishly, quickening my pace. Of course, she looked insanely fucking good as per usual with her beautiful dark hair tied up in a braided bun, exposing the tan skin of her neck. My eyes prowled down her body, noticing she was wearing her sexy curve-hugging jeans again – the ones that made it impossible to not want to touch her.

I thanked the fucking lord and back that she was my wife.

Mia let out a sigh and rattled on in complaint to May at how we weren't here, clearly not realizing we were approaching.

"Relax, drama pants, we're here. I was hardly going to miss my son's game," Lucas announced obnoxiously from behind her.

Mia didn't get a chance to turn around before I swooped both my arms around her waist and settled my head into the crook of her neck, unable to help myself. She relaxed instantly, making me smile.

"Hey Chubs, why are we all grumpy?" I whispered teasingly before planting a kiss against the side of her neck.

She sighed, settling herself into me more, smiling slightly as she angled her head a little to look at me.

"I can't help it, I'm hot, hungry, and h-"

"Horny?" I whispered ever so quietly into her ear. Mia paused, a harsh redness creeping over her cheeks as she elbowed me swiftly in the stomach.

"Ouch," I cried in between chuckles of laughter. She could deny it all she wanted but she knew it was true.

I was supposed to be 'trying' not to tease her about it, but as of the last few weeks, Mia's sex drive had hit the roof, and I was barely getting out the door for work in time. I wasn't sure what had got into her, but it more than hell pleased the fuck out of me.

Mia ripped herself out of my arms and turned to face me with a scowl. "You're an idiot, you know that right?" she snapped.

My laughter eased down, and I looked down at her fondly. "An idiot, that you married," I corrected with a small smile as I reached out to tuck a strand of hair in for her that had fallen.

She returned my smile, and heat flared within my stomach. It was ridiculous after all this time, how something as simple as her smile could still get me going, but it did.

Mia raised a sassy brow, a teasing expression flashing through her eyes that made me want to kiss her. "Be honest, Ethan. Were you really going to settle for any other answer but yes, when you asked me to marry you?"

Absolutely not.

My eyes scanned over her in amusement, and I grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to me. "Mia Collins, are you accusing me of bullying you into marrying me?" I gasped dramatically.

"Yes, yes, I am," I remarked bluntly. "After your proposal speech your exact words were, 'I swear to god, Mia if you say no, I will repeat this speech to you every day until you get fed up of me annoying you, and say yes," she said imitating me in an overly deep voice.

I paused, knowing I had one hundred percent shamelessly said that. "Shut up," I finally mumbled, frowning slightly.

Mia laughed at my expression and then stood on her tiptoes so she could brush her mouth by my ear. "Don't worry, I would have always said yes," she whispered before pecking me on the lips.

"Eww PDA gross," I heard Lucas call before I felt popcorn suddenly pelt against the side of my face.

I stepped away from her in irritation and saw Lucas eyeing us both with disgust while holding a packet of popcorn in his hands. My eyes slowly narrowed.

Mia scoffed. "I'm not sure who's more of a four-year-old, you or your son?" she said, as she shook her head at him in disbelief.

"Definitely, Lucas, trust me," May said immediately with a laugh.

Lucas rolled his eyes like the lot of us were all imbeciles before he turned his attention back to the field. His eyes scanned the field frantically. "Where's my little rascal anyway?" he asked as his eyes darted around the field to try and locate him.

"Will looked close to wetting himself, so Chloe took him to the bathroom a couple minutes ago," Mia explained with a chuckle.

"Wait, where's Ben? I thought he was going to come around to ours tonight?" Lucas asked in confusion.

"He is, he says he's gonna meet us there," Mia explained. "Apparently, he needs to get his hair just right to impress Chloe," she teased, her eyes sparkling with knowingness.

Lucas immediately let out a bark of laughter. "No fucking way! He likes Chloe?"

Mia bit her lip and nodded her head.

"God, I'm gonna tease the shit out of him when we see him at work," Lucas said with a fond smile, and I knew for a fact he wasn't lying. I also knew for a fact, that I was going to help with the bullying.

That was the other thing. Ben, Lucas, and I had actually all become friends – good ones actually. It seemed ridiculous after all the tension I used to have with him at the end of high school, but since working with him at the hospital, I realized we actually had a lot more in common than I thought. 

Ben also got his kicks in by regularly telling anyone in the staff cafeteria that would listen about all the embarrassing jealous shit I used to do in high school. So, long story short, the man got his revenge.

Taking my eyes from the group, I turned to look out at the field as Lucas mumbled something to me with a laugh.

I didn't hear him respond as my eyes locked on my little Zoe in the distance who was dribbling the ball towards the goal.

I watched her with a wide smile on my face, feeling all warm and protective as I looked over her. Having her, exposed me to a whole different kind of love and the day she was born was easily one of the best days of my life. 

 My eyes spanned over her little face as she ran taking in her striking baby blue eyes that looked just like my own and her wavy chocolate-coloured hair that her mum had tied up into two adorable little braids.

Everybody always said she took after me in the way she looked, and I suppose it was true much to Mia's pretend annoyance. Her smile though – that was all Mia.

I still even to this day could hardly believe I'd ended up having a child with Mia. If I had my hands on a time machine, I'd go back in time just to see the likely amusing look on 17th-year-old Mia's face if I told her she had a child with me.

I continued watching transfixed with my shameless proud dad smile as little Zoe managed to keep control of the ball in the way we'd practiced.

"Yo, Ethan," Lucas said as he waved his hand suddenly in front of my face.

I just ignored him and continued staring forward, not taking my eyes off my daughter. "God, Zoe's amazing for a four-year-old, isn't she? She takes after me in soccer, for sure," I murmured in amazement.

Mia raised up a hand, her brow raising sassily. "Hold on, Mr cocky Pants, I have you know, I think she takes a little after me with her athleticism," she scoffed as she pretended to flick her hair over her shoulder.

As soon as she said that everybody stopped when they were doing, and turned to face Mia. Her statement was so shocking, I took my last attention off the game to really look at her with an equally raised brow as everyone else had.

I opened my mouth wondering if I should remind her that a lot of our mini-play fights over the years had started with her failing to throw something at me.

"Chubs, babe, love you, but no," I said with a little smile as I soothingly rubbed her back.

Mia immediately frowned. "Well, that was rude..."

I immediately moved to wrap an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, I didn't fall in love with you for your athleticism," I chuckled.

Mia crossed her arms in a huff. "Wonderful since we're confessing, I didn't fall in love with you for your kindness either," she snapped.

"Oh, come on, don't be petty, Chubs," I laughed.

As she gave me a spirited look, I leaned down to her ear. "I think you're athletic in the bedroom if that counts," I whispered with a smile, so only she could hear.

Mia knew exactly what I meant, and her breath sucked in, and her cheeks flared to colour as she tried to stubbornly look forward. I smiled knowing her indicators for when she was getting turned on.

Mia let out a low growl of annoyance, then pushed me away. "That's it, you're sleeping on the couch," she snapped.

I immediately looked over her in amusement. "Well, that's not going to happen, is it?"

"And why not?" Mia snapped sharply.

"Because last time you told me to sleep on the couch, you came back downstairs literally five minutes later and yelled at me to come back to bed and cuddle you. I think your exact words were, 'Come cuddle me, you bitch!" I teased.

Ever since that day, I could hardly take a threat like that seriously. Mia hated sleeping alone and she knew it.

Mia cleared her throat awkwardly. "Only because I was cold!" she protested.

"We live in California," I said with a laugh.

Mia opened her mouth to argue, but then stopped herself, clearly not having a good enough response.

"Whatever, fine, sleep in the bed. I just hope you're aware that nothing more exciting than cuddling is happening tonight," she sneered.

The smile on my face instantly wiped away as did my amusement, knowing how much I liked when exciting things happened at night. I'd become addicted to it, especially with how much more I'd been getting as of lately. "But....but that's not fair," I said with a frown. "Oh, come on, Mia. Are you sure you've thought this through? You promise-"

"Hey, Ethan, look at Zoe. She's about to make a goal," Lucas interrupted in excitement.

I turned my attention back to the field, and as I spotted my daughter, I smiled in pride. She was running as fast as she could with the ball towards the goal.

I cupped my hand over my mouth. "Go, Zoe. Go. Aim straight, and don't overthink! I yelled.

My little Zoe looked toward us and gave us a big toothy grin before kicking the ball with all her might.

The ball whizzed past the clueless 4-year-old goalkeeper and into the goal and all four of us broke into cheers.

"THAT'S MY GIRL! YES!" I yelled in such an aggressively loud voice that some of the other parents turned to give me funny looks.

Their kindergarten teacher or whoever soon blew the whistle to indicate the match was over.

Zoe immediately pushed herself off the ground, and her little legs ran their way towards us as fast as they could. She was wearing the cutest little soccer outfit that made my smile grow.

I bent down and opened my arms eager to receive a hug from my baby. "Dadddyyy," she screamed as she ran past her mum and into my waiting arms.

I winced a little with a smile, as I took in the vexed expression on Mia's face. Did I ever mention I spoiled Zoe a little?

I tightened my arms around my Zoe and pulled her high and up into my arms before kissing her cheek.

She looked across at me, with sparkling eyes, and my smile broadened.

"You were amazing, Zoe! I was so impressed. I hate to admit it, but you were almost as good as me," I said as I looked up with her an affectionate smile.

Her small little face lit up with excitement. "Really?" she gasped.

I nodded my head. "Really, Zoe. And you are for sure better than your Uncle Lucas," I joked as I winked at a very peeved-off-looking Lucas.

Finally noticing the incredibly daggered looks my wife was giving who clearly wanted a hug, I put Zoe down with a laugh.

"Now show your mummy some affection because she looks seconds away from killing me," I said with a nervous laugh.

Zoe, then skipped over to her mother and looked up at her with one of her big smiles. I saw Mia's face soften against her will.

"Why do you want to kill, Daddy?" Zoe asked with a giggle.

Mia bent down to her level and straightened her little braids with a smile. "Because he's a very naughty boy, and he's very cheeky to Mummy," she explained.

I raised an amused brow. "I'm naughty, am I?" I chuckled, as I flickered my eyes back and forth between Mia's. "Well, you're always welcome to punish me, Chubs. I hear there are a lot of effective kinds. Methods which I'm more than happy to demonstrate to you if you'd like," I suggested with a wink.

Mia's jaw dropped, clearly thinking I was going to hell for the implications I was making in front of our innocent little four-year-old. Mia was ridiculous, Zoe had no idea what I was saying.

To only confirm my point, Zoe's face scrunched up in confusion. "What's he talking about, Mummy?"

Mia threw me a glare, her cheeks once more flaring with colour. "Absolutely nothing. Your daddy is a very silly boy, "she snapped.

Zoe looked up at me with a smile. "Haha, you got told off by Mummy, now you have to sit on the naughty step," she taunted as she pointed up at me accusingly.

I playfully gasped. "Why you cheeky little devil!"

I grabbed Zoe around her waist with a smile, then lifted her up in the air as she squealed before flipping her upside down.

She threw her arms and legs around with a giggle as she screamed in excitement.

"Oh, what's going on here. Is Zoe being attacked by her very own father?" I heard a voice gasp in an animated voice from behind me.

Holding Zoe in my arms, I turned around and saw it was Chloe leading little Will towards us by his hand.

I looked down at the boy fondly. Will, was an adorable little boy with wide-brown eyes and curly brown hair. As Lucas' son, I couldn't help but love him and was one of the first to rush to the hospital when he was born.

I returned Zoe back to the ground with a chuckle. "She was being cheeky, that's why," I said as I playfully, ruffled Zoe's hair.

"Zoe's always being cheeky!" Will randomly announced as he looked over my daughter with a smile.

"No, I'm not," Zoe protested as she stuck her tongue out at him.

I chuckled softly, pleased she could stand up for herself. Mia on the other hand frowned.

"Zoe, we do not stick our tongues out at people; it's very immature," Mia scolded.

"But you did it to Daddy, just last week," she argued.

Oop, she got her there.

"You should do as I say not do as I do," she said quickly, clearly at the level where the was sprouting out random recycled shit she'd heard other people say.

Lucas cleared his throat. "Before any more bad parenting goes on, I think it's about time to leave," he interrupted, earning a glare from Mia. "Is everyone ready?" he asked.

There was a chorus of yeah, some more enthusiastic than others before everyone headed over to the parking lot.

------------

Everyone was gathered and scattered around the sofas at Lucas and May's house. Ben had finally decided to arrive and was sitting insanely close to Chloe on one of the sofas. The boy was about as unsubtle as me and that was saying something. On the bright side, Chloe didn't appear to be moving away.

When it was Lucas' go for the next game or charades, he immediately jumped to the centre of the room and started making weird growling sounds while throwing his arms around wildly.

"Beauty and the beast," I yelled. Lucas shook his head, looking almost insulted that I'd got it wrong.

"Harry Potter," Zoe called out loudly from her position sat on the floor by her mother's feet.

Mia and I both, tried to suppress the urge to laugh, knowing she was yelling that for every single round no matter what the person was doing.

Lucas just kindly smiled at her and shook his head.

Mia cleared her throat from beside me. "The incredible hulk," she called out.

"Yes!" Lucas called out as he pointed at Mia in excitement. "You go next," he said as he gestured to the hat full of paper in the centre of the table.

Mia pulled herself up off the sofa weirdly slowly before making her way over to the table. My smile slipped as I watched her, noticing something was up with her.

Her face was going a little pale, and she was starting to sweat a little even though the room was nicely cooled.

I watched as Mia picked out a piece of paper before holding it to her face. She barely got a chance to read it before she suddenly cupped a hand over her mouth, and dashed out of the room.

I stood up immediately and watched as Mia ran up the stairs like her life depended on it.

"What's wrong with Mummy?" Zoe said as she tapped on my leg. I looked down at her and saw her little brows had pulled together in worry.

I smiled down at her softly. "I think she's just a little sick, Darling. Just stay down here with everyone, I'll go check on her, okay," I explained gently.

Once Zoe nodded her head, I rushed off to grab a glass of water from the kitchen before taking the stairs two at a time in search of Mia.

Once I got to the bathroom door, I heard retching, and I slowly swung the door open wider. Mia was bent over the toilet, and I quickly rushed over to her to help.

I put the glass of water gently onto the countertop, by the sink before kneeling beside Mia and pulling the hair away from her face.

"That's it Chubs, not much more now," I whispered comfortingly from behind her as I rubbed soothing circles against her back.

When she had finally emptied the last of her stomach, she groaned and slammed the lid down on the toilet. Mia wiped her mouth with a wince then twisted around to face my no doubt concerned looking face.

I watched as she leaned back against the wall with a sigh, looking completely drained.

"God, I hate throwing up. It's so disgusting," she croaked.

I threw her a kind smile, knowing the feeling all too well. "Well, it's over now," I whispered.

I quickly stood up, plucked a glass of water off the counter then knelt back down beside her.

I held the glass gently to her lips.

"Here, have some water before you get dehydrated," I urged softly.

Mia nodded her head and took the cup off me, and started to gulp it down slowly. When she was finished, she placed it down on the ground and leaned her back against the tiled walls of the bathroom.

"So, Doctor, Ethan, do you reckon I've got food poisoning, or do you think I caught another bug," she chuckled weakly.

She held up a finger before I could speak. "And do not say bug. Honestly, Ethan, I'll cry like a baby if I have to miss another day at the restaurant," she grumbled.

I smiled weakly, in mild amusement. Mia's restaurant was her absolute pride and joy and was something she'd worked hard on over the years.

I remember she'd been a little nervous at the idea of starting her own business but with a little persuasion from me, I managed to get her to take the risk. Turns out all it took was offering to never sleep with a top on again, and she was sold.

Well, now the place was absolutely thriving, and what had originally only started out as a small bakery turned into this massive department warehouse level of big.

I'd never been prouder of her in all my life. And it was that very effort she put into it, that made her very reluctant to take unplanned time off from it.

I winced, prepping myself to have to tell her she was likely going to have to take a fair few days off work with how she was looking.

"I'm so sorry, Chubs, but it does look like you have a bug and –"

Suddenly, I cut myself off and paused, my eyes dancing over her body as I considered another much more likely possibility. An amazing fucking possibility.

"Wait, a second...," I murmured, my heart starting to race in excitement and a smile slowly creeping to my lips.

I grabbed Mia's hand in excitement. "When was your last period, Chubs?" I asked, no longer able to contain my smile.

Mia blinked twice and gave me a funny look. "I don't know maybe a month ago, two months ago. It's been a little dodgy lately," she shrugged. "Why is this relevant?"

My smile grew even wider and seeing the confusion on her face, I could no longer contain myself and cleared my throat overdramatically. "Would you like to hear my doctor's diagnosis, Mrs. Blythe?" I tried to say in a formal tone as I fought the urge to smile.

She rolled her eyes at me, with a smile. "Go on then, Dr Blythe, hit me with your worst. How many days do I have to live?"

"Nine months," I said plainly.

Mia's eyes widened in alarm. "What the fuck? I'm actually dying!"

"No, you idiot, you're pregnant," I laughed.

Mia tilted her head at me, processing this information.

"No, I'm not. I think I'd realize I'm pregnant before you," she snorted.

I shook my head at her with an amused smile, the more I considered it, the more it made absolutely perfect fucking sense. She might have figured out she was pregnant with Zoe before me, but this time I'd clearly beat her to it. I guess it made sense she was so busy with work lately, she must not have realized.

"Chubs, you are so pregnant. Think about it, you're throwing up for no reason, your boobs are massive, you're hornier than normal," I said, listing off my points with my fingers, knowing there were nothing but solid facts.

I felt like an idiot. Of course, that was why her boobs had gotten bigger. I thought she was just going through some sexy second puberty, and I was just enjoying the results.

Mia held up a hand, as though needing a moment to collect herself and I noticed immediately her cheeks were heating like crazy. "Are you seriously a doctor, Ethan? Because 'hornier than normal', doesn't' sound like a clinical symptom to me," she scoffed.

I chuckled. "I know, but as my wife, you have to put up with my special terminology," I said with a wink.

Before she could say another word, I pushed myself off the floor with my hands and headed over to Lucas' bathroom cabinet.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mia called out as I rustled through the cabinets.

"Proving to you you're pregnant with another baby Blythe," I teased.

"Ah-ha, there it is," I said as I found the box of pregnancy tests at the back of their cupboard. Lucas told me that he and May were going to start trying for another baby, so I knew they had to be here.

I walked back over to Mia and grabbed her wrist before dropping one of the pregnancy tests down onto the centre of her palm.

"Pee on this," I said plainly.

Mia plucked up a vaguely amused brow. "A pregnancy test? Really, Ethan?"

"Yes, really, you're pregnant. End of story. Pee on this, and I guarantee double red lines will appear," I said plainly.

"Fine," Mia snapped, fire in her eyes. "I'll pee on it, just to humor you," she huffed as she climbed to her feet.

She lifted the lid to the toilet and seemed to pause and look awkwardly over to me.

"Erm...," she said slowly. "As close as we are Ethan, watching me pee is where I draw the line, so bye," she said as she gave me a rather aggressive push towards the door.

I just chuckled and rolled my eyes. "You're so dramatic, I've seen everything like a million times. You wouldn't be pregnant, if I didn't," I mumbled with the shake of my head as I made my way through the door.

She was such a strange woman....

As soon I had closed the door behind myself, I started pacing impatiently outside the door as I waited for her to come back. God, I really wanted her to be pregnant which was a good thing, because I was 99.9 percent sure she was.

We hadn't really been trying for a baby since Mia was still on birth control, but we'd been talking about trying. Come to think of it, Mia had been on birth control when Zoe was born making me slightly concerned for the efficacy. She kept making jokes that I had some kind of' demonic, pill-defying sperm,' and I was starting to wonder if she was right.

Soon enough Mia was done, and she opened the door to let me back in.

I walked back in with a confident stride. "So, do you reckon it's gonna be a boy or a girl, this time?" I asked with a smile as I leaned up against the wall.

Mia shook her head at me with a smile, clearly thinking my overconfidence was ridiculous,

"Hopefully, not a boy because the last thing we need is another overly confident dick in this household she said as she threw herself down on the closed lid of the toilet.

"Well ouch," I laughed as I held a hand up to my chest.

We waited the full five minutes that the test recommended, and each sentence was agonizing. I tried to wait in silence, I really did try but I couldn't resist the temptation to sprout up random baby names wanting to be obnoxious.

"I guess, it's time," Mia said once the time was up as she slowly walked over to the bathtub where she'd left the test.

She picked it up slowly, and I watched anxiously and rubbed my hands up and down my thighs.

She stared down at the test, then soon enough a wide grin stretched across her face at the results.

She quickly moved towards me and held it up with a laugh.

"Guess who's the father of two kids," she teased.

I immediately rushed towards her with no doubt a wildly happy smile on my face and pulled her teasingly towards me by her hips.

I pulled her towards me till our heads were nearly bumping. "I hate to tell you this, Chubs. But I told you s-"

She didn't let me finish my sentence grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt, and pulled her lips down onto mine. I let out a slow groan, glided my hands to the small of her back, and kissed her back feeling so insanely happy.

Two kids. I couldn't believe it. Two.

Mia soon pulled away from me gently, and I smiled down at her fondly. "I enjoyed your way of telling me to shut up," I whispered.

She pecked me on the lips. "I did too. Now let's go downstairs, and tell the others.

Then slipping her hand into mine, she pulled me excitedly out of the bathroom with her.

Once we got downstairs and entered back into the living room, I was surprised to find everyone sitting there silently and patiently with knowing smiles on their faces as though they were waiting for our return.

Okay, this was weird...

Lucas then making it weirder, decided to wink at me. "So, when's the due date," he called out with a laugh.

Little Zoe then immediately came barrelling towards us and wrapped her small arms around her mum's legs.

"Mummy, I'm so excited you're having a baby," she cried.

Mia smiled and bent down to Zoe's level before lifting her up into her arms. I immediately tensed at the sight of my wife's heavy lifting then frowned.

"Yes, I am, Zoe. You're going to be a big sister, how exciting is that?" she gasped.

"Woah, woah, woah!" I said in a stern voice before taking hold of Zoe and pulling her gently from Mia's arms and into my own.

"No heavy lifting, you're pregnant. You need to look after yourself," I snapped, unable to help myself.

Mia looked up at the sky, and aggressively rolled her eyes looking like she was cursing me out in my head.

Yeah, that was the other thing....

Apparently, according to Mia, I was a little too protective when she was pregnant, but I didn't care. Pregnancy came with risks, and a lot of them which naturally had me watching and observing for dangers like a maniac. I wasn't going to be one of those idiots who let their wives get all overworked, and sick while they carried their child.

I mean, did I need to almost cry when she unpacked the dishwasher without my help? No, I didn't.

But it was fine, I was going to be better this time round.

Probably anyway...

"Oh, I'm sorry, Daddy, I didn't mean to hurt Mummy," Zoe cried as her lower little started to wobble.

Mia threw me a furious look, clearly trying to say, 'Look what your dumb ass has done.'

Feeling guilty, I looked down at my daughter with a soft smile. "I know you didn't honey, Daddy was just overreacting," I explained softly.

Zoe's little face lit up and she nodded her head in understanding.

"Will, why don't you take Zoe out with you to the garden and show her your new ball?" May called out to her son who was sitting on the floor.

I watched as Will slowly nodded his head before lowering Zoe down to the floor. The two of them soon jogged through the house, and over to the backdoors.

When they were gone, I walked with Mia in hand to the sofa where I flopped down.

Mia was just about to take a seat beside me, but instead, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her onto my lap instead.

"Ethan," she squeaked in embarrassment as she tried to get up as I held tightly onto her waist.

"Let me hold you," I murmured selfishly.

My words seemed to soften Mia's resolve, and she relaxed into me nicely.

"So, how'd you guys figure it out?" Mia asked our friends as she leaned back against me.

"Boobs," May bluntly retorted.

I immediately turned to May with a laugh. "Oh hey, me too," I called out. Then stretching over, I reached out to give May a high-five.

Mia slapped my hand away before the high-five was received, clearly embarrassed we'd both noticed. I literally slept holding her boobs most nights, so it would be pretty fucking difficult not to notice.

"Well, it was the increased moodiness for me," Lucas added with a snort, earning a chuckle from me.

Mia glared at him. "How dare you?" she snapped before grabbing a cushion from beside her and chucking it towards Lucas' head.

He caught it, then held it up. "Exhibit A," Lucas said with a laugh.

"He's got a point, Chubs," I whispered in her ear.

Mia just responded with a harsh elbow to my stomach that only made me laugh harder.

"Well, I figured it out because you were glowing," Chloe answered with a smile.

Mia looked at her friend with a smile. "Thank you, Chloe, for a sweet and unoffensive answer," she said as she gave a pointed look towards Lucas and May.

"And your boobs got bigger," Chloe added as an afterthought.

I immediately started to cackle with laughter as did everyone else in the room.

"Screw you guys," Mia snapped.

Lucas let out a chuckle. "Ah god, I can't wait to collect my money from your brother, Ethan. I bet him twenty quid that you'd knock Mia up before Christmas," he said with a smile.

"What the fuck?" Mia exclaimed.

"You made a bet with an eighteen-year-old?" I laughed.

Lucas just shrugged. "Well, yeah, Dylan's got a lot of money," he said simply.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that sounded just like my little brother. He was always making bets with everyone. The little brat scammed me out of fifty dollars one time. He was shamefully smarter than me now and knew it. He was far removed from the six-year-old little innocent boy, I once knew, but I still loved him.

Suddenly, I heard tiny footsteps hitting the hardwood floor.

"Daddy, Mummy," I heard my little baby cry.

Soon enough, Zoe came running into the room, and from the tone of her voice I instantly knew something, or someone had hurt her.

Mia climbed out of my lap, and I let her so she could bend down to Zoe's level. She stroked her cheek gently. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

I leaned, forward in my seat, equally as anxious to hear what was wrong as she was.

"Will kicked a ball at my face on purpose," she cried.

"He what!" I yelled.

"He did, Daddy, he really did," Zoe said as she nodded her head up and down vigorously. The look in her eyes made my heart hurt.

"Oh, my poor baby," I said as I reached out and pulled my daughter into my lap. "Where did the nasty boy hit you?"

"Right here," Zoe said as she pointed a small little finger at the top of her forehead.

I kissed the spot immediately. "There I gave you my special healing kiss," I said with a smile.

Zoe giggled, and a happy grin stretched out over my baby's face.

"And don't worry, Daddy's going to yell at Will for you," I stated plainly. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Lucas' mouth drop in offense.

Zoe seemed content with this answer and jumped off my lap before running towards the door.

"Hey Will, my dad says he's gonna yell at you," we heard her call out in the distance.

As soon as she was gone, I swerved my face towards Lucas with a frown. "Your little boy needs a strong talking to," I snapped. "You sort him out or I will."

Mia rolled her eyes and crashed down on the sofa beside me. "Calm down, Ethan, he's four years old."

"Exactly he should have learned manners by now," I muttered with a frown.

Lucas scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. "Sorry, man, I don't know what got into him. I thought he liked Zoe," Lucas mumbled in thought.

"Well, he clearly doesn't if he threw a ball at her fucking face," I snapped. I couldn't believe Will would do such a cruel thing. Boys were getting way too rough these days.

May chuckled as though I had said some kind of joke. "Actually, Ethan, I think you're wrong about that. I think Will really likes her. I think he likes her so much he'd do anything to get her attention."

Mia suddenly smiled too, a strange amusement shining through her eyes as she looked at me. "Yeah, I have to agree with you, May. You'd be surprised by the thing some guys do to get a girl's attention," she chuckled.

To get a girl's attention? What kind of bull shit was that.

I frowned immediately. "That's ridiculous! I've never heard of anything more stupid in my life. What kind of person would kick a ball at someone they liked? If you want a girl's attention you should be nice to them, not torment them," I scoffed.

Everyone in the room turned to look at me as though I'd said the most colossally dumb thing in all of mankind. I hadn't said anything dumb. What I said was the cold hard truth and anyone who disagreed was the idiot.

"What?" I finally, yelled around the room. I locked eyes with Lucas who was shaking his head at me with an almost pitying smile.

Mia finally put a gentle hand on my wrist. "Think Carefully about what you just said. Doesn't Will remind you of someone?" she asked softly.

My frown remained wedged on my face, unable to understand what the fuck she meant. Remind me of someone? Who the fuck would he remind me of?

Then slowly one second turned into two, and all at once it hit me like a shameful slap to my dumb and seemingly thick fucking head. It was frankly embarrassing how I hadn't seen it sooner.

I knew exactly who Will, reminded me of.

I swallowed harshly; my eyes widened with fear.

"Oh god, he's me," I whispered. 

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Hope you enjoyed!

This is technically, the end of 'Ethan's POV,' thanks for sticking with me to the end! 

I really hope you enjoyed this alternative POV of ITAAS. Stay tuned, because I hope to potentially add some more bonus chapters either about Mia, and Ethan's post high-school life or about their pre-senior year life.