before this chapter, look at the edit I made with the face claim for vanessa and joel

• joel •

I was excited to see Vanessa, we hadn't seen much of each other for the past couple of weeks. Our schedules were crazy, and we had made plans for tonight since last week, since the boys and I were on a small break.

When Tatiana walked in, I was expecting Vanessa to be following right behind, but she wasn't. "She had an emergency, she wanted to call you earlier and explain, but she needed to get a hold of Antonio first."

Why would she need to get a hold of her ex? Wait, "Is Brandon okay?" I asked when I connected the dots.

"V didn't tell me much," Tatiana explained. "But it sounded like Brandon's asthma was acting up." I nodded, but it made me worried about him— him and Vanessa. "I actually told Vanessa that I'll let you know, but she also left her phone in my car," she pulled Vanessa's phone out of her pocket. "And I was going to raincheck this entire night to be with them. They didn't make me his godmother for nothing. Did you want to come?"

"Yes," I said quickly. "I mean, I want to be there for Vanessa."

Tatiana laughed. "I'm sure she'll appreciate you being there. Brandon, too," she added. "Let's go."

—

"How were you able to get your license?" I joked as Tatiana and I stepped out of her car. She had drove through a red light on the way to the hospital, and somehow parked crooked but still in the lines.

"After the fifth attempt, they must've felt bad," Tatiana responded. My eyes widened. "I'm joking. If anyone's driving is bad, it's your girlfriend's. Why do you think I'm always driving her around?"

Girlfriend. I would never thought that word could make me smile. But Vanessa being associated with that word, I couldn't be happier.

We both walked into the entrance. It wasn't busy, but it was probably meant for the people who lived near. When we walked in we saw Vanessa's parents and her younger sister.

"Hey, Mr A!" Tatiana smiled at Vanessa's dad. "You remember Joel."

"Hi, Mr Alvarez," I immediately put my hand out for him to shake. Was I still nervous being around Vanessa's dad? Obviously.

"How's B?" Tatiana questioned. "Are we allowed to see him?"

"He was sleeping by the time Antonio came," Vanessa's dad explained. "I'm sure Vanessa has been waiting for you two to stop by. He's two rooms from the bathroom."

"Thanks, Mr A!" Tatiana responded. I gave him a smile before following her. "Are you okay with finding your way by yourself? I'm going to see what they have in the cafeteria. I think Brandon deserves some dessert when he wakes up."

"Yeah, I should be fine. It's just down here," I pointed down the hall and Tatiana nodded. We walked in opposite directions and when I passed the bathrooms I heard my name being called.

I turned around and saw Vanessa's mother. I smiled at her, but she just smirked as she walked up to me. "Joel, right?"

"Yes. It's nice to see you again, Mrs Alvarez," I responded. "I came her to check on—"

"Brandon. I know, I overheard you talk to my husband," she interrupted. "Can we talk?"

"Uh, I wanted to see Vanessa," I replied. "But, I guess we can talk now."

"What do you want with my daughter?" She questioned. "Do you see what you have with her going into the distant future?"

"I—"

"Let me just explain something to you." She walked in front of the door to the room. I looked into the room, Vanessa was holding Brandon while he was sleeping while his dad was on the other side of the bed. "That's a family. I'm not sure what you have with my daughter, but I don't want you to interfere with her future with her little family."

"What?"

"I think you know what I mean. My daughter deserves to be happy, and she's always been happy with Antonio. I've seen it since they were children, they're meant to be."

"With all due respect, Mrs Alvarez," I paused, looking into the room. Vanessa and Antonio were laughing. "If I'm correct, you weren't in Vanessa's life for the past four years. You don't know what makes Vanessa happy."

"Brandon makes her happy, her dad, her friends. Do I need to go on? Look, Joel. I'm going to try and save you the heartache for when she realizes she still has feelings for Antonio. I know my daughter, even if I've been out of her life for the past four years." I looked away. "Let me rephrase: My grandson needs a real family, he needs his mom and his dad. You are not his dad."

• vanessa •

"About us?" I questioned. The last time he wanted to talk about us, we made the choice to break up. Which that decision broke me, but we both knew were weren't happy. "Why?"

"Because I just realized I was an idiot for breaking up with you," Antonio answered. I gulped and looked away from him to Brandon who was still sleeping. "I know this is a bad time—"

"Yeah, it is a bad time," I interrupted quietly. I held myself down so I didn't jump up. "Our son is in the ER, and I'm with Joel, and you're with Juliana!"

Antonio shook his head, "We just broke up. Her and I weren't good together, as much as I wanted us to be. She's not you, 'nessa."

"You couldn't have figured this out earlier?" I asked. I knew my feelings for Joel were getting stronger, but there was still something for Antonio. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because you're my best friend, 'nessa. We tell each other everything. And I can't lie to you. I still love you."

I looked at him, his brown eyes locked with mine. "Tones, I— I love you, too," I blurted. I did love him. I knew I did. "But I'm dating Joel, and I have feelings for him."

"I understand that, but I can wait. You're worth the wait. And if he's the one for you, I'll still be lucky enough to keep you in my life."

"Antonio," I whispered, taking a small breath. "Do you remember when he was born?" I asked changing the subject.

"That day was crazy," Antonio added. "Tatiana and I were in English class when my sister called me. Mr Silva got so mad at me when I ran out of the room before my mom called to excuse me. I mean, it's not everyday your son is born. We were babies."

"Babies that had a baby," I responded. "We have a great kid, don't we?"

"The very best," Antonio agreed. "Totally not biased." I laughed, but covered my mouth trying not to wake Brandon. Antonio smiled. He really had a great smile.

"Maybe a little biased," I said.

"You know it's the Gomez blood that makes him the very best," Antonio joked. "The Alvarez aren't that cool."

"I beg to differ, who was the one who kept following me around in elementary school because they thought I was very cool."

"Maybe I just had a crush on you back then, because you weren't cool at all. A bit clumsy and awkward, but not cool," Antonio responded. I scoffed in response. "You know it's true."

"What's true?" I looked up and saw Tatiana in the doorway. "Where's Joel?"

I glanced at Antonio when she mentioned Joel. Did he hear the conversation we just had? "Joel's here?"

"Yeah, he was worried about Brandon— and you. He was supposed to come here while I went to the cafeteria. He could've gotten lost," Tatiana said.

I shook my head. "It's impossible to get lost here, with all the signs. Maybe he went to the bathroom?"

"No, your father just went in there. You know what, I'll call him for you. Maybe he—"

"He's an adult, he'll find his way here, or get a hold of Vanessa," Antonio interrupted. I agreed, but I was nervous— what if he had heard Antonio confessing his feelings for me? What if he heard me tell Antonio I loved him, and just left before Joel could hear what I said after? That I had feelings for him.

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not me updating twice in the same week

i just had inspiration, :)

any thoughts?

q: who is your celebrity crush? (besides cnco)
a: i have a lot: ruggero pasquarelli, michael ronda, tom holland, calum hood, liam payne, louis tomlinson. that's all i can think of. . .