"Scared?"

"Shitless," Justin admits. It's been a week, now, since he's been told that he'll be a father.

"Yeah, I bet," Liam nods, as the young men re-enter Capitol Records after their lunch break. "A kid at twenty-three," he muses. "That's a big responsibility."

"And again, thank you Dad," Justin retorts. "I've got enough, 'you're so irresponsible' shit from my mom, alright? I don't need it from you, too."

"Look, all I'm saying's that--"

"We're here for you," Zayn interjects. "Y'know, with whatever you need."

And as they ride the elevator, Zayn claps Justin heavily upon his back.

"Damn it, Zayn..."

"I mean, it could be fun, right? A kid...Wow," He chuckles. "Like...shit, Jus. You're gonna have a kid."

Justin nods. "I know, man. It's...it's seriously crazy."

"Like, you've got practice though. With girls and boys. You're great with Jaz and Jax."

"But, now I'll have my own..." Justin shakes his head. "It's blowing me, like...Like, I'm having a kid," and a smile grows on his face. "Mani and I're having a baby."

And Zayn chuckles, happy now to see Justin smiling again. When Imani had told him, he'd been a wreck. A real mess. He thought she'd hate him. Thought she'd terminate the pregnancy. Thought she wouldn't want anything to do with him. So, he was shocked that not only was she keeping it, but she wanted him to be a part of the baby's life. She wanted to raise it, and she wanted to do it together.

Zayn could've told him she'd be fine. Zayn could've told him that he was dealing with the nice, fluid, easy-going twin.

Zayn could've told him he wasn't dealing with Zhuri.

"Yo, she likes me," Justin had grinned, because leave it to Justin to be happiest that the girl he liked still fucked with him after getting her pregnant.

"I'd like, better be godfather," Zayn says now as they follow him to his office.

Justin falls into an oversized chair. "We'll have to see about that."

And Liam offers his, "What about me?" just as Zayn's cell begins to ring.

The number is unknown.

"Hi...Zayn?"

He sits up, confused. "Zhuri?"

"No," comes the laugh on the other end of the line. It's raspier, that southern accent more prominent. "Nice try, though."

"Imani?"

Conversation pauses in the room.

"And it only took you two tries."

He chuckles, running his hands across his face. He's now got his friend's attentions as they stand around his desk and halt their conversations to eavesdrop on his.

"What's up, Imani?"

Justin's eyes bug. "What? What's wrong? Is everything okay? She need me?"

Zayn waves him off. "Y'alright?"

"Fine, fine," she laughs.

"Lemme talk to her."

Zayn turns away from him.

"Tell Justin I'm fine, please," Imani sighs.

"Jus--She's fine."

"Y'sure? Lemme talk to her--"

"Can you hear him?" Zayn chuckles. "He's already a mess, love. Are you prepared for all this?"

"Shut up, Zayn."

"Yeah," Imani giggles. "I sure hope so."

"You're gonna be a wreck in the room, aren't you?" Liam laughs aloud, tossing a ball of paper into the waste basket. "She's gonna push and you're gonna pass out."

Zayn laughs, rolling his eyes and turning from his friends. "What's up then, Mani?"

"Have you talked to my sister lately?"

Zayn chokes. "You mean, has Zhuri talked to me? 'Cause then, like...the answer'd have to be no."

Imani sighs. "Can you do me a favor, then?"

"Depends on the favor."

"Look, I'm at the shop today, and my phone's dead and I was supposed to pick her up from work, so..."

Zayn groans, rubbing his hand across his face.

He stares at his desk, playing frustratedly in his beard.

"So, you want me to pick her up."

"Technically, I want Justin to pick her up," she laughs, "But, I need to make sure you're good with it."

He scoffs. "M'fine."

"You're not, but it's cool," she replies, and Zayn can hear the laughter in her voice. "It's about time y'all squashed your beef, anyway."

"I've got no..." He pauses.

Imani laughs. "Beef?"

"Yeah, like, whatever," he continues, "with Zhuri. Honestly, like," he pauses, searching for the words, "if she's cool with how things are between us then fine."

Liam whistles lowly across the room.

Zayn scowls viciously.

"See? I can smell the beef from here..."

Zayn laughs and he hates that he's laughing.

Imani just did that. She always had a way of making light of the worst situation; calming everyone down and not giving anyone reason to worry, even if she was herself.

"C'mon, Zayn, please?" She begs, now. "My brother's in college. My sister lives up north. My mama's taking care of my nana down south...you, Justin, Zhuri," her voice is gravelly, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I'm gonna need you guys. Like, a lot. And I don't want you and my sister to break-up--"

"We weren't dating."

"--and never make up again," she continues. "Believe me, I know how Zhuri can be, but the truth is, she misses you--"

"Yeah?" He asks, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I can tell. She hasn't called."

"Because she's stubborn like you," Imani grins. "But, we're twins. I know she does 'cause I can feel it."

He rolls his eyes, clicking his teeth.

"Be nice, please."

"Only for you, Imani," he growls. "Only for you."

__

Imani is five weeks pregnant.

A week has passed since Zhuri found out that she was going to be an aunt.

And she was nervous.

She was scared and nervous and why? She wasn't the one having the baby.

But, Imani was her best friend. She was her rock. She was her calm and bubbly and right brain when Zhuri was all lists and left brain and planning.

Zhuri was also worrisome. There were so many things that could go wrong in a pregnancy. What happened if Imani miscarried? What happened if the baby was premature? What happened if she needed a C-section? What happened if Imani had complications? What if Imani ended up with twins? How would she support them? How would she put them through school? College was expensive...

And then there was the glaring fact that Justin was white. Imani was obviously not. People were cruel and fucked up and what happened when she took her babies down south? What happened when Imani took her kid to where they grew up? And that alone lent itself to a whole host of other problems.

Zhuri was scared and nervous because she always wanted the best for her siblings. She wanted them to always be taken care of. She never wanted anything bad to happen to them. Ever.

She'd seen that happen too many times.

"Hey, Zhu! Over here!"

The few honks of the horn and Justin's unmistakable voice have Zhuri's head on a swivel. She smiles slightly, catching sight of him in his Audi and heading his way. She's expecting to find Imani in the passenger seat, but as she draw nearer and watches the door swing open, her heart pounds heavier in her chest as not-Imani steps out because Zayn steps out, instead.

It's been four weeks since she's spoken to Zayn.

Nearly five.

She attempts to compose herself as she walks his way.

Everything's fine, she thinks. They're fine. She's an adult. She can handle this.

But he's holding open the door for her. He's moving for her to sit up front. He's also staring at her with a stony, unreadable expression that's got her stomach in knots.

And they're staring at each other. Neither of them breaking eye contact as she approaches.

"Hi," she says.

"Hey, Zhuri."

Not Zhu. Zhuri.

She nods and slides beside Justin.

Zayn sits behind him.

"Thanks for the ride," she says as Justin grins behind the wheel.

"No problem," he replies kindly, pushing up the sleeves of his white collared shirt, exposing the ink on his arms. "How've you been?"

The question startles her. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," he chuckles, pulling the car from the front of the building. "I can actually tell you two apart."

"That'd be awkward if you couldn't," Zhuri replies, finding herself grinning.

"Damn. Yeah, it would."

"I'm fine," she nods, and for the first time, Zayn turns his gaze from the window to stare at the side of her face. "I just...I just want everything to be okay."

Justin takes her hand in his, and Zayn stares at their interlocked fingers. "It will be, Zhu."

"Lord," she laughs, eyes brimming with tears. "Why'm I more scared than Mani is?"

"'Cause that's kind of your thing, right?" Justin asks. "You worry more. You're gonna be that aunt that baby proofs the house and buys cloth diapers and organic baby food, and that's what it is. It's cool, though. That's just how you do things."

Zhuri laughs, and Zayn wonders since when these two are best friends.

"I probably am, huh?"

"Not probably," Justin squeezes her hand. "Most definitely, girl."

"Y'know," she begins, dabbing at her eye, "I can see you two being good parents -- you and Imani, I mean."

"You think so?"

"Yeah," she nods. "And that probably means more to me than it does to you."

Justin drops her in front of the house.

"Thanks again for the ride."

"No problem," he replies, leaning out the window. "Hey, want me to come in?"

She rolls her eyes. "Mani's not here, Jus."

"I know, just--"

"I promise," she holds up her fingers. "Girl Scout's honor, babe. Her car's not here."

"Oh yeah," he replies, as Zayn gets out of the car and slips back into the passenger seat. "A'ight," Justin nods. "Tell her I--"

"Call her," Zhuri grins, and she rifles through her tote for her keys. "That's your baby mama. Not mine."

"Whatever; fuck you."

She laughs, and she realizes that she's laughing for the first time since her brother went back to school and her sister left to go back to work.

And she turns, keys in hand -- but, as she turns, she locks eyes with Zayn, just as he's about to slide into the seat up front beside Justin.

Like before, they stare.

Like before, his brows are pinched like he does when he's thinking, eyes hard like he's upset about something.

She gulps.

"Bye, Zayn," she says.

He drops his eyes. "Bye, Zhu."

She watches the car as it pulls away; not taking her eyes from the Audi until it's disappeared down the street.

__
Trying not to have a long wait between the chapters of this story so let's see how long I can update frequently lol.

Comment and vote. My favorite things about these stories are reactions lol.