With arms wide open | jazethan

 The front door of the House of Hades looked impossibly large as Jazlyn stood outside it. Sure, she had been there a couple dozen times by now, but normally Rthan knew she was coming. Today, she was there unannounced, unplanned, and unsure. How was she supposed to tell Ethan what she knew? He didn't seem like the settling kind of guy. They weren't even dating yet, even after five weeks of amazing dates and chemistry that even she couldn't deny. Then again, she wasn't worried about that herself until about an hour ago. 


Finally working king up the nerve to call up to Ethan's room, she hit the buzzer and waited for the beep so that she could tell someone who she was looking for. Hopefully he was here, because she had already checked the office and her nerves were starting to get the better of her. Finally, the resonating beep let her know it was time to speak. "Umm...hey. I'm looking for Ethan, is he around?" She stuttered. Oh no, she was not ready for this at all. 


@ethan

Ethan was blissfully cooking lunch for himself and his fabulous sister, Mel. He had invited her to his area of the house for some food and lunchtime chatter. Suddenly, he heard a voice over his intercom and felt good heart beat a little faster. Mel moved to answer it, but he slipped in between her and the intercom, smiling ooh-so innocently as he pressed the button. "I am here, come on up!" He was in such a good mood he didn't even notice the tone on her voice. He turned to Mel, "rain check? I've got an erh and appointment," he smiled real big as he gestured toward the door, a pleading look in his eyes. As if Mel didn't already know about he and Jazlyn.

By the time Jazlyn finally reached the top of the stairs, she almost felt as if she shouldn't have come. Her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest, though she knew it was just the nerves talking. That, and the queasy feeling in her stomach wasn't helping in the least bit. As Ethan's younger sister walked out of the room, Jaz felt herself begin to calm down a bit. The girl flashed her a small smile before disappearing altogether, which she was almost grateful for. At least they would be alone for this.

Swinging his door open, Jazlyn smiled softly as she caught sight of Ethan. No matter how much time she spent with him, she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. This guy was way too good for her, especially now. "Hey." Her voice was barely a whisper as she stepped in to the room and closed the door. Part of her wanted to run over and hug him, but it just didn't feel right. Not now. "Sorry that I interrupted, I just...I needed to... we need to talk." She finally settled, the words not coming out quite right. Great. Nothing was determined to go right today.

Ethan smiled at Jaz as and walked in, "hey there," he said, barely hearing her own quiet greeting. "One sec-" he started to say before she, quite seriously, declared that they needed to talk. She was shy, nervous. That had easily gotten past that weeks ago... What was wrong? He quickly turned the stove down to a simmer before moving to the table, gesturing for her to have a seat. "What's up, Jaz?" He said, trying to match her delicate tone, though the smile on his face was still broad.

He worried about what she would say, of course. Though he had never been in a serious relationship before, he knew what a break up looked like. Not that there was officially anything to break up... They had just been enjoying each others company, right? Save that first night they hadn't really done anything major together... Nor had they made any relationship decisions. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she wanted something official...

Taking a shaky breath, she tried to calm herself down before sitting at the table across from him. It was the moment of truth.."I know this is weird, and I. Sorry. I didn't want for things to go down like this." The more she talked, the more this sounded like a bad break up. Then again, maybe it was. Neither of them were the settling type, and neither of them had discussed kids. Her voice was shaking and she could feel the tears starting to well in her eyes. Stupid hormones. "Ethan. I...I'm pregnant. Five weeks, and it's yours." She finally stuttered out, looking away as she finished. Now was she supposed to look this guy in the eye after she pretty much ruined both of their lives.

He sat down as she did, resisting the urge to take her hand across the table. Why was he feeling uncomfortable now? Maybe because he had never experienced a Define The Relationship talk. If that's what they were even doing. As she started, it was clear that she didn't have good news. He sat up straight, trying to ignore his nerves.

Before he knew it her eyes has tears in them and he was leaning forward again, moving to place a hand on her knee from under the table. His eyes held concern, but only for a moment before they widened in shock and he pulled his hand away.

"What... You..." There is no way she was joking. She would never joke about something like this. He leaned back taking a deep breath. "I'm... I don't know what to say."

When his hand left her knee, she knew it was going to be bad. That was alright, she could handle this on her own, right? Not that she wanted to...but she had to be a better parent than her own mother. This kid already deserved more than that. "I'm sorry Ethan. I understand if you want me to leave, if you don't want to see me anymore." She finally stated, the tears beginning to fall as she stood up and backed away from him. At least she had been right: Ethan did not appear to be taking this well. Maybe even worse than she had.

As she stood, saying how she understood if he wanted her to leave, he didn't stop her at first. He let her walk toward the door and he bent forward, placing his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers through his hair.

How could he let this happen? So stupid, so careless. He just got so carried away with this woman that he didn't think straight. But... could it really be all that bad? I mean, did he really have to get upset?

He looked up. "Wait... just... hang on," he muttered, still not sure where he was going to go with this...

Her hand was on the door by the time he spoke, just in time. If she had actually opened that door to leave she might not have turned back, not even for the baby. Sure, she would love for it to have a dad like they didn't, but there was only so much heartbreak she could take. Taking a few, deep breaths she finally turned to face him again. Somehow she had to regain her composure. She was stronger than this, always had been.

"Ethan?" She asked quietly, walking back over to where he was sitting. She didn't take her seat again, but instead walked to the side of the table he had been sitting at to stand beside him, a few feet away. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Jazlyns voice was barely a whisper, so low that she almost couldn't hear herself.

He let her take her time to turn and face him. After all, she was certainly freaking out as much as he was, if not moreso. He bit his lip, furrowing his eyebrows as she turned again and said his name, walking back toward him.

As she started to apologize he shook his head, pushing off the table to stand and step toward her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him. "Don't apologize to me. I..." he didn't want to say 'I can do this' because he had no idea if he really could... but he couldn't be cruel to her and leave her to deal with this on her own.

He pulled back to look at her, "you were very brave to come tell me. That's why I like you. The guts." He tried to give an encouraging smile, but he probably just looked sick.

Jazlyn let out a shaky breathe whenever Ethan wrapped his arms around her, thankful for the contact. She could tell he was still freaked out, but at least she wasn't alone. "I almost didn't. I couldn't figure out how or if I even could. I just couldn't be like my mother. The kid already deserves better." Her voice was thick with emotion, but at least it seemed to be subsiding. Wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, Jazlyn leaned back to look at him. Gods, could they really do this? Probably not, but at least they seemed like they were going to try.

Ethan nodded as she mentioned her mother. "Oh trust me, I understand crazy mothers. It...he-she, whatever- the baby definitely deserves better... I just don't know if I'd be any good at this," he muttered that last part and shook his head, his confidence waning. He was never really one who wanted that much responsibility. If anything, he panicked at the sight of it.

"Well, you could look at it this way. If you even show up your on par with our dads. Anything else is just a bonus." Her smile was small, but she meant it to be reassuring. It was the truth after all. She had pretty low standards for both of them. "Besides, we'll be in it together. Our parents couldn't say that. We'll figure it out." Reaching out, she grabbed his hand and lead him over to the couch to sit down. "Don't freak just yet. We've got time still."

It was true, of course. Even being a tiny bit better than their own fathers would make him a better dad already. Merely sticking around was a huge step, and that was the only step he was sure he could do. As she took his hand, he let her lead him to the couch without hesitation. "You're right. At least we'll be together... well, I guess we should make that a thing..." he was sort of muttering to himself until they sat down. He looked up at her, "we're together, aren't we? I know I want to be. I know I care about you. You're amazing."

"I'm not gonna push that on you, Ethan. If it's what you want though...well we've all but put a label on it already." The thought of them actually being a couple made her smile despite herself. It wasn't something she had ever looked for, but she wouldn't complain either. "I just don't want this to be one of those 'for the sake of the kids' things where we end up hating each other in the end." No, if she was going to do this she wanted to play for keeps. No matter what they did, at the least they were going to be a family now.