Ch. 2 - She's A Fan

~ Chapter 2: She’s A Fan ~

[ Justin’s POV: ]

My body was sprawled out against the couch as I stared at the ceiling, trying to calm the anger I was feeling towards… Well… The rest of the world, to be honest.

Media. To be honest.

I ran both hands down my face as I let out a frustrated sigh, closing my eyes until I heard the door burst open, startling me. I immediately looked up towards the doorframe and saw Scooter staring at me, his eyes practically red from the stress he was experiencing at the moment.

“Justin,” he growled lowly, slamming the door shut as he walked over to me. “Where have you been? When you stormed out of here, I discarded all the beer you were keeping and went out to look for you. I couldn’t find you anywhere!”

“You’re terrible at finding people,” I chuckled, not an ounce of humor found in the tone I was speaking in.

“I’m not here to play games,” he said irritably, clenching his jaw. “I know you don’t want to admit it, Justin. But you’re at a breaking point right now and I need you to stay with me.”

“Why?” I stood up, my voice raising as I shot him a deathly glare. “I’m not some kid anymore, Scooter. You don’t need to fucking watch over me anymore!”

“Watch your mouth,” he hissed.

I leaned closer towards him, making sure he heard me perfectly. “No,” I said, loud and clear.

Rage circled Scooter’s eyes as he rolled his sleeves up. “What happened to you?” he whispered.

“That,” I pointed out the window, where the crowd of paparazzi were still screaming after me. “That happened.”

“It was never like this before,” he said softly.

“I know.” Lowering my arm, I relaxed my muscles before straightening up. “It wasn’t.”

“You don’t need to give them what they want, Justin. You find them annoying, I know, but you’re doing exactly what they want you to do. They want you to ruin the image you worked so hard to put up for yourself.”

“I’m sick and tired of their bullshit and I’m going to fucking set them straight, alright?” I yelled.

“Watch your mouth,” Scooter repeated, screaming it loudly, causing me to flinch. I stare wide-eyed at him before hearing the sound of a door opening, Jackie stepping out dressed in only a bathrobe. She looked at Scooter, her face in pure shock before she locked eyes with me, her lip slightly quivering.

Shit… She must’ve heard our yelling.

“Jackie,” I whispered, ignoring Scooter’s presence as I walked over to her. “Come on,” I said quietly, leading her down a small hallway and to my room.

“Justin,” she stepped inside before turning to look at me. “What’s going on?”

I sucked in a breath of air, forcing a smile. “Everything’s alright,” I said. “Just… Get dressed. I’ll find a way to get us some food. You must be hungry.”

She silently looked at me, her mouth opening to say something before she decided against it. “Okay,” she finally murmured, and I gave her a reassuring nod before exiting the room to give her some privacy.

Walking back over to the living room area, I found Scooter in the same spot I left him in, his eyes attentive to my every move.

“Who the hell is that?” he said right away, giving me a warning look.

“No one,” I shrugged, plopping my body down on the couch.

“Justin,” he seethed my name out. “Who. Is. That. Girl?”

I sat in silence, looking down at my hands and playing with my thumbs before meeting Scooter’s gaze once more.

“She’s a fan,” I admitted.

“A fan?” he raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms. “Did you… Did you have sex with her?”

My eyes nearly bolted out of their sockets. “What?!”

“Did you take your anger out on her? I swear, Justin, if this is the person you’re becoming… I don’t even know you anymore.”

“Scooter, what the hell?! I’m not that kind of guy!”

“I didn’t think so either, but the way you’ve been acting lately… I’m just scared you’d do something stupid. Something you’ll regret for the rest of your life and… Having sex with a fan… God, if anyone found out, we can’t say it’s false and–”

“–Scooter,” I interrupted. “Stop making up stories. I’ve been on the bad side of the media for a while now. I’m not going to give them a story to make their job easier.”

“That’s what you say now, but…” he sighed, running the back of one hand across his forehead. “Never mind. What is she doing here?”

“What?”

“The fan. What is she doing here?” he clarified.

“Long story,” I muttered. “But, Scooter, she’s really nice and she’s not like other fans. She’s actually really sweet and she’s made me forget my problems the minute I bumped into her. Can we please not just kick her out? I want to get to know her.”

“Justin, I know you’ve said you’re open to dating fans in interviews before but I never knew you were actually going to start doing that,” he half-chuckled.

“I’m not dating her,” I quickly countered. “She’s just great company right now. She’s exactly what I need.”

“Alright but… I know this’ll make you upset but I have to say it,” he took in a deep breath. “Remember you got out of a complicated relationship recently… I just don’t want it to happen again. That break up really got you good.”

My heart clenched in pain, just thinking about Alicia again.

“Can we not talk about it?” I murmured, feeling my body grow weak. I really loved her… I was willing to keep our relationship but… Unfortunately she didn’t feel the same as I did.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, patting my shoulder. “I’ll go order all of us room service.”

I leaned back on the couch, letting out a chunk of air. “Cool,” I nodded, giving him a thumbs up. He gave me a half smile before leaving to order food right about the same time as I felt my phone vibrate. I dug one hand into my pocket, pulling my phone out and checking the screen.

1 new message.

I unlocked the device, reading the new text message I had just received.

From: Lil Twist

aye bro, me and some of the boyz are gonna get turned up tonight. u coming or what?

I looked up at Scooter, who was on the phone, mumbling food names into the receiver so the person could take his order. I then switched my gaze down to the hallway, clear of Jackie, who was still most likely inside my room. I looked back down at my phone, a small smile creeping at the corner of my lips.

To: Lil Twist

you know I wouldn’t miss it for the world. text me the details.

Locking my phone, I put it back into my pocket before standing up, realizing that Jackie was probably still in my room because she didn’t think it’d be right to come out and intrude. I didn’t mind at all but after hearing all that yelling Scooter and I did earlier, I wouldn’t really blame her. So, walking quietly down the hallway, I knocked on the door a few times before hearing an approval to come in.

“Hey,” I spoke softly, smiling at her.

“Hi,” she replied, sitting on my bed. I took in the sight of her dressed in my sweatpants and t-shirt.

“It looks good on you,” I commented, eyeing my clothing on her body. I watched her cheeks flush red before she bit her lip, avoiding my gaze.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, playing with a fold that had formed on the covers of my hotel room bed. I let out a quiet chuckle, approaching her before sitting down next to her.

“What’s with the one-word replies?” I asked, looking at her with nothing but amusement circling my eyes. She finally turned her head to meet my gaze and I heard her let out a soft gasp, her cheeks blushing even redder than before. “What?” I lightly smiled, letting my eyes scan every aspect of her face.

“You,” she whispered.

“What about me?” a smile tugged on my lips.

“Do you really expect me to be calm when my idol is sitting this close to me?” she eyed me suspiciously.

“You seemed pretty calm this entire time. You tell me that I’m your idol yet you treat me like a normal person and… It feels good. It’s one of the reasons why I like you,” I admitted, not thinking twice about what came out of my mouth. Her eyes widened and she stared at the floor.

“You like me?” she asked, her voice merely a whisper though it rang loud and clear in my head. My heart skipped two beats as I inwardly slapped myself. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that… Even though I might truly like her that way.

“Yeah, you’re a great friend already,” I elaborated, feeling bad for slightly lying. Part of me felt like I didn’t just want her as a friend. She let out a shaky breath before blinking three times.

“Oh,” she said, and it quickly got silent between the two of us. I swallowed hard, leaning back and staring at the floor along with her. We both didn’t dare utter a single word as we welcomed the silence, feeling comfortable under its embrace.

“Let’s go,” I suddenly spoke out loud, standing up and walking towards the exit of the room. She looked up at me in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows at me.

“Where?” she asked, standing up and following after me anyway.

“Scooter ordered food for us so let’s go join him and maybe watch T.V or something,” I suggested.

“Okay.”

I led her out of my room and to the living room area and walked out to see Scooter, who seemed glad I had returned.

“Did you pack your bags?” he asked, then spotted Jackie walk up next to me, in which he then pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, regretting ever saying anything.

“Pack bags?” Jackie questioned, eyeing me as the newfound information sank in. I felt my stomach churn, knowing I completely forgot about the little break we were taking back in California.

“Oh, that’s right… We leave tomorrow, don’t we?” I asked Scooter, who nodded his head slowly. I sighed, turning to look at Jackie. “We’re going to California.”

“Seriously?” she said, her voice sounded a little upset that I’ll be leaving sooner than she thought. I don’t think she expected to stick with me every day from now on, but it still affected her that I was leaving.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, glancing at Scooter, making sure my voice was low enough for her to hear but for Scooter to be unable to do the same.

“It’s alright,” she sighed. “I thought all of this was too good to be true anyway.”

“It doesn’t have to end here,” I said determinedly. “Is it okay if… If we exchange numbers?”

She froze, looking up at me in utter surprise. “R-Really?” she stuttered.

“Yeah, I mean… You said you’re from Cali, and since I’ll be there… Why don’t we meet up sometime? You know, if you’re back at the same time as I’m still there.”

“That sounds great,” she beamed, her mood switching to a much happier one.

“When are you returning to America anyway?” I asked.

“Umm,” she bit her lip. “I still have to visit my friend, which I blew off plans with today so–”

“–Sorry about that,” I added, a cheeky grin plastered across my face.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re way more interesting than her,” she giggled.

“Is that so?” I smirked, my eyes twinkling into hers.

“Yep,” she laughed, eyeing me challengingly as she awaited my next reply, which never really came because I got caught in her beautiful gaze.

Her eyes are just… Wow. How is it possible for a pair of eyes to be so appealing to another?

“Umm,” Jackie cleared her throat, snapping me from my thoughts. “I’ll probably leave in 3 days.”

“That’s great. I’ll definitely still be in California by that time. Don’t be shy and hit me up, we could hang out sometime,” I smiled.

“You sure?” she said dubiously. “Are the media really going to let you do that?”

“I don’t need the media’s permission to do anything,” I rolled my eyes before looking back at Scooter, who was staring at us the entire time. I swallowed, feeling my cheeks heat up and, just in time, the doorbell rang, meaning room service was here. I took it as my opportunity to make my way over to the couch, prompting Jackie to sit next to me before turning the television on and flipping through channels before settling on the show Friends.

Pulling my phone out, I opened up a new message and began typing away at the keyboard.

To: Lil Twist

about tonight… I can’t make it. I remembered I have to deal with some shit. maybe some other time?

I sucked in a breath of air before sending the text message, relaxing back onto the couch just as Scooter came in with our food.

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So what do you guys think so far?

It’ll get better, I promise :)

Picture of Lil Twist on the side —>

- Nina xx