Chapter Seven

Introductions

Stephanie's p.o.v

"Justin……Justin……CALM DOWN." I told him. "Breathe, alright? It's not a problem. Why is it a problem?"

"What's going on?" Asked Anna. She was in the living room area while I lounged in the kitchen. It was nice of my parents to pay for this room for us, especially since they were still in Atlanta. I really did feel bad when I let them worry about me, but my parents weren't the problem right now.

"Justin apparently promised his mom that he'd let her meet us." I explained quickly.

"And the problem with that is?" She asked.

"I have no idea." I told her. "He thinks it's a bad idea because his mom won't like me or something." I wanted to laugh, but I held it in.

"She might think that you're an extra crazy fan and that Justin's lost it for allowing you to be so close to him. I say go over and prove you're not insane." She said.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" I grinned. "Justin, don't freak. This could be good. Anna and I will be over in ten." I hung up the phone and set it on the table.

"Wait, I heard Anna. What if Anna doesn't want to go?" She whined from the couch.

"Tell Anna her choices are go to meet Justin's mom or go missing." I shut the door. I waited as I listened to the squeak of the couch, footsteps, and a shutting door.

"Don't forget, Ryan is probably gonna be there." The door opened again, and soon mine flew open.

"Ryan's gonna be there?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"Uhm, yeah, you didn't think of that?"

"NO!" She began tearing through my suitcases of clothes.

"Don't you have your own clothes?" I asked her.

"Yes but none of them are cute enough!!" She threw out a couple shirts and kept going. I rolled my eyes and walked out.

"I'm using your clothes then!" I yelled, shutting her door. I grabbed a tank top and jean shorts, along with a silver heart necklace and my own dark blue flip flops. Quickly dressing, I walked out to find Anna spinning around in my orange sundress.

"You do know you have about ten sundresses, right?" I asked her.

"Yes, but none of them are this cute!" She spun again. The necklace she was wearing shimmered.

"Is that my orange slice necklace?"

"Yes. It matches well, don't you think?"

"You would have looked perfectly fine in any of your clothes." I walked into the kitchen and pulled out an apple.

"Yeah, but fine doesn't cut it!!" She said. I shook my head at her, taking a bite of my apple.

"What made you just instantly start crushing on Ryan?" I asked. She admitted after we had come home last night that she was completely falling for him.

"I dunno. He seemed like a cool guy at first, kind of like he was too good for a simple girl like me." She shrugged. "But then we got talking while I tried to get the fire going. He just, changed. He was sweet and funny and dorky and perfect." She sighed. "And I'm hoping to keep him that way." She smiled and skipped to the door, slipping on a pair of orange flip flops.

I rolled my eyes and, while putting on my dark blue pair, walked out to follow her. I hit the elevator button and waited until the bell rang and the door opened. Anna was still skipping while I walked like a normal person into the elevator. I yawned and rubbed my neck which still ached from last night.

"Anna." I asked, "Did you see if I was laying weird last night? My neck kills."

"Well, I imagine Justin's chest isn't too soft."

"Wait, what?" I couldn't believe she knew about my dream. Had I been talking in my sleep or something?

"Beach, hill, starry night, you were tired, Justin sang to you, you fell asleep on his chest. Get the picture?" She said sarcastically. "Do you really not remember?"

"It was just…. I mean I thought it was just a dream." I stuttered. "So it actually happened?"

"You bet it did, and from the looks of it he didn't quite mind either." She smiled mischievously. I just smiled.

"So you think he likes me?" I giggled. I sounded like a twelve year old all over again.

"Most definitely." Anna nodded. The elevator opened and we walked down to Justin's room. Knocking lightly, I fixed my hair and prepared my best smile.

"Hey." Justin said, opening the door. "They're here!" he yelled inside.

"Invite them in!" Pattie replied. I wondered how surprised she would be to see me. I remembered the last time I had talked with her was a few months ago. I had been more or less sneaking around her.

"Come in." Justin smiled, turning and walking inside. Anna and I followed, and we looked around at the room. It wasn't much different from ours, a living room area in which Ryan was playing some game, a kitchen, and rooms in the back. Pattie emerged from around the corner, and I noticed a small pause in her step. I half smiled at her, and she smiled a bit.

"Hi. I'm Anna." She held out her hand.

"Pattie." She shook Anna's hand and turned to me.

"Stephanie." I smiled.

"Hello Stephanie. So, how long have you girls been hanging out with Justin?" She asked.

"Mom…" Justin whined slightly under his breath.

"No, it's fine. We've been hanging out together for the last few days." I answered. "Actually, I was at the last concert." I knew this is what she had really meant. Justin's eyes widened at my response. I could tell he had no clue where this was going.

"Oh really? Good seats?" Pattie asked. I knew this was gonna get fun.

"Great." I answered.

"Good." She smiled. "Justin loves his enthusiastic fans, right Justin?"

"Uh, yeah." He said utterly confused. He looked at me, expecting some kind of answer. I looked towards Pattie, smiling.

"Justin, Scooter wants to see you. He's across the hall. Take Ryan with you." Pattie told him. He turned to Ryan, who was talking with Anna, and they got up and left.

Everything was still for a moment after the door clicked shut. I turned to Pattie.

"Come give me a hug!" Pattie threw her arms around me, and I hugged her tightly.

"Gosh, it's been so long." I pulled back looking at her. "How have you been?"

"Good, good. You came just in time. He's really been missing you. He's been dazing off any chance he can get." She smiled.

"Whoa, what?" Anna asked. She was watching us incredulously. "Would anyone care to explain?"

I laughed, "I figured you'd be a bit lost."

"More than a bit. I thought this was the first time you've met Pattie?"

"Glad to know you talk about me." Pattie laughed. "I've met Stephanie multiple times. She sneaks backstage a lot to come see Justin, although he thinks I know nothing about her."

"He assumes things." I explained, "I never said I didn't meet you. My only question is why he still thinks that. I thought you would've talked to him about it?"

Pattie sighed. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a small glass of water. "I just don't have the heart to tell him. He thinks this is something of his own, something only he has." Her voice became soft, her words layered in love and concern for her son. "You've really touched him. Sometimes I swear your two parts of the same person."

I brushed the tears off my face. "I'm glad I've gotten to know Justin." I smiled. "It's been fun. He's like my best friend." I told Pattie.

She smiled. "It's so great that he has you. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to keep him grounded."

I was about to thank her for her kind words when a loud rumble echoed and Anna grabbed her stomach.

"Uh, sorry to break up this wonderful moment but could we maybe grab a bite somewhere? I'm starving." She smiled sheepishly. We turned as the door opened again and Ryan walked back in.

"Justin is almost done talking to Scooter. He wanted me to ask if anyone's hungry."

"We are." Anna and I said.

"Well I guess we should go then." Pattie said. "Los Angeles is just a boat ride away. We can make plans for something."

"Perfect." Justin walked back in the room and grabbed his hat from the table. "Let's go."