Call Me A Liar [Book 1] (Justin Bieber Love Story / Fan Fiction)

32

I've always thought summers were beautiful growing up. Only back then, they were filled with orchestra practice and studying but littered with sleepovers and pool parties to offset the mundane stuff.

I didn't know any better. I thought they were still the most amazing thing because in the fall, any events my parents considered a "waste of time" were few and far between. The summer was a break from it all.

I remember getting ice cream in my grandpa's truck a couple of times per week after dinner time, repetitive pleading taking place to convince my mother we could go. I remember lighting sparklers with Birdie and a few other girls on my street, running around barefoot the freshly cut backyard of whoever's house we were staying at. I remember squishing marshmallows between graham crackers and having sticky fingers the rest of the night. I remember learning to braid my friends' hair while another girl learns to braid my hair. I remember calling our crush's landlines, only to quickly hang up after the first ring out of pure nervousness. A fit of laughter would follow, and everything would be alright.

Childhood summers were everything to me, and now so is this one.

Saturday is a beautiful day together. Justin and I make breakfast and watch movies and everything else time allows before we leave that afternoon for the lake. We meet up with Michael and Jake and a couple of the other guys from the gym for a small party.

The July sun beats down on our skin the entire day, small freckles finding Justin's cheeks beneath his tan nose. His hair even lightens under the sun, looking more golden than I've ever seen. I'm starting to realize he glows no matter what light he's in. I'm starting to think the light has nothing to do with it.

I'm a complete puddle as I watch him play beer pong with a couple of the other guys, his smile only warming me from the inside. Though we haven't exactly broadcasted that we're together on an intimate level to his friends, I'm sure it's no secret. Besides, the way I look at him should be telling enough.

The sand is hot beneath my bare feet, the breeze lifting some of it up to scatter across my bare shins. My sundress flutters with the wind, my hair following suit as strands fall over my lips. The air smells so clean and fresh, but not in an artificial and tidy way like my parents' backyard does after the lawn service comes. It's clean air mixed with lake water and newly lit charcoal grills.

I'm relaxed and serene, a feeling that I don't experience all that often.

I close my eyes for a moment, imagining what life would be like if I could live here. Life would be different, that's for sure, but I can't seem to come up with any negatives. I'd work a low-stress job and live within my means, then come home to someone I actually want to be with as opposed to someone who was chosen for me. In this fantasy, that was never an option. I'm meant to end up with the person I choose, and no one is mad at me for it.

In this fantasy, I don't talk to my parents anymore. I've cut ties with them so they can never hold anything over my head for the rest of my life. Patrick still comes around, though. Birdie too. I forgive them for their ignorance, knowing I was also once poisoned by it.

Every night in the summertime, Justin and I drive to the open field across the street from his apartment and sit in the back of his truck to watch the stars and listen to the crickets. We talk about our days until we're tired, then we go home and fall asleep together without any fear that we'll get in trouble for wanting each other.

Winters are unknown. We haven't shared one yet, but I know I'll love them no matter what they bring. Whether it's staying inside to keep warm or walking outside with snow crunching beneath our shoes, I know it will be better than anything Redlake has ever given me.