When The Snow Settles - Justin Bieber Fanfiction

Whispers of Snow

Emma's Point of View:

The whole day had been filled with laughter, the kind that felt like we were kids again, running around in his mom's backyard. Justin and I spent the entire shift helping customers, cracking jokes, teasing each other, and sharing stories like no time had passed at all. It felt natural, effortless. For a little while, it was like nothing had changed. Like he was just... here.

But I knew better. No matter how much I tried to push the thought away. This wouldn't last. At the end of the month, he'd leave, and I'd lose him all over again.

It was almost closing time when something shifted. We were mid-laugh, Justin leaning against the desk, when his phone buzzed. I watched as he looked at the screen, the smile on his face slowly fading.

I already knew. I didn't have to ask. I knew who it was.

Alison.

I swallowed hard, ignoring the sting of just thinking of her name.

"I... I need to take this," he said, quieter now. He didn't look at me when he said it. "I'll just be a minute."

I nodded quickly, forcing my expression to stay neutral. "Yeah, of course. Go ahead."

He hesitated for a second, but he just turned and walked outside. The door creaked as it closed behind him.

And just like that, reality caught up to me. Hard.

This was temporary. It had always been temporary.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the empty space where he'd been, the sound of our laughter already feeling like it happened just when we were kids. 

I waited for him to come back inside. My fingers messed with the edges of a book on the desk, but my mind was elsewhere, stuck on the way his face had changed the second he saw who was calling. I wanted to ignore it, to act like it didn't bother me but it did. More than I wanted to admit.

Minutes passed, my shift was nearly over, and the library had emptied out. Still, Justin hadn't come back. My eyes went back to the two coffee cups we'd shared that morning; the ones he surprised me with. The sight of them made my stomach twist.

With a sigh, I picked up the cups and tossed them into the trash. He wasn't coming back. Maybe something came up, maybe it was important, or maybe he'd just left without saying goodbye. I told myself it didn't matter. That I shouldn't care this much.

I grabbed my bag and went through the usual routine of locking up, but my heart wasn't in it. My mind was too busy replaying everything, searching for answers I didn't have.

I stepped out and the winter air snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced around, half-hoping to see Justin still lingering nearby, but the street was empty. He was gone. Just like that.

I forced myself to walk home.

When I got inside, the apartment felt colder than usual. I hadn't heard from Justin, and I didn't know if I should reach out. A part of me wanted to but something held me back. Maybe pride. Maybe fear.

I made dinner, even though I wasn't hungry. I sat at the table, staring at my plate, feeling a kind of loneliness I hadn't felt in a long time.

Not the peaceful kind, the kind I usually didn't mind.

No, this was different. This was the kind that settled deep.

I looked over at the Simone Fontaine book I'd picked up at the bookstore two days ago—the same day I'd run into Justin for the first time in years. It felt like a lifetime ago already.