university (justin bieber)

17

I bit my lip, shifting from foot to foot out of nervousness.

A second later, a cheery, minuscule, young woman pulled the door open. She stood with her crystal blue eyes widened and her arms outstretched for her son.

"Justin!" She cooed, crashing her body into his. She rubbed his back as Justin placed his chin on the top of her head, indicating her shortness.

I smiled from behind them, admiring their interaction. She pulled away and pushed Justin to the side, smiling so genuinely at me.

"How rude of you for not introducing me to this beautiful lady," She scolded Justin, pointing her finger at him. Justin laughed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Ma, this is Jasmine," Justin smiled, his cheeks heating up.

"What a pretty name," his mom cooed. I outstretched my hand to shake hers, but she refused and pulled me in for a bone crushing hug instead. "Nice to meet you, love. I'm Pattie."

I pulled away from the hug and insecurely straightened out the wrinkles on my shirt as she scanned me up and down.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I smiled, following her as she led us to the sofa. We sat down and she shuffled into the kitchen, grabbing cups from the cupboard.

"Would you two like any coffee?" She asked, holding up the coffee pot. I looked over to Justin, seeing him shake his head.

"Just for me, please," I smiled sheepishly, wiping my sweaty palms onto my lap. She returned with a steaming mug of coffee, placing it on the table before me. I thanked her and eagerly took a sip of the warm liquid.

She took a seat on the couch across from us and crossed her legs, holding her cup with both hands.

"Jeremy will be out in a minute. He just hopped in the shower," She smiled apologetically. "Sorry about the mess, too. We landed an hour ago."

Justin rubbed my thigh as I nervously sipped on the coffee, giving me a reassuring smile.

"So, is this your girlfriend, Justin?" She smiled at her son. He shifted in his spot and hesitated before answering. I looked down at my lap because I was curious as to what he would say. We acted like a couple, but there was no label on our relationship. I didn't even know if he considered me as his girlfriend.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his father came walking into the room.

"Justin!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. Justin jogged over to his dad, clapping hands with him and hugging him quickly.

"Hey, dad," Justin smiled. "Long time no see. Your muscles are growing just like you said they would."

His dad chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners the same way Justin's did whenever he laughed. He patted Justin on the back and walked towards me, outstretching his hand. I stood up clumsily from the couch, regaining my posture and firmly shaking his hand.

"I don't think we've met before," He said as he grasped my small hand. "You are?"

"Jasmine Rios. Justin's friend from school," I smiled uneasily, letting out a sigh of relief as he began to pull his hand away. Justin looked down at the carpet on the ground from where he stood behind his dad, a slight frown etched upon his lips.

"Ah, I see. It's nice to meet you. I'm Jeremy," He smiled, taking a seat on the other end of the couch. I mentally scowled and watched Justin shuffle over to the seat next to his mom. I wanted him to be near me because it wasn't helping that my nerves were eating me up from the inside out.

I grabbed my coffee cup once more, sipping slowly until I heard Pattie speak up. Placing it back down onto the table, I made sure to keep every ounce of my attention on her.

"So, why did you want us to fly out here so suddenly, babe?" She asked Justin, smoothing the hairs on his head that stuck out wildly. Justin groaned and swatted her hand away, earning a quiet giggle from me.

"I have something really exciting to tell you guys," Justin smiled, rubbing his hands together. Pattie's eyes widened and Jeremy sat on the edge of the sofa, giving Justin a look that urged him to go on. "I got a record deal recently, and I'm going to take it."

Pattie gasped, clutching her heart. She looked over to me and smiled in shock, then fixed her gaze on Jeremy. Jeremy sat with an impressed look on his face, his lips curving upwards into a smirk.

"Where? Who? When are you going?" Pattie questioned excitedly, clapping her hands together. Justin laughed at her enthusiasm and cleared his throat before answering her.

"Chill, ma," He teased. "Some really great guy named Scott. He's runs a famous record label in London and he came over to California to look for new talent. I recently went to one of his biggest studios in Atlanta and sang for a bunch of producers. They really liked me, and Scott offered to move me out to Atlanta if I signed the record deal."

"Son, that's incredible," Jeremy smiled. "Are you sure you want to go through with it?"

Justin didn't even hesitate for a second with his response which made me slightly upset. I bit my lip and watched him nod his head eagerly.

"I'm so proud," Pattie cooed, grabbing Justin's hand and squeezing it. "I'll support you no matter what, Justin. If you feel that this is the right thing to do, we won't be stopping you. You have to promise to make us proud, though, okay?"

Justin laughed, rubbing his thumb along the top of his mom's hand. He nodded and brought her hand up to his lips, giving it a small kiss.

"Oh, and I brought Jasmine along because I wanted you guys to meet her. It's her first year in Los Angeles and she's already one of my closest friends," Justin smiled cheekily, letting go of his mom's hand. "You always complain about the girls I hang out with, so I figured you'd be happy to see her. I love Jas. She's great, ma."

Jeremy chuckled from beside me, nudging my arm. I smiled and looked over to Pattie who stared lovingly at me. Feeling butterflies swarming my stomach, I clutched my abdomen and averted my gaze to my old shoes.

"I'm glad you brought her here. Now go catch up with your dad and bring us some food to eat from the restaurant downstairs," Pattie stood up from her seat, shooing Justin away. Jeremy stood up and grabbed his wallet from the side table, slipping it into his pocket before nodding his head toward the door. They both departed within the next couple of minutes and I was left in the hotel room with Pattie.

Talk about nerve wrecking.

Pattie came to sit where Jeremy last was, crossing her legs as she sat facing me. I smiled uncomfortably and pushed some of my hair behind my ears to appear presentable. It was the least I could do.

"My son is in love with you," She spoke up suddenly. I was taken back by her blunt confession. "I can see it in his eyes."

"I love him, Pattie," I admitted, biting my lip. She smiled and her bright blue eyes glossed over with tears. "We're just friends, though."

Waving her hand around, she shook her head and wiped the tear that rolled down her eye.

"Nonsense, Jasmine. This is the happiest I've seen him in a long time and you're the reason. Let's just say that Justin hasn't necessarily had the best past, and you've clearly helped him get through that."

My eyes widened in shock at her revelation. What about Justin's past was keeping him from behind happy? My mind raced with thousands of possibilities as I tried to conclude the reason. I would definitely ask Justin about that later.

The door creaked open and in walked Jeremy and Justin with bags of food in their hands. They both laugh melodically, their dimples appearing similarly at the sides of their smiles.

Pattie glanced at me one last time, placing her hand on mine and speaking to me in a voice barely above a whisper.

"And Jasmine," she muttered, looking over to Justin who continued joking around with his dad. "If you love him, don't let him go."