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Justin's POV:
Today was the day. Only a couple of hours from now we'd be facing my mother in court. That's not to say I have no faith in us but.. I'm scared as hell. I glanced down at my phone. Distraction, I need a distraction. "Hello?" she picked up almost immediately and I grinned. Guess I'm not the only whipped one out of the pair of us. "Hey." I replied. "Do you know what I figured out today?" I tell her. "Seriously?" She sighed heavily. "Fine then go ahead and tell me." she says. "You're just as whipped as me." she didn't even waste any time answering. "No duh." I laughed. "Do me a favour?" I ask. "You mean other than listen to your fascinating revelations?" she gasped. "I'm honoured." I snorted loudly. "Just get your pretty little ass over here." I say. "Bossy, bossy." she muttered. "Give me half an hour and I'll be there." she says. "Half an hour?" I repeated. "Yes." she says. "What the fuck do you need to do that'll take you half an hour?" I exclaimed. "I don't know if you've heard of them but I have these things, they're called chores. I'm afraid you'll have to wait." I pouted even though she couldn't see me. "I'm starting to think you don't love me anymore." I whine. "What makes you think I did in the first place?" she teased and I heard something fall over in the background, making her sigh. "You told me.." I stated. "And we're on no take-backs." she snorted. "Of course we are." I rolled my eyes then remembered she couldn't see me. "So are you coming?" I ask. "In half an hour- yeah." she answered. "Now, no." she says. "Shit." I muttered. "What is?" she asks. "I don't know.. I'm feeling a little out of it.. I need you to pull me out." she sighed and adjusted the phone. "The trial's today." It wasn't a question. "Yeah." I say. "Do you want me to come with you?" I thought that went without saying. "Would you?" I ask. "Obviously." she would have been rolling her eyes by now. "I thought that went without saying." Holy shit, I'm psychic. "That doesn't make you psychic." she contradicted. "How did you - are you psychic?" I asked, with my mouth hung open. "No, stupid, you said that out loud." she said in a 'duh' tone. "Oh." I say. "Yeah." she says. "So.." I started. "Twenty-three minutes." she tells me. "What happened to half an hour?" I ask. "Do you want to go back to half an hour?" she says. "No." I quickly objected. "I was just asking." she laughed. "See you later Justin." she says. "Bye, Sel." she says as she cut the phone line and I placed it back on the table. What am I supposed to do now? I glanced around my room. Photo frame, dirty laundry, bathroom, laptop, more dirty laundry, bookshelf. I could always read a book.. not. I picked up my phone again. Candy Crush, make me proud. - "I'll get it!" Sophie was miles ahead of me and she'd already sprinted to the door. For such a small child she could sure run. Then again, children have more energy, so they're.. supposed to be faster? It doesn't matter. She was already downstairs anyway. "Hey, Soph." I heard Sel's voice greet my sister. "How are you?" Sophie, being Sophie, automatically took the 'how are you' as a 'tell me in detail what is happening in your life right now'. I really don't understand girls. Someone should open up a school that teaches us how women's brains work because this is hella confusing. I strolled into the room and saw my girlfriend sitting on a sofa while nodding to everything my little sister was saying. "Then we have to-" Sophie was saying and it wasn't till I got a closer look that I saw that she had gripped Sel's hands. "OJ Girl." I interrupted. "Twenty-five minutes." Sel's head snapped up. "Whatever, all your talking was distracting me." I grinned. "Yeah, yeah. You coming?" she opened her mouth to answer but Sophie tugged on her hand. "No, Selly is talking to me." More like you're doing all the talking. "Soph, please?" I asked as nicely as I could. "I want to talk to her too." I plead. "No." Sophie shook her head. "I had her first." she says. "But I called her!" I burst out. My smartass six-year-old sister gave me an unimpressed look. "I don't know her number." Sel suppressed a laugh. "I think Justin is feeling a little left out, Soph." she teased. "Oh." Sophie's expression changed. "Sorry Justin. You can listen too!" Not exactly what I had in mind. I glanced at my girlfriend and found Sel in a fit of silent laughter, not seeming to mind at all. "Fine." I relented and placed myself in between the two, much to Sophie's irritation. And that is how I spent the rest of the next hour learning about Miss Appleby and how her classroom had a tree outside and the time Tommy Johnson tried to break it. - "Well would you look at that." Brandon spoke as he walked into the room. "You're all having a revelation time." said Brandon. "Hey Bran." Sel greeted. "Sel!" Brandon exclaimed. "Where the heck have you been? It's been, like, a week." Sel bit down on her lip but the smile on her face grew wider. "Nice to know that I was missed." she says. "No sh-" my brother was cut off by Sel's warning look. "Duh. Justin is so boring, he moped around the whole time. Now that you're back, he's decided to be fun again." he says. "Hey!" I protested. "I'm right here!" Brandon sent me a flat look. "I know. I have eyes, don't I?" Stupid, smartass, siblings of mine. "You don't make very good use of them." I muttered. "And I was not moping." I denied. "Sure." Brandon snorted. "Anyway, Dad says that Sophie needs to get ready now and that Delia's offered so send her upstairs." he says. "Alright then." Sel agreed and got up before hoisting Sophie on her waist. "I'll take her. Be right back." I nodded and she disappeared up the stairs, leaving me to gaze after them. "You're so whipped." Brandon stated. My head turned to face him. "What's it to you?" I said defensively, not even bothering to deny it. Brandon shook his head and smiled. "Relax, she's good for you. Besides, she looks pretty whipped too." I smirked. "I know." I say. "I wonder what she sees in you." Brandon mused then looked at me with a smirk. "You're such a moron." I rolled my eyes. "There's no one better, Bran." I say. "Please." Brandon scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. She could have better." he says. "Who could possibly beat all this?" I gestured at myself. My brother grinned. "Me, obviously." he says. "You wish." I snorted. "She would never see you like that anyway." I stated. "It's only a matter of time." Brandon said with mock-arrogance. "You'll see. You're girlfriend's going to be all over me." he says. "I'm afraid she doesn't see you like that, Brandon." This time it wasn't me speaking and I watched Sel stroll over to me. "The agony." Brandon mock-gasped, clutching at his heart. "My heart is breaking." Sel grinned. "I'll get you some ice." she says. "How cruel!" Brandon glanced dramatically at her. "I must leave at once, my heart cannot take the pain." he clutched at his heart again and gave her a fleeting glance before flashing me a grin. Then he turned and left the room to go upstairs. Finally. "So.." Sel turned to me. "What do you want to do?" she asked. "First of all." I started. "I want a proper welcome." I stated. "And what exactly is a 'proper welcome'?" she put air quotes around the words. I grinned and wrapped my arms around her waist. "How about I show you?" I say. "How about you don't?" she fired back. I shot her a wounded look and she laughed, wrapping her arms around my neck and leaning closer. She pressed her lips to mine in a soft kiss before pulling away and smiling at me. Is it weird that her smile made me want to kiss the hell out of her? "Maybe a little more." I suggested with a grin. She shook her head and pulled away, slipping her hand into mine instead. "How about we go get ready?" I sighed through my nose. "I was hoping to forget all about that." I say. "It's in one hour." she said flatly. "And it's hardly something you forget." she reminded. "I know." I admitted. "But it's so much harder to face." I say. "But maybe.." she paused for just a moment. "Maybe that's why it's important, you know. At least you aren't being a chicken anymore." And then I was kissing her again. - "Jesus." Brandon ran a hand through his hair. "Why do I always catch you two at such awkward moments?" he says. "I wish i fucking knew." I pulled away from her. "Sorry." Brandon apologised. "It's okay." Sel answered then glared at me. "Thats not what we were supposed to be doing anyway." Brandon wiggled his eyebrows. "What were you planning to do?" Sel flushed. "Get ready for the trial." she says. "Right." Brandon muttered, his playful attitude disappearing again. "I'd better get round to that too." he waved and turned back around. "Hey Bran?" she called after him. "I'm sorry!" Brandon frowned. "For what? It's not your fault." Sel grinned. "Sorry you had to watch me make out with your brother." I seriously need tape for her mouth. - "Come on." Dad muttered. "Why aren't you moving?" The car stopped. Well, Dad didn't have the keys because he lost them. Shit. "Is there anything we can do?" Delia asked meekly. I must say, I didn't like her too much at the start but she's kind of grown on me. "Unless anyone knows how to hot wire a car." Dad grimaced. "We'd better just have a new one made. For now, we'll take a taxi." he says. "Wait!" Sel objected. "I'll do it." I remembered the time that the both of us.. okay, well mostly her, hot-wired the car so we could get to her house. I grinned. This just might work. She caught my eye and grinned back at me. "Do what?" Dad frowned. "Hot wire the car." Sel answered simply. "You know how to hot wire a car?" Brandon asked incredulously. "So does your brother." she grinned at me. "And why would you know how to hot wire a car?" my father asked me with a raised eyebrow. I tossed my astonished family a sheepish grin and turned to my girlfriend. "Let's do it." I say. "Awesome." she clapped her hands together, then went over to the car. "Do you remember how to do it?" I asked. "I remember it well enough." she said. "But you might want to get the instructions out in case." I nodded and pulled out my phone to find the instructions and pretty soon I was repeating some of them as she popped the hood and began working on the car with the greatest concentration. The steps were made so easily that anyone could understand it. The car didn't take very long and soon enough the engine was roaring. Sel lifted her head up. "Shall we?" she says. - "You may proceed." the Judgee told my mother authorities and her lawyer got up to take a stand. "We have reason to believe that Daniel Bieber has not taken his opportunity as child supporter as he was home only once a month." The lawyer stated. Yeah, once a month, it's better then never. "Do you have evidence for this accusation?" the Judge asked. "We have Mr Bieber on statement that he was not present all the time before the last four months." The judge nodded. "Defence?" said the Judge. "Mr Bieber may have initiated rare visits-" Mr Hughes countered. "But he was there on a monthly basis. According to my statement from the household staff, Mrs Allison visited them not once in the two years." said Mr Hughes. "Would you like to take the stand Mr Bieber?" said the Judge. "Yes, sir." Dad got up and went to the stand. "How often do you visit your children?" questioned the judge. "Once every month, excluding the last four." Dad answered. "Do you pay child support?" the Judge asked. "Yes." Dad said. "Do you have documental evidence of your financial advancement?" Mr Hughes stepped forward and handed the judge a file. "Submitted evidence number 16, your honour." The judge nodded and took the file. "No further questions. Mr Briggs, your witness." said the Judge. "Thank you, your honour." said Mr Hughes. My mother's lawyer took the stand. "Mr Bieber, would you say that you had a good relationship with your children?" Dad hesitated and glanced at us from the stand. I found myself nodding and Brandon giving him a thumbs up while Sophie grinned widely. "Yes." he said with a relieved smile. "Yes I would." he said. "Then how can you explain frequent absences?" Mr Briggs persisted. "I'm busy getting the money I know my children can use to build their futures and stay in their childhood home." Dad stated, his tone suddenly hard. "Some people would say you had more than enough money for that." Mr Briggs said snakily. "Why work so hard?" Dad stared at the man opposite him with a bored expression. "Tell me, councillor, what kind of role model would I be to those in my company and my children if I didn't dedicate time to my work?" said Dad. "That is all." The Judge gestured he go back. "Justin Bieber, oldest son, please take a stand." I got up and went over to the stand. "Yes, Sir." I said. "How often have you seen your mother since the divorce?" I was asked. "Not once." I said. "How would you describe your relationship with your parents?" I hesitated. "Dad and I have grown closer in the past four months but we maintained conversations from beforehand. I haven't seen or spoken to my mother in two years and have no wish to in the future." I stated. "Why not?" I was asked. "Our relationship has been a rocky one. I feel like she hadn't made the effort." I admit. "And you didn't?" I was questioned. "I tried before, many times, I felt it wasn't worth it after." I say. "How would you say to your father's treatment of you before?" asked the Judge. "He paid for my education, food and every whim needed. He's made effort, though he was slightly distant because of work." I say. "You may return to your seat." I breathed a sigh of relief and made my way back. I sat down again and took Sel's hand. She shot me a tender smile and squeezed it comfortingly. Please, please, please.. - "The jury has made their decision." the Judge banged his mallet for attention. "Custody of the Bieber children goes to.. Daniel Bieber." Cheers erupted from our side of the room and my heart lifted at the news. We won, we won, we won, we won! Brandon and Sophie made their way over and I hugged them for all it was worth. "Can't.. breathe.." Brandon choked. I let go of them and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." Brandon laughed. "Don't worry. I'm happy too. Trust me." I didn't doubt that. Sophie attached herself to my leg. "I can breathe!" I laughed and hugged her again. "I love you, you know." I whispered in my tiny little sister's ear. "I know." she whispered back. "I love you too, Justin." I hugged her until she jumped down and ran to Dad and Delia were and tackled them as well. "Congratulations." Sel put a hand on my shoulder as she spoke softly. "Thanks." I turned to her. "I didn't do anything." she frowned. "You did." I said, staring into her beautiful dark brown eyes. "You gave me hope." she smiled softly and kissed me lightly then pulled back, her hands still in my shoulders. "I'm always here for you." she looked at my rejoicing family. "How about we join them? They look ecstatic." I say. They probably were. And so was I.
