"Thank you for tonight," I say, truly grateful to have a night outside of the apartment and my thoughts.

Selena dismisses my gratitude and hugs me tight. "Please don't leave."

"I'll think about it," I say. "It really depends on what the board says. I'll know tomorrow what their decision is."

"Call me and let me know as soon as you hear?" she says. 

I nod, although I'm not sure she'll want to hear what they're going to say. I'm in way over my head with this. I say goodbye to Selena and Shawn before heading out the back door where a cab is waiting for me. I give the man an address a block away from my apartment and sit quietly, thinking. 

The driver doesn't say anything either, to which I am grateful. I just need to relax...

"Ma'am?" I hear and open my eyes. I lift my head up, feeling the stiffness too late to move slowly. I must have fallen asleep in the silence. 

"Sorry," I apologize. "How much do I owe you?" 

"Thirty," he says, probably repeating it since I was asleep the first time. I hand him the money and get out. 

I stretch quick before heading toward my apartment building. The streets are always busy, but no one pays attention to me. That's the thing I love about L.A.; everything is just another person. Yeah, the media makes it difficult at times, but in general, people just don't care that much in person. That, or it takes them longer to recognize you from the news and by the time they do, they have already passed you. 

The air is warm with a slight breeze blowing from behind me. I walk slow since one, I don't want to go back home and two, I'm wearing heels. My phone buzzes and I turn it around in my hand. It's Justin. A smile slides across my face without my permission. I haven't spoken to him since yesterday morning. 

You okay? Tell the truth. 

Honestly, I'm worried about what's going to happen, but tonight was a big reassurance for me. I should have known that someone was referring people to me and that they would talk about it among themselves, but it was refreshing to know that I've made that much of an impact to each of them. I can't stop thinking about Shawn's song too. 

I'm going to be okay. I don't know what is going to happen, but I'll figure it out. Thanks for being here for me, even when I'm doing everything wrong to help you.

None of this was supposed to happen. I was just supposed to talk to Justin a couple hours a week and try to help him get through his problems. I was supposed to give him advice and show him that there are other, better ways to take out his frustration than acting out or dissing fans. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him. Then fall in love with someone else. Then him again. It wasn't supposed to be this complicated. 

My phone buzzes a couple minutes later with a full paragraph from him. 

You helped me more than you can ever know. Meeting you is the best thing to happen to me. I can't imagine not being with you, whether in secret or publicly. Being with you, I want to be a better guy for you. I haven't gone to any parties or been in any type of trouble since our first meeting. I love you for that and for who you are. 

I'm standing outside of the apartment building now. There is a tear sliding down my cheek. I read the message again and the head inside. I kick my shoes off and head up the stairs. I unlock my door and sit on the couch before replying. 

I love you too. Even through everything, I don't regret what we have. I'll never regret it. I'm just worried that if I lose this job, I'm going to have to move back home and that's a long distance between us. 

I wait for his response. I brought it up a couple days ago, but neither of us have really said anything about it since. I want to get it over with while I'm in an okay mood and not likely to cry. 

I think I can afford to come see you, haha. But honestly, I don't think it will come to that. You can always move in with me if you need to. :) 

I can count on Justin to find a joke in a situation like this, I think to myself. I reply a quick message about how I might take him up on that and then let him know that I'm going to take a shower and go to bed. He sends a good night text with the heart eyes emoji. I send it back and then set my phone down and head to the bathroom. 

                                                                                **********************

I wake up to a knock on my door. On my bedroom door. It takes me a moment to realize that no one should be able to get into my apartment. I quickly sit up and start planning on how I'm going to escape. 

"It's just me," I hear Justin's voice through the door. "Can I come in?"

I breathe a sigh of relief, but am still confused. "Yeah?" 

He opens the door and immediately my confusion changes to a smile. He is holding a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. The good ones too. He sits down on the bed beside me and hands both items over. 

"They're beautiful," I say. "What's the special occasion?" 

"Well the chocolates are for you, but these flowers are actually for your mom when we see her." 

"What?" Again, confusion. "Is my mom here?" 

"No," Justin says. "But I cleared my schedule today and we are flying to your hometown and I'm going to meet her. I want to meet them." 

"I can't leave today," I say. "I'm waiting to hear from the board about their decision." 

Justin waves his hand in the space between us. It lands on my knee. I can feel the weight of it underneath the blanket. "You can get a call from anywhere." Justin moves a little to get more comfortable. "Look, I want you to go and see that while you think everything is crazy right now, you do belong here. You help people here. You help those that really need it. Going home is going to limit your options so much and I don't want that for you. You'll be miserable." 

I just look at him in the growing silence. His eyes are so brown. I can't get over how amazing he is. "You are the best," I say. "When do we leave?" 

"The plane will leave in about five hours," he says. 

"Good," I say. "That gives me time to go back to sleep for a while. Care to join?" 

Justin smiles and takes the gifts from me. He stands up long enough to set them on the bedside table and then kicks his shoes off. He climbs over me, pausing momentarily to kiss me, and then lays on the other side of me. 

"How did you get in my apartment, anyways?" I ask as I cuddle up next to him. His body heat under the blanket is oh so welcoming. 

"The lobby manager let me in after I signed something for his daughter." 

We both laugh at that and then fall silent. I close my eyes and just enjoy being with Justin. I breathe his scent in, some type of cologne that I'm not too familiar with. My head is on his chest and I can hear his heart beating steady. Before long, we are both asleep in each other's arms. 

**Been TOO LONG since a chapter like this has happened! Figured we needed it through all this drama! Next chapter might come this evening (Wednesday), but not sure. Depends on how my day goes! We are getting close to the end though, so expect some quick updates because I'm excited for y'all to see what I have planned! 

Let me know what you think of this chapter!**