STAR, justin bieber

xlix. real life

real life!

        The headline stands proud, not even sparing a flinch under Adira's glare.

SHOCKER! FRIENDS TAKE THE BACKSEAT AS ADIRA GOES BACK TO PARTYING WAYS, INSIDER SAYS

        Justin glances down at her phone. "You're going to go blind if you keep staring at that shit," he remarks, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her neck.

        She sighs, leaning into him. "I just can't believe people write shit like this and think it's okay. I didn't leave Mikey and Vicky's side for weeks. I fucking rushed to Amala. You had to drag me out."

        "I know, baby." And he remembers her whining that she couldn't leave Amala's side, her frantic texts to Robbie, her constant asking if Vicky and Mikey were okay, and her sneaking texts to Amala.

        "Enough about this bullshit." She rolls her eyes, turning to wrap her arms around him. "You never got to tell me how it went with Hailey."

        He groans, throwing his head back. "I think that baby's making her lungs healthier. She had pipes on her."

        "I saw the photo!" she exclaims, laughing. "You looked miserable."

        He truly had been miserable, but there was a longing in the moment, too. He longed to be what they once were: Happy. Each other's home and strength. He craved the stability he once had with Hailey. He craved knowing he always had someone waiting for him. Thoughts coursing through his mind, he simply says, "I was."

        He hoped she wouldn't notice the change in his voice, but she leans back and squints her eyes as she peers up at him. "You okay?"

        "Yeah," he assures her, nodding. "I just don't want to put my shit on you. You're already going through enough."

        "C'mon, J, you can tell me anything, I promise."

        He strokes her arm, glancing down at her before his eyes find the sky's swirls of blue and white as the city bustles with life beneath them. "I love you, you know that, right?" he asks, desperately searching for the right words to say.

       She nods. "I love you, too."

        "I love you so much, Adira," he drags out, like he was on a mission to imprint his words in her memory for a final time. "And I'm scared that won't be enough, because it wasn't enough last time." His voice cracks, and her arms tighten around him. "I fucking hate saying it, but it's how I feel. I'm afraid, baby. So afraid."

        His words twist their way through her veins and burrow themselves in the crevices of her heart. Part of her wants to bellow and bawl, but she doesn't. She tilts her head up, sees the panic in his eyes, and breathes out. She lets his words lay stranded in the air, then she starts, "I want to be mad at you so bad right now, but I know that won't do shit. I'll feel like shit, and you'll still feel the way you feel, and I'm going to have to respect th—"

        "You don't have to respect it," he quickly cuts in. "You can slap the shit out of me. Tell me I'm crazy. Whatever. I'll take it."

        "Just let me speak," she murmurs. "I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me shit like that, but I'm telling you right now: You sound fucking crazy. I'm with you. You're it."

        Her words set fire upon his heart, and he holds her head in his hands, pressing a kiss to her lip before resting his forehead against hers. Eyes closed, they bask in one another. Heartbeat to heartbeat, they bare their souls to one another—an unspoken promise of love. "If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?"