Don't Get Too Close (Justin Bieber Love Story / Fan Fiction)

Fifty-Four: Her

Fifty-four: Her

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**Keep in mind, this is the last chapter before the epilogue :( :( :( :( :( :(: :( :( :( :( :((( :(!!!!: (! :( :(:(

OH and I know a lot of you were saying that you were unable to read this chapter at first, and that's because I accidentally published it when it wasn't finished and I took it right back down as quickly as I could, lol.

Song of the chapter:
Good For You by Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky
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"Three minutes!"

In response to my little cousins' loud shrieks to the timer on the television, we all gathered in the living room where they were.

Natalie appeared by my side just as I prepared myself to look for her, causing me to smile softly. I looked down at her and draped my arm around her shoulder, allowing her to huddle herself into my side with her hand on my stomach.

"We've had some year, huh?" she murmured, but I managed to hear her soft, warm voice above everyone else's. It always seemed like that, but it was because her voice was the only one I wanted to hear.

I nodded, my eyes only on hers. "I know. But I wouldn't have wanted it any other way because I'm with you now. You know that, right?"

"Of course," she smiled up at me. "I've never, ever been happier with my life than I am right now."

"Are you sure?" I tested jokingly to make her laugh, which always ended up being a goal of mine. Her laughter was one of the greatest things to me. "Speak now or forever hold your peace."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't make me change my mind."

I raised my hand to my chest in an act of looking offended but again, she only laughed at me.

My eyes lifted to the television, noticing the timer only had one minute and eight seconds left. A minute and eight seconds left of the year that changed me entirely forever. Of course I lost Katherine and Avalanna and for a short time, I lost Natalie and my mom and just about everybody else too, but I also gained so much. A new home, a new sense of family, new friendships, new mindsets, experience, and one of the most important things of all: her.

Although Natalie was the one who started off as the one in the dark place with no one to turn to, she somehow managed to be the light that guided me to where I was in that moment with her and all of my family. She was my reasoning behind everything I did- moving on from Katherine, opening up about Katherine, allowing her to see Avalanna, allowing her to see me in a fragile state, putting her and her emotions before my own, and so much more. While there were some times that we brought out the worst in each other, we always ended up bringing out something better.

Without her, I might have fallen into a depression over the summer from missing home and Katherine and my old friends. And while I did miss all of those things, Natalie made it so much easier for me to move forward and accept the challenges life threw at me. Whether she was physically with me or not, she was always in my mind and heart, giving me the push to keep going.

"Thirty seconds!"

I lowered my head so that my nose was pressed to the top of Natalie's head. "I love you."

She looked up at me again.

"There's nothing I won't do for you," I continued. "Whatever it is that you need, I'll get it for you or do it for you without a second thought. And I know you'll do the same for me because-"

"Because I care about you." She smiled after whispering the words that brought us closer every time they were said.

I rested my forehead over hers. "Right."