Soulless (Justin Bieber Love Story / Fan Fiction)

XII

XII.
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Song of the chapter:
You Know That I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse
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Clean up and closing seemed to drag, although I'm nearly certain it was rushed and completely half-assed. After all, I had something to do after work that wasn't homework or studying. Something exciting was awaiting me: Justin.

The tall boy with the whispy light brown hair and warm brown eyes wanted something to do with me. Then again, that tall and dreamy boy was someone with a not so great reputation and I needed to remember to keep my guard up to make sure I didn't end up as one of the screaming girls in the cafeteria.

Never going to happen.

I shook my head softly as I wiped down the sink in the kitchen. This isn't real. This is for a story to get into a good school and maybe more.

I laughed to myself.

But I'd better make it a good one.

Justin sat in the dining area, ripping up one of several napkins. It caused me to wonder if he had always been destructive when he was bored. Maybe that was something I could find out later on.

Is that why he hurt girls all the time? Out of boredom?

Huh.

I swallowed the dry lump in my throat and grabbed my jacket, sliding it over my arms. I grabbed the keys off the hook, shut off the lights in the kitchen, and headed out the doorway with all hopes that I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself in front of Justin. He must have heard my heels on the tile, because he looked up and flashed me his famous half-grin.

"You done?"

I looked at the home screen on my phone, which read 11:04. It was late for a school night, but then again, it was a Thursday. All I had left was Friday. I could handle it on a little less sleep than normal.

Buttoning up my coat to brace the cold fall night, I nodded.

He stood up. "Good. Let's go."

"Where?" I followed him to the door, turning the lights off and locking the door.

He shrugged. "Wherever tonight takes us, I guess."

Before I could retaliate, the cold night air flooded my lungs and sent chills down my spine. Maybe it wasn't just the air.

I have a bad feeling about all of this.

* * *
Driving.

We had to have been driving at least 15 minutes, maybe more, maybe less. I truly wasn't paying attention. I was so overwhelmed with the events that had taken place over the short week. I couldn't remember who I was already-- Justin had significantly taken over my mind. And that's all it was for hours at a time: Justin.

There was small talk. More like "who's your worst teacher this year" and "why," but nothing else. He didn't even make any passes at me, which surprised me immensely due to what had happened just moments before.

Suddenly, the quiet was broken. Surprisingly, it was by me.

"How come you don't go to school?"

He chuckled. "I do," he said matter-of-factly.

"No," I scoffed. "Why aren't you there a lot? I think you've been in English class four times this semester, and October is almost over."

"Don't know," he shrugged. "There's other stuff I'd rather do, so I do that instead."

I hesitated, probably with good reason, but my curiosity got the best of me. "Like what?"

"Kennedy, there's a lot more important things than school."

"Education isn't important to you?"

He laughed, though if he were to take a small jab like that at me, I probably would have shut down due to my sensitivity. "Just because I don't go to school, doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"I didn't say that, I--"

He interrupted. "But I know what you mean. If I missed all that school, how on earth am I going to make it out in the real world after graduation?" He laughed again, softer this time.

I don't even know how I'm going to make it after graduation, and I never miss school and take my studies seriously. How is he not afraid?

"I like to read, you know. I read a lot. Now, does that completely substitute school? No, of course not. There's no math problems or science formulas or whatever. However, you can't understand math or science or history or anything like that if you can't read. And I happen to be really great at it."

I nodded. "I didn't know that about you."

Silence. I worried that maybe I had offended him when in reality, I didn't actually call him stupid. I could see how he may have thought that, but then again, who would have thought Justin Bieber was even just slightly fragile? Not I. From what I collected, he was made of stone and ice.

"I like reading too, you know," I stated in a desperate attempt to make conversation. I didn't like the quiet. I felt like I had said something wrong and I wanted to fix it. "I read a lot, too. I even like writing my own things. I've always liked doing that."

Again, he didn't say anything. With a pounding heart, I looked out the window. I couldn't help but think about how quickly I ruined what was happening, and I wasn't even sure if I had actually ruined it. I didn't remember the way I had said what I said or how I said it, but maybe it hurt him.

Calm down, I thought. Stop overreacting.

"Sumner, right?"

Holy shit! Did what I said bother him that much? It wasn't anything at all! Is he really that fragile? Who in the hell am I dealing with, here?

"Yeah," I swallowed. I didn't dare look at him. I was too afraid to see his expression, whether it was dark or upset, I didn't want to see. I was so terribly confused-- I knew that much.

Definitely take note of this, I thought. With barely any attempt at all, it appears that I have shut him down. But why wasn't it like that in the past? I have said things to him before that were said to intentionally hurt him, and they rolled right off his back. But maybe that's what he wants-- maybe he wants me to worry. Maybe he wants to leave me wondering. Maybe I'm not the only one playing a game.

Before I knew it, we were two houses down from mine. It was where he had parked the other night when he came over without me knowing.

I caught my breath and composed myself enough to get me through the next twenty seconds. I didn't know what I was going to say, and a part of me hoped that he would talk first. But I had a feeling that it was going to be me.

Don't.

I surprised myself when I reached for the door handle and climbed out of his car and without a single glance, I shut the door and walked towards my house.

It didn't come as a shock to me that he didn't come running for me. Ha! Like he would risk any "masculinity" to come after me. He was the one who had just completely shut down when I asked him why he didn't go to school!

Again I surprised myself. As I walked down the quiet road at 11:38, I smiled.

How pathetic of him. I cracked him in less than a week.

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A/n: wow how embarrassing I have been gone for over a year yikes I hope no one noticed that one lol