< Chapter 100: Unexpected Turn >

♥ Jamie’s POV: ♥

Blinking my eyes open, I looked to the side to see Justin sitting on a chair, his gaze focused on his phone. I sat up until my back was against the headboard.

“What time is it?” I asked him, rubbing my eyes sleepily. Upon hearing my voice, he completely ignored his phone and gained sudden interest in me.

“You’re awake,” he commented, stuffing his phone into his pocket before switching from the chair to the edge of my bed. “It’s around nine o’clock.”

“Did Ryan leave?” I asked, resting my hands on my pregnant belly as I watched Justin nod.

“We finished the walls and set up the crib.”

I scanned his eyes for a while as silence erupted between the two of us. I could hear the clock ticking, my stomach churning as the sound began to echo inside my head.

“Jamie,” he whispered, leaning his forehead on mine as our noses touched. “Are you okay?” I bit my lip, shaking my head. He took my hand in his and looked deeply into my eyes. “What’s bothering you?”

I turned my head to the side, leaning my forehead away from his and he backed away, knowing I wanted space.

“I think I should ask you the same question,” I murmured. “I just couldn’t get you off my mind while I was trying to take that nap. When I brought you guys the lemonade, I thanked you for everything you were doing for me and you kinda just switched moods. You don’t think I notice these things but I do. So…” I squeezed his hand, “What’s up with you today?”

Justin looked away, avoiding my gaze and staring at the wall next to us. His face was now lacking emotion and his eyebrows curved the way they did when he did a couple of things. Some of that included when he sings with emotion, when he begs for something, when he feels sad or is crying, and again, when he’s nervous. But that only lasted a second before they returned to normal, leaving his expression blank once again.

“Nothing,” he finally replied, his voice sounding more confident than he was probably really feeling right now. I reached up to touch his face with my free hand, caressing his cheek comfortingly.

“You can tell me anything,” I reminded him. “I promise I won’t be mad, if that’s what you’re scared of.”

“No,” he leaned away from my touch, surprising me a bit. I frowned at him, determined to get him to open up to me.

“Is this about the Megan thing?” I asked. His eyes quickly met mine as he stared at me intensely.

“What? Hell no, I’m over that and I thought you were too,” he said, and it sounded pretty honest to me.

“I am,” I confirmed. “But if it’s not that, then what? Are you getting nerves because we’re having a baby soon?”

“Goddamit, Jamie,” he sighed, releasing my hand and standing up from the bed. “I told you it’s nothing.” I eyed his every move, watching as he  approached the door to leave. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around, reappearing back at my side and crashing his lips into mine, gently holding my chin as his kiss sent sparks all over me. “I love you,” he said, and just like that, he left the room.

----

After deciding against running after Justin when he practically stormed out of my room, I sat in bed for about a good hour to give him space before I confronted him again.

Slipping from underneath the blankets, I stood up carefully and strolled out of my room, quietly tip toeing across the hallway. Leaning over to peek at the living room downstairs, I saw Justin sprawled across the couch, both hands on the back of his head as he stared at the ceiling. I began wondering if he’d been like that the entire hour I waited before coming out of my room.

Coming downstairs step by step, I approached the couch Justin laid on, hugging myself to keep warm.

“Are you mad at me?” I whispered, startling him slightly. He quickly sat up to look at me and, when he did, his face fell at how guilty I thought I was.

“No, why would you think that?” he asked, still processing the fact that I was in front of him.

“I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem like you want to be in the same room as me right now,” I shrugged. Justin ran a hand through his hair and sighed, standing up and striding across the living room until he reached me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face onto my neck, pecking the skin lightly.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed, kissing my neck five times. I closed my eyes, savoring the fact that his lips were on me.

“You don’t have to apologize,” I said softly, locking my hands around him as if to give him a hug.

“Listen,” he pulled away, grabbing my face so I was forced to look at him. “I don’t want you to think something’s wrong because there isn’t. Everything’s fine and I’m sorry I might’ve done something to make you think otherwise. But…” he paused, lowering his voice so it was more gentle, “Let me make it up to you.”

“Make it up to me? Why? You’re already building up Jason’s room, what more could I ask for?” I pointed out.

“No, something else,” he said stubbornly. “I want to take you out.”

“T-Take me out?” I cracked a smile.

“We haven’t exactly had many dates and I’d love for it to be just you and me, eating dinner or something simple like that,” he stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Huh? What do you say?”

“Well how could I say no?” I giggled, pulling him closer and planting a kiss to his lips.

“Tomorrow at 6?” he asked, kissing me again quickly.

“It’s a date,” I smiled, brushing his hair back. He shot me a smirk before kissing me once again, this time a lot rougher than before. I kissed back eagerly, keeping his body close to me as I shoved my tongue into his mouth, causing him to let out a low moan. We continued to kiss each other with as much passion as we could put into it until we heard keys rattle outside and the door swung open. We both pulled away, only to face my mother standing there with an amused expression on her face.

“Well hello, kids,” she grinned, locking the door. Justin scratched the back of his head, blushing all cutely.

“Hey Jade,” he murmured, clearing his throat after the two words left his mouth.

“Hi mom,” I added, trying really hard not to blush as well. Mom simply walked past us to the stairs, turning around to look at us.

“No matter how much you avoid it, nothing changes the fact that I saw that,” she winked, resuming her way upstairs, leaving Justin and I to blush even harder.

----

“Where is he taking you?” Phoebe asked the next day, after I told her about Justin and I going on another date.

“I don’t know. I think we’re eating some kind of dinner since eating is all I could do with this enormous belly,” I laughed.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’d be romantic,” she squealed, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

“Why is it that this date is exciting you more than it’s exciting me?” I teased.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that I can’t stop thinking that my best friends are so cute together,” she clapped, “When are we having a group date—all of us?”

“I thought we said we’ll wait for Chaz,” I commented.

“He can just ask someone, he doesn’t have to have a girlfriend,” she shrugged.

“Well maybe but, look, I don’t have a lot of time to talk about this, I need to get ready,” I sighed, standing up. “What time is it?”

“Almost 5, why?” she asked, and my eyes nearly bolted out of their sockets.

“Almost five? Phoebe, our date’s at 6!” I panicked. Phoebe’s eyes widened and she went into full planning mode.

“Okay, take the fastest shower you’ve ever taken in your entire life, I’ll pick out a few outfits for you and you can choose one. We need to get started on hair A.S.A.P and we’ll do a simple make up on you. Now go!”

“This is why I love you,” I said, before rushing towards the bathroom, doing what I was just told.

♥ Justin’s POV: ♥ 

“I died again,” I sighed in frustration, slapping my forehead before returning my focus to my phone.

“Dude, need I remind you that you’re going on a date in around an hour and you’re here playing video games on your phone?” Ryan rolled his eyes, slapping my cheek lightly. I opened my mouth to reply to that but Allison beat me to it.

“Whoa, is this some sort of bromance moment?” she laughed, walking into the room with a bowl of popcorn. Ryan and I were both currently on the couch, him sitting upright while I laid down with my head on his lap.

“Maybe,” Ryan teased, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

“Alright, gross,” I scrunched up my nose in disgust, wiping the spot where he had kissed me with the back of my hand.

“He totally digs me,” Ryan winked, causing Allison to laugh.

“I don’t know if I should find this threatening or cute,” she giggled.

“Oh come on, you have an advantage because I can give you a much better kiss than that,” Ryan smirked, and I decided to play along on the whole bromance topic.

“What are you saying, Ryan?” I gasped dramatically. “You’d kiss her better than you’d kiss me?” Ryan laughed, nodding his head. “Well, I’m offended,” I dropped my phone beside me and crossed my arms.

“Oh come on, Justy. You cheat on me way more than I cheat on you. How many times have you and Jamie had sex?”

My eyes widened and I cursed under my breath, sitting up and moving away from Ryan. Allison sat next to him and I stayed on my little corner on the couch, continuing to play games on my phone while I pouted.

“Are you ready for your date, bro?” Ryan asked, giving me an amused smirk.

“Yes,” I replied curtly.

“Alright,” he threw his hands up in defense and I ignored him, focusing immensely on the game in front of me. A while passed before I ended up dying again and I decided to give up. Checking the time, I realized time flew by and it was already 5:54pm. I stood up, straightening my clothes before departing upstairs, reaching Jamie’s room. I knocked on the door a few times and Phoebe’s face popped up moments later.

“What do you want?” she asked, looking around to see if anyone was with me as if she were a secret agent.

“Jamie,” I simply replied, smirking at her.

“Well she’ll be out here in a bit,” she said and slammed the door in my face. I let out another sigh in frustration and paced back and forth, checking my watch every so often. I felt butterflies shoot throughout my stomach as I reached down to my pocket, feeling the outline of my phone inside. Moving my hand further downwards, I felt a square-like contour and sighed in relief, letting my hand fall to the side once again. During my 6th round of pacing, the door swung open again and Jamie smiled at me apologetically.

“I’m sorry for Phoebe’s unusual behavior,” she giggled, and I could hardly breathe.

“You look beautiful,” I blurted out without even thinking, checking her out as my eyes traveled up and down the length of her body.

Damn, to think she’s all mine, I thought to myself before realizing I was biting my lip. I slowly stopped the lip biting as I locked eyes with Jamie.

“You look pretty beautiful yourself,” she teased.

“I prefer the term sexy.”

“Too bad,” she laughed, grabbing hold of my arm as she looked up at me. “Are we ready to go?”

I leaned down slowly, sneaking a kiss to her lips. “I’m ready if you are,” I whispered.

“Then let’s go.”

With that, I took her downstairs with me and we left out the front door. I helped her inside my car, closing the door for her before going around to the driver’s side.

“So…” Jamie said, as the car roared to life and I gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “Where exactly are we going?”

“Narnia,” I joked, pulling the car onto the road. Jamie laughed and I could tell she rolled her eyes before I felt her gaze on me.

“Justin, I’m serious,” she giggled. “Where are you taking me?”

I pulled the car to the side of the road, parking there before stopping and looking over at her, a sense of deja vu running throughout me. I grabbed hold of her chin and pulled her to me, kissing her benevolently before pulling away and kissing the side of her neck twice.

“Shh.. No more questions, okay?” I whispered, looking into her eyes and feeling my heart skip a beat. She’s still as beautiful as ever.

“Okay,” she whispered back.

“That’s my girl,” I smiled, pecking her lips one more time before taking hold of the wheel again and resuming the drive to our destination. As I kept my eyes locked on the road ahead of me, I felt my stomach churn nervously. I gulped, letting out a deep breath as I tried to calm myself down. I released one hand off the wheel and ran it through my hair before resting it to my right. The minute I did, I felt Jamie grab it, squeezing it reassuringly. I took a side glance at her to see her looking straight at me.

“I love you,” she said softly, and I smiled sincerely at her, sighing once more.

“I love you too.” Soon, the surroundings around us looked familiar to me enough to know we have arrived. I parked the car to one side of the street and took the keys off the ignition before looking back at Jamie. “We’re here.”

She nodded slowly and I stood from my seat, closing the car door behind me as I made my way over to the passenger side, where I helped Jamie up from her seat. I took her hand and began leading her down the street, tapping my pocket with my other hand again for reassurance.

“Wait…” she stopped in her tracks, causing me to stop along with her. “Isn’t this the park where we had that picnic a few months ago? You know.. We saw a movie before coming here and we watched the sunset before you got that call from Scooter saying you had to leave. It was the day I told you I’m pregnant.”

I squeezed her hand and nodded, smiling helplessly. “Yeah,” I trailed off. “You figured it out.”

She gasped loudly, excitement building up inside of her. “Wait, we’re having a picnic? We’re also watching the sunset again, aren’t we? Oh my god, that’s why our date’s at six, so that we could be on time! I was wondering why it wasn’t eight or something.”

“Smart girl,” I laughed. “Figured out all my tricks. I should be a little less predictable.”

“No, no, I love it,” she pecked my lips before dragging me forward again, causing me to laugh at how excited she was. “Wait, didn’t you bring a picnic basket or something?” she asked, just as we stepped foot inside the isolated park.

“Nah, look,” I looked at the sight in front of us and Jamie eyed me in confusion, following my gaze before gasping loudly again.

The huge tree Jamie and I used to play around when we were kids was decorated in bright, romantic lights. There was a table set up in front of it, with two chairs on each side also all decorated in lights. There was a sheet on top of the table with the classic red and white checkered picnic design on it with utensils and plates on top as a picnic basket lay underneath the table, ready for dismounting. On the side, Jamie was surprised to see Chaz waving at us, motioning for us to come closer.

“Chaz!” Jamie gave him a quick hug before smiling at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Justin needed someone to attend the place because he’d be stupid to leave his romantic set up all alone in the park for anyone to come ruin, dont’cha think?” he smirked.

“True,” Jamie laughed before turning to face me. “You’re the best,” she said gratefully, throwing her arms over my neck and squeezing me tightly. I hugged her back, my eyes traveling over to Chaz, who was playfully rolling his eyes.

“Well I’m not gonna stay here and wait for you two to start making out so see ya,” he simply waved, walking off to the exit.

“That was fast,” Jamie giggled, and I laughed along with her before pulling one of the chairs out for her to sit on. Once she did, I grabbed the basket from underneath the table and began unpacking the meals inside. We ate and chatted about random things while watching the beautiful sun set on the sky, waiting for the night to kick in. As much as I thought sunsets were absolutely beautiful, I couldn’t help but be drawn into Jamie’s eyes, which interested me way more than the sun setting in the sky. I just couldn’t help but think, how can someone be so beautiful?

It sent butterflies to my stomach every time I thought about how perfect she is. And, by instinct, I grabbed her hand from across the table, looking into her eyes.

“Jamie,” I called out nervously, feeling my heartbeat accelerate. She stared back at me with innocent eyes, attentive to the fact that I just called out her name. “I know I’ve said it way too many times, but… I love you. I just can’t stop saying it because I feel like it isn’t enough, and I think to myself that if I keep saying it, maybe it’ll get my feelings across correctly. But it never does. I don’t want to express the way I feel about you the way every single person in the planet does. They’re just three words. They don’t do the job for me. They don’t show you exactly how I feel.”

Jamie gripped my hand harder, her eyes watering at my sweet words.

“I.. I feel like you’re my everything,” I sniffled, inwardly slapping myself for becoming such an emotional little prick again. But, nevertheless, I continued. “A guy can get a girlfriend and love her and make her feel special but… When I look at you, I don’t just think that’s my girlfriend.. I don’t just think of you as a girl I happen to be dating. You’re my best friend, Jamie. Which is a huge advantage because it means we know each other just as well. But you’re also so much more. I can honestly say I’ve learned what it’s like to be in love because of you. People might say I’m too young to know what love is. But because of you, I’m starting to understand completely. I would do anything for you, anything. I know I tell you this a lot but I have to keep reminding you. I’m never going to let you forget how much you mean to me. You’ve taught me so much… And I just hope that all the times you tell me you love me, you mean that you love me as much as I love you—which is more than anyone can even begin to imagine. When we first began dating, Scooter wanted us to keep it a secret. That killed me because with someone as special as you, I wanted to be a little bitch and brag to the world about how I have you. I felt the way a little kid does when he or she wants to show off something brand new their parents bought them, and brag to all the little kids about it.

But eventually, that just became like waiting to bring it in to Show and Tell so I could brag about it then. God, I wanted to scream to the world that you’re mine. And knowing me your entire life, you know I’m one of the most overprotective people to ever walk the Earth. I’ve apologized for that, but I hope you know I do it because I love you. Then, when I…” I wiped a tear from my face, “When I kiss you or.. Or make love to you I.. I always h-hope.. Hope that you felt the l-love I transferred from m-my.. From my body to yours,” I stuttered, tears streaming down my face. “You’ve been with me my entire life. You were a part of my past and now you’re a part of my present. I w-want.. I want you to be p-part of my future, too.”

To say it as simply as I can, Jamie was speechless. She was frozen and didn’t know what to say. She was crying hysterically and squeezing my hand every now and then, trying to wipe tears with her other hand even though the tears were replaced by new ones. Not letting go of her hand, I stood up and walked around the table so I was now in front of her. I leaned down, cupping her cheek with my free hand and kissed her once again. Her kiss sent shivers down my spine and I quickly became addicted to her lips. I deepened the kiss, craving more and more, my hand traveling to the back of her neck to gain just a little bit more control.

A few seconds later, Jamie pulled away, gasping frantically, the sound echoing in my ear. I looked at her, alarmed, confused as to what was happening.

“Jamie?” I gulped. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Justin,” she cried out through her tears, her eyes staring intensely at me.

“What? What happened?” I tried again for an answer, but she just clutched on to my arm, closing her eyes nervously and taking deep breaths in and out. Then, her eyes fluttered open and I could see the anxiousness that surrounded her.

“I think my water just broke.”

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

Well shit… got… REEEEALL.

This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Dun dun DUNN!

(By the way, quick clarification that this is NOT the last chapter. I repeat, the book isn’t over yet.)

What do you guys think? ;)

- Nina xx