Chapter 1

2 Years Later

"Well Kate, that's the last box."

I tuned back in and looked over at my dad, who was standing inside my new dorm room, looking around.

My mom was standing in the corner of my room by my bed, almost in tears.

"Mom, you'll see me in a few months. It's not that big of a deal." I tried to cheer her up, but it wasn't working.

I sighed. This would be so much better if Justin were here.

I hadn't seen Justin in a while, since he's been so busy with his registration here. We've barely even had time to talk.

After my mom made my bed for the fifth time in a row, I realized she was just trying to buy more time.

"Mom, Dad, you should get going. You need to get on your way before it gets late."

If there was one thing my parents hated about my attending USC, it was the fact that it was all the way across the country, and they'd never see me.

So we finally, after what seemed like years, said our goodbyes, and my parents were on their way back to North Carolina.

After they left, I sat on my bed and stared at my roommate's side of the room.

I haven't met her yet, but she seems like someone I could get along with.

Her bed wasn't made yet, but she had her blankets and pillows there, waiting to be arranged.

She had pictures of her and what looked like old friends from high school all over her wall.

That reminded me, I still had pictures of Justin and me to put on my walls too. It was then that I decided to unpack some of my things.

I pulled out one of the smaller boxes that my dad hauled up to my dorm, and looked through its contents.

There were pictures of Justin and me, back when I was sick in the hospital. Those always made me smile.

I was interrupted when a girl walked into my dorm.

She looked surprised when she saw me.

"Um, hi. I'm Meredith. Are you my roommate?"

I looked at her for a minute, taking in her features.

She was skinny, tall, and had gorgeous green eyes. "Uh, yeah, I'm Katie."

"Well, hi Katie. It's nice to meet you. Where did you come here from?"

She picked up her blankets and put them on the floor beside her. Then, she picked up some sheets and started making her bed.

"I came here from North Carolina. Not really my preference, but I have a boyfriend who resides here, so I decided to try something different. What about you?"

She finished putting her fitted-sheet on her mattress, and sighed. "I'm from Phoenix, Arizona. Who's your boyfriend?" She turned around and looked at me inquisitively.

"Justin. Justin Bieber."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? You're one lucky girl then. He's hot."

I smiled, but was instantly taken aback. I was going to have to keep Justin at a distance from her, or something bad might happen.

I thought about that time Justin almost left me for my number one enemy, Katherine.

But I quickly got over it, remembering that she completely ruined her life by getting pregnant in junior year, two years ago.

"Yeah, he's…pretty attractive." At that moment, I really need to talk to Justin, but I didn't even know where he was, and he hasn't been answering my calls.

Meredith smiled at me, and then began making her bed again.

After she finished, she turned around and looked at me.

"You know…I really think we should get to know each other more, you know, since we're roommates and all. C'mon, I'll take you to meet some of my friends."

She offered me her hand and pulled me up from where I was sitting.

"Your friends are here too?" I asked, following her down the corridor.

"Yeah, a few of them. Mostly my guy friends though."

We ended up walking through some of the campus to get to where the boys' dorms are located. She took me to one of the dorms on the first floor of one of the buildings, and knocked on the door.

There was some shuffling, and mumbling, and then the door opened, revealing a tall, extremely good-looking guy who looked like he was a sophomore in college.

"Hey Bryce!" Meredith hugged him, and he smiled.

"Hey Meredith. Who's your friend?" He moved Meredith aside, and looked me up and down, with a wry grin on his face.

"I'm Katie," I said, blushing.

"Well hello there, Katie." He held out his hand, and I placed mine in his.

Suddenly, I heard someone clear his throat, and we all turned our heads to see who it was.

It was Justin.

Relief washed over me as I saw his gorgeous face that I hadn't seen in days.

"Justin!" I ran toward him, and wrapped my arms around his middle. He seemed a little tense.

"Hey Chambers." He said, resting his chin on my head.

I turned around and looked at Meredith. "This is my boyfriend, Justin."

She immediately left Bryce's side and waltzed up to Justin.

"Hey there," She said, resting her hand on his arm.

This time, I cleared my throat, and Justin backed away.

"Hey Meredith." He said. Then he looked at Bryce.

"Now who's he?"

I looked over at Bryce, who now seemed kind of bummed.

"That's Bryce, one of Meredith's friends."

"More like ex-boyfriend." He muttered. Then he walked into his dorm, and closed the door behind him.

I looked back at Justin, and Meredith was practically attached to him.

I grabbed his hand and yanked him away from her, and gave her a cold look.

"We'd better go Justin." And I pulled him away, fast.

A Few Minutes Later

I had let go of Justin's hand already, and was walking pretty far ahead of him as we made our way back to my dorm.

"Katie, slow down!" Justin shouted from behind me.

I kept walking, getting closer and closer to my room. When I got there, I opened the door, made sure my room was empty, and let Justin in.

Then I slammed the door.

"Stay away from her." I said.

"What?" He looked confused.

"I said, stay away from her. She totally likes you. And the last thing I need is for a repeat of Katherine."

He looked down at his feet. "Katie, you know it wasn't like that."

"It so was. She's my roommate Justin. She told me she thinks you're hot. And I swear, if I catch you hanging out with her by yourself, I'm going to go crazy!"

He grabbed me and pulled me to his chest. "Calm down, Katie. I would never do that to you."

I rolled my eyes. "That wouldn't be the first time you told me something like that."

He tensed up again. "Katie, stop it. Why are you acting like this?"

He pulled away and looked at me.

I thought about it for a second. Then I shook my head and sat down.

"I…I don't know. I just…haven't seen you in so long, and I guess I just feel like…you were more excited to see Meredith than me."

I slumped my shoulders and looked at my feet. I started to feel really stupid as I realized that what I said made me sound needy.

"Katie…"

I held up my hand. "Don't even say it. I know. I sound stupid. I'm sorry for making a huge deal out of this."

After that, I lie down on my bed and put my head on my pillow, hoping he'd go away.

He walked up and sat beside me. "You miss your parents, don't you?"

I hid my face in my pillow, hoping he wouldn't notice my tears.

He brushed my hair out of my face and made me look at him.

I nodded, and looked away again.

"Aw, Chambers, come here."

He wrapped me up into a hug and wiped away my tears. "It's okay Katie. I'm sure they miss you too."

Just then, someone barged into the room. We looked over to the entrance and saw Meredith standing there, embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…I'd better go…"

And then she disappeared.

Justin kept staring at where she once was.

"Justin?" I asked.

He finally looked back at me. "Yeah?"

"Do you know her? I mean… do you…like her?"

He hesitated for a moment, and then said, "No, I don't know her."

My heart sank. "So you're saying you like her?"

He started to look uncomfortable. "…No, that's not it…"

I pushed him off of me. "I think you should leave Justin."

"Katie…"

"Just go away. Please."

He sighed loudly and stood up. "Fine. I just don't get you sometimes Katie."

He hovered at the door for a moment, as if waiting for me to call him back, but I didn't.

So, he left.