Hello! It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. Seeing as 4th July has just passed, I decided that I had better upload this chapter which takes place on 4th July over two seperate years! As a Brit, I don't celebrate but for some reason I made it a headcanon of mine that Delia always throws the most brilliant parties for it. During two specific ones, quite a lot is going down and you will be able to read it for yourself! I came up with this idea maybe even two years ago now but I only decided to write it when I was in a Justin and Eli mood about a month ago. Yes, the first half tackles a very particular in between stage for them when they are on the cusp of embarking on their biggest romance together. And the second is a bit of an aftermath in some ways. I hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
I can't say that I was all that surprised when, across from the usual hubbub and jubilation of Delia's Fourth of July party, I took notice of Justin being able to block out all of the noises and focus on exactly what he was intending to do. Sit by the poolside of Ash and Misty's property and staring down into the clear blue and wavering water.
He had always been able to do that, it seemed to me. He could tune out the chatter of his mind in order to focus on what really mattered before taking to the stage of a sold out venue with eager faces desperate to hear what he had in store for them. He had the power ignore anything that any critic might say either, instead choosing to listen to what people really loved about him.
When he was a teenager he was even somehow able to block out the silent whispers of his heart and convince himself that he would have been happy to wake up to that same face for the rest of his life.
Yes, it was a skill that had taken time to perfect and at the age of twenty two and on that day in particular, it was a trick that was faultless as he was able to ignore everything else entirely. And instead of listening to the different noises of people letting off party poppers and chattering to their friends, wondering when more food was going to be on offer, he could watch the moving and grooving of the water of the pool, potentially even coming up with rhymes and lyrics inspired by the way the reflection ricocheted off the damp decking.
Justin really was lost in what he was doing. Or was he? He may have been a craftsman of blocking out things that were a trifle to him, but avoiding was a whole other ball game. Avoiding feelings had never been easy to him, no matter how much he tried to convince himself. And avoiding people, avoiding someone? Well, that was even harder still.
Unbeknownst to me, as I perched on the shoulder of my best friend and we wandered around the party together, he was trying to convince himself that avoiding people – or someone – was as effortless to him as striding onto an intricately lit stage and grabbing his beloved guitar by the neck.
For you see, he was attempting to drown his thoughts in a body of water that actually could drown him if given the chance. And if he forgot all prior knowledge of being able to swim, of course.
Justin didn't want to think of the other kind of thing that could make him feel like all air bubbles were quickly rushing out of him and causing the lungs inside of him to constrict, unable to even gasp for air. That was something he was vehemently trying to avoid. He potentially wasn't offering himself the greatest distraction by focusing on something that was actually reminding him of where he was trying to cast his mind away from – his eyes too.
The day was a day for celebrations. It was a time for new beginnings and it was a time for family. Friends. People who clutched at your heartstrings. Whoever they were. Justin wanted to be around and he wanted to be present and he had been. But for a couple of moments, just for a fleeting couple of moments, he wanted to be by himself and he wanted to focus.
He hadn't meant for his decision to stare down into the peaceful waves of the water to take him elsewhere but it had. Memories and everything he had been avoiding suddenly hit him like a freight train. Drowning in his own thoughts wasn't exactly a new thing for him. But drowning in the thoughts of a pair of eyes he had told himself to avoid, the murky intangibleness causing him to want to surrender yet giving him life itself? No, this wasn't new for him either. But he didn't have the time to be gasping for breath at that realisation.
All of a sudden, Justin was getting a much closer view of the pool. He hadn't taken notice of it at all when someone had snuck up behind him and somehow I didn't spot them closing in on him either. All I know and all he knew is that he felt a sharp movement against the middle of his back while he crouched by the poolside and then he really was in deep water.
Not from his thoughts. Not because of karma due to the cowardice of avoiding. Someone had decided to play a very impertinent joke on Justin and actually shove him into the pool water while he was none the wiser!
Immediately people at the party took notice, some of them breathing his name out, appalled, but others, especially those in the lengthy pool also, whooped out words of congratulations and yelped even louder noises of laughter.
Eli backed away from the pool side after the deed had been done and not just to shield himself with the amount of water that sprayed in all directions from Justin as he broke to the surface once more, chlorine stinging his eyes at that moment so not really able to hone in on focus, making a successful guess on who had been the culprit.
However, Justin knew straight away and I knew that Justin knew, in between freely letting out my own gasps, trying to perch myself high on Ash's shoulder as he was one of the few none the wiser. He instead headed to walk to chat to a different gaggle at the party.
Justin's insight did not come from the muffled sounds while he was under water and being able to hear people speaking of the perpetrator's name, intending to scold him by simply uttering the three letters which gave him his name. The truth was, somehow, he knew from the instant that that wide palm and those five fingers had pressed into the slim frame of his back, jolting him forward.
He told himself that he also realised because he was not ignorant to the cruel jokes that the universe sometimes played. But first and foremost, he knew that he had recognised that touch instantly.
This was something that he tried to ignore, though, in the seconds that he frantically rubbed the water away from his eyes with his damp hands before spitting the water that he had swallowed in between swollen, parted lips, glaring up at the silhouette that seemed to be unable to be ignored. He was about to do more than come face to face with the person he had been trying not to bump into at Delia's party and was about to speak up to him with a salty taste in his mouth.
But Eli decided to get there first. It goes without saying that he didn't offer an apology as such. Yet his hands slid into the pockets of his trousers that were only just a shade deeper than the flush of Justin's neck in the water and the pearly whiteness of his teeth flashed as he put forth his own words.
"I had a Jordan-like impulse then and it was one that I couldn't ignore." He confessed, just one of his hands setting itself free and rubbing at the back of his neck, his hand smoothing up and down the shaved hairs at the nape. Then, his teeth appeared to beam even brighter than the sun in the sky on that particular welcomed, warm day.
Justin didn't flash any sort of smile in return and it wasn't because his teeth were chattering, huddling in the middle section of the water that he had only just been thrown into. Narrow arms folding over a slim chest and doing the opposite of disguising that he had begun to feel quite chilly, he considered the words that he heard.
Because he had been ready to speak before Eli got there first, he did not hesitate to speak his own mind.
"Try harder next time." He advised, attempting to make his voice as level as the pool water had been before he had been callously thrown in but his tone was laced with a quality like he had been smacked against the decking of the pool side instead.
A squint of Justin's right eye told Eli everything that he needed to know if the edge in his voice hadn't done the trick. And with that, Justin scoffed and shook his head, deciding to go back to his prior games of ignoring Eli as he reluctantly uncurled his arms from over his chest in order to gingerly wade over to where the exit ladder was clinging onto the wall of the shallow end of the pool.
He was going to have to make his way out in front of everyone, including JJ splashing about in the deeper end of the pool with Jordan whose name had been dropped and was cackling with admiration and glee. That wasn't even mentioning his parents who may have heard the commotion and come to see what the matter was. Or worse, Delia who may have to momentarily leave her own guests at her own party in order to make sure no causalities had been made.
God! How embarrassing, Justin groaned to himself while trying to tame his demeanour into being unreadable. It was rare for him to worry about this kind of thing, embarrassment usually rolling off him like water off a duck's back when his guitar played a duff note during a livestream or he accidentally forgot his own lyrics in the middle of the recording studio.
But then again, it was rare for Eli to show him up in front of a lot of people. Or at least, there was one point where it had been.
Eli may have openly admitted to being rather slow at acknowledging social cues at times, but there and then he could tell what was going on with Justin and he could tell that he was pissed.
He decided to make amends furthermore than his non-apology even if he still didn't utter the actual words. He didn't allow Justin to make his way over to the shallow end of the pool to get out, instead darting forward closer to the pool side, risking someone getting him back by kicking him into the water with Justin.
I had half a mind to do that. But I had since used up a good chunk of my energy jumping down from my best friend's shoulder, wanting to see where this situation would lead to.
"Take my hand. Let me help you out, Justin." Eli was once again revealing his hand from the crimson red of his trousers all over and this time, holding it out and down to the younger male who was trying to force himself to ignore it, going the long way around things for stubbornness sake.
Justin didn't know which was more mortifying, the dunk into the pool or hearing the verbal offer of a hand or his own name tumbling out of the lips of Eli. Regardless, with a shake of the head which caused his short locks to splish-splash remnants of water droplets back into their home of the pool and ridding himself of any bubbles in his eardrums, Justin focused on retorting curtly.
"No thank you." He muttered and to prove just how little he wanted the older male's help after he had done them both the mischief of being unable to ignore his intrusive thoughts, he may have decided to stop wading towards the ladder but this was in order to head towards the edge of the pool instead, right where Eli was standing.
Eli didn't move, still holding his hand out in case Justin was changing his mind though even he could read from the rest of his body language that this couldn't have been the case. From a few metres back, I watched the younger of the two press two indignant palms on either side of Eli's shiny black shoes before using admirable vigour for such a slight male and lifting himself right out of the pool with no help from anybody at all.
It was Eli's turn to get a bit of a soaking even if that one lasted just a split seconds and he had quick enough reactions to leap up and away from Justin emerging before the rest of his lower half got covered with pool water that Justin's body, his t-shirt and his jeans were setting free.
More chuckles and various other noises could be heard from the rest of the party. But just like Justin had been able to do, Eli for a rare occasion was able to tune all this out as well. Instead, from his own position a couple of metres away from the younger male, he could study and he could plan what to do next.
He knew that Justin was unlikely to accept any help from him from the way that he had rejected him before and understandably so but he had to at least offer. He might not have let it be known too obviously but I could sense that he regretted his initial motive. Even if it had made him the most admired of the party on that day, winning himself an amount of social points that he simply wasn't used to. Especially from Justin's brothers!
"You're shivering." Eli pointed out as Justin stood on the pool side, taking his own time to hesitate and wonder what he should do next even if the safe and obvious bet was to go and find himself a change of clothes somehow. His next moves made it clear that this was going to dawn on him even heavier; his arms back over his chest all over again but this time for a different reason. "Here. Take this." Eli took a step forward and Justin took a step back but still, Eli's matching red suit jacket began to twitch on his shoulders. "It's the least I can do."
Justin with his thin arms around his chest to conceal his white t-shirt that was quickly becoming far more translucent than even his skin tried not to but in the end he watched Eli fully remove his suit jacket and hold it out to him, leaving him wearing his own white shirt underneath. Except, of course, his one hadn't been rendered diaphanous.
Justin didn't exactly take another step back but he did reject another offer from Eli, shaking his head all over again except this time not ridding himself of any water in his ears because all of that had thankfully drained away. The last thing he needed was to ruin some of his senses when he still had some tour dates left!
With all of his stubborn and shivering being, the younger of the two wanted nothing more than to retort out of taut lips another no thank you in order to give Eli a very telling message without having to be direct about it.
However, the next moment was the opposite of the cat getting his tongue. Justin found his voice and he found exactly what he wanted to say. And furthermore, his actions did exactly what they wished to do too. He snatched the red blazer from the clutch of Eli's hold!
"You're going to have to do better than that." Justin snarled without thinking and then the thinking part of his brain clicked into action with a mute switching noise. It suddenly dawned on him that Eli could take these words and run with them.
He might end up using his hands to warm Justin through. God, he didn't even want to think about turning as red as his meticulously ironed suit in case he manifested this happening somehow. But worse, Justin suddenly began to fret under a very cool as a cucumber albeit obstinate exterior, what if he embraced him?
Justin felt the urge to cough washing over him but fortunately the situation presented itself so he was able to act like a loose bit of water had become dislodged from his throat and it had caught him off guard. In the meantime, Eli actually listened to Justin's words and he acted on them, doing them both a favour and managing to reject his initial impulse and going ahead with a more reasonable gesture between them both.
Eli did choose to listen to Justin's words and do better. He ignored the fact that he very obviously may have something to say about his next actions but he needed to do the right thing seeing as he had just done very much the wrong thing.
He had been doing that a lot lately; he couldn't help but remind himself.
Taking the suit blazer back away from Justin's grip, Eli made a bit of a bold move all the same by using a strong single hand to spin the younger male so his back was facing him rather than his front and he began sliding the blush of the blazer onto a pair of shoulders that were far narrower than his own.
He had to remind himself not to act on each and every thought and even began to breathe more sharply from his nostrils now Justin was not facing on him, managing to go against every part of him and simply put the blazer on him, not allowing his hands to stop along the way and certainly not roam his thumbs in circles against the sharpness of the back of Justin's shoulder blades that peeked at him from the sheer of his shirt.
Unbeknownst to Eli, from the brief contact between them both or maybe even the lack of contact as Justin was forced to look away even though funnily enough it had been what he had longed for earlier on, he found himself mirroring his intakes of breath, his chest moving inwardly and outwardly in quite a display.
And yet, because Eli was not quite so in tune with this and given their previous dynamic, he believed that it was something else entirely.
With an expression that was hidden to Justin thanks to their positions but was visible to me and my own eyes and musings, Eli reluctantly moved both hands from fitting the blazer onto his body and for just a moment, they hung limply by his sides.
"Are you mad at me?" he couldn't help but ask although just one of his hands balling into a fist made it obvious to anyone who cared enough to watch for more than a second that this was not a bought of vulnerability that he enjoyed setting free.
He began to quickly enjoy it even less when he heard the scoffing noise that escaped Justin as he still stood in front of him with his back turned. Then, before he could fully take this on the chin, he was quickly spinning around to face him, and his shoulders evidently rolling and squirming as if it suddenly dawned on him that he was under a covering that he wanted nothing to do with.
"Grow up, Eli." Justin muttered with hostility at first before that was the thing that caught at his throat and he needed to rethink his approach. An eye roll soon enough followed. Thankfully this acted like a pallet cleanser and Eli could see more of the young man that he had known last summer from the dulled twinkle being set free from between the squint of a left eye this time. "I'm not that boring that I would be avoiding you because you shoved me into a pool."
Justin was forced to portray the disposition of someone needing to hurry along and chase after words that had accidentally been let loose. While, in his mind, he tried to act as if it was because he had actually allowed his eyes to flicker over the full form of Eli and observe the contrast of a vivid red suit and a crisp white shirt with a dazzling blue belt and watch for the occasion.
Now that the suit blazer was on his shoulders, however, it was as if Eli was the blinding blue and he was the scorching red and the trembling white thanks to the jacket and his skin respectively. He longed to shudder. He did not wish to even think that they were unified. And what this could possibly mean if this was actually the case.
Eli misread Justin's new countenance. He believed whatever was washing over him was regret that a different part of his sentences had been unleashed. His head tilted on the one side and he couldn't stop those inquisitive yet sunken eyes from honing in on one thing and one thing only.
Justin.
"You were avoiding me?" Eli repeated, the usually deep tone of voice inflecting and it became uncertain whether it was this change in him causing Justin's cheeks to flush as crimson as the suit jacket he was borrowing or it was being found out. He probably could read his reasons, but still, Eli did another of the right things after a cacophony of the wrong things by letting this go for Justin's sake. "I meant in general, though. You certainly have an air about you of someone who is quite displeased."
Justin's eyes revolved in his sockets all over but this time, there was even less of a twinkle to be discovered underneath and Eli could see this. Even if he hadn't been displeased before - as Eli had called it – then the chances of him becoming that way thanks to being accused were rising. Funny how it worked that way!
Taking a moment to even his eyes out once more and engulf a shallow bout of breath, Justin considered pointing out to him that he had a great number of reasons why he could seem mad and none of which involved him. He didn't have that much power over him, did he?
But then again, even Justin's rash self during those moments in time, were able to realise how it would have made him sound if he listed every reason under the sun why he was displeased. He wasn't that kind of person. Or if he was, he didn't wish to continue being that way.
Justin found his voice all over again, initially behaving in a way that completely contradicted his insistence.
"No, Eli, I'm not mad." The levels of the playing field were flipped as Eli had to deal with seeing Justin wearing his blazer and speaking out his name, even if it was in quite a different way than he could have easily gotten used to. "I'm not mad," Justin started again. Eli was left with even more of a tilting head as he couldn't stop words like ember from spitting out even if they burned the roof of his mouth. "I'm not mad at all that you left without saying goodbye."
Eli flinched as if he had been scalded by the hot wisps of flame that billowed from Justin there and then, but of course, if things got too hot then he could always cool himself off in the pool, couldn't he?
Eli needed to take a step back. He, however, only did this figuratively as his eyes refocused on Justin all over again as if he was a camera lens and he was adjusting and the slope of his neck merely slanted to the other side.
What on earth was Justin talking about? He hadn't done that, had he? He would never do that, he was nearly completely certain of that. He spoke of exactly this.
"I didn't leave without saying goodbye." Eli argued, taking this metaphorical step back of his in order to cast his mind back and remember specific memories. The halls of his mind were hazy, and he evidently remembered things differently to Justin. Eli chose to call upon the time there had been a goodbye involving a train while Justin, try as he might to forget these sort of memories, could recall two moments of weakness and equal closeness, one on his tour bus which had amounted to nothing and at the holiday villa in Kalos which amounted to even less but still was fresh in his mind. Another twitch of Justin's eyelashes told Eli that he disagreed with his disagreement and his two nostrils sighed. "I'm here now, aren't I?"
Was this supposed to make everything better? Was this supposed to make things alright? Justin knew that he hadn't said goodbye and he also knew there was no point in arguing his point of view.
Sure, okay, he might have had the decency to say goodbye the first time but then again, did he really need congratulating for that when the reason for the sudden end of whatever was blossoming between them was none other than Eli? And Eli hastily confessing that his heart actually belonged to another no less.
Justin tried not to think of the next two times that they crossed paths. Like he noted before, they were both moments of weakness, one thanks to allowing the loneliness of tour to get the better of him and the other, well, he blamed that on the heat and his dad not telling him that Eli had been invited along to his Kalos Villa as well. Not that anything had happened those two times. Nothing had happened since the moments which had led to the first goodbye.
Eli was correct about one thing: he was there then, wasn't he? Did that make everything better? No, it did not. But then again, maybe he didn't need everything to be made better. If it was made better then… Well. Justin pried his mind away from thinking what kind of path his mind would go down if he realised that things actually could be okay between the two of them.
That they could both actually get along once again. That they could more than get along again. That they could-
Justin didn't allow this final thought to come fully to fruition and he showed this by his lips firmly pressing together and revealing even deeper dimples than usual hollowing out his cheekbones furthermore.
Words came from him that snapped Eli out of his own overthinking – as well as the potential trap of zoning out thanks to the sight of some of Justin's renowned features.
"You are here now." Justin at least verbally agreed, giving no hint to whether he was pleased about it or not. Eli had last steadied his neck so it was facing its usual position and it was his turn to steer his mind, trying not to overthink again, wondering what Justin meant or he did not mean with this beginning. "And did you bring…?" he found himself saying these words even if he couldn't very well finish them. "Is…?"
I watched from the pool side, during those moments in time oblivious to the subtle hidden meanings of their conversations and instead delirious by both the heat and the fact that things were seemingly better for them than they had been when they first laid eyes upon each other once again. I could have praised – no, worshipped and dramatized – the fact that Eli knew what Justin was talking about straight away.
But at that point, to me, they were just friends. And why wouldn't friends understand each other's unfinished sentences?
"No. No, gosh, she's not." Eli answered, speaking just about as much detail as Justin and his unfinished words. Still, the younger of the two was evidently relieved and he showed this by his chest deflating down to its usual slim appearance. Eli ruffled his own hair as he continued, possibly wishing his straightened locks were their natural curly state so he had a bit more to get hold of in these times. "I wouldn't do that to you." When these words came, Justin forced himself to imagine the redness of his cheeks bleeding into the flush of the jacket and his skin staying its usual pallor. "Is…?"
It was Justin's turn to know exactly what Eli was talking about. Again, this wasn't exactly a ceremonious occasion from the way that they had just been involved in conversation.
Even so, Eli visibly melted at the quick shake of the head from Justin that appeared and it wasn't because of the heat of that Kanto summer. He watched his head sway from side to side as well as his eyes, strands of hair flicking away any remnants of water that he certainly did not need clinging to him for much longer.
A strangled chuckle from Justin presented itself before words properly came.
"No. No, he's not. You're safe." Justin began and unlike the way that he had relaxed at the initial reassurance that hadn't verbally come, Eli was then left moving a muscle in case these words were a test that he could pass or fail. In the end, more words came that allowed Eli do to more than move once more. He had another chance to overthink. "I wouldn't do that to either of us."
That suffocated chuckle appeared all over again even if dimples did present themselves too, trying to act as if the Kanto sun had lent itself to Justin and he had become more merry, even reaching his hand up and running his hand through his shorter locks, checking if his hand was then merely damp rather than sodden.
There was something about Justin's smile that did something to Eli. No, it didn't quite have the power to make him stop in his tracks in the same way even if he did do this for a whole different reason. He was appearing sunnier, close to the person that he had indeed closely known and cherished the summer before.
But he was appearing sunnier. It didn't mean he actually was. And what was with those words?
Eli pondered them hard and he pondered them in silence. In the end, time passed and different food was brought out to the buffet table at the party and Eli knew that he had to just question them.
There was no shame in asking for clarification if he simply didn't understand. And certainly not coming from Justin. This time, unlike times before that they shared together, he needed to know exactly. He needed to know exactly. Then he could gage exactly how he could behave going forward.
Eli jolted his body forward. His hands were beginning to reach out too, already having a mind of their own and knowing that they were going to grab Justin by the collar of his own blazer that he was wearing and bring him closer to him in case he decided not to do this by his own accord.
"Justin…" It was Eli's turn to murmur and he could already taste more than just hope on his lips as he spoke this name and he leaned forward and he knew this was going to be a turning point.
Whatever it was a turning point towards, he didn't know. Yet he anticipated finding out. For once, he eagerly anticipated finding out. He needed to know what kind of page they were both on.
He wouldn't ever find out. At least, on that day, he would not find out.
You see, sometimes fate intervenes. Oftentimes, things happen exactly when they are meant to happen. Apparently, on this day, this was meant to happen instead.
Katie wondered why she hadn't seen Justin mooching around and socialising at the fourth of July party with a glass of blushing lemonade in his hand like he was often discovered year in and year out.
And given the doubly special occasion of that party, she didn't hesitate to barge into the middle of something, crashing right into Justin even if she did it a lot more gently and kindly than Eli had done to him previously.
Her hip collided with his playfully with a clunk. I brightened even more while watching and not just because of the sun. Both Justin and I watched her then recoil, a sheepish smile taking over her pretty features and covering her mouth with her hand, showing even more of her nature by what occurred next.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she wondered, at the time knowing this was the right thing to do but in hindsight and only with the knowledge of an older version of herself, wondering if she was twigging onto something else even if the other parts of her did not know.
Katie glanced bashfully in between both Justin and Eli, during those moments in time seeing friends and only friends. Justin might have been the one to quickly and firmly shake his head, reassuring both himself and her, but Eli was the one to speak outwardly.
After all, this was his first time bumping into her on that particular day. Unbeknownst to Justin, but Eli had forwent greeting almost everyone just for a glance of him.
"You're not interrupting anything, my love, and how wonderful do you look?" Eli fawned over her, leaving Justin both witnessing a different side of him as well as having to deal with no longer having the comfort of Katie close by as Eli took hold of her hand, encouraging her to spin so he could see all of the same colours of her dress that perfectly matched the same three of his outfit. "I would expect nothing less. It's such a special day for you."
A kiss was planted to the top of her hand that Eli was holding. Katie giggled. Small talk ensued, conveying nothing less than was expected and how utterly giddy she felt to be on the cusp of embarking on a summer and beyond of travel with her beloved boyfriend, Jayden, all thanks to none other than the vessel of The Valentine that was going to chaperone their trips.
She sounded giddy. And she looked it too. Justin couldn't help but smile. He sure missed feeling that way, not that he would have ever dreamed of expressing it. And probably for the best. Unknown to him, he was on the cusp of manifesting his own bout of it and it probably didn't need hurrying up in case it somehow tripled the already strong strength!
Katie didn't seek Justin's approval. And Eli didn't wish to make it seem like he was trying to get Justin to pipe up. But he noticed the way that he was looking at her and this caused Justin to notice Eli noticing Katie. Her hand was squeezed furthermore before she was lightly encouraged back towards Justin.
Eli didn't wish to make it seem like he was trying to get him to say something. But in the end, Justin found his voice anyway, his arm wrapping around Katie's shoulders in a friendly way and making Eli watch his every move more.
He didn't know why.
"You look very charming." Justin agreed, his polite and even quirky side of him getting the better of him as Katie was pushed closer towards him and encouraging her to be there by the welcome of his arm, Eli watching as the smile that was flashed for her and for her alone danced across his face.
He lit up effortlessly when he was gazing at his friend, Eli observed. He wondered why that was. And privately, he wondered how he could get Justin to look at him like that.
Because the conversation of her voyage was fresh on her mind and also because she hardly really allowed compliments to sink into her skin and properly be absorbed, as Katie turned to look at Justin and felt even more giddy by his skinny arm across her shoulders, she didn't hesitate to hold back her own words as they came to her.
Another girlish blush washed over her skin like the divine nature of the sea lapping against the sand of the shore. She looked at Justin with embarrassment. Yet with safety all the same, Eli was fast to observe.
She asked him a question, her eyebrows bunching close together but not feeling the need to look away from Justin's own eyes for a single second in spite of it all.
"Actually," she began, Justin's attention immediately piquing, his arm not just lounging across her shoulders and beginning to softly rub at her shoulder that was furthest away from him. "I need to start saying some goodbyes to people leaving early. See… Seeing as I'm not interrupting anything, do you think that you could come and do it with me…?" Katie asked, her head shaking from side to side though her gaze did not falter once. "I d-don't want to do it by myself."
Eli felt a pang travelling up from the pit of his stomach and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to erect and he didn't know if it was the way they were looking at each other or the fact that Katie had not asked him – her own relative – to accompany her.
But then, for a moment that was exceedingly rare during those days, Justin caught sight of Eli's stare and he looked at him back and it comforted Eli, cleansing him. Unusually, it didn't encourage that acrobat inside of his stomach to start flipping over and over.
He began to see things for how they actually were. How they could be. A new beginning for them all. Not just Katie.
Because of this, Eli went on to watch Justin stop rubbing against the skin of Katie's shoulder with the pads of his fingers but this was only in order to have a free hand when she undoubtedly would go on to reach for it to tug him in the direction of where they both needed to be. Of course this went on to happen!
And with merriment in his eyes, Justin didn't hesitate to squeeze Katie's hand and follow her, complying. Eli just had to hope that the joy overtaking his eyes more as each seconds passed was because of the friendship that was a true friendship and it was not because Justin had a chance to leave Eli in his wake.
Katie didn't hesitate to clasp Justin's hand harder in return too, not being able to rid herself of the feeling that she was a small child getting the privilege of holding one of the big boy's hands.
Even though she was on the cusp of something truly exciting!
"It's your party too, Katie." Justin told Katie, and Eli heard him say this and what he would go on to add too before they both bustled off, the older of the two being a shoulder to lean on in case Katie got lost for words or things became too much. "Whatever you need me for, I'm here."
And with that, Eli was left feeling as though the universe was playing quite a cruel trick on him in return because of the way that he had been stopped in his tracks seeing Justin from behind but in close proximity to him. Now he was seeing him walk away – and further and further away!
Eli wished that there was some way that Justin would utter those sorts of words to him some day but he just had to simply do this – wish and hope that it happened sometime too. In the meantime, he would wait for him. He would wait to see him at the party again. And then he would really get some answers.
Apparently the universe was playing some tricks on that day – whether they were cruel or for the best was a matter of opinion. You see, Justin never saw Eli again on that day. Eli wasn't foolish. He knew that he was doing everything in his power to avoid him all over again, even talking to all kinds of people he didn't usually have the longest of interactions with just so Eli could be forced to pine from afar.
Funnily enough, though, it was Justin thinking of all of this and the decisions that he had made on that day and the day after and even the day after that a whole year later, on yet another of Delia's Fourth of July parties.
So much had changed. And yet, so much had stayed the same. I supposed, that was what happened when you didn't learn lessons from the first time. That was what happened when you still had learned not to avoid situations as they were presented right on your plate.
I was around for the end of part of the story too. So I'll delve right in, shall I?
A year later to the day, Justin was back to his usual tricks and he was sat by the edge of the pool and staring down into the wavering water that had not changed a bit. It was not lost on him that he was behaving in the same sort of way all over again and the niggling sensation that he should probably be up to something different a year later washed over him far more than the water could as he kneeled on the wooden decking, not making moves to actually go into it.
Time was such a funny thing, he mused to himself on that particular day. He might have still been able to block out the jubilations of the rest of the party like the year prior but he couldn't stop himself from thinking of this and he could not stop his mind from getting lost in the maze of all musings connected to that particular insight.
Did time really heal all wounds, he pondered, or would you always have a permanent mark that simply faded in time? And if there just so happened to be a creator, did someone on your departure from the world take note of all the nicks tucked away in the nooks and crannies that you hid from most people?
Are people even born unscathed?
Justin in particular was the kind of person that received various versions of that same question quite often, having to answer if he believed he was born a certain way or it was learned behaviour. Truthfully, he had never been able to tell. He just knew that he was. He just knew how he felt. And it was something that no amount of mental strength could train himself to ignore.
In his vulnerable moments he wished that it was something that he could switch on and off. How perfect would that be? It would make certain times a lot easier. And no doubt, it would have made certain people very happy.
Suddenly exhaling as if he was breaking the surface from swimming in that same pool he was merely gazing into, Justin might have made this gesture but still, his mind pondered. And once more, he was drowning in other thoughts as he stared into the blue hue of the pool water.
A year later, someone crept up on him and it was another occasion that I missed entirely. However, unlike the person who had not hesitated to plunge Justin wholeheartedly into the water, this one might have possessed a face full of glee as he snuck up on his unsuspecting prey, but what followed a shove was a reaching outwards of both hands, securing him before he toppled properly.
All the same, Justin understandably gasped, flinching due to more than just the sudden fright of being pushed. But then, a split second later and while ignoring his heart rate hammering in his ears, he knew which pair of hands had shoved him and which pair of arms he was in afterwards, knowing it was only a joke.
Sammy openly cackled.
"You really got me there." Justin didn't hesitate to admit with shaky breath, wanting to roll his eyes as the sharp teeth presented themselves while Sammy simply guffawed to himself, one hand breaking away from holding him in order to push his hair out of his eyes. "If you were somebody else, I would have really got pissed.
Justin had then managed to flash a wavering grin in return, squinting, and nudging his hip against Sammy's kneecap. Upon hearing these words, the tattoo etched of the two stopped laughing so hard at his practical joke and even managed not to get too lost in the fact that people all around them both were having reactions of their own – both good and bad.
Instead, Sammy's mouth evened out and he showed an elfish smile, unable to stop the Kanto sunshine from melting into his iris at the words that he had heard. He didn't refrain from settling on the decking with Justin rather than encouraging him to stand.
"I couldn't help myself. You looked really contemplative." Sammy observed, his own gaze flicking down in case an insect floating along on the surface or something like that had been capturing his attention. But he knew differently from the start. This made him nudge his shoulder against his boyfriend's, questioning him earnestly. "Thinking about anything in particular?"
Justin's stomach privately lurched even if he managed not to look back down into the water and focus on the attentive gaze of Sammy instead.
He hated nothing more than being asked a question that could make him give away more than he was willing. That was why he always kept interviews short and sweet; giving people the impression they had been given what they wanted without him having to give away too much at all.
He reasoned with himself that he had nothing to feel guilty about. But guilty he still felt anyway.
In the end, Justin responded with a shake of the head, feeling the new sensation of hair tickling at the back of his neck all over again and trying to copy some of Sammy's sunny disposition, offering a dimple adorned look to him and a heavy squint of the left eye that he could blame on the sun at its highest point in the sky.
"Nothing of great importance." answered Justin, choosing then and there to be the moment that he allowed the dam in his mind to burst and he took a second to look behind them both and over his old shoulder, privately taking not of the other kind of usual party shenanigans that were taking place.
There were a lot more unfamiliar faces at that party, Justin had noticed as soon as he had arrived, and that actually brought him comfort. In the same way that people talking in the middle of his gig were strangers that he could make into fans by the end of the night, strangers at a party were just people that hadn't been given the chance to become friends.
And besides, the more people there were, the less likely he was to cross paths with…
Fortunately for him, Sammy had turned over his own shoulder in the split second after Justin had done this and he believed that he knew which kind of thoughts were running through his boyfriend's brain there and then.
He didn't bother to stop himself from commenting on the sights that he too was seeing, bringing a beer bottle that had previously been in front of Justin's chest as he embraced him to his lips and swigging from it.
He spoke barely a second after he had swallowed a mouthful.
"It's a great one this year, isn't it? Oh man, I feel so alive." He burbled, his honey brown eyes appearing a softer colour than usual inside their almond shaped cases, his mouth stretching wide and all of his teeth revealing themselves now they weren't tucked inside lips drinking from a bottle. "It's just so nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. Bless them all."
Justin knew better than anyone that Sammy could've easily come out with this sort of thing at any given occasion but there was a part of him that, although he managed to swallow back a chuckle, he did give him a knowing sort of look before squinting both of his eyes in unison.
Then with a crafty snatch, showing that he wasn't the only one of them who could sneak up on the other, he took Sammy's beer bottle for himself and had a sneaky swig, going on to speak in between half-full lips.
"Are you sure that's not this talking?" he teased, his voice thick with the bubbles in his mouth before he fully swallowed, going against the words that he was speaking to his boyfriend and handing the beer bottle back over to him.
Apparently he didn't care whether it was the sun or the alcohol or just Sammy being Sammy that had made him speak these words.
Initially, Sammy's thick and well-groomed eyebrows danced on his face and he held the bottle back in his hold with defensiveness, shaking his head so his dark locks shimmied around his eyes as well.
"No." he replied curtly before realising he knew better than that and could tell that Justin had been only teasing him. He went on to explain, that beer clad hand gesturing behind him to the rest of the party and the sunshine too, his chest seeming to deflate in a way that showed he wholeheartedly meant every word that he had chosen to come out with. "I mean it. It feels like ages since we've been at this sort of thing together." he concluded. "It's nice."
The songwriter inside Justin encouraged an invisible puppeteer to quirk his own eyebrow upwards upon hearing the word nice. Nothing was ever nice in his world. It was either truly the loveliest thing in the lands or it was diabolical. The artist in him never allowed himself to settle with things that were just nice.
Except when it came to Sammy. Except from Sammy too. It brought him a fresh batch of clear air even if he didn't inhale in the slightest to hear him using that word. For someone who usually lived in extremes and to the detriment of both him and their relationship recently, it was bliss that something could be just nice.
It was cosy.
A different smile began to take over Justin's lips, the softest dip of a dimple appearing and he couldn't stop himself from nudging Sammy to give him his spare hand that was not clasped around the neck of a bottle, entwining his pale fingers with darker, tattoo dotted ones clad with various silver rings.
"It's very nice." He agreed, not quite planting a kiss down onto the hand of Sammy but the way that his two hands played with each of his fingers were as though that sort of loving contact had been planted there. "We've been keeping things very low-key when I haven't been on tour, haven't we?" Sammy nodded. "This is great. It feels like old times."
And with that, Justin was apparently giving Sammy everything that he wanted to hear. He might not have pressed his lips down to Sammy's fingers but he acted as if he had been given the kiss of life, certainly from the words of affirmation and probably just the closeness as well.
It might have been the thoughts that had begun racing through Sammy's mind as well. He went on to not refrain himself from spilling them outwards, abandoning his beer bottle completely and holding Justin's two hands as well, scooting closer to them.
He was none the wiser to Justin's heart sinking at the lie that he had just told. He knew more than anyone that old times could never be retrieved back.
"I was thinking," Sammy began and straight away, Justin wished that he could just relax and nod but this kind of introduction usually resulted in something being posed that Justin felt that he could not offer. Whether he noticed the hesitant way in which his boyfriend turned to look at him or not, Sammy took a pause in between giddy words to think about how to word them. "I think I'm ready to start visiting you on tour at times." Sammy put out there. He dropped one of his hands away from Justin as if that gave him more space. "How would you feel about that?"
Anticipating feelings had never been Justin's strong suit because he hardly knew how he felt until he was actually experiencing the thing. However, being held with just one hand worked wonders for him and the secret slow and deep inhale that he took as well made him think about things more rationally.
In the next split second, his heart expanded in his slim chest as he realised that these words meant one thing and one thing only. Progress. Sammy was healing. And there wasn't a single part of him that wanted to reject him or let him down when something told him that things were finally getting better for the two of them.
Justin didn't feel suffocated by the closeness of Sammy and even shuffled a bit towards him himself, not taking notice of when he reached back for both of Sammy's hands all over again, relishing them in his hold and squeezing them.
"If that is what you want then that would make me very happy. Of course." Justin began, the sunshine that melted into his features speaking of the pride that he had rather than actually telling Sammy these particular three words. His left eye squinted again like sunshine was in them though that time, this wasn't the case. "It will be great not having to keep coming back."
It goes without saying that Justin meant that he could dedicate his full attention to his work and also revel in the joy of exploring a new city with his boyfriend by his side rather than just his tour crew. Even so, Sammy privately wondered something different. But he didn't let this show on his face and he didn't allow doubt to linger in his mind.
After a swallow that was like he was ridding himself of any air bubbles that the beer had left behind in his throat, he forced a smile and he nodded too. Justin mistook it for nervousness in case it really had to go ahead straight away and wordlessly consoled him by finding his fingers hooking into the padlock chain necklace that hung around Sammy's neck.
Sammy brightened more genuinely once again.
"Great. It'll be so great." He tried to affirm. Though Justin had been wrong for the reasons of his need to swallow, he started to actually be correct after Sammy said these words. He went on to ask a question that required verbal reassurance rather than just actions. "It will be a clean atmosphere your end, won't it? I mean, I know you don't really party on tour but…"
Sammy had been making progress. The last thing that he needed was any sort of reminder of a life that he had once lived and to assume old thinking patterns once more, that he needed something else to keep him on the straight and narrow rather than the natural high and the ebbs and flows of life.
Understanding what his boyfriend trailing off a sentence meant, Justin didn't hesitate to use his words to reassure him, taking a split second to look around out of habit before, while his thumb and middle finger hooked the dented padlock, his middle finger reached upwards to lightly tap Sammy on the chin, consoling him gently.
Justin's eyes smiled more than his mouth did as it was a bit busy finding the right words.
"I promise. You know they're an understanding bunch and there will be no temptation for you." He told Sammy and Sammy nodded. Perhaps the heat was getting to him or his quick flicking of the eyes around the party made him know that people had much better things to be doing than wondering what the two of them were up to together. Justin suddenly flashed Sammy a flirtatious smile as he added. "Well, maybe apart from me."
And with that, the blush that had pricked against Justin's pale skin from the moment that he said these words was absorbed by Sammy, adding richness to his tanned skin. Sammy looked away and he laughed but this was to compose himself and Justin knew it.
He looked back over at his boyfriend after he felt that he could look at him again, playfully giving him a flirty look in return before growing serious, wanting to reassure him with words just as much as he had done for him.
Unlike Justin, Sammy openly said it over and over again. He didn't think he would ever survive without Justin.
"This is going to make me really happy." Sammy told him and Justin smiled, that middle finger tracing over his chin once again just for a couple of seconds. Sitting back against the decking with his boyfriend, he nudged his shoulder against his and knew that he didn't want to ever let him go. "We're going to get to just say goodnight to each other rather than goodbye like it has been recently."
Justin had smiled from the second that Sammy said the first part of his words. And after he spoke of the second, he wanted more than anything to nod in agreement, still smiling. But something stopped him. Or rather, something washed over him that captured his full attention and prevented him from being able to react outwardly at all.
It was as if Justin had fallen, plunging into the coolness of the pool water. A single of those words had captured his mind and his memory.
A goodbye was on the forefront of his mind exactly a year ago. Now, the universe was playing yet another conniving trick on him and it was none other than Sammy hinting that they were done with goodbyes.
Oh how Justin wished that he could believe him. But he knew that everyone left each other's lives eventually. It was just a matter of time.
Justin's eyes blurred as he found himself staring down into the water of the pool, aware that he should probably continue engaging with Sammy and being present with him but unable to get himself back there at the same time. He just couldn't, even though he knew that he wanted to try.
He wanted to at least try to look normal in front of Sammy. Christ, he was going to easily take notice of it.
And he had. Sammy already had. He started to add some distance between both him and Justin in order to tilt his head towards him, both inwardly and outwardly wondering what was wrong.
"Justin…?" Sammy asked and then contact was reached out between the two of them, his fingers bedding into where the hairs at the back of Justin's neck were beginning to trail down that pale path for the first time in forever.
Sammy, however, wouldn't get an answer or an explanation and Justin wouldn't even be given the chance to come up with a fib. You see, once Katie had spotted Justin at the party, she knew that she had to rush right over to him and this time she didn't have any qualms about interrupting things between whoever he was with.
Time had caused things to change. She hadn't seen him in what felt like forever. Justin heard his name being called for a second time but by a different person and in a very alternate way.
Another thing was different. He promptly reacted to this one.
"Justin!" she exclaimed and Justin had just enough time to jump into action, leaving Sammy sitting on the decking for a little bit as he stood to his full height, bracing himself for the moment that Katie vaulted towards his arms and hoped that he was strong enough not to topple backwards with them both. "It feels like…. like forever.
Justin didn't have anything to worry about. He was hardly weak from strutting with heavy guitars up and down a stage night after night. His arms didn't hesitate to wrap completely around her, pulling her close for a couple of seconds before finding his voice once Sammy had found his feet and Katie was speaking his name as well and giving him the same embrace.
While Sammy was petted like a faithful dog by Katie and he had no issues with this at all, Justin ran a hand through his hair and sheepishly smiled at Katie, nodding in agreement and discovering for the first time what it may be like when he returned to people after gallivanting across the regions.
"I don't think I've seen you since Jayden's birthday." Justin realised, causing Katie to linger with a hand on Sammy's shoulder to nod dutifully, not pointing out to Justin that this was exactly what she had meant. He got there on his own accord anyway! He blushed not from the day as he added. "It does feel like forever, doesn't it?"
Feeling unusually comfortable yet in the middle of new sensations too, Justin continued roaming his hand through his hair and he felt Katie's gaze travel all over him, from the salmon pink embroidered shirt that he was wearing over a white vest to his typical black skinny jeans and even tighter boots. She hadn't done this to Sammy. But then again, she hadn't petted Justin like a canine!
All of a sudden, Katie's cheeks began to absorb the blushed hue of some of the flowers in Delia's garden that had not been grown for the theme of the party as she left Sammy to step forward towards Justin, shaking her head as she realised what was new about him.
Or rather, what was old.
She didn't hesitate to point it out.
"Your hair is getting so long!" she observed, still waiting for Justin to quirk his head slightly more towards her in order to give her permission to feel it. But she probably could've helped herself. After all, one of the reasons for it getting so long was their lack of seeing each other and her no longer hacking off his split ends. "Is this to stay?"
Her hands tentatively albeit admirably ran through the softness of Justin's strands of hair and Justin could feel her hope even though he probably still could have done whether she was right close to him and fawning over him or she was on the other side of the party.
Justin's eyes travelled over to Sammy to keep Katie waiting for a second or two and after he saw his boyfriend's eyebrows travel upwards to his own hairline, knowing he didn't have a preference either way as long as he still sometimes wore the fedora for him, he looked back over at his good friend.
His arms folded over his slim chest, pretending to mull it over while Katie's hands reluctantly left his locks, focusing on looking back at him instead, waiting for him to discover an answer.
"Ah, well." He began, giving no indication at first as his arms briefly uncrossed from his chest in order to offer a shrugging motion before they settled back against his slim frame once more. "I just might decide to give the people what they want."
Sammy chuckled openly, causing both of their heads to turn. But then Justin and Katie resumed looking back at each other once again and, while Katie believed she was someone who needed time to figure out what she wished to say, she found her voice and her stance rather quickly.
"Do what you want." She reminded him, it not falling on deaf ears how she was quick to turn even the simplest of interactions into a reminder of what kind of person he was striving to be. But then, he found himself focusing on feeling her in his arms once more, wrapping his arms amiably round her in return. "It is so nice to see you again. Both of you." She reaffirmed, although her hug was for Justin. When she pulled away, it became obvious that she was noticing the blushing of Justin's skin all over in the same way that she had noticed the dampness underneath his blazer that whole year ago. "Do… Do you want to grab a drink and find somewhere cooler and properly catch up?"
Justin didn't need a second to glance down at himself because he trusted Katie's judgement and the fact that he probably needed to get out of the heat ASAP! Glancing over at Sammy in his all black attire, he simply didn't know how he did it!
Nodding his head in compliance, Justin and Katie's arms began to wrap over each other's shoulders as they prepared to walk away and find their pale complexioned selves a more sensible place to catch up on what each of them had missed.
Of course, they didn't walk properly away until Sammy had been turned to by the both of them. It was Justin, however, who made him an offer, his arm still draped around Katie even if his attentiveness at that moment was for him and him alone.
The head shake and the smile that came from Sammy as well as the folding over his warm black t-shirt adorned chest put a good message across from the second that Justin asked if he wanted to join them. And straight away, the both of them knew that he was not rejecting out of politeness or so he could have something to grumble about later on even if he did say no.
If Sammy wanted to be a part of something then he would find a way!
He made sure to reach out and lightly pat the top of Katie's head like she had done to him before they went on their way.
"You guys have lots to catch up on." Sammy insisted. After his hands fell to his hips instead and rested against the studs of his spiked belt, his attention turned away for just a second before his head gestured in a similar manner, making it clear that he had plans of his own. "I'm going to see what your dad is drinking in this heat and see if he wants to share."
And with that, Katie's hand fell over her mouth as she chuckled with fondness, resisting rolling her eyes as she knew what Uncle James would be found with and of course he would be willing to share. Justin had a different reaction, though. And it led to another thing that Sammy made sure to do as he made sure to comply before he let them both get on their way.
Needless to say, there was nothing he was happier to do than plant a kiss on Justin's cheek to say a momentary farewell as Justin had tapped himself on his own cheek there, waiting for that gesture to be bestowed.
Then, it was just the two of them. It was just the two of Justin and Katie as Sammy's kiss melted into Justin's skin as well as the heat.
Already as they headed off to find a cooler spot on the porch as well as a drink, their arms were lingering over each other's shoulders while they walked and they were in the midst of discussing all sorts of things. Justin's concerts and how they had been going. The sights that Katie had been able to see all over Kanto while she travelled with Jayden. Memories from when they met up in one particular city as was feasible for them all and they all had had a great time.
Justin began to wonder when he was talking to Katie why he had got himself in such an overthinking state when he had been gazing into the pool. This was the kind of thing that mattered, wasn't it? Strolling around the vast gardens and walking past the wooden treehouse towards the porch and with your arm around a friend who nothing would ever get in the way of the years that you had spent in and out of each other's lives.
Justin continually wondered why on earth he had been fretting! He actually had started to forget that feeling of avoidance and he didn't know why that sensation had even entered the base of this throat at all.
Just before both he and Katie reached the porch, however, realisation hit him and it hit him like a collision with an unstoppable train. At the same moment that their arms broke away from each other in order for Katie to climb up first to head into the kitchen, someone else broke free from a crowd that they had been desperately trying to leave behind in order to feel a touch more solace.
And because I was actually lingering on the shoulder of this particular person after greeting him at the party, I saw exactly what he saw. And I saw exactly what he saw after we both heard him say one name in particular.
"Justin?" Eli spoke when he got away from everybody else and although I was still lingering there, suddenly, it felt like him and the person he addressed were the only people left in the gardens.
No, they were then the only two people on the planet.
Very openly, Justin twitched, and Justin could not hide the fact that he had heard his name be called by the person that he had just allowed his eyes to travel over. Justin could not hide any of this.
But still, do you know what he did?
His skills of honing his mind elsewhere really had been sculpted to perfection. And his ability to ignore was getting better and better still. After all, he was still to that day ignoring the bubbling wounds that had been left behind from the year before and everything that had gone on that summer.
Justin blanked Eli completely. He ignored him with his whole chest. Hurriedly looking away, he acted as if all along he had been wondering where Katie disappeared too and swallowing a lump in his throat that was caught inside a mottled neck; he went on his way and decided this was the path that he longed to follow instead.
And all I could do was sit there with baited breath on Eli's shoulder, not wanting to smother him with a gaze, but feeling my heart sinking in my chest only a fraction of what he was surely feeling.
Some things just can't be avoided. We try to avoid them. We try to act as if they are not there. It's true what they say. We can run. But we can't hide. Things will catch up on us eventually. Things were going to catch up to Justin eventually.
And as for Eli? Well, he had catching up of his own to do. It was time to catch hold of these feelings. The ones that made him realise that Justin wanted nothing to do with him so he needed to learn to feel the same way about him.
Funnily enough, on the day that Justin decided to be a coward, he actually granted Eli with everything that he needed. A reason to forget. A reason to move on. Of course, their time would come all over again where they would both have to face each other and battle it out.
But for the time being, this is all that they knew. And in the present, I am still going through everything that I know. For you see, there are stories to be made out of everything! And I can't wait to get to each and every tale, not avoiding a single one. At least not yet…
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :) I have such a guilty pleasure for Justin and Eli when they are in that petty mood they can sometimes get into and things aren't the best between them! But like I said before, here they are on the cusp of their full summer romance that leads them to being boyfriends before their impending break up. I so enjoyed focusing on that. But what surprised me was for the second half, I really loved tackling Justin and Sammy! I'll be honest, they are usually hit or miss in my stories. I just struggle with their chemistry and no wonder - they often are as well! But I had fun here. As it says, things are looking more positive for them after some difficult months. And in the midst of both of the stories, is Katie who brings out the best in Justin no matter what he is going through :3 Thanks again and I will be back again next Wednesday so see you then!
Amy signing out :)