Just as sure as the stars in the sky, I need you to shine in my life

-Justin Bieber

"Ma, stop fussing. Everything's gonna go amazing." I pressed a kiss to her forehead, holding her small waist, preventing her from moving.

"I know I know." She mumbled.

"I'm serious, you're not doing this the first time. Stop worrying so much." She pulled me down for a hug.

"She's coming, right?" My mother asked me as she arranged the hangers once again. I slapped her hand away. She just couldn't stop worrying even though everything was amazing as it was.

"Yes, she is." I nodded, and smiled.

"And I cannot call her Mia even though that's her name?"

"Ma come on we've gone over this five times already." I groaned. "Her name is Amelia. Mia is her nick name which only I am allowed to call her by."

"And why is that?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Because I'm the one who gave her that name and I am her boyfriend, and because I'm saying so."

"Okay, fine." She huffed.

There was still an hour left for the guests to start arriving. And my mother, being herself, didn't stop fussing about the simplest of things. I practically stuck to her like glue, pulling her away when she started arranging stuff again. And then when she just did it anyway, I groaned and went over to Tobias. He handled her way better than I did.

The glass door to the showroom opened and I had to squint my eyes a bit at the amount of glitter that entered the room. Lola Jackson dressed to impress, that's what everyone always told me. But to say she was way overdressed would be a huge understatement. Even celebrities didn't wear that much of a glittering dress in award ceremonies, and this was nowhere close.

She gave my mother a hug, pressed a kiss to both of my dad's cheeks, ruffled up Tobias's hair, and then made her way over to me. I noticed Tobias scowling, fixing his hair up. She kissed my cheek. "Theo! How have you been? Damn you've grown muscular than before."

I smiled sheepishly. "Thank you, Mrs Jackson."

She slapped my arm. "How many times have I told you to call me Lola. Mrs Jackson makes me sound old. And," She moved closer to me, her head reaching only my shoulder despite the heels she was wearing, tilting her head up. "We both know I'm not old."

"You're not." I nodded my head.

"How's university treating you? Claire tells me you've been winning the football matches like a pro, but I've always known you're good at it."

"Yeah, we've only had two games this season up till now, and they've been easy ones."

She rolled her eyes. "You underestimate yourself too much." She glanced behind me and groaned. "She's doing it again. Ugh your mother can never relax."

I watched her walk to my mother, who was busy wiping an imaginary stain on the table and shout, "Anna, Anna! Bro, stop. You've gotta chill. We're the boss, we're gonna kill it."

I stifled a laugh.

"Hi." I turned around, my eyes hitting the one piece clad figure of Claire.

"Hey!" I gave her a hug. "You look great, by the way." She did look good, her blood red dress hugging her curves, golden loops in her ears, her hair pinned back, a small strand coming down to her chin.

"Thanks, you look good too. Hey, um, can we talk?"

"What's up?"

"Look, I know we've been distant these past couple of days and it was my fault. It's just, I care for you, Theo, more than you can realize. And I just couldn't let you hurt yourself, and Amelia didn't look like she wanted to settle."

"She-"

"Let me finish. I'm sorry for trying to sabotage your relationship with her. I had no intention of doing that, but I didn't find any other way of looking after you."

"I appreciate it, Claire. I really do. But it's all okay now. Everything's fine and we're both happy."

She smiled. I noticed it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm glad everything worked out for the both of you. I'm guessing she's coming tonight?"

"She is. Everyone's excited to meet her, well...meet her as my girlfriend."

She raised an eyebrow. "So she's already met them when you weren't dating?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Er, oh, wow, you're fast." She chuckled, shaking her head.

I didn't talk much with Mr Jackson. He wasn't a chatty person anyway, even dad stuck to mom's side in situations which involved him. I greeted him and it was pretty awkward after that, so I just made an excuse to leave. The guests started arriving a few minutes before what was expected, and mom panicked at that as well. Lola had to drag her to the washroom and when they returned two minutes later, she looked calm, but her eyes still glanced here and there to see everything was okay.

I sighed, she was worse than Monica Geller.

An hour later almost everyone had come, including the farthest of my family and friends. Mom loved inviting people from outside town as well to such things, and some people used to take her up on that offer. The showroom was big enough to accommodate so many human beings. People were looking at the dresses, complimenting my mother and Lola at their hard work, and chatting.

Then door to the showroom opened. My body zapped with energy.

My angel smiled at me as she entered, everything seeming extremely dull when I saw her. I moved towards her and caught her in my arms, my hand grazing the bare skin of her back, leaving goosebumps in their trail. I smiled softly.

"Hi."

"You look stunning like always." I whispered in her ear.

She giggled. "I know I do." Her hands roamed on my suit. "I think this is the first time I'm seeing you in a tux. You look hot."

I grinned. "I know I do."

She declined when a waiter offered her a champagne glass. I'd noticed she didn't usually drink unless in a bar or a club. The figure of my parents appeared in my head, and I mentally groaned at the embarrassment I was going to face tonight in front of her. Nevertheless, I held her hand, she intertwined our fingers. "Come."

I led her to the first floor, my hand on the small of her back, helping her up. My mother's smile blinded me when she saw us together. Dad was with her, no surprise there, and he smirked at me. "Pretty girl!"

Mia chuckled beside me.

"No, wait!" Ma shouted suddenly. "Wait wait lemme take a picture." I groaned, letting my head drop down to Mia's shoulder as I heard the click of a camera.

She then came to us, pulling Mia in a hug. "I'm so happy he's found you. My god you are beautiful. No wonder he fell on his knees for you."

My girlfriend smiled. "I'm glad I found him as well. This place is really amazing."

"Oh thank you, dear. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening. Theo, give her a tour. You need anything," She said. "Please never hesitate to approach to me."

My father butted his way in. "How do you handle this boy?" He asked her. "He's so annoying all the time."

Mia laughed. "He is." I narrowed my eyes at her. "But, I've got practice."

Dad grinned. "I like you, pretty girl."

I grabbed her waist and pulled her away from there. I knew if they start teasing me, they won't ever stop. "You look so fucking beautiful in that dress, Mia. It's taking everything in me to keep my hands away from you and not take you here itself."

She smirked, which dropped suddenly. I looked behind me to find Claire approaching us. Mia coiled her hands around my neck, pulling me closer.

"Hi." Claire said when she was standing in front of us.

I waited for Mia to respond, but when she didn't, I greeted her back.

Her eyes flickered between the two of us, and she gave a nervous chuckle. "Amelia, look, I'm sorry. I know you don't like me, and I have no special kind of interest towards you. But the only thing we have in common is that we both care about Theo. And he's a big part of both of our lives. That was me looking out for him because I felt you would hurt him, and you did, multiple times. I don't want to be your friend, but I also don't want any bad blood between us. So, truce?"

I looked down at her, trying to read her expression. I didn't tell her what to do, she was an adult and she knew what to do. If she didn't want to cool things down with Claire, I would never force her.

But she smiled, nodding her head. "Truce, for now. That doesn't mean I trust you, Claire."

Claire smiled, the look in her eyes difficult for me to understand. "I don't trust you as well."

I kissed Mia's cheek when Claire walked away. Her arms were still around my neck, the heels making her come up to my nose. Her slender body was wrapped in mine, I didn't care how many people were here.

And then she suddenly froze, going limp in my arms. I looked at her in alarm, only to find her looking behind me. I turned around, freezing as well. And then the sudden shock morphed into anger.

"Bro, listen- whoa are you okay?" Tobias came to us.

"Stay with her." I gritted out, and walked in the direction of the intruder.

He was smiling as if he belonged here. Fucking asshole. How dare he come here and ruin the night. He was looking here and there as if searching for someone, and it took everything in me not to punch the living shit out of him and kick him out. But I reminded myself this was important to my mother, so I couldn't blow up. And I wouldn't let him blow up my mother's night like he did in the trials.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I spat out.

He turned around and smiled at me. "Ah Theo!"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I repeated.

"Why, I came to admire your mother's collection of course." That smug bastard.

"You weren't invited. Get the fuck out before I create a scene."

He shook his head, his smile turning into a smirk. "Just because you didn't invite me doesn't mean nobody else could. Your mother has a partner, who has a daughter, who has become a very dear friend of mine."

I blinked. "Claire? Claire invited you?"

"She did." He laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go greet her properly." I watched him walk away. I stood rooted to the spot, digesting the new piece of information. When I turned around, I saw Tobias looking at us, his hands on Mia's shoulders as she looked down. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded softly.

I went over to her, taking her in my arms again. She sunk into me, holding my waist loosely. "Baby, are you okay?" I whispered in her ear.

"I'm fine." She said. I'd expected her voice to sound soft and slow, but her speech was clear and loud. "I'm just not used to seeing him. Give me a minute."

I nodded at Tobias, giving him my most grateful expression. He raised an eyebrow, and I mouthed to him that I'll explain everything later. He nodded, then opened his mouth. "Ma was looking for you."

Mia took a step back from me, looking composed like always. She took a deep breath, and then gave me a smile. "Does my hair look okay?"

"You always look beautiful." I replied instantly.

"Let's go find your mother."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I pulled her by her waist.

"Yes, I really am. I wasn't shocked he was here, I'm just...it's taking a lot of time for me to get used to the fact that he's back. It's a shock to see him after so long, and then suddenly he pops up everywhere."

I nodded. "I'm here, okay? Always."

She smiled softly, giving me a lingering kiss on the lips, making me want to beg for more. "I know."

*