On Friday afternoon Justin Bieber stepped out in Malibu, and while he was joined by his bodyguard, none of his party (or go-karting) pals were present. After his reported spiritual mission this past fall and a number of run-ins with the law, is the 20-year-old pop star finally growing up?

Maybe! Though he's been stepping out with hottie Hailey Baldwin and partying with the uber classy Jenner girls, the Biebs told X17 photographers, "I need time by myself sometimes." He also Instagrammed a shot of himself looking pensive on the pier and wrote, "Aren't we all just searching for peace?"

Bieber snapped a few selfies with fans and struck some poses for us, but when we snapped him strolling along the pier, he looked as lonely as this solo seagull:


Maybe he's missing ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez? Or is he merely having doubts about his peroxided 'do?