After Halloween, everyone in Ariana's circle found out she was in a new relationship, including her ex. So it was safe to say that the operation was going smoothly, though you weren't sure how to proceed. Now that he knows, does the pretense end or does it continue until... When exactly? You weren't sure so you texted Ariana for answers.
You
What should we do now? Now that everyone knows
Princess
he's still trying to get back together
from what my friends told me
so...
we should go out on another date
for pap walks
to convince him
You
Ok
What do you have in mind?
Princess
i'm actually free in 2 hours
i'm down for whatever
You
Cool I'll plan something fun to do
Meet me at my house when you're done for the day
As planned, she arrived at your house with the same white car you got so acquainted with. You observed how she looked right at home, with how automatic she removed her shoes at the doorstep, how familiar and comfortable she was sitting on the kitchen counter and dangling her feet.
"You know, you could have just given me the address to the date spot," Ariana said. You snapped out of thought when you realized that you were staring into space.
"And ruin the surprise? No way." You replied.
"So you rather risk stalkers following me and finding out your location?" She teased, before dropping her mischief to focus on reaching for a cup on the drying rack. Only that it was just slightly out of reach and it was clear that she did not want to give up her seat.
You concealed an amused smile while moving to get it for her. "Anything to drive that beauty of yours." You filled it up with chilled water before handing it to her. Before she could grab it, you moved it slightly away from her reach. "What do I get in return?"
She rolled her eyes but smiled all the same as she fished something out of her purse to exchange. "Oh I see, that's your motive all along." She handed you her car keys. "This good enough?"
You finally passed her the cup, "You got me. And yes, I've been wanting to drive your car for a while now."
She slapped your shoulder lightly as she drank. You wait for her to finish drinking before heading out together.
You opened the passenger door for her before getting behind the wheels. It had not been 10 minutes on the road when Ariana asked "are we there yet?"
You chuckled and told her to relax and listen to some music. She started humming absentmindedly before it turned into flat-out singing. You have to remind yourself not to turn and stare or you will get into an accident. After five Broadway song performances, you've reached your destination. You opened her door and helped her out.
You shouldn't be surprised that the people around recognized Ariana and they took out their phones to take pictures of her, and you.
Though most of them were quite polite, being recorded by someone else made you feel uneasy. You couldn't imagine how Ariana deals with this every day, on a much larger scale than this.
"Hey, just ignore them. We're almost there." She squeezed your hand as the both of you entered the building. You brought her to the second floor and into one of the rooms.
"We are doing pottery?" Ariana asked after looking at the equipment.
"Yep, I've never done it before, and I don't think you do so it'll be something new for us." You explained. "Unless you prefer doing something else."
"No, I've always wanted to create a cup. Thank you for bringing me here."
You mentally pat yourself on the back. "No problem, by the way, I've hired an instructor for an hour then we can have the room to ourselves for the next hour.
The pottery instructor entered on cue, demonstrating how to use the pottery wheel as well as certain techniques needed to make a cup. After teaching both of you the basics, he left, giving the two of you privacy.
"I don't think this is working?" You asked Ariana, looking disappointedly at your lump of clay.
"Here, let me help."
You felt Ariana wrapping her arms around you from behind as she reached out towards what was supposed to be a cup. She guided her fingers using hers, putting consistent pressure on the clay until it formed a silhouette of a cup.
Being in this position reminded you of the pottery scene of Ghost.
When you're finally satisfied with its shape, you let Ariana go back to her pottery. When the clay finally hardened, you painted it and finished it off by writing your initials.
Ariana's looked like it was made in a factory and yours didn't pass the quality check.
"I like how yours have a little chip, like the teacup in Beauty and the Beast. Ariana said kindly, after seeing you grimace at your own creation.
"Thanks. I like how yours is perfect, like you," You didn't realize what you'd said until you saw Ariana's face turn slightly red. "I mean maybe you should consider being a cup maker, they'll fetch a high price."
"Let's exchange mugs then."
"You sure?"
Ariana made a noise of confirmation, offering you her mug. You took it and gave her yours.
"I've got the better part of the deal."
"Hmm, nope. I think I did."
The both of you left the room after cleaning up. At the entrance, you realized the crowd was way bigger and much louder than when you arrived once people knew the singer's location. You rushed to Ariana's car to avoid being mobbed, but not without making sure she was safe.
Once you were safely inside the car and on the road, you sighed in relief. However, Ariana's horrified gasp made your heart jump again.
"Oh my god! They bruised you."
You honestly didn't feel any pain until Ariana pointed out your injury. You checked your arm, pressing on it gingerly. "It looks worse than it seemed. Don't worry about it."
Ariana didn't reply, going uncharacteristically quiet. When you stopped at a traffic light, you turned towards her.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
She bit her lips, upset. "I'm sorry you got hurt by my fans."
"It's fine. Besides, I'm Mulan," you paused before dropping the punchline, "and you're a girl worth fighting for.
You saw her lips twitch, "That's so cheesy."
You had no idea how you didn't cringe at yourself for saying it but maybe it's because you fully meant it. And you knew Ariana knew that when she searched your face the entire duration of the traffic light turning red to green.
"If it makes you smile..."
You sighed in relief again when her smile grew as she reclined her seat, harmonizing softly with the song playing on the radio.
You decided to take Ariana back home as both of you had enough of public places for today. While you had planned to bring her to the theater that was showing In the Mood for Love, who was to say you couldn't do it in the comfort of your home?
You had everything you needed - a fully stocked fridge as you had been cooking more often these days, a portable projector and screen, enough blankets and pillows for a fort, and two rolls of fairy lights.
After making sure no one had followed you, the both of you stepped out of the car and entered your house.
"Ariana, do you want to eat dinner or watch a movie first?"
"Can we do both, at the same time?"
"Sure, I'll start making some food then. Anything you crave?"
"Surprise me."
You spent the next hour making dinner while Ariana sat at the kitchen counter, acting as your taste tester. You gave her permission to take pictures and film videos for her social media accounts.
"Hey, what do you think? Can I post this?" Ariana reached out and showed you her phone. It was a picture of you cooking, with your identity concealed. While it was a good picture, it doesn't seem romantic enough to make rumors.
"Keep that photo, for now, I'll get you a better backdrop for you to take pictures with."
When the food was ready, you placed them aside before gathering the things you needed to build a pillow fort.
After making sure the pillows and blankets won't collapse on themselves, you present your handiwork to Ariana.
"Well, what do you think?"
Ariana gasped in delight. "Oh my god, it's amazing!" You chuckled lightly as she snapped a few pictures of the new attraction.
You're pretty proud of it yourself. The fairy lights were definitely a great investment.
"Come on, the food's getting cold." You ushered her in, letting her settle at the back before bringing in a small table and placing it in front of her. You put the plates and utensils on top of it. "Dinner is served, give me a moment to set up the entertainment."
You went back out of the fort to position the screen at the opening, before aligning the projector with it. When everything was ready to go, you took a seat beside Ariana.
Even though you have movie-choosing rights, you gave them to her for the night. She put on one of those cheesy Christmas rom-coms that you don't mind. While In the Mood for Love was a masterpiece, it wouldn't fit the mood as perfectly as the movie Ariana chose. It was light, funny, and easy - all wrapped up in the holiday spirit.
As the starting credits rolled, Ariana suddenly asked, "Are you meeting your family for Thanksgiving?"
You tried your hardest not to tense, not wanting to spoil the mood. "Not really. We don't really do that."
"It's perfect then."
You felt surprised you expected her to ask about your situation or express some kind of sadness. "It is?"
"You're coming over for Thanksgiving with me."
"You sure? I don't want to impose on important family events."
"You can't impose it if you are invited, besides what does it say on the contract?"
"I must participate in all the events you're going to." You recited, mock reluctantly.
"Good that you remembered."
"I guess I have to honor the deal I made with the devil."
"Hey!" Ariana yelled indignantly. You successfully blocked a pillow from hitting your face with your arm.
"Ouch." You said, more on instinct than pain. However, Ariana's face filled with worry immediately, cradling your hand.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"
Before you can even reply, she left the fort and returned quickly with an ice pack. She kneeled beside you, carefully rolling up your sleeves. You tried not to flinch when she pressed a little kiss to the area of bruised skin before pressing the ice pack over it.
The movie was left unwatched, evident when the credits rolled without you realizing it until you found your own reflection staring back at you on a black screen.
Ariana only leaves for the night after the bruise stopped swelling under her watchful eye, and you promised to keep icing it. Before she left, "Check my Instagram post later tonight."
For the rest of the night, you kept your eye on your phone. The moment you heard the notification pinged, you tapped on it in record time. Her post was a picture of her inside the fort, the one you took, with the caption: 'safe place'. There was another - an Insta story - of an extremely shaky glimpse of your back as you cooked, before the phone panned to herself smiling, off camera, presumably at you.
You had another epiphany that night. It wasn't the coffee.