CHAPTER FOURTY-TWO
[ instagram + real life ]
❝ TOUGH LUCK ❞
ⁱⁿˢᵗᵃᵍʳᵃᵐ
arianagraynde
@chrislovespepsi
@elizabethmrls
@mattyb & @chrislovespepsi
@secretlifeofnick & @xavierprz
liked by chrislovespepsi, elizabethmrls and 753,256 others
arianagraynde: la ✈️ nyc
view all 453 comments
user24: THE LAST PIC LMAO
author: just pretend madi is aria in the 6th photo 😭😭
elizabethmrls: leave my huge suitcase alone. at least i could actually fit everything in it 🙄🙄
↳ arianagraynde: i eventually got it with a little of chris' help 😞😞
↳ chrislovespepsi: im such a savior
user56: CHRIS AND ARIA ARE TALKING AGAIN???
↳ user72: RIGHT?? AND THEIR WHOLE FRIEND GROUP UNFOLLOWED CORA WHAT
chrislovespepsi: i'm the best photographer bro i legit took an awesome photo of you and you didn't even acknowledge it one bit??? the disrespect.
↳ arianagraynde: be grateful i actually tagged you in this kid
user98: okay but this may be my favorite comment section under an aria post of all time
mattyb: YOU DIDNT SAY YOU WERE TAKING A PHOTO DUDE I LOOK LIKE A PSYCHOPATH
↳ arianagraynde: compared to how chris was smiling you actually look like you're gonna commit homicide
user19: why is no one talking about how lizzie just randomly spawned back into their lives after months??
↳ elizabethmrls: is this suddenly a minecraft server??
user82: I LIBE IN NYC TOP OH MT GOS
↳ secretlifeofnick: oh girl you good?
↳ user82: not anymore!! HI NICK OMg
secretlifeofnick: this weekends gonna be such a blast all bc of you aria
↳ arianagraynde: you know it nick
user76: i love you all so much
↳ mattyb: we all love you so much too
xavierprz: currently waiting for my pizza to be delivered to your house
↳ chrislovespepsi: you better have ordered pepperoni
↳ xavierprz: we had that a few days ago, i got pineapple!
↳ chrislovespepsi: YOURE JOKING RIGHT????
↳ xavierprz: yeah i just wanted to piss you off ❤️❤️
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ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ
"guys, guys, guys!" i jumped through my apartment, getting everyone's attention from in their rooms.
everyone collectively walked outside their rooms to see what all the ruckus was about, including lizzie who had just woken up. "what's happening?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"my mom just invited us to all have lunch at her place!" i exclaimed, happy she actually wants to include people who she doesn't know.
"wait, actually?" chris asked, excitement on the tip of his tongue. when i nodded, he didn't stop himself from smiling.
"does that mean we get to meet your mom today?" nick asked, thinking back to when i had mentioned the wedding being in LA and them having a chance to meet her that day.
i nodded again, more aggressive this time. nick smiled too, finally feeling the excitement the rest of us were. to be honest, none of us knew why we were so excited to meet my mom. it wasn't like i had been saying such things about her that made it seem like she was the most angelic person ever, quite the opposite actually. not out loud though, i could never. if i had to be straight forward about her, i'd say she changed. as a child, she was the best thing ever and i always looked forward to spending the rest of my day with her after school. but after a certain something happened, there was an obvious shift in our relationship.
"are you guys ready yet?" matt groaned, sitting on the kitchen island stool as he twirled my car keys on his finger, boredom obvious in his tone. he had been ready for an hour now while almost everyone else ran around trying to add some finishing touches to their looks.
"yeah, this isn't the actual wedding guys, it's just a lunch." i said, placing an empty glass into the kitchen sink.
suddenly, everyone announced that they were done almost all at the exact same time. "was that all you guys needed to get done?" i quirked an eyebrow, watching as everyone gathered around the door to put their shoes on.
"yeah, bro. i spent hours trying to put my suit on until you said that." chris said, sarcasm slightly poking through. it took everyone a while to figure out that he was joking but once they did, laughter echoed through the whole apartment.
"okay enough, let's go." nick brushed off his laughter and reached for the door handle before getting interrupted.
"wait!" lizzie yelled before running away into her room. everyone shared looks, super confused ones. lizzie came running out the room with a pink gift bag, tissue paper poking out through the handles.
"you got my mom a gift?" i questioned, watching as lizzie nodded frantically.
"couldn't not get my second mother a gift." she said, smiling softly. a slight laugh came out of the two of us before i started following nicks actions by opening the door myself.
all 6 of us made it to my car. when i turned 16, i got a small black and blue mini cooper just so i could drive to school and back. i didn't use it for much else, there was nothing for me to do with it anyways.
"there's no way all of us are fitting in here." xavier said, popping his head out the back door.
"two of us are going to have to take a cab." nick said, moving his mouth into a straight line.
"nose goes!" lizzie exclaimed, bringing her finger to her nose. everyone else followed, expect 2 of the dumbest individuals.
i walked out from behind the car after placing bags and hoodies in the trunk. "what? why are you guys all touching your nose like that?"
"because nose goes!" matt said, already in the drivers seat.
"nose goes?!" chris yelled, touching his nose almost immediately after hearing matt.
"tough luck, kid. you and aria were still the last two." nick said, dropping his hand to his side as he crawled into the backseat next to xavier. lizzie made her way to the passenger seat next to matt, shrugging.
"no fair! i dont wanna take a crusty cab." chris whined.
"exactly, this is my car!" i groaned.
"too bad, babies." matt shrugged too, making his voice go an octave or two higher.
"fuck you matt." chris stuck his tongue out at his brother. everyone in the car closed their doors and their windows, finally being able to actually start the car.
"i'll call a cab." i said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. chris walked towards the front of the building before sitting down on a couch placed outside for visitors. after calling the cab, i followed and did the same.
it was complete silence for almost the whole wait until chris finally spoke up. "you know, ever since i met you i've been the happiest person on earth." he paused. "at first, i thought it was cora but even after i broke up with her im still so happy."
"do you actually mean that or are you being sarcastic?" i asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"i'm not always rude." he turned his head towards me.
"that's debatable." i said, a smile prominent on my lips. he smiled too, looking back at the street.
it was silence for a little after that too before chris broke it once again. "does matt even know where to go?"
"probably not. lizzie's there though, she's been to my moms house a lot." i said and he nodded slowly.
"how is your mom? you never really talk about her." he asked, looking back at me again.
"she's good, i guess. there's not much to say about her." i looked back at him too.
"how come you guys aren't that close?" he asked, realization hitting him."sorry if i'm being too nosy, you don't have to answer."
"no, it's okay." i smiled. "we were close when i was younger, not as close as i was with my dad though. after i graduated we kinda drifted apart. we had this little argument since i wanted to stay in la and she wanted to come back here. we eventually decided to split and she didn't like it but it is what it is, right?" i sighed.
"oh, i understand. i'm sorry about that, though." he replied.
"about what?"
"you know, your dad and stuff. i know he means a lot to you and i shouldn't of said what i said that day."
"it's okay, i forgive you now. it honestly made me realize how much i cared about you." i paused when i saw the lost look on chris' face. "the way it affected me, how upset i was. it wouldn't of been like that if i hadn't loved you as much as i do." i looked away from him, watching the cab approach in front of us.
when i looked back at chris to tell him the cab was here, he had the biggest smile on his face.
"what?" i laughed.
"you love me!" he said, his excitement prominent.
"don't say you didn't know that." i smiled at him. "also, the cabs here." i said as i stood up, watching as he did the same.
we walked towards the cab. "but i didn't know that." he said, following behind me.
"that's such a lie, i use to tell you all the time!" i said, laughing at him.
apparently, id been laughing hard enough to almost fall over. i tripped on a pebble on the way to the cab door but before i could, chris' arms slithered around my waist. he stopped me from falling quick enough so i wouldn't get hurt. the worried look on his face made me laugh harder, knowing how often he had to do this for me.
"are you okay, what the fuck?" he asked, genuine concern in his tone.
"yes, im okay." i said in between laughs as he opened the back door of the cab for me. my laughter died down as i crawled into the backseat, making space for chris to slide in too.
"good afternoon." the cab driver said, looking at us through the front view mirror.
"good afternoon." chris and i repeated before i told the driver the address.
the rest of the ride was short and quiet, the only thing happening between chris and i being small smiles every time we looked in each others direction. i could've sworn there were eyes drilling into my head every time i looked out the window but i brushed it off as slight paranoia since i hated being in cabs.
when we arrived at my moms house, we said our goodbyes and payed the cab driver before leaving. "try not to stare at girls next time you pick up some please." chris said with a smile before shutting the door closed.
we walked away to the front door as the rest of the friend group arrived too. "what was that about?" i asked, looking back at the cab leaving.
"he kept staring at you every time he got the opportunity to, it was getting gross." chris said, his face showing how uncomfortable that made him.
"you didn't have to tell him that, though. i would've said something." i said, still appreciating his small gesture to help.
"nah it's okay, some people need to learn respect." he said, a slight smile popping up on his face as everyone else approached.
"heyyy!" lizzie greeted when they made it to the door too. "y'all look cute."
"you saw us like 20 minutes ago." i said, quirking an eyebrow.
"that's not what i mean." she said before knocking on the door. "brace yourselves." she turned to everyone else behind her and they nodded in response.
authors note 💌
long and boring chapter im sorry 😞😞 things will get better next chap, pinky promise!!!!!
also none of yall are getting the hint so ill try making it more obvious next chap too since there's not a lot of it in this one 😊😊
not proofread btw so ignore the errors (if there's any)!!