“What do u mean you’re breaking up with me”, I asked, my voice cracking. How could he do this? “Look, Ari, I’m just not feeling it anymore, ok?” Jai replied. Anger flooded through my veins, “What the heck is that supposed to mean”. He seemed to sigh, “Look I’m not feeling the whole long distance thing, ok? I want someone who is going to constantly with me. I slapped my hand on my forehead and shut my eyes. I suddenly heard a high pitched voice, “Baby come back to bed”. Oh no he didn’t, “JAI BROOKS ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME”? He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Look, this is what I mean about being here constantly. You’re, you just don’t…. you don’t do much for me anymore”. I gasped. I didn’t know he was like that, “Are you breaking up with me because you haven’t gotten laid yet”. I heard that voice again but chose to ignore it. “Look I got to go”, he said and quickly hung up.
I jumped onto my bed and landed on my pillow face first. I sobbed into my pillow until what felt like hours. I suddenly heard a pounding on the door, “ARIANA GRANDE OPEN THIS DOOR OR I WILL KICK IT DOWN”. I groaned “Go away Frankie, I’m not in the mood”. He seemed more frustrated but I didn’t care. “C’MON ARI, PLEASE”? I ignored him and went onto my phone; a picture of me and Jai on our first date. Delete; A picture of us holding hands. Delete. I ended up deleting almost half of my pictures. I went on instagram and twitter and took out anything that had to do with him. I gathered all of our photos of us and cut his face out of all of them. All of them scattered on the floor. I heard a soft knock come from the door, “Ariana?”
I knew that British accent. Nathan. I ran to the door and flung the door open. “NATH”, I practically yelled. “Ari”, he yelled back, laughing a little. I jumped into his arms and burying my head in his neck and sobbed. He came in and shut the door behind him. I ran back to my bed and slammed my face back on a pillow. He lifted me up from my pillow, ignoring my protests. He noticed my tear streaked face and my puffy eyes, “What’s wrong”, he asked. That just made me cry more and he pulled me into his chest. It felt right and I almost, just almost, forgot about Jai. “H-h-he b-b-broke up with m-me”, I stuttered. He tensed at this, “That bastard”.
I sobbed into his chest with his arms wrapped around me, “He’s throwing everything away! After everything we’ve been through just to make it work”, I said in between sobs. “Shhh, shhh; He isn’t worth your tears, Ari”. I wiped my eyes and sniffled a bit. “The thing is he said he broke up with me because he hadn’t been laid yet. And then I heard some girl in the background”. I felt his muscles flex from under me, “He’s going to die”, and he said through gritted teeth. I pulled back a bit so we were looking at each other. “I don’t get it though; am I not good enough for him? Am I not skinny enough, pretty enough-““Ariana Grande, you quit that nonsense right now. You are beautiful, smart, kind, and you are one of the most amazing people I know. Don’t you ever say that about yourself”, he said. That just made me sob more and he pulled me back into him. This is what I loved about Nathan. He was always there for me and he didn’t care that I looked like a slob. I could be wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and he wouldn’t care. It always felt right with him and I felt safe, like nothing could hurt me. I felt him kiss my forehead and I closed my eyes.
Nathan’s POV
I had just gotten a call from Frankie telling me that Ariana wouldn’t come out of her room and that she wouldn’t let anyone in. I slipped on my hoodie and snapback and sneakers. I went downstairs and saw the lads watching some football game, “I’m going out for a bit”. Max was the only one who noticed me, “Where you going, you know just in case we can’t find you”. He smirked remembering that time they lost me and I went to the area for lost children, “Just to Ariana”. He smirked at this, “Visiting your girlfriend, huh?” I blushed a little and clapped my neck, “She’s not my girlfriend”. He laughed at this which caught the rest of the boys’ attention. “You talking about Ariana”, Siva asked taking a bite out of his hamburger. “She’s not my girlfriend”, I mumbled. “Aww does Baby Nath have a little crush”, Jay asked pouting. They all laughed at this and I felt myself turn red which made them laugh even harder. I saluted them with the bird and got my car keys and drove to her hotel.
“Great you’re here”, Frankie said as I got out of the stairs. He motioned to Ariana’s room and I could hear soft sobbing and whimpering. It made my heartbreak. Yes I was in love with Ariana, but I knew she would never like me like that. Plus, she had a boyfriend and I could never ruin their relationship. I just wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn’t with me. She doesn’t know that I like her. I usually watch her when she doesn’t see. She moves with a certain grace and her smile lights up the whole room and her laugh sounds like tinkling bells and her hair bounces wherever she goes. Her big brown eyes sparkle whenever she sings and her left dimple is adorable. Frankie put his finger to his lips and knocked on the door, “Go away Frankie, I’m not in the mood”, her voice said. It sounded like her voice was muffled by a pillow. “See”, he said quietly. I sighed a little. “If you get her to open this door I will cherish you forever”, he said and left the hall. I gently knocked on the door. “Frankie I said go away”, she said and it sounded like something hit the door. “Love, it’s me. Please open the door”, I said desperately. Whoa where did that from. The door suddenly swung open, “NATHAN”, she yelled and jumped into my arms. “Ariana”, I sighed into her hair. Her hair smelled like fresh strawberries.
I swung her around a bit in my arms. She weighed nothing. She was so light, like she didn’t eat. She pulled back a little and went back into her room with me following her. I shut the door as she jumped onto her bed and slammed her face into a pillow. God, she still looked beautiful with sweatpants and a t shirt and her hair in a messy bun. I looked around the room and saw that the room was littered with pictures of her and him but with his face cut out. I felt excitement run through my veins but I forced it to die down.
I heard her sob into the pillow and I sat down next to her. “Will you tell me what’s wrong now, love”. She still had her face into a pillow so I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her into a sitting position. She kept her head down so I lifted her chin to meet my eyes. Her cheeks were tear stained and her eyes were puffy from crying. “J-J-jai b-broke up with m-me”, she sputtered out. I felt my anger rise inside of me and I just wanted to punch something, “Oh Ari, I’m so sorry. He doesn’t deserve you”. How dare you just throw someone like her away just like that? She’s amazing and if he can’t see that then he’s blind.
“He broke up with me through the phone and I heard a girl in the background telling him to come back”, she whispered and sobbed again. I pulled her closer to me and she laid her head on the crook of my neck and I left my arm around her. After a few minutes she looked up, her big brown eyes meeting mine, “I don’t get it. Am I not pretty enough, skinny enough, am I not good enough”? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Ariana Grande, you are the most beautiful girl I know and you barely weigh a thing. You are amazing and he’s blind to just throw something as good as you away. So don’t you ever doubt yourself, okay?” I said before I could stop myself. She froze a bit and I was afraid I said the wrong thing. “Oh Nathan”, she said and laid her head on my chest and sobbed. It felt so right to be with her. I kissed her forehead and sighed. Later, I was in a sitting position and her head was on my lap. We were just talking for a while. Just to keep our minds off. Her laugh didn’t sound the same but that was expected, she just broke up with someone. Suddenly the door burst open and all of my lads came bursting through the door, “Ariana we heard what happened”, Max said picking her up and spinning her around. She laughed a little and I felt myself get a little annoyed, but as long as she was happy, I was too.
Siva put her on his back and ran all the way around the building while she giggled hysterically. When they got back, Jay slung an arm around her and stuck his tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes. “We heard what happened, little Ari”, Max said. She was tiny compared to all of us. No wonder she wore those sky high heels. She put her head in Jay’s chest and I clenched my fist. Jay noticed me and smirked a little. “So, we brought the best things. Ice cream in cookie dough and cookies and cream, and chocolate. Popcorn, chips, tissues and chick flicks”, Max continued taking Ariana from Jay.
We all sat on the couch and watched the movies. Well, they watched the movies. I watched Ariana most of the time. She was staring intently at the screen. The male lead had just told the girl that he loved her. “LIAR”, Ariana said and threw a piece of popcorn at the screen. She was in between Max and me with Tom at her feet. By the end of the movie, Jay and Max were in tears, Siva was eating popcorn, Tom was on his phone and Ariana was asleep, her arms around my torso and her head on my chest. I sighed in comfort, just the way I like it. There were two empty bins of ice cream on the floor and popcorn thrown everywhere. “That was so sad”, Max said through tears. “Ariana, Ariana, Ariana, wake up”, Tom was teasing her. She groaned without opening an eye and snuggled more into me. I smiled a little at that. He noticed that and winked at me. I glared at him. Did he seriously have to ruin this? “Ariana, thou Ariana, will I get to see the pleasure to his thou beautiful eyes”, he said trying to be all romantic. I rolled my eyes. She sleepily opened one eye and threw a pillow at his face, then snuggled back into my chest which made me laugh. He got up and started tickling her like there was no tomorrow. She squealed and laughed so hard. She tried to push him away, but failed. She suddenly made a cute little snort and she burst out laughing.
Suddenly, her phone started to ring from her desk and she tensed. I felt my anger rise and I knew if that caller ID said Jai I would punch something. She slowly went to the phone and picked it up and hit answer. “Hey Scooter”. I sighed in relief; thank god it was just him. “Oh goodness, I am so sorry, I just been going through a lot lately I totally forgot”. Then a pause and we could hear talking through the other end, “Yes I’ll be there in a couple minutes. Ok bye” and she hung up. She suddenly started running frantically around everywhere, getting her bag and stuffing her phone and important things in there, “I forgot I have a concert in a couple hours and I’m running late. Nathan you need to be there in like thirty minutes by the way. I hate being a girl it takes so much work. She put on a black hoodie and some sneakers and slipped the hood on. “Do I look like a guy”, she asked. “Wait”, I said. I took off my hat and put it on her head. She blushed a bit and I smiled a little. Everyone examined her, “Yea pretty much. Ha-ha she looks like Nathan”, Siva said. I punched him in the arm. She laughed and ran out the door. I followed her out. I opened the car door for her and she kissed me on the cheek, “Thank you so much. I don’t know I would have done if you hadn’t come. See you at the concert”. I felt the spark in between us when she kissed me. I shut her door and backed up as she left the parking lot and sped toward the venue.
I sighed in happiness. “Well, someone is all happy”, I heard Jay say from the doorway. “She kissed me bro”, I said jumping up and down. “Like on the mouth?” he asked. “No on the cheek, but that just brings me this much closer”, I said. After a few more minutes everyone came down and drove back to our house. I couldn’t stop smiling. Max noticed this and looked at me weirdly, “What’s up with him”. Jay just laughed and said, “Ari kissed him on the cheek”. Max burst out laughing and I rolled my eyes at him but the smile still didn’t leave me. When we got home I packed a couple stuff and headed towards the venue for Ariana’s concert. We were going to be singing our duet ‘Almost is Never enough’. I loved singing with her. She made my heart sing with love.
I drove my car to the venue and followed the signs leading toward the makeup room. I found a middle aged blonde woman waiting for me with a magazine on her lap. She looked up and smiled at me. “Ok, can you just on those clothes over there”, she said gesturing to the clothes on the rack”, then come out”. I nodded and changed behind a curtain. When I came out I was wearing a white button down shirt, dark jeans, and some sneakers. She nodded in approval and gestured to the seat in front of a mirror. She put on a little makeup for the lights and styled my hair just the way I like it. She nodded in approval at me, “Ok, you look good. Ariana is in the room down the hall so if you want to see her she’s over there”, she said and I left the room to go find my Ari.
I found the room and I heard Ariana’s stylist talking, “Ariana, you can come out now”. She was wearing this. When she came out I felt my jaw hit the floor. She was so beautiful. She couldn’t see me in the shadows while I watched her. “Perfect, do a twirl for me”, I heard her stylist say. She spun around on her sneakers so gracefully and her smile. Gosh her smile. “Now let’s fix that dress. It looks like you lost weight in a couple days. Your hair also still looks messy like it hasn’t been brushed all day”. I sighed quietly. I liked her hair, it was natural and wavy and her bangs hit her eyes sometimes. Ariana was beautiful, she just didn’t know it. While the stylist fixed her hair Ariana did her makeup by herself. Personally, I think Ariana was too beautiful for makeup. “So spill it, Ms. Grande”, she suddenly said. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. God she was cute. “About the guy trouble you were talking about”, she said while curling a strand of her hair. Ariana sighed. “Well, Jai broke up with me and I thought I loved him, but there’s this g- NATHAN?!?!?” Oh no.
“Hey beautiful”, I said trying to make her forget that I had eavesdrop a little. She groaned, “Did you hear anything”. I shook my head and she sighed in relief. She looked me up and down, “You clean up well”. “So do u, Ms. Grande”. She laughed a little which made my heart sing. “Ariana your hair is frizzy at the back. I need to redo it”, her stylist said searching for supplies. She laughed a little. She looked back at me and I got lost in her big hazel eyes. Just lean in a bit and you’d kiss her. She smiled and kissed me on the cheek, right before shutting the door