A/N: Please vote :) Might be a while before another update x
~ Harry ~
This was it. The moment I had dreaded the most. It was no surprise that Ariana's home was situated in one of the best neighborhoods in London.
I knew from what I'd learned from listening to Ariana during our project sessions that her mother was the CEO of a company that manufactured and distributed marine communication technology. That meant her family was plenty wealthy, which you wouldn't have assumed just be looking at Ariana.
She didn't wear much designer clothing, in fact I've only seen her once wear something my bank teller would have a heat stroke over and that was what she wore on her first date with Marcel. The image was so clear in my mind, because I remember thinking she was way to beautiful to be the timid Ariana Grande I knew.
But unlike Jace she was unaffected by her wealth. I always thought people like Jace automatically assumed they were better than everyone else because they could pay for the best things, and throw money here and there like it was nothing.
I could tell Ariana was genuine and down to earth, which made me adore her more and more.
As we pulled up into her driveway, I could feel the beads of sweat trickling down my forehead at a more intensified rate, especially when Ariana unlocked her door and stepped out.
"Wait." I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back in. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Do I- Is there like a way I have to greet your mom so she'd like me better or something like- I don't know, never mind. Forget I said anything"
Ariana let out a small laugh and rubbed my arm. "You're adorable when you're nervous Harry. She's like any other mom you'll come across, you don't have to greet her in a special way. Just introduce yourself and I'll take it from there."
"Okay." I breathed. "Okay I'm ready. Let's do this." I kissed her cheek then stepped out of the car myself. I returned to her side and took her hand.
Ariana rang the doorbell, and after three or so chimes the door was opened. "Ariana!" The lady, who I assumed was her mom greeted her with a warm smile. "Hello Gladys, so nice to hear you."
Gladys laughed and ushered us in. "Always a pleasure to hear from you as well Ariana. This must be your company." She was talking about me- oh God.
"Oh yes, Gladys this is Harry. He's the man I've been telling you about." Ariana smiled as she rested her palm on my chest. "Harry, this is Gladys our maid." She gave my chest a light pat as I pulled on a tight smile. Maid. She has a maid.
"She's been with us since I was a little girl, so she's practically like family." Ariana continued.
"Nice to meet you Gladys." I told her politely as she grinned. "Well I better return to dinner. It was very nice meeting you Harry, and it was nice to see you again Ariana. Your mother will be home in a few minutes but your brother is already in the lounge."
"Frankie's here!" I could feel Ariana literally light up with joy at the mention of her brother. "Yes dear." Gladys chuckled, and with that she left.
"Frankie!" Ariana yelled, letting go of me as she went off to find her brother. "Ari is that you?" A voice yelled back. "Yeah it's me!" She yelled.
"Ari!" The voice grew louder as a tall older man came bounding from one of the halls and immediately into Ariana who landed on the floor with a grunt. "Holy shit, Frankie!" She cursed as her brother burst out laughing. "So good to hear you Ariana."
"Ditto, although I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tackle me feroiously in front of our guest." She chuckled as Frankie rolled off of her and glanced up at me. "Oh." he breathed as he jumped up to his feet. "You brought me a present, Ari you shouldn't have."
"Harry this is Frankie, my lovely older brother who is currently in a relationship with half the male population in Hollywood." Ariana was teasing, but I could tell how much she loved and missed her brother.
"Frankie this is Harry-"
"So this is the guy you've been swooning to me about for the past month?" Frankie cut off his sister, like most brothers would if they were attempting to embarrass their sibling. "Yes." Ariana blushed.
"Ari you said he was really nice, and sweet but you forgot to mention that he looks like a model, do you model?" Her brother looked between me and Ariana as I cleared my throat. "N-No I'm in University."
"Ignore Frankie, he's just weird." Ariana remarked as her brother gasped. "I am not weird, I am limited edition. There's a difference!"
"Whatever you say Frankie." Ariana chuckled. "I'm not going to stay here and be victimized any longer. Besides, I need to pick up something from the shops so see you two at dinner."
"Love you." Ariana spoke up as her brother engulfed her in a hug. "Love you too baby sis." he laid a sloppy kiss on her cheek causing her to groan. "Ugh!"
"Nice meeting you Harry, I look forward to tonight. By the way, nice sweater." he winked at me before rushing out the door.
"Oh um thanks." I said, but it was too late.
"Two down, three to go." Ariana sighed as she wiped her cheek. "How are you enjoying my family so far?"
"Gladys seems really nice, Frankie too. He's hilarious." I had to admit, so far her family seemed pretty decent compared to the other families I had the displeasure to meet, via my parents of course.
"Wait until you meet my mom." She grinned. My heart fell out of my ass to say the least, I still had to meet her mom which I was frankly scared out of my wits about.
"Want to go to the lounge?" She asked.
"Sure."
"You know you look a lot like your mom." I picked up a frame from her mantle as I walked over to Ariana who was sitting on her sofa with her feet up on the coffee table. She looked very comfortable, and I smiled as she laughed. "Yeah I get that a lot."
"You and Frankie though, you two don't look very much a like. I mean you do, but not as much as you and your mom."
"That's because he's my half brother." She confessed as I looked between her and the photograph. It was of Ariana, her brother, and her mom. It looked recent, considering she still had that breathtaking glow about her that I still see now.
I returned the frame back to where it was and looked at the others. SOme of them were of Ariana when she was younger. "Is this you and your dad?" I asked her.
"I wish. That's me and my uncle." She said. "Or my cousin, I don't know. What does he look like in the photo?"
"Tall, lean, dark curly hair and brown eyes." I explained quite horribly.
"Oh that's Uncle William. He's my dad's only brother." she said.
I gasped as I returned the frame and picked up another, one that was of Ariana when she looked about one. She was sat in her brothers lap and had her hand up while she had a cheeky smile on her face.
"Oh my God is this you?" The question was rhetorical, but nevertheless... "You looked so cute when you were a baby."
"Are you saying I'm not cute now?"
"Yes I am. You're U.G.L.Y."
"Did you just spell out ugly to me?" She gasped in mock hurt.
"Yes, U.G.L.Y. which stands for unbelievably good looking like- like, shit what could 'y' be um hold on, give me time to think. Unbelievably good looking like... yellow bananas no that's not right. Um, unbelievably good looking like you- yes, U.G.L.Y stands for unbelievably good looking like you."
Well there goes the last time I attempt to be smooth.
"You've hit an all time low Styles." She laughed. "But smooth move Styles, you may have a surprise waiting for you later."
My spirits lit up as I licked my lips. "I do, do I?"
"Yes, if you take off your sweater."
I sighed. "Ariana I told you already, I don't feel comfortable without it."
"I know, and I'm not pressuring you to do anything you don't want to do. I just want to feel the warmth of your strong arms while you hold me in place while we make out in my room."
"Fuck are you serious?" I moaned.
"No, I just want you to be comfortable with my family." She smiled cheekily as she kissed along my jaw. "Now come on, I think my mom is here." She said just as we heard a car horn outside.
Ariana slipped her arm around my back while the other stayed on my chest. She looked up at me and smiled, one of her many delightful smiles as she kissed my cheek. "She's going to love you."
"I hope so." I sighed as the door began to open.
So far so good in terms of her family liking me. Her mom was kind and equally delightful as her brother was, especially whens he saw Ariana for what must have been weeks. I still hear the ringing of her screaming as she hugged Ariana and the pleading woes of my lovely girlfriend who was slowly being suffocated by the intesity of her mom's hug.
"Mom, this is Harry, my boyfriend." She didn't formally introduce me as her boyfriend to Gladys or Frankie. It left a nice feeling in my chest knowing she cared enough to have her mom know first.
"So this is the man who has stolen my daughter's heart. Nice to meet you dear, call me Joan." Her mom was the epitome of kindness. To be honest she reminded me a lot of my mom who I myself missed dearly. In fairness the only difference was the designer clothing.
But I could tell even having pocketfuls of money didn't detour her away from her family.
On a side note I knew Jace's family was pretty messed up because of it so it was nice to see a family like this for a change.
I was even contemplating taking off my sweater at that moment, but decided against it.
"I'm jst going to change into something less extravagant then I'll be down for dinner. Ariana is your brother back from the shops yet?" Joan turned to Ariana who shook her head. "No not yet, but he left a while ago so he should be back soon."
"Okay, I'll be going now. It was nice to finally meet you Harry." Joan smiled warmly at me before leaving.
"Three down, two more to go." Ariana smiled at me. "What do you think about my mom so far?"
"Honestly, she seems pretty cool as far as moms go. She really reminds me of my mom." I told her truthfully. "Yeah, her and Anne would be great friends don't you think?"
"Maybe, they'll have to meet first." I chuckled. "Who who are the two left?"
"My nonna and grandpa. My nonna is a sweetheart and since recently my grandpa has been the only man over protective of me."
"What changed?" I asked her.
"You."
~ Ariana ~
Frankie eventually arrived, and until then Harry and I were back in the lounge talking about my family. I was appreciative of the fact he asked minimal questions about my father and I knew it must have come form him understanding the position we were both in.
Both of our fathers walked out on us, his when he was young but me when I was born. He knew who his dad was, but I didn't. But from what the stories my mom would tell me about him, I knew I shouldn't hate him, but love him instead.
But it was hard to do.
My mom came down eventually, and Gladys called us for dinner. I was sitting next to Harry and wondering where my nonna and grandpa were because no one has pinched my cheeks yet and Harry is still breathing.
"Mom where's nonna and grandpa?" I asked her.
"Oh I'm sorry dear I forgot to tell you. Their flight was delayed so they can't make it until sunday." I tried to hide the disappointment in my face, but I think Harry could tell I was upset as he sneaked his hand into mine.
"They're still coming though sis so no need to worry." Frankie uplifted my spirits as always, and I thanked him in the best way I could. "So how's work?" I asked him.
"Great." His short answer proved me right; he still hasn't found a job yet. I giggled.
After saying grace, we dug into the food but I knew Harry was a bit reluctant because he wasn't vegan and didn't know how to tell my family. I still foun it cute though how after telling him I could order us pizza in secret, he still wanted to impress my family by eating the vegan food.
"This is amazing." Harry sounded genuinely pleased, which I knew would please Gladys because she was always determined to be on point with her cooking. "Thank you."
"Yeah this is awesome as always Gladys." Frankie added.
"Gladys what would we do without you?" My mom even said as I chuckled. "Yes Gladys, this is delicious as always."
Dinner flowed smoothly. Frankie was telling us a rather glamourous and completely made up story about what happened at "work" today. He emphasized on the fact he had a job and I didn't, but in fact we were both jobless and it was understandable on my behalf, but not his since he was nearly thirty.
Soon it was my mom's turn to talk, and she began to tel us what went down at work. I found it amusing how my mom didn't realize how much of a big role she had at her work. But I knew she treated everyone like family in the terms that she was nice and well rounded.
She wasn't one of those bosses who would scream and point out your disgraces, but rather do what she can to help you succeed.
Harry was quet the whole time and only spoke when spoken to.
"Harry why don't you take off you sweater, it's pretty hot right now." Frankie said, as I felt Harry tense. I don't think Harry expected to be asked this, and I knew he felt it would be rude to say no.
So he took off his sweater. I could hear Frankie gasp, and my mom hum as Harry nervously gripped my hand yet again but this time tighter.
And soon came the moment I knew Harry would dread the most. The talk.
"So how long have you been with Ariana?" My mom asked. "Just over a month." Harry replied as he rested his hand over mine. "Would you say she's happy with you?" I'm right here mother. "I hope so. She definitely makes me happy." Do you see me smiling mother, do you?
"What are you taking this semester?"
"Sociology, English, Math, and Biology."
"Ah a biology student." My mom sounded impressed. "Yes, I'm planning to go into medicine." Harry said as I turned to look at him a bit shocked. I didn't know he wanted to go into medicine, in fact I didnt know what he wanted to do in the future all in all.
"From what I've heard from Ariana you are also on the football team at Prescott?"
Hi I'm Ariana, apparently I'm not sitting beside Harry right now.
"Yes I am." Harry said.
"I was on my school's football team too you know, when I was at uni." Frankie added.
"Well I think I've put you through enough torture for tonight." I knew my mom was kidding by the way she laughed. "I just want you to know that I raised Ariana to be the young woman she is today. I know from what she tells me that you are definitely one of a kind. I know I can trust you with Ariana."
"Thank you. I just want you to know that I will never do anything to upset Ariana. I care about her a lot. In fact I haven't cared much about anything until she came along."
Again I say: Hi I'm Ariana, apparently I'm not sitting beside Harry right now.
"You raised a beautiful daughter Joan. Thank you."
~ Harry ~
"So what did you think?" She asked me. We were back in the lounge and I was sitting the whole length of the sofa while Ariana was sat in his lap. Frankie sat across from us but he was too busy doing something on his laptop to see my fingers harmlessy rubbing the bare skin revealed because of Ariana's top riding up.
"You have a nice family. Better than the one's I've seen." I said.
"I have to admit it's hard with all of us so busy with our own lives, but we manage."
"You're so lucky Ariana." I sighed. "Why?" she asked. "You have a famiy that loves you and you have me that cares about you just as much."
"You have the boys and your family."
"It's not the same; doesn't feel like it." I admitted.
"By the way, why did you thank my mom?" she asked, remembering how I had thanked her mom earlier for something she wasn't aware of.
"I felt like it was appropriate to thank the woman who gave birth to the happiness I never thought I would have in this life time." I told her cheekily, although it was the truth. "Ariana you're that special to me. You're as far as metaphors go, the arrow lodged in my heart."
Ariana giggled and fell into my chest. I knew she loved a good metaphor.
"I'm surprised your mom didn't make a remark about my tattoos. She actually smiled a little when I took of my sweater, is your mom even real?" I asked her jokingly. "Yes she is, she's the sweetest woman you'll ever meet." Ariana replied. "Now I know where you get it from." I winked at her.
"I told you there was nothing to worry about." Ariana said as she nudged me playfully.
To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I expected her mom to look at me in disgust when she saw what was under that sweater which was my white v-neck in contrast to my sleeves of tattooes and the ones peeping out of my shirt's colar and around my neck.
But in fact it looked looked like her mom seemed more surprised than detested. She didn't bat an eye at the tattooes or cringe. Neither did Gladys or Frankie.
"Ariana?"
"Yes?"
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Remember when we were looking at the photos on the mantle, there was one that looked like it was hidden behind a few others. What was it?" I asked her as I recalled the one frame that faced the wall instead of me.
"Oh." Ariana breathed. "I think that's the one of me and my dad, before he left."
"Oh." I said as well. "May I see it?"
"Sure." Ariana smiled slightly.
I got up and made my way to the mantle. Frankie had stopped what he was doing and turned himself to face me. His eyes read something unreadable a I picked up the frame.
I turned it over and looked at the photo.
"I wish I remembered what he looked like. All I remember my mom telling me that he was the nicest man she'd ever met and that he had a beautiful soul. She loved him very much, my dad. I wish I got to know him."
As Ariana spoke I eyed the photo in a bit of a trance.
Her father sitting on what looked like a harley while the unmistakeable smile Ariana always graced was plastered on the tiny girl sitting on the handlebars of the large motorcycle. I could see the resemblance between them perfectly.
But it did not go amiss the tattooes he had inked on his body.
-
Yes, Ariana's father was a badass. I mostly want to just say thank for reading and always voting. And for those who don't, don't blame me when Blind doesn't get updated for two months. Of course I'm only mildly joking, but I do love you all who do. Thanks for reading: be sire to follow me on instagram (@harianadimples) love u x
- Abigail :)
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