Y/N's POV
It was the second night of the show, we had just finished up the meet and greets and now it was time for the q and a part of the vip package the fans bought.
Ariana, Brian, Scott, a few of the dancers and I all walked out on stage and were met with about 30 screaming fans waiting for their questions to be answered.
"How's everyone doin'?" Brian shouted down through the mic, getting a chorus of "good" in response. "That's good, is everyone excited for the show?" They all screamed and someone shouted "Yasss my queen" which made me laugh.
I sat on the edge of the stage beside Ariana and everyone else.
"Okay who has the first question? Let's get this started" Brian said as he scanned the room looking for someone to pick.
"Okay you in the god is a woman crew neck, what's your name?"
"Paige, my question to Ariana is how are you so perfect?" Everyone awed at her question and Ariana hid her face in my shoulder in embarrassment.
"I'm far from perfect but thank you" she replied through the mic.
A few more questions were asked just general questions like "how long did it take to write sweetener?" And then people got braver and started asking more interesting questions.
"How did you and y/n meet? Hey y/n by the way" a boy asked from the front row. I waved at him before turning to Ariana waiting for her to answer.
"We met through Courtney, I actually went to pick up Y/n from her apartment to come out to the car and yeah she was amazing and I knew then that she was the one" she awkwardly said as she leaned against me, taking my hand in hers.
Everyone awed and then the relationship questions came rolling in one after the other.
"Have y'all fucked?" Was a very straight forward question and I turned back to look at Courtney who was laughing behind me.
"Ohhhh shush" Ariana replied before covering her face in her hands. Everyone screamed at her response and started chanting our ship name. I looked at Ariana who smirked at me while awkwardly laughing.
"Would you date a fan?" Someone from the back asked causing me to pick my head up from looking down at my hands.
"Well I'm taken right now but probably" her answer caused me to hit her shoulder playfully.
"I'm joking, no I'm taken for the rest of my life so I don't need to worry about that" she laughed before kissing my cheek as I pushed her away playfully. Everyone laughed at our interaction, she finally crashed her lips against mine and I just laughed against her lips.
"That was fun, they are so funny" Ariana said as we walked back to the dressing room. "They are so funny"
It was true, her fans had the funniest sense of humor and she cared about them with everything in her. She's so protective of them and always defends them no matter what, she is always checking up with people to make sure they are okay. She has a heart of gold and has the best intentions sometimes her fans forget that and it really does effect her. Some days she won't get out of bad because of things some of her fans have said about her or she will cry in my arms for hours because they are fighting with each other and it gives her anxiety.
The show went amazing, I went out on the stage for "Y/N Y/L/N" and it was another amazing experience, I'm so lucky. They played "The Way" and a compilation of Ariana and Mac played in the background as Ariana sat on the steps singing, it really was magical.
Her fans found out the hotel we were staying at and were all camping outside when we arrived back. Before they saw the car, Ariana asked the driver to turn around and go to the nearest Starbucks. "Baby you have coffee in your hand" I said to her.
"It's not for me" she said as she got out of the car and running into the Starbucks with me and Roshad not far behind her.
"Can I have 20 hot chocolates please" she asked politely while pulling out her business card. This girl amazes me every day.
Ariana, Roshad and I handed out all the hot chocolates to the fans who were asleep in tents outside the hotel, it was freezing. Ariana took pictures with them all and then they all sat in a circle and talked for over two hours. This bond was something I have never witnessed before, she brought complete strangers together.
I sat beside one of the fans in the circle, opposite Ariana. I saw her shiver slightly, it was 2am but she looked like she didn't wanna leave anytime soon, I took of my hoodie and walked over and handed it to her. "Thank you baby, I'm okay will you not be freezing?" She looked up at me.
"I'll be fine princess" I smiled at her before she took the hoodie gratefully and pulled it over her head, sighing.
"Okay guys I'm gonna have to go now because I may sleep or I will lose my mind! Please go home and get into bed, thank you for coming to the show. I love you guys unconditionally and you mean the world to me, thank you for this it's just what I needed" Ariana hugged all of them individually and shivered before taking hold of my hand as we entered the hotel.
"Thank you for staying out there with me baby, you didn't have to, you look tired" she said her eyes half closed because she was so tired.
"I wasn't gonna leave you alone baby" I yawned as I pulled her into a hug as we waited for the elevator.
It was 3am before we got into bed and we were both way too tired to do anything. "I love you" Ariana muttered as she cuddled up to my side and slowly drifting into a deep slumber. "I love you too" I kissed her head and fell asleep.
Ariana's POV
Day three of the tour was in Pittsburgh and we flew out at 9am. My alarm went off but I was way too tired to turn them off, I was way too comfortable. Y/n reached over me and turned it off before sitting up, my head falling from her chest to her lap, she placed her hand under my head so I didn't fall. "Come on gorgeous, we have a flight to catch in like an hour." I nodded before yawning, I sat up and kissed Y/N's lips before running into the bathroom to shower.
Soon there was a knock on the hotel room door and in came josh and Daniel to do my hair and make up, I sat there for two hours, doing my vocal exercises and talking to Y/N.
Pittsburgh was cold, it brought back a lot of memories since it was Malcolm's home town, I decided while we were here I'd go visit his family and see how they were doing.
I decided to go alone because I didn't wanna bring Y/N or anyone else because no one else could relate to how we were feeling or the connection I had with his family.
"Hey Karen" I said as soon as Karen opened the door. I haven't seen her since the funeral, we have kept in contact through text but I haven't seen her.
She embraced me tightly in a hug and began crying into my shoulder. "I missed you, thank you for coming" she hugged me tighter which I returned, tears began falling as I looked around the living room. Here is where Malcolm asked me to be his girlfriend and where we would watch so many movies in the winter.
"I missed you too, it's so good to see you. Is anyone else home?" I asked as I followed Karen into the kitchen.
"No just me, how have you been?" She asked as she wiped her eyes with a tissue before handing me one.
"Thank you, yeah ive been doing okay, I've loads of support so that's what been keeping me going. Just missing him like crazy, how have you been?" I asked, it was such a stupid question because she's obviously not okay, her son died and he's never coming back.
"As good as I can be, trying to stay strong for him he wouldn't want me to be upset. Oh god he loved you Ariana" she cried into the tissue before embracing me in a hug.
"I loved him too Mrs. McCormick, so much" I cried holding my hand over my mouth as I continued hugging her.
"I have to go out and collect flowers that I had delivered for his grave, do you want to stay here? I'll be back in like 5 minutes" she asked, I nodded in response still trying to pull myself together.
Karen left and I went down to Malcolm's room since I haven't seen it since I was here last, when we were still together. It was the exact same, his bed was made which it never used to be. He had steeler flags and jerseys everywhere and beside his bed still stood a photo of me and him at a steelers game, I held the photo close to my chest and sobbed violently as I lay on his bed where we used to cuddle for hours and I inhaled his scent, after Y/N's it was my favorite smell. I pulled his pillow into my chest and start thinking back to memories we made here.
Flashback
"Baby, I love you" Malcolm said as he jumped on the bed beside me. "Wanna hear a story?" I nodded and smiled widely, I loved his stories. He told me a funny story about how he missed his flight because he was recording his part for an unreleased song we have together. I laughed the whole time he told the story, I was so in love, I never wanted this feeling to end.
End of Flashback
"I miss him too, so much" Karen said as she stood in the doorway before making her way over to me. "I'm so sorry I just came down to see his room, I should of-" I rambled placing the photo beside me.
"Ari, please it's fine, lay there" Karen said as she came and lay beside me and stared at the ceiling with me.
"That photo, it was in a photo frame but after one of your fights he threw it at his wall in anger and it smashed, I thought he was gonna throw the photo away but he kept it. The next morning I came in to check on him and he was asleep with the photo next to him, you guys made up a few days later and then when you broke up I was certain he would throw it away but he never did, any girl he brought home they ended up fighting because he wouldn't stop talking about you to them or comparing them to you" Karen laughed as she held the photo up.
"Keep it Ariana, I know you have a girlfriend and by the way I'm very happy for you but keep it, he would of wanted it to be kept safe" she gave the photo to me and we both sat there silently crying.
"Please come back, our door is always open" Karen hugged me tightly before kissing my cheek. "I'll be back next time I'm in Pittsburgh I promise. My show is on tonight, if you want I have tickets but it's totally fine if you don't want to go" I said as i took a step outside, the picture securely in my hand.
"I'd love that!" Karen said gratefully as I handed her the tickets, I hugged her once more and got back into my car.
I had one more stop before I went back to my busy life. I got out of the car and walked though the grave yard looking for the one name, I wished I would never have to look for.
'Malcolm McCormick
Born 19 January 1992- Died 7 September 2018
Brother and Son
Will be dearly missed
Just keep swimming'
Was written on the headstone and I broke down, I fell to my knees as I read the head stone over and over again. It was all real, he was actually dead. I placed the flowers that I had bought onto his grave and kissed the headstone before taking a seat beside the grave.
"Hey baby, I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I really wanted to. We talked about this, so many times but was it worth it? I'm so sorry Malcolm, you were my best friend above any romantic relationships we had. Those two years were some of the best years of my life and I'm so grateful. Why did you have to do this? You didn't deserve those demons. Why leave me here?" I cried as I picked the grass underneath me.
"I hope you like y/n, I know I do, you would really like her, she's really funny and I'm finally happy" I laughed thinking about how happy I was.
"I miss you so much Malcolm, like more than you will ever know, I love you so much and I'll see you soon, rest baby" I stood up and wiped my jeans before turning and leaving.