ari, be mine

xxxv

[ chapter 35 ]

august 19
3:30 p.m
london, england, united kingdom

- - - - -

I arrived at the O2 Arena not long after she sent me those messages. I was already in trouble, I didn't need to make it worse. The second I arrived, I rushed in and went right to Ariana's dressing room. I knocked twice when I reached it.

I heard some shuffling and then the door aggressively swung open. An angry Italian replaced it, already glaring up into my eyes. Her dark brown eyes were dilated in anger, hard and cold. Her face also showed just how pissed off she really was.

Before either of us could say anything, she gripped my shirt with both hands and pulled me into the room. I quickly noticed it was dead empty.

Great. She done kicked everyone out just to beat my ass.

The door shut on it's own and she threw me onto the couch. I gasped in surprise. For a 5' petite woman, this bitch was strong as fuck.

"What the fuck are those pictures, Y/n!" She screamed, knowing she didn't have to pull out her phone in order for me to know what she's talking about. I sighed.

"I don't know! I didn't even know anyone was taking pictures until she asked me if she could post them! It was all innocent, babe, I swear." I pleaded, hoping it'd help calm her down but to no avail. She was fuming to the point where the veins on her neck were started to pop out.

"Innocent?! FUCKING INNOCENT?! Y/n, you two were literally all cuddled up fucking making the damn song! And then her staring at you while you were singing like you were her long lost fucking lover? Are you serious?!" I honestly didn't know how to diffuse this situation, because she wasn't lying.

It looked undeniably sus, so I had to tell the truth.

"Just let me explain, okay? Please?" She didn't say anything for a second, just stood there with her arms crossed and hip pushed out. She glared down at me before groaning. She softened her demeanor but she was still very obviously pissed.

"Speak." I didn't waste any time.

"I kinda noticed from the jump Jade seemed to have a crush on me. I tried to reject any weird altercations as much as I could but I needed to work with all of them, babe. Regardless of some mindless crush, this was a business meet. That song needed to be finished by the end of the studio session because I wouldn't be back." She listened, and I could tell she knew I was making a good point. Her body relaxed more and more.

"As for that one picture of us on the couch, I was showing her my verse and the changes I had made with Jesy for her verse. That's all it was. I was looking at her to gage her reaction and the picture was just taken at the right time for speculation." I shrugged.

"And as for the booth one, there's nothing I can say about that. I can't control what someone does or how they feel. So, let her look at me. Let her think of me. The difference between her and you is that you have me. You get to do all that stuff and more. Touch me, love me, and make me happy." I slowly stood up. She didn't make any move.

"Bellissima, I love you. And only you. Nobody from the UK or anyone for that matter could change it. You have nothing to be jealous of." I took the risk and wrapped my arms around her waist. She let me but didn't move her arms from her chest out of stubbornness.