the third book in my 'from me to u..." series explores the arc of ariana's life as her and dalton get closer and closer. what once began as a bitter relationship blossoms into a slow and steady friendship. will it develop into more? will ariana be a...
those were the first words tom uttered when bursting into zendaya's los angeles rental apartment. no hello. no formality. but they were beyond that.
"i don't remember inviting you tonight." zendaya remarked before closing her door. she only had a white nightgown on, with a shawl covering her up as best as possible. it had been close to midnight, and having her preparation to sleep interrupted wasn't sitting too well with her.
"i'm aware you didn't invite me for the night, but that's not the issue." tom barked, pacing the floor in a panic-induced walk.
zendaya approached him carefully, not wanting to startle him further. "i can't deal with you panicking about this every goddamn opportunity you get, tom!"
tom turned towards zendaya, eyes rattled with guilt and exhaustion. "i'm sorry, daya. i just... the guilt is eating at me!"
"you came onto me on the night of the party!" daya exclaimed, crossing her arms. "you kissed me. you were the one who asked me if i wanted to sleep with you! this was your decision first and foremost!" throwing her hands in the air, she began walking away from him in a fit of rage, but turning to face him again shortly after. "you wanted that to happen, so why are you feeling this guilty?"
"because she's been through so much, daya!" tom exclaimed, turning to sit on the living room sofa. his hands ran through his hair in frustration, and he was no longer able to face her. "she doesn't deserve any of this, and i can't be the one to push disaster over the edge!"
shaking her head, zendaya pressed her eyes shut. over the last few weeks of them sneaking around behind their friend's back, tom's guilt had certainly gotten the better of him. it didn't matter how many times she reminded him of the fact that he hadn't done anything wrong due to his and ariana's open-boundary agreement; he continued beating himself up for it, and she wasn't able to persuade him otherwise. "i don't know what you want me to do about this."
"we should just pretend nothing between us happened, alright?" tom said, finally able to trace his eyes to hers, determination flowing through. "we never slept together and i'm going to start my relationship with ariana when i see her in london."
zendaya couldn't offer much of a response for several moments. she just stared at tom in utter disbelief. from the moment they kissed in jake's house party, she knew after all those years being friends... she wanted more. their friendship wasn't enough for her anymore, because for all that time, she harboured feelings for him. she just wasn't aware of it until the waters were tested. but the constant back and forth between tom about his split feelings not only hurt tom, but it broke zendaya's heart. knowing the man she was slowly falling for holding onto the idea of another woman sent daggers through her heart... but she didn't know how she could tell him that. "do you have feelings for me?"
tom's face fell slightly with the uttering of her sudden question. "what?"
"do you have feelings for me?" zendaya emphasized each word clearly and carefully, affirming that she wanted a straight forward answer to a straight forward question.
"i..." tom began to speak, but his words came to a halt as soon as they were about to come out. the silence between the two was incredibly painful, while offering nothing for compensation. "i... i don't know."
...
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arianagrande: antwerp, swt 🤍🤍🤍
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user1: YOU ARE SO PRETTY AND TALENTED
user2: Tom doesn't really comment on her pics anymore 🥲😔
harrystyles: a beauty comparable to the goddess of love herself arianagrande: 🥺🥺brb crying ily
user3: 35 THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE THERE HOLY FUCK
katyperry: The best vocalist arianagrande: !!!!!! ur the cutest ever
billieeilish: Sweet mother of God 😳😳🖤🖤
user4: That's my wife y'all 😭😭😭
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dakota I'll admit, you really went all out Everything looks amazing
ariana i wanted everything to be perfect this means a lot to me 🥰
dakota I really appreciate that I also love that you got his favourite cake from his favourite bakery I don't think I even want to know how hard that was to get last minute 😅😅
ariana had to make sure shipping wouldn't take too long but it was so worth everything 😂☺️
dakota I also saw the present you got him It's really thoughtful I was so curious when you asked me that favour but I completely get it now and It's probably one of the kindest things anyone has done for him in a long time
ariana i'm so happy i got to do that for him i really hope he likes it 😅🥲
dakota He'll love it He might not tell you this enough but You've made him so happy ever since the awful breakup
ariana oh... really?
dakota You've been a true true friend to him You've supported him Listened to him Lent your shoulder when he needed it And your pure heart just speaks for itself So for that, I really want to thank you As his brother, I'm very thankful he found you
ariana oh man i'm tearing up a bit i'm so touched by ur words i'm very thankful i found him too despite how we started off he's now one of the most important people in my life i'd do anything for him
dakota I think he'd do the same for you 🙂 Ohhhhh shit Dalton texted me He's on his way back to the hotel I'm gonna take him to the lounge You hide everybody
