from me to u... (book three - dalton)

chapter thirty-eight: heartbroken aftermath

"so they're going to give their relationship a chance?" courtney sighed, as she laid her head against her hand lying down on the enormous couch. ariana and her friends all gathered into a common room of the hotel that had been rented out in london for them after the show fully concluded. it had been about two hours since tom and zendaya agreed to dip their toes into being more than friends - on the condition that they'd proceed slowly so they're able to recover if it didn't work out. although ariana had repeatedly told her friends and co-workers that she had been doing alright, the support around ariana was unwavering.

"no harm in giving things a shot," ariana shrugged, glancing lovingly at her best friend.

"except when some poor dingus gets their heart broken." doug shrugged, reflecting a smug impression while scrolling through his own phone while sitting next to ariana. it was evident he wasn't taking tom's treatment of ariana well - despite ariana forgiving both him and zendaya. ariana didn't respond to him, but did allow herself to chuckle at doug's attempt to lighten her mood.

"where's dalton, by the way?" mikey asked, taking a sip of his champagne while sitting on the faux fur carpet with his head tilted against the couch.

"he and dakota went to get takeout from that nearby vegan bistro." ariana said, while scrolling through her phone. "i didn't have a chance to eat dinner, and they very kindly offered to get food despite my very stern objections," she said with a chuckle. she had been on twitter and instagram for the last little while, reading the feedback and reactions of the changed set list for the night. the overwhelmingly positive reception warmed ariana's heart... but the moment had been bittersweet for her.

"it's getting late. the last night for the european leg is tomorrow, so we should get to bed early." victoria yawned, as she got off from the carpet and stretched her sore muscles. "make sure you sleep soon, alright?" she sternly but lovingly pointed to ariana, who nodded with a grin.

"you're really doing okay?" brian glanced over to ariana from across the couch with genuine concern and love. all her friends were aware of her ability to conceal emotions, and had automatically set their senses to hypersensitive to be able to truly be there for their friend no matter how much she would lie to them.

"i am now, thanks to you guys." ariana reassured them, offering her friends a smile. although the group remained slightly sceptical, they trusted ariana to retire for the night, before offering no short of hugs, loving words, and kindness that she so dearly deserved.

after several moments, ariana was now left alone to her own thoughts, waiting for dalton to come back.

...

tom
I'm not deserving of it at all but
Thank you for giving me a chance to earn your forgiveness

ariana
it's not going to happen overnight but
ur a dear friend, and i'd hate to lose u
i just need some time 🙂

tom
I completely understand
And thank you for supporting me and Daya

ariana
she loves u a lot
and i know u do to, even if ur not seeing it
but if u don't think it's going to work, don't string her along ok?

tom
Yes, I'll remember that
I want this to work out
She means the world to me

ariana
u mean the world to her too
i'm v happy for u two 🤍

tom
Thank you, really
You really are an astonishing human being

ariana
🥲☺️🤍