Fireworks 1 and 2

Jungle: Chapter Three

    Whenever Mia walked the red carpet with Drake, or sat down for an interview, the number one question she was asked did not relate to her songwriting or music in general. The one question on everyone's mind was: What is it like to date Drake? It was the question that his fans asked her when they caught her out and about. Everyone wanted to know. Instead of answering the question, she always flipped the question back on them. "What do you think it's like to date Drake?"

    "I think it's heaven."

    "I think he's probably the perfect boyfriend."

    "I think it would be the most amazing relationship a girl could ask for."

    She would tell them they're right. All of the above. Entirely correct. He was affectionate, caring, considerate, sexy, aggressive, witty, intelligent, creative, and a joy to be around. Being around him was easy. Sure, he had his moody days like any other artist, but after she smothered him with hugs and kisses and massages, he usually bounced right back from those bad moods. They could lounge around and do absolutely nothing, and still enjoy themselves. They didn't have to leave the house to have fun.

    But when we do leave the house... she thought now as she slid a pair of pink shades over her eyes. When we leave the house, it's chaos. That led into part two of what it was like to date Drake. Absolute mayhem, when they were in public. Paparazzi wanted photos. They were getting paid top dollar for pictures of Drake alone and even more than that for pictures of Drake and Mia together. Drake and Mia were quickly becoming both America's and Canada's sweethearts. Photos of them kissing in restaurants and at movie premieres were currently circulating the web. His fans had even given them a nickname: Aubria - not to be confused with Aubrih, the nickname they gave him and Rihanna when they were together.

    Against her advice, he had taken photos of himself and Mia and uploaded them to his Instagram page earlier on in their relationship. They were the most adorable of photos. Well, almost all of them were. He'd taken a picture of her while she was sleeping, which she hadn't appreciated. But as usual, she couldn't stay mad at him for long. The gesture had been sentimental. He had thought she looked beautiful. And truth be told, whenever she woke up before he did, she always felt the urge to take his picture. It was tough to blame him when she'd had the same impulse herself.

    There were mixed responses to the photos. Close to half of his followers were happy for them. The other half were hostile.

    "Who's this bitch?"

    "Why is she all over bae though? [insert mad smiley, insert fist smiley, insert sleeping smiley]"

    "Who is she? I will find her and I will whoop her ass for touching the love of my life. LBVS <—laughing but very serious"

    That was only the tip of the iceberg. Those photographs served to be a message to all paparazzi that it was open season on Drake and Mia. While shopping, while visiting Disneyland, while vacationing together, pictures were snapped. Fans came up to both Drake and Mia asking for autographs and photographs.

    He tried to compensate for a lot of the craziness by renting out restaurants so they could have a night out. Shutting down theme parks for an hour or two so they both, along with his OVO/October's Very Own crew could have the place to themselves. She appreciated that, with all of her heart and it made for an enjoyable experience, but there were times when she wanted to be out and about with other people.

    The limousine pulled to a halt and the driver got out of the car. Drake sat beside her and had her hand clasped firmly in his while he waited for the driver to open the door. On the agenda for today? A quick radio interview with Power 106 in Burbank, California, and then a leisure day in L.A., followed by dinner and a Lakers/Raptors basketball game that evening.

    The back door opened and Drake stepped out. He tilted the brim of his baseball cap downward, squinting his eyes against the sunlight as he extended an arm to help her out of the car. She stepped out and was glad she was wearing shades. For March, the sun was quite bright. But then again, this is California, she thought as she tilted her head back and stared up at the tall communications building towering over them.

    Drake led the way since he'd been here on multiple occasions. Gripping his hand, she trailed behind him. The first few interviews she had participated in, she'd been extremely nervous. She hadn't known exactly what the radio personalities were going to ask her, and hadn't known exactly what to say to them, despite coaching from both Drake and manager/image and branding consultant extraordinaire, Oliver El-Khatib. Before those first interviews, she felt like she was going to mess up. Say the wrong thing, or maybe choke up and suffer stage fright once in the studio. Thankfully the interviewers were good at their jobs and good at making her feel comfortable. They had even run over the questions they were going to ask before the interview.

    And now here we are, Mia thought while standing in the elevator. She looked down at her outfit. Nothing flashy, since it was a radio interview. A nice pair of fitted jeans, a cute black and white patterned top with short sleeves, and a pair of cute black booties. Understated jewelry, minimal makeup. A change of clothes for later that evening was waiting for her on the jet they'd flown from Los Angeles to Berkeley, a decision Drake had made since a car trip from Calabasas to Berkeley would have taken close to six hours.

    "Oliver explained to them that they do not get to ask questions about the Trevor situation," Drake told her as the elevator slowly climbed up to the eighth floor. "They are going to ask you questions about working with me on the album, your thoughts on the album and the success you're gaining from it. How we met, and they will probably ask questions about us dating."

    He had only accompanied her on one other interview. It had felt comforting to know that he was right there. After that interview, he'd told her that she was a natural because she knew when to play coy with the media. "You play coy with them in such a way...it's so cute and adorable. They just eat it up." Hearing those words had helped her in the interviews that followed. And while there was always just a little bit of nervousness, she was nowhere near the bundle of nerves she'd been during those first interviews.

    The elevator doors opened and she squeezed his hand reflexively.

    He laughed and kissed her cheek. "It will be fine. Come on."

    She followed him off of the elevator and into a nicely decorated lobby area, complete with receptionist checking her iPhone. When the receptionist realized that the radio station had visitors of the well-known variety, she greeted them warmly. Recognizing Drake, she had them sign in and pointed them into the right direction. As Mia followed him, she smoothed down her hair and her top.

    They walked down a short hall and passed a long window giving a view inside of the radio studio. The door beside the long window was thrust open, and a familiar-looking pop princess with shocking red wine-colored hair stood in the doorway, staring at the two of them.

    Of course Rihanna would be here, Mia thought, plastering a sugary sweet smile on her face.