Riptide (a lauren jauregui love story)

Part 37

Jackson's pov
We got to the music store to get some guitar picks. We weren't supposed to be there that long but the girls were having so much fun. They were touching all of the instruments and playing them. Justin, Tyga, and I shook our heads at them.
"Oh my god drums!" Kylie squealed and ran into that room. We all followed her and heard her play the worst combination of strikes ever. It was really bad.
"No sweetheart don't do that!" I yell over the noise.
"Here let me help you." Justin goes behind her and leads her arms to play simple beats. Kendall walks over to another and before she even starts I stop her and help her play it a little bit.
"Let's make this fun."
"Justin vs Jackson!" Kylie suggests.
"I'm down!"
"Me too!"
"Alright my money's on Justin!" Kylie says as does Tyga and Sandy.
"Sandy your my cousin!"
"Yeah and I am betting against you! I just already know how this I going to go. 20 bucks each?" I dropped my jaw.
"Don't worry Ive got my money on you because Justin's ego does not need all votes on his side." Kendall says patting my back.
"Jokes on all of you because I've been practicing. 20bucks on myself." I take a pair of sticks and Sit down.
"Who's going first?"
"I think the loser should go first." Kylie says pointing at me. I playfully glare at her and she films.
"Ok!" I play a simple beat and they laugh. Justin goes and gets a little more complicated. I do the same thing again. Justin goes and does it even more complicated.
"Ok last round because this is pathetic." Tyga says.
"Ok Justin prepare to be beaten."
"I doubt it, given what you have been doing."
"Alright I'm about to make you my bitch." I starts paying a really complicated combination and played it faster and faster till my hands were burning. I'm talking like last scene from whiplash fast. It was intense. I drop the sticks after a while and I realize the blisters and cuts on my hand.
"Told you I've been practicing!" I smile up at their shocked faces."
"But you just..."
"It's called hustling b-otch!" I squeeze my hands out of breath and in pain.
"I need bandages Kendall!" I complain and she walks over and granbs my hands and looks at them.
"Holy shit you're bleeding!"
"Yeah anything to show up the high and mighty Justin Bieber."
"You did well." He compliments slapping my back.
"Yeah Jackson wins!" Kylie says.
"And you guys owe us 20 bucks each. Also we have to go get you bandaged up." She helps me out to the car while Justin buys the picks. We get my hands all wrapped up.

Lauren's pov
We were at an interview and it was going as per usual. Camila answers every question and when other people start she has to add. It's fine though I don't really care.
"Alright let's get personal. Camila you have been seen out with Charlie Puth lately, trouble with Shawn?"
"No me and Charlie are just friends."
"Are you sure because you seem.."
"We're friends so leave it." He puts up the surrender sign.
"Alright Lauren have you seen the viral video of your boyfriend beating Justin Bieber in a drum showdown. It's gone viral."
"I have not."
"Let's watch then." He turns on a screen and it shows Kendall betting on him and them teasing him of course. He goes and he's really bad and compared to Justin.
"How did he win?" Dinah laughs with the other girls.
"Stop laughing at my baby!" I shove them playfully.
"Alright I'm about to make you my b***h!" They bleeped it out because it's live. He plays a really complicated beat contrary to what he was playing earlier. He goes super hard. He's playing the same pattern with variations over and over going faster and faster. He had a look of pain on his face. He looked like he was hurting. He dropped the sticks In pain.
"Told you I've been practicing."
"But you just..."
"It's called hustling b-otch!"
"I need bandages Kendall!"
"Holy shit you're bleeding!"
"Yeah anything to show up the high and mighty Justin Bieber."
"He posted a picture of his hands after that and let's just say that it proved that."
"That was crazy!" Dinah stares in awe.
"Any thoughts Lauren?"
"He's so fucking competitive sometimes."
"Do you not like that?" The interviewer asks.
"No it's really hot." Ally slaps my arm.
"What?"
"You can't say that in an interview!"
"Hey I'm just being honest! Jackson playing the drums till he's bleeding is hot!"
"You're probably the only person who I have met who has been so open about their relationship!"
"Well what's the point in lying, it's just like it can't ruin my life or my image because I mean if the person you love ruined your image then I think the image was a mask and your love pulled it from covering your blindness."
"Hashtag deep thoughts with Lauren." Dinah jokes
"Well Lauren you want to talk about these rumors between you and your ex?"
"Oh my god they're so ridiculous. It's like they run out of reasons that the band is breaking up and suddenly my love life is a love hexagon. It's ridiculous. Why would I go to lunch with my ex alone. That's not the kind of girl I am. If he wants to talk to me about our former relationship then he can talk to me while my current boyfriend is present."
"But it looks just like you."
"It's not me. It's not my fault he has a thing for girls that look like me. Honestly, there is no one in a million years that would make me want to cheat on Jackson." The girls ooh'ed.
"Especially not Brad." I didn't realize I was squeezing my fist until ally placed her hand on mine comfortingly. I unclenched my fist and calmed down. Thank god this was a radio interview. I just hate what he did to me. They always hurt me in one way or the other. I just want Jackson to be different. I want to be treated like the princess he treats me like now. I want him to always look at me like a precious jewel, always be my knight in shining armor. Always make me feel safe and loved. He treats my body like a temple. You know you want to explore it so bad but you have to take baby steps so that you don't break anything. He's perfect and I love him.
"Are you worried about him ever disrespecting you?"
"no I don't worry about him ever even hurting me let alone disrespecting me. He's a great guy."
"He seems to be having fun in Australia with the Jenner sisters?"
"Yeah so.."
"Do you worry about them."
"No because I trust him, especially since we've been through this already you know the earlier rumors. They're all rumors that's it."
"But you guys were just rumors before you got together."
"You think..." I started to yell but Dinah caught me.
"Well the thing is way even before the rumors Jackson had a thing for Lauren. They were inevitable there was no way to stop them getting together."
"But it says here they were caught in each other's embrace."
"Oh my god I talked to him like last night. He's not cheating on me can we leave it at that."
"But how do you know? You're not in Australia with him while he's hanging out with models. You have to accept it. Plus You never post about him something about him there is definetly something going on?"
"I'm feeling interrogated right now, it's my relationship and I'll do what I want. I barely use social media except promotion for the most part. If it's really that important to everyone I'll post more pictures of us. I've seen him 1 day in the last 3 months ok?"
"Well now you're gonna post more to cover up." My nails were digging into my hand so Ally held my hand to keep me from puncturing the skin.
"Cover up what? The fact that our careers and personal agendas have us in two opposite countries. He has to fulfill his visa and I have rehearsals and recording in the states. If I weren't so busy I would go down there with him. I can't and he can't be here, he's trying not to be an illegal immigrant. We are not hiding anything, and I don't care if this is an interview, your attacking me. I don't have to tell you anything. I let the harmonizers see my life because they deserve to be apart of it but I'm not a fucking criminal you telling me that my boyfriend is cheating on me or giving me relationship advice. That's not your job. If I wanted you to tell me what to do with my love life then I'd fucking ask you to be a love doctor but I didn't. I don't care about Kendall or Kylie or any other girl hanging out with him. It's not my place. I love him. I trust him. That's that."
"He's a player he's an immigrant probably looking for an American sweetheart. A little Latina sweetheart to play around with."
"That's not appropri.." Ally start.
"Don't fucking talk about my boyfriend like that. You fucking white Male supremacist. I'm a fucking woman not a piece of meat so don't refer to me that way."
"He doesn't love you if he will spend all of this intense time with these super hot girls."
"Ok now your telling her she's not hot." Camila says shocked.
"Yeah pretty much." I was so close to blowing my shit.
"What the fuck is wrong with you she's fucking beautiful. How could you even say something like that. She doesn't have to tell you anything and the fact that you just told her she wasn't hot is absolutely disgusting." Camila defends me.
"No I just mean she's no Victoria secret model. And she sure as hell ain't no Kendall or Kylie." My fists her shaking and my face turned red with anger."
"I'm gonna ask you to please shut up before I shut you up." Dinah says.
"Where's will?" I ask almost crying. The girls shake their heads not knowing.
"Are you threatening me."
"No I'm promising you."
"How rude do you have to be to talk to me his way on my radio show."
"You're the one who's being rude Hun, I think everyone else in the world would agree that Lauren is a beautiful and wonderful person inside and out and everything your saying right now is offensive." Normani says.
I saw our manager will in the doorway, out of breath. He tapped Ally and beckoned us out of the room.
"So thank you for this but we're gonna leave." Dinah says coldly and Ally holds my hand and leads me out of there. One of the producers runs up to me.
"I'm so sorry about him, he's new and he's about to get fired. I would've stopped it but I just got in and no one else has the authorization. I'm so so sorry. If there's anything I can do?"
"Don't worry about it I just didn't want to completely lose my temper at him I have temper issues."
"Ok as long as your ok."
"Yeah I'm fine sorry we had to cut the interview short."
"Don't even worry about it."
I smiled at the kind man. I knew him from the other interviews we had done there. I put on some sunglasses and hooked my arm in Ally's and our manager led us out past paparazzi. We got in the van and I leaned my head on her shoulder and let out a tear. Ally wiped it up and pulled me into a hug.
"Lauren are you ok?" My manager asks me.
"Why didn't you get her out of there faster? Look how hurt she is!" Dinah yells.
"I couldn't I wasn't in the studio. The security put me out so I had to go get my pass and by that time I hadn't heard it. I went to get you out as soon as possible."
"Don't worry about it I'm fine! I just almost punched him in the face."
"Trust me she did if I hadn't held her hand the way through." Ally assures.
"I want to apologize to the harmonizers because I shouldn't have acted the way I did."
"I'm so sorry Lauren you can do a twitcam to say something but you don't need to apologize at all."
"I do I was a little too aggressive in my replies." Will nods and takes a seat as I wipe my tears headed home.