Strangers - a Brad Simpson fanfic (sequel to Be Alright)

Choices

It wouldn't work. There was no way. I was visiting New York for just one weekend. Brad would be going back to England soon - considering he's famous now and all. So what were we supposed to do?

My dad and my brothers came crashing through the hotel doors.

"Arianna! Oh..." they realised only a few seconds after they'd called me name.

"Brad? Why are you here?" My father said as he walked over to us. He tried not to show his emotions, but I could tell he was trying his hardest not to grin like an idiot.

"Recording our album." Brad smiled proudly.

"No way?!" Daniel's jaw almost dropped. Brad grinned at him in response.

"Well Ari, looks like you've got a decision to make." Dad smiled sweetly at me.

"What?" I looked at him, then at Brad, then back at my dad.

"Arianna, you're 20 years old." Wow, reality check. "You have a choice now. You can go back to England. You're a legal adult."

A millions thoughts raced through my mind. Would I be able to do that? Live on my own? I've practically done it before, though. My grandparents never really took care of me.

I obviously thought that I loved Brad enough to go back without a second thought, but now I'm beginning to doubt myself.

"I'll go." I blurted out.

"Home?" Brad raised his eyebrows at me.

"Yeah, home. England." I smiled. What do I do next?

"Thats fine. Just so you know, Arianna, we were going to ask you if you wanted to go home anyway. Another one of our birthday surprises. But I guess this little encounter did it for us." My father was happy - something I didn't expect. "We should get back to looking round. Brad, would you like to come?"

"Yeah, definitely! If you don't mind, of course."

"It's not a problem."

"Awesome. I'll text Connor and let him know I'll be late back." Brad pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly typed a text before shoving it away again. Finally, he smiled at me and took my hand in his, linking our fingers together like he always used to. Everything that was happening - it felt like we were starting all over again.

And that's exactly how I want it to be.