Case Closed (Hariana | H.S & A.G)

Part 23: Out in the Open

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" I see Ari frown as she looks into my eyes. It's the next day and I suggested that all the girls go shopping today. I guess I should've expected her skepticism since just yesterday I was telling them I didn't think we were ready. But I only said that to make sure my mum knew about Ricky and what happened so she wouldn't say something she shouldn't without even knowing it. But I can't tell her that.

"Yeah, if you are. I just- I don't want you trapped from one house to another. People will find out about us eventually, why make ourselves miserable before that time happens?" I lie and she nods her head.

"Alright" she says with a faint smile, she wants to say more but she won't, probably because my family is standing around us. She, Gemma, and my mum have already gotten dressed and ready and are about to leave.

"I love you" I admit and I hope she realizes just how much I mean it as I give her a quick kiss. She smiles faintly once again and won't even look at me as she just turns away and heads towards the door following behind Gemma. Something's definitely wrong, I just want to hold her back and ask her what's wrong, to tell her not to go. I don't know what I did but I just want to turn back time, I thought I was doing the right thing by letting her go but maybe not.

"I miss them already" I hear my step dad joke and I fake a laugh since I don't want to drag him into my problems. We head back into my living room and begin to just hang out and watch TV. After about an hour I hear my phone begin buzzing and I know exactly what's going on. I told some people like my manager Jeff about Ari but some people also don't know and it's easier to just text them about it now, of course I also tell them not to tell anyone since technically the media still doesn't really know. It feels weird to 'confirm' we're dating, we'll probably just hang out and once they get a photo of us together it'll all just confirm itself. At the same time I know that now we'll be stalked more heavily and I'm worried, Ari's having a nice time here, I don't want this to ruin it.

I don't know exactly what's been posted online though so I decide to go on Twitter and check it out. There's some low quality pictures of Ari out shopping with Gemma and Anne. They include one of her and Gemma talking and laughing and having a good time which is nice, she seems happier than she was when she was leaving this morning. There's also a lot of tweets about the photos and I decide to scroll through them and see what people are saying; 'if this means Ari and Harry are back together I'm gonna cry' 'Hariana is back and I'm throwing a party' 'Harry and Ari are always on and off I just hope their relationship is healthy' 'Ari out here hanging out with her ex's family and you can't get a text back' 'People saying Hariana slays as if this isn't a distraction from Larry' 'since when is Ari in London? If Harry's there too I'm gonna freak out' 'why is Ari hanging out with her Harry's family, maybe they're back together?' most tweets are something along these lines. Most people are confused but I'm sure in the upcoming days that'll change, it's weird to have people tweet about my life but I've just gotta accept it and be thankful most of it is positive.

...

"Alright goodnight guys, I love you both. Get some rest" I hear my mum say as we say goodnight, she gives Ari and I both a hug and I don't know what she's been saying to her today but I have faith that she tried her best to help be there for Ariana.

"Goodnight" Ari smiles as she pulls away from their hug and she and I head up to my room in silence. She hasn't said much to me since she got back, I mean she hasn't completely ignored me, she's just a bit more quiet around me. I can't tell if she's angry, upset or just tired.

"Is everything okay, what are you keeping from me?" I ask once we've gotten into my bedroom. I didn't mean to be so blunt but for some reason I am and I just gotta go with it.