What We Keep Hidden (Jai Brooks- Ariana Grande)

He needs a father

They ended up spending the reminder of the day in the park. Ariana eventually relaxed with the idea of Jai hanging out with Brandon and had fun with him. They joked about old times and laughed at inside jokes that Brandon didn't understand but still laughed along because he didn't want to feel left out.

Eventually he got pretty tired after the sun went down and he crawled into Ariana's lap during their dinner picnic. Jai had gone to a diner down the street to get them burgers, (veggie for the vegan Ari), fries, and even some milkshakes. (Soy for Ariana.)

Brandon cuddled into her and yawned softly as the teenagers talked. He clutched his moms shirt and quietly listened.

Ariana finished her burger with a small moan that conveyed she was full. "That was an amazing veggie burger." She commented as she held Brandon close to her. She heard Jai chuckling and looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"Uh, you got something right there." He smiled teasingly and reached his thumb out, gently wiping away a small glob of the mustard and ketchup combo she had by her lip from her burger. "There. All gone." he smiled and couldn't help but get lost in her eyes. They stayed silent as they stared deeply in each other's eyes, feeling a magnetic force pulling them to each other.

Ariana blushed as she broke the eye contact to look down at Brandon, who was fighting to keep his eyes open. "Uhm, we should get him home. He's getting tired."

Jai nodded quickly, reeling from the almost kiss, and stood to clean up their impromptu picnic.

xxxxxxx

"Whoa! Low-flying branch, duck down, dude!", Jai shouted as he awkwardly bent his tall frame to avoid a tree branch and Brandon squealed in delight from atop his shoulders.

"Shhhh! Will you two be quiet? Someone's going to call the police", Ariana hissed as she tried to keep up which wasn't easy in four-inch heels. "Why did we have to go this way anyhow? You know our parents pay a lot of taxes to maintain all these beautiful sidewalks and roads; we could be walking on them now. That's how we got to the park in the first place."

They were currently taking the short-cut which meant they were cutting through the backyards of their neighbors and would eventually end up at the Grande's house in half the time as walking on the street. At least, that was the theory.

"But that way's not nearly as much fun." Jai stopped and let her catch up.

"Yeah, Mommy, this is fun and I'm taaaall!", crooned Brandon at the top of his lungs. Obviously he had woken up a bit since they decided to head home.

"Shhhh, she's right. They'll call the coppers on us, bud", Jai advised his small passenger and surprisingly, Brandon quietened down immediately. Jai couldn't help the smirk he shot Ariana; after all, he was still just a big kid himself.

"So, what's new?" He knew it was a lame way to start a conversation, but he had to start somewhere. She'd barely said two words to him since they left the park.

Ariana just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. They hadn't gotten too personal at the park. They kept things light. But she felt things were about to get deep.

"Look, Ari. I'll be honest. I want back in your life; I miss you. I miss being your friend. I, uh, miss being more than your friend." Jai bashfully dipped his head to side.

Ding ding ding! She was right.

Ariana sighed deeply. "We were so stupid." She was good at stating the obvious.

"Yeah... but hey, this little guy really is great." He motioned up with his head towards Brandon and Ariana surprised him by giggling.

"Stop a minute, Jai. Oh, my sweet baby...", she murmured. Jai's heart clenched, because for about half a second, he thought she was talking to him. "He's fallen asleep."