Cooper's Children's Home // BradGa

T E N

"You might be able to fool whoever the fuck else but not me. You better tell me what's wrong, Gaga." Bobby said, glaring at her. He knew her way better than he'd like to and this wasn't the annoying, bitchy Gaga he was used to and it concerned him. She'd never been this quiet and sad before. Not even when her last engagement failed again.

"Leave me alone, Bobby! I'm fine." She rolled her eyes and sunk further into the chair she was sitting in, her knees pressed to her chest and her arms crossed.

"No, what the fuck is up?" He pressed, determined to find out what happened to her.

"This is all your fault anyway!" She yelled at him, sitting up now, her hands on either side of the chair. She held onto it with such a tight grip, her knuckles turned white. "You had to send me to that stupid house full of stupid kids and stupid Bradley Cooper who's got the biggest fucking mouth and beautiful eyes and the softest damn hands you can imagine!" She blurted out, blushing when she noticed what she just said.

Bobby smirked and nodded. "I see. What I don't understand is what your damn problem is if he's only half as wonderful as you just told me he is?"

"My problem is that I am who I am. That's the fucking problem!" She groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

Bobby chuckled and rubbed her shoulder, earning a growl from her while she backed away a bit. "And? He knows who you are, doesn't he? And?"

"What and?" She glared up at him again.

"And what did he say? Does he feel the same way about you?" Bobby asked.

Stefani sighed and nodded. "At least that's what he said, but he doesn't know me, does he? He's never seen the crazy side of me because I tried to keep it away from him and those kids but it's who I am, right? I am crazy and loud and unpredictable. I sometimes disappear for three weeks and hide away in a costume somewhere no one speaks my language or I just start living at the studio for two months straight to get an album done. He's never seen me prepare for a show, do interview after interview and he doesn't even know about my fibromyalgia or my past, Bobby. And I'm not even sure I want him to." She let out a heavy sigh. "Lady Gaga isn't Someone people fall in love with, because I'm not that lovable." She mumbled.

"Coming from someone that does know all of these sides of you: he'd be absolutely nuts not to fall in love with you and I'm not saying this because you're like a daughter to me. I'm saying it because it's the fucking truth. Yes, you're a dumb bitch sometimes and yes, your temper is horrible and don't get me started on your foul mouth, but you're also the kindest, most talented and caring person I know. I've seen you jump into relationships that didn't work out before and I know they destroyed you in one way or another, but let me tell you that I also had a feeling you and Bradley would fall for each other. Especially after he called me to ask me to give you more time off-" he held a finger up when her eyes widened and her body tensed, ready to fight. "And before you start freaking out and going all 'he had no right to call you, I am a grown woman and can handle everything myself', no you couldn't. It sucks that I didn't realize and didn't think about the fact that you had kids around you 24/7 all of a sudden and put the same amount of work on you than I did before. But you know who noticed? Bradley noticed. He called me and told me to cut you some slack, that you were trying and he told me that he liked having you around, that you were a great help." He paused. "What I'm trying to say here is: don't let the one man go that could potentially be the one you can settle down with. Love always finds a way and while your life may be crazy now, it won't always be and I have a strong feeling that Bradley would love to get to know every single facet you have to offer." Bobby finished, letting her think again.

Everything he said was right and she knew it. She'd been in relationships and even engagements before where she didn't even like the guy half as much as she liked Bradley and while she knew they wouldn't work out she still stayed with them until they broke her heart again, so why did she want to run away from her feelings for Bradley, when he was the first man to make her feel like there's a better side to her than the one she's been living with?

She loved Bradley and the kids. They gave her a home, a safe place to go to. She'd never felt so calm anywhere before and whenever she walked into that house, took her shoes off in the hallway and walked into the full living room she felt like she was back home with her family. They were her family.

They'd miss her terribly once she'd be gone and that was the only thing that kept her from trying to be with Bradley. Keeping him, them, around would be incredibly selfish when she couldn't give them the attention and love they needed and deserved. Yes, she'd have a home to go to whenever she came back home, but while she was gone? How would they feel if she was just never around anymore? Leaving once and never returning would hurt but continuously coming back just to leave again was another kind of pain. One she knew and didn't want anyone else to experience, especially not the people she loved.

"Thank you for the advice but I know what I'm doing, Bobby." She stubbornly said after a moment of silence.

Bobby sighed in defeat and nodded. "Alright. I tried, kiddo." He shrugged and continued working on something.

This is so short, I'm the worst. I'm sorry!