She's the Reason • Ariana Grande

Chapter Two

I woke up the next day, dreary and wanting to go back to bed. I needed a day off from my family and just everything in general. Introverts like me just need time to rejuvenate and take time off. Maybe I could find a photography job today, my mom paying for half of the rent wasn't supposed to last this long.

I got up out of bed and walked across the hall to Anthony's room. His door was wide open and his bed empty. I tried calling him with my phone but no one answered. Forgetting the fact that he could possibly have been murdered, raped, and kidnapped, I went back into my room and found fresh clothes to take a shower.

The second I saw my reflection in the mirror I almost screamed. I had huge bags under my eyes and my hair was bigger than my head. I got undressed as fast as I could so I could tame my hair and rid my face of the two balloons that were temporarily stuck under my eyes.

I took my shower and felt energized for the day enough that I could at least leave the house. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and left without eating anything for breakfast. Until I got in the car, I hadn't realized how early it was, only 9:00 in the morning. Where would Anthony be this early?

I tried calling him again before I left but it went straight to voicemail. I wasn't going to call the cops or anything but I was still worried. Why would he leave without telling me? If he had to do something, he would've left a note stuck to my forehead just like the dozens of times before then.

I stopped overthinking about the situation and focused on the actual matter at hand, getting a job. There had to be a good paying photography job somewhere in all of Chicago right?

Judson University (aka my university) was nearly an hour away from Chicago but I took the drive out to go to the mall and get everything I needed done. Plus, maybe get something to eat. It was a me day and I was going to try not to worry about Anthony or where he was.

A job was now a mandatory, Anthony's parents and my parents couldn't keep helping us pay rent forever right? After leaving the car, I went on a hunt for the studio. All I knew was that there's a studio, not where it was or whether I had to make an appointment or how I even applied for a job.

After twently minutes of pointlessly walking around in circles, I realized I probably shouldn't have walked to find this photography studio. For all I know, there isn't even one in Chicago. There has to be one though, it's Chicago. I kept walking until the big ass mall was actually busy and until I slowly but surely gave up. When I finally got the idea of using my phone, I realized I didn't have it, I'd left it in the car. Great.

I resorted to asking someone or else I was never going to get anywhere. I asked the first person I saw, they had an oversized Panthers sweatshirt on. "Excuse me, um do you know how to get to the photography studio?"

The stranger turned around and smiled, "Oh, it's you! Nathan right?" She was wearing huge sunglasses and smiling from ear to ear. I immediately started internally flipping out. The girl, who had just talked to me as if we'd known each other since second grade, was Ariana Grande. The girl from last night that my best friend had been flirting with.

"Yeah! But um, what're you doing?" I whispered a little too loudly. As far as I was aware celebrities, expecially ones like her, are only out in public when there are a million body guards forming a circle around them.

"I have the day off." the girl with millions of Twitter followers said. She seemed perhaps too open to sharing information, expecially as a huge celebrity.

"Aren't celebrities like you supposed to be surrounded by body guards when you're out in public?" I asked her as people bumped and ran into both of us. On the outside I was trying to act chill as if I ran into people like her everyday on the street but internally I was freaking out. If someone saw me talking to Ariana Grande and somehow let enough people know, I could instantly be a minor celebrity. And for what? Nothing. Just talking with a celebrity.