STAY WOKE ✔︎ || A. Grande

ᴛᴇɴ

"And I'll have a salad please." Ariana passed the menu to the waiter and then watched him walk off before looking back at Dalton.

"Thank you for coming." Dalton said and Ariana nodded, "yeah, of course!" Dalton frowned when he noticed the lack of energy from Ariana. "Hey, is everything okay?" Dalton asked, examining Ariana's face with concern. Ariana sighed, "yeah... I'm just a little worried for Briar. It's hard to trust the hospital when you realize what they do to patients like her."

"Oh... I'm really sorry to hear about that." Ariana shrugged her shoulders, "it's okay, I guess."
"We can go if you want?" Dalton suggested but Ariana shook her head. "No, it's alright. Really. I would feel bad if we just left." Dalton nodded his head, "of course, you're the boss." Ariana smiled at the sound of that.

Never has she ever been called 'the boss'. It's always been something less than a boss. Maybe a secretary or something but never a boss.

"I'm the boss?" Ariana said and Dalton nodded in confirmation. Ariana smirked as an idea came to her head.

———

"This- is what you wanted to do?" Ariana nodded. Dalton smiled, "well then. I think blue is a very beautiful color. If you don't mind me asking, what is this room for?" Ariana wiped some of the paint off of her face - or at least tried to. She smiled up at the blue wall before shaking her head, "it's just for an office." She replied.

"Oh... okay. Well I'm glad to help you paint this room. I'll say it once and I'll say it again; this blue is absolutely beautiful. Kind of like... you." Ariana stopped her movements and felt her cheeks heat up. "H-huh?" She stammered.

Dalton laughed, "you're very beautiful, Ariana." Dalton repeated, "and I feel like a little middle school boy when he has his first crush whenever I see you." Dalton admitted. Ariana looked down with a blush covering her cheeks. "Jeez... that's a lot to admit, Dalton." Dalton nodded and scratched the back of his neck, "yeah..."

"As much as I would love to date you... I just don't think I'm ready. I really want to focus on work and stuff and we kind of just met as well." Dalton nodded in understanding and continued to paint the once white wall. The atmosphere was now awkward between the two and Dalton felt like an idiot. 'What were you thinking, Dalton?! You're a fucking idiot! And why now?! You're most likely going to be here for hours! And it's obvious as to why she is focusing on work! It seems like the only person she cares about at the moment is her patient!'

———

"Briar?" Courtney peaked her head in Briar's cell. She frowned when she saw the state Briar was in. Ariana wasn't at the hospital all day. Because of that, the 'doctors' decided to do some more 'operations' on Briar. The poor girl looked so weak and hurt. If Courtney wouldn't have known better, she would've thought that Briar was dead.

Briar looked up from her pillow and looked at Courtney. Courtney closed the door behind her and walked to Briar. She engulfed Briar in a large hug. "Shh, it's alright. Remember what I told you? You can't let them get to you like that, Bri." Briar frowned.

"But Ariana-"

"I don't care what Ariana says. You need to stand up for yourself. You have those demons for a reason." Briar looked down at her hands. "I don't wanna..." She muttered. Courtney lifted Briar's chin and looked at her in the eyes. "If you don't use your demons then they are going to use you. Use them for what they were made for, do you understand?" Briar nodded.

Courtney smiled and got up from Briar's bed, "good." She kissed Briar's forehead before leaving the room. Briar continued to look at her hands before shaking her head. "I don't wanna..." she repeated. "I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I DON'T WANNA!" She screamed at the top of her legs as she kicked her legs around. The room began to spin around her and she could feel herself get angrier by the moment until it all stopped.

She opened her eyes and uncovered her ears and looked around. The room looked like her old room when she had when she was little and she was in her favorite pair of pyjamas. She then looked in front of her to see her mom. "Hi bunny."

"Mommy?" Elsie smiled and hugged Briar. Elsie ran her fingers through Briar's hair and held her close. "You are alright, bunny. You're okay." Elsie whispered while repeatedly kissing Briar's head. She looked out the window and sighed, "look at what time it is! It is way past your bedtime." Briar arched her eyebrows and shook her head, "I-I don't have bedtime."

Elsie let out a deep sigh, "and look at your pronunciation. You sound like a two year old." Briar looked down ashamed. She didn't talk much, nor did she hear people talk so talking was always a struggle for her. Elsie saw the disappointment in Briar's eyes, "but that's alright because I like when my baby sounds like she's two years old. It reminds me of when you were little."

"Sing me to sleep?" Briar asked, looking up at her mother. Elsie nodded. Briar laid down and Elsie tucked her in. She then pulled up the wooden chair to the bed and began to sing the song that Briar loved to hear when she was a baby.

But when Briar woke up the next morning, she realized she wasn't in her bed that she had when she was little, and she wasn't in her colorful bedroom or in her comfy pyjamas. And most of all, she wasn't with her mom.

"M-Mommy..." her voice trembled.