positions (Ariana Grande/You)

1. meeting you was just like magic

Today was the day you were supposed to meet The Ariana Grande. The feeling of nervousness never got old. You had interviewed numerous people who were in the industry in the past year, and you'd like to think that you had gotten the hang of it, but honestly the initial nerves never really left.

Unlike most of your previous interviewees, Ariana had decided to do the interview in person. That's what made this time so different. Not bad, not good—just different. Well, you certainly hoped it would be good.

Nonetheless, this was still a major milestone. It was almost as if you had a backstage pass to a live concert that you had wanted to but never really been able to catch. It was a unique mix of exciting and equally terrifying. What if she hated the way you speak, or even worse, your home? You couldn't do much about the former but perhaps the latter...

No, you have to suppress the urge to rearrange your furniture for the third time.

Even though you had a designated space to conduct the interviews (mainly your living room), you allowed your guests to find a spot where they felt most comfortable. Hence, the whole apartment makeover despite not knowing what Ariana found aesthetically pleasing in terms of interior decoration.

Trying not to overthink and pile onto your nerves, you settled on preparing things you could control, like the interview questions. The way you conducted interviews is something you had always prided yourself on—keep it chill, fun, and comfortable, is your mantra. You had established rules for yourself right at the start. The first was to keep all fangirling to a minimum, including restraining yourself from requesting an autograph. You weren't going to break that rule no matter how tempted you are.

Ariana's team had informed you that she had scheduled two hours for the interview and would be meeting you at four in the afternoon. So you have 10 minutes to finish panicking, double-check your recording equipment, go through your notes containing questions you had researched, and verify that they are not too personal or offensive in any way. You can never be too safe. The sheer amount of sexist questions you had to comb through in her past interviews was honestly appalling.

As you fiddled with your tripod once more, the doorbell rang. You knew who it was. No one really visited you besides the delivery person. You almost tripped on your way to the door but you managed to regain your balance. It would be a crime to keep Ariana waiting.

You opened the door and found yourself staring at a tall buff man who clearly wasn't Ariana.

"Uh... how can I help you?" You asked hesitantly, a little intimidated by his stature.

He stated your name with the cadence of a question and you confirmed your identity with a nod, even though the stranger danger alarms were going on in your head.

"Hi!" A high-pitched voice called out, but there were only two of you and it clearly does not belong to—

Your thoughts were cut off when Ariana popped up from behind him. The first thing you noticed was how beautiful she looked. The pictures on the internet definitely didn't do her any justice. You reminded yourself not to stare for too long to avoid coming off as rude.

"I'm Ariana, and this is my bodyguard Max, nice to meet you." She held out her hand with a cup in it.

"Likewise, it's a pleasure." You patted yourself mentally on the back for not stuttering. However, you weren't sure what to do for the next course of action. You were going to shake her hand but the cup was making it hard to do so. Ariana seemed to understand your dilemma.

"Oh, I got you coffee. Black, cause I wasn't sure how you take it and black is usually the most common option. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. It's sweet that you got me a drink." You smiled politely as you took the hot beverage. You didn't have the heart to tell her you don't drink coffee, much less in its pure form. But you took a sip for the show, forcing yourself not to grimace at the bitter taste. You made a mental note to add sugar and milk so that you won't die out of disgust.