positions (Ariana Grande/You)

4. ride or die

"In love, one always starts by deceiving oneself and ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance." - Oscar Wilde

Your first public outing together began with an invitation to one of Ariana's recording sessions. A full week has passed since your last encounter, and being seen together at a neutral location seemed like a great way to start Operation: Fake Dating.

Ariana texted you an address and you found yourself at a recording studio after a 30-minute car ride. She waited at the entrance and brought you in when you arrived. She explained that she would be composing songs for her new album.

While there were people around, including Max the bodyguard, the recording room was only occupied by you, Ariana, and the producer she was working with. You sat quietly on one of the chairs available, watching Ariana do her thing.

You observed as Ariana conversed with her producer, while he played a simple beat with some instrumental sounds. She started humming along, singing some words as he added more complex layers.

It was nothing short of magic, the kind that only came when a person is so passionate and knowledgeable in their craft. It's truly inspiring to see Ariana be so comfortable and confident when creating her music.

The best part of it was having the permission to film the entire process, like you're making a documentary about her, for your own eyes and ears only. You felt special, privy to her musical process like a magician revealing the secret to their tricks.

You were so engrossed in Ariana's voice, fiddling with your camera subconsciously, that you didn't notice she was staring at you. It was only when you adjusted the camera for the perfect angle and focus that your eyes met through the screen.

You looked up to give her a questioning quirk of your eyebrow. She responded with a small shake of her head, looking down and smiling to herself. You saw some movements but you weren't sure what she was doing exactly with the wall of the booth blocking.

Ariana did it a few more times, looking up to study you before looking back down. Her right arm moved as though she was... writing. However, she stopped when her phone pinged, cutting short your investigation. She walked out of the booth, holding a notebook that confirmed your suspicions. She stopped in front of you before saying, "Victoria's here! Can't wait for you two to meet."

"Victoria? As in Monét?"

"Yep," Ariana confirmed. "You look excited."

"Yeah, I love her music including the collabs with you."

"Oh, you're a fan."

"Sure am. I listened to queer female artists often."

Before Ariana could say anything else, Victoria enters the room. "Hi everyone." Victoria greeted, before acknowledging you.

"I know you! You interviewed Ari before, right?"

"I did, nice to meet you."

"You know, Ari couldn't stop talking about you ever since. So glad you became friends."

"Is that so?" You smiled charmingly at Victoria while glancing at Ariana. She doesn't meet your eyes. "Anyway, don't let me get in the way of you two making music. I'm just here to hang out."

"Great! We can all continue to hang after we're done too."

"Sure I'm good with that."

For the next hour, you silently watched the pair write and sing along to the music the producer was creating. Even though you weren't part of it, you had fun listening to and recording them, especially when they engaged you with their friendly antics during their breaks. Before you knew it, they are done for the day.