BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Chapter 17

As soon as the blond closes the door behind her, she pushes Ariana against the wall and connects their lips hungrily. The shorter girl tries to keep the same heated and fast pace that Taylor set, but fails miserably. She places both of her hands on the taller girl's chest because she thinks, damn, this is wrong. We shouldn't do this. She pushes her away and they both look at each other with surprised eyes.

"You don't want to do this," Ariana says shaking her head.

"I do," Taylor replies, trying to lock their lips again, but the shorter girl frees herself from her grip. "Ariana, I swear I want to do this,"

"Why?" she asks her and she knows that she caught her off guard. Taylor opens her mouth various times, but nothing comes out. "Because you want to forget Karlie, don't you?" Ariana replies for her, tilting her head to the side.

Taylor purses her lips, not wanting to confirm the shorter girl's affirmation. She sucks on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling, and looks outisde the window. "What's the problem?" she asks Ariana.

Her friend walks closer to her and places one hand on her cheek. "We can't be...together. We are friends, we shouldn't do this," the shorter girl justifies.

"I need to, Ariana. Please, just once, please," Taylor pleads her, and her friend doesn't know what to do when she sees tears in the blond's eyes. "Please. I need you right now more than anything else,"

"You need Karlie, not me," Ariana objects, keeping a distance between their bodies. Taylor lets out a whimper, her hands shaking as they pass through her messy hair.

"What if...what if we make people believe we're together? We don't have to do anything, we just have to pretend to be girlfriends outside this room. Please," Taylor says with a crazy smile on her lips. Ariana looks at her like she has three heads, and shakes her head firmly.

"No," she says. "We won't do that. It's cruel and stupid," she reasons.

"It's not stupid! Maybe...if Karlie's still in love with me she'll be jealous and she'll want to get back together. I just need to see Karlie's reaction, please," Taylor pleads her again, trying to touch her shoulders but failing as the shorter girl recoils.

"Why do you want to know Karlie's reaction? You told me you didn't care about her in that way," Ariana points out. The blond is caught off guard again as she gapes at her friend in front of her.

"I..." she tries to speak but fails. Suddenly, she's on her knees, sobbing and crying her heart out as she tries to focus on her erratic breathing. "I think I have feelings for her, Ariana," she cries.

Ariana knees before her, cupping her face with both of her hands. "It's okay to have feelings for someone, Taylor. It's okay if you have fallen in love with Karlie. It's okay to love someone in that way. You just have to let go, Taylor. Don't worry about the consequences now. Let go, because it'll be alright. We're gonna be alright," she conforts her.

Taylor lets out a strangled sob as she grasps her best friend's shoulder, pulling her in a strong hug. Ariana wraps both of her arms around her small back as Taylor  buries her face in the crook of her neck. "Let go. Let go," the shorter girl keeps repeating, and finally, the blond admits it.

"I'm in love with Karlie," she whispers so quietly that Ariana doesn't know if she heard the right thing. "I'm fucking in love with Karlie and now she doesn't want me," she sobs into her neck. Ariana starts rubbing her back up and down soothingly.

"It's okay. You'll be alright," she mumbles in her blond hair. The taller girl keeps sobbing into her embrace as she shakes and cries uncontrollably.

"I'm so stupid," Taylor says, wiping her tears away as she pulls away from their hug. As much as she wants to keep hugging her best friend, she lets go of her. "I'm so fucking stupid, oh my god,"

"No, you're not," Ariana shakes her head. "You're not stupid. You had a bad past and you're just stubborn. You were too stubborn to admit that you were in love with Karlie all this time, that's all. You're not stupid, you're just headstrong,"

A smile creeps on the blond's face, and without thinking she lock their lips in a comforting kiss. There are no emotions in this; Taylor just needs to kiss somebody, and Ariana happens to be the only who is available right now. They both pull away at the same time with small smiles on their faces, and the shorter girl repeats her best friend's words. "Maybe it's gonna be alright."

"It is. You are going to be alright, Tay. I promise," Ariana smiles, stroking her cheek lightly.

"It's gonna be alright."

A/N: short chapter, but progress!! Taylor found out that she's in love with our lovable giraffe (finally). I hope you're loving Ariana at this point since she's helping Taylor figure herself out lol. What do you think is gonna happen in the next chapters? Let me know what you think in the comments!!💘

P.s who watched the benefit concert last night? Me and I cried the whole time, it was so beautiful 😢