Anywhere With You - A Lauv Fanfiction

25. Your Stubborn Ass?

My heart dropped to my feet, and suddenly his voice was definitely familiar. I quickly switched the computer to the drive thru camera, and sure enough, Ari was sitting there in a car.

I had to play it cool. "Okay, $4.90 at the window." I said.

I walked over to the window and watched him drive up. He had a huge smile on his face as he rolled the window down, and I bit my lip so I wouldn't contagiously smile.

"What are you doing?" I folded my arms.

"Buying a cake pop. And a surprise muffin. What are you doing?" He said.

I cracked a small smile. "No, like what are you doing in Seattle? At my Starbucks?"

"You own this place?!" He joked.

"I'll shut the window if you don't answer." I said.

"I told you. I can't promise my patience." He shrugged.

Oh my god. So he came to Seattle to find me?

"Can I pay inside?" He asked.

"Sure." I nodded. He drove away into the parking lot.

"Do you know him?" Daniel asked. Him and Kianna were just watching the whole scene.

I nodded again. "I met him in LA. Do you mind if I just go and talk to him for a second?" I asked.

"Oooooooh an LA boy!!" Daniel beamed. "Go get him girl!"

"It's not like we're in dire need of 3 employees right now. Do whatever you want." Kianna joked.

"Okay, be right back." I quickly took off my black hat and adjusted my ponytail. I looked down at my raggedy striped shirt and black jeans while walking out the doors. Just as I exited, Ari was ready to enter. I looked at his hair, which seemed longer. He was wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, and some white Nike shoes. I hated myself for it- but I had a sudden urge to hug him.

"Oh, hi." He smiled. His hazel eyes lit up, and I wanted to absolutely die.

I walked over to the side of the building by a bush, and he followed. It was a surprisingly sunny day, and it was the perfect temperature out here.

"Really, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Aria, I have no patience. I need to talk to you." He begged.

"What do you need to talk about?" I asked. "Harper showed me your texts. Everything is figured out, and we don't have any more problems. I'm not mad at you. I really just want things to be the way I think they should be."

"Okay." Ari lifted his hands up. "I guess I'll just go back home then." He slowly began walking backwards, and I involuntarily smiled again.

"Really?" I said.

"Aria." He walked towards me again. "Do you really think I took a plane to Seattle to buy a cake pop and a muffin?"

I thought about it. "Well, you didn't even buy them yet." I pointed out.

He laughed and covered his face. "Not my point."

I stood there, not knowing what to say. Of course my mind was racing.

"Tell me." He folded his arms.

"Tell you what?" I asked.

"Tell me you don't like me. Tell me you really want me to go away. I will." He stated.

Dammit. I do like him, and I'm in awe that he's here.

"I can't." I shook my head.

"Then at least tell me what you're thinking. Do you think I'm crazy?"

I let out a huge sigh. I've practiced this conversation in my head and in the shower too many damn times to not get it right, so I began.

"Okay. I really like you. I felt so stupid at what happened at that concert. I immediately felt like I was in your way, and even after reading your text to Harper and hearing that you want me like that, I still was confused. I told you I'd step into that pool and give you a chance, but the water was really cold." I started.

He smiled.

"I have a lot of bad habits in relationships, and running away is apparently one of them. I wanted to apologize for being so complicated. I honestly can't believe you're still trying for whatever reason. I thought about you a lot but I was too stubborn to unblock your number and call you. Truth is, I thought shutting you out would make it better, but I realized that it made it worse. So again, I'm sorry." I shrugged. I don't even remember what I just said. My heart is beating too fast.

Ari smiled and looked at his shoes. "So." He looked at me. "You're saying that your stubborn ass is really going to let me in again?"

I immediately laughed. "I guess. But I'm telling you, I'm complicated. I don't even understand myself sometimes."

He grinned and stepped over towards me, putting his arm around my shoulder.

"Oh, I know. I spent 4 hours at an airport and 130 minutes in the sky to come here and not know what the hell I was going to get."

I put both arms around him, and we wrapped up in a hug. I took in a huge breath, and slowly let it out. People work through things. I need to stop running from Ari because of my own fears. I think I might be ready to let myself go this time.

"Sooo." He pulled away from the hug. "When do you get off?" He pointed at the Starbucks logo on the building.

"3:00." I squinted an eye, realizing that 3pm was 7 hours from now.

He seemed to be in thought. "Can I just sit in the lobby until you're done?"

I laughed. "And do what?"

He shrugged. "Watch you, I guess."

"There's nothing to watch. Everyone's at the parade downtown. You're probably the first and only customer to be here." I smiled.

"Oh, I need to buy that cake pop and the muffin." He said.