Ariana's POV:
While I waited outside in the now pouring rain for Y/N to come out, I texted the group chat to make sure tonight's plans were still happening. It's Y/N's 25th birthday and I wanted everything to be perfect, she deserved nothing less than that.
The plan is dinner, I'm picking the birthday girl up and heading to the restaurant her parents insisted she'd love. Seven had rolled around and everybody is supposed to be there already, supposed to, so when I got a call from her boyfriend, Nick, I was upset. Y/N's boyfriend unfortunately has a knack for showing up late or not all, ruining everyone's evening, which is why I didn't want to invite him, but I was outvoted by the rest of the girls.
"You have literally one job, and it's to show up on time Nicolas, why the fuck is it so difficult for you to follow the simplest of tasks?" I asked, wanting to wrap my hands around his neck at the current moment.
I spazzed out on the other line of the phone when he didn't respond, "Hello? Say something?"
Silence.
I hung up, wishing I gave him the wrong address.
Camila called me shortly after, "Where is he?"
I shrugged as if she could see me, "I have no idea, he didn't say anything after he called me. Just don't let him in, tell the host that he isn't welcomed at our table." Camila sighed on the other end.
Myself, Camila, Courtney, and Y/N's Brother organized tonight's entire event, Nick didn't bother to text us back when we asked for his input on anything, it's like he forgot about his girlfriend's birthday, either that or he doesn't care enough to put effort.
"Ariana, you can't do that. That's her boyfriend."
Rolling my eyes I said, "But they're going to argue over this, I know her. She's gonna bring it up, he's gonna talk shit until she drops it." It was an endless cycle that Y/N was stuck in.
"I agree with you, one hundred percent but again, it's her boyfriend we're talking about here. She loves him and we love her, he should be here." Camila explained, and I sighed heavily, knowing she was right.
"He should know better, but he doesn't."
I turned around, facing the road, "I could treat her better."
"Treat who better?"
The rain had suddenly stopped.
My eyes went wide and I heard Camila giggling on the other end. I turned back to face the Apartment doors, sliding my phone down my cheek as I did so. Quickly, I hung up my phone and gave all my attention to the beauty in front of me.
I was mesmerized, staring in awe at the woman walking toward me. The soft moonlight lit up her flawless skin, causing my breath to get caught in my throat. My eyes glanced over her facial features at least a million times, her eyes beginning to hypnotize me, reminding me of my favorite color every time I looked at her. They're brown, reminding me of Autumn, filled with depth and warmth. My gaze fell to her lips, watching them curl into a grin that made me weak.
It was only when the rain hit my face that I realized I was staring, taking my focus away from her as I wiped my forehead.
She took a few steps closer to my car, managing to smile even wider when seen me.
I extended my hand out for her to take which she did, letting me twirl her around once.
"You look," I paused, taking the moment to take in her attire, starting from the 6-inch black heels with red bottoms, my eyes trailed upward, eyeing the slit in her dress that showed off the Dragon that started near her knee, ending near her ribs. The black dress she wore was strapless, leaving her chest to show, a tattoo of a spider resting just above her right collarbone. "Absolutely ravenous." I finished, running my thumb across her knuckles as we stood in silence.
She smiled, "Thank you Ariana, you look," she paused as well, her eyes raking up and down my body with a quickness, "Beautiful." My outfit didn't have much thought, I wore a pair of silk white dress pants, a cropped black laced corset, and black heels.
Letting go of my hand, she gently grabbed the sides of her dress, "I wasn't sure what to wear, you said wear something nice so I figured this would work."
I nodded, agreeing, "It works, you make it work Y/N."
"Thank you."
We exchanged smiles as I opened the door for her, making sure she was in before shutting it, letting out the breath I didn't know I was holding in. I walked to my side, getting in and beginning the drive to the restaurant.
"Where are we going?"
I shrugged, not wanting to ruin her surprise.
"Alright birthday girl, how's your special day been so far?" I asked, occasionally looking over as I focused on the road. She let out a heavy sigh, humming while she thought about her answer, "It was okay, it's better now though."
"So, what you're saying is, it's so much better now that I'm here?"
Without saying a word, she smacked my arm with her purse, making me laugh.
It was only another 15 minutes before we arrived at the restaurant, The Palm in Downtown LA.
"Before we go in, I wanted to give you your first gift." I mentioned, leaning over to grab the satin box from the glove compartment in front of her. "Here." I handed it to her, anxiously awaiting her reaction.
My eyes flickered constantly between the gift and her face, hoping she'd like it.
Her once happy expression was replaced with a frown, her bottom lip quivering, filling me with worry. "You hate it?" I asked, my heart racing and she instantly shook her head, "I love it." She mumbled, leaning in for a hug which I gratefully accepted.
"I can put it on you." I offered.
I slid the gold necklace across her skin, clasping the back to rest on her neck.
She brought the heart pendant to the front, smiling as she held it. "It matches the bracelet you got me last year." She held up the gold cartier bracelet that I gifted her as well, smiling even wider if possible.
"We should head inside, the reservation is soon."
I held the door for her, walking to the host stand.
"For Grande?"
The hostess gave me a tight-lipped smile, motioning for us to follow her which we did.
As soon as we rounded the corner, she noticed everyone, all of us yelling, 'Surprise!'
She hugged me instantly, her hands flying to cover her face as happiness took over. The rest of our mutual friends standing up to hug her. Her parents stood up last, pulling her into a hug as well before we all sat down to eat dinner.
Y/N took a seat next to me, glancing over the menu for a moment before she tapped my thigh, asking, "Where's Nick?" The rest of the group looked to me and I wasn't sure what to say so I stayed silent, just looking at her.
Ricky, Y/N's brother approached me, interrupting our conversation.
"So, you're just not gonna say anything to me Ariana?" He asked flirtatiously, beckoning me to stand up to hug him. I looked to Y/N who nodded toward her brother.
"I didn't realize you were coming." I lied, knowing he helped plan tonight. I pushed my chair out, standing up to be engulfed in a hug by Ricky, the guy who's been in love with me for as long as I can remember. He wants me in the ways I want his sister who is completely oblivious to these feelings or refuses to change our friendship.
He held me tight, rocking us back and forth as the others likely stared at the interaction.
"You look great Ariana." He said with a smile as he let go, kissing my cheek before walking back to his chair. Dinner was going by as planned, we had ordered drinks and appetizers, waiting for the server to come back so we could order our meals.
It wasn't until Ricky stole the seat beside me that things started to go downhill.
"How's the boyfriend?" He asked, leaning in to whisper in my ear as he did so.
I shuttered.
"The boyfriend and I broke up some time last year Ricky," I turned to face him, "I'm enjoying my time being single."
He sighed, "When are you gonna give me a chance though?"
His arm moved to rest around the curve of my chair, making me want to scream. As if things couldn't get any worse, Nick, the boyfriend showed up stumbling in.
"Oh, fuck." I muttered underneath my breath, letting my head fall into my hands as I mentally prepared for the disaster that was about to unfold. I peeked out of the corner of my eye, watching Y/N look to her boyfriend then back to me.
"You really didn't invite him?"
"He was gonna show up late anyway, I wanted to spare you the embarrassment of this happening in front of your family." I admitted honestly, hoping she'd understand that I was doing it out of love for her.
She was rightfully bothered and didn't hesitate to let me know that, "But it's my birthday Ariana, should I not get to have a say in who shows up? You know how much he means to me." I tried my best not to be mean about it but I couldn't help it, he didn't deserve her, "Does he even know it's your birthday? Has he told you anything about it? Said 'Happy Birthday'? Texted you all day?" I asked, sitting up.
Nick stumbled over to Y/N's side, grabbing a chair from another section and taking a seat beside her. She didn't bother to acknowledge him, staring at me instead, hurting evident in her face.
Y/N stood up abruptly, throwing down the cloth she was holding, "I'm leaving."
Everyone looked to me.
I followed behind her, ushering her into the bathroom so we could talk.
As soon as the door shut she raised her voice, "Can you just get along with him? Or at least pretend for my sake Ariana?" She sighed, throwing her head back as she continued to speak, "It's so fucking obvious that you don't like him but it's my choice to be with him, so can you please just understand that?"
"My best friend hates my boyfriend."
Friend.
I let my hands rest on my hips as I listened to her scold me.
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@nastyside MEOWWWW