Just something that came to mind after seeing some stuff online about the ALMA awards. I wrote it quickly, so I'm sure there are mistakes but I'm getting really tired and have to be up in 3 hours.
One-Shot for now, could possibly continue…
Enjoy!
Warning: RPF. None of this is true!
Naya climbs the steps to her front door and puts her key in the lock. She turns it and swings the door open walking inside, the sound of her heels on the wooden floors echoing through the empty house. She closes the door behind her, drops her keys on the table to her right and switches on the lamp.
She sighs. She's exhausted. A trip to Tennessee, an early flight back and an award show all within two days is a lot, but nothing she can't handle with her abnormally busy work schedule.
She hopes her fatigue didn't show in the photos she's sure are circling the internet by now. She shrugs, figuring her fans probably wouldn't care either way.
Naya heads over to the stairs, ascending to the second floor to make way to her bedroom. Once inside, she turns on the bedside lamp. She slips out of the jacket to her pantsuit, laying it down on her bed.
Pantsuit? I wonder what statement I was supposed to be making this time, she thinks as she stretches her arms above her head, Going to have to return it tomorrow anyway.
Naya finishes discarding the rest of her clothes and moves over to her dresser to pull out a tank top and some pink striped pajama shorts. She slides them on before heading to her bathroom.
When she looks in the mirror, she shakes her head. Don't know how you do it, Rivera.
She throws her hair up in a messy bun and removes the make up from her face. She finishes rinsing and dabs her face on a hand towel. She brushes her teeth and shuts the light off in the bathroom, heading back to her bedroom.
She hangs her suit up in the closet and grabs her clutch from the night. She pulls her phone out of it and moves it over to the bedside table, then drops the clutch on her desk chair, figuring it can wait until tomorrow.
She crawls into bed, settling herself under the covers. It's never felt this good to be lying down. She turns to her bedside table and picks up the picture frame she keeps there.
She lies on her back and holds it above her, running her fingers over the family photo. Her eyes focus in on herself; her smile, the light in her eyes, the utter happiness. She wonders if she still has that, she's not totally sure.
She misses them. She's so busy, and everyone's all over the place. She wants more time with them. Maybe she wants more time making a family of her own. She's just not sure.
LA has so many people, but in this empty house with no one beside her, she feels alone.
She places the photo back where it belongs and grabs her phone that was lying next to it. She clicks off the lamp and lies back down.
She stares at her phone, realizing she hasn't checked it in a while. She presses the center home button and sees a long list of green icons on the left indicating she had a lot of text messages she hadn't read yet.
She slides the arrow to unlock her phone and begins to go through each message.
Mom
My firstborn never disappoints! Love you, baby girl. So proud.
Bee 3
AYO girl! Look atchu gettin' all dem ALMA's! You a champ, BEEEE!
Di-Di
Hey, beautiful girl! Congratulations on your wins tonight! You truly inspire all. =)
Mychal
Big sis, represent! Sad you had to go, but so happy for you!
Lea
LET'S HAVE AN AWARD PARTY! YOU, ME, and CHRIS! Shh don't tell the others ;)
Nickayla
Seriously? Something to add to your collection? Whatever, I'm still taller than you.
Naya giggles at some of the goofy responses, but can't help but feel a little disappointed. Just as she begins to set her phone back down on her nightstand, it buzzes in her hand. Her heart skips a beat and she smiles as she pulls the phone back to her face to see who the new message was from. The smile falters a bit as she reads the text.
Matt
Congratulations on your awards tonight, babe! Would you like me to come over and celebrate? ;)
Right, Matt, of course. She should be happy, although it's been a few hours since she's won and he's just now getting around to congratulating her. But maybe he was busy. She's just not feeling up to it right now, though. She's probably just tired. Yea, she's tired. She responds:
Thanks! I'm really tired actually, I'm already in bed drifting off. Rain check?
Matt
Of course, pretty girl. Anytime, anywhere. You know that. Sweet dreams.
She sighs and quickly types out a response.
Night =)
Naya taps at her phone repeatedly, the clicking of her nail against the screen almost a remedy for her restless mind. She scrolls through her phone and finds the contact she's looking for. She clicks on the name she was looking for and types out a message. She hesitates for a second, her thumb hovering over the send button, before finally sending it through:
You awake?
Naya continues tapping on the phone to ease her anxiety, when it buzzes shortly after.
HeMo
Yea, what's up? Everything okay?
Naya
Oh no, everything's fine. I just… well, I won two ALMAs tonight.
HeMo
That's great! Congrats, Nay!
Naya stares at the response, eyebrows furrowed, somewhat disappointed in the depth. Then her phone buzzes again.
HeMo
How was Tennessee?
Naya
It was good, Mychal was great.
HeMo
That's good.
Naya
Yea…
Naya
What'd you do tonight?
HeMo
T's baseball friends were in town. We caught up a bit, but I wanted to go home early. They're still out partying. You know boys…
Naya
Yea, boys ha
HeMo
How's Matt?
Naya
Heather…
HeMo
What?
Naya
I know how you feel about him. Please don't right now, not tonight.
HeMo
Hey, maybe I was trying to look past my disapproval. If it makes you happy, then…
Naya
Can I call you?
HeMo
I don't know, I just got back Nay.
Naya
Please?
Naya jumps a little when her phone begins to ring loudly.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Hi".
"So what is it you need to so desperately say to me?"
"Heather… why-"
"Just say it".
"…I'm not happy."
"…"
"I'm not. I was with my family and I just - I was so - everything was so – I want that life back. I mean, the family part. I want to start a family."
"Well, maybe Matt can do that for you."
"I don't want Matt to do that for me."
"Then what do you want?"
"…"
"Naya, what is it you want?"
"Heather, I think you know what it is I want."
"No, I don't know. Because if I did know, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now, would we?"
"…I miss you so much. These past few weeks, when we've been shooting these scenes together, it's brought me back and—"
"No, no you don't get to do that. You have no right to say that to me."
"But Heather—"
"No, Naya. It's not okay. I, we… you could've had me," she said tears evident in hervoice. "You chose this. You took the limelight and you ran with it. So congratulations on your awards, really, but you can't expect me to be that person for you anymore. That's what Matt is for."
"But I don't want Matt!" Naya exclaims, choked sobs causing her body to shake.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have cut me off the minute he walked on set."
"It wasn't like that, Heath! You, I – I was so confused. I didn't understand what I was feeling and you were still figuring things out with T-"
"No, we were done at the moment. You know why? Because I chose you. And you chose HIM. And then, by some miracle Tay took me back. And I am never going to hurt him again just to be made a fool of like I was with you."
"Heather, please… I made a huge mistake, please." Naya's sobs were becoming painful to listen to, heart-wrenching.
Heather sighs on the other end of the phone, sniffling a little.
"Naya, I can't."
"But you-you are everything, don't you see? Don't you understand that?"
"…I do. Unfortunately, I do."
"So see? We could—we could be together. We could be something else, HeMo. We could run the world, you know?"
"I don't want to run the world, Nay. I just want to live my life. I want love. I want a family."
"We could do that!"
"No, I can do that… with Taylor."
"But you LOVE ME, I know it! Please, please Heather. Please, say it's true." Her voice is barely audible, it's so broken up.
"Are you trying to re-enact that Brittana scene?" Heather tries, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Heather…" Naya's voice: so raw, so shattered.
"… I'll always love you, Nay. You know that."
"So then be with me! I don't care about Matt or fame or anything. It was never about that! I just didn't know how to handle you. You had a hold on me I never experienced before. I didn't want to lose you, I just didn't know anything! I'll break up with him, I'll do whatever. I need you to give me another chance. I'll give anything for another chance…" Naya forces through the phone, surprisingly clear.
Tears stream down Heather's face. She holds the phone tight against her right ear, clutching to the pillow under her head, left cheek placed firmly against it. The harder her grip becomes on the pillow, the more the tears flow. Her pillow's drenched.
"Naya, how do you expect me to believe you this time?"
"Because it's different! I'm different!"
"Yea, and I still don't know if that's a good thing. You broke my heart, Naya."
"No… no, I never wanted that. Baby, please understand that."
Heather cringes.
"Don't call me that."
"I'm sorry…"
"…"
"Heather, you have to tell me. You have to tell me if there is ANY chance. You have to give me something, here. I will do anything. I'll dedicate my album to you. I-I- I'll show up to our next scene together butt naked and refuse to put clothes on until you agree to be mine!"
Heather tries to hold back a giggle, but fails to do so. It gives Naya more confidence to continue.
"I'll never eat sushi or tacos again! I'll get Lucy to learn the single ladies dance just so you can show her up by doing it better! I will stop working out, so you will forever have a hotter six pack than me! I'll tell Brittana fans to never bother you again! They might shoot me, Heather – do you yet understand the extent of my devotion to this?"
Heather is outright laughing, because she's probably right about that last part. Naya smiles into her phone. She continues, more serious.
"Heather, I love you. I've always loved you. I always will. Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life. The only thing I wanted tonight when I got home, was to celebrate with you and it killed me that you weren't here. It kills me that I've caused this. Do you know how hard it is to look into your eyes on set and act out a scene in which Santana and Britt are in love and not break into tears knowing that I can't act that out in real life?"
"…Yea, I do know."
"… of course, I'm sorry I didn't—"
"It's okay."
"HeMo… what can I do? Please, anything – I'll do it."
There's a long pause and Naya begins gritting her teeth with anxiety.
"God, you're such a stubborn ass… you do know you'll have to make me trust you again."
Naya sits straight up in bed.
"Does that mean I have a chance?"
"That means you have a hell of a lot of work ahead of you, and I can't guarantee you anything."
"I- Heather! This, you don't understand – this means the world to me."
"Don't get overexcited. I have a boyfriend. Right now, that's cemented."
"Okay.. I know, I get that… but I mean—so what does that mean?"
"It means… I'm not married yet, Rivera."
"I—"
"Goodnight, Naya."
The line goes dead. Naya pulls the phone away from her face and lies back down on her bed. Her head hits the pillow. She smiles. She turns to place her phone back on her nightstand. She picks up the picture frame she was looking at earlier. The top says Family. But it's the word encrypted across the bottom that holds her attention.
Faith.