A/N: So this isn't a Victorious Story, and I'm really sorry but I had no idea where else to put it! It's Graham Phillips and Ariana Grande because I think they made the cutest couple. Please don't report me! I just wrote it because I really wanted to and I was requested to by a reviewer. So, enjoy and review! Comments, criticism, feedback, and advice are very welcome :]
13 - Recording
Graham walks into the studio, nervous. A blonde girl walks up to him, looking shaken as well. She has freckles all over her face and a tremulous smile.
"I'm Allie," she says with a small wave. Graham nods and smiles back.
"I'm Graham." Allie looks down at her feet awkwardly, then looks back up at him, her small smile still in place.
"What part are you playing?" she asks.
"Um, Evan Goldman," Graham says. "How about you?"
"Patrice."
"Cool." Graham and Allie simply stand there nodding for a few more moments, and Graham pulls his phone from his pocket.
"Oh my god, Aaron!" a squeal rings from the doorway. "We're here!" Graham's head whips around to stare at the newcomers. One is a thin, friendly-looking boy. The other is a wide-eyed brunette. She's beautiful.
She's holding the boy's hand and dragging him forward. She seems like she's so full of energy and life. She seems so special.
"Ari! Ari, you're going to rip my arm out!" the boy chuckles, trying to pull away from the sunny brunette.
"Aren't you excited?" she squeaks, still holding onto him tightly.
"Help me, someone!" the boy cries out, sending a pleading look towards Graham and Allie. The blonde smiles and heads towards the pair, probably grateful to see someone besides the ever unresponsive Graham. Spurred into action, Graham heads towards the cute girl and the scrawny boy.
"Hey, I'm Graham," he says to the two other kids.
"I'm Aaron, and the crazy chica trying to pull my arm out of its socket is Ariana," the boy says, shooting an accusatory glare at Ariana.
"Hi Graham," Ariana says, smiling at him. Graham decides that he really likes that smile. He likes the single dimple on her left cheek too.
"Hi, I'm Allie," Allie says, smiling broadly. Ariana and Aaron smile back at her. Well, Aaron smiles. Ariana beams.
"Hi Allie!" Ariana chirps. Just then, a man walks into the room, clapping his hands.
"Alright! Aaron, Allie, Graham," he says. "We're going to start recording today. I'm Jason Robert Brown, and I think we can start with "The Lamest Place in the World. Allie, I want you in one." He points at the booth labeled one. She nods and heads over, grabbing a bottle of water on the way.
"I'm so excited for you," Graham hears Ariana say to Aaron. Aaron smiles and throws an arm around her shoulder. Then he leans towards her and whispers something in her ear. Graham can't help but feel left out and a tiny bit jealous.
Ariana appears to notice him standing alone with his hands in his pockets while Aaron continues to speak softly in her ear, and she catches his eye, motioning for him to come over and sit with them.
"What? No," Graham hears her murmur back. "We've been here for five minutes!" Aaron just shrugs, then looks up at Graham with a smile.
"So, what part are you playing?" he asks. Graham observes that Aaron has a lisp of sorts.
"Evan. What about you?"
"Archie. The cripple," he says dryly. Graham nods, then turns to Ariana. She smiles up at him. Her eyes are really big and sparkly.
"I'm playing Charlotte," she says, saving him from having to stutter out his question again. He nods. He's pretty sure that Evan sings a song with Charlotte at some point. He finds himself wondering how well she sings.
"Down the road is a Dairy Queen. Up the block is a Wal-Mart," Allie sings. She's fantastic. Ariana's eyes grow wide, and her face lights up. She turns to Aaron, her smile bright and contagious.
"Isn't she…" Ariana trails off when she sees Aaron's face. He looks dazed, and he's staring at Allie with his mouth partially open. Ariana giggles and pokes his cheek. He snaps back to reality, blinking quickly.
"Yeah she's… yeah," Aaron stammers, shaking his head quickly. Ariana sighs and turns to Graham with a raised eyebrow.
"That was fast." Aaron's eyes refocus again, and he stumbles to defend himself.
"She's just a good singer!" he denies. "That's all. I was just… surprised."
"Uh huh," Ariana teases. She looks at Graham again. "He totally likes her, right?" Graham nods, smiling – half because they're funny, and half because he's glad they're not going out.
"Oh yeah, definitely," he says. Ariana nods self-assuredly and pokes her tongue out at Aaron.
"See? Graham says I'm right, and Graham is… Graham!"
"What does that mean?" Aaron and Graham say at the same time. Ariana shrugs and smiles at Graham.
"I don't know. But he's cute!" Graham flushes at this, and he wishes Aaron wouldn't look at him so critically.
"Alright, whatever," Aaron mutters with a small smile on his face. Ariana lightly punches him on the shoulder, then glances over at where Allie has finished and is coming out of the booth.
"Great job Allie," Jason is saying. "Okay, can I have you in two?" Then he beckons Aaron and Graham over. "And can I have Aaron in one and Graham in three?" The boys nod and head over to where they need to be.
"If that's what it is, then that's what it is. You're probably right to just forget it," Aaron begins. He's really good, and Graham thinks that he he'll be an awesome Artie. His voice is slightly tremulous, but not in a weak way. More like in a passionate way.
Graham follows along as Allie sings,
"I say I won't cry, I cry until dawn!" He sees Ariana sitting cross-legged on the floor next to Jason, writing something. Then he hears his cue and focuses back on the music.
"I'm becoming a man," he sings, looking down at the lyrics to make sure he's getting the words right.
When the song ends, he steps out of the booth and takes a sip from his water bottle. It's really bad water. Kirkland, or something.
"That was so good!" Ariana says, skipping over to him. Her chocolate brown eyes are shining with amazement. Graham blushes and scratches the back of his neck, grinning like a fool.
"Thanks," he says bashfully. Ariana smiles, her dimple showing again which makes Graham's heart swell up in his chest, and it feels like he might burst. "Uh, what were you doing when we were singing?" he asks, curious.
"Homework," she says, rolling her eyes. Her eyebrows furrow. "But I'm not too great at science. Formulas, and stuff are hard to remember." Graham perks up. Science is his best subject.
"D-do you want me to help you?" he offers nervously. Do I sound like a pretentious nerd? Or an overeager freak? Graham wonders, panicked.
"Would you really?" she asks, eyes wide, and Graham's fears melt away. He nods.
"Yeah, totally. I mean, I'm pretty good at science. Like, I'm okay at science," Graham corrects, not wanting to sound full of it.
"Oh my gosh, that's so sweet of you!" Ariana squeals, throwing her arms around him, one looped around his neck, the other under his arm. Graham's face burns as blood rushes to it. He breathes in Ariana's sweet scent (she smells like vanilla and sunshine) and hugs her back. He's feeling a little lightheaded. "Can we start now?" she asks.
"Sure, if you want to," Graham says. He looks over at Jason to see if they should be doing something, but he's directing Allie into booth three to record another song, and Aaron is watching intently.
"Okay," Ariana says, skipping over to her notebook and grabbing it. Graham really likes how full of life she is. Like a breath of fresh air.
"So, what are you taking?" he asks.
"Chemistry," she says, sighing and sitting down next to Graham. He smiles and leans close, looking at her homework. It's chemical bonds and water chemistry stuff. He learned it all last year in pre-chemistry.
"Okay, so…"
Graham spends the next twenty minutes hunched over worksheets and formulas with the girl of his dreams. Once, while they were sitting so close together that Graham's chin was practically on Ariana's shoulder, she turned her head to ask him something and her lips brushed his cheek. She pulled back, surprised to find him so close to her, and the moment passed. Graham's not even sure if she realizes what happened.
"Ari!" Aaron calls, motioning for her sit next to him. Graham pulls away from her and stretches – sitting in the same position for such a long time froze up his muscles.
"Coming!" she calls and closes her binder. She sets it down next to her, then wraps her arms around Graham one more time, surprising him. What surprises him even more though, is the kiss she plants on his cheek (intentionally this time) when she hugs him.
"Thanks so much!" she whispers in his ear, then she skips away to join Aaron, leaving a blushing Graham behind.
Graham sits back down heavily, his hand on his cheek.
"Wow!" a voice from behind him says, and he turns around quickly, his hand falling from his face. Two girls walk in together, arm in arm. One is African-American, the other is white. They both look kind of annoying, in Graham's opinion.
"Oh my god," another girl says, laughing. She's wearing a white tank top with a peace sign on it. That's the first thing Graham notices. The second is that she is definitely playing Lucy.
The others begin to file in, one by one. He learns their names slowly. Delaney is a tall, thin, blonde girl with bangs and unrivaled enthusiasm. She's clearly Kendra. He thinks she might be a little too sunny.
Elizabeth is a calm, levelheaded brunette who forms an instants connection with Ariana. He was right, and she is Lucy. She's nice, but can be bitingly sarcastic.
Eric is basically the definition of cool. He has the skater hair, the charming attitude, and the good looks. He's a definite Brett.
Eamon is hilarious. He's not afraid to make a fool of himself, and it's great to talk to and laugh with someone who doesn't care about looking dumb. He's Richie, one of Brett's little minions.
Beyond them, Graham sort of loses interest in who's who. He zones out, staring at Ariana's pink chemistry binder, until Jason calls out.
"Brynn! Caitlin! Ariana! I want you in two, three, and four." Graham sits up then, looking around. Everyone else seems to be on top of things and ready. They're already starting to head into the booth for the company, so Graham hops up and follows them.
"What song are we doing?" he asks Allie.
"Brand New You," she replies quickly, moving to her position. Graham nods, then stands next to Eamon and Elizabeth in front of the music stands. He puts the headphones on, then Jason holds his hands up, indicating that they're starting.
He hears Brynn start, and sure she's good, but he doesn't really care. He's waiting for Ariana to sing. He wants to hear her.
"I never knew where I was meant to be," Ariana sings, and Graham's mouth falls open. She's incredible. He loves the way her voice sounds. It's like a young Christina Aguilera, but slightly breathier and more passionate. It's soothing. "I figured no one would be there for me," she continues, and Graham thinks, I'll always be there for you.
Then Caitlin starts singing and the spell is broken. He stops gawking like a moron and gets ready to sing.
"You have a beautiful voice," Graham tells Ariana later, when they're getting ready to go home. She blushes and looks down at the floor.
"Thanks," she mumbles. Then she looks up at him. "Do you want to come get donuts with me and Aaron? It's kind of a tradition for us."
"That sounds really cool," Graham says. He looks over at his mom, who's standing by the door. She nods and smiles at him. Graham turns back to Ariana and Aaron's expectant faces and nods, hoping he doesn't look too eager.
"Awesome. Let's go," Aaron says, turning around. Ariana nods and follows him out the door. Graham hurries after them, grabbing Ariana's chemistry notebook from where she left it on the bench.
In the parking lot outside of the recording studio, Graham jogs to catch up with the two. He hands Ariana her binder, chuckling at the way her eyes grow round.
"Oh my gosh, you saved my life!" Ariana squeals, hugging Graham for the third time that day. He scratches the back of his neck, blushing.
"I figured, after I worked so hard to help you, it would be a shame to leave it in there," he says, chuckling. Ariana nods and takes the binder from him, still beaming from ear to ear.
"You're like, my hero," she says, smiling. Graham shrugs and looks away.
"It's not a big deal," he mumbles. Aaron rescues him by cutting in before an awkward silence could begin.
"My mom's here," he tells them. Ariana nods and her, Graham, and Aaron get into Mrs. Gross' car.
When they get to Dunkin' Donuts, they hop out. Aaron and Ariana practically bounce to the cashier, and Graham follows the pair with a smile on his face.
After Ariana and Aaron have both gotten chocolate donuts and Graham has a glazed one, the three sit down together at a table – Aaron and Ariana on one side, Graham on the other. Aaron is the first to speak.
"So, where are you from?" he asks.
"Um, Laguna Beach," Graham responds. "What about you?" He directs the question at both of them, even though Ariana's just sipping her milk through a straw and listening.
"We're both from Boca Raton, Florida," Aaron answers for her. Ariana puts down her milk and nods.
"Yeah. Our parents don't know what to do with themselves. They think it's so crazy that two best friends from Boca Raton, Florida are going to be in a Broadway musical," she says, and all Graham thinks is that he can listen to her talk for hours on end. Days. Weeks. Forever, really.
They finish their donuts while they talk about themselves. Graham learns that Ariana has an older brother named Frankie, and that they're really close. He learns that her favorite color is pink, and her favorite fruits are mangoes and strawberries. She enjoys acting and dancing, but her passion is singing, and her biggest fear is fire. She loves shoes, Marilyn Monroe, and Harry Potter.
And she's perfect. When the day's over and it's time to go home, she stands up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek once more.