arrested — daniela avanzini
summary: you accidentally go viral and have to convince your jealous girlfriend that no, you’re not actually going to run away with sabrina carpenter.
tags: fluff, humor, something short n funny for gags, everyone is dramatic, no beta
you didn't think tonight would end with you going viral for getting arrested by sabrina carpenter, but here you are.
the staples center is fucking packed. you're here with your publicist maria who somehow scored front-row tickets to sabrina's short n' sweet tour, and honestly? you're just trying to have a normal night. which is hilarious because nothing about your life has been normal since that netflix series blew up two years ago. you've been to premieres, award shows, done press tours across three continents, but something about concert crowds still makes you feel like a regular person. just another fan in a sea of thousands, singing along to songs about messy relationships and bad decisions.
dani had wanted to come, but katseye's in the middle of preparing for their upcoming tour and the rehearsals have been running late every single night. she'd texted you before you left—"have fun baby!! send me videos!!"—with like six heart emojis, and you'd promised to film all the best moments for her.
you're wearing the leather jacket dani got you for your birthday, black jeans, and boots that make you feel taller than you actually are. the kind of look that makes your girlfriend go a little feral if you're being honest. you'd sent her a mirror selfie before leaving and she'd replied with "fuck" and nothing else for ten minutes.
maria is next to you, filming the opening act on her phone, probably already thinking about how to spin this for your social media. she's good at her job, has been handling your career since you were nineteen and doing local theater, back before the netflix show changed everything. she's also the only person in your team who knows how to tell you no, which is probably why you haven't accidentally torpedoed your career yet.
"this is so fun," maria says, and she actually means it. she's not even working right now, just vibing, which is rare for her.
the lights go down. the crowd screams so loud you feel it in your chest. sabrina takes the stage in this sparkly outfit that probably costs more than your car, and the energy in the arena goes absolutely insane. she's performing hit after hit—"espresso," "nonsense," "feather"—and you're genuinely having the best time. you film a few songs for dani, making sure to get good angles, singing along to the ones you know.
you're so focused on getting a good video of "bed chem" that you don't notice maria elbowing you until she's practically bruising your ribs.
"what?" you ask, still filming.
"oh my god, she's looking this way," maria hisses, gripping your arm with actual claws apparently.
you glance up from your phone—you were literally just about to text dani asking if she's eaten dinner yet because your girlfriend forgets meals when she's stressed—and sure enough, sabrina carpenter is standing at the edge of the stage, microphone in hand, scanning the front row with this dangerous little smirk.
the kind of smirk that means someone's about to have their night completely changed in front of thousands of people.
you meet her eyes for a moment, and there's this flicker of interest on her face.
"well hello," sabrina says into the mic, and her eyes are still on you. "now that’s interesting."
the crowd starts screaming, sensing something's about to happen.
you raise an eyebrow at her, playing it cool even though your heart is picking up speed. this is fine. you're composed. you're—
"you in the leather jacket," sabrina continues, pointing at you with one perfectly manicured finger. "yeah, you with the whole 'i could ruin your life' energy. i like that."
the crowd fucking screams. maria has your arm in a death grip.
you tilt your head slightly, the corner of your mouth lifting in a small smirk. playing into it just a little because you're not about to look scared on camera.
"oh she's confident," sabrina says, grinning wider. "i love that. what's your name, gorgeous?"
"y/n," you call back, and your voice carries even without a mic. smooth. steady. good.
"y/n," sabrina repeats, and the way she says it sounds filthy somehow. "you know what, y/n? i don't usually do this. like literally, i never do this. but there's something about you that's making me want to break my rules tonight."
the screaming gets louder. you can feel every phone in your section pointed at you.
"what kind of rules?" you ask, leaning forward slightly against the barricade, and the confidence in your voice surprises even you.
sabrina laughs, delighted. "oh, you're trouble. i can tell. before we get into that—" she turns to her dancers, who are already approaching with the pink fuzzy handcuffs. "think we need to bring her up here?"
the crowd absolutely loses it, chanting "yes! yes! yes!"
you shake your head slightly, still smirking, playing the reluctant card even though your pulse is racing.
"don't be shy now," sabrina teases. "you were all confident two seconds ago. what happened?"
"i'm good down here," you call back.
"oh but i'm not good with you down there," sabrina says, and the innuendo in her voice makes everyone scream. "come on, baby. don't make me beg. actually, wait—do make me beg. i'm into that."
the whole arena is chanting now. maria is actively pushing you toward the security guards who are ready to help you up.
you let out a breath, run a hand through your hair—a nervous habit that you manage to make look casual—and move toward the stage. security helps you up and suddenly you're standing in front of twenty thousand people and every single one of them is staring at you. the stage lights are hot and bright and you can barely see the crowd but you can hear them, feel the weight of their attention like a physical thing.
sabrina's there, hand extended, eyes sparkling with pure mischievous energy. up close she's even prettier than on your tv screen, which seems unfair. she's glowing, skin perfect, smile devastating.
"hi," she says, softer, just for you even though the mic still catches it.
"hey," you respond, and you manage to sound calm, collected. you take her hand—her skin is soft and warm—and she pulls you closer to center stage.
"so, y/n," sabrina says, circling you slightly, looking you up and down in a way that's definitely intentional. "you come to a lot of concerts?"
"you always look this good?"
you huff out a small laugh, ducking your head just slightly—the only crack in your composed exterior—and the crowd goes wild. "you're something else," you murmur, and the mic barely catches it but it's enough.
"oh i’m something else?" sabrina's closer now, right in your space. "babe, you walked in here looking like every gay panic pinterest board come to life and i’m something else?"
the way she says it, the way she's looking at you—it's a lot. you maintain eye contact though, holding your ground even as you feel heat creeping up your neck.
"you know what you did?" sabrina asks, voice dropping lower.
"enlighten me," you say, and okay, maybe you're enjoying this a little.
"you showed up to my concert looking illegally fine. like, i could actually arrest you for this. disturbance of the peace. my peace specifically." she turns to the audience. "she's disturbed my peace, right?"
the crowd screams agreement.
"so here's the thing," sabrina continues, trailing a finger along the collar of your leather jacket. "i'm gonna need to detain you for a minute. for safety reasons."
"is that right?" you keep your voice level, but there's amusement in it.
"oh absolutely. you're dangerous. i can tell." she gestures and her dancers bring over the pink fuzzy handcuffs. "you gonna cooperate or do i need to get rough with you?"
your eyebrow quirks up. "what happened to asking nicely?"
"please, baby," sabrina says, and her voice drops into this register that's absolutely deliberate. "let me put you in handcuffs in front of twenty thousand people. what do you say?"
the way she phrases it, the double meaning hanging in the air—the crowd is absolutely feral.
you hold out your wrists, still maintaining that calm exterior even though internally you're very aware that your girlfriend is going to see this. "go ahead."
sabrina takes your wrists carefully, and there's something almost gentle about it despite the whole bit. she clicks the fuzzy handcuffs on while maintaining intense eye contact. "you're being so good," she says into the mic. "i like it when they don't resist."
you let out a breath that might be a laugh, glancing away for just a second before meeting her eyes again.
"oh, did i make you shy?" sabrina teases, noticing immediately.
"i'm fine," you interrupt, and your voice is still steady.
"you're more than fine," sabrina says, then turns to the crowd. "isn't she more than fine?"
the screaming is deafening.
sabrina walks you around the stage a little, one hand on your cuffed wrists, guiding you. "so what do you do, y/n? besides walking around looking like that?"
"i'm an actress," you say.
"oh?" sabrina's eyes light up. "anything i would've seen?"
"mysterious. i love that." sabrina leans in closer. "you know, there's this line from this one netflix show.” she pauses dramatically, then her voice drops, sultry and deliberate. "what was it? 'i'm not good at asking permission'?"
your eyes widen slightly. she's seen your show. she's quoting your character's line—one from a pretty heated scene—and making it sound absolutely filthy in this context.
"you watched it," you say, and for the first time there's genuine surprise in your voice.
"oh i did more than watch it," sabrina says, grinning. "i studied that scene. multiple times. for research."
the crowd is losing their collective mind. you can feel your composure slipping just slightly, heat definitely visible on your cheeks now.
"that's—" you start, but honestly what do you even say to that?
"what? you thought i brought you up here random?" sabrina laughs. "baby, i clocked you the second you walked in. been thinking about this for the past hour." she turns to the audience. "should i tell her the truth? should i admit i've had a celebrity crush?"
the screaming somehow gets even louder.
you're definitely blushing now, but you manage a small smile. "this is a lot of information."
"too much? should i stop?" sabrina's close again, and her free hand comes up to straighten your jacket collar unnecessarily. "because i can keep going. i got a whole list of thoughts about you that probably aren't appropriate for this venue."
you laugh—you can't help it—and shake your head slightly. the calm composure is cracking around the edges now.
"you're trouble," you tell her, echoing her earlier assessment of you.
"takes one to know one," sabrina responds. she's playing to the crowd but her attention is fully on you. "okay, one more thing before i let you go. and i need you to be honest with me."
"alright," you say, curious.
"that scene. the parking garage." sabrina's grinning now, fully committed to flustering you. "how many takes did that need? because i feel like you were really into it."
your jaw drops slightly. that scene was intense—your character pinning someone against a car, all tension and barely restrained want. "you're really gonna ask me that right now?"
"a few takes," you admit, and the crowd screams at the implications. "professional reasons."
"professional," sabrina repeats, nodding solemnly. "sure. and the way you grabbed her—that was all scripted?"
"we had... some freedom to improvise."
"i knew it," sabrina says triumphantly. "god, that's so—okay, i need to stop before this gets too personal." she takes a breath, fanning herself dramatically. "you're gonna be the death of me."
you're fully smiling now.
"alright," sabrina says, starting to uncuff you. "i'm releasing you back into the wild. you're free to go. but first—"
she pulls you in for a hug. it's quick but warm, and she gets close enough to whisper—not quite into the mic but audible enough—"you're even better in person."
then she kisses your cheek, just a press of lips to skin, and the crowd loses their absolute fucking minds.
she pulls back, gives you a wink. "thanks for being a good sport. now get out of here before i decide to keep you."
you head back toward the stairs, still managing to look relatively composed despite everything.
you glance back, eyebrow raised in question, but she just grins and blows a kiss.
you sit back down next to maria, who's still filming, eyes huge.
"holy shit," maria breathes. "she quoted your show.”
you chuckle and you can't quite process it yet. your hands are slightly unsteady as you run them through your hair.
"dani's gonna kill you," maria says, but she's grinning.
"yeah," you agree quietly. "yeah, she is."
the concert continues. sabrina performs "juno" in full now, doing the choreo, and she keeps glancing over to where you're sitting, throwing little smirks your way. you maintain your composure, but there's definitely a small smile playing at your lips.
by the time you get to your car after the concert ends, you're already viral.
you know because maria shows you her phone in the parking lot and the twitter timeline is absolutely fucking flooded. your name is everywhere. clip after clip after clip of the interaction, taken from every possible angle. people in the nosebleed sections somehow got footage. there's already a youtube video titled "sabrina carpenter FLIRTS with y/n y/l/n for 10 minutes straight (FULL INTERACTION)" with 400k views and it was posted thirty minutes ago.
"oh my god," you breathe, scrolling through maria's phone since yours is currently exploding with notifications and you've learned not to look when something goes viral.
the way sabrina carpenter QUOTED y/n's show... she's been watching... she's a FAN... this is insane
THE PARKING GARAGE SCENE REFERENCE IM ON THE FLOOR she really said let me bring up the hottest scene from your show in front of thousands
y/n maintaining composure for 9 minutes and then slowly getting flustered is everything to me actually
there's already edited photos, cropped screenshots of moments that look even more intimate than they felt. someone caught the exact moment sabrina whispered in your ear and your expression is soft, a small smile playing at your lips, the stage lights catching the slight flush on your cheeks.
the edits start rolling in as you're driving home. you're at a red light when maria gasps and shoves her phone in your direction.
"don't look while driving," she says, then immediately contradicts herself, "but oh my god look at this."
it's a tiktok edit. someone set the whole interaction to "good luck, babe!" by chappell roan, with the beat drop landing exactly when sabrina ran her finger along your jacket collar. the comments are unhinged.
i know daniela from katseye is somewhere screaming crying throwing up
this awoke something in me that i'll need to discuss with my therapist
another edit, this one on twitter, has the parking garage scene from your show cut together with footage from tonight. someone added text: "sabrina's been STUDYING."
NOT SABRINA SAYING SHE WATCHED THAT SCENE MULTIPLE TIMES FOR "RESEARCH" LMAOOOOO
someone check on dani please... her girlfriend just got publicly thirsted over by sabrina carpenter
the way this is the FIRST TIME sabrina's ever brought someone up for juno and she picked y/n... like she SAW her and said i need that one specifically
the leather jacket the mysterious energy the way she barely smiled but when she did it was devastating... im unwell
you pull into your apartment complex and sit in the car for a moment, scrolling through your own phone now. the notifications are endless. instagram is a nightmare. your latest post—a selfie from three days ago—has 80k new comments and they're all about tonight.
came here after the sabrina thing and uh... hi can you arrest me too
dani better lock you DOWN before sabrina tries something
you finally check your texts. your manager is thrilled, talking about how this is "incredible organic publicity" and how your q score is probably "through the roof." your co-star is sending you memes people have already made. your sister wants to know why she had to find out via twitter that sabrina carpenter has a crush on you.
you head inside, stopping to grab your mail even though it's just bills and a nordstrom catalog. your apartment is quiet, the kind of silence that feels heavy after being in an arena with thousands of screaming people. you drop your keys in the bowl by the door, toe off your boots, and stand in your living room trying to figure out what to do.
call dani? text first? show up at their building with food and apologize for something that wasn't even your fault?
your phone buzzes. finally, a text from your girlfriend.
dani 💕: all of them actually
dani 💕: slow motion replays
dani 💕: the one where someone zoomed in on your face when she quoted your show
dani 💕: the girls are having a FIELD DAY with this
dani 💕: manon is doing a dramatic reenactment
dani 💕: sophia won't stop laughing
you: she picked me i didn't volunteer
dani 💕: she said she's had a CELEBRITY CRUSH
dani 💕: she QUOTED your show
dani 💕: the parking garage scene???
you: i didn't know she'd seen it
you: i was just trying to stay calm
dani 💕: we're talking about this when you get here
dani 💕: the girls want to talk to you for "investigative purposes"
dani 💕: aka they want to roast you in person
you grab your keys again and head back out to your car, stopping at in-n-out because showing up empty-handed seems like a bad strategic move. you get enough burgers and fries for all six girls plus extras because you're not above bribing them.
the building is quiet this late, but you have a visitor pass that gets you through security. the woman at the desk recognizes you—you've been here enough times—and she's smirking.
"saw the video," she says. "all ten minutes."
"please don't," you respond, and she laughs.
you take the elevator up to the fifth floor where the practice studios are, following the sound of voices and laughter down the hallway. studio 3 has light spilling out from under the door. you balance the in-n-out bags in one hand and knock with the other.
the door flies open. sophia stands there, phone already out and recording.
"the celebrity crush has arrived," she announces, and you hear everyone inside crack up.
you walk in to find all of katseye sprawled around the studio. dani's on the couch, arms crossed, but you can see she's fighting a smile. manon is literally on the floor. lara's got her laptop open with what looks like the twitter trending page pulled up. yoonchae is eating chips. megan's watching you with undisguised glee.
"i brought food," you offer, holding up the bags.
"oh she brought BRIBES," manon says, sitting up. "this is serious."
you set the food down on the table and everyone descends on it immediately except dani, who stays on the couch, watching you with an expression you can't quite read.
"so," megan says around a mouthful of burger, "sabrina carpenter has a celebrity crush."
"apparently," you say carefully.
"on you," lara adds, turning her laptop so you can see a tweet thread analyzing every moment of the interaction. "specifically you."
"she's never brought anyone up for that song before," sophia says. "we checked. like literally never. and then you show up and suddenly she's breaking her routine."
"and quoting your show," yoonchae adds. "the sexy scene."
"okay but in her defense," manon says, and you feel a moment of hope that someone's on your side, "that parking garage scene was really hot."
"not helping," dani says, finally speaking, and her voice is tight.
the other girls exchange looks. there's a beat of silence.
"we'll just... go eat these in the hallway," manon says, grabbing the food bags. "give you two some privacy."
they file out, but not before sophia mouths "good luck" at you and megan makes a praying hands gesture. the door closes and then it's just you and dani in the studio, the mirrors reflecting the two of you, the space suddenly feeling much smaller.
"ten minutes," she says. "she flirted with you for ten minutes."
you move to sit next to her on the couch, leaving some space between you, not sure if touching is allowed right now. "i didn't encourage it."
"you looked at her with that look," dani says, and there's something in her voice you can't quite place. "the one that made me fall for you."
your heart squeezes. "i was just trying to stay composed. you know i don't like being on the spot like that."
dani observes, “you were... smooth. confident. and then when she quoted your show you got all soft."
"because it caught me off guard! i didn't expect her to have actually watched it."
"three million views," dani says, staring at her hands now. "the main video has three million views and it's been five hours. everyone's talking about how perfect you two looked together."
you shift closer, reaching for her hand carefully. she lets you take it, which feels like progress. "dani, look at me."
she does, and her eyes are a little glassy.
"i was thinking about you," you say quietly. "when i was up there, when she was doing all that, i was thinking about how you were going to react. i wasn't swept up in some moment with her. i was just... trying to get through it without looking completely awkward on camera."
"you didn't look awkward," dani says. "you looked—" she stops, swallows. "you looked good. really good. and she noticed. and now everyone else notices."
"i don't care what everyone else notices," you tell her. "i care what you think."
"i think—" dani's voice cracks slightly. "i think she's sabrina carpenter. she's beautiful and talented and she has a crush on you and she's not afraid to show it in front of thousands of people. and i'm just—"
"you're my girlfriend," you interrupt firmly. "you're the one i'm in love with. you're the one whose tour rehearsals i show up to even when i've been on set for twelve hours. one pop star flirting with me doesn't change any of that."
dani's quiet for a moment, then: "the internet thinks you should date."
"the internet thought i was engaged to my co-star last month because we hugged at a premiere. the internet is wrong about a lot of things." you squeeze her hand. "including thinking anyone could compare to you."
that gets a small smile. dani leans into your side and you wrap an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"the parking garage scene though," dani says, and there's a hint of amusement now. "she had to bring up that one."
"it's a hot scene. you pinned that girl against a car."
"you improvised some of it," dani points out, echoing what you'd admitted on stage.
"how many takes?" dani asks, and now she's definitely teasing.
"you're really gonna ask me that too?"
you huff out a laugh. "a few. and before you ask, yes, the director wanted us to really commit to the tension."
"mm-hmm," dani says, but she's smiling for real now. "and now sabrina carpenter has watched it multiple times for 'research.'"
"it's a little bit your fault. you're the one being all mysterious and attractive."
"you like when i'm mysterious and attractive," you point out.
"i do," dani admits. "i just don't like when other people notice as much as i do."
you sit like that for a while, the practice room quiet except for the muffled sound of the other girls talking in the hallway. your phone keeps buzzing in your pocket but you ignore it.
"manon's reenactment was pretty accurate though," dani says eventually. "she borrowed sophia's pink scarf as handcuffs and did the whole 'you're being so good' thing."
"and megan played you. she did the mysterious eyebrow raise and everything. it was disturbingly accurate."
"i'm never coming back here."
dani tilts her head up to look at you. "yes you are. you're my girlfriend and you're stuck with us."
you kiss her properly then, soft and sweet, trying to communicate everything you can't quite find words for. when you pull back, she's smiling for real now, the tension from earlier dissolved.
"but if sabrina carpenter follows you on instagram," dani says, "i'm allowed to be dramatic about it."
"that's fair," you agree.
the door opens and all five girls tumble in, clearly having been listening from the hallway.
"are we good?" sophia asks. "because i have so many more jokes prepared."
"we're good," dani confirms.
"oh thank god," megan says, pulling out her phone. "because you have to see this edit someone made where they put the parking garage scene side by side with tonight and the chemistry is identical—"
and just like that, you spend the next two hours being roasted by your girlfriend's groupmates while eating cold french fries and watching every possible angle of your viral moment. manon does her reenactment three more times, each one more dramatic. sophia finds a thread analyzing your "rizz” like it's a scientific phenomenon. lara discovers someone made a youtube compilation of "every time y/n almost smiled" set to dramatic music.
it's mortifying and hilarious at the same time.
your phone buzzes around 1am. you're half-asleep on the couch, dani curled against your side, when you blearily check the notification.
sabrinacarpenter started following you
you stare at the screen. blink. stare some more.
you show her your phone. her eyes go wide, sleep disappearing immediately.
"oh FUCK," she says, sitting up.
WAIT SABRINA CARPENTER JUST FOLLOWED Y/N ON INSTAGRAM??? she really said that wasn't just a bit i actually want to know her
oh dani is BIG MAD right now i just know it
sabrina said that ten minute flirtation wasn't enough i need daily access to her content
someone check on dani... babe blink twice if you need help
the way sabrina IMMEDIATELY followed her after the concert... she didn't even wait... down bad behavior
you look at dani. she looks at you.
"don't follow her back," dani says immediately.
"but also isn't that kind of rude?"
you turn your phone off. problem solved.
"i'm deleting instagram," you announce.
"dramatic," yoonchae comments from her spot on the floor.
"justified," dani counters.
the night dissolves into more teasing, more edits being discovered and dramatically gasped over, more screenshots of unhinged tweets. someone finds a tiktok of a girl explaining the entire timeline of events like it's a true crime documentary.
"they work fast," megan observes, watching the video essay.
by the time you finally leave the building—sun starting to rise, exhaustion making everything feel slightly unreal—the internet has moved through shock, chaos, memes, and is now in the deep analysis phase. there are threads about your "relationship history," articles being written with headlines like "who is y/n y/l/n? everything to know about the actress sabrina carpenter couldn't resist," even a poll asking if people think sabrina has a chance.
(73% say no because they think you're dating dani. 27% say they'd make a hot couple anyway. you don't know how to feel about those statistics.)
you drive home in the early morning quiet, dani in your passenger seat scrolling through her phone and occasionally showing you particularly funny tweets, and somehow it all feels okay. chaotic and weird and very public, but okay.
"hey," dani says as you pull up to her apartment building.
"next time maria gets concert tickets, i'm coming with you."
you laugh, leaning over to kiss her. "deal. no more sabrina carpenter concerts without supervision."
she gets out, blows you a kiss through the window, and you watch her head inside. your phone is still off. you're sure there are hundreds more notifications waiting, more tweets, more edits, probably morning talk shows are already preparing segments about it.
but right now, driving home through empty la streets with the windows down and the sky turning pink, you're just you. not a viral moment, not a meme, not someone's celebrity crush—just you, tired and happy and deeply in love with your girlfriend who gets jealous and protective and makes you feel more seen than any amount of internet attention ever could.
(maria texts you three days later with tickets to olivia rodrigo.
you make a mental note to maybe avoid concerts for a while.
you respond with a single word: "no."
she sends back: "coward."