Limerence • h.s.

12

Megan was fuming. I sat next to her while she clawed at her hair in thought while a group of people were sitting there trying to explain the need for another member to join us. Surprisingly, Frank had no care in the world. He chose to stop listening after they said they loved the album. They loved it but they felt like our stage presence would be better if I weren't dead focused on playing the guitar while performing, but rather connecting with the crowd more.

Personally, I didn't want to give up the guitar, but I could maybe settle for having someone else on lead while I picked select songs to play. Maybe it would be better for us in the long run and I could feel more like a singer, but it was all so much of a surprise. They hadn't had an issue before today.

"Did Harry say anything about this?" Megan asks, finally calming herself enough to look at me. I inhaled a breath before shaking my head no. "I haven't really spoken to him," I said, lying straight to her face. He hadn't said anything about this, but I had spoken to him last night. Although it was nothing I wanted to think about ever again. She huffed out a groan and looked toward the window instead.

"We understand that this is a pretty big decision, but the sooner we act on it the better. You three are leaving in less than a week for the tour and you're gonna need this resolved." Claire was always the more reasonable one, but her voice annoyed the shit out of me right now. I didn't want to listen to anyone. I just wanted to listen to the album, sign off on it, and go get my things from Harry's place. I figure if I have to be on tour with him for the next six months, the least I can do is stay in a hotel for the next few nights, right?

"And if we say no, how does that affect our contracts?" Megan asks, nervously tapping her fingers on the table as always. I look to Claire for her answer. "It would only change the cut for each of you, the new member would be appointed by us and paid the same as all of you. I know that may be disappointing, but trust me, if Cecily can be hands-free then you will all connect more with the crowd." Megan huffs again. "Tell that to Nirvana." She says with a tight smile, which makes Frank laugh.

All I can do is sigh, not wanting to disregard anyone's feelings here, but wanting this to be over with. "Do we get to meet this person before we make a decision?" I ask. Claire explains that we are moving too fast and would need to push things back to make that work, which is 'impossible'. At this point, I let out a frustrated laugh and drop my head to my hands in thought. I try to think of the pros and cons but my mind is a mess. And I can't stand knowing that there are five people staring at us, waiting for our response.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I work to retrieve it so that I can think about something else for a second. I roll my eyes at Harry's name on the screen.

Take the deal, it'll be better for everyone.

Now I'm even more annoyed and confused and just fucking frustrated. He has to know that I don't want to fucking speak to him. How does he even know about this conversation? How can he be sure of this? I roll my eyes before setting my phone down on the table. Megan and Frank are silent and I feel awkward the longer we just sit here.

Megan retrieves her own phone and stares down at it. I look at her before she shows me the screen which displays a text from Harry. The same one he sent me. Her brows furrow and she mouths 'what?' at me. I shrug and just let out another laugh. "I don't know what to do here," I say, slumping back and staring up at the ceiling. "Well I sure as hell don't want to share my money with a stranger," Frank says, staring at us like we had four heads for even weighing our options.

"Harry says we should do it," Megan whispers harshly, getting frazzled. Frank just throws his hands up in the air. My phone buzzes against the table and I quickly pick it up.