[HarryStyles] Pop Meets Hardcore

Five.

The room grows even tenser, almost like you can feel it, and Louis bursts out laughing, causing Niall to let out the laughter he was trying to hold in. Zayn smiles at me, like he approves of my comeback, and Liam shifts uncomfortably in his seat, which tells me that there is something else going on here that I don’t know about. I'm not stupid, I can guarantee that it has to do with this relationship of ours, and I have a feeling it’s not going to be a G-rated relationship.

Now, I get it, I should be jumping up and down with joy because I get to kiss Harry Styles and hold his hand and all that relationship stuff. I want to vomit.

“Listen, the faster we end this meeting, the faster we can get the plan into action.” Simon interrupts, sending a warning glance at Harry. Running a hand through my hair, I tilt my head to the side, trying to at least pretend to be curious as to what else the plan has in store for us. “As soon as this little meeting ends, Braelyn and Harry are going to walk out together, with the guys behind them. I want laughing and smiles. Harry, I want you to grab onto her hand in the middle of walking to the car, because I can guarantee that once people spot you all they're going to crowd you. Make it seem like you want to protect her.”

Clearing her throat, the lady who still knows nothing about me even though her entire folder on me is on the table in front of her talks before Simon can finish. “You two need to lace your fingers together. The holding hands and nothing more is old news and no longer anything to talk about. If anyone and I mean anyone asks about your relationship, just keep walking. No smiles and no answering. What we’re going to do is release a statement. Braelyn, your management will release one as well. They're basically going to say things are getting serious and no one wanted to keep the relationship a secret anymore.”

I don’t know when the last time my management made a statement on my behalf was.

Actually, they’ve never made a statement on my behalf. They never had to.

My mom shifts in her chair, taking notice to the glares from Harry, which means that I'm not being paranoid or insane. “Can I just say something? You have to know my daughter. There is not a single time when she allowed her management to say something for her. All of this works for big stars like Selena Gomez, but my daughter is in a band that is signed to a small label and plays small venues. To get into her concert, all the kids have to do is play twenty something dollars. I don’t think that this is going to work.”

If there’s one thing that I love the most about my mom it’s that she will always stand up for me and do anything she can to make sure I'm treated properly. I'm not outspoken enough to say anything like that, though it’s all I can think about: how different this is from my life, how I would never partake in something like this. But, here I am. I already had my freak out for the day, and I refuse to lose my cool like that again, on the outside at least.

“We did do our research, Mrs. Stone. As a matter of fact, we think that this is the best way to do it. That way it wasn’t like Braelyn was keeping a secret from her fans. This way it looks like a joint decision between both managements.” I'm pretty sure that lady introduced herself by her name when we came in, but I don’t remember it, and I'm starting to feel rude.

This isn't like me. I'm never this angry. I try so hard to not be an angry person. It makes life dreadful. Besides, this can be fun. Zayn seems to want to be my friend. Apparently Louis is the funny one and Niall likes food. Liam and I are both the parents of our bands. We can get along.

See, I've done my research.

Okay, I already knew that about them, but that’s it, I swear. I only know what my friend has told me about them.

“What my mom is trying to say is that we have to make sure that things are also believable to my fans. Part of being on a small label and doing what we do is that the fans become our family. We see the same fans at the same venues. We meet them. We know them by name. We know their insecurities. We even have some of their phone numbers. I'm open about most things in my life with them and relationships and love have always been two things that I'm not afraid to share with them. It’s just a different scene and I don’t know if you really thought this over. I'm not sure we really thought this over.”

Brad is probably having an anxiety attack right now, listening to what we’re saying. For all the years I've known him, I didn’t know him as a greedy person who was driven by the desire of money. But, here we are, here he is, with dollars signs for eyes.

Harry crosses his arms over his chest, leaning to the side to whisper something in Liam’s ear, to which Liam nods his head. Biting down on my lower lip, I glance at Dan, begging for him to distract me, because this meeting is not going as well as I thought it would. For some reason I thought this would be like a fairytale. However, so far, it’s ending up like my last relationship, a cruel, sick joke.

“Listen, this is what is going to happen.” Simon raises his voice and in an instant everyone is looking at him. “Harry and Braelyn are going to be in a relationship, a committed relationship. That means no flirting with or snogging anyone else for either of you.” I don’t hook up. “You're going to hold hands and kiss and go places together and smile and laugh. You have been dating for about two months now, which makes the meeting in Africa backstory plausible because it gives you about two months of knowing each other before committing to each other.” I'm not marrying him. “The two of you are compatible. We all did our research. You have similar interests and you two will get along. No one, absolutely no one, besides us, Braelyn’s band, and Harry’s immediate family know about this. And no one else will know.”

I don’t have anyone to tell.

And if I did, they wouldn’t believe me.

I'm nothing compared to the girls he’s been with.

It all makes sense now.

No one would see it coming.

Because I'm the girl that no one like Harry would ever want.

That’s me.

The outcast.

Like school all over again.