I Need You || a.i. (EDITING) [On Hold]

Chapter 39

"Fuck, I'm nervous."

I looked over at Ashton rubbing the palms of his hands on the thighs of his pants. I placed one of my hands over his to steady him and try to calm him down. It was another beautiful that felt like it would never end. I'd already bailed Ashton out of jail- what was next?

"You're gonna be fine, Ash. I believe in you guys." I meant it. They were amazing and they had such passion for what they did. Anyone who couldn't see that was stupid.

I pulled into a parking spot outside the building downtown. We'd made it perfectly on time surprisngly. I wouldn't be going into the meeting with them, obviously, but I was probably just as nervous as they were. There were unlimited possibilities for them behind these doors. I got out of the car and walked to meet Ashton, who took my hand and guided me to the front glass doors. He walked a few steps ahead of me, trailing me behind, our fingertips linking us together.

Inside, the walls were white and covered in tons of platinum albums and awards. Pictures of bands were framed and hung up, alongside flat screens that played clips from music videos and older award shows- some more recent that I'd expect.

Michael, Calum, and Luke were already sitting on big leather couches in the lobby by Luke's mom, who was going in with them as a parent representative since they weren't all eighteen. Apparently they were just talking about all of the general stuff today. Nothing official would happen until they went home, talked with family, each other, and came to a solid decision- that was, if these management people decided they wanted anything to do with their band. That much responsibility would scare the shit out of me, it's like, what they wanted to do now was going to change everything. It was weird... This was stressing me out more than my college applications had.

"Hey lads," Ashton said, greeting them all with a quick hug. It was cute how quiet his voice was. Amazing what twenty minutes in jail did for a guy...

I waved to them all and walked over. Calum moved to give me a hug before turning back over to Ashton.

"We were getting scared you weren't gonna show up on time," Calum said, "We should've figured you'd be with Lauren. She wouldn't let you be late." It was all meant jokingly, and Calum patted Ashton on the shoulder.

"Are you all 5 Seconds of Summer?" A chirpy secretary piped up from behind her large desk. She wore glasses that were too big for her face and looked like someone who escaped the set of a porno. No judgement, of course... She was probably in her early twenties and another one of the women that made me feel like a shrimp. What was with all these attractive Australian women?

"Yes, we are," said Luke, who'd even dressed up a bit for the meeting. He stuttered over his words a bit and seemed the most nervous of the bunch. It was cute. Liz smiled at her son, who acted so professionally, and gave him a loving pat on the back.

"They're ready to see you all now." She smiled and pointed down a hallway, "Take the lift and go up to the tenth floor. It should be the first set of doors you see when it opens up. They should be waiting for you!"

"Thank you," they all said in unison, before looking at each other and laughing.

My hands were all shaky now. Ashton turned around and pulled me close, his hands gripping my waist. His lips brushed against mine and I could feel the others watching, even Luke's mom. I pulled back and grabbed his hand.

"Good luck, rock star. Go kill 'em," I nearly whispered, our foreheads pressed together so our lips didn't meet.

I gave him a little punch on the jawline and he smiled. Leaning further in, he kissed my cheek quickly.

"You're still my number one fan." I watched as he ran off to meet with the boys, who'd alreadt headed down the hall. I watched as the secretary glanced back at them and I glared at her.