Preacher Man // ross lynch + driver era

114

"Excuse me?" I say harshly, glancing up at Ross then the woman.

What scares me the most is that I can't even read Ross right now.

"Want to see them? Cute pics!" She rambles pulling out her phone.

I step closer to her and my blood immediately boils. "You're threatening Ross with photos when you have the band as your fucking background? For $25,000? Are you serious? You're a fan?"

The woman quickly locks her phone and starts fumbling with it, clearly not thinking her threat through. Ross grabs my wrist and gently pulls me back so I'm further from her.

"I don't have 25 thousand dollars," he says, firm and clear as day.

She shoves her phone into her back pocket and begins to nervously play with her fingers. "I'll call TMZ," she says, threatening to call a pap reporting website.

"I'll give you 10 grand. It's all I can easily transfer and I have it in my account," he continues.

I shake my head. "Ross, stop," I whisper. "Give us two minutes and we will figure something out. Two minutes. Put your phone on the top of the car so I know you won't leak it in that time." I demand her.

I'm not putting up with this shit.

What type of person does this?

She places the phone where I asked and I grab Ross's hand to pull him a few spots down so she can't hear.

"I'm two minutes away from a freak out," he warns me. "I can't do this, Hayl. I don't know what to fucking do. Do I call my dad? My manager? Lawyer? Accountant? I don't know."

I think between the options quickly. "I would think your manager then they can sort it out," I suggest, trying not to step on his toes.

He nods and pulls out his cellphone, quickly dialing in a number and putting it to his ear. He looks sadly at me then begins talking. "Hey, I'm in some trouble. No, I wasn't arrested. Remember how I told you I was going with Hayley to drive to LA? I kissed her at a gas station and someone got photos and now threatening to leak it unless I give them 25 grand."

I can't hear the words, but all I hear is yelling coming from the phone. Ross looks like he's on the fence of crying, his finger jutting out to touch his lip.

Fuck, this is all of my fault. This never would've happened if I didn't have the panic attack.

Why is it with hotels that everything between us gets worse?

Ross walks past me and holds the phone away from his ear. "$10,000 immediate transfer to your account. Danielle and I are on a break so all you'd be doing is making everyone's life hell. After the $10k, you must sign a nondisclosure agreement."

The woman thinks for a moment then nods. "Fine," she says, settling for $15k less than asking.

After telling Ross her email, she starts signing the agreement papers and must show us her deleting them on all aspects of her phone. She seems to be proud of herself up until we were leaving and Ross said, "I think you should know now instead of later, but don't bother coming to any of my shows. You're banned, your face and name will be handed to every security guard. If you send anyone any photos of Hayley and I, you'll be sued for all you're worth. Have a nice night."

He aggressively picks up the bag from off the floor and starts walking toward the inside of the hotel. "I'm sorry," the girl yells out, but he doesn't care.

I follow behind him, struggling to keep up with his long strides. Once he goes into the elevator, he glances at me quickly. "What floor?"

"Fourth," I reply softly, trying not to annoy him even more.