Safety Net {l.r.h}

66) Fast Lane

LUKE HEMMINGS

Mid-April

My skinny jean-clad legs spin my body back and forth as I'm leaned back in a comfortable swivel chair, waiting on an important group of people to walk into the room. Michael fidgets with one of the many pens spread across the wooden table before us, clicking the button at the top repeatedly. Dayna blew a bubble with the minty gum she was chewing before allowing it to pop and gathering it back into her mouth with her teeth. Calum's forehead was leaned against the table as he battled a severe hangover from the night prior. Ashton sat quietly in his chair, occasionally checking the time on his phone, his patience running thinner as the minutes go by.

My eyes flick to my girl across the table to see her thumbing through a stack of papers laid out on the surface in front of her, fingers tangled in her hair as her head rested on her hand. I could tell her leg was thumping beneath her anxiously by the way her body subtly bounced in her seat. Before I could say anything, Ellie caught me and everyone else off guard when she abruptly grabs the pen from Michael's fingers and tosses it behind them to the floor.

"Hey, that was my pen—"

"Well now it's the floor's pen," she tells him without taking her eyes off the stack of papers she was reading over. She seemed to be stressed out for the past several weeks. It was all because of the upcoming tour. She had prearranged our interviews with Dayna in order to get us some more publicity, and it had been eating at her patience for so long.

Fortunately, that was the end of the awkward wait, and the door to the conference room swung open as several voices talked amongst themselves while their figures entered. Mrs. Leeway's dark eyes scanned the room as she smiled, clapping her hands together.

"Now that I have you all here, let's get started," she says while gesturing for the group of people to take their seats. "Have both groups decided on a name?"

Someone cleared their throat down the length of the table and I turned my head. Harry leaned forward on his elbows with his fingers clasped together. "We've decided on One Direction."

"Okay," Mrs. Leeway muttered as she wrote the name down on a small stack of papers. "And you guys have read over the terms and conditions as well as the contract?" Her eyes glance up to see Harry nod. Turning to Ellie, she smiles. "And what about this band?"

"They decided-"

"We decided," Michael interrupts causing the girl to roll her eyes.

"We decided on 5 Seconds of Summer, and we read over everything," she tells the woman, turning the page of the packet back to the front.

With a wide grin, Mrs. Leeway passes the papers to a man beside her who reeked of money. The gold jewelry decorating his body spoke for itself. Something in me screamed that this guy was bad news, but the second his signature scribbles across the line at the bottom of the page, it's already too late.

"Welcome to the fast lane, playboys."

*

Present-day Seattle, Washington

Music bounced off the walls, piercing the ears of everyone around. My heart thudded in my chest as my hands shook, and suddenly the surrounding space felt as if it were closing in on me. The loud bass shaking the floor sent about enough adrenaline through my body to last days. With my elbows planted against the dressing room vanity, I held my head in my hands as my legs shook violently beneath me while I sat on the stool. A half-empty glass of tequila sat to my left, the liquid rippling with every sound.