Stockholm Syndrome

Chapter 5 - Management

(Zayne's POV)

I'm putting on my best smile for the press when I get a tap on the shoulder. A tall man in a plain suit is standing behind me and responsible for the gesture and My blood runs cold. I should have been expecting it- we meet with management after every concert. But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with it. Management is just a power hungry shark, and the spiteful looks they give Harry and Louis are just proof that they went really care about any of us. I honestly think we would do better if we broke away from management, but that's not my decision t make. I'm just the press boy, here to keep the vultures from swallowing the rest of them alive. Nialls the only one really smart enough to know what's beat tor the band,and he does a good job of keeping us in line.

I nod at the man in the suit and follow him away fron the press. Perrie  can deal with them for a while. I can feel my stomach settle at the bottom of my shoes as I follow the man back to the meeting, but the panic doesn't really set in until I walk change in the room to find that mist everyone is seated around the table already. Except Niall. And Niall is never late.

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(Nialls POV)

I am pacing impatiently across the room, trying to decide what To do. My original plan had been t report the little run in to management and let them deal with Emma, but the more I consider it, the worse of an idea it sounds. Not to mention that I was recently informed that our meeting with management has been moved up to right exactly now. I have no idea what decision to make and I have no time to make one.

"Are you okay?" Emma asks. I look over t see her watching me, and feel a bit self conscious without my hoodie, which she is still holding.

"I'm fine." I mutter. I want to sit down, but I know it will only be a few seconds before I'm up and moving again.

"I can deal with the people at management you know. I'm sure they'll understand that I didn't mean to see them kiss." She states, and I'm almost surprised to hear her refer to the "people" in management. For me and the other band members, those workers had always just been one big mass of hatred, balling up into one entity that we referred to simply as management.

I shake my head at her. "You don't know our manage ment. Its vicious. You should see how much it hates Harry and Louis for what you saw, even when no one knows. They'll tear you apart."

"I can hold my own," She defends and I know I've insulted her. That's just great. I can't hardly deal with management and now I have to deal with an insulted fan on top of that.

"Look, I'm sorry Emma." I stop my pacing and turn to her. "I'm just worried about you." I meet her gaze and she doesn't break eye contact for several seconds.

"I'm sorry I'm causing trouble." She finally says, and I can tell it wasn't the same sentence she had been planning on saying.I give her a small smile and she returns it. I know if we dint get going, management will come and find me. And as much as I would love to stay here with Emma, I know things will only get worse if we wait. I take a deep breath and hold out my hand to help Emma to her feet. This time she accepts the gesture, and i don't drop her hand as we walk down the hallway towards our meeting with management. Honestly, I need all the reassurance I can get.

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(Emma's POV)

Niall holds my hand as we walk and I almost pull away fron him. But I remember how worried he had been only minutes before, How the look in his eyes reminded me of a scared child, Of how helpless he had seemed right then, and allow him to grip my hand. I can feel his pulse beating against my fingers and remember that I left his hoodie in the other room. But some thing tells me that Niall isn't too worried about the jacket right now. He seems pretty caught up with this whole management issue.

We come to a door much nicer than the one leading to the tiny bathroom I had used and Niall pushes it open slowly. A large table takes up much of the room, But at the front are five chairs. Four of them are filled, two with Harry and Louis, whose chairs are spotted so close they almost touch, and Zayn and Liam occupy the other too. All four seem tense, sitting uncomfortable on the edges of their chairs, and the room falls silent as Niall and I walk in. Men in suits take up the entire table, and even as I stare back at their unflinching gazes I notice Niall pop a candy heart into his mouth. He really seems to like those things.

"Hello Niall." One man in a suit speaks. "Feel free to take a seat." Some thing about his voice strokes a chord within me and I suddenly realized why Niall is so scared if these people.

Niall hands me a candy heart before taking a seat in the empty chair. I'm sure its a coincidence, but the message on the small pink heart reads Be True 2 U. Actual advice for a situation where some real wisdom was needed.

"And who might you be?" The man's gaze turns upon me, and I feel a chill right down to my very core.

Louis answers for me. "She's the girl who walked in on Harry and I. I thought I finally had a chance of getting him undressed, but she so rudely interrupted." He grins at me to soften the rude comment and I smile back. He's certainly much more confident than before. Harry, on the other hand, is furiously blushing, and I don't blame him. Louis' comment was a bit...distasteful.

"She walked in on you doing what." The speaker is frowning and the rest of the men share his expression. Except Louis who is grinning, Harry who is blushing and Liam, who must already know what happened and is giving Harry a knowing smile.

"Kissing. Or maybe more like making out. Its up to interpretation." Louis shrugs. Sitting next to him, Zayn bursts out laughing.

"She walked in on you too? I would have loved to see her face. Or Louis'. I hear he doesn't respond well to shock."Zayn ignores the glares hes getting from the men in suits, though I don't see how. It must be an acquired talent.

"I'm not gonna tell," I promise. "I'm not even a fan. I just came here cause my friend begged me."

The men stared at me, and the one who had been doing the speaking walked up to me. I step away, but he steps closer until my back is to the wall. I'm terrified and confused when, in one fluid motion, he holds a cloth up to my face. A sharp smell hits my nostrils and as my consciousness fades, I am vaguely aware of being dropped. The last thing I feel before I slide away is a gentle hand on my arm, and a small heart shapes candy pressed into my mouth.