Habits

Square One

~Zayn's pov~
We were in this large house in London. By we I mean me, Liam and Niall, we were just waiting for Harry and Louis to turn up and then our tour manager, Paul. All of us are in the dark as to why we're here, and as to why we are all living together again. The house was nice, very big and spacious and its decor was a nice mix of modern and contemporary. The entrance was greeted by a brief hallway in which there was a set of stairs. Through the hallway led to the spacious living area and an open plan kitchen. Next to the kitchen was another hallway that led to three en-suite bedrooms and a large dance studio/gym . Upstairs there were five bedrooms, all en-suite and a large shower room. At the end of the corridor upstairs was a very large room with a breathtaking view and a nice black grand piano. The garden was small in diameter but very long, it seemed to go on for quite a while. There was a conservatory on the side too, not really that big but a nice size. I could definitely get used to spending some time here with the boys, but it didn't make me any less confused as to why we're here. Me, Liam and Niall had already chosen the rooms downstairs and had unpacked, I was stood at the windows overlooking the garden, Liam was sat chilling on the large sofa and Niall had just walked in and sat on a stool in the kitchen.
"Does anyone even have the faintest idea what this is all for?" Liam suddenly piped up calmly. "I mean this place has got to have cost the label a fortune." I just looked at him and smiled softly before going to sit in the armchair next to him.
"Maybe they're doing some sort of big brother thing for tv. Ya know, let the fans see what we're like behind closed doors." Niall suggested.

"Nah, they'd have told us and planned it out before hand with us, something like that's too personal to be made public without us knowing. Besides, we don't have the time, we're already flopping on album sales as it is." I reasoned, they both kind of gave a sad smile then sighed. The door opened and Harry and Louis walked.
"Hey guys, any idea what all this shits about?" Harry asked almost straight away wheeling his suitcase in, louis following behind.
"Bloody hell this is nice ain't it." Louis added. Soon we were all stood in a circle between the living room and the kitchen. The door opened again and Paul walked in.

"Hey guys, how's it goin?" Paul asked enthusiastically, we all mumbled responses. "Right, to the point, the reason you're all here and as to why you're going to be here for the next five to six months, all appearances have been cut, however we may work in a few interviews via satellite here and there. You're aware your fan base is decreasing and so are sale figures in reference to merchandise, tour tickets, that sorta thing. Now you've all made comments about not having creative control for years now and the fact that you're manufactured to hormonal teenage girls. Now luckily for you guys I managed to get majority of the company to see your point and would you believe it some agreed with you. If we keep marketing you with the same old recycled stuff to the same audience then they're gonna get bored, after all they're teenagers so phases come and go. However, the control freaks that be don't wanna loose their power so they came up with a compromise. What's going to happen is they're bringing in a creative control liaison. What his job will be is to bring fresh new ideas with you guys, you get his professional opinions and vast music knowledge and work with him to come up with your own stuff, you'll all work with him to polish it off and he'll present it to the label. So they have a guy on the inside and essentially so do you guys as well. As well as this he'll also help you find musical ways to boost your promotion, but that was his idea so he'll explain what he means by that when he gets here."

"And when exactly is that?" Louis asked a bit harshly. I could tell he was pissed, everyone could, he didn't really like being told what to do. I was quite excited actually, we had more control over our own stuff.
"He'll be here very early in the morning, just to set some stuff up in his room and around the house so there's no need for alarms tomorrow. I think he intends start on Monday." Paul answered. "His names Caspar Smith and he comes highly recommended to us."
"Right and how old is Caspar exactly?" Louis snapped again. Paul hesitated a bit.
"He's 17, 18 this April." We all looked at each other a bit taken back, except from Louis who just seemed pissed.
"Fucking brilliant." He hissed before taking his bags upstairs.
"Casper will be reporting back to us every week so play nice. Remember, the ball is essentially in your court, so it's exactly what you guys turn it into. I'll see you later." And with that Paul was off. So, this is gonna be interesting.