Always Love You: A One Direction Adoption Story

Chapter 27

The first time James saw Roselyn in person, it physically hurt him to take his eyes off of her.

He knew what she looked like, of course. Her face had been plastered on every gossip blog in the US, UK, and Australia - all the places where the tour was set to visit. 

But he hadn't given it much thought since then.

That first few days after Roselyn came to stay with the boys was hectic for him as well. While Liam and Zayn had been working with their lawyers to keep Roselyn out of the public eye, James was under intense pressure from Simon to reassure the label that the boys hadn't gone "rogue" and would continue to focus on their responsibilities on tour.

Still, that hadn't proved easy when everything came to a halt while Roselyn was in the hospital. Song writing, public appearances, and rehearsals all had to be pushed back - just one more thing that was added on top of James' already full plate.

Not to mention, navigating the sensitive situation surrounding Roselyn's father proved to be quite difficult. 

He had seen his daughter in the news and was trying to get in contact with her. Even though the boys had their own security detail, Simon was always paranoid, and now it seemed that it was James' responsibility to make sure that all avenues of reaching the boys were secure.

Was his position even slightly ethical? Some would say that being able to remotely access each of the boy's phones as well as read and/or clear their history is too much power for one person to hold, especially without their knowledge or consent.

And under normal circumstances, James would agree. He had too many responsibilities to be constantly monitoring the boys, even under the guise of security. And honestly, they just generally annoyed him. 

Yes he worked for Simon, who managed the boys, but he never signed on to this position to babysit. He would have left this job long ago if the money wasn't so good. 

However, when he saw Roselyn, his outlook started to change. 

She seemed so fragile. Everything she had gone through was a quiet shadow over her head. He was drawn to her. But unlike the boys who had good intentions, his thoughts were anything but pure.

He felt as though he couldn't look away, a sudden tightness forming in his collar from his true feelings of lust and greed.

Under normal circumstances he knew that pursuing Roselyn in any capacity was wrong. She was 15, still a child really. And not to mention, she was basically untouchable. The boys kept a close guard around her at all times.

But nothing about this situation was normal. 

He was working for boys years younger than him, who had decided to "adopt" a random teenage girl they had found on the street, and his boss was middle aged and doing everything he could, often way too much, to keep himself relevant. 

He figured that if they were allowed to bend the rules a little bit, so could he.

And truthfully, he did hold some resentment. He knew his thoughts were wrong and could end up hurting people, but maybe that was his intention.

The boys got whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it. They had hundreds of thousands of fans screaming at them at every concert, overwhelming them in public, outside of their hotel, and everywhere in general.

Maybe he was just a bit jealous that he could never even get women to talk to him, and these boys had people throwing themselves at them every moment of every day. 

He wanted to be like them. Their air of confidence and control. Everyone turning to look when they walk into a room. 

The envy was eating him alive, and he finally snapped. He wanted them to feel how he felt - small and helpless and trapped.

And in his sick mind, the key to that was Roselyn. 

All of his problems would be solved. He would have a motivation to leave this miserable job, and he had no problem burning bridges as he did. He would cause them chaos, confusion, and pain, which he believed they deserved. He would start over, maybe even be happy.

Of course, convincing Roselyn to run away with him was going to be the hard part. 

Love was never his priority anyway. Deep down, he was seeking total submission, total control. He saw a vulnerable, broken girl, and a chance to two joys at once: fill his own empty heart while destroying those he was growing to hate.

As the gears began turning in his head, he realized he had been staring at Roselyn for just a second too long, so he quickly turned to address Simon. He would get back to his thoughts about her later.

"Well I am afraid we're going to have to cut this meeting short. Thank you boys for coming, and it was a pleasure to meet you Roselyn," Simon said. "Please feel free to come by any time, and keep up the great work!"

James' eyes lingered on Roselyn as the band shuffled out of the room. 

"What was so important that you needed to discuss?" Simon asked, once his office door had been shut.

"I was doing a quick check on the boys' messages and everything, like you asked," James began. "Everything with most of the boys seems normal. Some stress about the tour and stuff -"

"Get to the point James," Simon interrupted with a sigh as he shuffled through papers on his desk. "What did you find?"

"Um, well," James continued. "There were some conversations between Zayn and his mother that were a bit concerning. I wasn't able to get full context because most of it was over the phone, but I think Zayn might be having thoughts of leaving the band."

"Huh," Simon replied as he pulled out the document he was looking for. "What makes you say that?"

"They were talking about the terms of his contract. Specifically, how those terms apply if he broke the contract," James said.

Simon paused for a second and looked up from his desk at James. "And so what did he decide to do?"

"I couldn't really get a read on his timeline, but I think the main stressor is the upcoming tour. Their contracts are set to be renewed in the middle of the tour, so there is an incentive to drop out now and not cause chaos once the tour has already begun."

"When was this?" Simon asked.

"A a handful of weeks ago, the night the tour was announced. With my recent access, I only just saw the messages," James explained.

There was a moment of silence as Simon digested the information. 

"From everything I've heard and seen today, Zayn seems focused and dedicated to the band. He also seems pretty committed to Roselyn now, who he hadn't even met at the time. Maybe his priorities have changed. 

"For now, continue keeping an eye on things, and let me know if anything else comes up. Try to find out what other reasons he may have for wanting to leave, and see if there is anything we can do to try to sweeten the deal for him. I don't want this mindset spreading to the rest of the band. Got it?" Simon replied.

"Will do sir," James answered before exiting Simon's office.

Sitting at his desk, with the comfort of his own thoughts, James allowed himself to daydream about the downfall of One Direction. With his newfound passion, he had every intention of letting Zayn's doubts run their course, and helping to amplify them if need be. This would be one more step towards the end of their era, and one less person he would need to go through to get to Roselyn. They were already starting to fragment from the inside, and he couldn't wait to see their castle crumble.