The "Biggest" Fan (EN)

35.

"Spain," Matt snapped his fingers, waking me up from my thoughts. Why did I agree to finally come to his office? "Skylar's in fucking Spain. Do you even realize how that looks?"

I blinked. Oh, I knew how it looked. I'd already seen the photos — the ones of her on a beach, sipping some neon cocktail, looking like she'd made the best decision of her life. Honestly? Maybe she had.

"It looks like she's enjoying much better weather than we are," I said with a shrug, my tone dripping with just enough sarcasm to make Matt's vein twitch. I glanced over my shoulder at Jake, who was sitting behind me, quietly judging us both.

Matt's glare could've melted steel, "It looks like your band is falling apart, Louis. Skylar's in Spain, Jake's here doing... God-knows-what, and you're..." He waved a hand at me, exasperated, "Doing what you always do – driving me fucking insane."

"My band has fallen apart, so..." I started, because hey, facts are facts. But Matt wasn't in the mood for my charming honesty.

"Why can't you go five minutes without drama around you?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking like he'd aged ten years since I walked in, "The press is speculating, the fans are speculating — hell, I'm speculating. So what's the plan, Louis? Are you making up with Skylar or finding new bandmates?"

I shot Jake a pleading look, silently asking for rescue, but he just gave a nonchalant shrug. Damn, he was still pissed at me too.

"Look, Matt," I said, "Nobody knows my band is over. And they won't know before I'll figure out a way to fix it."

Matt checked his watch like he was about to cancel me entirely, "You need a fix now. Like, yesterday. If you're not on stage in a month, it will be obvious to the fans that something's wrong."

I hesitated. Not because I didn't have a plan — I did. It was just... Half-baked. Okay, maybe it wasn't even in the oven yet, "Ahm..." I stalled, scratching my neck, "What if I stay in the public eye but, uh, not with the band for a while?"

Matt raised his head to look at me, clearly not understanding where I was going with this.

"I mean, I don't have a band right now. I'll figure it out, but not that fast, obviously. So, what if I do, like, other stuff? Things that make the fans think the band's fine, but I'm just, y'know, busy?"

"Like what?" Jake spoke up, intrigued. It looked like he'd taken the words right out of Matt's mouth.

"Yeah, continue. This should be good," Matt scoffed sarcastically, leaning back in his chair. "Starting a podcast? Launching a skincare line? Going to Africa to save children?"

I shifted uncomfortably, "Like... Going on tour."

"On tour?" Matt laughed so hard I thought he might cry, "With what band, exactly? Louis and the Imaginary Friends?"

"Not with a band," I said quickly, before he could roast me further, "With Harry."

I heard Jake inhale loudly, but he didn't say anything.

"With Harry Styles?" Matt raised an eyebrow, still mocking me. For a moment, I started to think this was a terrible idea.

"Like a collaboration. We'll make a song together or something. It'll keep me in the spotlight, buy me time to sort out the band, and.."

"You must be joking."

"Think about it. No one's going to wonder why I'm not performing with the band if I'm busy performing with Harry. Plus, it'll look good — big names collaborating, all that."