Unconditional

Chapter 4

We pulled up to a huge skyscraper. The letter plastered above the front door read: Modest! Management.

"So this....This is management?" I muttered. Then I saw bright flashes of light and heard loud clicking.

"ZAYN, OVER HERE!"

"LIAM, DID YOU GET A DOG?"

"LET'S SEE THOSE BRACES NIALL!"

"WHO'S THAT GIRL?"

Paparazzi? I didn't expect that. In that fleeting moment, I forgot they were international superstars that had millions of fans and paparazzi following their every move.

Then I heard screaming. It got louder. And louder. And louder. Zayn swore under his breath. He grabbed my hand and we pulled through screaming girls. I heard a couple of them yell: "LAYN! LAYN!" I had no idea what that meant.

We hurried inside, the other four right behind us. All six of us went into the elevator and stopped on floor twenty. A tall man with slicked back grey hair and beady eyes greeted us, almost as if he were waiting for us. He looked like a rat. The rat man led us into his office and shut the door. I read the plaque on his wall. It said "Trenton Watts."

"Please, sit down," he said, motioning to six chairs. We all sat.

"Hello, you all. Ms. Peyton, how's the head?" he asked with a condescending and smug tone.

"Who are you?" I growled, narrowing my eyes. He chuckled and turned to Zayn.

"No amnesia you say? Because Ms. Peyton and I have met before," he said, smirking.

"Listen here, Watts, I-" Watts, I guess, looked at us.

"Would you please leave? Mr. Malik and I need to speak." He motioned to the five of us, and we all left.

All of us were looking into the office from the big lounge we were in. Both were standing, and Zayn looked pissed. One of the walls was glass, and we had a perfect view.

"What do you think they're arguing about?" I asked. Niall shrugged.

"I dunno, kiddo," Louis said.

Watts then said something that made Zayn cease to argue. He sat down, tears brimming his eyes. Zayn said something to Watts, exited, and turned to me.

"He would like to see you," he angrily told me. I walked into Watts' office and slammed the door. I took a seat, all fired up.

"So, Ms. Peyton. Any memories lately?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yes actually," I said. Mr. Watts smirked.

"At the What Makes You Beautiful video shoot in Malibu. Niall buried me in the sand," I said with a smirk. 

"Are you sure that was even real? Or was it a figment of your imagination?" This guy was really starting to piss me off.

"Positive. Now I don't know what the fuck you said to Zayn, but I swear, that boy is a ball of sunshine. He doesn't deserve to be hurt. So if you hurt him, I'll hurt you." I didn't know where this over-protectiveness of Zayn was coming from.

I pushed the chair away from the desk then slammed the door. As I was storming off to the boys, I started to feel dizzy--again. And then I found myself falling--again.
-
Louis came out of the office, and he was crying.

"What's wrong, Lou?" I asked softly, rubbing his shoulder.

"He said...he said that we couldn't come out for a year and I had to date a hired girlfriend before we came out and..." Louis' voice trailed off, his eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"Be right back," I promised, and I strode into Mr. Watts office.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" I demanded, very pissed.

"Who are you?" he raised an eyebrow.

"A pissed off best friend! They should be able to come out! Love is love, Mr. Watts! Love is love! Why can't you detach yourself from this? Hands off! They're in love!" I hollered, making sure my voice was heard.

"Miss...?"

"Peyton, you dumbass. You are their manager, are you not? I'm their best friend, you should know who I am," I retorted.

"Miss Peyton, please listen here: stay out of this."

"Oh no. Mr. Watts, you listen here: love is lov. It shouldn't matter if it's a boy and a girl, two girls, or two boys! They're in love! Why can't they come out?" I cried. "And without Louis having to date a hired girlfriend beforehand," I added. Mr. Watts sighed.

"No. Louis must date. End of story."

"You know what, bite me," I snapped, flipping him off as I stormed out.
-
"Liz! Liz?" Zayn was shaking me.

"Memory. When I threatened to whoop Watts' ass if he didn't let Larry come out," I blurted. Zayn walked off upsetly, and Louis smiled.

"That was quite jack-the-lad," Harry chuckled, and I frowned as we started our way back to the car.

"Why is Zayn always so upset?" I asked. They just shook their heads.

"Like I said...you two were just...the closest. It hurts him that you don't remember him," Niall said.

We drove home in complete silence. It was like the boys knew something I didn't. Like they were hiding something. I must have fallen asleep in the car, because the next morning, I woke up in my bed. Part of me wondered if everything that went down with management was a dream.

It was 9:30, so I decided to make breakfast. I made fifteen pancakes, A LOT of scrambled eggs, and like, a jillion strips of bacon. The first one up was Harry.

"Morning, Harold," I said. He smiled.

"Morning," he said, yawning. He grabbed a plate full of bacon and pancakes. After he finished, he thanked me by giving me a peck on the cheek.

"I'm gonna go take a shower with Lou," he said. I froze.

"Ew, Harold. Why did I need to know?" I started to laugh, and he shrugged. He went upstairs also laughing.

The next two down were Liam and Niall. Niall had five pancakes, ten strips of bacon, and a load of scrambled eggs. Liam had one pancake and some melon from the fridge.

"Niall, at least take a breath! You're like inhaling the food!" I laughed. He shrugged and grinned.

Zayn still wasn't up. Louis and Harry had gone down to the beach about ten minutes ago, and now Niall and Liam were going down. They said their goodbyes and I went upstairs to check on Zayn. I opened the door and immediately dropped the plate of food I was holding. I was horrified of what I saw.