Outlaws // Taron Egerton

One

THE BEST IS OVER
AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME

(Paramore - Told You So)

• • •

TARON

     Adrian is seated on the white leather couch holding a deflating basketball and his legs are propped up the glass coffee table. He throws the basketball above his head and catches it before it can even reach his face. "Anytime now, T. Anytime," he says as he attempts to chest past the ball to me but I hold out my hand enough to touch the basketball and shove it on him before he can even push it towards me.

     "I'll be fine, right?"

     He places the ball beside him and he eyes me like I just said something dumb. "I wouldn't know, mate. You're not telling me anything."

     I scratch the back of my head, a little pissed that I have to say something. I have to remember what I did and I'm going to have to be recalled of what might just be a stupid decision I've made.

     I shake my head. "Okay, listen. I might have fucked up."

     He sits straight but his legs remain on the table. He is tilting his head and he fixes his dirty blonde hair because it was already blocking his sight-at least that's how it looks like for me.

     A chill, uncaring expression is plastered on his face. "What did you do this time?"

     "My publicist called me in for a meeting this morning, right? So, when I arrived at three this afternoon, I opened the door to the conference room, late as hell. Everybody was staring at me like I've just murdered someone."

     "Get to the point."

     I sigh. "So I scanned the whole room, right? And you know who was staring back at me?"

     "Who?"

    "Margaux Ellis. And Nua Stiles, her manager."

     I hear him gasp. Hearing that name or even reading it is enough to make just anyone catch their breaths for a second, but not in a good way. Also, I didn't know Margaux was the only key for me to see him look like he cares for the first time in months.

     "Why is her presence relevant to that meeting?"

     I yank the brown manila folder that rests under Adrian's heel and hand it over to him. "Finish the puzzle."

     He licks his middle finger a little as he reads through what's written on the papers inside. "Let's see here-oh shit." He cranes his head to look back up to me and his eyes are widened in horror. "Fuck. Me. Now," he says in a whisper as he reads further through.

     Adrian's blurted out what I basically wanted to say about two hours ago during that meeting.

     "Dude. I think you need to quit your job," he jokes, but his tone serious. I don't blame him, though. I would be terrified for a friend too. "They are going to fuck you up. I'm not even playing."

     "She can't be that bad, right? Say 'right'."

     He shakes his head. "No can do. Sorry, bud."

     "You're making me paranoid. I was with her in the same room and she didn't throw a fit. How'd you explain that?"

     I convince myself that perhaps, he has only ever noticed her problematic side because that's what the media wants everyone to see. His and everyone else's mind is already clotted with so much hatred towards her, they can't see anything that she does right. I'll try not to be one of everyone although I'm frightened and in the back of my head, I'm still judging from what I'm hearing. It's the opposite of what I have currently preached.

      He shakes his head. "I don't know, man. Some fans who had already encountered her all had bad stories to tell, so I can't guarantee. Plus, look at the news about her! That's all there is. No good sides. No hate, Taron. Just facts."

     "Okay, you have no reliable basis to say that."

     He nods. "Fans are reliable enough. Don't you trust yours? And anyway, why the hell would you agree to this bullshit?" He lifts the paper and roughly slams it down the coffee table. "Bull. Shit," he emphasizes.

      "Well, I freaked out and got a bit intimidated by Margaux's presence, and also my publicist said I desperately need to do this PR stunt. They've been trying to 'hook me up' with some stunt people but none of them seemed to be effective enough for them."

     "And so they decided it was a good idea to pair you up with the problematic Margaux Ellis?"

     I shrug. "Well, she is pretty effective if you think about it."

     Adrian leans back and crosses his arms. "Okay, and did they also make you believe that bad publicity is still publicity? You are going to lose support for 'dating' this girl. Everyone knows how terrible she can be."

     "Whoa, what are we talking about?" I turn my heel and I jump at the sight of Luki, Adrian's twin brother, already leaning on the door frame. He chuckles at the way I reacted as he continues his way in and closes the door behind him.

     "Margaux Ellis?"

     He raises his eyebrows and run his fingers over his curly hair. "Oh. Margaux. You know, I've met Margaux once."

     "Taron too. And he's going to meet her over and over and over again for the next five months," Adrian teases.

     "Not sure what the hell that meant." Luki sits beside Adrian and he hands the envelope to his twin.

     "Take a lookie."

     Luki smirks as he takes the envelope. "Clever word play, bruv. Cheers." At this point, I'm not quite sure whether he is being sarcastic or he actually finds it clever, which is a rare thing. Even for me, because Adrian is mostly offensive and unfunny.

     He looks up to me after reading a bit, and he shares the same expression as his brother earlier. "Shit, mate."

     I just nod. I frankly can't say anything else.

     "Five months you have to make people believe you are dating her. You are an astonishing actor, mate, but let me tell you that great actors might accidentally break character too." He squeezes my arm. "Nobody's perfect."

     This time, I shake my head. "What?"

     "She's going to get on your nerves, and it's going to reach the point that you'll crack. Trust me, I've witnessed it happen to other artists. Although she was all right to me, I can't guarantee she'll be the same to you."

     "Exactly, what do you mean by she was 'all right' to you?"

     Luki gives me a shrug as he sits beside Adrian. "She didn't try to fuck with me the way she did with other artists. In fact, all I got was a cold, fake smile and that's it."

     Adrian hands me back the envelope with the papers above and I open it to skim through the pages of the contract once again. "You know, you guys aren't giving her a chance. But I will."

     The twins react doubtful of what I'm about to do and I just stand in front of them with my arms crossed and eyeing them with a scowl.

     I head over to my room, anxious and overthinking about what the brothers told me. How I hope I'm not making a decision I'll regret, but with the looks of it, I just might.

     Reaching for my phone on my pocket, I unlock it and go to the browser. I anxiously type in 'Margaux Ellis' on the search bar and press enter.

     All that's in the results are scandals Margaux got herself involved in, and photos of her controversial and insensitive tweets. I take a big gulp and my heart begins to race. Clearly, I did not know what I was getting myself into.