Nothing Personal

All the boys walked together into the board room, still in shock from what they experienced with the girls from earlier.

"Alright guys, I know your first meeting with the girls didn't quite work out. Maybe it was an off day for them? But you are going to have to give them the benefit of the doubt." Paul began.

"Why?" questioned Liam.

"Well... because... the media has already been 'matchmaking' you guys. Management thought it would be a good idea to follow into these 'suspicions' and put you into fake relationships. So... it wasn't up to me, it was up to the fans."

"We don't even get a say in this?" Zayn asked surprised.

Paul pursed his lips, "You know how these things work."

"Wait," Harry said, closing his eyes, "What the hell do you mean?"

"Um, well," Paul cleared his throat, "Harry, you're going to pretend to be in a relationship with Bailey."

His eyes shot open, "A relationship? Like an actual one?"

"Yes." replied Paul.

"But she's so quiet! we're nothing alike!"

"Listen guys, it's what the fans want. What management wants. You know I would never force you to do this. Zayn, you'll be paired with Xenia."

"The insane one?" Zayn asked wide-eyed. Paul ignored him.

"Well, which one do I get?" Louis asked.

"Terra." Paul said, happy that so far one of them was co-operating.

"But I thought she was lesbian?" he murmured, Paul's hope vanishing as he moved onto the next.
"Niall, you'll be with Annabel."

Niall half smiled, happy he was stuck with one of the most normal ones, "At least she has a nice accent."

"So that leaves me with Miranda. " Liam frowned at him, Paul nodded and he sighed seeing no way out, "Okay then."

"Alright, lets bring them in then." Paul walked over to the door, opening it wide as the girls trailed in.

"Hey guys!" Xenia yelled as she walked in, "Remember us?"

"Xenia, would you please take a seat next to Zayn." Paul said politely as he smiled at her.

"Gladly, he has such pretty hair!" she smiled wide and slid in next to Zayn.

"Miranda next to Liam. Bailey next to Harry. Annabel next to Niall. Terra next to Louis." Paul instructed and began when they all took their seats, "Alright, let's begin. Wait, where's Dylan?" Paul asked, noticing the girls' manager wasn't there.

"We don't know. Probably making the intern suck his dick." Xenia said casually, her shoulders pulling up.

"Tobias?!" Paul questioned with wide eyes.

Bailey nodded innocently and Miranda shrugged her shoulders. The girls made it seem like he did this often.

Paul cleared his throat and made eye contact with Liam. He now understood what they meant about the girls before.

"Anyways," he tried to continue, "As I was explaining to the boys right now, for publicity reasons, you will all be paired up with the boys, depending on who the majority of your fans want you to be with."

"Leonardo DeCaprio is here?!" Xenia exclaimed, making Miranda snort, "Shut up. It's not like Zac Efron is around to sweep you off your feet." Xenia glared.

Paul cut in, "Not who you girls want to be with. Who the fans want you to be with." He gestured to the boys.

"Haha. Good one." Terra said unamused.

Miranda shook her head, "You cheeky bastard."

"Wait, so Leo's not here?" Xenia asked, still trying to specify if her true love was there or not.

"Okay, just listen to me. " Paul said beginning to get frustrated, "Each boy and girl who are sitting together are going to pretend they are in a relationship together. Who you were put with was determined by your fans. Got it?" he looked around the room.

Everyone became silent as they looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well I can't complain." Xenia shouted and slapped a hand on Zayn's thigh.

"Yeah." Zayn said slowly as he removed her hand from his leg.

Harry began to eye Bailey, trying to see if this would actually work out, and whispered to her, "Wanna go get frisky in the closet?"

Bailey leaned away from his proximity, turning slightly to look at him, "What kind of drink is that?"

Harry leaned away and looked at Paul sternly, "I can't be paired with her."

"Just make it work. All of you need to make this work. Now tomorrow you have couple interviews and I want you guys to be on your best behavior. That includes you too, ladies."

Xenia groaned, not digging his harsh vibe, "Well I've got a party to get to." She stood and walked to the door just as Dylan walked in.

"Hey peeps! What'd I miss?" Everyone in the room stared at him, taking in his disheveled hair, unwashed suit and 5 o'clock shadow.

"Your fly is down." Xenia said, making things even more awkward before she left the room.