Love in Music

I continuously threw the small plastic ball towards Zayn who was sitting on the opposite couch from me before holding my hands ready to catch and repeat again. Perrie was sitting next to Zayn talking to Gracie and I about recording a video.

“It’s actually really fun to act a little. Our videos are, most of the time, different to the boys, they just muck up and run around the city –,” Zayn shot her a reproachful glare which she laughed off. “Whereas ours are more choreographed and dressed up. It’s still fun, and we play around loads while getting all sassy.” I shared a quick look at Gracie before catching the ball Zayn threw, it squished in my palm before filling back out while flying back to Zayn.

“Sassy I think we can do.” Gracie smiled while I shrugged. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too hard.

“Everyone helps you out a lot and boss you around and just think you get to do the easy part. The hard part is putting it all together and editing and going through hours of useless footage.” Perrie agreed with Zayn’s view, nodding rapidly.

“You guys will be fine. You’ll just have heaps of fun and in no time it will be over and done and you will want to do another one.” Perrie grinned before reaching over and snatching the ball in mid air before Zayn could get to it. She grinned and threw it to Gracie; I turned to see Zayn pouting at me so I pouted back.

“Hey Annabelle,” we all glanced over as Kate poked her head through the door into the small studio we had commandeered for ourselves. “What time did Luce say she would be back?”

My eyes flickered towards the clock briefly before turning back to Kate.

“Like another ten minutes I think. His plane was supposed to land at ten so she hoped to get back at about eleven.” I told her and received a ball in the head from Zayn. I glared at him and picked it up, ready to get him back.

“Who’s she pickin’ up?” Perrie piped up, eyeing the ball that was in my hand.

“Her boyfriend, Aaron, he’s come out for a week.” Gracie supplied, making a grab for the ball but I held it out of her way. Kate watched us all before smiling and shaking her head.

“You must all be extremely bored to be fighting over a ball like puppies.” She laughed and shut the door behind her. I looked to Zayn before shrugging and throwing the ball, hard, at him. He caught it just before it landed between his legs. He shot me a glare that I returned with an innocent smile, exaggeratingly batting my eyelashes.

We had been sitting on the couches in this room, playing with the ball for over an hour. We were supposed to be recording but there was some emergency for Louis and Harry that they had taken Leanna, Derek and Tony from us so we couldn’t record without them. Instead we were made to hang around the studio until the meeting with Simon was scheduled.

I grunted from the elbow Gracie slammed into my side so she could snatch the ball before it landed in my hands. I pouted at her and rubbed my side. She barely looked apologetic when she tapped where my hands were covering it and threw the ball back to Perrie. The more bored we became the more desperate to get the ball we were becoming.

By the time Lucinda arrived and we were called up to Simon’s office, Zayn had fallen asleep on Perrie’s shoulder and gained a bunch of permanent marker inked skin next to his tattoos.

“Oh my god.” Kate’s voice came from behind Gracie and I. I turned around, pen lid in my mouth and grinned at her while Zayn shifted slightly but otherwise didn’t wake. “Let’s get you out of here before he wakes up and murders you all.” Kate shook her head but I could see the smile she was hiding. I laughed and waved goodbye to Perrie before following Gracie and Kate out of the room. I was bummed that I wouldn’t see Zayn’s reaction when he woke up, but I suppose it was better then being within harming vicinity.

Jen stopped us on the way to Simon’s office and pulled us into hers, she looked a mess, her make up smudged and hair falling out of the neat bun that was sitting on top of her head this morning. Now it was more of a sad droop halfway down the back of her head.

“Simon’s busy.” She said briskly, dumping things on her desk and swiftly taking her shoes off and falling down on her chair. I shared a look with the girls as Frankie questioned what was wrong?

“There’s audio missing from the boys new album so on top of Louis and Harry now having to record their parts again that will essentially push back our plan for their new album we also have missing audio tracks that we don’t know if they were lost or stolen.” She puffed out, rubbing her temples. I widened my eyes and felt useless to be able to help.

“We were having a meeting with you all to tell you about the party being held in your honour in two nights time. We’re bringing in all the major investors to see you all. So you are going to need to mingle and perform.” Jen released this all with her eyes closed, barely caring about our reactions. “Leanna and Derek are going to be going over your performance with you tomorrow and I’ll be sending you home with homework on some of our biggest investors. You’re going to be learning how to schmooze.” I pulled a face as Lucinda blinked confusedly at the word.

“You all may as well head home, there’s nothing that will be happening today for you.” Jen sighed when her phone rang and reached for it her other hand coming up to shoo us out of the room. We stood up rapidly, leaving the room and wondering back down the hallway. I debated calling Louis but knowing that he would probably be busy right now, I held off. We were met in the hallway by Jen’s intern who shoved a stack of folders into Frankie’s arm ignoring the glare that Frankie was aiming at her.

“These are all the files Jen wants you to go over.” She said briskly before brushing past and down the hallway.

“Well she’s certainly not a bumbling mess when the boys aren’t around.” Kate noted and reached over to help Frankie with the files. She flipped one open and groaned about the amount of information it held for one person.

“We have to remember all this.” Lucinda read over Frankie’s shoulder.

“Nah there’s a note here from Jen saying name and company would be best. I suppose if we just figure out the most important people we could get through this.” Frankie suggested and I wrinkled my nose at her. I did not want to spend the rest of the day going through folders of old men and their boring business adventures.

-

“Hey, woah, wait, this one is young. And cute.” Lucinda flipped a file around to show us all, where we were crashed around the living room of our suite. Aaron, who was curled in Lucinda’s lap and supposedly sleeping, smacked her thigh making us all laugh.

Aaron was nice, and tan and incredibly full of muscle. But that didn’t stop him from curling up in Lucinda’s lap like a child. His looks seemed to juxtapose everything about his personality. Where he was firm, tan and extremely tall to the point of intimidating. He was incredibly nice, smart and gentle with Lucinda. Also his hair looked so soft that my fingers were becoming jealous of Lucinda’s as they ran through his light blonde hair.

“Darren Williams.” Kate read out off the file that Lucinda was still holding up.

“Too bad about his name.” Frankie scoffed from next to me before opening another folder.

“Oh my God. I found a girl.” I glanced over to Frankie’s folder to see a lady probably in her late forties making the first woman in any of these folders.

“So what that’s one woman and twenty old men?” Gracie shook her head and grabbed more folders from the coffee table in front of us.

“If this turns out like a movie where they flirt with us I may vomit.” Frankie said seriously. I laughed and grabbed the folder about the woman from her hands since she wasn’t reading it. I was actually really curious about her.

I scanned the file and noted that her name was Lisa Amberson and she was 46 years old. Despite the fact that her company had started out as a sales company, the folder didn’t mention what they sold, and they had since invested in nearly ever major selling in modern society today. The company had shares in magazines such as Vogue and linked to numerous amount of recording companies as well as plenty of well thought through investments of technology made in the last ten years.

But what caught my eye the most was the amount of charity work that had been funded through Amberson’s company. They did work all over the world helping children and domestic violence victims. They had recently begun building homes for runaway children and single parents leaving their abusive partners. The folder was limited and I was still curious about all the charity work they had been doing.

“Well if you girls want a break you could always take me out? Show me the night life here?” I looked up over to Aaron before noticing the other girls dumping the folders back on the coffee table.

“Lucinda, I think I’m in love with your boyfriend.” Aaron grinned and reached over me to high five Frankie.

“You all go get ready and I’ll nap longer. If you take as long as Lulu then I can be well rested when we leave.” He winced when Luce harshly shoved his head out of her lap.

“Lulu?” I questioned her.

“He is the only one that gets to call me that.” She told me sternly, narrowing her eyes at the others. I took a step back and held up my hands in surrender; Aaron winked at me from behind her.

-

It was late, really late and we had to be at the studio early tomorrow morning. But I was having fun with the girls, drinking and dancing and honestly not caring about anything that would happen tomorrow or the next couple of months. It was good to be out and to pretend, for a little while, that there weren’t ten different looming dates ahead of us that may or may not work out for our future selves.

Instead, here, I drank a lot and I let the music from the club pump through my body, swaying my hips and moving my arms. Frankie was twisting around somewhere to my left, she had a large array of boys surrounding her but she didn’t seem to care. I had the feeling she wasn’t as drunk as she was acting and I knew that despite what she insisted she was still broken up about Noah and definitely not ready to be flirting or even talking with strange boys.

I pulled her away in the pretense of going to the toilet and pretended I didn’t see the relieved sigh fall from her lips.

We stood in the line at the toilets and I could feel my skin itch from the people staring too long for it to be considered a passing stare. We weren’t famous enough for people to recognise us at first glance but I had the feeling they knew we were familiar.

“Are you okay?” I asked Frankie after we finished in the toilet. Her eyes were clear and her hair still sleek straight. I felt like a mess just standing next to her. She look at me before pulling me to the bar, ordering a water for the both of us. I was about to order another drink when Frankie cut me off with a glare. Slouching I waited at the bar for the waters.

“I thought I was okay,” Frankie responded eventually, I startled, forgetting what I had asked her. “But them something will happen and then I’m not. Like tonight, someone tried to buy me a drink but I told them I had a boyfriend, but I don’t and I don’t want to be cut up or sad about it but I am and I’m so annoyed that I am.”

I moved forward to hug her but misjudged and almost pushed her off the seat. She laughed and held onto me, stopping me from falling to the floor. I finally wrapped my arms around her and rested my heavy head on her shoulder.

“Don’t be upset Franks. We love you.” I mumbled to her, her hand rested in my hair.

“I know darl, I know.” She said before pushing me away and handing me a glass of water. I frowned at her but drunk it anyone, if only to make her smile again.

“Are you two ready to head home? We’re beat.” I looked up at Gracie who had her arm around a tired but still very tipsy Kate. Aaron and Lucinda were with them; they both seemed as drunk as each other. Or they could just be incredibly happy to be together again.

“Yeah we’re ready.” I linked my arms with Frankie and followed the others out of the club. I did not know what to say to Frankie to maker her feel better but I wanted her to know I was there to listen whenever she needed me.

I nudged her hip with mine and received a small smile for my effort. I smiled back and pulled her closer to my side when we walked out into the cold air of London.

We piled into a cab and I fished around in my bag for my phone when I noticed the texts that were waiting for me. I also had three missed calls all from Louis.

Frowning I checked the texts that were all from Louis as well.

Zayn went nuts about your drawings, I would avoid him. How was your day?

Do u want to hang at mine?

Hey, been long day call me when you can.

“Are you busy? Really just want to talk about everything today.

Is everything okay?

“What’s that?” I looked up to see Frankie staring at my phone. I shrugged and stuffed it back in my bag.

“Just Louis. I’ll call him later.” I yawned and rested my head on her shoulder while the cab rolled through the quiet streets of London early in the morning.