âªâ« DRAMA â«âª
Through the Dark
"Where's Tomlinson?!" the voice rings through the building. I feel as Louis tenses up against me, recognizing the voice even better than I. Not only that; he probably has a better idea of what it will ensue.
"Shit," Louis grumbles, frantically standing on his feet and practically tumbling over me in an effort to get upright before the impending company bolts through the door. I mimic his actions more cautiously and only raising to perch myself on the edge of the couch cushion. I watch as Louis' taut muscles strain across his back as he controls his breathing. I reach out to gently trail my fingers down his back, attempting to soften the sudden tenseness that grips his body.
It surprises me slightly how anxious he seems to have become almost instantly at the harsh voice, hinting to me that he has most likely considered the turnout of this inevitable conversation multiple times in his head, just as I had. Although I have been nervous as well when thinking ahead to the possible situations, my mere trepidation seems harmless compared to Louis' current state, giving me the impression the way his mind has foreseen this predicament has not been as optimistic as mine may have been. I know he can be an intimidating man and definitely powerful enough--especially in our worlds--to do some serious damage if possessed to do so. But I also assumed he wouldn't find a reason to be cruel towards any of us--especially the boys. Louis has told a few stories here and there about the band's relationship with him, and none came off particularly menacing. He just seems to be the kind of man that doesn't put up with much he doesn't like. Especially when it is out of his control to change. However, I figured he would have learned by his age and experience to be able to rationalize and accept certain aspects that come along over the years. Surely, in his work, he should be a little more adjusted to appropriately handling the bumps in the road. That's his job.
Suddenly, the fragile wood door flings back, splintering slightly at the bolt from impact against the wall. Hovering in the door frame stands our next obstacle.
"Simon," Louis breathes, a slight tone of desperation and pleading seeping through his outwardly tough position.
This seems to have a minimal effect on him as he stalks forward harshly till he is standing mere feet from the two of us.
"Tomlinson, you have some serious explaining to do." His voice is hard as though he were punishing a child for overtly misbehaving, claiming the obvious role of authoritarian as well as superior in the room.
I feel Louis' body restrict as he gulps before opening his mouth to begin, but not making another move to say anything. A small sound nearest a whimper escapes his lips before I shoot up beside him, deciding it may be a good time to intervene.
I raise my hand between the two looming males, visibly trying to avert their attention--as well as possibly gain some of the power over the situation--towards me.
"Woah," I scold softly, careful not to overstep the bounds set by the man that is my superior in every way; a fact we are all overly aware of. Simon obviously holds the upper hand, but that doesn't mean Lou and I are meant to sit and take it like wounded animals. "Can we please just take a step back for a minute? I know I am in no position to talk, but I still think we can handle this all amicably, like adults."
Louis' body slacks slightly, however no where near the amount I had been hoping. I know this is far from resolved, but I'm not sure having everyone walking on eggshells around the bomb would really help the situation. Everyone just needs to take a deep breath.
Simon takes a deep inhale of breath, his nostrils flaring as he attempts to collect himself enough to hold a legitimate discussion. As he tightly exhales, I feel a momentary flash of relief course through me The action an unintentional olive branch in trying to resolve this however was possible.
"Of course," he responds, however I can tell his words are still forced. "Have a seat."
I nod carefully, unlocking my knees to fall back onto the couch behind us and pulling Louis gently with me. Simon reaches over to the folding table off to the side, dragging one of the chairs back over to be sat in front of us, still at a respectable distance.
I hear Louis smack his lips open as he makes another attempt to speak, shut down quickly as Simon raises his hand for him to stop before he speaks himself.
"I don't want to hear your excuses, explanations, feelings, whatever," he shoots out, his tone sharper than I had been expecting with the decreasing tensity up until this point. "It honestly does not make a difference to me either way. You are both stupid, idiotic children who let their hormones or emotions make their decisions. Well guess what?" he barks harshly. "The world you live in isn't a fairy tale, nor will it end accordingly. Far from it, in fact. The world you live in isn't even what most people would call normal. When you get knocked up, even as an adult, you don't get to decide how to adjust your life around it. You don't have the luxury of claiming you have fallen in love, therefor you want to spend the rest of your life together, raising your family in a nice townhouse outside the city. The world you both live in has already defined the paths every decision you make will take you down. There is little room for error without effect. I have already allowed you both great leeway in your relationship--public or not. I even found it capable to overlook your stunt on national television with your bloody ex," he says, nodding his head firmly towards before firmly focusing on Louis. "Then there was you running off the goddamn stage in the middle of a performance to chase after this girl. You wouldn't believe the PR hell hole any of those instances--among all that they carried in affiliation--threw me through. If it were me, lone, Miss Williams would have been sent packing long ago for what you could call a 'conflict of interest', however I more fondly prefer the term 'waste of a pain in my ass'. However, the opinions and evidence from your associates and background preceded my opinions of you to be a hardworking, and talented employee that could be vital to our future businesses. Up until now. Now, pregnancy is too much weight that will inevitably drag the boys, as well as their careers, down to the gutters within a matter of months. It is, in fact, my job description to keep exactly that from happening. I am merely intending to do as my job entails; a reasonable aspect you seem to have confused to include hoeing around my band and ruining their lives with a simple spread of your legs!"
My breath catches in my throat as the scene unfolds in front of me in a single second. Louis abruptly jumps to his feet and fisting his hands in Simon's shirt collar, dragging him up before shoving him back hard enough to make him stumble and knocking the folding metal chair over with a loud crash before colliding with the shelf used as a vanity table against the adjacent wall. His face seems to mirror mine as a shocked expression quickly consumes its features, however adamantly darker than my own. Louis stalks forward to press a solid shove against his chest, pushing him farther back against the table as a growl rips through his throat that sent shivers down my spine--and not in a good way. Louis presses himself against Simon's chest, looking him dead in the eyes.
"Listen here. You may have done a lot for this band and as much as I know we wouldn't be nearly as far as we are now if it weren't for you, that doesn't mean that we are still nothing without you. Sorry to tell you that you no longer have the excuse of being detrimental to our careers to use against us."
Simon's gaze narrows at Louis' directness of a fact I don't think he had been considering before this point; neither of us had. But, essentially, it's true. The boys are big enough on their own to remain strong if left to stand alone.
"You can talk all you want, but you know as well as I do that dispelling of me is nothing short a daunting task. So I'll give you two options," he spat, loosing any semblance of geniality he had managed to hang on to up to this point. "One: you feed yourself to wolves as you continue to indulge in the fantasy world people like me enable you to exist in and throw everything to shambles while you try to live out your fairy tale with your most recent lay." I bite my bottom lip as he ticks off the second finger on his hand as I await the words I know will send my world crashing down around me--one way or another.
His barking words that cede all hope of a compassionate resolution come all too soon, as he continues, "Or, two: abort the leech and move on your separate ways before you learn your love was a phase and end up in a self fulfilling prophesy of self destruction for the both of you."