Drugged Up

.prologue.

"Mr Sugg, please." One of the workers said, whom Joe had never bothered to learn the name of.

"I'm listening..." he replied, not looking up from his phone as he mindlessly swiped right for any girl who was wearing anything less than a turtleneck. In reality, he was doing the opposite of listening to #6, the new name he had given to the woman in the grey skirt, which was far too short for someone in their mid-30s. You know, in his professional opinion.

Hollie, Joe's manager, was the only person he knew the name of in the entire room. The glare of Joe's phone screen, displaying the breasts of apparently his next date, was reflected in his wildly unnecessary sunglasses and caught her eye- after all these years it was surprising to her that he hadn't learnt to hide his uninterest a little better.

"Joe." She said sharply, blocking out the rest of the room. The way she snapped his name caused Joe to meet her glare, as he had heard that very same tone far too many times to think he was going to get anything good out of ignoring it.

"What? What could possibly be more important than... Chaley?" He had paused to find the breast owner's name, though Hollie was almost certain he had just made it up on the spot. Sarcasm dripped from his voice, but he sounded much more like a toddler arguing with their guardian over how important it was to not stick forks in the outlets, rather than the cool, shade-wearing, eye-rolling celebrity he probably pictured in his mind.

Taking the opportunity of the vlogger's phone being locked, #6 interjected.

"Um, Mr Sugg, what we're trying to say is, well..."

#6's complete inarticulateness allowed Joe to take back control of his own attention, directing it to the glass wall of the office. He looked over the skyline, thinking about absolutely anything but this meeting.

"...and while your numbers are increasing, we feel as though a fresh idea to connect with your viewers could help in..."

Numbers this, subscribers that. Joe fantasised as to what would happen if he threw his vlogging camera at the bird which had just landed on the windowsill of the opposite building. Maybe he could go home.

"... and we think that might work..."

A new worker had elected themselves to speak: a balding man who was far better at presenting himself than #6, which still didn't make much difference in how much attention he could collect from Joe. He admired the persistence of these business people, as they surely knew he didn't care at all for what they were saying. He didn't actually know what topic they were on anymore, but they carried on... maybe in the hopes that Hollie would fill him in at a later time.

"What do you think, sir?"

The title of 'sir' made Joe laugh. Internally, of course, but it also made him direct his attention from the two new pigeons outside to the many vultures inside. They seemed surprised to see direct eye contact from him.

"About what?" The shock left just as quickly as it arrived, taking any hope along with it. He hadn't actually been listening at all. Why were they even remotely surprised?

There was an awkward silence amongst the office people, and everyone was waiting to see who would be the one to break it. #2 took the plunge.

"About you... you letting a fan stay at your flat. A competition. We think it would be beneficial to-"

Joe's bark-like laugh echoed around the spacious office.

"Are you kidding?"

The 'panel of judges' fell silent once more, with a shock that was double- no, triple that of its descendant. Joe didn't break the intense eye-contact he was holding with #2, who looked as though she had just watched a squirrel get shot. Hollie's eyes darted around from person to person, trying to decide who looked the most uncomfortable. Maybe she was wrong to allow anyone but her to suggest that a fan stay with Joe. Maybe she should have just spoken in private. Maybe she should stop thinking about hypotheticals and put them all out of their miserable silence, as she was the only one who would dare speak right now and she knew it.

She sighed, "Joe-"
"Joe what? You think this is a good idea, Hollie? Have you lost your mind? What's going happen when they see I'm not who they think I am? Not bubbly-fucking-roof-thatching-Joe? It'll be all over the internet within seconds. They're all fucking mad, Hollie. Jesus..."

"Joe, calm down, I'm not-"
"Not thinking straight? Right on that one. I'm not doing it."
"-finished. I'm not finished."

Another tense moment between everyone in the room. Joe leant back in his chair, not looking away from his manager.

"Fine."
"Obviously, we'd hire someone. Get them to sign a contract, etcetera, etcetera... They'd act like a fan for a week then they'd leave. It's really not a huge deal, Joe. It would attract press, it's different and it would show you in a great light."

Joe ran his hand through his hair. He never admitted when he was wrong, but if none of this fan shit was genuine, he didn't really have the energy to care.

"Whatever. You better know what you're doing. All of you."

A collective sigh of relief came from everyone sitting at the table, who had all been listening to their client and his manager's conversation with pure fear in their eyes.

And so, Joe Sugg, who was well convinced he had done his share of caring for a good month or two, returned to his task of naming the pigeons on the windowsill, trying to push all previous thoughts and worry to the back of his mind.

Anyway, if it went wrong then ThatcherJoe would be done. He wouldn't have to be a part of this sodding circus anymore. He could just be Joe, and no-one would be paid to care.

Then again, neither would he. His funds, his lifestyle, everything would stop. His reputation would be ruined, not that that phased him, but it would affect everyone around him. His sister would find out the extent of the mess that his life was, and her channel would suffer too. He could never do that to her, or his other 'co-stars'. The whole community would get messed up completely, all because of him.

Okay, so this little publicity stunt had to work.

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So I just found this prologue in my works and thought I'd publish it to see what any potential readers might think? Let me know if you like it, I'll be carrying on silently, waiting for some validation aha

-Meg.