daddy's girl ❥ luke hemmings ✔️

12. "twenty-one pilots"

LUKE

Our management team wants to have a word with us and I'll admit, I've never been this nervous before in my life. Then again, I don't think I'd even be remotely close to being this anxious if they hadn't asked to see me and me specifically.

"Will you chill?" Ashton zooms past me on a scooter, giggling to himself as we make our way down the hall. It's long and winding and there are doors everywhere, making it even harder to find the place we need to be.

The building itself looks like a prison and, in a way, it sort of is. All we need now are handcuffs, and that's practically already been personified by the contract we signed so long ago.

"Luke, you look like a sad old criminal walking to his death sentence."

"Not funny," I grumble, and Ash slows down.

My strides are long and quick, meaning he can stay stationary on the two wheels without having to get off. "I'm sure you're not in any serious trouble. We're with you, so it can't be that bad."

"Serious trouble?"

"The radio interview," he reminds me. I grimace.

"Right."

"But hey, if they want to give you smack about that, then just tell them the truth." Ashton says. I raise an eyebrow- I think he's forgetting who we're actually dealing with.

Our management team is anything but understanding. I'd like to think that it's because they're just looking out for us, but obviously, that's not the case.

They're looking out for themselves and the money in their wallets and the money in ours. We didn't think much of it back then but I guess that, over the years, we started to realize and it was way too late to turn back. Once a contract is signed, a deal is made, and that deal often isn't one you can easily get out of.

Ashton and I walk into the conference room without another word, my stomach flipping as often as he does a jump on the kid-size scooter. I watch as he leans it against the wall, before looking straight ahead and allowing my eyes scan the room.

They land on Sadie, who just peers at us over her signature clipboard. Next to her is Rachel, and next to Rachel is this meeting's representative for Modest!, Chris. I'm so busy keeping an eye on him that I fail to notice the young woman whose name I have yet to learn eyeing me up and down from across the table.

I take a seat next to Calum, giving him a wry smile of reassurance. He returns it and I'm immediately put at ease.

The unknown lady send a sly smile my way too, but my face is so stiff that I'm not able to return it.

"So," Chris leans forward, wrings his hands together. His tone is patronizing and it makes me want to stand up so I can walk back out. "How have you four been?"

We look like a bunch of puppets being controlled by the same string, heads nodding up and down as we reply in a chorus of mumbles.

"Great,"

"Good!"

"Brilliant,"

"Okay."

The woman next to Chris smirks. I want to ask who she is before any future deal has the chance to be negotiated, but I don't in fear of offending her.