First You Fall

Chapter 19

Niall wasn't exactly sure what was happening, he just knew his phone had exploded overnight with text messages and phone calls from people he hadn't spoken to in months. Every time he tried to read one, three more would pop up. It was hard to keep up. He finally shut his texts down and dialed Nolan's number. It rang three times before there was an answer,

"Hello?" He heard Nolan answer. And just by the sheer panic in his voice, Niall knew this was serious.

"What's goin' on?"
"Heyyyy Buddy. How's your morning?" Nolan asked, trying to play off the seriousness of what was happening.

Niall shook his head,

"Me phone is a goddamn black hole of text messages and phone calls. What the hell is goin' on? I can't read anythin'."

Nolan cleared his throat,

"Well, Maisie and I are trying to mitigate the fallout right now. But we're confident we can get through this."

Niall felt his heart drop to his feet. Maisie was involved? His mouth instantly went dry,

"What happened?" He asked, his voice small.

Nolan looked up at Maisie and pointed outside to let her know he'd be back. Maisie nodded, trying to pay attention to her own phone call. Nolan closed the door behind him and slipped into Maisie's conference room to be alone.

"Video Niall. There was video released on TMZ last night of you going into one of the rooms with a prostitute."

Niall felt faint. He grabbed onto the counter of the island in his kitchen to keep from falling over as his eyes squeezed shut. This was a dream. It wasn't really happening. Wake up, Niall,

"What?" Niall whispered.

Nolan nodded,

"It's everywhere. Every major news outlet has picked it up. The internet has exploded. Everyone wants a statement."

Niall opened his eyes,

"Maisie," He started, swallowing hard, "Maisie's seen it?"
Nolan nodded, not really knowing what that had to do with anything at the moment or why Niall was more worried about her than anything else,

"Yes, she's seen it." He rushed on, "She and Grant have been handling it all night and this morning. She's been here the whole time taking calls."
Niall knew he was breathing, but it didn't feel like any actual air was getting into his lungs. He licked his lips trying desperately to get some kind of moisture happening in his mouth. But there was nothing.

"What do I do?" He finally managed to breathe out of his lungs.

Nolan took a breath, running his hand through his hair,

"Stay off the grid for right now. Don't answer anyone or anything. Leave Maisie and I to figure this out alright?"
"B-But Mais-"
"Niall-" Nolan interrupted, "She's got it under control. I promise you."
Niall's eyes dropped to the tile beneath his feet. He knew she had it under control. Maisie always had everything under control. His concern wasn't whether or not she was handling this. His concern was whether or not she hated him for it.

He nodded,

"Alright." He answered reluctantly.

Nolan hung up with him a few moments later. Leaving Niall standing alone in his kitchen to wonder.

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Janina felt like she was in a bad after school special. Sure, Maisie had been at work all night dealing with another let down from Horan, but the entire party Janina and Kyle were planning was hanging on by a thread. The restaurant had called earlier saying they couldn't accommodate. Only a 20 minute threatening phone call later from Janina bullied them into keeping their promise.