The Sacrifices We Make

Chapter One - Present Day

Editor's Note: The first few chapters are in a new character, Madison's perspective. I did this because it was important to have an outsider's point of view for the purposes of the plot. But no worries, the story is VERY much about Little Mix and Jerrie are 100% the main characters and the majority of the story is told through their perspective. Hang in there, it'll be worth it. :)

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Present Day - London

Madison had a lot to prove.

Not because she was a rookie in her field -- quite the contrary, she had been a public relations manager for music professionals for 15 years now – but because this was her first big client and this was the first time she was doing it solo. And there was also the fact that she was one of the few females in her industry working at this level.

So a lot was riding on this initial meeting. The band she was about to meet, her new clients, had just parted ways with their previous record label and management, Syco, and had made a bold move signing with Madison's company Fifth Mile. It appeared the group was looking to shake things up with the release of their fifth album. The irony was not lost on Madison and she smiled as she brought her black coffee to her lips.

She sat at the bar section of the restaurant she was to meet the girls of Little Mix at. This was her first-meeting tradition. Come early but text the client that you'll be late. Stake out at a nearby location where you can see them, but they can't see you. And watch.

Madison had selected the back portion of the restaurant to have her guests be seated at – the more private the setting, the more natural the interactions between the bandmates. And that is exactly what she was looking for – their dynamics. No cameras, no company, just them.

This was all part of her process, but it was especially important for this particular group. She was a professional, she had done extensive research and knew what it was that attracted people to Little Mix, besides their raw talent. And as of late, it seemed that "thing" was in a bit of trouble. Her job was to fix it. Call her a public relations manager or a therapist. This was all just part of the job.

And as she sat there sipping her coffee and pretending to read a book, she watched as the band members made their way to the private section of the restaurant. They all arrived separately, but Madison was grateful to see that they were all, for the most part, on time. Leigh- Anne Pinnock arrived first, followed shortly by Jade Thirlwall. The two embraced and kissed on the cheek then sat down and chatted like old pals, looking at the menu and pointing things out to one another. Jesy Nelson arrived five minutes later, sunglasses still on as she kissed Jade and Leigh-Anne on the cheeks before sitting down herself. Jade had pulled out her phone and was showing the girls something on it. Pictures, Madison assumed.

So far the dynamics seemed...good. Their interactions seemed just as they portrayed to the media and fans – best friends meeting for lunch and catching up. It had been a month since any of the girls had seen each other, after all.

Ten minutes after the arrival of Jesy, Perrie Edwards showed up. All smiles and blonde hair. She greeted each of the girls, first Jesy with a big embrace and kiss to the cheek, then Leigh-Anne, another large embrace and kiss to the cheek, then Jade with just a kiss to the cheek.

Madison found the discrepancy odd and made note of it. As Perrie sat down, Jesy appeared to motion Jade to continue with whatever story she had been telling, the pictures on her phone must have been aiding in her tale. Jade dismissively waved her hand in protest of continuing so the whole group could hear, which did not seem to bother Perrie as she had already struck up a separate conversation with Leigh-Anne. Jade then glanced at Perrie, who was happily chatting away, and Madison couldn't quite put her finger on the emotion splayed across Jade's face. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared and Jade drew her attention to Jesy who was pointing something out on the menu.

Madison decided to end the observation stage (or as some may call it, her stalker-stage) of the initial meeting with the group and finally actually meet the girls. She figured she had gathered some good intel. The girls were friends, that much was true. There was, however, something off and it wasn't between all of them, just two members. Madison wondered if this could be the cause of their fan fatigue. Yes, that was the problem she diagnosed with the group. Their fans were experiencing fatigue. She was there to fix that. It would be a long road but she had some ideas up her sleeve and was, quite frankly, excited to get started.

"Hi ladies, I'm Madison Matthews, senior public relations manager at Fifth Mile. I'm so sorry I was running late, "she said as she shook each of the girls' hands and then took the empty seat in between Perrie and Jesy.

Each of the girls politely introduced themselves, even though Madison knew that they knew that she knew who they were.

"It's very lovely to meet you," Madison said sincerely. After all of her research, she truly had come to admire the girls, not only for their undeniable talent, but for sticking together and always having each other's backs, "and thank you, again, for choosing Fifth Mile. We are delighted to have you join our family and I truly believe this next year, with the release of your next album, will be Little Mix's best year to date. We have some exciting and innovative promotional ideas that I'd like to run by you after lunch."

"Well that is great to hear," responded Jade, "because the reason we left Syco was due to their lack of promotion for us. We want to go in a new direction as a band and we think your company is the right fit for our vision."

Madison smiled, "Fantastic. Well let's order some food and once we've eaten we can talk business. I've rented out the conference room in the hotel across the street so we can have some privacy."

"Bon Appétit" Jesy said in an Australian accent as she raised her iced tea, to which Madison laughed. She knew she was going to like these girls.