i. MEDICINE harry styles [ON HOLD]

ii. "just let me know, i'll be out the door"

the third of january, 2018.
the residence of olly alexander, somewhere in downtown london.

"look, i'm just saying, the height difference would look odd—too abrupt, don't you think?"

"thanks, yeah, but i'm not as short as you seem to think i am. besides, no one is going to care about your height, or mine for the matter, when you're dancing your ass across their phone screens!"

adrian sighed. he set his water down with a tremor. "okay, fine, olly, i'll do your music video," he seethed with a comedic smirk.

olly smiled. "i'm glad, your majesty."

olly alexander was, as aforementioned, a large part of adrian ingham's life. he was support, stability, and comfort, during times when adrian had nothing. however, he was also completely unfiltered, gorgeously humorous, and always producing side notes that would give any prude whiplash.

almost accordingly, the box-dyed red head leant forward and whispered, 'but don't you even think about overshadowing me—one semi-famous londoner twink is enough.'
adrian raised his eyebrows, before cracking a glowing smile.

adrian and olly were sat on the terrace of the latter's apartment. adrian sat, as any bisexual would, with one long leg folded beneath him on his chair, and the other bent and hooked under the closest table leg. he had an unmistakable air of realness, mixed with an untouchable kind of cool. he was both intimidating and approachable in demeanor, with a face and a smile of eerie delightfulness. despite all this, he still jumped, very uncoolly, when his phone started vibrating on the dusty wooden table. he shot an apologetic look to olly, and answered the number, which had mobile uk digits.

"hello, adrian speaking."
"hi, adrian. this is the new world magazine's public relations office."
adrian's head shot up. immediately, he put the phone on speaker and placed it on the table. knowing not who was on call, olly leaned in, interested.

"i apologise, can you please repeat that. i have poor connection." adrian watched olly for his reaction.

"no worries. this is new world magazine's public relations office looking to speak with adrian ingham. shall we call another time when you have better connection?"

olly smiled widely. new world magazine was a fairly new publication that housed some of the most prestige art and culture editorials, seeing features from major actors, musicians, and other public figures. they were known for their inclusivity, freshness, and lack of kardashian-like cover models.

adrian cleared his throat, preparing himself. "no," he replied. "i've just moved to a better spot. how may i help you?"

"well, adrian, sparing the introduction of our brand, which i am sure you don't need, quite simply, we are putting in an expression of interest. for you."

"for me?"

"yes. i believe your manager emailed you about this call, but it may have only been within the last hour, so apologies for the short notice. we are very fortunate to have a very talented group of scouts for our features who observed your instagram, and notified me of new world and your possible compatibility. as you may know, we release four times a year—the first day of each season. looking brightly into a year of flowering sexual diversity, we decided our spring editorial, with a respective march first release, should see the representation of some up and coming, and established, fresh male talents. each editorial, we select two focal individuals who we believe are on the same wavelength in a specific area. we, as a company, want you to fill one of these spots."

adrian fell silent, as did olly. after a hard-felt dry spell, an offer like this was a miracle. new world was renowned, and anyone associated thus the same. new world was an outlet for influence, and would give adrian the opportunity to spread his message to a large audience.

"of course," continued the representative, "this is no small decision. being a cover artist on one of our editorials is a large commitment, that would require not only a meticulous developing period, but a heavy press run in the closest fashion week, which, as our spring editions always pair up with, is in paris."

the twenty-one year old's mouth dried. his heart skipped a beat. olly looked at him in cautious concern, but adrian had not time to worry about travelling, or france, or anything of the likes of it. he had to respond, and his response was an obvious one.

"i would be honored to." adrian grinned, ear to ear.

"that is amazing to hear, adrian. we are so happy to welcome you. i'll send your manager the contract to sign. once that's been signed, i'll send through the organizational things—pre shoot fitting dates, required measurements we need from you, etcetera. and of course, if you have any queries, don't be afraid to call me directly on this number. however, i will be in contact quite frequently in the next few weeks, as will other brand representatives. currently, we are looking at an early february shoot, is this workable for you?"

with the onslaught of information, adrian checked his mental calendar for a moment, which required him to move aside the flaring excitement and chaos in his brain. "yes, that sounds perfect."

"fabulous. now, obviously, this must stay extremely contained. we keep things very restricted until we start our promo, so please refrain from sharing online, or to any form of general public."

"of course, of course... i presume there will be a non-disclosure agreement in the contract?" the representative responded with a 'yes'. adrian continued in a shocked and happy haze. "all good. and will i be told when the other position has been filled, or—?"

"oh, actually, we've already filled the position—i think, sorry, just let me confirm that he has signed the contract before i disclose—ah, yes, he has. here you are; you are sharing the cover with musician harry styles."

olly gasped in silent and ecstatic disbelief. adrian put his head in his hands, feeling his own grin by the rub of this front teeth on his fingers.