Wrong (Lauren Cimorelli/You)

Chapter 4 - "Are you actually scared of dogs?"

Narrator's POV

"Okay, rip," Lauren muttered to herself. 

She was currently standing alone in the elevator that was leading her to Y/N's manager's office. Everything in her mind was screaming for her to go back to the first floor now and pretend she's never even entered this building, but... ugh. 

As much as she hated to admit it, she and her sisters needed that money. They were all in a band together since they were kids, and it went from playing music at the local church to actually producing their own music. Music was something that they loved doing with their entire heart, but of course, that came with a price. Since they didn't have a recording label or anything, everything was paid out of their own pockets. They already had stacks of student loans and adding these fees on top of that... if they really were to go on like this for another while longer, they'd soon have no money left to even pay for their rent anymore. 

And this contract... it's gonna give her enough money to pay off parts of their debts and it'll give them the opportunity to continue to make music without worrying about their finances. It's just tying herself to a stupid pop star in exchange for all that. When it's put like that, it doesn't sound too bad. 

The elevator reached the floor she's supposed to be at and pinged open. 

Okay, there's no way she can go back now. Taking a deep breath for herself, she walked at out the lift and walked over to Carol's office. Her hand was shaking when she knocked on the door, but that's fine. 

"Come in."

Here goes nothing. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed the door open, kinda stumbling inside because of the force she was using. She quickly composed herself again and gave the people inside an awkward smile. Her eyes then landed on one particular person. 

Of course she'd be here too. Great. 

"Well, hello princess," Y/N greeted smugly as she turned around in her chair. 

The manager rolled her eyes at her client and made her way over to Lauren to greet her. "It's good to see you again, Ms. Cimorelli."

And so they dived straight into business. Lauren and Carol discussed the things about the contract a little more in dept as Y/N just sat by the sidelines, entertaining herself with the things in her manager's office. Maybe it would've been a smart idea to actually listen to what the contract consisted of, seeing that she's part of it too, but then again, she's been in PR relationships like these so often that she's already lost count. So yeah... she can probably recite every line of that contract if she wants to. 

Finally, they're over all the rules and things Lauren needs to know. Basically, the relationship is gonna last 9 months, not too long, not too short either. And the reason why she's chosen for this "role" is because her image was clean. Like, there was no dirt on her whatsoever, she was just this simple singer in a band with sisters, everything they were doing was so inspiring and full of positivity. They're just so pure and wholesome, which is a huge contrast from the Y/E/C-eyed girl. 

And that's the exact reason why this is happening. They figured that if Y/N was seen with a "good girl", someone like Lauren for example, maybe it'll make the public forget about her own terrible image. They've been actively searching for the right candidate for a while now and so Lauren really came in at the perfect timing.

Carol clapped her hands together to catch both of their attention again. "Alright, lovebirds. You should get to know each other a bit first," she suggested. "Unless you want to dive headfirst into the relationship without that."

Spending time with this Y/E/C-eyed girl sounds about horrible, but not knowing her at all sounds just as bad. Lauren sighed to herself and glanced over at the superstar unsurely. "So..."