Finer Things // h.s.

The Day I Signed My Name Away

A/N: Be prepared for some sad boy hours :( 

May 8th, 2017

"No, we can't do that!" I shout at Melody from across the table as I sit in a board room with both James and my own publicists, our managers and James who sits across the table from me next to Melody, slumped in his seat playing with the leather bracelet around his wrist and I'm shocked he isn't saying anything. I stare at the two pieces of paper that sit neatly on the clear glass table, black pens sitting above them perfectly straight and it makes my stomach turn.

"Tilly, it will only be for a few months, trust me, it'll help out the film and give both you and James much more attention!" Melody says with a toothy smile as she stands to her feet and traces around the room slowly, her hands held in front of her chest.

"That is insane, I'm not going to pretend to be in a relationship with James for publicity!" I say as I look over to James and he doesn't look back.

"Say something!" I shout at him, pleading almost for him to help me swim while I drown in this conversation and he sits up and leans across the table to me.

"You need to lower your voice." He says sternly and I roll my eyes, standing to my feet and going to the window that looks down over London. I hold my arms in front of my chest and feel the sudden pain in my chest rise into my throat, so I close my eyes and hope it goes away.

"I'm not doing it." I say confidently to everyone in the room and my publicist, Mary, walks over to me and holds her hand out, stretching it around my shoulders and I shake her off.

"Think about all the famous showmances!" She says smiling, trying to convince me to sign the contract.

"Yeah and they all end up getting found out anyways! I said no, Mary." I spit at her harshly.

"Hun, people already think that the two of you are already in some kind of romantic relationship. The tour has been great for both of you and you've been blatantly flirting with one another during interviews and late-night shows. It wouldn't be a bad thing, there's only a month left." Melody says as she sits down in her chair, tossing her red curls over her shoulder and giving me an overwhelmingly fake smile as she crosses her legs.

"The tour ends in a month, why start now? This is ridiculous." I say throwing my hands up in the air.

"The contract would go for eighteen months, Tilly." James' publicist, Donna says to me softly as she exchanges a glance with Mary who sits across from her.

"A-a year and a half!" I shout questioningly at the room and James sits quietly, elbows pressed on the armrests of his chair, his jaw clenched.

"It would go so fast!" Melody says cheerily as if she's trying to convince me to go on a ride, not sign my life away for almost two years.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" I say through broken words to James from across the room and he doesn't look up at me, rather shrugs his shoulders as he tugs at the bracelet.

"Seriously?!" I shout at him as I walk over to the table and lean on it, pressing my hands firmly into the glass, I feel my cheeks burn red from anger. How could he be so submissive right now?

"Stop shouting at me!" He yells back standing up and copying my body language, but I don't back down. Rather we stand angrily looking into each other's tired eyes, twenty-seven countries in two months really takes a toll on someone's physical and mental health. James stopped sitting with me on the plan about two weeks ago, he now sits as far away from me as possible with headphones in. I never asked why, I guess I just figured it was because he needed space because of how close we always were. I look into his hollow blue eyes, his dark under eye bags transforming him into an entirely different person. I feel his eyes pierce into my own. His jaw is locked in place and I can see the pain he's going through. The pain we're both going through hits us both, but he doesn't back down, instead I do, and I sit in my chair slumped down, the confidence leaving my body the moment I sit myself down on the chair, feeling smaller than ever as I look up at him, his face softening when he does the same.