It took a lot longer than expected to wrangle together eight fully grown adults the next day... one fully grown adult and seven overgrown children.

"Guys, come on, this is serious!" Darryl pleaded over the noise of god only knows how many people arguing. They weren't even sure what they were arguing about by this point but it was probably Nick and George's fault.

"Boys!" Mrs B bellowed and all voices silenced. "Thank you. Darryl, lamb, what were you trying to say?" Darryl smiled at her thankfully before turning back to the rest of the circle, laptop with George displayed on the screen positioned in Clay's lap.

"We need to make sure we're all on the same page and together on this. Damien was able to get the higher ground before because we were all split apart." Darryl explained carefully, searching for approval. He received a few soft nods.

"Me and George have already agreed that, no matter what happens, he'll move in as soon as he gets his immigration visa." Clay informed and George nodded softly.

"Okay, how's that gonna work?" Vincent questioned, ignoring the pinch he received from Nick. "Say Damien makes you stop talking to George again and then decides to simply stay here to make sure you don't try and go against him a second time. George would be running head first into Damien's hands with no way to tell him that it's not safe." He reasoned.

"Then we can make some kind of signal." George countered. "Something normal so Damien doesn't get suspicious but I'll know that it's not safe and I'll find a hotel or something while we work out what to do."

"What about cherries?" Keres suggested. The others turned to her, all expressing different shades of confusion. "If you're not safe, tweet something about wanting cherries and the rest of us will know." She shrugged. After a moment of consideration, the others agreed.

"Damien won't be able to keep an eye on all of us at the same time and he'll likely prioritise controlling Clay over anyone else. If there's a chance you can 'run into' George, then you can reply something about getting cherries and a place." Zak suggested. Once again, there was a ripple of agreement.

"What about if Damien goes after George while he's in England though?" Darryl asked and a thick silence shrouded them.

"What about the Outcasts?" Nick provided. "If we tell them, they could stick with George. The more of us there are, the harder it is for Damien to stay in control." He explained logically.

All the while the group were caught up with planning, no one had considered to explain why all of this was necessary to Mrs Bosko. She listened silently in all different shades of horrified. They made it sound like he was trying to murder George, and that that's the best case scenario.

"What the-" She faltered for a moment, glancing at Darryl "heck has this guy put y'all through?" She finished. "Surely ya could just fire him if ya don't like him that much?" She asked incredulously.

"We tried. He didn't take it very well." Clay rubbed the back of his neck, not eager to revisit those memories any time soon. The others seemed to agree.

"I talked to him once on the phone and he was a nasty creature but this is deeper than that, isn't it?" Each of the seven others in the circle looked away awkwardly - including George, who pretended to sort something off screen.

"He's very... particular." Darryl was the first to speak, reaching for the words with his hands but falling short and dropping them to his lap.

"He always gets what he wants, no matter what or how long it takes." Zak added, pushing the sleeve of his hoodie up to his elbow and then pulling it back down over his hand instead. "I'm not allowed to meet with my sister in case the media take it the wrong way."

Darryl nodded softly. "I had to stop competing because it 'ruined my wholesome image'." He added. Shooting and knife throwing had been things that he genuinely enjoyed doing but had ultimately had to give up. For the sake of the band, Damien had said.

"I'm not allowed to visit my family in France." Vincent admitted. His chest still ached every moment he thought about the Christmases and birthdays and various other important moments in his family's lives that he had missed. They'd had to spend a decent sum of money on fixing various items in the house after that rule had been set in place.

"And none of us are supposed to talk to George or anyone George knows." Clay finalised. "None of us are supposed to talk to anyone that isn't directly beneficial to the band. If they aren't beneficial then they're a waste of time."

"How long has this been going on?" She asked, a hot white anger burning in her lungs and bubbling beneath her skin. Who was he to strip these kids lives of all that made them people?

"Since he scouted us. Two years, maybe? It wasn't since the very beginning exactly, maybe a year and a half." Clay supplied, searching the others for confirmation.

"Two years?" The words scratched painfully up her throat and dropped to the floor like bricks. There was a nervous silence in which the band had never looked so small and so very young.

"You must have only been sixteen." Mrs B realised with a start, looking at Vincent. Vincent nodded after a moment of frozen staring.

"I was sixteen, Zak and Clay were eighteen and Darryl was twenty-three." He relayed and Mrs B slouched into her hands, fingernails digging into graying brown hair.

"Jesus Christ..." She mumbled and Keres placed a hand on the small of her back, watching with a soft sense of concern. "Your lives had barely begun and he's waltzed in and ripped them away. He can't just do that. No one should be able to do that." Her voice was shaken and dripping with a maternal anger.

"He was our big chance to make it and he knew it. He made our career and he could take it away just as easily. There's not a lot we could do." Clay sounded resigned and George wormed his fingers beneath his hoodie sleeve to press against his bracelet, hoping it would bring Clay some semblance of comfort. It did.

"He told you that, didn't he?" She asked, sitting up and bringing a hand to clutch softly at the one Keres offered. The others nodded, Nick, Keres and George more watching by this point. "He's wrong. He's managed to convince you all that you need him. That he's your only hope. It's what manipulators do, make it seem as though they're your only option and that you need them." She continued.

"He's not and you don't. He pretended he had some kind of power over you all until it was true." Once again, the silence was heavy. How do you react to being told that you had played yourself right into someone's hands?

"But it's not too late for you to get rid of him. All you need is proof of all he's done and he's ruined. There will be sacrifices and risks but nothing like all those you've already made and taken." She reassured quickly at the desolate mood the room had slipped into. "If you lot focus on getting the dirt on him, I'll handle the legalities and make sure your career won't be negatively affected. I'd suggest looking for a new manager while he ain't here to sabotage." The others still hadn't said a word, Mrs B having already pulled out her phone to begin researching. "And George?"

George hummed a questioning noise, sitting straighter as he snapped from his daze. "Call those friends of yours. Something tells me a ragtag group of troublesome teens is exactly what we need right now." George, still slightly zoned out, picked up his phone to shoot a message to Ophelia, knowing she was the most likely to reply the fastest.

Everyone sat in a stunned silence as Mrs Bosko walked brusquely from the room to make a call. It had all happened so quickly, they hadn't a second to realise what was truly going on. One moment they were planning how to live their lives around Damien's control and the next they were being told how to remove him from their lives entirely.

After a pause that seemed to last a lifetime, George spoke up quietly. "Should I get the Outcasts in the call?"

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@chiccennuggies
Wait wait wait, moot pronouns check bc I don't think I've asked yet and I don't want to misgender yawll if you don't have it in your bio 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 I use the bronouns (he/him)
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@luciddreamer
Nuggies this is why we love you 🥺 mine are she/they!!! They're in bio but just in case :)
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@ClarkNotKent
I Also Make Use Of The Bronouns My Home Slice (he/him)
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@fleepfloop
Yeah ❤️
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     @fleepfloop
     Wait I just realised how cryptic that was,
     sorry 😖 I use all pronouns. He/she/they I
     really don't mind
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     retweets      likes

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"So, what I'm hearing is, your manager is a manipulative asshole-" Ophelia began, getting swiftly interrupted.

"Language" Darryl chastised.

"Sorry, a manipulative dingus, and you want us to help expose him and make sure he doesn't pay our Gogy a visit while he's here?" She finished, entirely overwhelmed by the sudden call and spiralling tale they'd all been told. She thinks she liked it better when they were all blissfully unaware yet supportive in Disney World. Oh well, getting dickheads rightfully cancelled is always a fun pass time, she supposed.

"Pretty much, yeah." Clay responded.

"What's the guy's name again?" She asked. It's usually easier to find someone's wrong doings if you know who they are.

"Damien Bèste. You in?" Zak replied. Ophelia and Geo nodded nonchalantly from their shared camera in Ophelia's room.

Clark left the call.

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1.7k words

Wee woo wee woo wee woo let's get the bitch ✨cancelled✨

Wonder why Clark left

Feedback is welcome and appreciated!!

Yours, Dandelion.