Anne smiles as Jay makes her way across the restaurant to where Anne's sitting. Neither have eaten lunch yet and have decided to meet up for lunch rather than coffee. Jay slides into the seat in front of Anne and smiles. 

"How've you been," Anne asks. Jay pulls out her phone and sets it on the table before responding. 

"Good, good, I've been great actually. You," she asks. Anne responds with a simple shrug. Things have been crazy lately and it's been hard to find time to sit and catch her breath. Jay gives her an understand nod just as the waiter appears to take their orders. 

The ladies both order a simply sandwich and chips. The order is whisked away, allowing them time to sit and chat about the latest news. It's refreshing for Anne to have someone that knows everything that she knows. Lately, she has to juggle her knowledge of certain things and try to keep track of who's allowed to know what. She's thankful that Jay's in nearly the same boat so they can talk to each other about everything and not worry about it. 

"So, what've I missed," Jay asks. She sets her chin in between her hands and tries to suppress a smile. Besides herself, Anne thinks that Jay is one of the biggest gossips she knows. The two truly make a magnificent pair. 

"Harry signed a contract with Simon Cowell about a week ago and now he's been hit with the reality of everything. You really try and protect your children from things, but there are just some things you can't protect them from. It's been hard watching him struggle already. Simon's been pretty hard on him and he's just now getting a taste of all the work he's going to have to put into it. He's been toughing it out though," Anne explains. 

Anne gets a call from Harry nearly every other day. It's not nearly enough to fill the missing piece of him at their home, but it's the best the pair can do. He really is a Mum's boy at heart and it's evident in the amount of things he shares with Anne. Of course, a majority come with the famous 'you can't tell anyone' line, but Anne's used to it at this point. 

She can't be more pleased that he's staying with them for the time being. Anne even got to meet Taylor Swift which isn't something she thought she would be able to say. Contrary to popular belief, Anne actually quite liked the girl. 

"I completely understand that. I've been like that with Louis since he started out too. The first real hit is going to be all the missing birthdays and celebrations. It's just not the same without them," Jay sighs.

"I've tried to put off the thought," Anne admits. "Tell me about Taylor. I hear that she's done some bad things in the past, but I had the opportunity to sit and talk with her and she seemed to be the loveliest girl. She was kind and well-mannered. What do you think of her," Anne asks. She watches as Jay's expression hardens and she leans back in her chair. This causes Anne to lean in, wanting, more than ever, to hear the story.

"You didn't hear any of this from me," Jay starts. "The story goes that a few years back Simon hired Taylor to do publicity with the band. She was supposed to 'date' one of the boys, but it fell through. Originally, she was to be set up with Niall because he was the only one without a girlfriend, but Taylor didn't like that. She thought that when she signed the deal she was going to be working with Liam or Zayn. Niall wasn't famous enough for her, so she refused to do it. So now all the boys have this loathing towards her. I don't know why Simon's hired her back on when she refused to work the time before. That's all the facts, but apparently rumor has it that the reason she does so many stunts is because she can't seem to get a boyfriend on her own," Jay explains. Anne could never imagine the seemingly sweet girl to refuse to work with Niall because he wasn't the header of the band. 

"Well, what I've heard is that she already had a contract with Modest to do a publicity stunt and that something happened the time before which stopped her from actually going through with it. So, Simon said that since she already had the contract he's making her work with Harry. I didn't hear anything about her not being able to get a boyfriend," Anne says. Jay nods understandingly. The story makes sense. 

"What about this Zayn mess? I love Zayn like a second son, but his actions as of late have been... surprising," Jay sighs. Anne grumbles under her breath. She can barely stand hearing the name of the boy that caused her son so many misfortunes. 

"He shouldn't have said anything about Harry and Louis being in a relationship. That was their business and it wasn't his place to be spreading it 'round.  He should've been punished for his actions more harshly than he was. He's basically walked away with no repercussions for his actions. I know damn well that if he hurts my son again he'll be getting an ear-full from me," Anne curses. 

She can still hear Harry on the phone explaining what's happened. Anne hasn't trusted Zayn since the beginning and this has only cemented that. The boy's toxic and should be out of their lives all together, but Anne knows her son's too nice to be so mean to someone.

"I don't know. I've known the boy since the beginning and this is so unlike him. Lately, he's made so many decisions that aren't decisions he would normally make. I'm just as upset over outing Louis and Harry like that, but I don't think it's him. He's in a rough patch in his life and he's made a few mistakes. The boys have basically cut him out of their life already and I can't think of much worse than getting cut off by your best mates. Maybe it's just because I have a soft spot for him, but I think he'll turn around," Jay sighs.  

Anne certainly hopes so. 

~_~_~

Hey guys!! So, you haven't been hitting the bonus goals lately. I think I'm just going to keep the same goal until you guys hit it. It doesn't seem fair to keep raising it if you guys aren't hitting it to begin with, you know? I've got a majority of this book planned out and it looks like it's going to be a little shorter than the first book, probably 30 chapters. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! ~B

Bonus goal: 19 votes and 10 comments

QOTC: Thoughts on why Taylor Swift can't get a boyfriend?