Before the chapter starts I wanna thank my reviewers KyaraDoesFanfics, Guest, IQuitFanFictionOKAY, mulzypops & FlygonWriter64! Thank you for all the support on the story! =)

Music tip:
Direct & Labisch – Make A Move (ft. Openwater)
youtube: watch?v=UKr_WpDEbl0

Lovers of Freedom

Chapter 15:
No Resistance

"This is too early for me, how do they expect to get good photos? I'm gonna fall asleep in front of the camera," Quentin complained with a yawn and followed the rest of the team into the large building. The sun had barely risen and everyone seemed to be only half awake, as they were lead through the corridors into a big room.

"Well, at least we had a driver bringing us here!" Jason answered with raised eyebrows and a pleased smile on his lips, while he looked around. Despite the early time a lot of people were already working on setting up the set for the shooting. In the back of the room was a long table with a buffet and various drinks. Beside it stood a grinning Murphy and waved them over.

Naturally Mitch was trailing behind them with Jerome, who was still hesitant to leave him alone.

At the moment he couldn't be more grateful for it.

"Good morning, Team Crafted. I hope you had a pleasant stay in your new home up until now. Is there anything you would like to change?" he asked with a voice that made Mitch want to vomit. With a soft voice Jerome whispered, "His kindness couldn't be more fake. Glad you saved me from the brainwashing."

Mitch tried to stifle a laugh and grinned at his friend, as Murphy began to speak again.

"Great. Now let's get started with the course of the day. At first we will talk with the PR Director of Microsoft, Mrs. Kane, about the public appearance of Team Crafted. Everyone of you will get a special role you should represent in the team and then we will take photos of you, after you have changed your clothes appropriately. Here is something to eat and drink during the day and when we are done, the chauffeur will take you back home."

"Special roles?" Ian asked hesitantly and the rest of the guys didn't look too convinced either. Mitch tried to hide a satisfied smirk and instead raised an eyebrow, as they waited for Murphy's response. "Well, of course! I'm sure my assistant told you about it, when you were discussing the contracts the other day. To be able to make an effective and good publicity, we have to represent a group of very different individuals, which complement each other perfectly in the end."

"That way we can reach every single one out there, the confident one, the shy one, the happy one, and so on," a new voice added to the conversation and an older woman with brown hair appeared at Murphy's side. She wore a dark business suit and held her head high, as she watched the group with an unnerving glance in her cold eyes.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Tonja Kane, PR Director of Microsoft. I am responsible for media relations, social media strategy, crisis management and other stuff you are probably not interested in." Her smile was unsettling for Mitch; he couldn't read her at all. His boss was easy to see through – or was it just because he knew the real Murphy behind all those layers?

It didn't matter, she probably was in on the whole thing anyway.

Carefully Mitch crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept quiet. He wasn't able to voice his doubts to his friends, who were obviously skeptical, but curious about her words as well. Jerome kept glancing at Mitch and then was about to open his mouth, but Mitch poked him in the ribs to stop him from saying anything stupid.

"He will know that something is up, if you're acting hostile towards every single suggestion," he warned his best friend with a quiet voice and risked a look to Murphy, who was currently answering a question of Ty.

"But I just can't let him-" Jerome began with a conflicted voice, but Mitch interrupted him.

"You have to. Remember, you have signed this contract. Every single one of them did, me as well. We have no other choice tha-"

"Can we help you with something?" a high and cold voice asked with a tone that made Mitch feel on edge immediately. Mrs. Kane stood in front of them with a friendly smile on her lips, which didn't reach her eyes. Murphy led the rest of the team towards a little concluded area with multiple couches.

Jerome and Mitch stayed silent, while she continued to look daggers at them. Then she turned around and joined Murphy, who impatiently waved them over.

Just then did Mitch realize that he was clutching Jerome's arm tightly.

"Sorry," he mumbled ashamed and let go of him, while they began to walk toward the waiting group.

"Don't be, it's alright."

"Let's start with you…" Murphy began slowly and looked to every single member of the group, as he set his eyes on Mitch.

"…Mitchell. Yes. If you please…" he said towards Kane and without missing a beat she threw a folder onto the low table in front of them. Mitch felt himself grow stiff, not knowing what to anticipate, but Jerome's hand on his back stopped him from freaking out completely.

Jerome's hand and the look Murphy was giving him.

Immediately he nodded and said with a barely audible voice, "Sure… why not?"

The following minutes disappeared into a blur, consisting of Kane's words and the various pictures she showed him, but only one thing really lingered in his mind – character traits.

For every single member of the team they had drawn up a whole plan of how they should be represented in the future. Clothing, behavior towards fans and on events, their recordings… literally everything.

Mitch felt his face grow pale and furrowed his brows in anger.

He was sure that this condition had to be in the contracts somewhere, in a way that had made them fail to notice it, but it didn't mean that he couldn't be angry about it.

And thankfully some of the team had the same point of view.

"Hold on, wait – you want us to change completely, even though it has been what the viewers wanted to see all along?!" Ian asked skeptically and shook his head, before he continued, "I'm sorry, but I can't see this working out."

Ty agreed immediately, slowly the others nodded as well and Mitch couldn't hold back the satisfied grin toward Murphy, who mustered him for a moment and then grinned on his own. He seemed to have something in mind and Mitch was sure that he wouldn't like it a bit.

Kane chuckled and flashed the group a bright smile, as she put the folder in her hand back down and leaned forward a bit.

"Your cute little group was able to collect some fans, yes, enough to get some attention." The smile on her face disappeared. "That's not what we're looking for. Microsoft wants a group of people who represent not only all of our gaming supplies, but the people we want to reach as well. The young generation, the older one, young adults as well. We have a mass of different people who are interested in our products and we want to reach all of them with you guys."

"You are the connection between them and Microsoft, the most important link for us to associate with the young generations," she finally added and then fell silent, as the group of Youtubers took her words in.

Mitch knew that he had lost.

Her last sentence had been the best, her final weapon to pull them on her side. She had labeled them as heroes, as the most important thing for Microsoft and even though she for sure had been lying, it had achieved the preferred effect.

Their eyes were gleaming with excitement and desire, carefully they exchanged glances and then Jason said with an uplifting tone in his voice, "So we're like one of those boy bands, right? We have the cool one, the happy one, the chick magnet-"

"Well, you don't have to think long about the last one, it's obviously me," Quentin added laughing and others began to talk excitedly about the coming change. They embraced it and questioned Kane about her plans for them and with a bright smile she answered all of them patiently.

"Mr. Hughes, you are the first for the shooting," Murphy said and stood up to go into another room. He didn't look back once, he was sure that Mitch wouldn't put up a fight. Of course he wouldn't. With a sigh he stood up, felt Jerome's hand on his wrist and saw a worried look in his eyes.

"It'll be alright. There's nothing we can do," he said softly and then pulled away. Jerome stayed quiet. He knew Mitch was right.

Ten minutes later Mitch stood in front of the large mirror and mustered the reflection of himself. They had dressed him in a white T-shirt and dark jeans. At his collar hung a pair of green sunglasses and they had done his hair. He remembered a similar look he had worn in LA, when he had visited the city together with his friends from Canada once.

Nonetheless he felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Murphy appeared behind him, staring at the reflection as well, while the two make-up artists silently left the room.

Something was going on. Mitch felt sick.

"You know what you have to do…"

Murphy stepped closer.

"…don't you, Mitch?"

Suddenly Murphy grabbed his hair and violently pulled his head back.

With a gasp he raised his hands to free himself from the sudden attack, a scream already on his lips, as Murphy's other hand on his lips silenced him effectively. Mitch was overwhelmed by the panic in his veins and could feel the frantic pounding of his heart, as he stopped struggling.

Murphy leaned forward, until his lips were mere centimeters away from Mitch's ear.

"You are going to listen to me very closely now, Mr. Hughes."

The pulling got stronger and Mitch desperately closed his eyes to hold back the tears from forming, due to the pain. Murphy's voice was dangerously low and scared Mitch to death, as his rapid breathing seemed to pull his lung apart.

"I'm sick of your resistance, Mitchell. For my liking you're showing your thoughts about this little deal a bit too openly. Others could get suspicious…"

Another pull on his hair. He winced.

"…and yet others give the impression to already know things."

This time he groaned with pain and tried to pull away, but Murphy was too strong and the panic too much for him. He tried to beg Murphy to let him go, but the hand on his mouth made his words come out in an incomprehensible mutter.

"I warned you over and over again, Mitchell, but sadly you don't listen. I guess I have to change the tune. Why don't you call your lovely sister? It's been a while since you've talked to Marley. Things could have changed…"

Murphy didn't have the chance to finish his sentence, as Mitch began to struggle again violently, due to the anger welling up inside of him.

But with a single sentence Murphy managed to make him stop once more.

"Why don't you begin to feign a happy and carefree Mitch to the rest of the world again, as you have done after your destruction of Team Crafted?"

With wide open eyes Mitch stared at the white ceiling. How in the world could he know?! Nobody did except for his parents, who had been quite suspicious of his sometimes rather dark behavior during the last months. Murphy had no possible way of knowing - but somehow he did!

"Face it, you're brilliant at deceiving others, for months you have been the happy guy for the whole world, but on the inside…" Murphy's voice softened and even though Mitch tried to resist it, the tone of his voice affected him. "On the inside you were falling apart, slowly but surely, weren't you? All the guilt, Mitchell, of being responsible for the break up, the tears, the disappointment of the fans…"

Tears were welling up in his eyes and this time Mitch wasn't able to hold them back, as he blinked at the ceiling and felt them roll over his cheeks. A sigh, then Murphy continued in a fake comforting voice.

"If you continue like this you will tear the group apart once more, Mitch. But that's not what you want, right?" Slowly he shook his head. "No. Your wish finally came true, you are reunited with them once more and maybe you can make it work this time. All the happy memories, Mitchell, all the fun you guys had together… You know you can have it again. Just don't mess this up."

With a look that tore him apart from the inside Murphy let go of Mitch.

He didn't move an inch.

Instead he answered with a hoarse voice that was barely audible, "I won't."

"Good."

Murphy clapped him on the back with a big smile on his face. Again he leaned forward and Mitch couldn't refrain from flinching.

"Then go out there. Show us the Mitch I need – the Mitch your team needs."

Some minutes later he excited the small room again.

The make-up artists had returned to erase the traces of his tears on his face and to do his hair again. Not once had they tried to talk to him. Not a single question about what had happened. Jerome was the first to look up as he turned around the corner. They still sat at the table together with Kane and probably talked about the shooting. Someone asked him a question, he thought he heard Jerome's voice as well, but he couldn't bring himself to look into their eyes.

Wordlessly he passed them, politely greeted the photographer with a simple smile on his face and then listened to his instructions.

It is easy. Just smile. Don't think about anything. Just go on. Give yourself up. Do what they want. What they need. Always smile. Make sure to look healthy, to look good. There has to be the sparkling in your eyes. Doesn't matter if it's from the tears you're holding back – no one will notice the difference. Nobody ever does.

It worked automatically, as if Mitch had never tried to break out of the hole he had dug himself all those months ago. The shooting began and immediately he was in the role they had chosen for him, flashing stunning smiles in the direction of the photographer and flirting with the camera, while posing in a relaxed and cool way.

"If you continue like this you will tear the group apart once more, Mitch. But that's not what you want, right? You know you can have it again. Just don't mess this up."

And not once did Murphy's words leave his mind.