#idk if I can tag this as oc whump but technically I came up with other names for characters so

[watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees]

Adopt, don’t shop - These celebrity boys believe in second chances

DISCLAIMER: any and all resemblance to One Direction and fanfiction about being sold to them is absolutely intentional and I wear it as a badge of honour

special thanks to @ziptiesnfries who came up with it

CW: sold to OneDirection trope reformulated into pet whump, dehumanisation, rescue shelter, abuse mention

Her heels clicked along the pristine white tiles of the corridor, as she walked in a strict straight line right in the middle, barely noticing the startled employees, who scurried to avoid getting in her way. She didn’t even bother to look up from her phone, until she got to the glass door at the end of the hallway, and even then she just glanced to her front to find the doorknob and push the door in. 

A small bell rang just above her head, signalling her presence. Not like she needed it, Diana was surrounded by a powerful aura that was hard to ignore for even the most careless person. Her bright red hair, perfectly manicured long nails that matched in colour contrasted with her signature bright green jacket. She would’ve been hard on the eyes, hadn’t she carried herself with such poise and an outrageous amount of professionally applied makeup. 

“Good evening Miss” The employee greeted her, standing up behind the counter with a smile plastered on, in an attempt to conceal her unease at TV-personality’s sight “How can I assist you today? Our shelter is grateful to have you on the premises, if we could-”

“I don’t have time for this” she raised a hand, silencing the poor employee on an instant. She didn’t even look up, just continued typing with one hand “I need one of those pets, a pretty one, and quick”

“Of course, of course” she rambled “I would be happy to show you around and find one suitable for your needs. You need to know, this is a rescue shelter-” but she was cut off again.

“Yeah, yeah, rescue shelter, if I didn’t know I wouldn’t be here” she raised her voice a bit “It will raise our engagement to the skies, so just bring me a pretty one!” Diana huffed, exasperated by the incompetence of the employee. She thought the same way about a lot of people. 

The employee, stood for a moment, trying to evaluate whether it was the time to stand up for herself, but it wasn’t, so she hurried to the back. The pets were kept in state-sanctioned enclosures, cages really, with only a small cot and a bucket in most of them. She sometimes wondered if they truly are rescuing these people. Pets. She had to correct herself again. She looked around with a sigh, trying to figure out what a high-profile client than Diana Young look for in a pet. Bring a pretty one, it echoed in her ear. 

It was a rather quiet day in the back, a few pets sat on their beds, curled up by the wall and rested, they raised their heads as she walked by, they just acknowledged her presence not expecting her to actually come for them. 

She stopped turned around at the end of the row of cages and walked back, inspecting the people kept on the other side of the corridor. It was a hard decision. They had been there long enough for her to get a tad bit attached, she thought a lot about adopting one of them.

Her eyes settled on the scrawny boy in the second to last enclosure. 

His hair used to always be in his face, covering his eyes from the prying eyes of potential adopters. It’s been a process, but she got him to let her tie it up. 

“Oliver” she called to him softly, as she unlocked the cage. He looked up with an angry frown.

“What do you want?” he grumbled. 

“There’s a lady here, interested in you” she answered, as she unclipped a leash that she kept attached to her belt to have on hand, and just stood there waiting for him to walk up to her.

“Really?” Oliver brightened up at that. He had been there for way too long and the inability to do anything about his state was killing him. He had been removed from his previous home for alleged abuse, which he didn’t quite understand. Good pets learn from punishments don’t they? Besides his owners were a nice family with two kids, the occasional beating for messing up was didn’t make his list of priorities to worry about. The first few days he was at the shelter he spent crying.

He remembered Johannah tried really hard to sooth him and make him as hopeful and comfortable as she could. She was the most active volunteer at the shelter managing the front desk most days. He didn’t make her job easy.

And now she was standing in front of him with a leash that would lead him to freedom. He regretted his initial reaction. He didn’t want to part with the kind woman on bad terms.

“I’m sorry” he muttered to her as he walked up and lifted his chin for her to attach the leash to his collar. 

“No worries” she sighed, with a soft smile. He attempted to smile back and it earned him a pat on the shoulder “I have something for you” she blurted out, her mind just catching up with her. 

He looked at Johanna curiously, as she reached into one of the many pockets of her cargo trousers and pulled out a little black band. 

“Here, make yourself pretty” Oliver took the elastic and attempted to tie his hair up in a bun as she taught him. It turned out a lot messier than how she would’ve done it, but neither of them minded. 

“Let’s go” She smiled at him and fixed a few strands before heading back to the front desk area.

Diana was tapping her shoe impatiently, with her arms crossed in front of her chest. It was a rare sight to see her with her eyes actually looking away from her phone. Johannah swallowed thickly, as she entered the room with Oliver in tow, who looked perplexed at the sight of the woman.

“I don’t have all day” she exclaimed, stepping up to the desk and picking up the pen that had the shelter’s logo printed on it, clicking it once so she could sign any document that she needed to get this over with. She only spared a glance in Oliver’s way and nodded timidly “He will do”

“His name is Oliver, he is 23 years old, he comes from-”

“Whatever, where do I sign?” Johannah sighed, this time loud with annoyance. She could be sued for not providing all information of the rescue to the prospective owner, and Diana couldn’t care less.

She pushed a stack of papers in front of her, pointing at the line at the bottom.

“Do you acknowledge that-”

“Sure, sure” Diana flipped through the pages, leaving her signature on each one.

“Miss Young, would you be interested in donating to one of these charities supporting our shelter?” 

They were already out the door. She dragged Oliver behind her at a steady pace, exiting the building and right into the car that parked right by the entrance, which he was pretty sure happened to be illegal.

They sat on the two sides of the backseats, he wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to do. She signalled to the driver to go, then leaned back in her seat typing away on her phone.

Oliver decided to look around town while they sat in the car. Nothing seemed familiar around the streets they drove through, he wasn’t even sure if he was in the same city he used to call home. 

“What was your name again?” 

“Oliver, miss” he replied softly, worried that he’d anger his new owner.

“Oh, no sweetheart” she laughed, the tapping of her nails on the buttons of the phone never seemed to stop “I’m just Diana to you” He really did try to catch her attention even for a moment, looking extremely confused as he provided no other context to him, but she didn’t bother to look his way again until the end of the car ride.

“What are you waiting for?” Diana yelled, as she got out of the car slamming the door shut, not wasting time waiting for Oliver. He felt awkward as he got out, in the empty parking garage they stopped in, even though noone saw him. His leash dangled in front of him, as he rushed after the woman, who had already made her way to the elevator a few metres away from where the driver parked.

She glanced down and grabbed the collar with a sigh as they waited for the door to open.

“Okay, listen, I’ll only explain once” she started with a strict tone. Oliver’s eyes promised to drink every single word of hers up “I manage a band, I don’t expect you to know them,” she added condescendingly before she continued “Our engagement has fallen a great deal the past few months, even though they just went on tour and the new album dates ‘have been leaked,’ so we’re jumping on this movement with rescue pets and such” Oliver nodded, pretending to understand. They stepped in the elevator.

She spoke way too fast for him to keep up, explaining phenomena he felt like he had never even heard before. The kids at his old family were still way too young for boy bands and so he had never encountered such a thing before.

“You’ll be in front of camera’s a lot, we need the publicity, and when they don’t need you, you’ll be helping me out. Clear?” 

Oliver felt his stomach do a double backflip as he heard about being in front of the public eye. He never even liked leaving the house, he wasn’t suited for that sort of thing. What will he even do?

The doors opened after a loud beep letting them know the elevator reached the desired floor. They arrived on another floor of the parking garage, with only one vehicle taking place in the middle parked across three spaces. It was a bus, with it’s windows blocked out with the enormous painting that took up one whole side, that read 2WayStreet in blaring red letters. Diana stepped out, dragging him along, which he miserably noted will be a common occurrence from now on.

She knocked on the door twice, only warning the occupants about their arrival before entering.

“Adopt don’t shop - These celebrity boys believe in second chances” The following week the headlines were plastered all over their pages, the newspaper and they even got a mention on national television. The stunt was working as intended, engagement increased by 35%, Diana acknowledged it, which was her equivalent of a normal person feeling victorious over a groundbreaking achievement. They can do even better, buying Oliver was one of her best ideas so far.

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