The It Factor

Chapter 21

"I still can't believe this is actually happening," I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.  My mom smiled at me, gently wiping the tears away.

"Of course it is, you are a very talented girl."  She assured me.  I smiled, squeezing her hand.  Nothing had changed, she haden't remembered anything, but I still had to tell her why I wouldn't be visiting as often anymore. 

The Battle Field round of The it Factor were being held in LA, and if we made it though, we would be moving into the house they provided.  It was one huge house where they shoved everyone in the competition.  We would all live together, like a huge family.  Except we weren't family, we were each others enemy.

"When did you say you'll come visit me?" She asked in her quiet voice.  I frowned, that was something I didn't want to talk about.  It would probably be a while before I got to see her again.

"Well, the contest is over, at the longest, in one month, so-"

"So I'll see you in a month when you're a big star," She smiled, making me laugh.  Even though she didn't know she was my mother she was so supportive.  It felt really great.  "You're not going to forget about me, right?"

I gasped, "No, of course not!"  Why would she think that?  I had made it really clear that it was hurting me to leave for a month, I could never forget about her.  But then again, she didn't know we were related.

"Ren," I heard Kyle call as he walked into the room, "Our flight leaves in two hours, we really have to leave now,"  I sighed, giving him a sad look.  I knew this was coming, I just didn't realize it was quite so soon.

"I'll be back," I promised, giving my mom another hug.  She hugged me back tightly.

"Break a leg," She whispered, pulling away.  I grabbed my bag and let Kyle drag me out of the room, trying not to cry.  It would be a whole month before I got to see my mother again.  Of course it didn't feel right to leave, but I had to.  I was doing this for her.  If we won I would be able to pay for all her medical bills, we would be fine.

When we got downstairs we piled into the mini van Hope had rented for us.  The rest of the boys were inside, waiting to head for the airport.  They had already said goodbye to their families, so this was it.

"That was harder then I thought it would be," I whispered, wiping away a stray tear.  Tristan wrapped me in a hug, patting my back.

"It'll be okay, Rena," Scott said, patting my knee, "Just think of what you're leaving to do, she would be proud of you." I smiled, knowing he was right.  This wasn't something I could beat myself up over.  If my mom could remember her life she would've made me go.  I was doing this for her.

"I wonder who our competition is," Andrew muttered, glancing over at all of us. "I mean, just think about it...There's probably over one hundred people we have to compete against." My stomach clinched at the thought, that was a lot of people.

Kyle slapped Andrew over the head, "Dude, you're going to freak out Ren!  She's already scared enough!"  Moaning, Andrew rubbed his head, sending a glare at Kyle.

"I'm sorry," He sighed, looking back to me, "I didn't mean to freak you out or anything,"

"No worries," I giggled, pulling out my phone.  I turned on the camera and held it in front of me, trying to get all the guys in it.  That was quite a task.  I was sitting next to Scott and Tristan, with Kyle and Andrew in the back.  "Guys, smile!"  They did as they were told, and we ended up with a halfway decent picture.  I opened the twitter app, attached the picture, and typed my message.

Heading to the airport!  Can't wait to be in LA.  Oh my god is this really happening?! xx

"I can't believe you guys are about to leave for a month," Hope muttered from the front seat.  I could tell she was about to cry, so I quickly patted her shoulder. "You better come back super stars."

"We will," We all chorused, giving her our best smiles.  Honestly, none of us were that confident.  The night before we had spend talking about how scary this was and what our chances were making it big.  It was about a one in a million shot that we would become famous, and even less then that for us to become popular.

The odds were not in our favor.

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"You are poking my face," I deadpanned, grabbing another pair of sunglasses and checking the price.  Twenty five dollars.  Why was everything in the airport so dang expensive.

"I am aware," Kyle answered, poking my cheek again.  He had been doing it for the past five minutes, but I chose to ignore him.  He didn't have a reason, he probably just got board of waiting for our flight to take off.

"The question is why?"  I asked, finally getting frustrated and paying attention to him.  He smirked, crossing his arms.

"I wanted to know if I can go get coffee."  He said, raising an eyebrow questioningly.  Why in the hell had he been poking my face?!  Is this what it was going to be like for the next few months?  Because so far it wasn't fun.

"Why would you ask me?" I sighed, turning back to the sunglasses.  In my haste to pack I had left mine at home, and I would need some if we were going to LA.

"Because Mom put you in charge," He said in a 'duh' tone.  It was true, and I really wish she had not.  Her exact words were "Serenity, you're in charge.  Good luck, don't die."  So far the boys had made it their personal mission to make me insane.

"Yes, you may have coffee," I growled, "Only a small, and you have to buy me one."  He nodded and ran off, hurrying to the Starbucks.  Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the nearest pair of sunglasses and went to the counter to pay.

"Rena, Rena, Rena, Rena!" I whipped around to see Scott running towards me, a terrified look on his face.  He quickly picked me up and held me in front of him, trying to hide.

"Put me down!" I exclaimed, wiggling my feet so maybe I could touch the ground.  No such luck, I was still suspended in the air by Scott's large arms.

"I can't, Tristan is trying to kill me!"  He yelled, squeezing me tighter.  Just then Tristan came running into the store, running straight for us.  Instead of stopping he decided it was a good idea just to tackle us, sending us flying towards the ground.

"I hate you," I muttered, rubbing my sore head.  The tile floor really hurt, especially when a teenage boy lands on top of you. "You're old enough to solve your own problems, work it out yourself."  I stood up, brushed myself off, payed a weirded out cashier, and shoved my new sunglasses into my carry on bag.

"You sound like a mom," Scott said, shaking his head, "No fun."  I quickly gave him the finger, sticking my tongue out at him.  Both the boys burst out laughing, clapping their hands. "There's the Rena we know and love!"

Chuckling I walked out of the shop, going and sitting down near our gate.  The plane was due to start boarding in ten minutes, so I needed to be close by.  Scott and Tristan were still goofing off, punching each other occasionally, but at least they were making their way towards me.  Andrew was already sitting next to me, but Kyle was no where in site.

"Where is that boy?" I muttered to myself, pulling out my phone.  I sent him a quick text, telling him to get his ass over to the gate, before turning to Andrew. "Are you ready for this?"

"For my dream?"  He scoffed, smirking, "I was born ready."  I laughed, playfully punching his arm.

"Well isn't someone cocky?"  I stuck my tongue out.  He quickly poked my tongue, then my nose. "Hey!" I giggled, slapping his arm one more time.

"I bring coffee," Kyle announced, handing me my cup.  I took a careful sip, hissing when it burned my lips.  Apparently coffee wasn't a great idea, because they called our flight number at that exact moment, so I ended up just throwing away the whole thing.

Clutching my bag a little tighter to my chest I took a deep breath and stepped onto the plane.  This was it, we were going to LA.