Double Act (A One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter Nine: Bootcamp

Double Act - Chapter 9

~~ Louis' P.O.V ~~

I had no reason to be nervous. The contestants were the ones supposed to be scared. So why was I sitting here, shivering with fear? I'm pretty sure it had something to do with a pale, dark-haired girl named Lara, and the fact that she hadn't called me for a reason. I chose not to join in the other judges' conversations. Instead, I stayed quiet until Gary broke me out of my thoughts.

"...you, Louis?"

I blinked a few times to refocuse my gaze back on Mr Barlow's face. "Huh?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I was just asking you what you were looking for in the contestants this year," the two ladies beside me smirked. "But it would seem your mind was elsewhere..." Gary added quietly, winking at me. I chuckled nervously, brushing off the comment in hope that it would be forgotten. I turned my gaze back to the stage while their conversation started back up once more, but it abruptly ended when a man with a headset told us that the contestants were on their way to the stage.

Soon enough, the girls, boys and groups that had made it through this far filed onto stage. I tried not to look desperate as I searched through the crowd for Lara or her twin sister. I finally caught sight of her, but she refused to lift her gaze from the marble floor. Frowning a little, I plastered a smile back on my face to reassure the others on stage.

When they had finished their squeals of excitment and the chatter had died down, the four of us on the panel leant forward to our microphones, greeting them with a 'Hi' or a 'Hello'. A chorus of replies came back at us, some of the more confident ones waving and smiling. Lara's lips didn't move, her face staying impassive, upsetting me slightly.

Then Gary took over the talking. "Hello guys, good to see you! Welcome to Bootcamp," he said, his smile not fading once as his eyes scanned the nervous faces infront of him.

I glanced at him before looking over to Katy as she spoke. "You all have done so well to get this far, so well done to every single one of you," she said, jabbing her finger forward to emphasise her point. She glanced over to me, and I realised it was my turn to speak.

My eyes flickered over to where Lara was standing, where she was still making no eye contact, and cleared my throat. "We wish you the best of luck over the next couple of days, and know that any decisions we make are based on your performances," I said truthfully, this time resisting the urge to look over at Lara, fixing my gaze on a pretty girl  with an excited smile in the middle of the crowd.

If I'd given my number to her, I bet she'd have called me..

~~ Lara's P.O.V ~~

I kept sensing Louis' gaze on me, but I didn't dare to look up. I knew what I would see if I did. Bright blue eyes, filled with confusion and hurt. I had no chance to explain to him why I had made no contact, but even if I did, I bet he wouldn't believe me.

I listened to Ella's voice intently as she explained what would happen, and I understood clearly what would happen. We would be split into 4 categories; the boys, the girls, the groups and the over 25's. In each group, there were roughly ten contestants that would need to be narrowed down to justsix over the next few days. Those 6 would go to judges houses, the others sent home with their dreams in tatters. Words cannot describe how scared I had become.

Livvy and I, along with the rest of the groups, were gathered together back stage, much the same as the other categories. Livvy began chatting happily to the rest of the group while I sat quietly, avoiding conversation. Somebody was bound to ask Liv about me sooner or later, so I just sat silently, dreading the inevitable question...

"Is this your sister, Liv?"

And there it was. The voice was obviously a boy's, but it was nice voice. It sounded friendly and forgiving, almost tempting me to glance up. Almost.

"Yep! This is Lara, my twin sister," A round of coo's followed my sister's introduction. My cheeks flushed red with embarressment, but it just made everybody chuckle. Liv once again started conversation with her new friends. I felt a nudge on my shoulder, and glanced up to see an unfamiliar face. A boy. It must have been the one who spoke just now.

"Hey, you nervous?" he asked, smiling warmly with his dark-brown eyes clouding with curiosity. I smiled weakly back, and nodded. "Don't worry, I'm nervous too. We all are," he glanced at Liv. "Well. All except for your sister here," he chuckled, his laugh instantly lighting up my mood. I laughed along with him, enjoying the fact that someone was talking to me.

~~ Louis' P.O.V ~~

"Louis, you can't-"

"I'm just getting some air, Gazza!" I shrugged, turning away from him and making my way into the wings.

I couldn't help it. I had to talk to Lara, and now. I rushed past the group of boys, all chattering away, and spotted the larger group which had to be the groups. I kept my distance from them, but searched for Lara amongst them. I hurred around the side of the room, trying to catch a glimpse of her dark, wavy hair...

There she was! She had her back to me, facing another guy. He was grinning like an idiot, and it made my stomach squirm. He leant forward slightly, whispering in her ear before pulling away laughing. Lara tilted her head back in laughter, slapping the guy's chest and leaning on him for support while she giggled uncontrollably.

I had to admit, that hurt. It hurt alot. Seeing her with someone else physically pained me, and that was weird for me to comprehend. I wasn't jealous. I couldn't be. I wasn't the jealous type. I barely knew her. She hadn't done anything wrong.

Yet I was glaring at the back of her head, frozen to the spot with fury. I barely noticed when a security guard grabbed my shoulder and began to pull me away. In my mind, I had that image of her laughing with that... that idiot stuck in my brain and it wouldn't leave.

I slumped back in the chair beside Ella and Katy, not saying another word. Suddenly, I was in a terrible mood, and I was certain that would affect my judging skills. I had to calm down, I had to forget.

But I just couldn't.

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Authors Note: Hey guys! First day back at school today and I got no homework! Soo I decided to upload the next chapter.

So. I know nothing much happens in this, but this is sort of a filler chapter? Hope it's not too bad! I will put up the next chapter when I can. Thanks for the comments on this, and all the reads on all my stories as well.

Now I need another person's name for my story, so if you comment then you just might find your name ends up in the story somewhere. But somewhere in your comment you must include your name, because I can't read minds... I don't think...

Hope you guys have a great 2013! Byee x