He's Giving Me a Reason, an Emblem3 Fan Fic (Sequel to Riptide)

Chapter 28

Wes POV

"Okay, this place is bad ass." Drew said tossing his bag down on the floor.

"Tell me about it. So this is what it's like living in Hollywood." Keaton ran over to the window to check out the view.

"Well we're not there yet." I reminded them, flopping down on a nearby bed. Holy shit, this thing is soft.

"Don't be such a party pooper man." Drew laughed at me. I chuckled a bit at his comment and hoisted myself up from the pillows.

"Just remember, we're here to stay focused and win this thing." I said biting back another smile. Drew slapped me upside the head lightly and I punched him in the arm. Next thing I knew we were fake wrestling on the floor. Drew had me in some sort of headlock when I hear the TV whir to life.

"Sweet, they've got X Box!" Keaton said grinning. We immediately broke apart and took our rightful places behind the other two controllers.

"They got any games in here?" I asked. "Check the cabinet under the console." Keaton crawled off the couch and over to the lacquer dresser.

"Hey, cool! Yeah they actually have games in here... we've got COD, Halo-"

"Halo!" Drew and I said at the same time.

"No, COD is so much better." Keaton tried to argue.

"There's no use in arguing Keats." Drew said, slipping the disk in. Keaton pouted and I ruffled his hair. He knew that Drew and I would never abandon Halo. It will forever be our favorite game.

"So who do you think our mentor is?" I asked while shooting Keaton in the shoulder.

"Come on!" He said tossing down the controller. Drew laughed out loud.

"I have no idea, I kind of hope it's Demi though." Drew said. I trilled my lips and scoffed out loud.

"Oh please, you just think she's cute." I said, immediately looking over to see his reaction. Shit, shit shit. I really shouldn't have said anything to remind him of Adrianna. His gaze never left the screen, but I could see his eyes harden. Keaton kept his mouth shut, letting only the sound from the game fill the room. Shit, I've stepped over the line.

After what felt like an eternity, a small smile crept across Drew's face.

"No, I think she's talented. Maybe she can whip your ass into shape, Stromberg." He said, letting me off the hook. I smiled at him, offering my apologies. He just nodded and faced back to the TV.

"I hope it's Simon." Keaton said. Drew and I laughed together.

"Why Simon?" Drew asked.

"Because he's the one who brought the X Factor to the US. He's been in the music business forever and seems to know what he's doing." Keaton shrugged.

"Yeah but he seems like a powerful guy- the kind that wants everything done his way or he'll destroy you." I said frowning at my memories of watching American Idol with my sister. Simon Cowell was a jerk to a lot of people. There's more than one way to tell someone that they don't have what it takes than to slaughter them verbally.

"Well in that case, it's better to have him on our side." I looked at Drew and he shrugged. Maybe my baby brother had a point. "Oh shit, guys it's almost 2 o'clock!"

I looked up to the analog on the wall and confirmed Keaton's statement. "We've got thirty minutes to get across town." I said grabbing the keys.

"20 bucks says it's Demi." Keaton trilled once we were in the car.

"Demi? I thought you wanted Simon to be our mentor." Drew mocked.

"Yeah but I never get what I want, so I'm guessing it's going to be Demi." He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Well then I say 20 bucks that it's Britney." Drew chimed in. I grinned, there's no way I was gonna let these losers get 20 bucks outta me.

"Well then I guess that leaves me Simon or LA... I'll say Simon." I said.

"You guys are on!" Drew said slapping me on the back. I smiled to myself. There's a pretty good chance that Simon's going to be our mentor. After the huge success with One Direction, there's no way that Simon would ever give up the chance to mentor the groups.

I pulled the car up to a modern looking house with super cool windows. Hmm, definitely looks like the kind of place that Simon Cowell would live in. But it looks like Demi and Britney could live here too. The guy at the gate let us in and told me to park around back. There were three cars parked in the driveway already- a minivan and two small compact Hondas. I assume they belonged to the other contestants.

We followed the path up to the door and were led in by a bunch of the X Factor producers. I slid open the door to the backyard and stepped out onto the patio/pool deck. Okay, this place was totally insane. I could definitely get used to living like this. My smile faded when we were face to face with the other groups. I recognized them all, but a lot of the groups were newly formed- I had no idea what they were capable of.

Drew nudged me and jutted his head over to the new groups. "That's Lylas," he pointed to the new girl group. I remembered one of them from boot camp... Lauren Jauregui I think? "And that one over there is Playback." he said about the boy group. I smirked a little- definitely a boy band. "And that's Lyric 145." I looked over where a trio stood. I remembered them too. The girl was an awesome rapper. She had some serious skill.

Amongst others were Sister C and some group called Dope Crisis. I didn't know anything about those guys, which made me hella nervous.

"Places everyone!" A producer said unraveling a camera cable. I guess our mentor was coming out. We all crowded on the pool deck just talking and chatting nervously. I ended up getting smushed between Lauren and a guy from Playback. Drew and Keaton both stood behind me. "In 3, 2, 1..." 2 guys opened the door to the backyard and I heard footsteps. Our judge was coming out...

"Hello everyone!" A man in a white t-shirt and a thick British accent slipped a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. I grinned and clasped my hands behind my back. I heard Drew and Keaton sigh deeply and whisper to each other. I held back a laugh, I had totally won. 

A few seconds later, two crisp bills were slid into my fingers.

A/N: At this point in the competition, Fifth Harmony was known as Lylas. The name Fifth Harmony is actually the third name of the girl group. After Lylas they were called 1432. So just to clear up any confusion, Lylas is Fifth Harmony. Fifth Harmony was the name given to the group after America voted and gave them that name.

Hey guys! So another chapter is done! :D Hope you liked the Wes POV 60 votes? :)