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

Chapter 58

"So are you nervous?"

"Me? Nervous? Whaaaaat? No."

"Please don't tell me you actually expect me to believe that." I laughed.

"Okay, fine you caught me." A nervous chatter overtook Keaton's teeth as he looked around the stadium that was filling up slowly. I had to steady him by his shoulders after he started bouncing around to keep the nerves under control.

"Hey, stop worrying!" I assured him. "You guys were amazing yesterday, there's no way that America sent you home." And that was the truth. Last night's performance was nothing like I'd seen them do on the show before. They were showing America who they really were- and there was no chance in hell that America would send them home.

"We're getting pretty close to the end now, though, and I'm worried." Keaton confided in me.

"Hey, if it helps: Adrianna and I pretty much have the whole freshman class at NYU voting for you guys." I joked. "Plus there's your family, and the entire town of Huntington Beach rooting for you. And that's only the people you know. Imagine how many other people you guys have won over who live all over the country."

"You're right. We had a good show last night, and I shouldn't let the nerves get to me. Thanks for the pep talk Aves." He gave me a quick hug before pulling away to go get wired up with his microphone. As my gaze followed Keaton over to the sound equipment, my eyes fell upon the other Stromberg brother who looked just as frazzled.

"Don't tell me I have to repeat my whole pep talk to you too." I laughed, walking over to him. "Hey, are you really that nervous?"

"Nah, the nerves usually calm down in time." He said.

"Then what's bothering you?"

"I mean, Keaton's right, that's all. It's getting down to the wire. If we don't go home this week, we might be gone the next. The ratings fluctuate week to week: there's no way to tell whether we'll be in the front of the pack or at the end, and that's what worries me."  Wes sighed. 

I hadn't really thought about how stressful living this kind of life was. You always had to be on your toes; ready to do your best 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And on top of that, you had video cameras taping your every move. Being at home I didn't really notice, but being here now; seeing the boys, I could tell they were under a lot of stress.

"Do you want a hug?" I offered. At the time, it was the best thing I could do for him. I had no idea how the night was going to go- I couldn't predict the future.

"Well actually I want a kiss, but given the circumstances I think a hug would be a good idea." He looked subtly at all the cameras that were moving around backstage. 

"Ha, cute." I laughed, giving him a quick smile.

"I know I am." He gave me a cheeky grin in response.

Five minutes! Places everyone! I heard a voice crackle over the loud speaker.

"Well, that's my cue." I said softly, looking over to the empty seat in the audience. Jason and Adrianna had saved me a seat in between them.

"I'll see you after the results?" He bit down on his bottom lip. He may say that he wasn't freaking out, but I could tell he totally was. I knew him well enough to know what he was thinking without him having to say a word. I only had to look into his eyes.

"You know you will." I smiled, leaning in to give his hand a quick squeeze.

"I love you." He smirked before heading over to Drew and Keaton.

"Mhmm love you too." I said so only he could hear.

* * * * *

"And the final act safe tonight is... Fifth Harmony." The crowd erupted in cheers, but I couldn't help but feel bad for Diamond White. She was really talented, but she was so young. Just in this round, both Cece and Diamond were eliminated, which was pretty upsetting. Cece was a really cool girl. I met her back on the day the boys auditioned, and I thought she was an amazing singer. If Emblem3 couldn't win, then I hoped it would be her.

I was, however a little worried that Fifth Harmony had made it. They were gaining popularity, especially among the teenage girls in the country. They were a pretty big threat to the boys, being the only other group in the competition. But... even though they were the enemy, I still thought they were pretty awesome.

"Ahhh! I told you! You had nothing to worry about." I skipped over to Wes and he spun me around in a hug that to an outsider would look nothing short of friendly.

"We're almost there babe. We're almost there." He smiled down at me.

And that's when it hit me.

"You guys are in the top four." I almost couldn't believe it.

"It's like a dream." Wes agreed, nodding slowly. "I've got nearly 200 thousand followers on twitter."

"Shut up." My mouth dropped open. "There's no way." Wiggling his eyebrows, he unlocked his phone with his index finger and hovered it in front of my face. "Damn." I laughed. "Well aren't you the little superstar."

"Mhhmm. So what do you say we get out of here?"

"Sounds good. You wanna head back to my place? We can get take out." I said.

"Nah."

"Nah?" I laughed.

"Nah." Wes repeated. "I think I'll take you out tonight. If that's okay with you."

"That sounds... perfect." I smiled, picking up his arm and draping it over my shoulders casually.

Hey guys! This is just a filler, but tell me what you think!