Double Act - Chapter 10
~~ Louis' P.O.V ~~
The 2 days went by quickly, and soon enough it was Monday morning and all of the contestants were waiting nervously backstage. It's results day. The four of us had decided who was going to go through to judges houses, and boy was I excited.
As always, the four of us had to decide between us who would be getting through. The groups had been surprisingly simple, as had the over 25's. The girls and the boys, however, caused major arguments between us. We had, eventually, come to a decision, but it had made the mood between Ella and Gary very frosty. The tension was unbearable, so it was a relief that they were at opposite ends of the panel, otherwise they'd probably kill eachother.
We had announced the over 25's and the boys, and we were about to inform the girl's of our decisions. The 10 girls filed onto the stage in silence, clutching eachothers hands with tear stained cheeks. We greeted them, and left the required pause to build the tension. We took it in turns to call out the first four names.
"The fifth person going through to judges houses is... Katrina Vassalo," A girl of about 19 let out a high pitched shriek and brought her hands up to her face. After hugging another of the girls, she dashed off stage with her blonde hair flying out behind her.
"The sixth and final girl going through is," I began, scanning the faces of the 5 remaining girls. "... Marisa O'Neil," I announced, bracing myself for the scream.
A tall, pretty girl with shoulder-length mousy-brown hair covered her mouth with one hand, tears dribbling down her cheeks. "F-fank you!" she cried, clasping her hands infront of her, "Fank you so much!"
Gary said our apologies, and the 4 remaining girls filed off stage, either sobbing or in miserable silence. I ignored that, proud of the happiness I had caused so far. I was soon reminded that we still had the groups to tell, and that put me in an even better mood.
~~ Lara's P.O.V ~~
"Groups to stage!" a man with a headset called out before he hurried away. Liv turned to me, a reassuring smile on her face as she took my hand and squeezed it. I sighed, my stomach not ceasing to twist and turn. On my other side, Dylan nudged my shoulder with his elbow and grinned.
Dylan was in a group called Four Life, along with his two best friends, Jacob and Callum, and his younger brother Ollie. Me and Liv had grown quite close with the four of them over the few days, Dylan and me especially. All four of them were hilariously funny. They took my mind off of the competition, and I loved that.
We made our way to center stage, standing in a line. The four judges on the panel smiled warmly, almost causing me to forget what was at stake here. "Hello, groups! We have made a decision, and the acts through to judges houses are..."
Can I just say how much I hate dramatic pauses. Seriously.
"The first act is..." Katy began. "... Divided." A group of 3 boys went mental at the other end of the line, and rushed off stage. "The next act through is..." I enhaled a deep breath, wishing like I'd never wished before.
"... Four Life." I grinned, turning to Dylan and wrapping my arms around his neck. He hugged me back tightly before pulling away and kissing my cheek. Glancing up, I noticed the frown on Louis' face, but pushed the thought away. Without another word, the four of them bounced away happily. Me and Liv closed the gap that they had created, her putting an arm round my shoulders and pulling me close.
Three more acts were called out, two girl groups and a boy-girl duo. By this time I had lost all hope of making it through, my eyes staying shut in anticipation. Why did I even let Liv talk me into this? I knew it was a bad idea. I could tell that even through Liv's smile, she was a nervous wreck, too.
"The sixth and final act going through... is..." Stupid dramatic pause. Beside me, Livvy was shaking. I rubbed her shoulder, mentally telling her that I was here. I would always be right beside her.
I looked up, scanning the faces of the judges. Louis' eyes flickered up to meet mine, but this time I didn't look away. I smiled weakly at him, and after a moment he grinned back, his smile somehow making me braver.
I wished one more time, silently screaming for it to be us. I watched in terror as he held the mic to his lips and took a breath.
"Double Act."
The world seemed to go into slow motion as Livvy erupted into screams, pulling me into a stiff hug. She jumped up and down like a lunatic while I stood there frozen in shock, staring at Louis' smiling face as if he was about to say "Just kidding, you suck!". But he didn't. We were through. We really were.
As I stared at Louis, he appeared to scribble something on a piece of paper, and casually held it up to face me. Before Liv dragged me backstage, I just managed to read the words on the paper. They both made my heart flutter, and made my stomach drop.
'We need to talk'
~~ Louis' P.O.V ~~
I watch all of the rejected groups trudge gloomily out of sight, letting my gaze drop as I smile like an idiot. She saw the scribbled words, so hopefully I had a chance to talk to her.
"Okay, judges!" Joey called out. Joey was the main man backstage of X Factor this year, telling us what to do and whatnot. "You will be discovering your groups on your ride home, so off you go!" he added, grinning before scurrying away to save another technical emergency.
Suddenly there's a hand on my shoulder, and I turn to see Gary peering at the papers infront of me. I hurriedly gather them up, shielding them from view and leaping from the chair. "See ya, Gazza bear!" I winked at him, not waiting for his reaction before running up the stairs and into the curtains to find Lara.
Before I could get my bearings on where I was, I was grabbed and pulled into the shadows. I opened my mouth to call for help but a hand was clapped over my mouth. I glanced sideways at my attacker, making out two bright blue eyes staring back at me.
"Lara!" I cried, her hand muffling my voice. She glanced behind her nervously, then nods and smiles. "Congratu-"
"Yeah, yeah," she interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Gimme your phone!" she ordered. I cocked my head in surprise.
She sighed irritably. "Just do it! My sister will get rid of your number, so I'll give you mine!" she shrugged, holding out her hand and uncovering my mouth. I opened my mouth to protest, but the glare she was giving me changed my mind. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and gave it to her. To my surprise, she navigated herself to my contacts in a matter of seconds, adding her number and thrusting the phone back into my possession.
"I have to go," she told me, peering around my shoulder. I pouted, and she sighed. "But before I do," I grinned, happy that I still had her company.
All of a sudden I was being hugged, Lara's arms around my neck and her nose buried in my chest. I breathed in the sweet smell of her hair, and brought my hands to her lower back.
"Thankyou for putting me and Liv through, Louis. It made us so happy." she whispered, only just loud enough for me to hear. I grinned, and squeezed her harder in reply. Before I knew it she had withdrawn her arms and dashed away, her footsteps fading as she left the room. My mouth hurt from grinning so much, and the feeling of her body against mine left a puzzling absence.
I slapped a hand to my forehead and let it slide down my face. I was in deep. I hadn't thought stuff like that since Eleanor was around.
I made my way out of the arena and found the usual car waiting outside. I caught sight of George in the front seat, my driver, so I slid myself onto the back seat, the welcoming feel of the leather interior surrounding me. I leant against the head rest and sighed, feeling the limo begin to lumber forward.
My phone began to vibrate in my pocket, and I slid it out, still in a slight daze. Glancing at the caller ID, I gulped, and answered quickly.
"Hello, Simon!"
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Authors Note: Hey guyss! I love this chapter, so I hope you like it tooo! Xx I hope I didn't move too quickly. I tend to do that in stories...
I got a lot of homework this week, so updates may be a bit difficult. I know this chapter took a while to be put up, and I'm sorry for that. School sucks.
As I said, I'll upload as soon as I can. Thanks for reading this far guys! Vote if you liked it, and comment toooo! Luff youu! Byee x