“Girls! Get up! It’s a beautiful morning!” Cheryl burst into our room, waking me up.
“Why?” I groaned, burying my head under the blanket.
“Wake up, Claire!” I heard Cheryl cry and then I felt the blanket getting ripped off of me.
“Fine, we’re up!”
“Good, get dressed. Today we are going shopping.”
“What about the show?” Claire yawned.
“It’s just last minute rehearsals for the contestants as well as last minute media shots. Don’t worry about them.” Cheryl smiled, before walking out of the room with our blankets. “I’ll make breakfast.”
“How is she so…?” Claire groaned.
“So cheery and awake?” I finished and Claire nodded. “Beats me.”
“That means we don’t get to see the boys today?”
“I guess not…wait how did we even get home?” Claire thought about it, while I glanced at my phone, reading a new message.
“Claire-bear, read your text.” I felt a smile forming as I re-read it. There was a picture of Liam carrying me and Niall carrying Claire. Who says chivalry is dead- Zayn
To Zayn: Zayniekins, you are such a stalker! ;)
Zayn: I thought you’d appreciate it.
To Zayn: I think you’re creepy! :P
Zayn: You love me sis.
To Zayn: Sure thing bro-bro
BestFrand: Feelin the love, Fal. Way to text Zayn and not me.
To BestFrand: Shush, he texted me first.
Boobear: FALL-ON :D
To Boobear: LOU-IS
Nialler: Fallon
To Nialler: Niall
Haz: Fally!
To Haz: Hazza!
“Awe don’t you and Liam look cute?!” Claire cooed.
“I could say the same to you, Mrs. Horan.”
“Am not!” She blushed.
“But you wanna be!”
“SO!” She glared while I laughed. I felt my phone buzz multiple times.
BestFrand: So what’s up?
To BestFrand: Shopping, I heard you’re doing some last minute stuff.
BestFrand: Good hearing, Fal.
Boobear: Are
“Girls!” Cheryl interrupted my text.
“Yeah?”
“Give me your phones.” She smiled, her hand out-stretched.
“What?!” Claire frowned clutching her phone protectively.
“Hand em over.” I handed her my phone.
“Why?” I asked as Claire gave hers up.
“The lads will be busy, we’ll be shopping. No distractions for either side, uncle’s orders.” Cheryl started to walk out. “Food is ready.”
“So now we can’t talk to the boys either?” Claire frowned.
“I guess not.”
“Well this should be fun!” She sighed as we headed to the kitchen.
We ate breakfast in complete silence. Afterwards, Claire and I got dressed and the three of us left the house quickly.
“Where are we shopping?”
“A lot of dress boutiques. I actually need to get some dresses for the show.” Cheryl replied, checking her makeup.
“I thought y’all had stylists for that?” Claire asked.
“I enjoy picking out my own clothes.” Cheryl laughed, “Plus I thought you two would like some new outfits also, Claire.”
“Well yeah…but.” She stuttered.
“Not to worry, Claire-bear! We have Uncle Si’s money.” I smirked.
“No girls! It’s my treat!” Cheryl dismissed my claim.
Before we knew it, the car stopped in what appeared to be downtown London. The streets were clustered with people walking in and out of stylish and high-end boutiques. The car stopped and we got out. I looked around the chaos in awe.
“Come on! We don’t want to get trampled out here.” Cheryl rushed, grabbing our arms and pulling us into a store.
I immediately faced a billion dresses. Long dresses, short dresses, medium dresses, dark, bright, mono-colored, multi-colored, simply styled, complex styled; the works. Any dress you could think of was probably there. In the midst of my excitement, I lost Claire to the store. Searching through the racks, I found a glittery dress, longer than I was tall, and a white and black dress that had a sweeping back and a shorter front. Claire popped up with a few different dresses.
“Let’s go try these.” She sounded excited. As we looked for dressing rooms, Cheryl saw us and led the way. The first dress fell off before I could even look in the mirror. A little put off; I set it back on the hanger and pulled on the second one. After adjusting the top, I spun a little. The front of the dress stopped just above my knee and the back drifted to my ankles. It fit in all the right places. The sweetheart neckline was in the position, so that I didn’t need a necklace. Stepping out of the dressing room, I found Claire in a blue dress looking at the mirrors.
“Hello there! I was just wondering if you’d seen my best friend Claire. She’s about your height and I thought you were her but…”
“Shut up, Faybee! Does is look that bad?” Claire sighed.
“On the contrary, dear. You two look stunning.” Cheryl smiled, walking up to us. “I think we’ve found your outfits for the first show. Now we just need the results show outfits.”
“So we’re just going to shop every week?” I asked. One set of outfits was enough for one week. Everyone is acting like we only live week to week.
“That’s part of the fun!” Cheryl smiled.
“Oh! Like new styles every week?! I like it!” Claire grinned. Putting my thoughts aside, I nodded in agreement.
“Where do we go now?”
“We need shoes, duh!” I grinned.
“Fallon is right! You can’t rock the dress without heels!”
Claire and I ran back to the rooms and threw our dresses at Cheryl as we changed. By the time we met her, she held three bags. I grabbed mine and we shuffled back to the forever growing swarms of people. Grabbing Claire’s hand, Cheryl took mine and pulled us across the street to a different boutique. This one held shoes, from floor to ceiling.
“Ooh, red!” I cried running for the pumps.
Claire looked at the shoes across from me. After trying on several, I decided on plain red pumps. I helped Claire look for more shoes before she picked out grey heels with bows on the front. She stood a little shorter than me, but it wasn’t that noticeable. We’d both be as tall, if not taller than the boys. Taking the boxes, we waited for Cheryl. She had about fifteen boxes of shoes. Cheryl paid and her driver pulled up. He helped her put the boxes in the trunk, while we set our bags in the car. As we settled in, Claire asked about lunch.
“We can stop!” Cheryl agreed, “How about McDonald’s?”
“You read my mind!” I laughed.
The car eventually parked and we ran inside of the restaurant. Claire and I ordered chicken nuggets and raced each other to the play area. Minus the three of us, McDonald’s was empty. I threw my shoes by our table and ran up the slide. Claire and I reached the top as Cheryl called us down.
“Girls, come eat!”
“Only she would act as if this was absolutely normal.” Claire smiled.
“Well for us, it kind of is.” I laughed.
We jumped down, stumbling our way to the table. I opened and began eating my chicken. Claire followed suit, while Cheryl picked at her salad.
“So tomorrow if you want your hair and makeup done, just come over to my dressing room.
“Tomorrow?! Wait tomorrow is the first show, huh?”
“Yes, today is Friday, so tomorrow is the beginning of the longest ten weeks of your life.”
“Wow! That kind of sneaks up on you.” Claire mumbled.
“Shoot! Claire you have to leave in two weeks…” Her departure hit me quickly.
“Actually, Simon and I were going to wait to tell you this, but…” Cheryl said slowly.
“WHAT?!” We cried simultaneously.
“We’ve talked to Mr. and Mrs. Evans about letting Claire stay here until Christmas Eve, when both of you will fly to California for Christmas Day and then Fallon will come back for New Years.”
“What’d they say?” Claire shouted.
“As long as you do your online courses, you can stay.” Cheryl smiled.
“I can help with those!” I grinned.
“Yay! I get to stay longer! But won’t we miss the finale?” Claire frowned.
“Yes, but what’s a show to visiting your family again?” Cheryl asked.
As we finished eating, I asked if we could get our nails done.
“Why not?” Cheryl smiled.
“Malls usually have the best nail salons!” Claire pondered aloud.
“What are we waiting for?” Cheryl chuckled.
I followed them to the car, my thoughts turning to the boys. I tuned those out, and watched the sun beginning to set.
“Thank goodness the malls don’t close until midnight! It’s already eight.” Cheryl sighed as we walked into the mall.
I looked for the directory and saw that the nail salon was across the mall. We headed through, stopping periodically to look around some stores. A cell phone kiosk stole my attention. There was a wall of cell phone cases. Two of them formed a heart that said ‘best friends’. Walking over, I handed the cashier the money and grabbed the cases. Claire and Cheryl had stopped where they were. I went back to them and handed Claire one of the cases.
“That’s adorable.” Cheryl smiled, letting us put the cases on our phones. They did look cute. We continued walking as the scent of acetone drifted towards us. Once inside, the three of us were taken back separately. The lady had me pick out the color I wanted. I chose red and sat down. While she worked, I relaxed. Claire glanced over at me and smiled, I returned a similar one. Cheryl was chatting with her nail tech as if they were old friends. The woman began painting my nails and put a clear coat after each nail. I was moved under a black light and left alone. Before long, Cheryl was beside me. She had gotten a standard French tip.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” She asked softly.
“Getting her parents and Uncle Simon to let her stay longer.” I explained quietly, glancing at Claire.
“It was your Uncle’s idea. He’s happy to see you looking so cheery. You know, you haven’t stopped smiling since you’ve been surrounded by your friends. It’s a nice change.”
“Really?” I hadn’t even realized, I wasn’t smiling when I first got here. But she was right. This is the happiest I’d been in an entire year.
“Here comes Claire act natural.” Cheryl joked.
“Do you care if I call you Aunt Cheryl?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Ooh! Can I call you that too?” Claire asked sitting across from us.
“Go ahead.” She laughed.
“Awesome!” Claire grinned. Mine and Cheryl’s timers dinged, but I stayed with Claire, while Cheryl went to pay.
“What color did you get?”
“Blue! What about you, Faybee?”
“I got red.” I showed her my nails.
“I’m so excited for tomorrow!” Claire chattered.
“I’m ready for bed…” I uttered, stifling a yawn.
“That too!” She agreed. Her timer dinged and we walked over to Aunt Cheryl.
“All done?” She joked.
“Never!” Claire giggled.
“Please, let’s leave.”
The three of us headed to the doors and the car pulled up. I jumped in first, followed by Claire and then Cheryl. The sights vanished with the sun. I counted over a thousand stoplights, before we pulled up to the house.
“Bye Aunt Cheryl! See you tomorrow!” Claire called.
“Goodnight Aunt Cheryl!”
“Bye girls, thank you for shopping with me!” She replied before the car left. I turned on my phone as we entered the house. Twenty new messages as well as a dozen missed calls greeted me. All of them were from the guys.
“CLAIRE, FALLON!” Speak of the devils.
“You couldn’t handle separation for a day?” I teased. I wasn’t given a response; instead I got thrown into the middle of a group hug.
“I guess they couldn’t,” Claire smiled from beside me.
“They’ve been here since seven.” Uncle Si grimaced walking in. “It’s been such an inconvenience.”
“Don’t lie Uncle Simon! You had fun!” Niall laughed, breaking the hug. I watched Uncle Simon break into a smile, not a fake ‘happy’ smile, a real smile reserved for family. That in itself was a gift.
“Well as touching as this is…”
“You see that we’re alive, but it’s almost midnight.” I cut in.
“We’re tired and you’ve got a big day tomorrow… It’s time to go.” Claire finished.
“I see…” Louis frowned.
“We’re unwanted!” Zayn scoffed.
“But…but.” Harry pouted.
“Claire-bear…?” Niall sulked.
“Let’s go boys.” Liam advised, walking outside.
“Sorry boys. No sleepovers.” Uncle Simon chuckled, walking the rest outside.
“Bye!” Claire and I cried in unison, running to our room.
“Ughhh, I’m dead.” Claire grumbled.
“WHAT?! Are you a zombie now?”
“No, I’m just tired.” She sighed, falling onto her bed.
“I’ve got the lights.” Flipping them off, I stumbled my way to the bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!” I woke up to an alarm clock, except, my alarm clock plays music. Opening my eyes, I saw greenish blue eyes and curly hair.
“Harry!” I screamed.
“WHAT?” He cried, scared.
“You woke me up!” I replied, realizing the beeping was still going off.
“No! That’s Louis trying to mimic an alarm clock.” Harry defended.
“Lou!”
“Yes Fall?” He asked starting the noise again.
“SHUT UP!”
“Ahh!” I watched as Claire jumped up and tackled Niall.
“Oww…” Niall squealed.
“Ninja Claire, calm down.” Liam smiled.
“Fallon scared me…” She objected.
I glanced from Claire on top of Niall, to Louis standing beside them, Liam by the door, Zayn on my computer, and Harry sprawled on the bed by Armani and Halo.
“Why are you all here?”
“Nice to see you too, Fallon.” Zayn chuckled.
“Where else would we be?” Niall groaned sitting up.
“At the arena…” I sighed, sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Oh yeah…” Louis bit his lip. “That’s today?”
“Yes, we’ve known for weeks.” Liam laughed.
“We just wanted to say hi before we go…” Harry protested.
“Hi.” I smiled, taking all of the boys to the front door with me.
“And bye.” Claire laughed, leading them out of the house.
“Why are you trying to get rid of us?” Niall pouted.
“We have to get ready for tonight.” Claire explained.
“And it’ll take you seven hours?” Zayn frowned.
“Mate they’re girls. Don’t question it.” Louis chuckled. Then as a unit, the boys left in the Escalade that I’m sure brought them here. I shut the door behind them and we got back to our room.
“It’s not going to take us seven hours to get ready…” Claire informed me.
“No, but we need to set up your online course account so you can do that. We need showers so that the stylists have fresh hair and faces to work with and lunch and more.
“Let’s get started.” Claire sighed.
We logged into my computer and she found the website that she needed. Claire followed the directions, while I went to the kitchen to feed Halo and Armani. I made waffles and walked back to my room. Claire finished her first course, right as I walked back in.
“I only have to do this once a week…” She smiled. “WAFFLES!”
“I know!” I replied enthusiastically.
One hour and a plate of waffles later, we were sitting on my floor bored.
“We have six hours until the show starts.”
‘BWOOF!’ Armani sneezed.
‘Awooo.’ Halo howled back.
“Why don’t we take them shopping?” Claire suggested.
Both dogs perked up at that. They both disappeared as I walked to the closet. I picked out a multicolored romper and braided my hair with a scarf. I slid on my red converse and waited for Claire. She picked out a blue polka dotted tank top and white shorts with black flip flops. Claire put her hair into a bun and we walked into my room. Both Halo and Armani sat at my door looking at us with their leashes in their mouths. I took a quick picture and then we hooked them up.
“Don’t we need to call in for a driver?” Claire asked following me outside as we put on our sunglasses.
“Not today.” I replied, walking to the garage and opening the door. I ran over to the yellow Mustang convertible and helped Armani into the back. Claire did the same for Halo and we got in.
“Today we drive.”
Claire smiled and I set my purse down, turning over the ignition and driving out before closing the garage door. I made my way out to the road and turned onto the busy street.
“Faybee, how could you keep this a secret? Since when do you know how to drive here?”
“Since Uncle Simon made me learn when I moved here.” I smiled sheepishly.
“Good to know.”
With that, we were on our way to the pet store. Claire blasted the radio and pointed out the signs of the roads I had to turn on, while I weaved through the many streets of London.
“There it is!” She pointed to the pet store I had been to before.
I quickly turned into the parking lot and found us a spot. Armani sat patiently, waiting for me to let him out. I took his leash and all four of us walked into the pet shop. We were greeted by workers and left to do as we pleased.
“Ooh! Collars! They need new ones!” Claire squealed running off with Halo.
I let Armani pull me to the dog food and I put a big barrel of dog chow into the cart. Soon enough, he and I were picking out bones. Claire and Halo came over with a bunch of collard and harnesses.
“Let’s get them a toy each and go.”
We pulled the dogs to the toys and let them sniff through the choices. Armani picked up a white teddy bear and Halo picked up the identical black one. They dropped them infront of each other and picked up the opposite choice.
“Aw! It’s like they gave each other a present!” Claire cooed.
“They’re sweethearts!” Both picked up their toy and trotted along side of the basket happily, to the checkout.
“Will that be all for you today?” The woman asked.
“Yes thank you.” I pulled out my card and paid.
“Have a great day!” She smiled, handing Claire the bags while I took the barrel of food.
“You too!”
I opened the trunk and we threw the stuff inside. Halo and Armani got in and lay with their stuffed bears. Claire joined me at the front and we got our seatbelts on.
“What time is it?”
“We spent a lot of time in the pet shop, it’s five.” Claire spoke.
“Okay well we have two hours until the show starts. Let’s head home and get showers and changed. I want to leave by six.”
“What are you waiting for, drive!”
“Sorry!” I giggled, speeding away. Within fifteen minutes, I parked and we ran into the house.
“Dibs on first shower!” Claire called.
“Okay,” I replied, picking up my phone.
7 New Messages
BestFrand: Fal! When are you two coming? Save me from these people. Cher is pulling my hair!
Zayn: Tell Liam to shut up. He won’t stop complaining about a school mate that he’s in love with. I felt a stab in my stomach after reading that.
Nialler: Fallon help!
Boobear: Fallon…Harry touched my bum! ):
Haz: I didn’t do it Fally! He’s lying!
Auntie Cheryl: Where are you girls? I’ll have a car pick you up for 6
Uncle Simon: I trust that you two will be here on time, tonight? We have two seats beside the judge’s podium marked for you. Keep me updated.
To BestFrand: Li, I’ll be there watching. Oh and Zayn says to shut up, you’re annoying.
To Zayn: I told him, hope that helps.
To Nialler: Niall, what do you need?
To Boobear: Touch his bum back! ;D
To Haz: That’s interesting.
To Auntie Cheryl: We’re taking showers. We’ll be ready by 6
To Uncle Simon: We will. Keep those seats saved.
BestFrand: Rude, That is SO rude.
Zayn: Thanks sis.
Nialler: Help me impress Claire.
Boobear: Cheeky ;P
Haz: Louis touched my bum!
Auntie Cheryl: Good!
Uncle Simon: Very well.
To Nialler: Just go out there and be yourself. She likes when people are true to themselves.
“I’m done!” I heard from the closet.
“Kay!” I picked up my robe and walked to the bathroom. Quickly, I stepped into the hot water and settled into the routine of washing my hair, body and shaving my legs. I dried off in record time and changed into my dress. In my closet, I slid on my heels and found a purse for my phone.
“Wow, girl you look gorgeous!” Claire smiled.
“Shut up, you look better!” I laughed.
“Its five fifty…how are we getting to the venue?”
Before I could reply, the doorbell rang. We raced to the door ad a man in a tux waved.
“Miss Sage and Miss Evans?” He addressed us.
“That’s us!” I smiled.
“I’m meant to take you to the arena and escort you to Miss Cole’s dressing room.” This man was all business.
“Woah…” Claire whispered. “We’re so fancy.”
All I could do was laugh in response. The driver helped us into the back of a white Suburban and we were off. Not long after, we arrived and the man walked us to Cheryl’s dressing room. Claire and I were pulled in separate directions and I was instructed to keep my eyes closed. I followed the person’s order and felt my makeup being done. Awhile later, we traded off and my hair was being fussed with.
“NO! No makeup!” Claire yelled.
“Just sit down. It will take me five minutes.” The woman snapped.
“I don’t want any!” Claire tried to get up, but the lady pushed her down into the seat.
“Listen you UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BRAT! You shouldn’t even be here; you have nothing to do with fame!”
“Is my hair done?” I asked the man carefully.
“No, but you have to wait before I can finish.” He smiled letting me get up.
“Hey?!” I glared, catching the lady’s attention.
“And you are? Another little nobody?” She sneered.
“Actually...” I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Aunt Cheryl and from the look on her face, she heard everything.
“My uncle is Simon Cowell.” I lifted my chin.
“And I’m friends with Johnny Depp.” She paused and her eyes went really big,finally noticing Cheryl.
“Magdalena?” Cheryl’s voice rose up.
“Ms. Cole?” She asked nervously.
“What is the problem?”
“This one…doesn’t want makeup.” She glared.
“Well that one’s name is Claire Evans and she is close friends with the family of Simon Cowell. I believe that if she doesn’t want makeup, that’s her choice.”
“Yes, Ms. Cole.” Claire was able to move out of the chair. I noticed she had on eyeliner, some mascara and light lipgloss. Her usual look.
“Oh and Magdalena?” Cheryl smiled, hugging Claire and I close. “If you lay so much as one finger on Claire or Simon Cowell’s niece, Fallon again. I will be forced to ask you to resign. Am I clear?”
“Crystal.” She gasped.
Cheryl left us with a small smile and I sat back down letting the guy finish my hair. Afterwards, the team left Claire and me to our own devices.
“You didn’t have to step in.” She nudged my shoulder.
“I wasn’t going to let her die.”
“True, okay, it’s six thirty. Let’s say hi to fans and then get to our seats.” Claire linked her arm in mine and we skipped down the hall in heels.
I pushed the door open and we came face to face with thousands of people. We took in the energy and waved and smiled at them all. A few people asked us if we were performing and we laughed, explaining that we were here with the judges. After what seemed like seconds, a security member came and escorted us to our seats. I settled in next to Claire and my eyes became glued to the stage. Both of us squealed when the announcer started his speech. I was just excited to hear what the contestants sounded like. Finally, I heard “Live from London, It’s the X-Factor, with your host, Dermot O’Leary!”
“Right. Welcome to the X-Factor. The live finals start right here!” Dermot cried, receiving applause.
“Tonight it’s time to stop the talking and start the singing, as the finalists perform live for your votes. Because, for the next ten weeks, you are in charge! Alright, so, you’re ready, they’re ready, and you know who else is ready. Reunited for the first time this year, it’s the X-Factor Judges!”
With that, the show began.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N OH MY GEEZUS! It’s been 10 months! O.O I am SO SO sorry! I moved into a new house, I went to Florida for a month….I got sidetracked, but it’s finally here! I have over 500 votes and over 39K reads! And for that, I love you all tremendously! So here’s what I’ll do. The first 20 people to comment what they want to see happen or what they liked in the chapter, will get a follow. And the first 10 will get a dedication in the next 10 chapters. Please don’t ask me to check out your stories in the comments. If you want me to, message me privately. ~ Danielle xx ( I promise I didn’t die.)