Part Six: Charlotte
The entire day had been a blur. We were basically being herded around like cattle by the crew of the show. I wasn’t sure where we were going but everyone in the girls group had a good idea that our mentor would just have to be Harry because it would cause the most drama. We were standing outside waiting for a bus to take us to the airport.
“Why would it cause drama?” I decided to ask one of the girls closest to me. She was a tall blonde from Florida with tanned skin and bright blue eyes.
She made a face at my cigarette and then turned her attention back to me. “Well, Harry would obviously be attracted to a few of us and all the girls want him anyway so there would be catfights and secret romances and such. Um, aren’t you afraid that’s going to ruin your voice?”
I blew out smoke, “Nope. At least not soon enough to destroy my chances of winning this competition.” She smirked and then turned away from me. I already knew I wasn’t going to be making many friends on this journey.
Eventually the bus showed up and shipped all of the girls on to the plane. The flight seemed to take weeks but eventually we made it and we were in London. I wondered if Harry actually would be our mentor at this point. It seemed pretty likely, but a part of me wished he wasn’t. I didn’t want him to be around all of these other pretty girls that could also sing. However, I wanted to be with him, to learn from him and to spend time with him.
We took a bus to the apartment we would be staying at. I looked around the beautiful city. I had been out of the country before because my parents liked to travel a lot when I was younger so I could vaguely remember what London felt like. After driving thirty minutes we reached a tall complex, it didn’t look somewhere like Simon Cowell would live, so I figured Harry or Demi would be our mentor.
They ushered into the building, random cameras rolling as we walked in. The apartment was huge and had a bunch of rooms. Everything was very trendy with a fun living room area that had a long, leather couch and a large entertainment section with speakers and microphones. There was a minibar in the corner and a kitchen on the opposite side of the door. Everyone began talking about what the place looked like until one of the producers spoke up.
“Okay girls, were going to have you sit over on the couch until your mentor arrives. They should be here shortly so just be patient. We want you to give us the most excited reaction possible, however, do not all run to your mentor and try to hug them or touch them really. Maybe some screaming and applause.”
All the girls nodded as we all found a seat on the couch. All eight of us were just surveying each other, shifting nervously on the couch. I don’t believe any of them were as nervous as I was. How was I supposed to react when someone I was pretty much-sleeping with? Dating?- walked through the door and I had to pretend not to know him? Of course I didn’t know that it would be Harry but I couldn’t get rid of the butterflies in my stomach.
I began twirling my curls around my fingers, wishing I could go smoke before I threw up. Before too long the cameramen walked into the apartment and the girls started chattering again. “Okay were almost ready.” One of them said. “Quiet on the set.”
Then at that moment, the door opened and I could hear my heart beat. Of course I heard the screaming before I even got to see the curly hair make it through the door. I smiled of course, and began clapping and cheering with the other girls. We made eye contact and I could feel cheeks get hot as I shook my head. He grinned and I knew that he lied to me last night when he told me he didn’t know who he would mentor. “Hello ladies.” He laughed and I think the girl beside me almost fainted.
“This is like a dream come true,” she whispered to me. Her name was Monica, she had dark skin with big, bold, brown eyes. She was the only person I had really talked to so far from my group. We had a lot in common and she reminded me of Crystal, who I was missing dearly. She texted me throughout the week and told me she could finally keep the apartment clean since I was gone.
Monica was in love with One Direction and of course she had a crush on Harry. I told her that I didn’t really care much for any of them and was hoping for Kelly Rowland. She laughed and said she couldn’t believe that I didn’t at least have a slight attraction towards them.
Harry spoke up again, “I am so excited to be your mentor throughout this journey. I am looking forward to working with you all and helping you discover your potential. I have brought a very special friend to help me judge these next few days. Please welcome my good friend, Mr. Ed Sheeran.” The girls started screaming again and I might have joined in. I was such a huge fan of Ed’s music, I couldn’t believe I would get to be working with him, too.
Ed also gave a short introduction, “I’m looking very forward to listening to you all.” After everything was said and done, everyone tried to compete for Harry’s attention except for me. I went up to Ed and introduced myself.
“I know who you are.” He winked. I guessed Harry had told him about us. So much for this actually being a secret.
I laughed, “So someone has told you about me?” He nodded, “Figures. It’s really nice to meet you, I can’t wait to sing for you.”
Ed smiled, “Nice to meet you, Charlotte. Apparently you’ve got lots of talent, I’m excited to hear you sing.” Soon, the girls began to crowd around us and I went over to the couch to text Crystal and tell her what was going on. No one really seemed to notice me not paying any attention to Harry.
Except for Harry.
He kept eyeing me and trying to be nonchalant about it but I noticed what he was doing. Anybody could if they were paying enough attention. Crystal was very happy about my current predicament and I told her that I would fly her out to my first live show. She was pretty excited about that.
I walked up to Harry and pretended to introduce myself. “Well, Charlotte, it’s nice to meet you. You’ve had some great auditions.” I smiled. It was time for Harry and Ed to be escorted back to the place they were staying at. They weren’t allowed to stay with us for the obvious reasons. However, we would be performing for the both of them tomorrow. I was super nervous.
The rooms had two people in each of them, and we each got our own bed so that was nice. Monica asked if I wanted to share a room with her and I gladly accepted. I didn’t know if there was anyone else I could room with in this category. We didn’t talk very much because we were both exhausted and jetlagged but we did discuss our song choices a little bit.
The next morning they let us do some sight-seeing and look around the city a bit. Monica and I got to see Big Ben and pass by Buckingham Palace which was pretty amazing. The cameramen would randomly come up to us and ask about our experience here and how we were feeling about performing. It made me really nervous having to speak on camera but I usually managed to give them something that didn’t sound totally stupid.
Apparently, I was going to be fourth to perform for Harry and Ed. I eventually decided to perform Take Me to Church. I thought the song would go well with the voice I had and I thought Harry would like it. We couldn’t be in the apartment when the other girls were singing so I just walked around and practiced outside until it was my turn to perform. The producers called me in and asked me a few questions before they sent me back in the apartment. Harry and Ed were sitting on the sofa.
“Hello.” I said as I walked in. They were both smiling as they greeted me and asked how I was. “I’m a little nervous to be honest.”
Harry spoke, “No need to be. Go ahead, whenever you’re ready.”
I nodded and then the music started.
My lover’s got humor, she’s the giggle at a funereal
Knows everybody’s disapproval, I should’ve worshipped her sooner
I saw both of their eyes light up as I began singing and I knew that I would make it to the live shows. Even though Harry would make sure to pick me, I still felt that I deserved the spot.
Take me to church
After I got done, they were both just nodding. I knew they weren’t allowed to give any feedback so they both murmured a “thank you” as I walked out of the room. I thought I had killed the song and hopefully Harry thought so too.
After everyone got done performing, everyone in the category went out to dinner together at a really nice restaurant. Harry would tell us tomorrow who made it to the live shows. Only half of us would be getting through, which wasn’t very good odds. I decided to text him at dinner.
It feels like I haven’t talked to you in forever
It took him a few minutes to reply.
I know, I hate pretending like there’s nothing going on
Are you deciding right now?
Yep :)
Well, I’ll talk to you soon then
After our dinner, we all went to bed. I realized the girls weren’t as bad as I had originally thought. Except for Jackie, she wasn’t very nice to anybody and I could tell she was intentionally going to cause problems. All through dinner she talked about how her audition was just perfect and Harry tried so hard to contain himself but he just couldn’t… yeah right. I could tell everyone was already sick of her. I almost prayed that Harry wouldn’t put her through.
Monica tossed and turned all night long in her bed as I tried to sleep soundly. I tried to convince her that she had nothing to worry about but she still didn’t fall asleep until two in the morning. I finally drifted off a little bit after she did but had to wake up early in order to get ready. They were going to film us individually being told whether we were safe or not and of course you didn’t get to know.
When it was my turn I walked over and sat across from Harry on the couch. “Hello Charlotte.” He said. I smiled at him and he returned it. “I hope you’re doing well. First off I want to say that you did excellent yesterday. You have such a unique and powerful voice, however, your star quality lacks. You sing well but you haven’t really proved that you’ve got that X Factor. My hands are tied because I have so many talented people in my category.”
I did my best to nod and look concerned as he continued on, “However, I have decided that you are… safe and I want you to continue on to the live shows.”
My eyes widened with excitement and I hugged Harry, “Thank you so much!” I squealed trying to act as surprised and grateful as I could.
I spoke to one of the cameramen about how excited I was for this opportunity and then went outside. I texted Harry and told him thank you and I hoped I really deserved my spot.
You were the most deserving
I smiled and then waited for everyone else. Eventually, we found out who did and didn’t make it. I was excited to learn that Monica had also made it through but unfortunately, so did Jackie. Another girl, Tiffany, would also be on the live shows. We would be headed back to Hollywood tomorrow. The shows started in exactly one week and Harry had to figure out our performances, which probably took a lot of work. And of course, practice, practice, practice. But I was ready and excited to see what this would have in store for me.
Around one in the morning I got a text from Harry asking if I could go downstairs. I told him yes and went down to the lobby of the apartment complex. “This is dangerous.” I whispered when I reached him. He pulled me into a long embrace.
“I’ve missed you.” He mumbled, squeezing me harder. “Come on, you come to where I’ve been staying.” He grabbed my hand and led me to the opposite elevator. We came to an apartment on the top floor and he pulled me into the room and immediately started kissing me. His hands were wrapped around my face and then they were running through my curls. His lips moved to my neck and I let out a deep breath. “Your performance was so good. I was so proud of you, Charlotte, you blew me away.”
I couldn’t help but smile, “You’ll say anything to get some, Harry Styles.” He giggled in my ear.
“Charlotte, I’m serious.” He insisted, fumbling at the hem of my shirt.
“Well in that case, thank you.” I whispered, “However, I probably shouldn’t stay that long. People will be wondering.”
He pulled me into him, “C’mon Charlotte, let me treat you right.” He kissed my cheek, then my neck, then my shoulders and then pulled away, “I guess you have a good point. I didn’t think you’d even stay this long.”
I gave him another kiss before I left. “Good night.” I smiled as I walked out the door and went back to my room. I tried to go back to sleep but all I could think about was how fast I was starting to fall for Harry. And maybe I was thinking about how jealous every other girl in this competition would be.
The next morning as I was walking out of the apartment Jackie came up to me. “So you left your room a little late last night.”
“Just went for a smoke.” I responded and gave her an obviously fake smile.
She returned one, “Of course you did.” Then she walked on ahead of me to the bus. I started nervously sweating. This wasn’t good.