Unexpected Love (A One Direction Fanfic)

The X Factor

The last month had flown by in a whirlwind. The boys had been at our house practicing their song for the judges house. Pretty much every night I came home from school at least one of the boys was there. School became a whole new challenge. I had to stop taking the bus since people were starting to take notice of where we lived. All of the girls were increasingly more "friendly" and then they would ask if the boys were single or what they were really like. I kept my mouth shut and told everything to Sarah. I knew she wouldn't ever say anything.

Now, it was time for the boys to start preparing for their first live performance. Harry acted confident when he was with the boys but he confided in mom and I about how nervous he really was. We always reassured him that he would do well.

That night, mom and I were in the audience as Simon introduced the group. I took a deep breath and the crowd went wild. The stage opened and there stood the boys in their trendy outfits. They had spent the last week trying to figure out which outfits were the best and honestly, they all just looked like normal guys.  As they sang, they looked so comfortable on stage and with each other. When it got to Niall's part, he looked so happy just to be there. All of the judges loved their performance. After their performance, mom and I snuck backstage to see them. Mom and I hugged Harry and we congratulated the boys. They were so happy and excited. We ended up staying backstage the whole time to keep the boys calm about the results. They ended up getting through.

The group ended up building a massive fan base and they exceeded expectations with every performance. Mom and I were sure they were going to make it through. However, in the semi finals, things took a drastic turn. The group was eliminated. Mom and I sat in shock in the audience. How could this be happening? We rushed backstage. The boys did a good job masking their feelings onstage, but what we walked into was utter chaos. The boys were all with their families trying to compose themselves so they could just get out of the arena. Mom hugged Harry as he cried into her shoulder. I could see mom giving him a pep talk to try and cheer him up. I looked around and saw Zayn sitting in a seat in the corner of the room. I figured that he wanted to be alone but I decided to go over. As I got closer, I saw his eyes were red.

Emily: Hey.

He looked up at me and wiped his eyes.

Zayn: Hi.
Emily: I'm sorry about what happened tonight.
Zayn: Thank you. I really thought we were gonna win. It probably sounds arrogant, but we had so many fans. How did we lose?

I smiled at how humble he was. I didn't blame him for wondering that. It was a question we were all wrestling with.

Emily: Zayn, people are idiots.

A slight smile entered his lips, but it didn't touch his eyes.

Emily: Well, I hope the group will stay together. I don't care about what happened tonight, I know you guys have a lot of potential.

Zayn: I hope so too. I just hope the rest of the boys feel the same way.

I was about to walk away when Zayn stopped me.

Zayn: Hey, thank you for being there for me during this whole crazy mess. And I hope that no matter what ends up happening...that we won't lose touch.

I tried to hide my pleasure in what he said.

Emily: We definitely won't.

Mom and I left and for the next week, it was all about comforting Harry. We watched his favorite movies, cooked all of his favorite foods, and I took on his chores. Mom told me not to bring up anything involving the group or music, since she didn't think he was ready to deal with it yet.

On Friday night, we were sitting in the living room watching a movie when the phone rang. Mom got up and answered. She came back after a few minutes and was smiling uncontrollably.

Emily: Mom? What's going on?

She paused the movie.

Anne: I just got off the phone with Simon. He wants to meet you and the rest of the group tomorrow. He said he may want you guys to do an album.

Harry: Really? I've got to call the guys!

He raced up to his room. The next day, Harry and mom left early to go to the meeting. I had breakfast and tried to pass the time waiting to hear what was going to happen. I was sitting on the couch reading when the door burst open. Loud voices echoed through the house and the smell of pizza filled the room. I turned around and saw mom carrying pizza boxes as the group shoved their way through the door.

Emily: So, what happened?

Anne: They start recording in 2 weeks.

Emily: That's great.

I looked at the boys sitting and eating pizza. I tried to mentally prepare for my brother and the rest of them officially being in the spotlight.