Scars [An Exclamation Point Fan Fiction]

PART 7

I hang out with Danny and Paul everyday until they leave. They never bring up Nate, and try to keep my mind off of him. On the day they leave, I go to the airport with them. I hug Danny and wish him luck at boot camp. Next I hug Paul. He holds on a little longer and leans toward my ear.

"Be safe." He whispers. "I'm only a phone call away if you need me."

I nod my head and rest it on his chest. His flight is called. I lean up and kiss his cheek.

"Go kick some ass." I say smiling.

"Oh I will." He says smiling back.

I hug Danny one last time before they go load the plane. The next month they go through boot camp. Paul texts me everyday to tell me what's going on. Danny texts me occasionaly just to say hi and see how I am. At the end of June they make it through to the judges homes. And their mentor is Simon. After a couple days, they fly back to Texas. Paul never told me if the made it through to the live shows or not, so I'm anxiously waiting to find out. The day they fly back I'm waiting at the airport. I see Danny's curls walk toward me. He picks me up in a super tight hug.

"I've missed you!" He says squeezing me.

"I've missed you too! Now let me go before you squeeze me to death! " I say laughing. He lets me go and I see Paul walking towards me. He puts his bag down and spins me around in a giant hug.

"I've missed you Nikki!" He says after he puts me down.

"I missed you too!" I say. "So what happends next? Do I leave with you guys in August?"

They both look at each other then look down.

"Oh no guys.." I say.

Suddenly Danny busts out laughing. "Just kidding! We made it through!" He says!

"You jerks!" I say laughing. "I'm so happy for y'all!"

We spend the rest of July and a few weeks in August at home before we fly out to LA. As we're boarding our plane, I start to have an anxiety attack. Paul sees me shaking and walks closer to me.

"You ok?" He asks.

"Uh.. maybe.." I say. "I have anxiety issues, and I'm not so good with planes." My voice shakes with the rest of my body. Paul reaches for my hand and squeezes it.

"Don't worry." He says. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Thankfully I sit next to him on the plane. He's still holding my hand. We're about to take off- which to me is the scariest part- and my anxiety gets worse. Paul puts his armrest up, and wraps an arm around me still holding my hand. I lay my head on his shoulders and close my eyes. The take off is really bumpy and we have a lot of turbulence. I start crying, so Paul rubs my shoulder and quietly talks to calm me down. The plane smooths out and Paul moves his arm from around my shoulder. I keep my head on his shoulder, and he holds onto my hand as I fall asleep on his shoulder.

"Nikki wake up." Paul says. "We're here."

I open my eyes and see that the plane landed. We make our way to the car outside the airport that's picking us up, to go to the studio. On the car ride there the guys are nonstop chatting. After an awkward silence Paul looks at me.

"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" He says smiling.

I start to blush. "No I don't."

"Yea you do and it's pretty cute."

"Well what did I say?" I ask crossing my arms.

"It's not important." Paul says winking at me. I blush again praying I didn't say anything too embarassing.