Two weeks later found Louis, Jay, Mark, Lottie, Fizzy, Daisy, Phoebe, and me all standing in an endless line for the audition. I had wanted to be there with him when he went, as did his family. We had the option of watching from the audience, but we all wanted to be backstage with him, for obvious reasons.
My main reason was that I didn’t want to leave him alone in the long line, because I knew he would manage to talk himself out of this. He had started doubting himself soon after we had decided his song, and nearly backed out multiple times. But every time I had been there to talk some sense into him. And now, there we were, waiting for him to go off and wow the judges.
We were finally nearing the front of the line, and I could tell that Louis was getting increasingly nervous. His parents were chatting with another contestant, the twins were discussing something about dolls, Lottie was texting, and Fizzy was playing some game on her iPod. But Louis kept shifting his weight back and forth and chewing on his fingernails. I lightly punched him on the shoulder, and he jumped, eyes snapping to me. I gave him a reassuring smile.
"You don't even need to worry. You're the best one here. Hands down." I told him, not even caring if his competitors heard. He smiled weakly in return.
"Thanks. It's not true, but thanks anyway." He brushed it off, and I glared at him.
"It is true. You have no reason at all to be worried. You will do great, and the judges will love you, and you will win this. You just need to be positive." I told him, staring into his grey eyes. He finally gave me a genuine smile, and nodded. He turned around just as we reached the desk.
"Name?" A woman asked monotonously, and I pushed him forward.
"Louis Tomlinson." He said, and she searched through the packet of papers with contestant names and numbers. She then flipped through a stack of numbers, and handed him one. He thanked her, and she nodded.
"Good luck, and go that way. They'll help you from there." She gestured to where X Factor personnel were leading contestants backstage. Louis nodded and led the way, our large group trailing him. As we walked, I headed up to walk beside him, our steps in sync.
"What number are you?" I asked, and he looked down at it.
"A big number..." he told me jokingly, and I rolled my eyes.
"Well of course. This is, what, the last audition of the seventh season? It's obviously going to be a "big" number." I teased, and snatched it from him.
"That would be one hundred fifty-five thousand, two hundred and four." I told him slowly, pretending he was young and illiterate. He snorted and snatched it back.
"I can read, genius. I just didn't want to. Geez." He said as we finally reached the faculty. A woman in black took us in, pressing a button on her headset.
"Who is performing and who is watching?" She asked, uninterested, and Louis raised his hand slightly.
"I'm singing." he said, his nervousness visibly returning. She nodded, and turned around.
"This way." We followed her into the building, down a corridor and through a large, black door. We all passed through and found ourselves behind the curtains to the stage, with a few televisions stacked against a wall, showing a woman who had just finished singing. The judges were picking her apart, and Louis gulped. I pounded him on the back, and he sent me a "why do you insist in hitting me?" look. We all looked up as a very familiar man wearing white came to greet us.
"Hello, and welcome to the X Factor." Dermot O'Leary greeted us, and held his hand out for Louis, who shook it with a smile.
"Nice to meet you." Louis said politely, and Dermot smiled.
"Excited?" He asked, and Louis shrugged.
"More anxious than anything, but..." He trailed off, and we all chuckled.
"You'll be fine. Just sing your heart out, alright?" he said as the woman on stage began to make her way towards us. Louis nodded as Jay pulled him in to kiss his cheek.
"You'll do beautifully, Lou." she told him, and Mark agreed, squeezing his shoulder. The girls all gave him a thumbs up, and I was severely tempted to mess with his hair, but refrained. He didn't have the time to fix it. So I settled for hugging him, smirking as he pulled back.
"Good luck, mate. You'll do fine." I told him, and he nodded, turning to walk on stage. I grinned, and spoke again.
"And don't trip!" I heard him chuckle as he stepped into the spotlights.
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The Cure (Louis Tomlinson) ((ON HOLD))
FanfictionI had known Louis since I was 2. He was my best friend, and we did everything together. We were each other's rock, like when my parents divorced and when his mum remarried. He was always there for me. Until he auditioned for the X Factor. I lost my...
