Extraordinary

Chapter 71: Taking the Stage

Waking up the next morning was oddly easy. As knotted up as my stomach was feeling, my eyes didn't need to adjust to any harsh light entering through my small window and I didn't have to struggle getting out of bed. I felt wide awake, probably because my nerves were helping my body wake up naturally. The faster I get going, the faster I'm able to get this audition over with.

I glanced over at my wall clock, reading five minutes after six. We had to get going around 6:45 in order to pick up my mum and Chloe who were no doubt anxiously waiting for this moment, and have been for quite some time now. This would give us enough time to get signed in, wait for an incredibly long time in incredibly long lines, and audition right when I can.

Since I didn't want to rush, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, looking over at my appropriate outfit for today and turning on a lamp on one of Louis' nightstands. I glanced back at him, facing away from me and still sleeping like a log. I'll let him sleep a little longer since there's no point in getting him up quite yet.

I was relieved when I heard that this was a semi-casual event, so Chloe helped me pick out an outfit identical to what I wore to the blind auditions: a plain white t-shirt with a fitted leather jacket (borrowed from Chloe), dark skinny jeans, and my lucky black converse. I couldn't help but smile when I put everything on and looked in the mirror.

This was one of those rare moments where I felt confident with myself, especially after I slipped the wing necklace that Louis gave me around my neck. After putting on a dash of dark make-up and brushing out my hair, my look of confidence was complete. Even though I felt like I was about to throw up all my nerves at any second, I smiled at myself in the mirror anyways. I had to believe I could do this in order to get through it and let confidence wave over me at the right time.

Yet that feeling started to fade once the memories of last night flooded through my head. I've never experienced whatever I went through last night in my entire life. I've never panicked so much, got myself so upset and worked up in such a short amount of time. I wanted to blame it on nerves, but there was something more to it that would certainly make Louis worry about me. Whether it was the stress of the hate or my audition or that ridiculous nightmare that caused me to make such an outburst, I knew he would get it out of me. All of that couldn't matter right now. I had to keep my focus on today's events and today's events only in order to do my very best.

"Hey," I hear Louis whisper from across the room. I turn around to look at him and smile.

"Hi," I whisper back, then return my gaze to the small mirror in front of me. I had to move a few of his items in order to get a clearer look at myself. I adjusted the necklace around my neck so the wing was centered on top of my chest.

"You okay?" Louis asks, getting up from bed and slipping off his shirt. I look at him through the mirror and nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine,"

"Nervous?" He walks over to stand next to me, grabbing a shirt off of a clean stack on his dresser.

"Nope," I shake my head. After he pulls on a new shirt, he gives me a questioning look.

"You're not?"

"No, I'm completely terrified," I smile. He chuckles, smiling soon after but letting it falter.

"Really Lola, are you alright? You gave me quite a scare last night," My smile fades as the events of last night appear in my head for the second time this morning. All I could think of it was something of a panic or anxiety attack. All the stress just loaded down on me in an instant and that was the result.