Strings (A Reed Deming Fan Fiction)

12

Reed Deming

I hopped in the car and pulled my new headphones over my head to fit on my ears. Each contestant got a pair of Sony X headphones. They're my new favorite; they sound amazing and they look super cool.

I rested my head on the window and stared out at the dark, clouded sky. I watched as raindrops raced their way down the window. I love rain. It's relaxing and I feel like it cleanses me. Whenever it rains, I usually stay inside and think. Usually I write songs.

But this time, the rain made me feel nervous. It gave me a weird feeling. As I thought about the X Factor, I became extremely nervous. I'd been practicing my performance of 'Hey There Delilah' by the Plain White T's. It was good, but I was worried that the nervousness would take over. I just have to remember to keep the pace and don't go too fast, and to keep my voice strong.

The Funeral by Band of Horses came on shuffle. I looked over at Kayleigh sitting across from me. She was looking out the window and listening to her music. She had a worried look on her face, probably from thinking about X Factor.

I reached across the leather car seat and grabbed her hand and rubbed circles in the back of it with my thumb. It startled her at first, but then she smiled softly at me.

She's mine, I thought. All mine...

* * * * *

I ran over to grab my suitcase off the luggage cart. I wanted to leave the airport as quick as possible. My stomach had butterflies and I was extremely excited to see which judge our group got.

We waited to find a limo to pick us up. I didn't really know what to look for. Kayleigh tapped on my arm. "Come on!" she yelled as she started running. I followed her. The airport was very crowded and it was difficult to get through the people. She stopped and gave someone a hug. I noticed that it was Bea. "Hey guys! Come on!" she started leading us over to the limo.

The driver took our luggage and packed it in the trunk. I ran over to my parents and hugged them. "Do really good for us, ok Reed?" my mom smiled. "I will." I stated and hopped into the limo. We started driving off.

We all just talked and laughed the whole ride. This was a fun group of people and I was glad that they were my opponents. I remembered Brandon and took out my phone to text him.

Hey bro, you nervous?

He replied a few minutes later.

A little! We just found out that the group judge is Simon! You'll do great, I'll text you how I did later!

"Hey guys. Brandon just texted me and told me that the groups' judge is Simon." I announced. "Well thank God. He scares me and I would've been so much more nervous." another contestant that I didn't yet know the name of sighed.

Once we got there we all stood in the backyard of the oversized house. It was too big to even be called a house. We waited for our judge to come out and meet us. I grabbed Kayleigh's hand and bit my lip as we anxiously waited.

The judge that walked out was Britany and we all cheered. I was glad to have her as our judge. Next, she told us who our guest judge was. He walked out and it was Will.I.Am! He was one of my inspirations and it was so amazing to actually meet him let alone have him judge me.

We all practiced in a separate room in the house and waited to go up. I got some advice from the judges and began to practice. I looked over at the other corner of the room and saw Kayleigh. She seemed really nervous while she practiced. The wait was aggravating.

* * * * *

Kayleigh Pennel

We had all went already and I was very nervous to find out the results of who was staying and which two people were leaving. I was confident with my performance, but I had my doubts.

Everyone was called out one by one. I was the third person called. I say down in front of the judges and smiled. "You were very good, Kayleigh. You're voice is so impressive and I really love your soothing style." Will.I.Am acknowledged. I grinned and thanked him.

"However, the nervousness was kind of taking over. Your voice is really good so you have to keep it strong and not let it take over. It made you a little shaky." Britany stated. I nodded and felt my stomach churn. Will they put me through?

They both looked at each other and smiled at me. "You're going on to the live shows." Britany exclaimed. "Thank you so much! I promise I won't let you down." I grinned and shook both of the their hands. I walked back to the room.

"They put me through!" I cheered and Reed picked me up and spun me around as everyone else cheered for me. "How could they not? You're amazing!" a contestant named Arin chuckled.

They called Bea next, and she got through. The last person was Reed. I waited for him to come back. As soon as I saw his sad face I knew he didn't make it. "Hey, I'm sorry. You were really good I don't know why they didn't-" I started but he pushed past me and walked down the hallway.

I sighed and sat down. "How could they not have put him through?" I ran a hand through my hair. This meant that I would be going on to the live shows without him. I didn't want to do it without him. Without him there with me I would be even more nervous. He was amazing. Why didn't they put him in instead of me?