What Are You So Afraid Of? [Harry Styles]

Chapter 2

When the next day came, Jez could barely control her nerves. She found herself sitting in a theatre, waiting for her name to be called from the audition list for America's Next SuperStar and shaking uncontrollably.

Haz, however, didn't seem to have any problems, "Chill, dude. They'd be crazy if they said no to you."

Haz sat next to her checking something on her phone. Jez rolled her eyes at her friend's nonchalance, "There are worse things than the judges saying no. What if I fall on my face?"

"Well, that would certainly be entertaining." Haz smirked but then turned serious, "But, really. You're going to get through. If anyone should be worried, it should be me."

"Haz, you don't need to be worried. They'll love you; you're confident and snarky and everything they would want in a star. I am socially awkward." Jez said with a sigh.

Haz rolled her eyes, "But I'm also about as talented as a peanut."

"Peanuts are amazing." Jez said with a raised eyebrow.

Haz opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a female voice, "Contestants two-zero-three, two-zero-four and two-zero-five to the stage please!"

Haz looked down at the page stuck to her front and down at Jez's page, "That includes you and me, kiddo. Let's go!" She said and dragged Jez out of her seat.

Jez was happy that Haz would be going before her. It gave her more time to freak out.

They still didn't know what the other was singing because Haz insisted they keep it a secret. Jez thought it was a stupid idea; what if they picked the same song? Haz had shaken that idea off with an eye roll and a shrug, saying that their musical tastes were different enough that they wouldn't pick the same song.

Jez was snapped from her train of thought when she noticed that Haz was already on stage, mic in hand and ready to start.

The judges of the show were artists from major different music genres. The panel consisted of Nicki Minaj to cover the RnB and Hip-Hop, Selena Gomez to cover the pop, Aaron Bruno of AWOLNATION to cover the rock and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum to cover the country. Most people thought the show would never be successful with such a diverse group of judges while others thought that the show would surely produce some versatile artists.

Jez wasn't sure where she stood yet. She was mostly too nervous to think about it. They were all talented, no matter what kind of music they sang. They were successful, and that was the most important thing.

"So, you must be Harriet O'Neil?" Selena asked with a kind smile.

Though Jez couldn't see her friend's face from backstage, she could just imagine her massive eye roll.

"Puh-lease. No one's called me Harriet for years, it's such a grandma's name. Call me Haz, please." Haz said.

Nicki smiled, "Haz? Haz... I like it." She said with a grin, "Is it short for something?"

Haz sighed dramatically into the mic, "Yes," she dragged out, "It's short for Hazza."

Selena raised an eyebrow, "Hazza? Isn't that Harry Styles' nickname?"

"Yup," Haz said, popping the 'p'. Jez couldn't help the giggles bubbling out of her mouth; she knew the judges would ask how she got that nickname next.

Nicki's eyes went round, "And why exactly are you named after him?"

Haz put her hand on her hip, "My friends like to make fun of me by saying that I'd make the perfect pop star, so they named me after one of the band mates of One Direction. It annoys the shit out of me. After a while, they decided they hated getting kicked every time they called me, so they shortened it down to Haz, 'cause they couldn't think of a better name."