Be yourself

Dec pov

"Okay, the next one auditioning is named Emma. I think she's not British, I have no idea how I should pronounce her last name." I said while Ant drank a little bit of water. "What is she doing?" he asked. "She's gonna sing an original song." I answered. "We can ask her why she applied for Britain's Got Talent. The judges gonna ask her about the song I suppose." Ant said. "Okay." I smiled. I saw Ant was staring at me. "What?" I asked smiling. "You're just a sexy little bastard." Ant answered, almost growling while he touched my bum. I laughed. "Shush you, there are people around." I whispered, cheeks reddening. Ant laughed. "You like it though." He winked. "I'll smash your face in." I mumbled. Ant laughed again.

"Hi, you must be Emma." I said. "I am, nice to meet you." The girl said as she shook our hand. She looked not much older than 20. "You look nervous." Ant noticed. "I am." She admitted. "Can I give you a hug?" I asked. She nodded. I gave her a big hug. "Thanks, I needed that." She said. I winked at her. "Where are you from?" Ant asked. "Belgium!" she answered enthusiastic. Cute. "And why did you apply for Britain's Got Talent?" I asked. "Well, cause that was my chance to meet you, guys, I'm a big fan." She said shyly. "Aaaw, come 'ere." I said as I pulled her in for another hug. Ant hugged her too. "Good luck, Emma! You can do it!" Ant said. She smiled at us and she ran on stage.

"You're gonna sing an original song?" Alesha asked Emma. She nodded. "What's it about?" Alesha asked. "It's about the fact that you have to be yourself because it's exhausting to pretend to be someone else." Emma explained. "Can I ask you what you experienced to write about that?" Simon asked. "I've been bullied a lot in high school because I'm gay. I was afraid to be who I am and tried to hide, but it had no effect. The only effect was that I was only more vulnerable and the bullying became worse." Emma explained. I watched Ant who had already tears in his eyes. I really wanted to hug him. "I hope you have more self-confidence now?" Alesha asked. Emma nodded. "I'm done with hiding. I'm going to high schools to tell my story." She said. "That's really brave of you." Alesha said. "Good luck, Emma." "Thanks." Emma said. She took her guitar and started playing. The whole crowd went silent as she started singing. "I'm torn apart, why can't you see I'm not the girl you want me to be." She sang. I thought about my mum. She didn't know I had a relationship with Ant and she would not approve, I'm sure. It was only when Ant touched my arm lightly that I felt I was crying. "They always said: true love is rare, you're so lucky if you find it, but I'm scared, I don't want to, but I have to hide it." Emma sang. The tears were streaming down my face. "I'm done with being broken, my shield has to break open. I'm finally the girl I wanna be. Meet this girl, the real me." She strummed the last chords on her guitar and everyone was on their feet. I wept the tears of my face and saw Emma was crying. I looked Ant in the eyes. Buzzer? Without words we knew what the other said. We ran to the judges' table in sync and pushed the golden buzzer. We both hugged the girl on stage and went backstage so the judges could give their comments. As I looked Ant in the eyes, this was my only thought: We should think about coming out. Ant only nodded. He was thinking the same, like always. I hugged him. "I love you." He whispered. "You too." I answered.