My best friend... h.s

3

Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder

*

We were in the car driving to the Manchester arena for Harry's audition, and we were all quiet with nerves for him. He was holding my hand and bouncing his knee whilst looking out of the window. His sister and stepdad, Gemma and Robin, were meeting us there as they were already in town so with Anne in the car were my parents as they wanted to support Harry as he asked for them specifically to come. We were all wearing t-shirts saying that we thought Harry had the x-factor, even though they were very unflattering and embarrassing, I also wanted to support Anne.

As we neared the arena, Harry's leg was bouncing uncontrollably and he was chewing his lip deep in thought and concentration. His brows pulled together as he realised where we were and he stopped his leg from bouncing. I squeezed his hand to reassure him and we pulled into the car park and got out. There was a huge queue for the front desk to get his number so Anne and my parents waited whilst Harry and I went to get some food. We turned down a side street on our way to a tiny Sainsbury's and Harry stopped and pulled me into a hug, catching me by surprise.

"Florence, I can't thank you enough for this. I'm absolutely shitting myself for this audition but I can't thank you enough. It's amazing, you're amazing." He admitted quickly, showing me how truly nervous he was. I squeezed him tightly to show him that I knew. I knew he was thankful, I knew he was nervous, I knew he would be amazing. It was always better to console Harry with an action rather than words, he seemed to understand better that way. We walked into the small shop and got some crisps and sandwiches for everyone. He took the bag in one hand and my hand in the other and walked us slowly back to our parents, claiming he "wanted as much time with me as possible before he got wildly famous". I laughed at this, clearly not knowing what would happen in the future.

When we got back to the queue we were much closer to the desk, and Gemma and Robin had now joined everyone. It only took a few minutes before we were at the desk, Harry telling the staff his name and date of birth and getting his number. We walked into the large waiting room and watched all the other people. It was clear who was there to perform and who was their to support. It was so cool to see all the fancy outfits people were wearing and the routines they were practising. Harry looked boring by comparison. He was wearing a grey cardigan type thing and a thin scarf, something only he could pull off. He had on his tatty trainers and black jeans, a classic Harry outfit I thought.

"How are you feeling baby?" Anne questioned, looking at him worriedly. Harry mumbled a little 'fine' and continued looking at the floor. I looked at him and rubbed his back, hoping he wouldn't be too nervous. Over the tannoy of the waiting area, several names were called. As we had only just got there we didn't expect Harry's name, but it was the last name to be called so we all stood up and went to the next room. We saw around 20 people come in and out of the room before it was just us left.

"They're ready for you now." A staff person said, giving him a friendly smile. Harry hugged us all quickly and gave me a grin before walking out onto the stage. On the screen he had a smile on his face as he waved politely at the crowd. He stood on the X in the middle of the stage before speaking into his microphone

"Hello!" He said, not sounding nervous at all.

"Nice to meet you, what's your name?" Simon asked, looking at his papers.

"Um, I'm Harry Styles."

"Ok - Ok, Harry, how old are you?"

"I'm 16."

"16. So tell me a bit about you."

"Erm... I work in a bakery."

"And Harry, so you've left school and gone to work there-"

"I work there on Saturdays, but I've finished my GCSEs just now, so I'm going back to college in September." Harry said confidently, with Simon nodding along to what he was saying.

"And what are you going to study at college?" Simon asked.

"Erm, law, sociology, business and something else, but I'm not sure yet." I laughed at his honest reply, knowing that he had a dilemma about whether to do music or physical education. The audience laughed as well, so Harry gave them one of his cheeky grins.

"Wow" Simon replied, looking impressed at his choices. "So what are you doing here today?"

"Erm- I've always wanted to audition, but I've always been too young." This was true, and why I got him this as a late 16th birthday present. I knew how much he appreciated it.

"Ok, alright, what are you going to sing?"

"I going to do Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonder." I smiled, I knew how much he had practiced this song and how much we all loved hearing him sing it.

"Ok, good luck." Harry nodded and prepared himself to sing a Capella.

"Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful. Isn't she precious, less that one minute old. And I never thought, through love we'd be, making one as lovely as she. Isn't she lovely, made from love." He sung, perfectly. The audience cheered and clapped for him, just like we did backstage. He did amazingly. I was so proud, we all were. He looked truly happy with how he had sung it. He did a small bow with a grin on his face.

"Ok, Nicole, what did you think?" Simon continued, his face not giving away if he enjoyed the performance or not.

"I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to hear you a Capella, we could really hear how great your voice is." Harry gave a nod and said a thank you into the mic. "For 16 years old you have a beautiful voice." He thanked her again and smiled. We cheered along with the audience feeling truly proud.

"Louis?" Simon continued.

"I agree with Nicole however, I think you're still young, I don't think you have enough experience or confidence yet." He said, the audience booed him and Harry took the criticism graciously and muttered a small Ok into the mic. He looked sad but I could tell he was trying to hide it as best he could. We booed backstage and he smiled at the noise everyone was creating.

"Yeah, someone in the audience just said rubbish and I totally agree with them." Harry's face showed that he thought Simon meant that his performance was rubbish. He looked to us in disappointment before Simon started speaking again. "Because, you know the show is designed to find someone like you whether you're 15, 16, 17 whatever. I think with a bit of vocal coaching, you actually could be very good." Harry nodded whilst smiling and said another small thank you into his microphone. Both us and the audience clapped, and Anne looked like she could faint with joy. "Ok Louis?" Louis took a deep breath before slowly speaking.

"For all the right reasons, I am going to say no." Harry looked gutted and Anne was shouting at 5e screen we were watching. I was so disappointed or him, I couldn't imagine how he felt. The audience booed again.

"I actually don't think they booed you loud enough" Simon stated whilst smiling. The audience booed louder and even Harry said a small boo into his microphone, making us all laugh. "Nicole?"

"I like you, Harry, I'm gonna say yes." She drawled in her strong American accent. Harry looked over the moon and once again said a small thank you into his microphone. The audience cheered, and so did we, clapping and screaming as if he could hear us. Simon waited for it to quieten down before he spoke again.

"And you will be happy to hear, that I am going to be agreeing with Nicole, you're through to the next round." He said smiling. The audience screamed and clapped and Harry beamed. He looked the happiest I had ever seen him. He said thank you for the final time and walked quickly off stage. Anne ran straight over to him and hugged him. He looked over her shoulder at me smiling, and mouthed a small thank you. He was congratulated by everyone before coming over to me. He looked at me for a few seconds whilst grinning, before picking me up and twirling me round in a huge hug. He said thank you in my ear so many times I lost count. He put me down and squeezed me. I looked over his shoulder realising everyone had left. Harry realised this too and looked me deeply in my eyes and spoke quietly.

"Best birthday present ever." He said, before crashing his lips onto mine.

Ahhh! It finally happened! Reveal of how Florence acts will be in the next chapter! I loved writing this! Comment and vote lovelies!! Xxxx