What The Heart Wants (Stereo Kicks/ James Graham)

Chapter 22

I ended up making chicken fettucini alfredo with steamed broccoli for lunch. We were all back in our room watching The Maze Runner and eating. "Holy shit Jake, you were right. This is amazing Aria." Chris said as he shoveled another mouthful of pasta into his mouth. I smiled and got up to go take my plate back downstairs. After I set my plate in the sink I turned to go back upstairs but found my path blocked. "Casey, what are you--"

Before I could finish my sentence he closed the space between us and smashed his lips to mine. He slowly pushed me backwards until my back connected with the counter and I had nowhere to go. I kissed him back and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. His hands found my waist and he gently held me in place while he stepped closer, our chests now touching. He pulled away panting but I connected our lips once more, not ready to let him go. We kissed for a few more seconds before I finally pulled away. "We should go." I said through my heavy breathing. He nodded his head and leaned down to kiss me again. He was making it really hard to stop. "We really should go. The boys are probably getting suspicious." I said between kisses. Casey groaned and pulled away. "You're right. Let's go." He grabbed my hand and led me up to our room. The boys didn't even notice us walk in. "So much for suspicion." Casey leaned over and whispered in my ear. I shrugged my shoulders and climbed back up to our bed, Casey followed closely behind, and we all sat in silence for the remainder of the movie.

I woke up the next morning with my back pressed against Casey's chest and his arm draped over my side. I checked my phone and seen that it was almost noon. Oh my god. "Casey wake up! We meet with Louis in an hour!" I yelled, hitting his arm. He jerked awake and checked his phone. After he realized what I just said he jumped up and crawled out of bed too. "Guys wake up!" I yelled to all the boys. Luckily they all woke up after just one yell. "What time is it?" James groaned. "Noon." I said while pulling my t-shirt off, leaving me in my tanktop and pajama shorts. I didn't care if the boys seen me, we didn't have time to waste. I turned and faced a corner so the boys could only see my back, then removed my tanktop and put on a bra. "Holy shit Aria." I recognized Charlie's voice. "Don't look." I said and slipped on a clean tanktop. I then turned and noticed all the boys stripping down too. Oh what the hell. I shrugged my shoulders and pulled out a pair of black capri leggings, then removed my pajama shorts and slipped on my leggings. I noticed a few of the boys staring at me, but I ignored it and put on my purple galaxy tanktop and ran to the bathroom. James, Casey, and Jake all followed. It was a tight squeeze but we made It work.Knowing that I would be on camera, I brushed my teeth, swiped my hair into a side braid and applied light makeup. The boys were still doing their hair by the time I finished. I chuckled to myself before leaving the bathroom. When I walked out I checked my phone and noticed two things, we had half an hour before we would find out our fate, and I had a text from Caden.

Caden: Good luck! I'm sure you killed it! Can't wait to hear from you. Love you.

I smiled at my phone. "Who's that?" I looked up and seen James standing in front of me, his hair in its usual quiff. "Oh, it's Caden. He wishes us luck." I smiled, but kept my voice down so only James could hear me. "Sweet. Tell him I say hi, and thank you." He smiled and walked out of the room.

Me: thanks. My friend James says hi and thank you lol

I immediately got a response.

Caden: ooooo who's james? ;)

Me: nobody you need to concern yourself with. He's my best friend. Now Casey on the other hand...Casey you should worry about ;P

Caden: uh oh. Don't make me fly to London just to talk to a boy. And speaking of best friends, have you talked to Michelle yet..?

He just had to bring her up.

Me: No, not yet. I don't know what to say.

Caden: I would try the truth...

Me: Yeah, yeah. Hey, I gotta go. I'll text you later ♡

Caden: ok, love you. Good luck.

And with that, I slipped my phone in my pocket and the boys and I went to Louis's indoor pool. That's where he would tell us if we made it to live shows. We watched group after group enter the pool room until there were only two groups left, us and The Brooks brothers. There was only one spot left. This moment right here was the most nerve wracking part of the entire competition so far. Finally, it was our turn to go see Louis. "Hi guys. Let me just start off by saying how talented I think you all are, and you sound amazing together. My only concern is that there are too many of you. Can you guys work together without conflicting personalities? I don't know." He paused to look at us. "I need to be positive that the groups I take with me to the live shows can work together and be a cohesive team." He said. "Guys...it's a good thing you can work together because I'm taking you through!" Louis exclaimed. Oh my god! We couldn't believe it. We were all hugging each other and Louis, and Charlie was crying happy tears which almost made me cry! "Now get out of here! I'll see you at the live shows!" Louis laughed and we all smiled and waved goodbye. I quickly pulled out my phone and texted Caden.

Me: WE MADE IT!! WE'RE GOING TO LIVE SHOWS!! :D

I put my phone back in my pocket and went back to the room with the boys so we could pack up our things for the flight back to London.