Rehab wasn’t anything like I had imagined. People kept telling me they force you to go through detox, and that was the complete opposite of what I went through. I had some serious counseling but instead of making me feel like I was insane, they provided coping mechanisms that I could use to help with my stress. My counselor never gave me the answers, but instead I provided the answers to solving my problems with her guidance.



Everything seemed to be falling back into place, and one day I got a call from the producers of X-Factor. “Hello, Nevaeh. We were wondering if you’d be interested in judging this season? Simon thought it would help you emotionally and with your career.” the man asked. I was a little offended, but I knew it was my last shot at becoming the person I wanted to be. “Yes, I would love to! When does the show start?” I asked. “It starts in a week, we’ll send a limo to pick you up.” He replied. “Great, thank you so much! See you then.” I hung up the phone and ran down to my mum to tell her. “That’s great, sweetie. Do you think you’re ready for that kind of stress?” she raised an eyebrow, concerned with my well being. “I’m fine, mum, I promise you. I have to go tell Liam but don’t wait up for me, alright?” I yelled back at her as I ran into another room to put on my shoes.

“Liam! Liam, Liam, Liam!” I screamed as I knocked on his front door. He opened it and had fear in his eyes “What?! What is it?! Are you hurt? Are you in trouble?” he panicked. “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry. I just wanted to say…I’M GOING TO BE A JUDGE ON THE X-FACTOR!” I cried out. “That’s great! Oh my God, I’m auditioning again this season, too!” we hugged each other and went up to his room to talk about the show. He sang a few songs for me to choose from for his audition and he sounded incredible. It was very different from the first time, and it definitely sounded professional with way more emotion behind it. “So, you really think I’m going to make it past the judge’s houses?” he asked. “If you didn’t, it would be our biggest mistake and loss.” I reassured him. That comforted him and even though it wasn’t fair, he already had an advantage over all of the contestants. He didn’t need an advantage anyway, because he already sounded amazing as it was. I stayed for a few hours before I walked home to prepare for the next few months. “Don’t let stress get to you. Be happy you are where you are. Think nothing but good thoughts. Liam will be there too, he’ll help you along the way. You have nothing to worry about.” I told myself. It was my way of calming down and reminding myself that I can’t afford to go back to the life that I had.



My bags were packed and I loaded them into the limo. I was so excited to start this new chapter of my life that I knew would be the best one yet. It would be the making of me, and my career and I couldn’t wait any longer to get there. Liam dropped by to wish me the best and not to worry about anything. “Wow, sweet ride.” He said while scanning the limo. “Yeah, I wish that you could come with me today.” I sniveled. He grabbed my hands and pulled me in for a hug, “I’ll be there soon enough, I promise; and we can call and text as much as you're able to.”
“Thank you…for everything. I’m so happy that you’ll be there with me. It makes this whole journey easier and worth it.” I said, cuddling into his chest. He kissed the top of my head and let me go. “I better get on my way. I have a meeting today to plan on what category I have and how this season is going to go.” I said. “Alright, well I’ll see you very soon.” Liam said as I got into the limo. He shut the door and we waved to each other as the driver drove off. I was very nervous to be alone for a few days but I knew that it would help me. My mum felt that 16 was old enough to be off on my own so being homesick would be the worst part for me. The meeting went smoothly, and everything seemed to be stress-free. I found out that I have the girl’s category and I was very excited to voice my opinions about who should go on in the show.


The next day auditions were being held. While I was in hair and make-up doing my breathing exercises to calm my nerves I heard a familiar voice behind me. “Well, well, well if it isn’t Miss Nevaeh Beaumont.”
“Hi, Simon.” I smiled at him. “How have you been?” he asked putting his hand on my shoulder and sitting in the seat next to me. “Much better than what you’ve either heard or read.” I chuckled. “I’m glad, just know that if you ever need anyone, you know where to reach me. I don’t want a repeat of the past because you’re so young and you shouldn’t be putting yourself through that.” He expressed with concern in his voice. “Thank you, Simon. I promise I won’t relapse and I will come to you if I ever need to talk.” I replied. “Okay, good.” He stood up and continued “Think of me like a father; no boys, no late nights-“ I cut him off “No fun, basically?” He laughed, “Cheeky. No, you can have fun but not the kind that can cause trouble. I’ll see you on stage in a bit.”

As he walked off I couldn’t help but feel disappointment from not being able to see any boys if I wanted to. I didn’t feel very free but I knew if I convinced Simon enough, he would let me date. I don’t even know why I was thinking about that in the first place. This was strictly business; I couldn’t let my heart get wrapped into the mess. Plus, I had just gotten out of an abusive relationship, and the one previous to that was my drug dealer. I needed to focus more on my well being and myself rather than have another guy in my life.

After introductions and getting cozy in our seats, the audition process was different from how I remembered it being. I auditioned in a room with producers and the judges, but this year they had a stage as well as an audience. It started off slow; some performances were okay, some terrible, but after an hour or so it started to pick up. There was a husky guy that came out in only a thong and sang “I’m Too Sexy” for the crowd. It was horrible, but very entertaining. “Stop, stop, stop…what the hell was that?” Simon asked. “It was me showing off my talent…and body.” He said, caressing his body up and down. I couldn’t stop laughing while the other judges said no, so they ended up deciding for me.
There were more ridiculous routines throughout the show and I was losing interest, fast. I tried to keep my eyes open, but I couldn’t so I rested my head on my hand and ended up dozing off for a minute or two. “Nevaeh? Are you asleep?” Simon whispered to me. “Huh, what?” I opened my eyes and sat up straight to see him and Louis looking at me. “No, I’m awake.” I blushed. I looked down at my notes to see who we had accepted and who we hadn’t when I heard the next contestant introducing himself. “Hi. I’m Harry Styles.” Harry spoke. I looked up instantaneously and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. “Alright, and what do you do?” Louis asked. “I work in a bakery.” He replied. It was so hard to pay attention because there was something about him that distracted me from everything else.
The song that he sang was ‘Isn’t She Lovely?’ by Stevie Wonder and I was mesmerized the second he opened his mouth to sing. It was an average voice that needed work, but I didn't care because he had an adorable voice and I knew it’d be incredible after boot camp.


(Harry’s POV)
I was so nervous, I couldn’t wait to get off stage because I felt that they would all say no. The only one I paid attention to was Simon and I was surprised at positive feedback that I had gotten. “With a little voice coaching, I think you could be really good.” He stated. “I don’t agree with that. I feel like he’s too young for this show.” Louis chimed in. “This show isn’t about being too young or old, it’s about the talent.” Simon argued. “For all the right reasons, I’m going to have to say no.” Louis said. “Boooo!” the audience yelled. “I don’t think they booed you loud enough.” Simon said. The audience booed even louder, and I playfully joined in. “I’m going to say yes.” Simon looked up at me. “Thank you.” I smiled.
Due to my nerves I didn’t even notice there was another judge in the middle. When I made eye contact with her, my heart stopped and at that point I didn’t even care if I she said no, I wanted to talk to her. “Umm…” she hesitated, shyly. It was the cutest thing ever. “I like your voice, I think you have a really good voice.” She smiled a comforting smile. “Thanks.” I chuckled nervously. “I’m going to say yes.” She finished and I had the biggest smile on my face. I thanked them again and walked off stage to hug my family members. "You did great, sweetie. Don't think I didn't see you eyeing Miss Beaumont, Harry. I think you should talk to her." my mum said. She knew me so well. "Do you think they'll let me stay until it's over so I could talk with her?" I asked. "I don't see why not, it depends if she's busy." she replied.

I asked one of the producers who said that she would be busy the second the show came to an end so it would be a lost cause for me. He did give me a sense of comfort by telling me that I should be able to talk to her once boot camp starts up. The only problem was, I wasn't sure if I would be able to wait that long.


(Nevaeh's POV)
I had to act fast before the next singer came up on stage. "Simon, do you think I could use the loo really quick?" I asked. "Of course you can, let me just tell the producers." he walked over to one and after 30 seconds or so he gave me a thumbs up. I got up and tried to make my way backstage quickly without looking urgent. "Hey, have you seen Harry Styles by any chance?" I asked Dermot. "Yeah, the lad just went that way with his family." he pointed towards the exit. Making my way quickly, I had to search through the mass of people to find him. "Nevaeh! Nevaeh! Can I get an autograph." a few people said as they followed behind me. "Yeah, in a second, I'll be right there." I said searching around some more. I thought I had spotted him so I started to pick up the pace and right as I was just about to catch up, I tripped over someone's extended foot. "I'm so sorry." the person said to me. I told them it was okay and in my periphs I saw a hand reach out to help me up. "Here, let me help you." the familiar voice gave me chills. When I stood up, I was face to face with Harry. "Were you looking for someone? I can help you." he said. "No, it's alright. Umm...I better get back, they're going to wonder where I am." I fidgeted a bit and turned to walk away. He gently grabbed my hand and kissed it as I looked back. "Thank you." he said, smiling and walking back to join his family. I was flustered, I was speechless...but I was happy, nonetheless.


When we were done with auditions we went back to our hotels. Producer's cracked bottles and had parties, while Simon had someone keep an eye on me to make sure I made it back to my and ONLY my room. It wasn't fair, I wasn't going to drink but I guess the temptation would've been there and that's what he wanted me to stay away from. At the same time it didn't matter, I missed partying, but I liked the peace. I called Liam and told him everything once I got settled in. He was thrilled to hear about my day, but I could hear jealousy in his voice when I was telling him about Harry. "You shouldn't jump into another relationship so quick. This guy sounds like a right old wanker. He may look charming, but I know how guys are. He'll only hurt you, Vae and I'm not going to stand there and watch you get hurt again." I thought his over protectiveness was very sweet but at the same time, I didn't need to be so smothered by everyone. "I'm not going to hook up with this guy if you think that. Even if I did, I know what I'm doing; and truth be told, if he doesn't make it past the Judge's Houses, there's no way I'll ever see him again, so please don't worry about me." I reassured him. "Alright. Hey, do you think I could stay in your room with you the night after auditions, and for the rest of the season if I somehow make it in?" he asked. "Of course you can, the room is HUGE! I have two beds, two bathrooms, a jacuzzi, a theatre room and a fridge loaded with food because they know just as well as you that I love snacks. It'll be a party for us!" I said, excited. "Great, I can't wait! I'm so excited for all of this. I better get to bed, though and you should too. We both have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." he replied. "Alright, goodnight Liam." I said. "Goodnight, Nevaeh." his soothing voice calmed, relaxed and made me sleepy. When we hung up I tried to get Harry out of my head but for some reason, I couldn't.

Like I said it was strictly business. I had to be more professional than this but part of me wouldn't allow me to. 'Stop it Nevaeh Elizabeth Beaumont! Right now. Think about your job and get some sleep.'
Thankfully I started to replayed some of the greatest acts of the day in my head and I couldn't wait for the season to really take off.

I was doing so well until he popped back into my head again.
I need to get over this stupid infatuation...fast.

Notes

Again, it's been so long since I posted, I'm sorry. If you're still reading, thank you. Please leave comments, positive and negative. I hope you like it!
Also, I should have another one up by tomorrow, if not then I will make it up to you by posting lots of chapters. (I have Tuesday-Friday off! Yay! :D) x