Back to The Beginning

I stood in front of Zayn in the middle of the stage as my video package played. The two of us were smiling at each other, preparing for our performance. Both of us knew that I could be going home tonight, but neither of us wanted me to.

He flipped his middle finger up at me and smiled, “Say fuck it and live.”

I laughed softly, doing the same. “Say fuck it and live.”

That was our thing - you know, every set of best friends has a thing? For me and Adley, our ting was drawing hearts and making kissy faces at each other whenever other people weren’t looking. For me and James and Taylor, it was finger guns at the same times.

The package ended, and I pressed into Zayn, wrapping my arm around him and nestling my head in his neck. He sang the first verse, and at the pre-chorus, the two of us finally began to move, the dance by no means completely innocent. If he hadn’t been my best friend, I’d never have agreed to do it.

We finished the song, me pressed into him, with my head buried in his neck and his hands low on my hips, and stayed in the position for a few seconds before he raised his hands and pulled me into a hug, both of us laughing at the expression on Liam’s face. He looked scarred.

“Well, um, that’s something I never want to see again,” he said, starting off the judges’ comments, and both Zayn and I laughed. “As a performance, it looked great, it sounded great, but...please, never make me watch that again. Those were not images I needed in my head.”

Everyone in the audience laughed as Tulisa began her comments. “I have to say, each week I think we’ve seen it all from you, and then you come out and you’re somehow even more amazing than the last time. I fully believe, ladies and gentlemen,” she said, addressing the audience, “that we are looking at the next British world superstar right now.”

I blushed and hugged Zayn, who hugged me back and planted a kiss on my hair as Simon began his comments. “Well I have to say that seeing how much you’ve grown over the course of this competition has just amazed me, and I have to say that I’m on exactly the same page as Tulisa. I can’t wait to see where you go after this competition.”

Louis smiled. “Your talent is just amazing,” he said. “Throughout the competition your high notes haven’t always been the strongest, but tonight you really proved just how much you’ve grown by singing that song, and especially by pairing up with someone who sings mostly in falsetto or a high belt. Really, really amazing.” He put his pen down, smiling.

Dermot, who had appeared out of nowhere, smiled. “Zayn, anything you’d like to add?”

My friend ducked his head just a bit as he brought his brought his mic up, smiling slightly. “I mean, over the course of this week I’ve gotten to know Kayla and she’s already one of my best friends. What you see is what you get and she’s such a hard worker. So yeah, just...vote Kayla!” He laughed sheepishly and I smiled, walking offstage with him as Dermot began to introduce the the next act.

As soon as we were away from a lot of people, both of us doubled over in laughter. “Liam,” he managed to choke out through his laughter, “looked so scarred.”

“I know,” I laughed. “It was so amazing. God, I’m glad that was on tv.”

All of a sudden, his phone went off, and he pulled it out. As his eyes scanned the screen, a frown overrode the smile that had been on his face just seconds before. “Fuck,” he muttered.

“What’s wrong?”

“Gigi’s not happy about that performance,” he said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Not happy as in, like, super pissed. Really, really, really pissed at me. Apparently, performing that song with a girl that’s my best friend and not her isn’t allowed.”

“It’s not like we’re dating,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I mean, come on, I’m underage.”

He sighed. “I know. She literally knows nothing about you other than what I’ve told her about you and now she hates you.”

“I mean, I’m sorry about that, but I’m doing my job,” I said, shrugging. “We both were.”

“I know. She gets to pose with random guys and in lingerie and all that but I can’t perform with my best friend?” He rolled his eyes, clearly upset with her.

“Just give it time, I’m sure it’ll work itself out,” I offered.

He just shrugged and rested his head on my shoulder. “I’m glad I took Simon’s invite to perform with you,” he whispered.

“I’m glad you did too,” I whispered back, just sitting there with my head on his and our fingers intertwined.

Notes