7 years later - April, 2010
Rachel's P.O.V.
Two more months until summer vacation. Sophomore year was challenging for me, and I just wanted to get out of that school. I didn't really even care about school. I love acting, and I was planning on taking up business in the film industry. I didn't need to know the quadratic equation or how atoms are separated, let alone carry heavy books about it.
It was a Friday, and Stephanie and I went to my house right after school. I opened the door to my house and walked in, Steph not far behind me.
"Hey Mom, I'm home!" I called out, shutting the door. I took off my shoes and jacket and set my backpack by the stairs. Stephanie copied me and we entered the kitchen in search of some food.
"Hey, sweetie, I have some exciting news," my mom announced, rushing into the kitchen. "You remember your old friend Niall from Ireland, right?"
"Yeah, we've been in contact lately," I answered, picking up an apple and slicing it.
"Well, his mom called me earlier today and we were talking about how we haven't seen each other in a long time!" she continued. "We caught up with each other and she told me some great news about Niall. Do you know that singing show 'X-Factor'?"
"No, why?" I replied. I've heard of American Idol, but that's the only singing show I know of.
"Well, it's a singing competition show in the UK, and he auditioned for it and made it through the next round!" she shouted.
"Really? That's awesome!" I responded. I was proud of him, but I didn't know anything about the show. I looked over at Stephanie and she was smiling while eating a nutrition bar.
"She also said he wanted to Skype you, and that would be in a few minutes," my mom informed.
"A few minutes?" I asked.
"Time difference? He's 6 hours ahead of us, meaning it's already almost 9pm over there."
"Ooohh," I replied, eating a slice of my apple and understanding what she meant.
"I'll leave you guys to it," she said, smiling and exiting the kitchen.
"You never told me you had a friend in Ireland!" Stephanie expressed.
"Sorry?" I innocently said. I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Steph came in and sat next to me.
"I've known him since I was little. Before I was born, my dad had to go on a trip to Ireland for his job. My parents were probably going to move there, but my mom decided against it, and my dad worked it out with his job. He was only there for about a few months, and in that few months, he met Niall's dad, Bobby, who also worked there. They became good friends, and when my dad finally came back here, they stayed in touch. A few years later, when I was four, they invited us to take a trip to Ireland. We accepted and I got to meet them for about a week. Then another couple of years later, when I was seven, they came over here for about two weeks. Niall and I really clicked and he was a really great friend. Our families figured it would be nice if we could keep this up, but with expenses and stuff, financially we couldn't do it. We kind of lost touch over the past few years, but then Niall connected with me through Facebook and started talking to me again a few months ago," I explained.
"Wow, that's really cool," Stephanie said.
"Yeah, I just can't believe this. I haven't seen him in years, and now he auditioned for this singing competition? I didn't even know he sang!" I exclaimed, opening up my laptop. I brought up Skype and looked for his name. I couldn't figure out which one it was, so I called out for my mom.
"Mom, what's his Skype name?" I yelled. She didn't answer right away, so I got up from the couch to go find her.
"Mom!" I shouted again.
"In the bedroom!" I heard her holler. I walked in the bedroom and found her folding clothes.
"What's his Skype name?" I asked, leaning in the doorframe.
"Here, it's on this piece of paper," she replied, handing me a small slip with a username on it.
"Thank you," I answered and headed back down the stairs.
I entered the living room and sat back down, entering in the username in the search bar. I looked over at Steph and she seemed a little down.
"Hey, you ok?" I asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she answered, shaking her head a little bit.
"You sure?"
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"I was just thinking about my best friend from back home," Steph began. "I haven't spoken to him in years, either."
"If you want, I can help you," I offered.
"Sure, that would be nice," she replied, smiling.
I turned back to my laptop and added him as my contact. Not even 30 seconds later, a notification popped up saying he accepted, and then 10 seconds later, he called me. I pressed "Accept" and the video camera connected.
"Hey, Rachel, can you hear and/or see me?" he asked.
"Yup, loud and clear," I responded, smiling.
"Good, so can I. Do you have a friend over or something?" Niall asked again.
"Yeah, this is my friend, Stephanie. She's originally from England, but she moved here when she was 8," I answered.
"That's sweet!" Niall replied.
"I can't believe I'm talking to you again! It's been like, what, 10 years or something?" I declared.
"I know! The only thing I can remember was when you put my underwear over your head and ran around the house with it," he laughed.
"Oh my God, don't remind me!" I said, turning red. Stephanie giggled from beside me.
"She did! She literally took it out of my suitcase, pulled it over her head, told me if she ran around the house with it on, I would have to give her a piece of gum," he explained to Stephanie.
"Ok, ok, was the underwear at least clean?" Stephanie asked through giggles.
"I think so," Niall responded. "I can't remember, though."
"Ok, can we get off of this subject?" I asked, my face literally buried in the pillow.
"Sorry, what was that? Is wittle Wachel embawassed?" Niall baby-talked me.
I removed the pillow and stared at him though the screen.
"Oooh, a death stare," he replied. "I can do that, too."
"I can do it better. After all, I am the actress here," I retorted.
"Now who was the one who made it through the first round of X-Factor? Oh, yeah, me!" Niall shot back, a smile playing on his lips.
"All right, all right, you win," I gave up, rolling my eyes. "How did that go, by the way?"
"Pretty good, I guess. I was really nervous though, and I was on the edge of making it through. It was all down to Katy Perry," Niall explained.
"Woah, Katy Perry?" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, she was our guest judge. I had 1 no and 2 yesses, and she put me through. She told me to not let her down, and so I'm praying I don't. I've been practicing every day making sure I keep up with it."
"Wow. By the way, you never told me you sang!" I added.
"Sorry, it was sort of a hidden talent. I was in my school's play when I was 10, and that's where we figured it out. I kept singing over and over again, around the house, in my school, everywhere. Then my mom told me to try out for X-Factor, and I did," Niall said.
"That's really cool," Stephanie replied.
"Yeah," I mimicked.
"You should sing for us now," Stephanie suggested.
"I would, but I've kind of overworked my voice a little bit, so they told me not to sing. I'll send you the link of my audition after we're done here," he responded.
"Sweet," I spoke.
We talked for a little while longer until Niall said he was tired and wanted to go to bed. I logged off and he sent me the video before going completely offline. Stephanie and I watched the video and I was impressed. He did sound nervous, but he was pretty good. With some more professional practice, I think he can make it.
Stephanie's P.O.V.
We finished talking to Niall and watched the video of his audition. He was great! I think he needs a little more practice, but he said he's been doing that.
We ate dinner and Rachel and I got ready to watch a movie. We set up pillows and blankets in the living room and Rachel picked out a movie for us to watch.
"So, do you think your friend will make it?" I asked.
"Who, Niall?" she replied, looking at me.
"Yeah, do you think he'll make it all the way?"
"I don't really know. I mean, I want him to, and his voice is pretty good, but I think he needs to work on it a little bit before he gets ahead of himself," Rachel responded. "Why? Do you think so?"
"I don't know, maybe. He is kinda cute, though," I stated.
"Oh shut up," Rachel remarked, looking away and back at the movie selections, but I could see that smile.
"What? He is..." I retorted.
"Anyways, is Alice in Wonderland ok? I love this movie!" she expressed.
"Sure!" I agreed. She put it in and laid down in the pile of blankets and pillows.
We watched the movie and Rachel ended up falling asleep halfway through. I watched it until the very end and got up to turn everything off. I flopped back into the pile and started drifting off to sleep. That is, until Harry appeared in my dream....