Izallouis’ view:
“I can't believe I did it!” I exclaimed as I ran into Justin’s arms.
“You just had to believe.” Jess smiled as I was still hugging Justin.
“Oh, I have one more surprise.” Justin cheekily stopped our hug and patted my head. I was in such shock nothing could add to it. “Someone thought it would be a nice idea to support you…” He said pushing in a wheel chair.
“You did an amazing job! Your father loved that song.” My grandmum coughed out.
“Nan!” I screeched and hugged her to the best of my ability.
“I had to see my little girl audition. Justin pulled strings and got me out here so I wouldn’t miss a thing.” I was full on sobbing now. I was this hysterical ball of tears.
“You are here.” I smiled and cried.
“Yes, but she needs to be getting home. She can't be out a lot, or for long periods of time.” Justin instructed.
“Let’s go home.” I said to him. We walked out and I was grabbed by someone and held back.
“Aren't you staying for the after party??” Harry asked me.
“Well, I want to talk to my grandmum. Besides an after party just sounds stupid.” I said wiping some tears.
“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn’t know.” He said looking sympathetic.
“Sorry for what??” I asked with a chuckle.
“I don’t know why. I just felt the need to feel sorry.” He laughed awkwardly.
“How about I come back for the after party later??” I purposed that idea.
“Sounds good. It will be good for you to meet people since you will be living on the show.” He winked and left fast with a guard walking with him. I caught back up to everyone whom was already in the car.
“Where were you??” Jess asked confused.
“Harry held me up.” I blushed a bit.
“Oh, I had your grandpa read all about that curly lad to me.” She smiled and I knew what she was talking about.
“Grandma it's not like that.” I blushed even more now.
“Whatever you say.” She coughed and took my hand in her frail little wad of loose skin and brittle bones.
“So, Izallouis there is an after party that you should go to. It's for you to make friends that are on your team and talk to your coach a bit more.” Justin said looking to the back seat that had me and my grandmum.
“That’s actually what Harry was talking to me about.” I was blushing but the shade in the car was just dark enough to tint my cheeks so no one could tell.
“Oooh.” My grandmum giggled.
I nudged her as Justin spoke, “Did he ask you to come back??” Justin wiggled his eyebrows.
“Yes.” I said confidently.
“Oooh.” Everyone in the car chorused, even our driver.
“So are you going back??” Jess asked looking at Justin then me.
“Yeah, I mean, why not??” I smiled.
“Do you want me to drive you back??” Our driver asked.
“No, no, I'll drive her. You could use this as time to check in on your wife.” Justin waved.
“Thank you Mr. Timberlake.” He nodded in the rearview mirror. We were home and everyone came inside but I stayed back to help my grandmum walk. She wasn’t completely helpless but everyone likes to think of her as it. I usually let her run the show. As I sat her on the couch carefully Justin came into the living room with a drink and some pills for her.
“Time for meds.” He chuckled.
“These stupid things.” She said. Jess and Justin laughed at her remark and I just couldn’t stop smiling. “Are you going to smile at me or get ready for your date??” She asked.
“You're right!” I said leaving to get ready. I stopped halfway up the stairs. Realizing what she said I yelled, “Grandma it's not like that!”
“You agreed.” She screeched back.
“Ugh.” I huffed and went to my room. I changed into black skinny jeans and some combat boots. I really wasn’t up for a party or was I about to wear a dress. “Something simple.” I whispered.
“Try this.” Jess was in my doorway with something in her hand. She threw a tee shirt at me and I unfolded it to see a Michael Jackson tour tee shirt.
“Thanks!” I said and slipped it over my black tank top.
“Justin saw him live and got that. He never wears it and I can't fit.” She laughed.
“I like it.” It fit tight and looked great with my boots. I was happy with my appearance and went downstairs to see Justin and my Nan laughing.
“Ready??” He looked me up and down.
“Yeah. When I get home you will probably be asleep but I love you and tomorrow we are going to play Scrabble and Yahtzee all day.” I answered Justin and then appointed my attention to Gran.
“Sure thing.” She said and turned back to the TV ever so slowly. Justin escorted me to the garage which was never empty. We had eight cars. Jaguars’, Bugatti’s, Camaro’s, and some old Monte Carlo’s occupied the space. Some were Jess’ others were Justin’s with a few being our driver’s. We have a house in the back for our driver and his family. He is family to us and Justin trusts him with quite a bit. His wife is currently in the hospital because she had a terrible car accident. We are always positive for him and let him take his time off. We never really liked the idea of people working for us. We arrived back at the venue and I walked in very confused. Without Justin I wouldn’t have been able to connect with someone to help me. Justin was gone and I was led into a room with tables lining the walls full of fruity drinks and finger foods. The amount of people was nice and small. There were no more than thirty people but not less than twenty, it seemed like a good group.
“Hey.” Someone jumped right in front of me.
“Hi.” I said taking a large step back. Music was playing but it was very soft and easy to talk over.
“So you're on Niall’s team??” It was a blonde brighter than me. Taller than me and wore nerdy glasses. She was cute and seemed likable.
“I guess.” I said shrugging.
“Well I'm Janice.” She stuck out her hand that didn’t have a drink. She looked older than me.
“How old are you??” I spoke my mind a lot more than I wish.
“I'm twenty five.” She looked older than me but younger than twenty five.
“I'm fifteen.” I said dropping the handshake.
“What kind of music do you like??” She was either really nice or getting the feel for competition.
“Erm… dance.” I replied.
“I sing country.” She looked country.
“That’s nice.” I nodded not caring.
“Well, I'll let you meet some more people. It was nice meeting you.” She walked off and I let out a breath. I hate people so I think I handled that well.
“Hi.” Someone else came up to me. This was like speed dating only worse. People were coming up left and right and I couldn’t get away.
“I'm going to get a drink.” I said dipping out. I didn’t want to talk. I came here assuming Harry would be here but he wasn’t.
“You were thinking about me??” I turned around and saw Harry with a dimpled grin. I poked his dimple and he smiled more.
“No.” I giggled.
“Really??” He hugged me. People were watching us and it was annoying.
“Ok, I was a bit sad you weren’t here but then poof here you are.” I did a jazz hand on poof to get the point across.
“So do you like your team??” He asked getting a drink.
“Yeah, Janice is great.”
“Why didn’t you pick me??” I knew it was coming but I didn’t know he would seem so hurt.
“Everyone was yelling Niall and I panicked under pressure.”
“So you want to be on my team??” He asked.
“I don’t even know. I was about to say your name I swear I was but then my heart lurched and I said Niall. It happened so fast.” I shook my head looking at the ground.
“Hey, hey, it's alright.” He lifted my chin. “It just means we are competing now.” He winked and kissed my cheek.
“Niall’s team!!” Someone said into a microphone. I looked at the stage and then back at Harry to see him getting under one of the tables.
“Harry what are you –??”
“I can't be here.” He said and then let the cloth fall. I felt super awkward standing there but I couldn’t leave Harry under the table, besides whom was I going to talk to??
“Niall is here so get ready to meet your coach.” Everyone cheered and Niall walked on the tiny stage. It was like a mini stage in this room. He took the mic and looked around at everyone.
“I'm so glad to have my first round of contestants. Next show we will gather some more talent and then it's going to be down to business. The first part of the competition is going to be pairings. Before you start picking your friends it's going to be me who chooses your pairings. After that we will have half the amount in this room. Once it starts to get to lower numbers we will get more one on one time to discuss songs and mentoring. Let’s do this!” Everyone cheered and he put the microphone back on a stand. He hopped off stage and everyone bombarded his space. I felt Harry grab my ankle. I slid under the table in a fluent motion.
“So why can't you be here??” I asked him.
“Because Niall hates me. Also I'm supposed to be at my party talking to my team.” He chuckled.
“Then go. I'll be fine.” I smiled.
“Ok, don’t talk to any boys.” He said with a chuckle. He tried to make it seem like he was kidding but I knew deep down he didn’t want me near any boys. He went out the back way of the table and under another tarp so no one saw. As I crawled out from under the table I stood up and hit someone.
“I'm so sorry.” I said brushing myself off.
“It's alright.” I looked up and saw Niall. I actually got a pretty good look at him in this light. He had my blonde colour of hair on top of Harry’s brown. It was whooshed to his right, my left side. His eyes were shining with the blue lighting so I couldn’t tell if they were light like the summer sky or darker like the medium part of the sea. He was taller than me but that wasn’t hard to accomplish. He looked to be dressed comfy and casual for this occasion. He had on regular blue jeans with a white tee shirt. In the middle of the shirt was a heart that had a tiny pair of eyes. I actually owned the shoes he was wearing. All white Nike’s without any scuff marks, only mine are trashed from dancing. “So are you excited for this competition??” He asked knocking my head down from cloud nine.
“Yeah, but I was just leaving.” I said and walked away. Harry had to go and I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, anyone. As I wondered aimlessly around the arena I walked out of a door that put me right in a storm of paparazzi.
“Izallouis!” Someone yelled and everyone flocked.
“Why are you here??”
“I thought you were a dancer!”
“Are you dating Niall??” That one got me talking.
“No!” I said a bit loud.
“Why are you here?? Is it Harry??”
“Are you two official yet??”
“No. No.” I said quieter. I don’t know why I didn’t just turn around and go back through the door but I walked through the flashes instead.
“Do you have parents??” That was a completely unrelated question but it did give me some misty eyes. I kept walking and ignored their questions. I wasn’t even as famous as Harry or both Justin’s and I was getting this crap. After they realized I wasn’t going to give them anything they left. I had managed to walk in the wrong direction to the house. I was a good few miles down from a convenient store and dipped in to see the things lining the shelves from top to bottom. I grabbed a bag of gummy worms and paid. I peeked out the windows to see if any paps were there and no one had stuck around and followed me. They were most likely walking back to the show studio to possibly get a story out of the boys. I slowly crept out and felt the air brush my face. I opened the bag and started to walk back the way I came.
I wasn’t entirely sure how far I walked but I did speed walk so I know I had some time to kill. I put my music on and walked to the park. It was definitely too late for families and such to be out so I was alone but it wasn’t completely dark yet. I sat on a bench and lay down to look at the stars. I put on my comfort music, ‘A Team’ by Ed Sheeran, and watched as one by one then two by two stars started to light up the canvas in front of me. L.A. could be one of the most peaceful places as long as you knew the right everything. You had to know the right time to be at the right place with, or without, the right people. I loved L.A. because it was easy to find a place to call yours. It was easy to meet new people and easy to get away from everything. For some reason everyone seemed to be gone tonight. I noted the time as 7.00. It got dark early, that’s strange. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, this crisp feeling settle in my lungs and then left with a slight puff. I felt so relaxed in this moment everything else seemed to fade away. Then I felt it slip. I let out a small soft sob. I was so relaxed I didn’t notice I was crying. I wiped away a small tear and sat up. I couldn’t explain why I was crying but I was. I missed my dad but I always do, that is something that never goes away. It couldn’t be my mum because I never missed her. At first I did but anymore she is just a face I don’t know, a shadow of my imagination.
“Miss, are you ok??” Someone scared the hell out of me. I stood up and backed away from the person approaching the backside of the bench.
“Yeah.” I whimpered out.
“Do you need someone to talk to??” They asked politely.
“I'm fine really. I just had a thought and bam instant tears.” It was nice of this person, boy, to want to listen to me but I really wanted to be alone.
“If you need to talk it's fine. I'm a great listener.” He chuckled and stepped back from the bench.
“I don’t even know you.” I wasn’t crying anymore but I did sniffle.
“That’s the beauty of it. Telling someone you don’t know something you wouldn’t tell someone so close to you is how you start to feel free.” He sounded poetic.
“Why are you out here??” I asked avoiding his comment.
“Because I just got a great chance of a lifetime, which is the reason I came to L.A., and I needed a place to think.” He seemed to be adrenaline shot.
“Well it's all yours now.” I said about to leave.
“No, stay. I don’t want you to stop doing what you were doing before because of me.” He smiled. It was genuine and warm.
“Crying??” I said ruining the mood he was setting. He chuckled.
“Thinking.” He sat on one end of the bench. I sighed and sat on the other end of the bench. I could tell he was content because he smiled at the ground. We didn’t speak for a whilst because neither of us felt the need to, at least I didn’t.
“So what is your big break??” I asked him looking at him for a split second.
“There is this new show about to air, ‘One Thing’, I'm a new contestant.” He looked at me and wasn’t afraid to stare. I looked at him and then forward again.
“Me too.” I chuckled.
“No kidding. Whose team are you on??” He asked.
“Niall’s, the Green Team.” I said racking my brain.
“No kidding.” He smiled wide.
“What??” I asked looking at him and not looking away this time.
“Me too.” He extended his hand. “I'm sonic.” I took his hand and shook it.
“Sonic??” I questioned.
“Sonic James.” He nodded.
“Nice to meet you I'm –”
“Izallouis Rae.” He interjected.
“Erm…”
“I'm a fan.” He looked at the ground.
“Oh Haha.” I chuckled. “Well, it's nice to meet you.” I saw him look at me and smile.
“Could I ask you something??” I nodded for him to continue. “Why are you on a singing competition??” He asked. I thought about a logical answer.
“Well… Justin signed me up without my knowledge.” I chuckled.
“Oh, well your dancing is amazing. I hope you can just make it in this competition.” He sounded threatening like he was trying to shake my confidence.
“What makes you think I won't??” I asked playfully.
“Well, you just seem like you don’t know what to do.” He chuckled a bit.
“I don’t.” He didn’t laugh but instead looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“Sorry.” He said.
“It was supposed to be funny.” We both started to laugh super loud now. We laughed for quite a bit and then he pulled out his phone.
“I have to get back to the house. My sister is looking for me.” He stood up.
“Well it was nice meeting you. I hope I see you around.” I smiled up at him.
“Do you want to walk back with me??” He offered.
“I think I still need some time out here.” I smiled up at him. He was a cutie with his dark hair and dark blue eyes. His skin tone was compromised with his black hair so he didn’t look too pale. He was definitely something to look at.
“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you out here alone.” He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth.
“I'll be fine. Thank you.” I still wanted to enjoy my time out here.
“Promise me you'll be careful??” He asked.
“Promise.” I smiled and lay back down on the bench. He was gone once I looked up again. I resumed just looking at the L.A. stars. My phone vibrated and it was Harry. He was “yelling” because it was in all caps. I chuckled at the fact he thinks that’s considered yelling. I read the message and answered to all his worried questions. I saw someone lurking in the shadows and I was panicking as I sat up. I took out my headphones again and called out. “Who’s there??” There wasn’t a response even though I could clearly see the figure on the tree. I stood up and started to speed walk away. I wasn’t about to get hurt, not when everything has been going so well. I turned back for a split second and didn’t see anybody. As soon as I turned my head back I felt the hard surface collide with my face and my bum skid the ground.
“I'm sorry.” I knew the voice too well.
“We have to stop meeting like this.” I chuckled.
“Izallouis??” He blinked to clearly look at me. “I'm so sorry!” He sounded sorrier than before.
“It's no big deal. What's a bit of dirt??” I chuckled and he tried too.
“What are you doing out so late?? Are you alone?? Why are you alone??” He questioned like a parent.
“Calm down.” I took a step back and looked around for that figure. There was no one.
“Sorry, I just don’t think it's safe for you to –”
“You're not my parent.” I snapped. I have always been independent so it was a pet peeve when people tried to control me or parent me. “Sorry. I'm just going home.” I walked past him but my shirt caught on his belt and stopped me.
“Hey, if you want me to come with just say so.” He was cocky. Not my type.
“No.” I said and tried to unhook the problem. I was shaking because it was cold and I was a bit shaken up from that figure. I felt warm hands on mine and my heart skipped a few beats.
“Breath.” He smiled really close to me. I wanted him to keep my hands warm but instead he undid the shirt caught on his belt. We were front to front and super close. I felt his body radiating warmth like a temptation screaming in my ear. I watched his face as he slowly worked on the problem and his tongue poked out from his lips in concentration. “I'm done.” He whispered. I looked down to see we weren’t attached anymore but yet just as close, if not closer, from before.
“Yeah.” I breathed out. I was having trouble breathing and feeling anything.
“Do you want company on the way home??” He created the space I didn’t have the strength too.
“Sure.” In the moment I couldn’t explain why I said yes to him and no to Sonic. Sonic seemed more down to earth and sweet, Niall wasn’t my type. I'm going to blame my nerves because of that shadow.
“Let’s go.” He nodded for us to walk. We walked without much talking until he wanted conversation. “I like your shirt. Is it from the live tour??” He asked.
“Yeah, Justin got it and never wore it so Jess gave it to me.” I answered.
“I never got to see him live. I would have loved it.” He smiled forward.
“I met him when I was a baby.” I giggled. Was that flirting?? Did I just flirt??
“That’s cool. I would love to have met him since he was one of the greatest legends in musical history.” He gushed.
“Sure.” I knew nothing about musical legends. I knew some things but I was the dancer. I knew about Michael Jackson’s dancing and how he did a lot of his tricks.
“That’s right you dance.” He said.
“Yeah.” I chuckled.

Notes