The Voice

They gave us all the information we needed to meet for the first time. Leaving home this time wasn’t so bad. No matter what, I’d be going home at the end of the week since it was taped Battle Rounds, so I didn’t have that much with me. Each team had their own house they were living in with their coach living in the same place. We would get breaks and go visit family or see friends, but we would be spending a lot of time in the house.

Niall had quite the place. It was located amongst a lot of trees, so finding it would’ve been hard to do. If we hadn’t met at the theater we’d be performing in every week and rode in the SUVs that took us there, I would’ve never found it.

With the trees and tall gates surrounding it, it seemed that even the craziest One Direction fans wouldn’t be able to find their way in. Then again, One Direction fans should never be underestimated.

The house was incredible. After the massive gates opened, we were driven right up next to the sidewalk that led up to the front door. From the front, the house looked like just an ordinary house—aside from being, ya know, massive and surrounded by trees and gates—and I felt comfortable. Even though the grass was almost unnaturally green and the bright pink rose bushes almost looked unreal, it felt like a real home.

Being the shy and antisocial person I was, I didn’t talk to anyone the entire ride. Instead, I sort of kept to myself in the backseat and was one of the last people to get out. There were two girls beside me talking up a storm the whole way to the house, and they weren’t the only ones. Everyone seemed to be making a best friend, but I was just alone with my music. It was how I preferred it, really.

I climbed out of the SUV with my large duffel bag on my shoulder, and when my feet hit the ground, I heard the girls that I had been beside squealing to each other about how excited they were to be living under the same roof as Niall.

Instead of staying beside them, I carefully walked around and towards the house. The moment I took my eyes off my feet, it was all I could do not to stop in my tracks.

Niall was outside, more than eagerly waiting for us to get there.

The girls I had gone around were freaking out. They were right behind me now, and I heard one of them say, “Oh my gosh, I didn’t tell you! Niall said I was cute!”

I knew I probably shouldn’t have, but I got a huge smile on my face.

Oh yeah? He called me sexy. And beautiful. And told me he loves me.

As we all gathered around him, Niall’s smile widened as he held his arms out. “Hey guys. Welcome to my LA home. I’m super excited to have all of you here. Why don’t I show you around?”

Everyone agreed with different levels of enthusiasm. Niall seemed surprised when the girls on our team pushed their way to the front and crowded his space, so in response to that, he quickly turned around and went through the large black front door.

“Right now, there are a lot of you guys, so most of you are gonna have to share a room this week,” he informed us.

Almost immediately, people started pairing up. The girls from the SUV locked arms, and a couple guys started slapping hands. It was a bunch of people surrounding me pairing up almost instantly, and me? I was just standing in the back, alone.

Or at least I thought I was alone. There was a guy who didn’t have a group once everyone had paired up, so we, even though we definitely wouldn’t be put in the same room, sort of just started walking together.

“What’s your name?” he asked with a distinctive Southern accent that made me relax a little. It reminded me of Max, actually. “I’m Noah.”

I smiled. “I’m Everit.”

“Where are you from?” he asked with a smile. "Your accent sounds like Niall's."

“It is,” I admitted, and I took a deep breath. “I’m from Kenmare, Ireland originally, but I moved to Alabama a few years ago. What about you?”

“Tennessee,” he laughed. “Cleveland. Born and raised.”

I nodded and laughed myself. “I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard about it. Anything exciting happen there?”

He shook his head. “Not really, at least not in Cleveland. It’s not too far from Nashville, which has plenty of excitement for just about anyone.”

“Alright,” Niall said, and surprisingly, just one simple word got everyone’s attention instantly, including my own. “That’s the house. You and your roommate can pick rooms. One of you lads will be with me. I’ll warn you now. I tell you about my day in my sleep sometimes.”

That caused chaos amongst groups, but Niall didn’t let this bother him or make his smile fade. His eyes immediately found Noah, but when he saw me, they seemed to light up a little. Maybe it was my imagination, but those beautiful bright cyan eyes of his seemed to be sparkling.

I had to blink a couple of times to realize that I was really here and this was really happening, but I didn’t say anything. All I did was look to the floor with burning cheeks and a soaring heart. The rapid heartbeat made it hard to breathe as well, and my stomach felt like it had butterflies inside of it.

“I’m guessing you there in the back will room with me,” Niall said, and he pointed back to Noah. “Everyone pick a room, really. The green room? That’s mine. Green’s my favorite color, it’s right next to the kitchen, and I’ve already claimed it for Noah and myself.”

Noah seemed surprised, but he nodded. The groups seemed to just magically fix themselves after that, and that made me laugh. Of course, when Niall wasn’t an option, whoever they originally picked was the best choice all along.

“Let’s meet in the living room specifically for cameras and important meetings in an hour,” Niall told us all. “That gives ya time to settle in and freshen up, if you would like. Either way, let’s meet back up at three.”

Everyone just scattered then, except me. I actually just stood there while everyone rushed off to grab their favorite room. Noah followed Niall through the kitchen while the girls began rushing to get the best spot. Really, I was in no place to argue since I would have the room to myself, so I just waited for everyone else to make their claim before I went upstairs.

The room left was actually the room I would’ve picked. It had black wooden floors with a very soft blue rug that felt as if it was made of fur. The blue matched the ice blue comforter, which went well with the sapphire cushioned bedframe and ice blue walls. The nightstand was reflective, and there was a black old fashioned phone resting on it. Also on the nightstand was a black vase with a single bright pink rose—I’m talking neon pink—and a note from Niall leaning against the vase.

Everit, thank you so much for choosing me. I could tell it was a little hard for you, but you choose me. Although I don’t know why yet, I appreciate it. Together, we can do great things, and I cannot wait to get to know you more along our journey, however long that may be. —Niall

P.S. You’re still just as beautiful as you were in Nashville. How could I possibly forget the sweet girl from Kenmare?

I was in shock. He really didn’t have to do this, yet he did. It made me smile as I began smelling the rose. I couldn’t help but daydream about what it would be like if he was doing this for his lover, and, gasp, what if that lover was me?

That made my insides start acting funny all over again, so I stopped thinking about that and started unpacking and getting settled in. While I did, I pulled out my iPod dock and started playing my music softly enough that it didn’t disturb anyone else but loudly enough that I could enjoy it.

Mostly, I was just softly singing along and unpacking, but when the song Look at Her Go by T-Pain featuring Chris Brown came on, I couldn’t help but dance. I felt as if I had to, really.
I danced until I heard someone knocking on my door, but I nearly had a heart attack when they did. There was no telling who it was, so I just paused my music on my way to the door to answer it.

It was one of the girls who had sat in front of me in the SUV over here. I tried to avoid her, really, because any time we made eye contact, she gave me these death glares from hell. Really, she was rude to anyone but the girl she was rooming with—Kiley. Kiley seemed nice enough, but I didn’t know for sure. Like everyone else, I really didn’t talk to her.

My eyebrows rose. “Yes?”

“Look, don’t even think for a second that you’re going to win this,” she said as rudely as she had come off, and she pushed her way into my room so she could close the door behind herself. “You may think you’re hot stuff because you have a room to yourself and you’re Irish like Niall, but you’re not his favorite. He said I’m cute.” She smirked. “I got four chairs. You might as well just lose any hope you have of winning right now.”

I wasn’t gonna tell anyone what had happened at my audition, but she irritated me. So, with a smirk, I laughed. “I got four chairs, too. They were fighting for me. Niall and Adam both said that I’m beautiful and sexy. But we’re not here to compare coaches’ comments. If ya have confidence in yourself, that’s fantastic, but telling me I’m gonna lose before ya even know for yourself won’t guarantee that you win. I’m gonna fight and do my best to win, and if ya win, more power to ya, but don’t think cause you got four chairs that you’ve locked this in. You’re not the only one.” I opened the door back up and gestured for her to leave. “I’m kinda busy, so, if ya don’t mind, please leave. And don’t leave any of your oversized ego either.”

My comment really pissed her off, but she had nothing to say back, so she just left. I was a little breathless as I slid down the door, but I felt accomplished—proud. I had stood for myself and won! Was this a new me coming out?

I pondered that thought some more as I finished unpacking and put my hair up into a cute but quick ponytail. It was fine curly and down, but it’s just easier to do things with it up.

Today, I was dressed in a pair of torn dark jeans and a black camisole underneath a neon pink lacy tank top. Both fit me, so they weren’t loose or super tight. Still, I was comfortable, and I had my lucky All-Star converse on as well.

As the hour began coming to an end, I started heading downstairs and into the specified living room. It wasn’t really surprising to find Niall already in here, but it was surprising to see that I was the first one down.

He was on the phone, but when he noticed my presence in the room, he started trying to get off the phone. “No. Harry, I—no. Look, I’ll call ya back later, alright? I’m busy.” And he just hung up, just like that, and when he did, he gave me that gorgeous toothy grin that lit up his eyes and also my entire world. “Hey there, fellow-Irishman. Or woman, I guess I should say.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Hi.”

“I’ve been curious about you,” he informed me. “You really are quite beautiful, and from the moment I saw you back in Nashville, I just . . . .” He trailed off, though, and his eyes got serious as his smile faded. “Never mind. I’m glad ya picked me.”

“How did you know which room I would be in?” I asked. Out of all the questions in my mind, that one was the first to come out.

Now, he smiled again as he began messing with his hair. “It was just a lucky guess, really. Don’t, uh, mention that yours had your name on it. Everyone else’s was a general message.”

This surprised me, but I didn’t have time to question it because the girl from before came rushing down the stairs. Niall’s eyebrows rose as he looked back to her, and I really didn’t want to know why. Instead, I quirked my mouth to the side and began gnawing on my lip.

“Hello there, Brinley,” he said, and even though he sounded polite, he seemed uncertain. “Uh, we’re just about to start as soon as everyone gets down here.”

“I thought I’d come down early,” she said in an annoyingly flirty voice that made my fists clench so tightly my already pale fists turned snow white. “I didn’t realize you were busy.”

Why did it bother me that she was flirting? I mean, that’s her business . . . .

“We were just talking, casual conversation,” Niall assured her. “What do ya think about Los Angeles?”

“Well, I come from Manhattan, so the craziness isn’t really new for me,” she said, almost like she was trying to impress him. “I think it’s pretty cool, and it’s handy that there’s a beach nearby.”

“There’s also a pool here,” Niall informed her. “I forgot to mention that, but I’ll show you guys later. Right now, we need to get to know each other.”

Shortly after that, everyone came flooding in. It wasn’t long until all the seats were taken, and even though I was the first in there, I didn’t get one. I was beyond grateful when Noah patted the armrest beside him. It was really nice of him, and I thanked him with a smile as Niall began talking.

“We’re a very interesting group of people, the youngest team of them all,” Niall began. He had a pleasant smile, but it was nothing like what he had given me earlier.

That’s when I remembered to look at Brinley to see what had him so uncertain. She was dressed in a very low cut top with her boobs practically falling out of the overly tight camisole. She also had on super short shorts that were tight against her tiny butt.

It was really nasty to see, and I understood his uncertainty.

That was kind of irritating, though, because she wasn’t the only one with big boobs, and her butt wasn’t anything special. I really didn’t see why she bothered.

I focused on Niall again, though, when I remembered that she didn’t matter to me. She wasn’t my concern, only competition.

“I have confidence in all of you,” Niall continued. “They say we’re too young, but let’s face it. I was sixteen when I auditioned for the X-Factor. Justin Bieber was fourteen when he started becoming big. So, don’t let anyone tell ya that you’re too young for this. I think the oldest person here is twenty-two. Is that right?” No one protested, so he assumed that he was right. “See? Look, with the talent we have sitting in this room, I truly believe we can beat all of the other guys. Some of them will be tough to beat, but I’ve heard ‘em all. I know how they sound, and I also know how you sound. I pushed my button for all of you because I heard something that I think could win. I’m new, but hey! So are you guys. Now, that awkward pep talk is done, let’s introduce ourselves. I know, we’re not children, but it’s good to know your team. Yeah, they’re competition, but they’re also allies. You need to make sure you have at least okay standings with everyone, so no fighting. No bickering over who’s gonna win because, let’s face it, no one really knows. Now, who will start? Say your name, where you’re from, and something random about you.”

Brinley, as her way to suck up, stood up first with an all too perky smile. “I guess I’ll start. I’m Brinley Pearson. I’m from Manhattan, and I have a belly button piercing.” She actually lifted her shirt to show everyone, and some of the guys immediately caught the hint that she was probably an easy target.

Niall looked like he would roll his eyes in other circumstances, but instead, he nodded. “Okay. Who’s next?”

Kiley stood up next. “I’m Kiley Black. I’m from Boston, and I have eight tattoos.”

Niall actually found this one interesting. “Okay. That’s cool. Next?”

Everyone stood up and introduced themselves from there. Most didn’t have very interesting random things to tell about themselves, and I had a hard time remembering their first names, much less their last names. I remembered Noah’s, though. Noah Stephens.

I was the last to introduce myself because after Brinley started, it just sort of went in order around the room, landing me a spot last. “Um, I’m Everit Eberly. I was born in Kenmare, Ireland, and I moved to Fairview, Alabama a few years ago and go to school in the city. Uh . . . I have a collection of neon socks.”

“That is fantastic!” Niall said, and as he stood from the couch and pointed to me, a huge grin pulled across his face. “I love bright colors, and apparently you do too.”

I laughed and nodded, stealing a glance at my shirt for just a second. “I definitely do.”

Notes

Everit's outfit can be found here, if you wanna check it out.

This is, so far, a two part story. I have The Voice completely written out, though I plan to edit as I post them. I just don't wanna put it all up here if no one wants to read it, ya know? :)

I was excited to get a subscriber after I just put it up. :) That was exciting, hence why I put up the first chapter.

I hope you enjoy this series, and please, comment and lemme know what you think. :) Your input is very much accepted and desired.