It was super exciting to have everyone back with me again. Everyone in the house knew about Niall and me, and with me being the only one still in the competition, it was so much more relaxed.

The first thing I did Wednesday—after everyone got there, of course, and we all ate breakfast—was wait for Niall to tell me what he needed to tell me. He knew I was curious to hear what celebrity I’d be singing with, so of course, he drug that out and saved it for last.

Niall smiled at me. “Alright, Evie. Your solo performances Monday night are all up to you. I’m giving you complete control on those. If you want suggestions, I guess I’ll give you some, but I want you to do this. Don’t forget to work on your first single if you win, also. Are you gonna do a cover, or what?”

I shook my head. “No. I’ve got something written.”

His eyebrows rose. “Alright. Well, give it to the band first chance you get. You’ve got a lot to do this week—many songs to rehearse. You’re gonna do something with the finalists, and since the top twenty are back, you can do something with some of them, too.”

I nodded. “I’ve already got something for that. And, um, do they know what song the finalists are all singing?”

Niall noticed there was a reason I asked, but he nodded. “Yeah. I think they said Pictures of You by The Last Goodnight.”

I groaned. “Uhh. I love that song, but I kinda mixed something together that I think would be awesome if we did.”

“Well, as soon as I bring in your celebrity you’re singing with, I’ll go call someone and see if that can be arranged,” he agreed. Now, his smile grew, and he cleared his throat. “Harry, open the door.”

Harry nodded, and with a grin of his own, he walked over to the door and pulled it open. He poked his head out and waved at whoever was outside, and it took all of my willpower to stay seated.

Niall wasn’t finished talking, and he smiled when my attention came back to him. “You know, it didn’t take any time at all to figure out who to bring in for you. This was probably the easiest decision I’ve made all year. I’m sure introductions aren’t even necessary.”

And in walked Hayley Williams, Taylor York, and Jeremy Davis. Of Paramore.

---

You can imagine I freaked out. The thing that freaked me out the most was Hayley. She was like, “Dude, I’m not leaving without your autograph. Seriously! You sing our songs better than I do! You’re insanely good.”

The entire week flew by. Between receiving an early copy of Midnight Memories and listening the shit out of that album, rehearsing, goofing off with all my friends that had come back, shopping, hanging out with Chris . . . it just flew by. It was a bit terrifying to realize that the finale was so close, but it was.

For the finals and finale, I was singing a total of five songs, six if I won. That made the week super busy. Even though everyone at the house knew about Niall and me, there was no time for anything but a simple kiss goodnight. Sure, he slept beside me, but that was it.

That was enough, though, to make it the best week so far.

By the time Monday rolled around, I was ready. Truthfully, I wasn’t a bit nervous. If I didn’t win, I had still gotten far enough to tour with One Direction and make something of myself. If I did win, even better.

Niall kissed my shoulder softly as I stared at my reflection. He was about to leave for the show while I finished getting ready, but for now, he was in here with me, making it very hard for both of us to leave.

I giggled when his teeth grazed the skin on my shoulder. “You’re giving yourself a boner. Sure you wanna do that?”

He groaned. “If we had more time . . . .”

“And my dad wasn’t downstairs.”

Niall grinned mischievously at me, those blue eyes shining. “I can be quiet.”

I scowled at him. “No. Anyways, you should probably get going. It’s only gonna get worse the longer you stand there.”

He pouted about it, but I closed my eyes and made him leave. Kiley was right—I couldn’t resist that face.

After putting on the necklace Niall got that matched my ring, loving the way my natural ringlet curls fell on my shoulders, I laced up my glittery high top converse and straightened out my dark teal strapless dress.

I loved the poof in the skirt.

When I got downstairs, I nearly fainted at the sight that I saw. One Direction—minus Niall—and their girlfriends were all standing there, just smiling up at me—along with, you know, Little Mix.

Kiley was standing with Max, and beside him was the rest of the bunch: Chris, Dad, Noah, and Madi. So many people . . . .

Eleanor actually squealed a little. “She really is much prettier in person!”

I slowly descended the stairs, giving them all a nervous smile. “Uh, hi. If I had known anyone was down here, I wouldn’t have taken so long.”

Louis smirked. “You were a bit preoccupied.”

I knew I was blushing, though I tried to seem nonchalant. “It’s great meeting all of you. I’m Everit.”

“Welcome to the family, Everit,” Harry said, and he smiled. “I know it’s not official yet, but you’re stuck with all of us now. Enjoy.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

---

This was it. The final week. In just two days, I would go home whether I won or not. The idea of being away from Niall was frightening, and truthfully, we had a lot to talk about before we went our separate ways, but it was only a matter of a day before my life could be changed forever.

Well, I guess I can’t say that. It already had been changed forever.

Emma almost had a heart attack when I told her backstage about Little Mix all being here. Truth was, Niall didn’t know what we were performing. He didn’t know that Kiley, Madi, Emma, and I were singing Salute tomorrow during the finale. We refused to tell him.

I was super stoked about the guest performer tonight, though. Jason Derülo was performing Talk Dirty, and Emma and I were the backup dancers. The best part? We put together the routine. There wasn’t anyone doing it for us. Just like we put together the dance for Salute, we did this one, too.

It was very nerve-wrecking, more so than my actual performance was, but I was excited to get to really dance like we were.

First, though, I was the first performance. And last performance, with the dance in the middle.

Breathe, Everit. Breathe. This is only, like, the biggest performance night of the competition yet. You know, the performance night that decides if you win or lose.

And I had to dance in the middle of it . . . in an almost sexy outfit.

Niall and I were standing next to each other on the stage while Carson started up the show.
Emma and Adam were on one side of us, while Jesse and Blake were on the other.

“The top contestant of Team Niall is none other than the young and beautiful Everit Eberly!” Carson exclaimed, and to my surprise and delight, when Niall and I stepped forward, Niall hugged me and kissed my hand in a very cute and very gentleman-like way. It didn’t look wrong, only a cute gesture from one coach to his contestant. The way his eyes shone, though, was kind of a dead giveaway if you were paying close attention.

While Niall went to his chair to sit by Adam, who grinned at him, I went backstage to do a final check on my ear piece and backup mike.

Emma hugged me. “Kick ass, Ev. I’m super excited about dancing with you.”

And then, Carson started saying my cue to go on. “This is the night where it all starts to come to an end. One last night of performances that you get to vote for before tomorrow night’s finale.”

I was standing by the mike by the time he finished, and I searched the crowd for the huge party of people here for me—One Direction, Little Mix, Eleanor, Sophia, Chris, Max, Kiley, Noah, Madi, and Dad.

Carson smiled. “Welcome to the stage Miss Everit Eberly singing Unpredictable!”

This was exciting. Truthfully, I had a feeling that I would lean more towards the pop rock genre after just one week of rehearsing this song. It was so catchy and fun, and I could sing while dancing around a little. It could be what I wanted it to be, and I loved that.

Adam’s eyebrows furrowed, and I heard him ask Niall, “Who is this by?”

“5 Seconds of Summer.”

The music started, and I started tapping my toes to the beat while I noticed the guys and their girlfriends jamming out a little in the audience.

What can I say? It’s a catchy tune.

“He sits at home with the lights out
Seeing life in different colors
I think it’s time that we wake up
So let me take you away

We can run down the street
With the stars in our eyes
We can tear down this town
In the dark of the night
Just open the door
We’ve got time on our side
We can make it out alive.”

At this part, I was getting really into it. I was sure I messed my hair up by now, but I didn’t really care. I was having a lot of fun.

“Hey, we’re taking on the world
I’ll take you where you wanna go
Pick you up if you fall to pieces
Let me be the one to save you
Break the plans we had before
Let’s be unpredictable
Pick you up if you fall to pieces
Let me be the one to save you

It took so long to convince you
I knew I had to show my colors
You never wanted to be rescued
But now we’re drifting away

We can run down the street
With the stars in our eyes
We can tear down this town
In the dark of the night
Just open the door
We’ve got time on our side
We can make it out alive

Hey, we’re taking on the world
I’ll take you where you wanna go
Pick you up if you fall to pieces
Let me be the one to save you
Break the plans we had before
Let’s be unpredictable
Pick you up if you fall to pieces
Let me be the one to save you.”

For the instrumental, I actually jumped around a little as a form of dancing. The guitarist stepped on a platform, and I looked up at him with a big smile before spinning around.

“Earthquakes won’t wait for another day
Don’t say I know I never said it
I never said it, oh
One day we can make it out alive

Hey, we’re taking on the world
I’ll take you where you wanna go
Pick you up if you fall to pieces
Let me be the one to save you
Break the plans we had before
Let’s be unpredictable
Pick you up if you fall to pieces
Let me be the one to save you

So let go!
Till we've lost control
And we’ll stumble through it all
Let’s do something new and unpredictable.”

Immediately, the entire room burst into loud screams and cheers, and though breathless, I laughed and stepped over by Carson, who put his arm around my shoulder while we waited for the judge’s response.

Carson looked to Blake. “Wow. Blake, your thoughts?”

He looked at Carson, then me, and then, this huge grin spread across his face. “I don’t think I was the only one, but all that jumping made me wanna get up and jump too. It looked so fun. How did you jump and have solid vocals like that? I’m amazed. Truly amazed. From the moment you picked Niall, I was scared of you, and that . . . wow.”

Christina laughed when Carson said, “Christina.”

“Everit, you are something special and different,” she informed me. “You know, all this time I’ve spent with you, even though you aren’t on my team, I’ve discovered why watching you perform is so entertaining and fulfilling. You are a genuinely beautiful person, and the light that you have inside of you shines so brightly that it’s infectious. When you’re happy, the entire room’s happy, and if you’re having fun, so is everyone else. I’ve never met anyone like you, but you’re a force to be reckoned with in this competition.”

While the audience screamed out in excitement and my eyes filled up with tears a bit, Adam got this big grin and spoke before Carson could tell him to. “You know what, I’ve been trying to figure out how to say that exact same thing. You’re different, Everit, and you have such powerful vocals backing up your light that you’re unstoppable. If you wanna do something, you’re gonna do it. Any genre you wanna do, I think you’d be successful. If you win this competition, I, for one, won’t be surprised. We have four powerful vocalists in the finals, but I think it’s gonna be really hard for someone to beat you.”

Niall had a bright smile on his lips. “Oh, just wait ‘til her second song. This was just fun. Everit, you know, I love you. I love your voice. Everything about how you perform captivates me, and I swear. For a part in that song, I completely forgot where I was and who I was. I forgot everything except you. I saw a beautiful girl having fun on stage singing a fun song with an insane voice to back it. Pop rock, rock, freaking opera! I don’t care what it is! You can do it, and when you win this competition, I’m going to be proud to say I had the privilege of working with you these past few months.”

I had to wipe the tears away from my eyes while I breathlessly smiled and looked to the cameras, while the audience cheered of course. Carson was telling the TV audience how to vote, but I didn’t hear anything that was actually happening. All I could hear were the words Niall said to me.

I love you. I saw a beautiful girl having fun on stage. When you win this competition . . . .

Wow.

After I performed, I immediately went really far backstage to the female dressing room. I was the first one in here, and as soon as Emma performed, she would be rushed in here and dressed to look just like me. They got to take their time with me, however, so they seemed to enjoy that.

For our dance routine, we were wearing a somewhat iffy outfit. I would never wear it in public, but it was a performance. It’s different.

The short skirt was really the only part I didn’t like . . . and the fact that the tight tank top was lacy and see through, but overall, it wasn’t as bad as the original idea that Emma and I quickly shot down.

Anyways, we were wearing a gold highly decorated bra underneath a white lacy tank top. We had a black leather skirt to go with it that was actually pretty badass, with the gold chains and buttons. Like I said, it was a bit short, but the black pantyhose we were wearing kinda made it much better.

For shoes, we had gold dance boots, and the makeup was a bit wild. Our hair was simple. Since we both had really curly hair naturally, we put our natural curls in an awesome ponytail with a bump at the front, and we made sure it looked sexy.

That was it. Emma got ready faster than me, as I said, and when Jesse finished his first song and commercials started, it was time for us to head out.

Emma looked casual whereas I was freaking out. This was like nothing I had done before. Of course she had. I mean, she was a pop singer who could rap. The songs she sang were songs that you had to dance to, and even though I sang Dirty Love, I didn’t dance like this.

E.T. would be different, but . . . you know . . . .

To start, we were behind a screen. We started dancing behind the screen for the opening of the song, but as soon as he got to the pre-chorus, we would come out and start dancing where we could be seen. This was fun because none of the judges knew we were doing this. They would be totally surprised.

Especially Niall.

Carson’s voice nearly caused me to have a heart attack, but Emma gave me a reassuring smile and shrugged. “Come on, Ev. We’ve got this. Just like we rehearsed.”

Right. Just like we rehearsed.

I could do this!

“. . . Jason Derülo singing his song Talk Dirty!”

While everyone cheered, we both got in our starting position, which was a sexy pose with our hands above our heads.

And we started.

For the first part behind the screen, the dancing wasn’t as fun. It was mostly just moving positions, but as soon as he got to the, “Been around the world,” part, things really picked up.

When Emma and I popped out, everyone began screaming while Niall, Blake, and Adam looked at us with wide eyes. Christina was screaming for us just like the audience, and the desire burning in Niall’s eyes actually calmed me down.

Oh yes. This could be fun.

Somehow, I managed. Emma and I did it better than we had rehearsed it, and everything was going so well. In front of millions of viewers, I was able to make it better.

It was over faster than ever before. We were sweaty and breathless, and everyone was cheering. To our delight, Jason came over and hugged us both, and we waved to the crowd before scurrying backstage. Before going back, I caught a glimpse of Niall’s expression and almost ran over to attack him right then.

The way those blue eyes burned with raw passion . . . dear goodness.

Immediately after getting backstage, we were rushed back into the dressing room. Once again,
Emma was rushed into her final outfit. Since I was last, they got to take their time—sort of. The makeup for this one was almost as hard as the hair I had planned.

I couldn’t really explain the hair . . . other than chaos. It was all put up, except random strands left down, but it was put up in a way that made the glow in the dark pop really well if it was ever dark. My eyes were covered in lace and glitter, and I kind of frightened myself when I looked in the mirror.

For my nails, they were white with a lace layer over them. I had silver rhinestones on my black tights, and my dress was a variety of silver and black sequins.

Lace fingerless gloves, my promise ring, my necklace to go with it, lace-up heeled boots—half an hour later, I was ready for my final performance of the night.

Good thing, too, because I was up next.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, last but not least, we have Miss Everit Eberly singing her own version of a very popular song,” I heard Carson announce right about the time I started walking onto the performance stage. My heart was pounding, but from the look in Niall’s eyes, I knew that this was gonna be good.

As if I hadn’t tormented the poor boy enough.

“Singing E.T., give it up for Everit!”

The lights dimmed, except for a single back spotlight on me. You could barely make out my face, which was kinda the point. I think everyone—except Niall, of course—was genuinely surprised at the piano that started instead of the usual music.

When it was my time to come in, I did in a soft and almost creepy voice. Almost . . . .

“Extraterrestrial, extraterrestrial
You’re from a whole ‘nother world
A different dimension
You open my eyes
And I’m ready to go
Lead me into the light.”

Like planned, all the lights in the room went out for a couple of seconds. It gave me time to take the mike off the stand and get in time for the next tempo that was about to start.

People were screaming in excitement, and when the lights came back on, they loved the way I was standing—mike stand in one hand, legs spread apart, mike in the other hand, taunting look in my eyes.

This song was awesome because, like Unpredictable, I got to dance around a little more. Not routine dance, but have a little fun kind of dance. Even with the slight rock edge I gave it, I could still dance, grind my hips in the way I noticed drove Niall crazy.

“Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your love and
Fill me with your poison

Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be a victim
Ready for abduction

Boy, you’re an alien
Your touch so foreign
It's supernatural
Extraterrestrial

You’re so hypnotizing
Could you be the devil?
Could you be an angel?

Your touch magnetizing
Feels like I am floating
Leaves my body glowing

They say be afraid
You’re not like the others
Futuristic lover
Different DNA
They don’t understand you

You’re from a whole ‘nother world
A different dimension
You open my eyes
And I’m ready to go
Lead me into the light

Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your love and
Fill me with your poison

Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be a victim
Ready for abduction

Boy, you’re an alien
Your touch so foreign
It’s supernatural
Extraterrestrial.”

For the bridge, I was a little iffy about it, but I decided to go for it. I don’t know if anyone could tell, but I was looking right into Niall’s burning blue eyes.

“This is transcendental
On another level
Boy, you’re my lucky star
I wanna walk on your wave length
And be there when you vibrate
For you, I’ll risk it all
All!”

The crowd was going absolutely crazy when I hit that note.

“Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me
Infect me with your love and
Fill me with your poison

Take me, ta-ta-take me
Wanna be a victim
Ready for abduction

Boy, you’re an alien
Your touch so foreign
It’s supernatural
Extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial

Boy, you’re an alien
Your touch so foreign
It’s supernatural
Extraterrestrial.”

The lights went back to normal, and Carson had wide eyes when he walked over and put his arm around me. From the way he smiled, I figured it was probably a good surprise.

“Wow,” he said, and he actually looked down at me. “I wasn’t expecting that. Awesome job. Blake, your thoughts?”

Blake’s eyelids stared blinking at a rapid pace while he shook his head. “I’m still trying to get over that moment where there were no lights. You hair! That’s insane!”

While I laughed, Carson said, “Christina?”

“Everit, you are beyond sexy!” she exclaimed. “It’s insane. Look at Niall over there.”

Niall’s eyebrows rose as he let out a snort. “Alright, I’m just saying, no single and straight man isn’t gonna be turned on by that.”

My eyes were wide, and while the crowd cheered, I turned a deep red that only made Niall laugh.

Blake frowned at Christina. “There’s something not right with you. Don’t take away from the incredible performance that way! Shame on you. Everit, that was awesome. You made that song your own, and you performed it perfectly. I guess since it’s a sexy song, that’s how people see it.”

Christina made a face at him. “I wasn’t finished! It was an incredible and sexy performance!”

Adam smirked up at me. “I second that. Damn, Everit! First I find out you can dance, quite well, and now this? You can do anything you want, and that’s what makes you unstoppable. I know I said that earlier, but I mean that. You are unstoppable, and I don’t think it’ll be long before you conquer the world.”

Niall had a smile that surprised me. I expected something to hide his desire, but it was a genuinely excited smile. “I have to agree with him there. I don’t have a single doubt in my mind about this. You know, winning this competition will change your life, but win or lose, this isn’t the last we’ll ever hear from Everit Eberly. To use Adam’s phrase, win or lose, I don’t think it’ll be long before you conquer the world. You’re like nothing I’ve ever come across, Everit. You’ve changed my life. I can’t wait to see where this goes, to see how you do when this is all said and done. Amazing performance. You continue to get better, to the point I think you’ve ended up teaching me more than I taught you. Congratulations.”

I was crying when Carson began talking to the viewers, telling them how to vote for me. I had to wipe the tears away so I could smile at the crowd because this was too unreal.

This was my reality . . . it really was.

Notes

The lyrics are from Burning Gold by Christina Perri. :) I absolutely adore her. Really. <3 Actually, a couple of her songs are some that "Everit writes."

To be fair, I really tried to write my own songs for this story, but it failed horribly. Like, the songs I wrote were terrible, so I kinda have to cheat and use other people's. They'll get due credit, of course, but . . . as you'll see in later chapters, the lyrics aren't from my own songs. x3

Alright, so I'm not gonna get the rest of them up. I've gotta go to the doctor pretty early, and I just kinda realized it was super late, so I'm gonna do my best to get the rest up tomorrow! Then, on with the Tour and more updates for When the Leaves Begin to Fall. :)

Everit's outfits: Unpredictable
Talk Dirty
E.T.

Let me know what you think! Not really much excitement or cuteness going on in this chapter, but it's important, nonetheless. x3