Always
A Brief Glimpse
Harry’s POV
Monday, 2nd May
Auditions finished for the day and I closed my folder, filled with sheets of paper covered in handwritten notes. We had seen well over 75 people today and only half of them got through to Bootcamp. Some contestants, as much as I hated to say it, were shit. Didn’t they realise how terrible they were? Why didn’t their friends or family tell them the truth instead of giving them false hope? I didn’t understand that and by saying no to many people, that was the harsh truth of the music industry. I knew how hard it was and some people just weren’t right to go through all of that.
I headed to my dressing room at The X Factor studios and closed the door behind me. I cherished having time to myself because from the age of 16, my life was in the public eyes. Just five minutes alone made me feel so much better.
I dropped into a chair by the mirror and opened my folder, flipping through the sheets. There were a few people I had my eye on and ones that I really loved. I turned the page and reached yesterday’s auditions. I smiled when I saw her name on top of the page in my handwriting.
Name: Kaylie Walker
Age: 18
City: London
Song: Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart by Ariana Grande
I had written a bunch of extra notes about her performance. How comfortable she was when she rang, the beauty of her voice, the way she made the song her own. She was still my favourite audition and I couldn’t wait to see what she would bring to the table at Bootcamp. I wanted to see what else she could sing. And on top of her beautiful voice, she was a very attractive young woman. Her eyes…like the colour of milk chocolate, warm and inviting, shining with tears. Her white smile, sending a wave of butterflies through my stomach. Her long hair the colour of caramel, cascading in waves over her shoulders, and she didn’t look that tall. I would be surprised if she was over 160cm.
Kaylie was everything an artist could be. She was a likeable person and people could fall in love with her. I wanted to help her get to that place. I would give anything to sing with her. That would be an experience I would treasure until the day I passed over to the next world.
A knock on my door brought me back to reality. Without looking up, I told whoever it was to come in. I heard footsteps followed by a very familiar voice.
“What are you thinking about, Harry?”
I raised my eyes from my folder and saw “Uncle” Simon standing in the doorway, fixing the sleeves of his navy blue V-neck jumper. I closed the folder and sat back in my chair, my fingers moving through my hair.
“Just the auditions.” I replied. I was speaking the truth so I was not lying. I’m just thinking about one audition in particular… But I didn’t say that. Not in front of Simon. There was no way I could do that.
“Well, someone’s here to see you.” Simon smiled. I narrowed my eyes, wondering who it was. My mentor stepped to the side and a pretty face appeared around his shoulder, her smile bright, her blonde hair flowing over one shoulder.
“Ella!” I cried and leapt up from my chair, walking over to engulf my cousin in a hug. It had been over two weeks since I had last seen her and I missed her greatly. I didn’t hesitate in swaying her from side-to-side, pressing a kiss to her hair.
“Hey, big cousin! How are you?” She asked.
“I’m great. You?”
“Very well. It’s so good to see you!” Ella smiled, releasing her arms from around me. She had attended a couple of shows of the UK leg of the On The Road Again tour last year and she was a great supporter of the lads and I, especially when we decided to go on a hiatus.
“I’ve got to head home now. See you tomorrow, Harry.” Simon said; I realised he was still here.
“Sure. Bye, Simon.” I said and Ella waved at him as he left the room, leaving the door half-open. I turned my attention back to my cousin.
“So, what are you doing here?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee? I wanted to know everything about being a judge on The X Factor!” She giggled.
I agreed with her offer and grabbed my bag, leaving the studios with her. Paul, my security guard and a great pal of mine, escorted us through the paparazzi, helping us into my Range Rover out the front. He closed the door, blocking out the camera flashes.
“I still don’t know how you cope with this.” Ella said to me as she clipped in her seatbelt.
“I’m never going to used to it, believe me. I just try to keep myself to myself.” I responded, turning the engine on and driving down the busy London road, leaving the cameras and the paparazzi behind.
We decided not to go to a coffee shop in the main city otherwise we’d encounter even more paparazzi. I loved the days when I could just stay home and not worry about people chasing my car down the street. I knew it was one of the things I had to put up with, being an international singer with millions of fans, but sometimes it was just too much. I mean, my mother’s iCloud was hacked a couple of months ago and it was all because she was my mother. My family got caught up in everything and that’s something I didn’t like. Just leave my family alone and you won’t piss me off. It’s as simple as that.
I finally got out of the craziness of the main city and drove down a quiet road, making conversation with Ella. We were so close I honestly considered her a sister. I felt like I was a middle child, having Gemma as my older sister and Ella as my younger one. She was a sweet girl, turning 20 at the end of the year, and was currently studying at university. She pointed out a small coffee shop and I parked in front of it.
“You want to have coffee inside?” She asked me.
“How about we go to my house? Catch up there so we don’t have to worry about paparazzi.” I said. Ella smiled and agreed. She offered to us both coffees, ignoring my protests of her paying for it, and hopped out of the car, walking into the shop.
I turned the engine off and leaned back in my car seat, rubbing my forehead with my hand. I looked out of the window at the peaceful neighbourhood, the late Spring sun beating down from the sky. Music suddenly blasted from beside me and I saw a silver Jaguar driving past, turning right down the next street. My eyes followed the car as it began to slow down. What are they doing? Then, something else caught my eye. Or rather, someone caught my eye.
“Kaylie…”
Her name fell from my lips and I was so glad Ella wasn’t in the car with me. I recognised her long caramel hair and when she looked to the right, I saw her face, taking her earphones out. She was dressed in her school uniform, her books pressed against her chest by her arms. It was different seeing her dressed in a uniform and I wondered if it was fate that I saw her just across the street.
I saw her mouth move so she was obviously talking to whoever was in the car. Why are they slowing down in the middle of the street? Why is Kaylie talking to them? I was confused. Then, the Jaguar drove down the road, disappearing out of my eyesight. Kaylie placed her earphones back in her ears and continued to walk down the street, her head lowered. From her posture, I could tell she was upset. But why? I badly wanted to get out of the car and console her…but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to risk getting photographed or her thinking I followed her from wherever her school was. So I remained in the car and watched her walk down the street by herself.
“Who are you looking at?”
Ella’s voice made me jump and I looked over to see her climbing into the car, balancing two coffees in one hand. Fortunately, she didn’t drop them onto the pristine seats and handed me one, which I gladly took. It was nice and hot and its smell was amazing.
“Oh, no-one.” I lied.
“No-one, my ass.” My cousin grinned, shutting the car door, and followed my gaze. Kaylie just disappeared around the corner but both of us caught the flash of her caramel hair. I took a sip of my coffee and looked out of the windscreen, avoiding the massive smile on Ella’s face.
“Who was that?”
I sighed and took another sip of my coffee, paying no attention to her question. It was none of her business. I ran my hand through my hair again and sighed. Ella was about to knock my coffee out of my hand but I avoided the impact by turning to the side, which meant my shoulder took the impact.
“Ow!” I grumbled, rubbing the spot where she hit me.
“You got your eye on a girl, Harry? Was it her? Is it? What’s her name?” My cousin demanded. I groaned and leaned back to rest my head against the seat. I knew I had to tell her now otherwise she wouldn’t stop asking me questions. So I told her everything. I told Ella who Kaylie was, how I knew her, the potential she had, how amazing her voice was.
“So, do you like her?”
“Of course. She’s got an incredible voice-” But Ella cut me off.
“Not that, dumbass. I mean, do you like her?” She asked again, emphasising the word “like”. I finally got what she meant and let out a chuckle.
“I’ve only met her once, Ella!”
“Yeah but that doesn’t stop attraction, Harry.” My cousin smiled widely, lifting the takeaway coffee cup to her lips.
I looked away from her and took another gulp of my hot coffee. I suddenly realised Ella was right. I was attracted to Kaylie. The second she walked onto the stage, I liked her. She was beautiful and I could already tell she had a kind heart. Her voice only made me like her even more. I couldn’t wait until Bootcamp because I would see Kaylie again and I would do everything I could to get to know her.
When we finished our coffees, I turned the car on again and we drove back to my house, resuming our conversation about friends and family. But Kaylie was always in the back of my mind.
Monday, 2nd May
Auditions finished for the day and I closed my folder, filled with sheets of paper covered in handwritten notes. We had seen well over 75 people today and only half of them got through to Bootcamp. Some contestants, as much as I hated to say it, were shit. Didn’t they realise how terrible they were? Why didn’t their friends or family tell them the truth instead of giving them false hope? I didn’t understand that and by saying no to many people, that was the harsh truth of the music industry. I knew how hard it was and some people just weren’t right to go through all of that.
I headed to my dressing room at The X Factor studios and closed the door behind me. I cherished having time to myself because from the age of 16, my life was in the public eyes. Just five minutes alone made me feel so much better.
I dropped into a chair by the mirror and opened my folder, flipping through the sheets. There were a few people I had my eye on and ones that I really loved. I turned the page and reached yesterday’s auditions. I smiled when I saw her name on top of the page in my handwriting.
Name: Kaylie Walker
Age: 18
City: London
Song: Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart by Ariana Grande
I had written a bunch of extra notes about her performance. How comfortable she was when she rang, the beauty of her voice, the way she made the song her own. She was still my favourite audition and I couldn’t wait to see what she would bring to the table at Bootcamp. I wanted to see what else she could sing. And on top of her beautiful voice, she was a very attractive young woman. Her eyes…like the colour of milk chocolate, warm and inviting, shining with tears. Her white smile, sending a wave of butterflies through my stomach. Her long hair the colour of caramel, cascading in waves over her shoulders, and she didn’t look that tall. I would be surprised if she was over 160cm.
Kaylie was everything an artist could be. She was a likeable person and people could fall in love with her. I wanted to help her get to that place. I would give anything to sing with her. That would be an experience I would treasure until the day I passed over to the next world.
A knock on my door brought me back to reality. Without looking up, I told whoever it was to come in. I heard footsteps followed by a very familiar voice.
“What are you thinking about, Harry?”
I raised my eyes from my folder and saw “Uncle” Simon standing in the doorway, fixing the sleeves of his navy blue V-neck jumper. I closed the folder and sat back in my chair, my fingers moving through my hair.
“Just the auditions.” I replied. I was speaking the truth so I was not lying. I’m just thinking about one audition in particular… But I didn’t say that. Not in front of Simon. There was no way I could do that.
“Well, someone’s here to see you.” Simon smiled. I narrowed my eyes, wondering who it was. My mentor stepped to the side and a pretty face appeared around his shoulder, her smile bright, her blonde hair flowing over one shoulder.
“Ella!” I cried and leapt up from my chair, walking over to engulf my cousin in a hug. It had been over two weeks since I had last seen her and I missed her greatly. I didn’t hesitate in swaying her from side-to-side, pressing a kiss to her hair.
“Hey, big cousin! How are you?” She asked.
“I’m great. You?”
“Very well. It’s so good to see you!” Ella smiled, releasing her arms from around me. She had attended a couple of shows of the UK leg of the On The Road Again tour last year and she was a great supporter of the lads and I, especially when we decided to go on a hiatus.
“I’ve got to head home now. See you tomorrow, Harry.” Simon said; I realised he was still here.
“Sure. Bye, Simon.” I said and Ella waved at him as he left the room, leaving the door half-open. I turned my attention back to my cousin.
“So, what are you doing here?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee? I wanted to know everything about being a judge on The X Factor!” She giggled.
I agreed with her offer and grabbed my bag, leaving the studios with her. Paul, my security guard and a great pal of mine, escorted us through the paparazzi, helping us into my Range Rover out the front. He closed the door, blocking out the camera flashes.
“I still don’t know how you cope with this.” Ella said to me as she clipped in her seatbelt.
“I’m never going to used to it, believe me. I just try to keep myself to myself.” I responded, turning the engine on and driving down the busy London road, leaving the cameras and the paparazzi behind.
We decided not to go to a coffee shop in the main city otherwise we’d encounter even more paparazzi. I loved the days when I could just stay home and not worry about people chasing my car down the street. I knew it was one of the things I had to put up with, being an international singer with millions of fans, but sometimes it was just too much. I mean, my mother’s iCloud was hacked a couple of months ago and it was all because she was my mother. My family got caught up in everything and that’s something I didn’t like. Just leave my family alone and you won’t piss me off. It’s as simple as that.
I finally got out of the craziness of the main city and drove down a quiet road, making conversation with Ella. We were so close I honestly considered her a sister. I felt like I was a middle child, having Gemma as my older sister and Ella as my younger one. She was a sweet girl, turning 20 at the end of the year, and was currently studying at university. She pointed out a small coffee shop and I parked in front of it.
“You want to have coffee inside?” She asked me.
“How about we go to my house? Catch up there so we don’t have to worry about paparazzi.” I said. Ella smiled and agreed. She offered to us both coffees, ignoring my protests of her paying for it, and hopped out of the car, walking into the shop.
I turned the engine off and leaned back in my car seat, rubbing my forehead with my hand. I looked out of the window at the peaceful neighbourhood, the late Spring sun beating down from the sky. Music suddenly blasted from beside me and I saw a silver Jaguar driving past, turning right down the next street. My eyes followed the car as it began to slow down. What are they doing? Then, something else caught my eye. Or rather, someone caught my eye.
“Kaylie…”
Her name fell from my lips and I was so glad Ella wasn’t in the car with me. I recognised her long caramel hair and when she looked to the right, I saw her face, taking her earphones out. She was dressed in her school uniform, her books pressed against her chest by her arms. It was different seeing her dressed in a uniform and I wondered if it was fate that I saw her just across the street.
I saw her mouth move so she was obviously talking to whoever was in the car. Why are they slowing down in the middle of the street? Why is Kaylie talking to them? I was confused. Then, the Jaguar drove down the road, disappearing out of my eyesight. Kaylie placed her earphones back in her ears and continued to walk down the street, her head lowered. From her posture, I could tell she was upset. But why? I badly wanted to get out of the car and console her…but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to risk getting photographed or her thinking I followed her from wherever her school was. So I remained in the car and watched her walk down the street by herself.
“Who are you looking at?”
Ella’s voice made me jump and I looked over to see her climbing into the car, balancing two coffees in one hand. Fortunately, she didn’t drop them onto the pristine seats and handed me one, which I gladly took. It was nice and hot and its smell was amazing.
“Oh, no-one.” I lied.
“No-one, my ass.” My cousin grinned, shutting the car door, and followed my gaze. Kaylie just disappeared around the corner but both of us caught the flash of her caramel hair. I took a sip of my coffee and looked out of the windscreen, avoiding the massive smile on Ella’s face.
“Who was that?”
I sighed and took another sip of my coffee, paying no attention to her question. It was none of her business. I ran my hand through my hair again and sighed. Ella was about to knock my coffee out of my hand but I avoided the impact by turning to the side, which meant my shoulder took the impact.
“Ow!” I grumbled, rubbing the spot where she hit me.
“You got your eye on a girl, Harry? Was it her? Is it? What’s her name?” My cousin demanded. I groaned and leaned back to rest my head against the seat. I knew I had to tell her now otherwise she wouldn’t stop asking me questions. So I told her everything. I told Ella who Kaylie was, how I knew her, the potential she had, how amazing her voice was.
“So, do you like her?”
“Of course. She’s got an incredible voice-” But Ella cut me off.
“Not that, dumbass. I mean, do you like her?” She asked again, emphasising the word “like”. I finally got what she meant and let out a chuckle.
“I’ve only met her once, Ella!”
“Yeah but that doesn’t stop attraction, Harry.” My cousin smiled widely, lifting the takeaway coffee cup to her lips.
I looked away from her and took another gulp of my hot coffee. I suddenly realised Ella was right. I was attracted to Kaylie. The second she walked onto the stage, I liked her. She was beautiful and I could already tell she had a kind heart. Her voice only made me like her even more. I couldn’t wait until Bootcamp because I would see Kaylie again and I would do everything I could to get to know her.
When we finished our coffees, I turned the car on again and we drove back to my house, resuming our conversation about friends and family. But Kaylie was always in the back of my mind.
Notes
OK, I’ve decided I will update at least once a week because I need time to get the chapters right for all of you to enjoy them :) I don’t know if Ella studies at university but this is fanfiction and I can write whatever I want. The next chapter, we will move into June so Bootcamp will start!
I’ve also added a soundtrack to this story which you can find on the summary page :) I will add to it as the story progresses.
Lastly, I would like to say that this story is dedicated to my great friend, XKALEIGHSTYLES57X, not just because the main character’s name is her name just spelt in a different way, but because she is such a kind person and she made banners for both of my stories!
blankspace1 xx
We’re dying for an update here. I love it. <3
11/19/17