Nothing Lasts Forever/ /PART 1.

[no recap.]

I took the sticker from the woman, my hands shaking with anticipation as I stuck it to my belly. From now on, I was known as number 941156. My X-Factor audition number. I took a deep breath as I held my water bottle tightly, walking into the waiting room with my Dad close in tow behind me. Ella was further behind, with Natasha and Uncle Nick just next to her. I glanced around the large room, thousands of other hopefuls were competing with me for a place in bootcamp... How was I going to do this? I spotted a group of empty chairs, my heart slowing a bit as I had actually found a place to sit. My Dad weaved through the crowd in front of me, making a beeline straight for them as Ella grabbed my hand. "You'll be fine!" She grinned, as if she could read my mind. It didn't surprise me, we had been best friends since pre-school. I took another deep breath, reaching the chairs just seconds before Dad did, stretching out my hand for the comfiest looking one. Another hand collided with mine, forcing me to look up and into their eyes. They were the most incredible shade of brown, but that was the only extraordinary thing about him, except he was hot. Really hot. I smiled sweetly.

"You won't mind me taking this chair will you?" I glanced to his number then back at his face, he was auditioning. Great.

"Actually I do." He smirked, cocky little- The smile disappeared from my lips as I glared at him, realising our hands were clamped down over each other. My face blushed a light shade of pink, thankfully hid by my blusher.

"Zayn! Leave the poor girl alone!" A boy yelled, running over, his skin the same tanned shade as 'Zayn's'. He chuckled and patted Zayn on the back.

"She was enjoying it Ant, weren't you?" I rose my eyebrows, was this guy for real? 'Ant' rolled his eyes again, grabbing Zayn's hood and slowly pulling him away. He formed his left hand fingers into a mobile shape, mouthing 'call me' as he disappeared into the drone of people. I rolled my eyes, going to sit down on the seat but spotting a small piece of paper lying on the red fabric. Sure enough, Zayn's number was scrawled across it. So he had planned it all, clever. I took the paper and scrunched it up, shoving it into my pocket as I sat down. Ella soon sat next to me, with Natasha opposite. My Dad and Uncle Nick had gone off somewhere to grab some drinks since I was the only one prepared with a bottle of water. Anxious butterflies licked the inside of my stomach violently, feeling like acid. I hated the feeling of nerves. Natasha gave me a warm grin, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Don't worry Beth, you'll smash it!" I sunk lower in my seat still gripping Tash's fingers, I just hoped she was right.

A few hours had passed and I didn't see Zayn or Ant again, not that it bothered me, I thought he was a bit of a dick. Tash was curled up on two seats, her blonde curls draped neatly over her eyes, framing her petite face. Ella had her nose buried deep into Wuthering Heights, pushing her brown hair behind her ears every few minutes when it fell against the pages. Uncle Nick was sat next to Natasha, in deep conversation with my Dad sat opposite him. The butterflies in my stomach didn't get any lighter, it felt as if they were growing in numbers. The huge wooden double doors at the end of the room swung open, a woman emerging with a microphone and clipboard. She called out six numbers, pausing then reading out one other. "941156." I took a sharp intake of breath, standing up and glancing around the large room. I heard a muffled chuckle from the other side of the room, and my gaze snapped over to the group, Zayn stood up at the front. I tore my eyes away from his gaze and saw another boy, rougly my age, with his hair quiffed. He clutched his water bottle tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white as he approached the woman.

"Hurry up idiot!" Natasha hissed, poking her fingers into my back violently. I pushed forward, following the boy with the quiff through the doors along with my 'family members'. It got a lot cooler as we entered the backstage area and I immediately took a seat on some black boxes along with Natasha, Ella hovered in front of us and glanced around. The quiff guy walked over to us, a small smile on his face. He waved.

"Hey, I'm Aiden. Grimshaw, you're the one auditioning I'm guessing?" He pointed to my number on my stomach and I nodded.

"Yeah," I glanced to his number, he was before me. "I'm Beth." I held out a hand and he shook it lightly, running his other hand through his hair. The backstage manager rushed over to us, tapping Aiden's forearm and giving him a friendly smile, indicating to the stage with his thumb and looking to me.

"You both wanna' come do some interviews before you go on?" Me and Aiden both nodded, taking our respectable parents further into the backstage area where Dermot was waiting as a young girl belted out a Lady Gaga song. I took a deep breath, Dermot walking over to both of us.

"You mind if I have a chat with..." Dermot smiled, looking at Aiden.

"Oh, Aiden!" Aiden reached out his hand and shook Dermot's, shooting me a quick wave before walking off. I was left watching the girl on the small monitors, stood slightly behind her family. Simon put his hand up, signalling for the song to be cut off early. I gulped. But she was incredible... I watched anxiously, his facial expression was that of disappointment. Louis glanced to him as Nicole wore the same expression, I really couldn't understand.

"That song was all wrong for your voice, it's so gentle and you chose a harsh song. It ruined it for me." I took in a harsh breath, watching as the girls dreams came crumbling down with every word shot at her. She choked back sobs, but failed as the harsh cries escaped her lips and she rushed off the stage, smashing into my shoulder as she did so. I stumbled back, a pair of hands supporting my back.

"Thanks..." I mumbled, the nerves suddenly getting to me ten fold. The shaky hands that were holding me propped me up and I turned to thank them, but was met with the anxious eyes of Zayn. He looked how I felt, vulnerable, scared, shaken. This whole thing was nothing close to a joke. "It's intense isn't it?" I frowned, glancing over to Aiden who's hands were covering his face. We'd all witnessed something we begged not to happen to us. I felt a hand slip into mine and I glanced down, seeing tanned skin reflecting against my own pale complexion. Zayn squeezed my fingers, his eyes still locked on the stage as he gulped and took a deep breath. "You'll be great!" I smiled, squeezing his fingers lightly in return. I had read him all wrong, I thought he was cocky and arrogant when really, he was just scared. Like I was. Aiden finished his interview, grabbing the mic from one of the sound technicians and looking towards me, smiling before walking on stage. The butterflies disappeared for a few brief seconds, letting me yell out a loud cheer for my new friend. Zayn did the same, removing his hand from mine and clapping. I was disappointed but shook it off, after today I'd probably never see him again.

"She take my money, when I'm in need..." Aiden sang, his voice was so different, but incredible none the less. I stayed mesmerized throughout the performance, Zayn hovering nervously beside me. Even if one of us got rejected, I felt like it would effect all three of us. My eyes were glued to the monitor, but I made sure to stay well out of the camera shot, the thing I wanted least right now was to be declared Aiden's girlfriend.

His song slowly faded out, with Simon, Louis and Nicole all saying their respectable opinions. It sounded good... My fingers crossed themselves over each other tightly, turning white with the sudden pressure. The silence was agonizing, and it wasn't even me who was getting the decision. I bit down on my bottom lip and glanced to Zayn, his hands cupping around his mouth as he stared wide eyed at the screen. You could've cut the tension with a knife it hung so heavily around us.

"Aiden, this is very easy, a hundred percent yes!" Louis said, a smile on his face. The crowd erupted into cheers as waited even longer. Nicole simply said 'yes', and he was through... He was through! I screamed, jumping up and down and screaming again.

"Aiden..." We all froze, I practically wanted to run on stage and scream at him to say yes. Put him through with three yes'. "Three yes'." A crazy cheer echoed around the stage, every single audience member screaming with joy, but Aiden's family were screaming enough for the whole world. Aiden sped off stage, a bright smile beaming from his face as he ran into his Mum's arms. Dermot quickly appeared, asking him multiple questions as Zayn got ready. He moved over to the curtains and I gave him a quick smile, walking over to Dermot to get interviewed.

"Hey there, what's your name?"

"Beth Rogers, I'm seventeen." I smiled, Natasha and Ella lingering behind me.

"Ah, so, who's here with you today?"

"My best friend Ella, my cousin Natasha, my Uncle and my Dad." I grinned, brushing my fringe from my eyes.

He asked me a few more questions, things about why I was auditioning for x-factor, mainly the things I had answered in the waiting room when I'd been interviewed there. He asked me things like where I was from, why I decided to audition, who pushed me to do it and soon it was over. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, turning around and giving Ella and Tash a bright thumbs up. Tash flashed me a wide smile, her pearly white teeth reflecting off the lights. My eyes only briefly lingered on her though, moving to her shoulder and spotting a shape clutching a mic, his hands shaking stupid amounts. Zayn's brown eyes glanced to me, a frightened look haunting his dark pupils. I shook my head, nodding my head towards the stage as the Stage Manager pushed his hand into his back. He stumbled on and I stifled a laugh as Natasha wound her arms around my shoulders, her blonde hair tickling my nose. She thought I was looking at the floor, trying to calm my nerves, but I wasn't of course. I was peeking at the monitor, desperate to watch Zayn.

"I'm gonna' sing Mario, Let Me Love You?"