Cameron and Damian started to rehearse Baby It's Cold Outside in front of both Chris and Darren after they had the one to one sessions with each actor.
I really can't stay
Cameron started; he twirled away from Damian with awkward movements, avoiding the Irish boy.
But baby, it's cold outside
Damian sang, chasing the blonde boy and trying to grab his arm to stop him from walking away.
Darren and Chris sat watching the performance with expressionless faces.
"Wait, wait, stop" Chris exclaimed suddenly, both the boys looked around at Chris, stopping what they were doing instantaneously. "Cameron you need to be less awkward and more flirty, you're tripping over your own feet. You need to act confident." Cameron let out a sigh and nodded. "Let your emotions flow through" Chris urged, smiling at Cameron.
Cameron nodded once more and turned back to Damian who was grinning at the blonde boy.
"Come on Cam, flirt more" He taunted, causing the blonde boy to blush thoroughly. He nudged past his Irish friend muttering a 'Shut up, Dam" as he walked past.
Chris smiled fondly at the two boys; their relationship just seemed so familiar to him. His eyes met with Darren's for a brief moment before he shot his glance back to the two boys, flustered.
"From the top!" Darren called. Cameron stood in front of Damian looking down at the Irish boy seductively, Damian was caught off guard. Cameron has never looked at him like that. His chest felt unusually heavy as his heartbeat increased.
I really can't stay
Cameron twirled flawlessly this time, managing to nudge Damian playfully while he did so. He sauntered away from Damian. The Irish boys eyes widened in alarm, he didn't want to let Cameron go. He followed his friend aimlessly, keeping the distance as close as possible. He reached out a hand and grabbed Cameron's in desperation to keep him close.
But baby, it's cold outside
Damian pleaded, Cameron shrugged and nudged him away more, casting him a smirk and a flirty glance.
I've got to go away
Damian managed to keep up with Cameron's movements, still following the boy like a long lost puppy.
But baby, it's cold outside
The boys carried out the duet in the same fashion, until the last line in which Damian had grabbed Cameron's hand and pulled him a little too hard, causing Cameron to crash into him. Cameron managed to hold his ground and not fall over however the sudden impact of Cameron's body on his left Damian hurtling towards the floor. Cameron reached out a hand in alarm and caught Damian before he fell. They locked gazes and something about the look in Damian's eyes made Cameron's heart stop, made his chest hurt.
Darren coughed to bring both boys out of their trance. He grinned at their bewildered expressions.
"That was great!" Chris exclaimed "Cameron you were much better" Cameron grinned at the praise, his smile became impossibly wide as Damian clapped him affectionately on the back. "Although Damian, maybe try not to kill both you and Cameron last time!" Both boys laughed, Damian turned red, clearly embarrassed for his actions.
"That's it for today I think you're both ready vocally" Darren remarked "You'll be recording it tomorrow so you'll do fine" Darren encouraged both the boys who agreed instantly.
"Thank you guys' so much" Damian said, earning happy smiles from both the mentors.
"Yeah, I mean you helped us so much" Cameron caught Chris' eye "In more ways than one, so thank you" He finished off, Chris smiled at the blonde boy.
"Oh guys, stop it you're making me blush!" Darren exclaimed, feigning embarrassment which earned an eye roll from Chris.
"We'll see you two tomorrow before recording" Chris told them "So go get your lunch and keep practicing!" Chris called after the two boys who waved in return and muttered thank you a couple more times before leaving.
Chris pushed past Darren and sighed as he took a seat next to him. Darren however stood up to move behind Chris.
"Who knew that mentoring could be so exhausting" Chris felt Darren's hands on his back, he turned his head to give Darren a confused look.
"I'm giving you a massage." Darren whispered as his fingers rubbed slowly at the knots in Chris' back. Chris could hardly suppress a satisfied moan.
"Okay, fine but that's only because my back is killing me." Chris remarked, closing his eyes at the soothing sensations of Darren's fingers.
Darren chuckled lightly.
"Did you ever find out why Cameron chose Damian as his partner?" Darren asked, digging his fingers deeper making Chris groan slightly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Chris asked, Darren shrugged.
"I didn't mentor the kid" Darren replied. "Damian on the other hand is so in love with Cameron it hurts to watch. He cried during our session." Darren said, concerned.
Chris sat up and turned to look at Darren questioningly.
"He did? Did he tell you why?" Chris asked. Darren nodded in response.
"Yeah, he basically told me that he liked a guy and with the way he reacted when he saw Cameron after his song it was obvious to me that he's in love with him." Darren explained. Chris sighed.
"Well Cameron's expression made it pretty obvious as well." Chris replied. He suddenly felt upset over the two boys. "I don't get it." Chris said.
Darren raised his eyebrows in confusion, hazel eyes met a sad blue as Chris carried on to explain.
"They're missing out on precious time together because they're too scared to admit their feelings to each other." Chris looked down at his fingers and mumbled "doesn't that upset you?" Chris asked, his voice no louder than a whisper.
Darren didn't want to answer, he couldn't answer. He was no better than them. If things could be simpler he would have just reached out to Chris and pull him into a tight embrace. But he was a coward, he just couldn't. And that broke his heart just that little more each day.
Damian and Cameron were currently sitting on the sofa together, both in a comfortable silence until Damian spoke suddenly.
"Hey Cam." Cameron turned his attention to his friend. "D'ya think we have a shot at winning this thing?" He asked.
"What brought this on?" Cameron asked, turning his attention finally to the boy next to him." Damian eyed him carefully before answering.
"I was jus' thinkin'…what if one of us went out—I—I'm just gettin' so used to havin' you around. Whether you go out or I go out it's gonna be weird wakin' up to find you not there." Damian's voice shrank to a whisper as he finished his sentence. His face fell as he remembered when Cameron had been in the bottom three with Matheus and Alex, it honestly broke his heart thinking that Cam didn't stand a chance of coming back, he was a broken wreck.
Cameron saw the pain on the other boy's face and shuffled closer to the Irish boy and wrapped an arm carefully around him.
"Don't worry; neither of us will go out this week I promise you." Cameron sounded so confident that Damian couldn't help but believe him. Cameron smiled reassuringly and Damian just had to smile back at him.
The two boys sat in comfortable silence once more, Damian leaning flush against Cameron's side.
He shouldn't think about what may happen, all that mattered to him was that Cameron was sat there with him now, small moments like this made all of the worrying worth it.
Damian was happy.
