CHAPTER 64
During the flight back to New York, One Direction were huddled over Zayn's laptop, watching and studying the competitors that were through to the next round.
In the girls category, the three girls who had made it to live shows were Ella Henderson (unsurprising), Jade Ellis and Lucy Spraggan. The three boys in the live shows were Matt Cardle, Jahmene Douglus and Rylan Clark. A guy, Adam Burridge, had to pull out of the competition right before the judge's house round due to an issue with one of the member's Visa, which was unlucky for him and the show, but extremely lucky for other contestants. Adam was a serious favourite to do well in the competition, and without him, the others could breath a small sigh of relief. Finally the over 28s who were through were Christopher Maloney, Kye Sones and Melanie Manson. Other than MK1, there were two other surprises in the competitors chosen: Christopher Maloney and Rylan Clark. They weren't great singers but were great performers and crowd favourites.
"So, who are your final three, and why?" Liam asked the guys.
"Do you mean who I think are the best singers, or who I think will make the finals? Because those are totally different questions." Finn remarked.
"Who do you think will make the finals?" Liam persisted. Finn thought for a moment.
"Um… probably Matt, Ella and Christopher."
The boys raised their eyebrows.
"Seriously? Like I understand Ella and Matt, but Chris?" Louis asked. Finn shrugged.
"Think about the voters. Christopher Maloney has practically everyone over the age of 30's backing. He's going to be a crowd favourite, even if he isn't the best singer."
The boys nodded.
"But anyways, literally anyone could win. All of the contestants are awesome, and if anyone has a bad week, their run could be over…"
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When the flight touched down in JFK, One Direction, Little Mix and MK1 were escorted out of the plane by security. There was an even bigger crowd in JFK than there was in St. Lucia Airport, and the boys were hounded by at least a hundred screaming fans before they finally made it into the limousine. Finn still couldn't get over how many people wanted to meet him and get his autograph. During the live shows, all of the 12 acts were staying in a mansion together, called the X Factor house. It was in the nicest part of Tribeca, in the same neighborhood as many other celebrities. It was absolutely colossal, containing a game room, a swimming pool, a huge grass yard, a bar, and SO, SO MUCH more. Finn, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn spent a few minutes outside the front gate, meeting the numerous screaming girls that were camped outside the gates, before going inside and seeing the X Factor mansion for the first time.
When they walked into the house, their mouths dropped. The place was like heaven! It was as luxurious as the hotel they had stayed at in St. Lucia, but this time, they would be staying there for 4-14 weeks, depending on how far they got in the competition. Niall turned to the group and grinned.
"This is home now, guys." He said. They smiled widely and nodded. They were quickly met by Simon Cowell, who showed them to their room. Although all of the solo contestants got their own room, the groups had to share, meaning Finn, Liam, Louis, Niall and Zayn would all be living together in the basement room. Finn didn't mind though. In fact, he would have rather shared a room with the boys than have his own, as he knew that it was going to be an absolute blast. The five boys then got into the elevator to the lowest floor of the house (That's right! The house had a freakin' elevator!), wheeling their suitcases behind them.
The boys decided to see Little Mix's room first, as it was on their way to their own room. One of the girls - Perrie - unlocked the door and let them into the room. They wolf whistled. The girls' room contained four double beds, 2 large walk-in cupboards, a bathroom and two desks with an armchair at each.
"Wow. This is niiiice!" Finn remarked as they looked around the room. "Now I really want to see what our room looks like!"
The boys laughed and nodded. The five of them raced down the hall to their room and unlocked the door…
The room was slightly smaller than Little Mix's. Rather than four double beds, the five guys' room contained two sets of bunk beds and one single bed. They only got one walk-in closet, which was fine, given that they didn't have nearly as much stuff as the girls. Their room was pretty basic, but the best part about it was that right outside was the basement game room, containing a bunch of chairs, sofas and bean-bags, an air-hockey table, a pool table, a table tennis table and a PS4.
The five of them spent the next couple of minutes exploring the whole house. Liam and Louis checked out the swimming pool while Finn, Zayn and Louis checked out the balcony. The terrace overlooked the Manhattan skyline, and it contained 6 chairs around a small table. It was really nice, and Finn knew that this would be a nice place to work on new riffs and song ideas. Suddenly, they heard Liam and Louis shout from the poolside area.
"Yo, guys! There's a freakin' bar here!" Liam exclaimed, over to them. Finn chuckled to himself in disbelief. There was a TV in the bathroom! How had he gone from living in his 2 by 2 cell in Illinois to living in a room fit for a king? Liam noticed Finn's peculiar facial expression.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked, concerned. Finn nodded.
"Yeah. This place is a million miles away from my place back home. I just feel so privileged to be staying in a place like this."
"Well this could be our lives in the future." Liam said. "So we gotta make the most of it."
"Damn right we do." Finn replied. He then realised something. "Bar? Wait… aren't you underage?" He laughed. Liam rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, mom!" He exclaimed. Finn chuckled and followed his friend back into the house…
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The next day consisted almost entirely of makeovers and photoshoots. Finn had to have a spray tan, eyebrows shaped, complete wardrobe change and he even had to wear a little bit of makeup for his photoshoot. He felt such a girl and he hated every minute of it, but he couldn't argue with the results. He looked so amazing! He was practically unrecognisable from what he used to look like. His beard was mostly shaved, his hair was neatly trimmed and hairsprayed, and he was wearing a denim jacket over a hoodie. When he walked into the cafeteria and sat down next to Niall and Zayn, their mouths dropped.
"Finn! You look so different!" Niall exclaimed. Finn raised an eyebrow.
"Good different?" He asked, nervous. Although the X Factor wasn't a modelling contest, the better looking candidates did tend to earn more votes, especially from teenagers of the opposite gender.
"Yeah, you look… not like a tramp!" Zayn said, and Finn laughed and hit him on the shoulder.
Shortly later, Finn had ordered his food and a plate was set out in front of him by one of the cafeteria staff. It was incredible how people waited on them hand and foot like they were real superstars. As Finn ate, someone walked over to them.
"Hey, is that seat taken?" A member of Little Mix - Jade - asked, pointing to the seat opposite Finn.
"No, please, have a seat." Niall said. She smiled and sat down with them. When she saw Finn, she raised an eyebrow.
"Um… I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who are you? You're not a competitor, are you?" She asked. Finn, Niall and Zayn burst out into hysterical laughter and it took several minutes for them to finally calm down. They wiped the tears from their eyes as Jade looked at them, confused.
"Do I seriously look that different?" Finn asked. Jade immediately recognised his voice.
"Wait… Finn?" She asked, tentatively. Finn laughed and nodded.
"The one and only." He replied.
"I'm so sorry!" Jade blushed furiously. "It's just… I… you look so different. I didn't recognise you!"
"Yeah, I noticed." Finn laughed. The four of them spent the rest of the afternoon having fun together and getting to know each other better. Although Jade was reasonably attractive, Finn didn't feel anything towards her. He knew that his heart would always belong to one girl. A girl he hadn't seen in way too long…
That night, One Direction were doing a photoshoot for a local magazine when Simon walked into the room. When he saw them posing for the cameras and joking around, he smiled with pride. He knew that he had a possible future superstar group in the making.
"Hey Simon." Niall waved cheerfully.
"Hey guys, how's your first day been?" He asked.
"Really good." They all replied.
"Wow Finn, I barely recognised you!" Simon exclaimed, and Finn laughed.
"Yeah, you're not the first person to have said that. In fact, literally everyone I've seen so far today has said that. Do I seriously look that different?" He asked.
"You do, but in a good way. " He replied. "Anyways, I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about what's happening in the next few days. Nobody's going to start preparing for live shows. Instead, all of the finalists are going to be in the studio working together on this year's X Factor Charity Single."
"Oh is that the thing where we all release a cover of a song together, and all royalties go to a certain charity?" Louis asked. Simon nodded.
"That should be a lot of fun." Finn commented.
"Yeah, it is." Simon replied. "And then after you guys finish that, we'll start working on your live show performances. But we'll also have a bunch of interviews, and a few more photoshoots to do. You'll be living just like real pop stars!" He stated and the guys smiled widely.
"Yeah, this is incredible." Liam said, voicing all of their opinions with those simple words. It truly was an incredible experience, and they were NOT going to let it go to waste…