CHAPTER 130
"The final act through to tomorrow's stage of the final is…"
Finn's heart raced. He felt a bead of nervous sweat appear on his forehead and he could feel Nicole's hand trembling just as much as his. The next word Dermott said had the potential to end his dreams, or make him the happiest person in the world. Up in the VIP booth, the New Directions looked at each other, nervously. They knew how likely Finn's departure from the competition was looking now.
"FINN!"
Finn let out a huge sigh of relief and all the stress and tension he was feeling rushed out of his body, leaving him exhausted. He hugged Nicole and then walked over to Ella and the two of them hugged before walking over to Christopher for getting that far in the competition. As they walked towards him, they saw how enraged he was. His face was turning beet-red and his nostrils flared angrily. To be honest, Finn would be just as furious if he was in Christopher's position. Christopher had spent tens of thousands of dollars on votes, only to be eliminated in the finals. As Ella walked closer to him to give him a hug, Finn watched as Christopher clenched his fist and Finn knew exactly what was coming…
Sure enough, a second later, as Ella went in to hug him, Christopher socked Ella right in the face. Disgusting! Who gets so mad at someone that they punch a woman in the face on live TV? Everyone was motionless in shock. What the hell was going on? And it got worse too. As Ella stumbled backwards, clutching her face, Christopher snarled and paced towards her, ready to strike once again. Before he could hit her, Finn finally got over his shock. He grabbed Ella and pulled her out the way as Christopher swung his fist, making him miss the innocent girl. Before Christopher could react and strike again, Finn shoulder tackled him and knocked him clean over. Finally, the security arrived and escorted Christopher off stage. The rest of the contestants and judges followed him off stage shortly after, leaving the audience both at home and in the arena in a sense of shock and appall.
As soon as they were off stage, all of the judges threw Christopher into the greenroom to yell at him and punish him, leaving Finn and Ella outside. Finn turned to Ella and realised that her nose was still bleeding and due to her wiping the blood all around her face, she looked like a vampire.
"Woah, jesus, Ella! Your nose is still bleeding! Can I help you get cleaned up?!" Finn exclaimed. Ella nodded shakily. She was still in shock of what happened, and her hands trembled slightly. Finn led her into the dressing room and they walked to the very back, where the sinks were. Finn helped Ella wash her face off and when the blood came off her face, Finn was able to gauge the damage Christopher did.
"Is my nose broken?" Ella asked, frightenedly. "I swear to God, if I have to pull out of the competition now, I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" She shouted. Finn laughed.
"OK, calm down. You're more than okay to perform tomorrow. He hit you square in the face so it's not like he knocked out any teeth. And your nose, which is the main concern, isn't even broken. That dumbass. Unless you're strong enough to break the nose, you go for an uppercut to the chin. Everyone knows that!"
"OK, first of all, nobody knows that but you." Ella said. "And second, are you sure I'm okay? Because it hurts like hell!"
Finn laughed.
"You're fine. And more importantly, we're in the final!" Finn exclaimed excitedly and hugged her.
"Yeah, and the jackass is getting an absolute whooping from the judges." Ella said, gesturing to the green room door where they heard loud voices emerging from.
"Did you eat anything for dinner?" Finn asked, randomly.
"No, I was too nervous to eat. Why?" Ella asked.
"Can we go get something to eat? I didn't eat too and I'm starving!"
Ella laughed.
"Yeah, please, let's go. But nowhere fancy, please. I really don't want to change!" Ella pleaded. Finn chuckled.
"You got it."
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
45 minutes later, they were both tucking into their Big Macs gratefully. They had ordered Drive Thru McDonalds - scaring the crap out of the drive thru worker when he saw them - and then drove to the hotel. It was their last night at the Corinthia and they were devastated to have to leave. It had been their home for almost 15 weeks and it was going to be sad to have to leave tomorrow. Rather than eating in one of their rooms, they went up to the terrace on the roof and set down a picnic basket, gazing at the midnight Manhattan skyline as they ate.
"Man I'm gonna miss this place." Ella sighed. Finn nodded.
"Yeah, I know right. Some of my best memories in my whole life took place here. Remember all that song we wrote together a couple of weeks ago at like 4 in the morning one night?"
Ella laughed.
"Oh yeah. We should record that at some point." She joked. Finn chuckled.
"Haha." He remarked sarcastically in reply, rolling his eyes. Ella shook her head.
"No, I'm serious. Or if not record it, at least meet up on tour at some point and perform together."
"Yeah, that would be fun." Finn smiled. "Were your family here tonight?"
"Um… my mom, dad, sister and a couple of my friends came." Ella replied. Finn snickered.
"Yeesh, did they watch you get socked in the face?" Finn asked. Ella laughed and nodded.
"Unfortunately. They've been texting me all night. They think you're a hero and you saved my life. My sister thinks we should start dating."
Both of them laughed at the thought.
"Are you dating someone?" Finn asked casually. Ella's eyes widened.
"Finn… I'm flattered but I'm sorry. You're my friend. No. No, no. No, no, no, no."
Finn raised his eyebrow and held up a hand to cut her off.
"First of all, I was NOT asking you out. I was just curious. But now I'm curious about something else. 7 nos? Is there something so wrong about me?" Finn asked. Ella shook her head and took his hands in hers.
"Finn, you're probably the kindest, sweetest, strongest person I know. But…"
"Oh no. The one kind of 'butt' I don't like." Finn joked. Ella giggled.
"But… you clearly aren't over someone and until you get closure, you're not gonna be able to have a relationship with anyone else."
"You think I should try and get her back?" Finn asked.
"Um… honestly, you've gotta think. Would you rather your life with her or without her? Are you happier when you're with her or without her? If you'd rather be with her then you have your answer. And besides, she'd be crazy to say no to you, whoever she is. After all, you're hot, you're kind, and oh wait… you're a megastar!"
Finn shook his head.
"Nah, she won't care about that. She'll care about the fact that I… um… I…"
"What did you do, Finn?" Ella asked, glaring at him. Finn sighed.
"After I managed to escape from South America and come back to Lima, I wasn't in the right mental shape for a relationship, and I didn't want to see any of my old friends either. But rather than flying to New york and breaking up with her in the polite civil way, I kinda dumped her in a group message."
"DUDE!" Ella exclaimed. "That's so rude, especially given how she stuck by you while you were in the Army! That's not easy, you know?!"
"I know. Not my proudest moment." Finn murmured. Before either of them could say anymore, they heard the gate of the terrace open behind them. They turned around to see Union J, Rylan and Jade walking towards them.
"Hey guys, congratulations on tonight!" Rylan exclaimed as he and others sat down next to him and Ella.
"Thanks, man." Finn replied.
"Ella, how's your face?" Jade asked, concerned. Ella laughed.
"I'm good. Did you guys ever find out what happened to Christopher after we left?" Ella asked.
"Yeah, he got a verbal thrashing from the big man himself." Josh replied.
"God?" Finn asked, dumbly. "He died?"
"No! Simon Cowell you dumbass!" Jaymi exclaimed. "He's been banned from performing with us tomorrow, and he definitely has a black dot next to his name for any record label to sign him. The competition didn't really need to punish him. He already kinda screwed himself. I mean, hitting a woman on live TV in front of millions of people?! He's ruined on social media! #ChrisSlapElla is already trending."
Ella looked down.
"I'm gonna miss you guys so much." Rylan said. "These have been the best weeks of my life and it's mainly thanks to you guys. In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of different to the rest of you." Rylan said, gesturing to his flamboyant outfit. "But you guys accepted me and welcomed me."
"Well that's cause we're all from minorities ourselves." Josh replied. "And we all have all struggled to find and make friends because of it. But when we're together, because we're all so different, that's what makes us so great. We don't care that Jaymi and Rylan are gay." He said.
"Or that I'm 22 with a 5 year old kid." Jade said.
"Or that I'm literally nearly 10 years older than some of you." 16 year old Jacob said.
"Or that I have an eating disorder." Ella said.
"Or that I'm a veteran with PTSD." Finn added.
"Exactly. We all are different, but that's what makes us special. Our differences are all ignored because of our common shared interest… singing." Rylan said.
"We should make a pact." Finn exclaimed, suddenly. "Once a year, we should all meet up at this very hotel on this date for at least a weekend. I don't know about you guys but I, for one, am not ready to say goodbye. Come on, one weekend a year. It can't be too much to ask!"
They all smiled and nodded. Bittersweet tears rolled down all of their cheeks.
"Yeah, let's do it! X Factor competitors of 2018 reunion every year from the 8th - 9th of December. We can watch the final together each year and chat about the various competitors and bet on who we think is going to win. And then, twenty years from now, we'll get to watch as Finn and Ella are made mentors in the competition." Jade said.
"Woah! Who said we want to be mentors?!" Ella laughed.
"Oh, come on! Wouldn't you want to give back to the competition that basically built your career?" Rylan asked. Ella shrugged.
"True."
"Why are we thinking so far in advance?" Finn asked, laughing. "Let's think about the near future. We all better be invited to all of each other's big moments in life. The day we get married, the album release parties, the day Rylan finally pursues a guy so far that he files a restraining order. You know, the important stuff!"
They laughed and nodded. They all came together in one massive group hug. Once they disbanded from the hug, Finn took out his guitar.
"Guys? One more song for prosperity?" He said. They all cheered.
Finn:
Give me a second I
I need to get my story straight
My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State
My lover she's waiting for me just across the bar
My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking 'bout a scar, and
Ella:
I know I gave it to you months ago
I know you're trying to forget
But between the drinks and subtle things
The holes in my apologies, you know
I'm trying hard to take it back
Union J:
So if by the time the bar closes
And you feel like falling down
I'll carry you home
All:
Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun
Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun
Rylan:
Now I know that I'm not
All that you got
I guess that I, I just thought
Maybe we could find new ways to fall apart
Jade:
But our friends are back
So let's raise a toast
'Cause I found someone to carry me home
All:
Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun
Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun
Finn and Ella:
Carry me home tonight (Nananananana)
Just carry me home tonight (Nananananana)
Carry me home tonight (Nananananana)
Just carry me home tonight (Nananananana)
Union J, Rylan and Jade:
The moon is on my side (Nananananana)
I have no reason to run (Nananananana)
So will someone come and carry me home tonight (Nananananana)
The angels never arrived (Nananananana)
But I can hear the choir (Nananananana)
So will someone come and carry me home (Nananananana)
All:
Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun
Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun
Finn:
So if by the time the bar closes
And you feel like falling down
I'll carry you home tonight