Harry Styles x SFU | X-Factor
Fluff :)
Trope inspired by satanhalsey
Anne was the first to kiss Harry’s cheek, soon followed by Will, who shoved him back to smack his lips against his curls. Then you took the few seconds left to kiss Harry’s other cheek before Dermot laughed and rushed Harry on stage. The crowd welcomed your boyfriend with open arms as he tried his best to keep the warm smile on his face. He wanted people to like him so desperately, but he was determined to follow what you had told him prior to coming here. “Don’t change yourself for the pleasure of others.”
“Hello,” Harry said bluntly into the microphone.
“Nice to meet you. What’s your name?” Simon Cowell asked.
“Erm, I’m Harry Styles,” Harry answered.
“Okay, Harry, how old are you?” The questioning continued as the crowd cheered.
“Erm, I’m 16.”
“Okay, so tell me a bit about you?”
“Erm… I work in a bakery,” Harry stated, and you laughed at the randomness of his fact.
“So Harry, you left school to work there, yeah?”
“I work there on Saturdays. But I finished my GCEs just now, so I’m going back to college in September,” he explained.
“And what are you going to study at college?”
“Erm… law, sociology, erm… business, and somethin’ else, but I’m not sure yet.”
“Wow. So what are you doing here?” Simon asked.
“Erm, well, I’ve always wanted to audition, but I’ve always been too young,” you smiled at Harry’s words. He sounded so innocent and wholesome.
“Alright, what are you going to sing?”
“I’ll do Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder,” the crowd cheered as Harry took a deep breath. You glanced over at Anne and nodded your head as you held her hand. When he began, you couldn’t help the widest smile spreading across your face. You bit your bottom lip to contain yourself from screaming in joy as you watched your wonderful boy sing his heart out through the tv screen. He sounded amazing as if his voice had been sent down from the gods, and you always knew that but hearing him perform in front of hundreds of thousands of people made it so much clearer. It wasn’t in the isolation of his room where he sang to you quietly as you fell asleep at sleepovers or even during his band practice. He was showing off his talent to the world, and you couldn’t be prouder.
When he finished, he took a little bow, and his friends and family all erupted into cheers of encouragement. “Erm Nicole, what did you think?” Simon asked.
“I’m really glad that we had the opportunity to hear you Accapella because we could really hear how great your voice is. For 16-years-old you have a beautiful voice,” Nicole said warmly.
“Thank you,” Harry said, a smile growing on his face and showing the dimples you loved.
“I agree with Nicole. However, I think you’re so young, and I don’t think you have enough experience or confidence yet,” Louis degraded, and Harry nodded, his face falling immediately, and you swore in your head towards Louis. The crowd seemed to agree as they made noises of protest and groaning.
“Okay.”
“Erm, yes, someone in the audience just said rubbish, and I totally agree with them,” Simon sassed, and everyone roared. “Ah, because you know the show is designed to find someone at you whether they be 15, 16, 17, it doesn’t matter. I think with a bit of vocal coaching, you could actually be very good,” he finished.
“Thank you,” Harry excepted humbly, and you clapped madly. You loved seeing the goofy grin back on his face.
“Okay, Louis…”
“Harry for all the right reasons… I am going to say no. Because I don’t think you’re ready,” Louis frowned.
“No!” You and Anne protested, and Robin shook his head. The crowd booed.
“I actually don’t think they booed you loud enough there,” Simon provoked, and Louis chuckled while the crowd grew louder.
“Boo,” Harry mumbled into the microphone, and you giggled.
“Nicole…”
“I like you, Harry. I’m gonna say yes,” Nicole exclaimed.
“Thank you.”
“And you’ll be happy to hear that I’m going to be agreeing with Nicole,” Simon said, and Harry smiled.
“Thank you!” Harry rushed off stage and down the stairs into your embrace. He picked you up a touch off the ground and laughed boomingly. He set you down and kissed your forehead before hugging Anne and the rest.
***
The past few days, you have been staying at a nearby hotel with Harry and his parents to help support him through Bootcamp. He had survived the first two days, although there were no eliminations until the third. He would come back to the room in a ball of excitement and would gush to you about the experience there. The only negatives you heard was the slight stress put on him and the fact that they had to dance. Harry really did not like dancing.
But on the third day, it was the last of singing performances then eliminations. Harry had already sung beautifully, although you wouldn’t be able to see it until it was possibly aired. But right now, you were sitting backstage with Harry as he waited for the judges to make up their decisions as to who is going home and who’s staying.
“Haz,” you whispered, but Harry continued to focus purely on the movement of his tapping foot. “Harry,” you placed your hand on his knee, and he looked up at you. You smiled, which he returned anxiously.
“You’ll be fine,” you lied. You didn’t know if he was going to be fine or not. Yes, he was amazing, and you believed he could make it, but the judges had a different mind and opinion than you. What you thought didn’t matter to them. But you couldn’t face telling Harry that he might not make it to the top 10.
They started calling off the groups, and one by one, crushed and crying individuals of all ages were leaving the building heartbroken. Harry grew tense every time someone that was eliminated walked by. “All the boys, come on! All the boys to the stage!” A crew member called over a megaphone, and Harry stood up sharply. You hugged him quickly before sending him on where the boys formed a line.
You watched the tv with Anne and Robin behind you. “The first through to the judges' houses is ….” Simon trailed off and read off a piece of paper. “John Wilding.” You grit your teeth.
“Nicolo Festa.”
“Paije Richardson.”
“Aiden Grimshaw.”
“Marlen McKenzie.”
“Carl Brown.”
“Matt Cardle.”
Tears grew in your eyes as Anne squeezed your shoulder. You saw Harry’s reaction every time another boy was picked instead of him, and it broke your heart. By the time the ninth person left, his face was in his hands as his body tried not to shake.
“The final contestant who’s made it through….” Harry straightened up, no sign of weakness showing on his face. Although you could see right through him. “Tom Richards.”
The eliminated boys clapped as tears streamed down your cheeks, and you covered your face. You couldn’t bear to see Harry’s face. “That’s it, guys. I’m really, really sorry,” Simon said monotonously. You uncovered your face as the boys exited the stage.
The minute you saw Harry’s green shirt and grey beanie, you ran to him. He dug his face into your shoulder as he began to cry, and you couldn’t do anything but take his beanie off and run your hand through his hair to comfort him. A sob escaped his lips as Anne and Robin joined you two.
It had been over an hour, and Anne and Robin had sadly given up on trying to calm Harry down, but you were doing a pretty good job at it. He at least stopped crying and would look you in the eye when you asked him to. Anne had previously come up to you two to announce they would leave soon.
And you two were collecting your things when a crew member emerged from the stage. “May I have all the rejected boys come by me, please! All eliminated boys!” He yelled, and the boys slowly started to crowd around him. Harry hesitantly joined them.
“I need the following to come on stage. The judges would like to speak with you,” he said. “Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson.” Harry hid his face again as he held back a cry and followed the crew on stage. You held your breath as you stared at the tv.
“They just want some good television of a group of boys, and we’re all gonna be cryin’,” you heard Harry mutter to Zayn, who sighed.
Both of the groups, one of the boys and the other girls, appeared on stage, and Nicole lifted the microphone to her lips. “Hello.”
“Hi,” everyone replied weakly.
“Thank you so much for coming back. I know that judging from some of your faces that this is really hard. We thought long and hard about it, and we thought of each of you as individuals… and we just feel that you’re too talented to let go of,” she began, and your jaw dropped. “We think it’ll be a great idea to have two separate groups.”
“We’ve decided to put you both through to the judges’ houses,” Simon clarified, and you screamed along with the girls on stage. The four guys from Harry's new group yelled in celebration while Harry fell to his knees. The boy you remember as Niall patted him on the back before lurching him up and bringing the boys into a group hug.
“Guys, girls, this is a lifeline. You have got to work 10, 12, 14 hours a day every single day and take this opportunity. You’ve got a real shot here, guys,” everyone clapped as the two groups rushed off stage. When he got down the stairs, Harry's first thing was to break off from the rest of the boys and find you. He ran so fast that when he engulfed you in an embrace, you two almost toppled over.
He didn’t even think or hesitate to bring your lips together. You broke it and kissed his face all over. “I knew you wouldn’t go that easily,” you whispered, and he smiled, capturing you in another kiss.
***
It had been a few weeks, and Harry had left for Spain with the boy band he had given the name “One Direction.” He was going to Simon Cowell’s house and had been practicing for the past weeks. You had to return to Holmes Chapel and your family, but you called, and video chatted Harry regularly. You met the other boys through video chat, and they seemed really nice. Harry kept you updated on how rehearsal was going and all the drama going around. Louis had gotten stung by a sea urchin, and they were going to Simon’s house in a few days.
When the day finally came, you wished Harry good luck before he went. You didn’t get a reply back until he called you and screamed in your ear through frantic sobs of joy that the band had gotten through. When you later saw the aired episode, you screamed along with them even if you knew what happened.
And now you were at their first live show back in London. You watched the video diaries and behind the scenes, and Harry seemed the happiest he’s ever been. You enjoyed watching him succeed.
When the song started, and you heard the group singing, you couldn’t contain yourself and jumped up in your seat. You loved them together, and so did everyone else, and you were sad when the song ended. You watched the rest of the acts and waited a painfully long time until they finally began announcing the contestants going through to the next show.
But once it got down to the ninth act and Dermot spaced each other out individually, you began shouting with the crowd. One Direction still hadn’t gotten picked yet, and you grew louder and more anxious, every number higher.
“The twelfth act through to next week’s show is….”
“Come on!” You shouted, holding your fists to your temples as you stared at Harry, who stood next to the other boys and Simon.
It felt like an eternity until Dermot finally said something. “One Direction!” You screeched as the boys jumped up and down on stage.
“Yes!”
***
Harry and One Direction had been doing fantastic. They had made it through to the finals. Tonight was their performance, and you had met Harry backstage before the show started. When he saw you, he broke away from his bandmates, who were all confused, and hugged you so tight you almost stopped breathing.
“I missed you,” he said after a short kiss.
“I missed you too, Haz. Although we did see each other a few days ago, and I called you earlier this morning,” you teased.
“It’s still a while,” he wrapped you in his arms as someone cleared their throat behind you.
You two turned around and saw the boys standing there. They brought you into a group hug as they welcomed you. “You excited to see our performance tonight?” Liam asked, and you nodded.
“Yes, you guys are going to be amazing per usual,” they all smiled with pink cheeks.
“Thanks, Y/N,” Niall was the first to speak up.
“Of course, now I’ve got to get going, but I’ll see you after the show, alright?” You told Harry, who nodded and pecked your lips as he fought to let you leave.
***
“The public have voted, and I’m about to reveal which two acts have received the most votes and will compete head to head for the X-Factor title and which act has received the fewest votes, finished 3rd, and will be leaving the competition tonight. Good luck to everyone,” Dermot announced, and you crossed your fingers.
“In no particular order, the first act through to the next stage of the final is… Matt!”
You clapped for Matt as your mind flooded with emotions you tried to suppress. They had to make it through. He had to make it through. You didn’t know if you could repair him if he got eliminated.
“So… One Direction and Rebecca. One of you has made it into the top two, and one of you has received the fewest votes from the public and is out of the competition. This is it. The second act still in the final is….”
Please. You begged and pleaded and basically whept that they would make it. Please.
“Rebecca!”
You let out a breath of defeat as you put your face in your hands. “No,” you whispered.
They dragged the boys away from saying congratulations to Rebecca and showed them highlights of their X-Factor journey. Once it was done, you were left to face the sad faces of five hopeless teenage boys. “Boys, I can see by your faces that you’re absolutely gutted, but how has this experience been for you? What have been the highlights?”
“It’s been absolutely incredible for me. The highlight was when we first sang together at the judges’ houses that was unbelievable. And you know we’ve done our best we’ve worked so hard,” Louis rushed out with a shrug.
“Zayn, what’s going to happen to One Direction now?”
“Erm, we’re definitely gonna stay together. This isn’t the last of One Direction.”
***
