Insanity

Life has its fair share of unexpected, yet pleasant surprises.
And this morning was one of them.
I mean, I knew that The X Factor was big in London, and that there'd be a good number of people watching the show and having favorite competitors and everything... but I never imagined that there'd be a large group of them at the house for a meet-and-greet of sorts this early in the competition.
Though, technically speaking, it was near the final stretch of the show, it was still early for the final twelve, in a sense. Twelve acts that were now down to ten. And would be down one more by tonight.
"Oh, what if they don't like me?" Stacey mumbled aloud to herself as she paced the bedroom. "There might be those people that only like competitors based on looks, so I might not even be good enough in that standard for them. Plus there's also the fact if they're sexist, or something, or what about-"
"Stacey, I love you, but please, shut up," I put a finger to her mouth. "Don't think about that right now. Just think about you being here, in the finals of The X Factor. Obviously they like you enough to have kept you here so far."
Lucie nodded, smoothing out the wrinkles in her shirt and looking out the window. John and Edward were already down by the fence, taking pictures with fans and signing autographs on their posters. Eventually, the three of us made our way down the stairs and outside to where the crowd was gathered. A number of the fans screamed when we made ourselves visible.
"Stacey, over here!"
"Can I get your autograph, Lucie?"
I smiled as my two friends were dragged over to different areas, and heard my name called shortly after.
"Elise, Elise!" I turned to see a group of three girls, each about sixteen years old, whose heads were barely able to see over the top of the fence. The one who called my name shyly held out a camera. "Can we have a picture with you?"
I gave them a smile, walking over to them. "Of course you can, you don't need to ask that!" I chided them gently, lightly taking the camera from the girl's hand. "Now where's the right button on this thing?" I added with a laugh.
I ended up taking one or two nice pictures with them, even a silly one, and signed the poster that they made. More screaming was heard from the other end of the fence, which probably meant that more people had come outside. My thoughts proved correct when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and the Sharpie I was holding was slowly plucked from my fingers. The girls in front of me gasped in surprise.
I turned to my left to see Jamie, a sweet smile on his face. "Alright by you if I steal this for a bit?" he asked, to which I nodded, my grin matching his. He also ended up snapping a couple photos and wrote his name on the poster, handing the Sharpie back.
"You guys don't mind if we get a picture of just you two together, do you?" one of the girls asked.
My friend and I locked eyes for a brief moment. "I don't see why not," he responded, pulling me close to him. I smiled wide, placing my arms around him. I felt something press to the top of my head, and the girls squeaked in delight before they snapped the picture.
When they showed it to us, I smiled again. Jamie and I were in a side-hug, our arms around each other as best as they could be. His were around my waist, while mine were around his neck. He'd placed his chin against my forehead, and the two of us had matching, gleaming smiles.
"Remind me to bug you three for a physical copy of that photo," Jamie spoke up, and I playfully ruffled his afro. He went over by some other fans, and before I could go over by Stacey and Lucie to suggest a group picture, one of the fans tapped me on the shoulder.
"Hey, this might sound really weird, but are you and Jamie together?" she asked me.
I was completely taken by surprise, but nonetheless shook my head. "No, we're not together," I told her. "We're just really good friends. Though we have admitted to liking each other, nothing like that's going on between us."
Even though I told them the honest truth, I so desperately wanted to add one extra word that sentence.
'Yet.'

I sighed, staring at myself in the mirror. "Guys, does my hat look alright?" I fussed quietly, adjusting my fedora inch by inch every so often.
Lucie took it off, brushed my hair down to make it look presentable again, and placed the hat on top of my head. "You look fine, Elise," she told me. "Don't worry too much, alright?"
To be fair, I wouldn't be worrying so much if this wasn't a particular week where I felt at a disadvantage. Like I'd explained before, 'big band' was something I wasn't very knowledgeable on, nor did I believe I did the best performance that I could've done. So, in all honestly, I was kind of scared.
I held Lucie's hand tightly enough for support as the girls began the walk down the stairs to the center of the stage, keeping my head up as much as possible. When Jamie emerged with the rest of the Overs, I locked eyes with him, biting my lip in anxiousness. He placed his hands from behind his back to hide them from the seeing crowd, and flashed me three gestures- a thumbs-up, an 'okay' sign, and a heart with his fingers. I turned about ten shades of pink, but returned all three gestures.
While Dermot held the envelope in his hand that held all the names of the safe acts, I held my breath and prayed that I'd be on there.
"...Stacey!"
Danni shrieked in delight as my friend smiled wide, hugging us all tightly before scurrying off in her heels.
"...Olly!"
I could hear him exclaim, "Yes!" from across the stage, and I laughed as he nearly jumped in the air in celebration and gave Jamie a bear hug.
"...Elise!"
WAIT WHAT?
There was no point in staying quiet. I basically let out a scream, though I immediately covered my mouth with my hands after doing so. Lucie and my mentor brought me into their arms as I danced to myself. I couldn't believe that I was safe yet again! I removed my fedora, holding it to my chest and holding my free hand out to the cheering crowd in thanks before making my way to the left wing.
"...Joe!"
I smiled as he broke out in a wide, open smile, cheering and hugging Cheryl. The kid was adorable.
"...Lucie!"
My other friend squeaked, jumping up and down as she hugged Danni. Once more, all the girls were safe. Stacey and I met Lucie when she walked into the backstage wing, and the two moved to hold my hands.
I knew why.
"...John and Edward!"
The twins, neon tuxedos and all, smiled and hugged Louis and the members of Miss Frank. I couldn't help the chuckle that arose from my lips as I heard the majority of the audience boo.
"...Jamie!"
FUCKING FINALLY!
My gaze immediately locked on him, and I could see his eyes widening in almost disbelief before he fell forward slightly, burying his face in his hands. He then brought Simon into a hug, and I could see he was almost on the brink of tears. The girls let go of my hands and allowed me to run over to the opposite part of the backstage area, where he was just coming out from. His eyes were still a little wide from shock and surprise, and he ran a hand through his afro. His eyes met mine.
I immediately broke out in a sprint towards him, jumping into his hold and wrapping my arms around his neck while my legs locked around his waist. He caught me enthusiastically, embracing me tightly and burying his face in my neck. Even after he stopped walking foward in retaliation of catching me, I felt him shaking slightly.
Muffled sniffling reached my ears, and I felt a tiny, warm, slightly damp sensation on my clothed shoulder.
And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Jamie was crying.
I gently placed my hands on his hair, stroking the back of his head and pressing small kisses to the side of his face. "Jamie, Jamie..." I tried to shush him. "There's no reason to cry. You made it, I made it... we're both safe." I gently pulled his face up so I could look him in the eyes properly. They were a little red from his tears.
"You are amazing. And obviously, all of England sees it. That's why they voted for you- because they like you," I paused, pursing my lips together and hesitantly tilting his chin up. "Just like I do."
Jamie blinked a couple times, his brown eyes shining. I slowly unwound my legs from around his waist and hopped down on to the floor, his hands never leaving my hips. As I began to loosen my grip on his neck, he pulled me to his side and whisked me out of the backstage wings, back to the green room. After he pulled me in behind him and shut the door, just like last night, he pressed me up against the wall. One hand went to my waist, the other went to hold my face. He stared into my eyes, blinking only once. I felt his breath on my face and my cheeks turned bright pink.
"Elise," he spoke my name in a hush. "You honestly have any idea how much you make me smile."
Hesitantly, I giggled and smiled up at him.
He leaned in an inch closer to me. "Do you want me to be honest with you?" he started, his fingers trailing up and down my cheek. "I want to kiss you so badly right now."
THEN FUCKING DO IT ALREADY WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!
I couldn't say anything. My words were caught in my throat. I just stared at him, eyes wide open, mouth fluttering open and closed similar to that of a fish. I was pretty sure I looked absolutely stupid. But even so, Jamie didn't seem to care. He simply smiled, running a thumb across my lower lip. "But... I still don't want to move too fast with you..."
GOD DAMN IT!
Despite my thoughts, I knew what he said was sensible, so I gave him a slow nod in response. He had a ghost of a smile on his face. "Still, I don't want to leave you hanging forever," he replied. "So at least let me do this, for now..."
Leaning in ever so slowly, he softly brushed his mouth against mine, just barely grazing. I could feel his breath pulse on my face, and instinctively, I closed my eyes at the butterfly touch of Jamie's lips. Sadly, just as soon as it had started, he pulled back, his eyes half open as he brushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "We should get back to the house... get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning. Alright?"
My eyes were still fluttering open and closed. "Al...Alright," I managed to whisper.
My object of affections led me out the door by the hand, keeping me close until we each found our separate groups. From what I heard, Danyl and Miss Frank were in the bottom tonight- since Danyl was still waiting over by the car, that obviously meant that the second of the girl groups had been sent home.
Jamie then let go of my hand- very slowly, might I add- and finally made his way over to the other two acts in the Overs category. I piled into the limo behind Stacey and Lucie, and while the two kept delightfully screaming about what might have taken him and I so long, all I could do was stare out the window.
...How long would it take?

I slept uneasily that night. But when morning arrived, I woke up to a good morning text from Jamie, telling me that he'd gotten me a bottle of tea and some bagels for breakfast since I'd been sleeping for quite some time. He really was a sweetheart.
A little knock on the door caused me to bolt upright, but I smiled and chuckled at the sight of Danni walking in. "Hello, sleepyhead," she greeted me with a little hug. "I've got a pleasant surprise for you this week."
"Yeah?" If I were a puppy, my ears would've perked up and my tail would be wagging. "What's that?"
She smiled at me. "Let's just say that you're going to love the theme this week, darling. And there is no doubt in my mind that you're gonna kill it."
I nodded, urging her to continue.

My reaction as to when she told me what this week's theme was?
The biggest damn smile I've ever smiled in my life.

Oh. Hell. Yes.