A Different Beat

Norie sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

It had taken a mound of expensive concealer and a coat of foundation to cover the dark circles under her eyes. But all the make-up in the world couldn't even begin to cover up the hurt that scarred her heart.

She had managed to evade the cameras for most of the night- crying in peace, but right now she needed to push it all to the back of her mind and pull herself together, after all, it was elimination day.

Calum had called them all to the studio, apparently, after the elimination, he had a big announcement.

"Don't you look like a million bucks!" the voice called from behind.

She couldn't help but think that Casey had probably just rolled out of bed, he had thrown on a cap and he was wearing the same shorts he passed out in last night.

"Well," Norie mumbled as her hooked his arm around her shoulders, "If I'm going to go, I want to go out in style-"

Casey let out a low chuckle, "You're not going to go home, Nor. You and I both know that'll never happen."

"Anything is possible Case," she mumbled, leaning into his side.

Norie reached up, pecking a kiss on Casey's cheek.

"You're Cal's front runner. He's not going to let you go- he's crazy about you, and it's not just your voice."

"Casey-" she went to scold, but the sight of Calum rendered her silent.

Norie and Casey took a seat on the edge of the stage with Sam and Neil, who were already waiting.

Norie couldn't help but feel his dark eyes on her.

Calum had his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his tight jeans, his hair styled up in a quiff, his chapped lips in a slight pout.

Norie didn't want to like Calum- she didn't want people to think she was only here because he "liked" her, (but she wasn't so sure she bought that he had feelings for her either, no matter how many times Sam, Neil, or Casey pressed the issue.)

But she couldn't help but find him attractive.
He was completely different than Holden, and she knew if she let her guard down, she would do something stupid. So instead, she kept her shield held high, making sure that when this was all over, she would go home to Holden.

The producers spoke quickly to Calum before they all fell into place behind their cameras.

Calum sat perched up high on the judges chairs, his right leg crossed over his right, his foot bouncing nervously as they all sat lined up like little ducks along the edge of the stage.

"This really isn't easy, because everyone had shortcomings in their performance-" Calum stopped, his breath hitching. "Norie, you were off your game, you were distracted, and that shined through in your performance." Norie's heart sank as she and Sam tightened their grip on each other, "Sam- you were a little pitchy, but that's nothing that you can't work on." Sam nodded, her hands shaking as Norie gave her a quick, reassuring squeeze. "Neil- I can't stress it enough. I know you feel like dancing is important, but I need you to focus more on your vocals."

Everyone felt it- that could hanging over the stage as all eyes fell to Casey.

"Casey- man, I'm so sorry. You really have so much potential, but you waited too long to choose your song and you weren't prepared and I just- I have to let you go."

The producers didn't give much time for goodbyes.

It was a quick shuffle of goodbye-hugs and a ride back to the house to pack your things. They likely wouldn't get a chance to see Casey again. He hugged Sam and Neil quickly before he took Norie into his arms.

"I'll miss you most of all, Eleanor." Norie's nose crinkled at the sound of her full name.

"Ditto-" she mumbled, burying her face into his chest, "I'll miss you most at 4 AM when I can't sleep." Holden let out a chuckle before pressing his warm lips to her forehead.

Letting people go was a part of the show- Norie knew that, but saying goodbye to Casey was especially hard, but besides Sam he was the person she had spent the most time with. They had spent a lot of late nights up talking. Casey was in a similar relationship, and he was one of the few people that didn't judge her for putting (or better yet, keeping herself) in such a predicament.

"Casey-" the gruff voice called.

Norie rolled onto her toes, pressing a soft kiss onto his pale cheek.
It was obvious he was fighting tears, and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying.

But he held strong as he left the studio, the cameras following him out.

Norie wiped at her eyes before sitting back down on the edge of the stage, her feet dangling as she began to nervously picked at her nail polish.

She had been spared once again, she should have been over the moon, but all she felt was guilty and slightly broken.

"Everybody alright?" her got three half-hearted nods. "You can't dwell on it guys. You're still here and you need to fight. Now, the producers have put a kind of...twist on the show for the next few rounds-"

Neil groaned, making Calum giggle. "Please don't say theme week-"

"Welcome to theme weeks, guys!" Calum mocked in the most serious tone he could manage.

Sam's smile disappeared, "Define theme."

"We're not picking your genre, or giving you an artist you have to sing, at least not this week anyways. This week our producers decided we needed to heat things up, so our theme is-" he paused for dramatic effect. "songs about sex!"

The thundercloud hanging over Neil's head seemed to disappear instantly as a sly smile crawled over his face. "Sex?"

"Sex," Calum confirmed. "Since this theme thing is last minute, I don't expect you to have song picked out just yet-"

"Gorilla!" Neil was about an octave higher than normal, his smile so wide you could nearly see his molars.

"That Bruno Mars song?" Calum asked, one brown held high as he fought off a laugh. Neil just nodded. "Should be a hit with the ladies."

"Yeah-" Sam mused, "I'm going to have to do some research..."

"Norie?" Calum was almost afraid to ask, but the nagging little voice screaming in his ear wouldn't let it rest.

Norie cleared her throat before crossing her arms over her chest as she rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, "I have a few ideas."

"Want to share?" he had one eyebrw raised high, his arms crossed tight over his chest, while his foot bounced nervously against the floor.

"Either Not Fair by Lily Allen, or-" she hesitated, "Partition by Beyoncé."

Calum's eyes went wide, his lips, much like a guppy fish would gape, and then close again quickly, his face flushed the color of a fire engine.

"Thoughts?"

Calum was all but mortified when all he could manage was a pathetic little squeal.

Sam and Neil both let out a quick, explosive laugh before they covered their mouths.

"Definitely go with Partition. You could slay Queen Bey!" Neil chimed in.

"You think?" Norie asked, trying her best to ignore Calum.

"I know." Neil chorused back, making her laugh.

The producers made an attempt to wrangle everyone into the van- but Calum hung behind, waiting for Norie to grab her purse- he couldn't help but noticed how distraught she looked, so once everyone had cleared, he made his move.

"Hey, um-" Calum hesitated, pulling his beanie off, letting his shaking fingers feather through his raven hair, "You okay, Norie?"

Norie dropped her purse into the crook of her arm as she hesitated to answer.

She didn't want Calum to know she was having a semi-relationship crisis, because he had the power to see that distraction and send her home. But she felt like keeping a secret was wrong, oddly enough for the exact same reason.

"Boyfriend problems,"

"You want to get coffee? We can-"

"I don't really think that's a good idea..." Norie spoke before nervously rolling her bottom lip between her teeth. "Besides-" Norie let out a low chuckle, "I don't really like coffee."

"Tea?" Calum squeaked.

Norie hesitated for a moment.

"I um...I do like tea."

"I promise I'll have you home for dinner..." he pleaded.

"Okay, I guess that would be alright."

It was a silent car ride filled with Calum, stealing glances at Norie as she watched out the window before passing him an occasional smile. Calum ordered a passion fruit and mango tea while Norie stuck with a sweetened green tea. They tucked themselves back in the corner.

"So-" Calum started, hoping the cloud of awkward that hung over the table would start to dissipate. "what's going on, you're down. I can tell."

Norie let out a huff, stirring at the green straw. "Just...boyfriend troubles I guess." Norie caught a less than thrilled glance from Calum, "I know. I know-" she rubbed at her temples. "when aren't we having trouble?"

"Seems to me he treats you pretty bad..." Calum mused.

"He just...needs to grown up is all."

Norie hated to make excuses for Holden, but she loved him.
He was literally the first person who meant anything to her, and she couldn't hardly bare the thought of letting that go.

Calum gave this wide-eyed, expectant look.
Norie sighed, knowing all too well that she wasn't going to get away without telling him anything.

"He thinks I'm sleeping with Casey, which therefore, led him to believe that sleeping with one of his skate-groupies was okay and-"

"He slept with someone else?" Calum went bug-eyed, his voice almost in a squeal, Norie just nodded. "Like, sleeping beside her, fully clothed or-"

"Sex." Norie finished. Making Calum's heart sink as the tears bubbled in the corners of her eyes. "I wish I could say it's the first time but..."

"He doesn't deserve you." Calum spoke, his arms crossing strong over his chest. "He should love you, like you deserve to be loved. Not just when it's convenient for him."

"You think?"

"I know." Calum spoke, "You're so beautiful, and you're smart and just...your perfect Norie."

Norie finally let herself smile as she wiped at her black mascara tears. "You're really sweet Cal..."

"I mean it Norie. You deserve better, someone who knows how special you are-"

but his phone vibrated across the table, making him roll his eyes.

Could you get back to the
house? We're filming reactions
to theme week and we need
Norie.

Cal threw his head back, groaning.

The trip was too short and he had a lot more he wanted to say, but decided against it. The van sat out front, waiting to whisk them back. But as they walked up the the house she stopped.

"Hey Calum-"

Calum could have sworn the moment was in slow-motion as he watched Norie roll up onto her toes, only to press a soft, coral kiss to his cheek.

"Thanks for being such a good friend."

The kiss ignited something deep in him.
For the first time in his life he got butterflies- his hands quivering.

But in that moment, the word 'friend' evoked a sadness in him he had never felt.

He watched as she walked into the house, his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach. All he wanted was to take away all of her hurt, to fix what that moron had so carelessly broken, to hold her close as she fell asleep, and wake up beside her.

He needed her to realize it.
But he knew that would never happen as long as Holden was in the picture.