She didn't know what to expect when she lowered the mic from her face. Her other hand, which had been resting over her stomach for the latter part of the song also fell against her side, limp.

The time she stood until one of the judges started commenting felt like forever. She was sweating although the AC in the auditorium was on full blast. Her clothes had started to itch from irritation, and she wanted nothing more than to dash down from the stage till she was maybe out of Simon's sight, out of the venue and possibly out of London. But no, she wasn't exactly capable of running off in seek of ease since she was actually standing in front of Simon, Louis and even Nicole Scherzinger, who joined as the third judge for the Bootcamp.

It took Simon to pick up the microphone after staring at what she could only assume was her contestants' file sprawled across the judges' table.

"Aviana Rae" Simon rather sighed into the mic, opening the file in front of her. Aviana shuddered from the stage as she watched Simon rake her eyes over the file in a sweep before looking up at the stage with a complex expression.

"I think...I think it's been a good while since we've had someone like you in the show, Aviana. Am I right?" Aviana couldn't grasp if Simon's voice was pure genuine or condescending as he turned back to the two judges next to him. She could only hold her breath as she watched Louis and Nicole nod towards Simon before he turned back towards the stage.

"I remember, for your first audition you sang an original song. It had a very, you know, pop, bedroom pop genre to it. You performed it in a very ballad way and you were excellent. I'd seen your interview where you mentioned you had made the track yourself which is so impressive on its own, let me tell you"

"Then, for Bootcamp, you did If I were a Boy, yeah?" Simon raised his eyebrows his way and Aviana's head bobbed up and down on autopilot. "Which is another pop song leaning heavily on R&B. Although your performance wasn't up to my expectations, you really were impressive in comparison to other contestants. And today..."

Simon took a break from his monologue much to Aviana's dismay. Unlike other days, he was beating around the bush too much to Aviana's liking. Simon was notorious for his straightforward comments which lacked both empathy and kindness - a tiny amount of pity even. But today, he seemed to be dragging this for whatever motive, giving Aviana one more reason to remember how she loathed the human that is Simon Cowell.

"Gaga is pop that leans a lot on electronic and dance aspects of music. And- and I have to say Aviana, you nailed this performance. I'm sure, Nicole and Louis would agree with me. Everything about it was just hands down amazing" Simon's voice rang through the empty venue like a scream in a liminal space. He was speaking with his head down, eyes fixated on Aviana's trembling figure on the stage over the frame of his glasses. Aviana could make out Simon's mouth moving and his hands moving even faster through the fog in front of her mind.

"When I say we haven't had someone like you in the show, I mean someone who isn't afraid to try new genres. Take on new challenges like you. I have a feeling that if I ask you to sing Kendrick on this stage right now, you would look at me and say 'Give me five minutes, Simon' I think you've managed to create an image of yourself just with these three auditions, Aviana"

"I think..." Simon stopped himself before fixing his posture, his hand halting mid-air as his speech came to a brief halt. "I see you as someone who has insane potential to become a star, a sensation, a-"

"An icon" Aviana can't see if it's Simon or if someone's interrupted him through the tears that well up in her eyes. "You're gonna become an icon, Aviana Rae"

Approximately ten minutes later, Aviana was huddled behind the curtain of a random green room, fingers flying over the keyboard of her phone as she tried to contact Bexley. Bexley was taking too long to respond, probably because it was a school and there was a ninety per cent chance she was in a class without access to her phone. But Aviana couldn't care less - her emotions were overflowing her mind, spilling onto the carpet beneath her and she needed to store them away somewhere before it stained the world around her.

However, her trance was broken when the phone in her hand pinged with a new message. Fumbling to keep it on hold, Aviana checked the new messages in her inbox.

2 new messages from Zayn ( X Factor )

Without wasting any time, Aviana opened her and Zayn's messages.

Oh my god I heard you singing earlier

It was so good, amazing really

Did you hear what Simon said???

Aviana, you're getting through to the judges' house trust me!!

Aviana smiled at the text, genuinely amused by how relaxed Zayn's messages were considering they had only met the day before. He texted like he was talking to someone he's known his entire life, rather than a random girl he'd met during an X Factor audition. But Aviana was somewhat glad Zayn was forward like that, making an effort to start the conversation and keep it going no matter when or where. It saved her from horrific instances where she unintentionally went nonverbal mid-conversation and made it all tense and awkward.

After sending a quick response to Zayn, Aviana resumed spamming Bexley with countless keyboard smashes and sentences with way too many spelling errors. When Bexley would finally open the 73 unread messages right after class, she would be left alone to figure out what 'oj .y f9d i cannot beliebe sim9n like SIMIN SAID THA5' actually meant by herself.

Aviana finally decided to put down her phone after her 80th message to her poor unsuspecting best friend who's trying to live her life. She let it sit on the carpeted floor before getting comfortable with knees drawn up and arms coming to brace around them. Her head lulled backwards, hitting the wall behind her with a soft thud. Closing her eyes, she let all of the mayhaps that happened today wash over her in an overwhelming shudder.

Today had been draining. And considering it was still only mid-day, it was concerning how comical the whole day - the whole week and month - has been.

Since her audition in June, Aviana's life had been slowly taking a drastic turn - for better or for worse, she wasn't able to say out loud yet. Her life had been a comfortable routine of waking up too early, going to school, spending the day with the creatures she called friends, going to practices and coming home. With the occasional trips to her grandparents', babysitting the younger ones and constantly getting in rather severe disputes with Alden, her life had been rather slow and calculated. However, now after her first audition, she was unable to recall a day when she'd gotten the chance to sit in her kitchen gossiping with Devi while she made her famous chicken kurma. Hell, she couldn't even remember the last time she actually sat down and had a meal by Devi since she now opted to skip breakfast, have lunch from the school canteen and rush through dinner without paying mind to the food she put in her mouth. With the pressure of the X Factor on her shoulders, she could barely taste the spices in Devi's cooking now. And that - that says a lot since it's a Tamil girl cooking.

Her slow mornings before school had been turned into a rushed routine before she ran to catch the metro to the venue. She was falling behind in school by a large span and she wondered if Aster was having a field day with it. Farrah always made sure she sent her notes from each class and even took photocopies or printouts of whatever tutes she missed. Maxwell tried his best to explain fundamental cell biology to her through the phone on late nights as much as he could. Yungho didn't do much to make sure she was failing her classes, but he would at least send her at least 13 Pepa Pig memes every day, and she had to agree that it was the thought that counts.

Her weekend at the shop came to a stop as well since she had rehearsals and vocal training. Whether it was going to Dasharn's for a quick session of practice or meeting with Miss Miriam for a quick exercise, she was constantly on the move. Her screen time was even reduced by drastic points and that alone said a lot. Yesterday Youngho had pointed out the lack of messages Aviana was sending in their group chat, causing her to go into a twenty-minute self-revelation on how fast her life had become in the last couple of days.

Her mind was running on the stress of X-Factor 24/7 while her body entirely ran on energy drinks and gum. Her muscles were probably sore and aching but she couldn't even spare a second to properly feel the pain, opting to keep herself busy in hopes of distracting her from all of the external discomfort.

Even the local pharmacist had been concerned during Aviana's seventh pharmacy run of the week to get more Vitamin C tablets for her throat.

However, despite all the tireless running she'd been at for the past few weeks did not bother Aviana in the slightest. Sure her body was slowly shutting down from exhaustion, but the drive to somehow reach the point she'd dreamed of was strong enough to drown it out. Her mind was so intently set on somehow achieving this and now there was nothing that could block her way unless she would actually drop dead on the floor.

The promises she'd made to herself about somehow proving to her parents that this was what she was made for, the underlying obsession she had with making a name for herself, and the shudder that ran through her when she even thought about the mortification she would have to face if she lost the contestant kept her going for enough days.

That and a couple more energy drinks along with a drag of coke-flavoured artificial smoke would keep her alive for now.

When Aviana finally came out of her hiding spot after about forty minutes, she was informed that the judges had gone for a late lunch after finishing all the girls' auditions. And the fact that Simon, Louis and Nicole were probably in some meeting room, casually chatting about the literal destiny of these girls over their stupid white people green salads churned something in Aviana's stomach. She was suddenly hit with the bitter reality that these three people had her and all the other constentansts' fate in the palm of their hands. They had the power to throw a jab, make a dab and possibly change the entire course of their lives. Whether it would eventually lead to success or failure, they had so cautiously placed their entire futures in the hands of three literal strangers with the trust to make decisions about their tomorrows.

And right there, standing in a dim hallway with all kinds of people humming around her, Aviana could only hope all her hard work would finally pay off.

It was around six in the afternoon when the judges were finally done with all the auditions including the boys. All the contestants had been asked to stay backstage as they got ready for the final recording of the Bootcamp - the results. Everyone who had been peaceful throughout the day was now somewhat worked up. Almost everyone was buzzing with both excitement and nerves as the reality of Bootcamp actually reaching the end finally caught up to them.

By three, the arena was somewhat packed with family members and friends of almost all of the contestants as they had been permitted to visit for what might possibly be the last couple of hours of their X-Factor journey.

Aviana had stayed with Cher after lunch, who introduced Aviana to her parents and one of her sisters. She went in search of Zayn at around three thirty, right before the boys' auditions in hopes of wishing him good luck and thanking him for the incident that morning. Zayn had excitedly bounced towards her, a big smile adorning his face as he greeted Aviana.

"I just wanted to say good luck before you got on stage" Aviana had told him, trying her best to sound comforting. "Couldn't have you running away crying like yesterday"

Zayn laughed like Aviana just told him the funniest joke in the world, holding his stomach and buckling his knees. Aviana barely dodged a slap as Zayn swatted at the air around him, wheezing. She found herself smiling, genuinely, at the sight of this boy almost dying at something she didn't intend to come out as amusing. A small girl had then run up to Zayn, immediately tugging on his jacket to be lifted into his arms. Aviana took a step back in surprise, wondering if Zayn was somehow a victim of unprotected teen intercourse consequences.

"Saf, say Hi to Aviana" Zayn had said before turning towards her with the girl hitched up his hip. "This is my youngest sister, Safaah"

"Hi," Aviana had waved, a little awkward as she wasn't sure how she should talk to a little girl. But Zayn's sister had waved back with a shy smile before throwing her arms around her brother's neck, pushing her face into his neck and Aviana smiled a soft smile.

"So like, do you think he has a crush on Aviana?"

Aviana's hand automatically dashed before she slapped the back of Youngho's head with a loud smack. The latter yelped before stumbling and turning to her with an accusatory look in his eyes. "Bitch, can you not bully me for once? I came here to support you, not get abused by you"

"Well you should stop running that horrendous mouth of yours if you don't want to get abused, arsehole" Aviana spat back just as fast. "Can't you go one second without spewing out bullshit?"

"What's up your ass today, huh?" Youngho stopped towards her, trying to emote his so-called 'intimidating masculine energy' but Aviana just rolled her eyes at him.

"Knowing Avi, it's probably solidified shit. I doubt she actually sat down to take a poop this month"

"Bexley, oh my god" Aviana groaned in annoyance before shoving the girl beside her. "Shut up, my god"

Earlier during the boys' auditions, Aviana had stayed back and watched as other contestants ran towards the entry to greet their families and close friends with huge smiles and twinkling eyes. She had felt a small pang in her chest as she watched them embrace each other with satisfied sighs and teary eyes. If only somebody was there to take her hand and hold her tight to keep her from falling apart from nerves instead of having to go through this alone, she had thought. But she hadn't expected her thoughts to be answered with three familiar faces emerging from the entrance about three minutes late.

It was strange, seeing Alden trudge behind an overly enthusiastic Yungho and a mildly kept-together Bexley. And it wasn't because they were not a common combination - because they really weren't. Although Alden was raised in a brown household with clear instructions on keeping away from girls and the perfect amount of social anxiety, Bexley was raised a pure brit girl at heart. It had taken approximately two days for her to introduce herself to Alden after becoming an exclusive friend of Aviana. Alden had been traumatized by the girl who trudged up to him with a full smile like she'd known him his whole life. He had called her a dumb blond after Bexley left and somehow Bexley made it her mission to treat Alden like trash ever since she found out about it on accident.

Youngho had run up to her like a Maltese, all excited and stumbling over his long legs while he animatedly talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Bexley slipped in beside her with a knowing smile and a comforting hand finding its' place between Aviana's fingers on instinct. Alden had stood a couple of feet away, only giving her a small nod of acknowledgement when they had made eye contact on a whim.

Aviana felt like crying a little. Not because Yungho and Bexley were here, but because there he was, her older brother, in the flesh, in person, willingly standing in a place where she needed him the most.

It didn't matter to her if Alden didn't spare a second glance at her, opting to stay out of the way. What mattered was he had made time to come with his little sister's strange friends to her audition to give her the emotional support she needed the most. After a whole day of whirring nerves and a rapid heartbeat, Aviana finally felt herself calm down.

Bexley's fingers laced with hers, Yungho's words close to her ears, pocketed phone pinging with comforting messages from Farrah and Maxwell and her older brother's familiar hair in sight, she finally felt at ease.

The easiness didn't last too long after that. At around eight after the skies had gone dark and Yungho was finishing the second ice cream he had gotten with Alden's money, the staff were calling the girls back on stage. Aviana quickly got up with shuddering legs, making Bexley hold onto her frame in concern.

"It's happening?" Yungho questioned in his nervous voice, abandoning his cone to a dustbin nearby.

"Yeah" Aviana breathed as she tried to calm the nerves that started to buzz inside of her again. Her heart started to thud loudly again, the heaviness and the reality of the situation finally settling hot in her gut. It was finally happening.

In about ten minutes, her destiny would be played out in front of her. The choice of going home tonight and never looking back and taking the next step into her dream was done being decided and all she had to do was follow the rest of the contestants onto the stage and hope for the best.

After a string of comforting words and a forceful hug initiated by Yungho, Aviana turned to leave with a deep breath. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed how Alden neared her as she started walking down the hallway. Alden, who still walked a few steps behind her with an unreadable expression on his face didn't dare approach her. Aviana guessed it was mostly out of awkwardness rather than negligence. Alden had never been good when it came to showing affection or support through words much like Aviana herself. But Aviana smiled at the thought of him following her to the wings whether it was to keep an eye on him or purely because he had nothing else to do.

He was here, he was right behind her, that's all that mattered.

Soon, Aviana was standing on the stage in a line with the female contestants. Cher was right next to her and Aviana could immediately tell that the girl was nervous from the shallow breaths she was taking and how her fingers trembled from where she had them on her hips. From her other side, a woman in her thirties was almost crying, out of nerves or thrill, she didn't know. All she could hear was the heavy sound of her sniffling into her handkerchief and she hoped the woman wouldn't be too affected if she got a bad result from the judges.

"Hi, again guys" It was Nicole who spoke into the mic first. "Before we start with the results, I have to tell you guys something"

Nicole Scherzinger's voice was serene, bringing some stability into almost all of the contestants who had been on the edge since the morning. She spoke in a very calculated manner, keeping a very peaceful pace while she spoke to the girls in the front and the boys in the back about the process of proceeding to the judges' house and getting rejected from Bootcamp.

"So there's about a hundred of you on the stage right now all together. And I have to say, it was such a challenge to reduce that number to forty" A silence fell over the entire arena at her words. "The number of acts that can move to the judges' house is forty, that's right. More than half of you will have to go home today. And everyone, you have to understand that it isn't easy for us to make those decisions. All of you have special factors about you that make you unique and stand out from others but at the end of the day, we had to come up with a solid decision about who we can take to the next stage of the competitions. We hope you guys know that this decision is one all three of us, and all the other professionals came to after a long process under multiple functions. We hope you guys agree with our decision and with that, good luck"

The arena around them was dead silent except for the sniffles, heavy sighs and the whirring of recording equipment echoing in the background. Almost all of them were holding their breaths, maybe the people outside the stage as well, too scared to overdo a single breath and throw the whole process off the road it was already taking.

"Thank you, Nicole" Simon's voice was always like nails scraping against a wall to Aviana's ears, all sneery and annoying. But today, even Aviana couldn't help but think that maybe he had softened his voice to match the apprehensive ambience in the arena. "The girls can step forward"

All the contestants in the category, including Aviana, Cher and all the other girls from 16 to 24 stepped away from the other groups, coming to stand in the front of the stage almost on command. Aviana could feel the burning lenses of cameras following their movements.

She could feel the way Zayn's eyes were set on her with overflowing hope and determination.

She could feel Harry's forest eyes looking at her with an equal expectancy.

She could also feel the pair of cerulean eyes, burning a hole into the back of her skull with an intense gaze of something she couldn't put a finger on.

She was able to almost feel the way Alden, Bexley and Yungho stared at her from the wings of the stage, mind racing with tentative prayers.

"Starting from the act with highest marks received in overall Bootcamp auditions, the first person to advance into the judges house,"

And if she felt hard enough, she would have sensed the way the judges lingered on her the moment Simon's voice seared the air in the arena when he finally spoke into the mic.

"Aviana Rae"

AND BAM SHE IS GOING TO THE JUDGES' HOUSE!

I really wasn't going to make the July 23rd update too long but I can't help it guys I just have so much stuff to make Aviana feel. So Sorry in advance for the late update again, but I swear I pushed myself to finish this chapter more than usual and I can say yes it worked!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I hope there wasn't too much stuff happening at an overwhelming pace, do let me know if that's the case

I'll be back with July 23rd part 2 soon! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it!

love you all. thank you for always loving SIX even more than me!

TPWK ♡

- Esa