Mood: Angel by The Weeknd

Louis shifts, the air in the room stuffy. There were about twenty people in the room. They were all about Louis' age, ranging from twelve to twenty-something.

They were all waiting. The smell of sweat and old cologne hung in the air. They stood around each other whispering about who their mentor will be. Some hoped for Cheryl, some for Louis, some for those who were brave enough, for Simon.

Louis hoped it was Harry. Not only was he cute, he knew a thing or two about music.

A few minutes passed, the clock seemed to slow down, the seconds feeling like hours. Finally the door open and in stepped a curly haired lad. He smiled, his dimples becoming prominent.

Everyone screamed, running to hug him. Louis stayed behind; he wasn't a fan of crowds. The people dispersed, leaving Harry to stand in the middle of everyone.

Louis made his way to the back of the circle. He could barely make out Harry's tall figure from back here.

"Okay let's get the basics out of the way. I'm Harry Styles and I'll be your mentor for this season of the X Factor. Now, I'm pretty sure my team is going to win, and you better because I bet on Simon." Harry chuckled at his horrible joke.

No one laughed. Harry grimaced before having everyone stand in a line. Louis stood at the end.

"Now, I'm going to go one by one, and you'll tell me your name and your age."

He started with a boy with dyed blonde hair.

"Eh, I'm Niall Horan. I'm 16 years old." He says with a deep Irish accent.

"Nice to meet you, Niall." He went to the next person. Louis didn't pay attention. A few minutes passed before he finally got to Louis.

"And you are?" Up close you could see the faint addition of makeup to make his skin look more flawless than it probably is. His eyes were a dark green that reminds Louis of fresh spring grass in the evening.

"L-Louis Tomlinson. I'm seventeen." Harry nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Nice to meet you, babe. Glad to have you on my team." Louis' skin tingled at the word 'babe.'

Harry stepped back eyeing everyone for a second.

"Well, since we got that out of the way, I would like to hear your voices. Separately. Think of it as...a second audition." Harry says, "So, Niall, you're up first. Everyone else, please wait outside."

Everyone filed out of the room except for the blonde. The minutes passed grudgingly, one person going in after another, before coming out smiling nervously, then disappearing through a door that Louis didn't know where it led.

Eventually he was the last one. The second to last person walked out, smiling at Louis. When he went through the door, Louis took a deep breath before opening the door and being met with Harry, who sat in a chair, writing something in a journal.

He looked up when Louis walked in and smiled.

"The one I've been waiting for all day." He murmured. Louis blushed. Harry motioned to a chair in front of him.

"So, what do you want to sing?"

"Um, I didn't know there was going to be a second audition. I don't have anything." Louis says honestly, his cheeks heating up.

"It's fine. Let me choose a song and you can sing it. Or we can sing it together?" Louis nodded. Harry sat there for a moment, rubbing his chin.

"Do you know 'Angel' by The Weeknd?" Louis nodded. Harry pulled out his phone and played the instrumental version of it.

Then he started singing. Louis never really listened to him sing, but he goddamn wishes he did.

"Angel, knew you were special from the moment I saw you." His voice was deep and smooth and it somehow reminded Louis of liquid chocolate. His eyes brightened, staring intently at the smaller boy.

Louis didn't notice when he started singing himself.

"I said angel, I feel you're closer every time I call you, I call you." His voice was shaky, but strong. He felt as if he needed to prove himself somehow. They sang the chorus together, their voices mixing together perfectly. High and low.

The song ended and they stayed silent for a moment, staring at each other.

"That was g-good." Harry stutters, shaking his curls away from his eyes.

"Thanks." Louis stood up getting ready to leave when Harry grabbed his forearm.

"Why'd you audition for the X Factor?" He asks. Louis shrugs and tries to ignore the rush of energy from where their skin touched.

"I just wanted to do something fun. Maybe make it big." He explains. Harry nods.

"I'm really glad you auditioned." He finally says. Silence evades them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It felt warm and pleasant.

"I'm glad you're my mentor." Louis says; and he's telling the truth. There was something about this curly haired lad that endeared him.

Harry smiles at him; a smile that made Louis' stomach do backflips.

"You should go meet up with the others; they're probably wondering what's taking so long." Harry says, scribbling something into his journal. Louis nods before turning around. He was about to walk out before he stops himself.

"Do you think I can win? I know I don't have the best voice. That Liam kid is ten times better than me. What do you think?" He hesitates to turn around and look at Harry's expression.

The older lad was staring at the wall, his hand rubbing his chin, thinking intently.

"Well?" Louis asks. It's a moment before Harry answers. He licks his lips, grazing it between his teeth. He takes his time to answer. He opens and closes his mouth, opens and closes it again. He seems to be having an internal battle with what he wanted to say.

Eventually he answers.

"If I had to bet my money on someone it'd be you, babe."