Winning chapter, as voted by the readers: chapter seventy. 
I hope you enjoy! (Unedited)

The so called 'party' turned out to be a bunch of my relatives and a few of my mates hanging around the house while eating finger-food and sending a congratulatory comment my way every so often. It was amazing to see my whole family together and having fun, even if said fun extended to a few drinks, some banter and a cocktail sausage. 

My mother was ecstatic; overly ecstatic that I found her tearing up every few minutes, a tissue at her eyes to try control her happy tears. I was truthfully surprised that I wasn't the one crying. I dare say back at the stage was where I'd let all my emotions run wild. So had the other guys who happened to be in the exact same situation as me.

Being thrown into a band last minute, completely out of nowhere had left me bewildered to start with. It just seemed too random to actually be true. The mention of the word 'boyband' instantly conjured horrendous images of dreadful synchronized dance routines, matching outfits and ugly hairstyles that were commonly associated with boybands of the 90's. Once, they had been something to envy, to love. Nowadays, if that were to happen, you'd no doubt be laughed at. I just prayed that none of the other boys were into recreating that kind of image. At least I knew Zayn hated dancing.

"Harry!"

Amanda's voice broke me from my thoughts and I instantly jumped from my seat and ran down to meet her. Wrapping my arms around her had never felt so good, and she just laughed as I picked her up and spun her round in a circle like they did in the movies.

"You came!" 

"Of course I did, you just got through to the next damn round! What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't come to congratulate you?" she asked, smiling widely at me. I was surprised when she stood on her toes to kiss me. Just a peck on the lips, so innocent yet so meaningful. "I can't believe it, I'm so happy for you!"

"I'm happy for me too!" I said, flashing a cheeky smile. "God, it's been a crazy few days. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she said before hugging me again. I took the opportunity to inhale her perfume and I smiled into her hair. She made me happy beyond words, and the thought of losing her after trying so hard to be with her would break me. Mum had even told me to hold onto her for as long as possible.

"I must warn you," I began, holding her at arms length, "that this party is a bit of a flop. It's pretty boring."

"Surely not if you're  here?" she teased before taking my hand and leading me back towards the house. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is. After all, it's your party, Tarzan."

I grinned. She was right. It was my party, and it was held in celebration of something that would never happen again. This was a once in a life time kind of party, and I planned to enjoy every second of it with Amanda.

As soon as we entered the house, we were met with another chorus of congratulations. I just thanked everyone as quickly as I could before leading Amanda through towards the kitchen. I groaned when I saw my mother standing talking to some relatives, knowing deep down that she would embarrass me somehow. She'd only met Amanda a few times before, and due to the fact she had downed a few drinks, there was no doubt about it that she was going to be a little bit more than embarrassing.

"Harry!" she cried when she saw me. "Oh! And Amanda too. It was so good of you to come!" She moved over to us and embraced Mands in a tight hug, her eyes still slightly teary. "Oh, God. I'm such a mess. I keep crying. It's crazy, isn't it? My baby's wish is coming true, and I just can't believe ... I can't believe that it's all happening so soon..."

She was crying again.

"Mum, please control your water works." 

"Harry, how can you say such a thing? This is The X Factor we're talking about - and you're on it! One step closer to being the little pop star I know you are. Oh, I need another tissue."

"It was nice to see you again, Anne," Amanda said with a smile, patting my fragile mother on the back. I just shook my head as I poured Amanda a drink, wondering why my mum was being so strange. She was never such a wreck. But then again, I reminded myself, it wasn't as if my sister or I had ever managed to accomplish something so huge before. It was a first.

"Drink," I said as I handed my girlfriend the cup. She smiled and thanked me before she took a sip and gestured towards the stairs. "What?" I asked.

"Can we go upstairs?"  she asked. "The chatter and music is a little loud."

I just nodded and said goodbye to everyone before we managed to sneak upstairs without anyone stopping us or shouting well done at me. It was so much more quiet by the time we reached the landing, and the talking had mixed with the music so much that it was difficult to make out what was being said and what was being sung.

"I have a stash of unhealthy food in my room, so don't worry about missing out on the cucumber sandwiches."

She cringed. "It's always a cucumber sandwich isn't it? Always found that odd."

"We think alike, my dear, " I joked before I pointed to the door at the end of the hall. "That room."

"This one?" she asked before turning the handle and opened the door. Once we were inside, I carefully closed the door again and spun with my arms stretched wide. It wasn't much of a welcome, but it sufficed for Amanda just laughed and placed her cup down on the table.

My room wasn't much, just your basic sixteen year old boy's room with a bed, desk a couple of posters and a game console shoved under my table out of sight. I'd made sure to always keep it as tidy as possible, but saying that, it was a bit of a bomb site and I cringed as I noticed a pair of dirty underwear sitting by the door. Thankfully Amanda hadn't noticed, and I just cleared my throat. 

"Welcome to my crib! My humble abode. Ma hide-out. My-"

"Room?" she teased and I just let my arms fall to my side in defeat.

I mumbled, "Yeah."

"Harry, you're so silly at times," she laughed, stepping towards me so that we could hug. I wasn't going to lie, her being so comfortable with me to make the first move was something I greatly admired. It was heart-warming, and special, and wonderful all at once. 

"You love it," I mumbled into her hair as I held her close. I smiled again, almost uncontrollably, just thinking how lucky I was to have her in my life. Way back to when I had thought her sister the better of the two, through to when I realised I was a cruel bastard and messaged her to make things right, through to the point where I realised I was falling for her, and I was falling so damn hard that everything else seemed to blur. It had been a scary yet great moment, because that's when I discovered that I actually liked her not just as a person or a friend but as much more. I wanted to be  much more. 

I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't her hear say it.

But I had.

I heard her say it.

"I love you."

The three words were no sooner out of her mouth before I tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. I could see it, the honesty. She wasn't lying, and she finally said it with sincerity. And also, I regretfully noticed, to my face.

You told her through text, I heard a voice shout in my head. You fool.

"Amanda?" I said, putting a hand to her forehead. "Are you OK?"

She just knocked my hand away with a chuckle before jumping into my arms and pressing her lips to mine so roughly that I had to question whether she was in fact the real Amanda. I'd never seen her act quite so affectionately. I knew she was a loving person - loving and sarcastic as hell - and the only reasonable explanation I could come up with was to do with the three little words that I had't expected to hear from her that night.

Before I knew it, I'd stepped backwards and tripped onto the bed, a smile finding its way to my mouth. It was almost like a romance movie, full of all the wonderful clichés and mushy things. Going along with it all, I cupped the back of her neck and pulled her down to kiss her hard. There was no way I was letting her go-

"Harry?" a voice called from the other side of the door.

I groaned. "Gem, I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Doing what?" my sister questioned. The door handle was suddenly turning, and I had to laugh when watching Amanda move so suddenly. I'd never seen someone move so quickly, or develop a red face to the point it looked like an about-to-burst tomato. I laughed harder and just as Gemma stepped into the room did she see Amanda and I sitting beside each other, looking a little flustered.

"Gem," I groaned, wrapping an arm around Amanda's shoulders comfortingly.

"Oh, you really were busy," she mused, looking over the pair of us.

Amanda spoke awkwardly. "Hey, Gem."

"Amanda, you know I love you and all - and you also know that I hate being the one to interrupt a good bang but Harry's being called down for a toast like thing. Hella awkward, especially since mum is flooding the house with tears."

I just rolled my eyes. "Can't you tell Mum that I've had enough of the party and would like to spend time with my girlfriend before I have to leave again?"

Gemma considered my words before shaking her head. "Not really. Hell, I'm a little tipsy so why would that cross my mind, dear brother?"

I ended up throwing my pillow at her head in order to get her to leave the room. Amanda just laughed, and as soon as I heard my sister's footsteps retreating down the stairs did I tackle Amanda and shower her with kisses, my heart pounding and head reeling just because of those three little words.

I love you.

That night I lay awake in bed, pondering why Amanda had finally gathered enough courage to tell me that she loved me. Several questions were racing through my mind - When did you realise? Are you one-hundred percent, positively sure? Are you just saying it to make me feel better? Is this real love? - and no matter how many times I told myself that texting her would be a bad idea, I found myself leaning over to grab my phone.

But what was I going to say that didn't make me sound like a worried yet needy yet madly in love teenage boy? All of the above was the truth, but I didn't want her to know that I was worried and needy. She was all ready perfectly aware that I was head over heels for her. 

When do you realise that you're in love with somebody? It was a question that had once popped into my mind and refused to leave for weeks, and during those weeks I'd not been able to provide an answer for myself. But being with Amanda had solved that riddle for me. It wasn't the accelerated heart beats in your chest, or the smile you couldn't control when that someone walks into the room. It was the feeling deep inside, that little pinch of excitement and happiness and nervousness all mixed together in your gut. When a person can make you feel so many things at once, make you smile so much, make you want to be a better person, you know. 

And I felt every single one of those things when with Amanda. Still in partial disbelief from earlier, I tapped away at my phone with the largest, most goofiest grin on my face. And all I sent her was:

Harry:
You said it.

Sorry for the horrendous wait, I'm such a lazy person. Anyway, hope you liked it and let me know what you think. Thank you, I love you all so much!

Cazza