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Chapter 8

"Harry, hold up." Louis rushes from around the corner and grabs Harry's arm, gently turning him around so they can face each other. The smile on his face is blinding, and it hasn't gone away since Louis drove up to surprise him for his final performance.

Things have been rocky since Harry passed through bootcamp of the X-Factor. He's forced to stay on site with all the other contestants, and he doesn't get much free time to go home and visit his friends or family. Often times he's doing something with the competition, and the schedule that they have him on keeps it very hard to ever get on his phone. He and Louis haven't talked as much as they would like, as much as they are used to. They usually have face time calls in the middle of the night because that's the only free time Harry gets, but even then it's difficult because they're both so tired to even keep on the call.

So, these past few months have been tough on them. Harry's gotten to visit once, but he was strictly told to be near his family. Louis saw him in passing, and it was hard to hold back all his urges when there were cameras following his boyfriend everywhere. Now that Harry is in the finale, Louis figured he would come up to surprise his boy. It's a big night for him, and he wants to be there when Harry wins it all. His mum and sister were able to attend, and it took great effort for them to sneak him through. The competition is very strict on who they let back stage with the contestants, and they typically only allow direct family. Not even Liam, Niall, or Zayn were allowed to come up.

Amongst Harry, there is a boy band and a female solo singer. These three contestants have remained the most popular throughout the whole competition so it's not a big surprise they are the finalist of the show. However, there's not a lead on who could possibly win. All of them are great, and they each have something unique they bring their performances. The boy band has great vocals, able to range their voices from high to low and know how to put on a stellar performance. The female singer is lovely, voice so angelic and soft like honey. Harry always thought she was the best one out of everyone, and he has high expectations of her taking home the title.

And then, him. Harry.

He thinks he's a good singer, but he's still not so sure what it is that got him to the end. He's seen tweets and post about his looks and curls getting him all his votes, that his voice is too young and lacks the development to be an X-Factor winner. Then he sees some fans defending his vocals and the thick, rasp to his voice, how he's able to expand his range and hit a lot of the high notes that not even the guys in the boy band could. It's a bunch of mixed reviews, but he hopes that his looks and his smile aren't the only reasons why he's still here.

"How are you feeling?" Louis asks once he gets Harry close to him. His hands are shaking a bit so he gently laces their fingers together, cautiously scanning across every feature on his boys face. The smile is still there, but he's nervous. Louis can feel it.

"I think I might throw up."

Gently, Louis presses a hand to the side of Harry's cheek, caressing him softly. Harry relaxes in to the touch, eyes slipping shut. "You know you have what it takes to win it all, right? You're so fucking amazing. A voice that is meant to be heard across the world."

Green eyes open up, and they shine underneath the light. "You have to say that to me," he chuckles weakly.

"No, I don't. I say it because I mean it." Louis smiles as he squeezes the hand he's still holding on to. "The hard part is already over, love. The performance tonight doesn't matter. It's just for fun."

Harry blows out a big puff of breath past his lips, chest expanding slowly. "I wish you could stand on that stage with me. It sucks being alone out there."