"The biggest concern we had with you wasn't your voice Aviana" Simon spoke up after a moment, making Aviana straighten herself back up and listen to him. "You have an amazing voice, and great stage presence, and we all agree that you might even have some great hidden talent for composing as well. But what concerned us was the fact that you're still young, Aviana. You're very young, and if you're by yourself at this stage of the industry, it's going to be really really challenging"

Simon spoke slowly, stressing each and every word like he was trying to scorch them into her mind, desperate for everyone around to understand where his intentions lay.

"Like, two years back, Liam, I sent you home from the Judges' house because it wasn't your time yet. If you had continued that day, you might have not been able to make it" Simon gestured to one of the boys in their little bundle. He was the taller one, whom she'd seen around and known as somebody who had auditioned for the show in an earlier year. "Like that, Aviana, I see a lot of potential in you - in terms of performing. All of you on stage, you guys have such a long way to go. I want you all to continue, and be successful. But I know you're going to be - all of you are going to be just - better when you're all in it together"

"I know our original decision was for you to continue as an individual act, darling, but we just think it's going to be so much better like this" Nicole and Simon were speaking back to back as if they were at a battle to see who can make up the mind of the fifteen-year-old in front of them.

"The rest of you" It was Simon's turn again. He sat back up from the hunched position he was in and let his eyes drag over the rest of the people on the stage with a pointed look - his voice rather stoic now. "This is a lifeline. You have got to work ten to twelve, fourteen hours a day - every single day and take this opportunity. I want a real show out of you guys"

There was applause around them as the recording wrapped up. The girls were shrieking as they dragged each other off the stage, clearly happy out of their minds.

The guys, however, limited their celebration to applause, concerning eyes set on the girl who was just there - staring ahead. Her fingers were trembling around the microphone in her hands till Angus reached them.

"Birdie, let go" Angus spoke in a soft voice as if not to disturb whatever headspace she was in. Aviana let the microphone be pulled out of her hands, still too shaken to get herself to even move or to think of anything. The only thing that rang through her mind was a big, bold 'WHAT' in neon scarlet letters.

In her shaken state of mind, Aviana didn't see how Nicole had made her way to the stage, cautiously approaching her.

"Hi, dear, are you okay? I know it's a lot right now" Aviana snapped out of her haziness and looked around, trying to back away but failing when Nicole's hands came to rest on top of her shoulders. "Just give it a -"

"Can't you put me in the girls' group?"

Aviana watched as Nicole's face morphed into a look of shock before she tried to regain her composure. Her eyebrows were drawn together tightly in both confusion and surprise. "Like, if me being in a group is really necessary, can't you put me in the group with the girls?"

Whenever Aviana is worked up her voice comes out at a rapid pace - it was something that was pointed out by her friends a lot. Her usual manner of waiting on each word was thrown out the window as her tone was laced with an unfamiliar accent as well - another result of being in a state of panic and her senses high on alarm.

"What, Aviana - No, I -" Nicole Scherzinger was spluttering in front of them, clearly taken aback by the straightforward request thrown at her. "I can't, darling, I -"

"Then I'll have to quit" No hesitation, no uncertainty in Aviana's voice. Just pure precision, determination and a bite of the tongue. "I can't"

"Aviana, no" It might be the first time Harry's spoken to her throughout the Bootcamp, but the desperation and sadness in his voice weren't hard to miss.

"They aren't gonna be okay with this" Aviana mumbled much to himself, going to back away from the conversation now. "They're gonna kill me"

Aviana can't remember if she walked off the stage by herself, if somebody led her off, or if Zayn was following her. She can't remember if it was Alden who immediately gathered her up in his arms or if it was her who clung to him first. However, Alden was there. He was holding her while Aviana tried her best to not have a whole breakdown in front of anyone.

"You're okay. Calm down" It was odd hearing Alden's voice directed at her in such a gentle and delicate tone. It made Aviana want to dig her fingertips into his back a little harder and try not to cry a little even harder.

"I'm scared. I'm so scared"

"Calm down" Alden tried to soothe her to his greatest extent. He was used to being the reason for Aviana's breakdowns usually, not the one she sought to help her through it. But right now, Alden understood he was the only person who really comprehended the fear and the heaviness of the words falling off her lips. He's the only one who knew to what extent they were both screwed. "We'll do something, okay? We'll do something. Nothing is going to happen. It's okay"

Aviana wanted to sob. She wanted to cry, scream and rip out her hair all at once. She wanted to scream at Alden for being so careful with her just the way she needed to be cared for right now. She wanted to scream at the judges for putting him in this situation. She wanted to scream at the five boys who stood a little off to the side, concern and guilt dribbling from their innocent eyes. But most importantly, she wanted to scream at herself for being too fucking young or whatever.

When Alden finally pulled away, he kept her close and held her at arm's length with his hands on her shoulders before speaking in a low voice. "We'll figure it out. Just fix your face for now, yeah? It's okay, Ruhi"

Alden was speaking to her in their mother tongue, and Aviana was glad. Knowing that only they were able to understand what was being said, and the little amount of comfort feeling she always got while speaking Sinhalese was enough to calm her down at the moment. So, with a certain nod and a deep sigh, Aviana patted her cheeks down in case the strain on her face was visible to anybody watching her.

When she turned around, Bexley and Yungho parted from where they'd been trying to block the view, shielding her from potentially lurking cameras. She simply sent them a wary smile, a clear induction that she really didn't want to speak about it right now. Bexley nodded in understanding, Yungho's comfort restricted to a small squeeze to her forearm as she stepped away from them.

The five boys were standing a little away from her, talking to the host about what went down while multiple cameras filmed them from around. Although they looked like they were completely okay, the tension in their minds was clear from the way Harry kept biting his nails, Louis kept looking around and how the little blonde one constantly shuffled his feet.

It was Zayn who spotted Aviana first, his entire face of distress melting into relief as he reached towards her right away with a whispery, "Aviana"

Almost all the cameras immediately turned towards her, Dermot and the other boys following suit rather ceremoniously. Aviana took a deep breath and plastered an apathetic look on her face before walking towards them and standing beside Zayn who was seemingly closest to her.

"Hi," She greeted lightly, trying not to give away the fact that she had just recovered from a pretty massive mental breakdown.

"Aviana, Simon's star, hi again" Dermot greeted with his significant cheery voice, trying to lighten the mood, which was obviously too tense for a moment that was supposed to be cheerful. Aviana smiled as she rocked on the balls of her feet, trying not to think about the fact that she just got called 'Simon's star'. "How are you feeling about all of this?"

"I mean, I was definitely confused at first" She spoke with a surprising stability to her voice. "I guess now I'm just...shocked? It wasn't something I had expected to happen at all, but I trust the judges. I hope we get along well. And I hope we'll be able to make it through the competition"

Although her voice was steady and her eyes looked like she was a hundred per cent sure of herself, her heart knew that she was speaking rather for the sake of television. And it seemed like the boys knew it too from the way they nodded enthusiastically but rather with a distant look of anxiety in their eyes.

"Boys, how do you guys feel about having Aviana in the band?" Dermot asked, clearly hinting at how they were sort of in a luck-of-a-draw situation by having a contestant like Aviana, who was known for her notorious auditions, in their group.

"To be honest, I think it's great that we have her"

Aviana almost flinched at Louis' voice. Of course, he would choose to take the higher ground and answer a question like this. "She's kind of famous among us because her audition was the only one that was able to please big man, Simon"

The boys laughed, making Aviana awkwardly join along, trying to chuckle at Louis' attempt to smooth out the situation.

"Yeah, her talent's massive, so it's great to have someone like Aviana with us" The tall one Simon had talked to before joined in with a soft smile thrown her way. "I hope we'll be able to get along well and make it work, you know?"

Once the cameras were finally shifted away - pointed towards the other four girls - all six of them physically deflated. The sighs that left their mouths out of exhaustion were in sync, and it made the boys laugh a little. Harry immediately leaned into Louis' side, who was quick to throw an arm around his hip and let Harry rest against him. The boys seemed to have calmed a lot after the cameras were diverted from them, their faces taking up looks of exhaustion rather than stress.

"You okay?" Zayn questioned, making Aviana turn towards him and the rest of the boys to divert their attention to them.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Aviana was sure almost anybody could clearly tell that she was lying through her teeth. "Just...that was a lot"

The boys nodded in agreement. It must've been a huge shock to them as well, considering how they were literally told to go home one second and then put back on the show - all in the span of five minutes. Nonetheless, the five of them looked glad to be here seeing as they were given a second chance to prove to the judges that they did in fact have the aspect of talent that was required to get into the industry.

"So..." The little blonde one spoke up for the first time. "We're all in a band now?"

One proper look at him and Aviana decided he was the most adorable one out of them. With his rosy cheeks, crooked teeth, words laced with a heavy Irish accent and sounding more like 'we roll in a ban new' - he looked like a baby goat personified.

"Holy shit, yeah" Louis cried in response. "I'm just glad we got back in, man. I was losing my shit"

"Yeah, same" The tall one agreed with a nod of his head before they went silent again.

The tension and the awkwardness between them were becoming somewhat painful. The fact that none of them were brave enough to start a conversation was evident from the way the six just stood there and stared at the floor in silence.

Even Zayn was fidgeting in his place, trying to squirm out of this hell of an awkward interaction as soon as possible.

Aviana rolled her lips, not being able to stand here in complete radio silence with them. She might be a victim of social anxiety, but she still had the ability to always step up, and take matters into her own hands whenever they were desperately needed. So, taking a deep breath, she pulled her lips into a small smile, trying to look as friendly as possible before raising her voice.

"I'm Aviana, by the way," She started hesitantly, almost cringing at the awkwardness in her voice. "Don't think I've met you guys properly, uh...I know Zayn, but yeah, um"

Almost immediately, the other four guys stood up straight to greet her.

"Yeah. I'm Liam, Liam Payne" The taller guy greeted with a panicked wave towards her before turning to the others and repeating with a small smile. "Nice to meet you guys"

"You auditioned two years ago too, right?" Harry questioned. Liam let out a shy chuckle at his question while nodding. "I remember seeing you on the show. Me and my sister were rooting so much for you, dude"

At that, Liam laughed harder before stepping forward, shaking Harry's hand, and patting his back. "Ah, yeah. Couldn't get past the Judges' house though 'cause Simon said I was too young back then"

"Ah, bullshit, mate. You were great, Simon's just too tough" Louis declared, also patting Liam in the back.

When Liam offhandedly mentioned how Simon had thought he was too young two years back on the stage, Aviana felt their eyes dart towards her in a whim. Although it only happened too fast to even notice, she instinctively shrunk in her frame, knowing what everybody was thinking right now.

"Well, you guys know me already. I'm Louis" He continued, winking at the rest of them with lips pulled into a bold smile. "Just your average lad from Doncaster"

Aviana watched as the guys laughed at how Louis shrugged with faux confidence. Just by eyeing that small interaction, she could tell that the boys already knew Louis very well. Aviana wasn't surprised to learn that he must've earned a name and reputation for himself for the short time of the week they'd all been together. After all, Louis had always been great at mingling with people he'd just met, always fitting right into any scene and becoming best friends with half of the population in a short matter of time.

Aviana shuddered at the memory of how there was a time when Aviana practically looked up to Louis. She should be in jail for the way she idolized the boy from Doncaster who charmed everyone around him with his bright blue eyes and lips in a constant mischievous grin. Louis always had a friendly aura to him, inviting people in and making it easier for them to approach him, and she thought it was a trait that made him even more appealing back then. But now, scanning his frame while he listened to Zayn with ardent eyes fixed, arm hooked loosely around Harry's waist and giving out an occasional nod here and there, Aviana couldn't help the roll of her eyes that slithered up her spine.

Maybe her eye roll wasn't as invisible as she thought because suddenly Louis's eyes darted to her. His eyebrows were tugged upwards in amusement as if he had taken a double take to confirm what he had seen. Aviana stilled in her place, immediately knowing he'd seen her little snarky movement. After maybe two seconds of staring at Aviana in amusement, Louis' lips slowly pulled into a smile that was more of a scowl.

Oh, Louis' is about to give Aviana's lowlife hell for rolling her eyes at the sacred godly presence that is him.

"You're not from here, are you?" Louis only looked away from Aviana and diverted his attention to Harry, who was talking to the little one next to him. The boy in question shook his head and gave a toothy smile in return.

"I'm from Ireland. That's why I have a funny accent. I've been in Mullingar my whole life"

"Oh no, your accent is adorable. It's really cute"

If anyone could come close to Louis in terms of charming people up, it was Harry. With his mop of curls, leafy eyes and nature of a newborn puppy, he was the definition of a sweetheart first impression. He was who all mothers would have liked to be introduced by their children as a boyfriend. Harry was like a literal golden retriever stuck in a human body - shy at first, reserved and soft-spoken, but when time passed, and he got more comfortable, he would let his adorable extrovert side show up. He always had the ability to fluster people with his looks and his words, charming them into instantly loving them. There was just no way you wouldn't fall in love with someone like him - Harry was just too captivating like that.

"I'm Zayn" Zayn introduced himself with a short wave, uncomfortably shifting in his feet when all the attention turned to him.

"Zayn, yes! You're the one who got into the...um, dance situation yesterday?" As expected, Louis took the higher ground in making small talk.

"Oh yeah. That happened"

Zayn awkwardly chuckled while bringing up a hand to rub the back of his neck. After the whole situation with Zayn not showing up for the dance practices yesterday, he had become quite the talk of the town. Everybody was wondering what happened to him and how he even had the nerve to not show up at all. Obviously, Zayn wasn't allowed to tell anyone that it was all just a set-up for the benefit of the TV, so there were people out there who were sympathizing with him out in the open.

The chatter among them was interrupted when a group of parents scrambled their way backstage, eyes frantically bouncing off of everyone around them. As soon as the boys noticed them, they seemed to be done with the conversation, eyes lighting up and lips pulling into big smiles at the sight of whom Aviana guessed were their parents.

"Mom!" Harry almost flew into the arms of a dark-haired woman who scooped him up in a hug with a cry of 'baby'

Aviana watched as Louis softly smiled at the sight before he straightened up and walked towards his mom right behind them. Liam was greeted by his mother and another girl, whom Aviana assumed was his sister, with a big embrace. Niall bounced up to a man and a woman who looked like exact copies of him - big toothy smiles and pink cheeks. It was comical how he almost climbed into his mom's arms, teary-eyed and all. Zayn's mom, who Aviana recognized from earlier, was carrying his sister now. When she waved him over, the boy turned to him with a concerned gaze. But before he could say anything, Aviana gave him a reassuring smile.

"I should probably go now. My brother's waiting" With a small nod towards where Alden was still standing, Aviana explained. "I'll see you later?"

"Of course. We'll probably get called into a meeting somewhere this week to...talk about all of this, you know?" Zayn said. "I'm still so - shocked? surprised? I don't even know at this point. You should go home and let it process too. I'll talk to you, okay?"

With a nod and a small goodbye wave thrown his way, Aviana turned towards Alden while Zayn shifted away to greet his mom. When she reached her three-person support system, Alden was still leaning against the wall with her bag thrown over his shoulder. Yungho and Bexley were crouched on the floor, talking among themselves. Once Aviana stood in front of them, the two looked up before standing up and dusting down their jeans. Alden straightened up, a hand reaching to steady himself against the wall.

"You ready to go?"

Soon, the four of them were walking out of the arena building, stepping outside into the cold London breeze. The skies had darkened, the night having seeped into the city while they were inside. As they sauntered towards where his car was parked, Alden walked in front of them with Aviana's bag thrown over his shoulder. Bexley and Yungho were on each of Aviana's sides, a steamy argument between them about something Aviana couldn't grasp the beginning or the end of.

However, Aviana's mind was far far away from where her body was at the moment. As she strolled, she let her mind wander into what had happened earlier. She couldn't help the dread that settled into her gut - what's going to happen now? How is she going to tell her parents? How would they react at all? She was sure her mom and dad wouldn't hesitate to throw her against a wall before resigning her from the competition altogether. The chances of them being completely fine with the decisions that have been made and the position Aviana's been put in was low - scratch that, it was nonexistent.

Aviana could almost picture the face her mother would make when she heard the news - five stages of dismay running through her face in the form of confusion, disbelief, anger, distress and disappointment. Aviana supposed the first words that come out of her mouth would sound like, "What would people think, Aviana?"

What would people actually say - is what Aviana feared.

"Hey, wait up!"

Aviana almost ran into Alden when he stopped in his tracks, jostling Aviana out of her trance. Bexley was quick to grab Aviana by the hand when she stumbled in her step. There was the sound of feet rushing up to them in a hurry. Aviana, still recovering from her crash, turned around only to see Zayn running up to them - Niall hot on his feet.

Just looking at them, heavily panting from having run up to them, brought Aviana back to the events of the day. It made her jostly, the mere reminder of the state she was in finally settling deep in her gut.

"Öur moms - our moms wanted to-" Niall heaved, trying his best to catch his breath. "Take a picture of us. You were already gone when we came to get you so...do you think you can come?"

"It'll be quick" Zayn added in a hopeful tone, his eyes shifting towards Alden, who was standing behind her in all of his six-foot stance. When Aviana looked over Zayn's shoulder, he could see how the other boys and their families stood at the steps that led to the arena. They seemed to be lingering around in the meantime, waiting for the two of them to return with her.

"Alright, go on. Come back here. I'll bring the car around" Once Alden gestured for her to go on, Aviana quickly clutched Bexley and Yungho's before dragging them to follow the two boys as they raced towards the others. When they took notice of them rushing, the other boys stood up from their places on the ground.

"Mama, she has to leave so let's be quick" The woman Aviana recognised as Zayn's mother nodded, a beautiful smile adorning her face as she looked over at Aviana.

"Hi, darling"

Suddenly taken aback by the soft greeting directed towards her, Aviana could only muster up a spluttered 'Hi' and a frantic bow of her head towards Zayn's mom. Bexley and Yungho stood a little afar by the other parents, who seemed to be eyeing Aviana with disguised interest and quirked-up lips. Aviana wished she could read their minds, knowing there were so many questions and speculations running through all of their minds at that moment.

"Just sit on the steps guys, get close together so I can get all of you in the frame" It was Niall's dad who instructed them where to position themselves for the picture in his heavy Irish accent. Aviana noticed the small Sony camera he held in his hand as he directed Louis, Liam and Niall to sit on one of the steps. "You guys sit two steps below, so it doesn't look too cramped, okay?"

As instructed, Louis dragged Liam and Niall to plop down on one of the steps with him. Watching how Zayn sat down in front of Niall on a lower step, Aviana thought of sitting down next to him on instinct. But before she could even move, Harry was settling himself down on the spot next to Zayn with a clueless sigh. Aviana stopped in her step, realising that she was going to have to sit next to Harry instead, which would put her right in front of Louis as well.

It didn't dawn on Aviana that she had been standing in front of them, fully zoned out, without moving to sit down until a hand was pushing her from the back. She doesn't have to turn around to learn that it was most probably Yungho, rescuing her from being an embarrassment in front of her potential future bandmates and their parents. So, with an apologetic look and a quiet sorry muttered towards no one in particular, Aviana decided to settle down next to Harry.

Aviana could almost sense the way Harry's body went rigid. Next to her, the poor thing tried his best to straighten up in an attempt to refrain their shoulders from brushing against each other as a result of their proximity. If Aviana was a more empathetic person, her heart would've soared at how her presence intimidated someone else to that extent. But Aviana was not - she was fucked in the head. She was rather someone who silently thrived on the fact that she was capable of making other people uncomfortable and leaving them rattled with a mere sight. So she couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself. ( This is probably why Bexley kept telling her she needed to seek physical help, but oh well )

"Guys, guys, come on. Look in the direction of the camera lens please"

Behind them, Aviana could hear how Louis and Niall bantered back and forth about who was taller between them. Liam was sitting in the middle trying to stop their fight so Niall's dad could take the picture. Zayn was sitting on the other side, glancing up at them with perplexed eyes and a soft smile grazing his face without him knowing. Harry, now relaxed to some extent, sat in the middle, trying to loudly declare his own opinion on why he thought he was taller than all of them. And Aviana watched in silence - she listened, and let herself feel the buzz of the five boys around her.

"Kids, come on now. Stop the banter. Look here"

It baffled her - how this morning they were nothing but a couple of strangers to each other, their interactions and understanding limited to gossip among others and flashes of quick smiles in hallways. And by the evening, everything had fallen into place.

"Okay, one...two- stop moving guys. Look here, here - in one direction"

They're in a band.

Aviana's mind flickered as Niall's dad brought up the camera to his face and snapped the shot of the six together - the first of millions to come.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I PRESENT TO YOU - THE FIVE BOYS AND THE GIRL IN THE BAND FROM X-FACTOR WHO STILL DOESN'T HAVE A NAME FOR THEM. TFBATGINTBFXFWSDHANFT - FOR SHORT.

Finally you get to see the end of July 23rd. It was so stressful writing this chapter because every line said by anyone and every interaction between them needed complex calculations. I tried my best to find out who took the first picture of One Direction but I couldn't so let's just imagine it was Niall's dad for my sake.

Also I made Alden a little less of an asshole and more of an actual big brother here so let us all celebrate. Don't expect any more caring older brother Alden for the next twenty years though.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter - and the day in particular because this was the day history was quite literally altered forever. I'm sorry for having to drag it out to three separate chapters, I feel like those tiktokers who say 'go to part two!' and then wait three months to post it. But since all three parts are published now, you guys can rest in peace.

I linked the Bootcamp video from The X-Factor in 2010 so just check it if you can. It's so nostalgic to watch back on them and see how far they've come honestly it makes me cry so much nvojnrf

Don't forget to leave comments because I absolutely thrive off of feedback. Your comments were the only reason I was motivated to start posting consistent chapters again so I appreciate it if you left something for me to laugh and kick my feet about.

So I hope you guys loved it as much as I loved writing it. I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible my loves.

Don't forget to vote! Lots of love <3

TPWK ♡

- Esa

https://youtu.be/VblogzeIlfM