Amp It Up (X Factor, Niall Horan, One Direction Love Story)

“You ready for this?”

I grinned nervously at Conan and shook my head. “Are we ever really ready for anything?”

Conan laughed, and then we went on stage.

The camera's weren't filming as they set up, we had three minutes to get the stage set up and get ready for the cameras to roll. Commercial breaks were awful.

Ryan squeezed my hand as people worked around us, dressed in black. The smoke machines were switched on as the countdown began, the light's were dimmed completely, we couldn't see each other in the darkness.

The director gave us the thumbs up, and I knew the cameras had started. The background music started playing, and the three spotlights shone on Conan, Ryan, and me.

We were spread across the stage, with about ten feet between us. Each of us had a different pose. Mine, hands on my hips, microphone in my right hand. Ryan, legs apart, hands at his side. Conan, crouched down in center stage, his head bowed.

“This ain't a song for the broken hearted,” Conan sang a moment later, and the screams intensified around us.

“No silent prayer for faith departed.” Conan sang again, and he was on his feet, gripping the microphone stand with his hand as Ryan sang harmony with him, “And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd. You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud!”

With the next two beats, we all stomped our left foot, then right foot in harmony as I began the backup vocals. Ryan and Conan did the chorus.

Ryan started the next verse, winking into the camera as his face filled the big screen. When it focused on me, I made a ridiculous face, screwing my face up and sticking my tongue out.

“My heart is like an open highway! Like-” Ryan sang. Spontaneous I cut in, “Like Simon said we did it our way!”

Ryan burst out laughing on stage, and Conan finished the chorus for him, a grin on his face. I tried to keep from giggling as Ryan playfully tickled me while he sang.

The guitar solo broke in, and we circled around the judges, ending with me in the middle, crouching down as I began the bridge.

“Better stand tall when they're callin' ya out, don't bend don't break baby don't back down!”

On the last note, I built it up higher and higher until the boys began the chorus, then held it long into it. Panting after I finished it, we began the trek back to center stage.

My voice was the main voice in the next chorus repeats, and I did the Simon thing again, this time the boys singing it with me. Ryan's arm slung over my shoulder, and my arm wrapped around Conan's waist as we sang.

“IT'S. MY. Life.” We sang together, and the lights cut off.

As soon as the stage lights came back on, Ryan kissed me on the cheek and I hugged Conan as we waited for the judges opinion. The smoke was clearing around us.

Simon had his head in his hands and was laughing, Jon Bon Jovi was standing up applauding us, and Nicole was still fist pumping with the crowd.

Finally Simon put up a hand for quiet, and the stadium was quiet.

“You know what?” Simon asked us. “That might have been the best performance of a Bon Jovi song that I've ever seen!”

Cheering downed out the rest of his words, and he had to wave for quiet again. “Fantastic job you lot, one of the best performances this show has had!”

My heart swelled with love for the man. I just loved him, pure and simple.

I knew I was bright red. Nicole started on us. “Conan! I didn't know you had it in you! What happened to Over The Rainbow like a few weeks ago?” She yelled loudly. Conan was blushing furiously. Ryan and I cracked up. “Amazing vocals, I definably loved it.” Nicole finished.

Jon Bon Jovi stood.

“I think you guys sang it better than I ever have!” He started, and the screaming of the crowd increased.

“Awe, don't say that!” I said cheekily.

“Oh but little lady you did! I can't wait to see where you three go, I know it'll be big places!”

“Mr. Jon?” I asked, as soon as he was finished. “Yes?” He replied with a puzzled expression.

“Okay, so like, will like you sign my shirt?!” I cried. I couldn't hold in my inner fan girl anymore, so my American accent came out full swing.

Laughter erupted from everywhere as the rock legend got a marker from a person in the crowd and signed my back.

“To, Kelly. Rock. On.” He muttered as he wrote. I tried not to laugh as I felt him draw a huge loopy heart on it, then he gave me a huge kiss on the cheek and I swooned.

I was in a daze for a while after that, barely remembering how we got off stage and to the back.

Ryan tugged me in the direction of some cameras for an interview, and I gave vague, distracted answers. The interviewer teased me about fangirling, and I turned bright red and started stuttering.

Minutes after that, I was back in my room with Conan and Ryan.

They were both laughing at me, and after a few minutes of relentless teasing they both went their way.

Slowly coming out of my daze, I grabbed a towel and my toiletries and hopped in the shower to wash the sweat and grime away.

I was in the midst of belting out Christina Aguilera's 'Your Body' when I heard a knock at my bathroom door.

“Who is it!?” I yelled. I turned that water off and squinted through the steam to the door.

“It's me babe!”

It was Niall. I grinned stupidly to myself, then turned the water back on and continued to wash my hair.

“I'll be out in a few minutes!” I called through the door. I heard Niall's assent and continued to sing, this time to Strawberry Wine.

I toweled off and pulled a big tee shirt over my head after my underwear, then realized I forgot my shorts.

“NIALL! Bring me the shorts that are lying on my bed please!” I yelled. There was no way I was going out there if he was in there.

A moment alter Niall knocked on the door, and I took the shorts from around the door and slipped them on.

Niall was sitting on my bed, fiddling with his hands when I came out.

“Hey,” I said awkwardly, sitting beside him.

“Hey,” He replied. “I kinda wanted to talk...”

I nodded and bounced farther back on the bed. “What about?” I asked. I sat Indian style and started working through my hair with a brush.

“Well, last week.” Niall mumbled. His face was red and I knew mine was red as well.

“Well, it meant something to me, I'm not gonna lie.” I said matter of factually.

“Good, because it meant something to me too.” Niall replied.

We sat there for a good two minutes, not saying anything. The awkwardness of the moment was unbearable.

Isn't that the moment in the fan fiction where they stare dreamily into each others eyes and kiss and fall in love and have sex and then the girl gets pregnant and then he leaves her and then comes back and then they get married?

I clasped my hands together. “Well, this has been sufficiently awkward, wanna do something?”

Niall turned toward me so fast I was sure his neck was going to snap.

“Like what?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. I turned away. “NOTHING like you're thinking! I meant like getting food or Wii?”

“Let's do that tomorrow, it's midnight,” Niall informed me. I nodded, and he grinned as I tugged him back to the bed giggling and pushed him down by the shoulders as my lips met his.

~ ~ ~

So, high heels give me a major confidence boost.

The crisp November air blew my hair everywhere, but I couldn't be bothered. Because I had HEELS. Not just little kitten heels, but red, five inch wedges that I absolutely loved.

I was also wearing black and white polka dotted jeans and a white long sleeved tee shirt with a black jacket. Curled hair and sunglasses completed the outfit.

I was on my way back from shopping. I'd gotten several outfits, which was weird for me. I love getting new stuff, but I hate spending money. I also hate dressing rooms. And salespeople. They always look bored. The only thing I really liked about shopping was the food.

I was unlocking my room when I heard screaming. Now normally, if you heard someone screaming you'd call the cops. But I could tell the difference between screams of terror and fangirling screams. And this was fangirling screams.

I put my key back in my purse and sprinted down the hallways until I found the source of the screaming.

Of course, it was Harry.

He was up on a balcony ledge, scrambling away from the mass hordes of teenage girls trying to get to him. Paul, their security guy, was trying to hold them back, yelling and pushing them back. I sighed.

Harry's terrified eyes met mine as I fought my way through the girls, elbowing and shoving.

I made my way to a sweaty Paul, who was radioing for back up and waved, then passed him to the five foot space that was between Harry's ledge and the fan girls.

“Hey, Harry, how ya doing?” I asked. He glared at me, slipping slightly on the ledge.

“Bloody fantastic, these girls are bloody mental!”

I laughed, then helped him down. Honestly, he acted like there wasn't an exit door being him.

I pulled him through it, then took several short cuts through the hallways, dodging swarms of girls.

“Where's your room?” I asked.

“Down a few rooms, I need to get back to Zayn, Paul left Paul Jr. with him and Zayn is probably freaking out by now.”

I laughed. “Can I hold him?” I asked. Harry nodded his head, and we fell into an easy silence.

You know, if you'd told me last year that I would be sort of dating one of the members of the biggest boy band in the world, and rescuing another member from crazed fan girls I would have driven you to a mental home. It seemed natural to talk to Harry, and Louis, Liam, and Zayn for that matter. Talking to Niall was different, I'd liked him ever since I'd heard of One Direction, so being with him made me tongue tied.

Harry unlocked a door in the hall, and motioned me through it. Their room was more like an apartment, and I was instantly jealous. I had a bathroom and bedroom, and they had a mini home!

I stopped focusing on that and focused instead on Zayn, sitting on the couch and rocking a baby carrier back and forth. I heard the baby before I saw him, and Zayn looked close to crying when he saw Harry and I.

“I can't get him to stop!” Zayn wailed. He kept jiggling the baby carrier as the baby wailed louder, and I marched over and pushed him away from it.

“Because you're scaring him!” I snapped, “It must feel like bumper cars in there!”

I leaned down and scooped the dark haired baby into my arms and he snuggled against my chest. I motioned for Zayn to give me the blanket in the carrier, and he gave it to me. Both he and Harry were watching me with their mouths open as I wrapped the baby in the blanket and started humming.

Paul Jr. slowly stopped crying and eventually fell asleep, and I eased him back into the carrier. He really was a precious baby, big brown eyes and nearly black hair.

“How did you do that?” Zayn asked. I lifted the baby carrier onto the couch against some pillows. I shrugged. “I have big boobs,” I replied. “Babies like big boobs and humming.”

Harry covered his mouth to keep from snorting and Zayn started laughing. I smacked him upside the head when the baby started to stir.

“Shut up!” I hissed. Zayn started giggling instead.

Out of all the boys, I'd spent the least time with Harry and Zayn. I'd hung out with Louis and Liam some, but Harry and Zayn seemed always to be busy. But all the boys were busy anyway, they were getting ready for another round of concerts since their last tour had ended a few months ago.

“So, whens the new album coming out?” I asked, breaking the silence.

Harry and Zayn immediately started talking about it, and the new singles that were going to be released soon, and I settled back and listened and talked.

We must have talked for an half hour before there was a knock on the door, and Paul Sr. poked his head through the door.

“How's everything in here?” He asked. The poor man looked exhausted.

“Fine, did y'all get the fan girls away?” I asked.

He shook his head dejectedly. “There's just more pouring in. Since the finals are only three weeks away, there's fans out there for the contestants as well as the lads.” Paul replied. He nodded toward the baby carrier. “How's it going with Baby Paul boys?”

Zayn and Harry talked over each other, trying to tell Paul about how I'd calmed the baby down, and Paul finally got them to shut up. He thanked me sweetly, then came and picked the carrier up.

“I'm going to take Paul to Mrs. Higgins, you boys stay out of trouble,” Paul told us, walking to the door. He paused a second before opening it. “Oh, and Harry? Taylor Swift is the guest judge this week, you may want to think of a plan.”