"Oh my god, Cher. This is it." I whisper to my new best friend.

Tonight we find out who is staying and who is going home. I am so unbelievably nervous. Yesterday, I hung out with Louis, Cher, and Niall because it was our free day. We were all nervous, but I was the worst out of the bunch. I was constantly staring off into space thinking about the next day.

And here it is.

I'm trying not to freak out. I truly am. It's so hard not to though. I mean, I find out if I'm staying on the show or not. It's so nerve wracking. I feel even worse then when I was singing in front of the judges the other day.

I don't want to go home. I've finally accepted that I want to stay here. I'm really going to try. I'm going to ignore what my dad ever said to me. I won't let anything bring me down. I just want to stay. I want to prove to my dad that I can sing and that he was wrong about me.

"It's going to be okay." Cher pulls me into a hug.

"But what if I go home?" I pace the room that we were placed in.

All the singers are in separate rooms based on their age. When we get called to the stage it will be easier. At the moment, Cher and I are the only ones in the teen room. Which is good, because I don't want anyone to see me like this. Ugh. I'm so nervous.

"You are way too talented to go home. The judges will send you through." Cher grips my shoulders, stopping me from pacing.

The door opens and more teenagers walk through. Cher pulls me over to a corner where we won't be bothered. I sit down on the floor with my back against a wall. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. It's a good thing there are no cameras in here. They are probably all out by the stage waiting for us to come out.

"There you guys are." Louis and Niall makes there way over to us.

Cher grabs Louis's arm. "She's freaking out." She tells him, quietly.

Louis sits down next to me. "Talk to me." He takes my hand in his.

"I'm scared." I whisper, turning to face him. "I don't want to go home. I have three of the greatest friends. I don't want to leave now."

"It's going to be okay." Louis tells me.

"You don't know that." I look away.

"Group one to the stage." A voice says over the intercom.

It's starting.

A few girls walk out of the room together. The room turns quiet as everyone turns to look at the tv screen in the room. I watch as that group walks on stage. It's all girls under twenty five. They form a line on the stage. The girls are holding hands together with their friends.

Simon starts talking to the group on the stage. I look away not wanting to hear the rest. If I see who he tells is leaving, I'll get even more nervous. I bury my face in Louis's neck.

A few people in the room gasp. The rest start whispering to themselves. Don't look, Carter. Seeing all the sad faces will only make it worse on yourself. I must resist the urge to look up.

"Group two to the stage." The voice says over the intercom again.

The groups go by quickly and the room starts to empty. There are only a few girls and guys left. The next group to be called is group six. Which is the group Cher and I are in. I'm not prepared for this. I don't think I can do it. Cher is going to have to drag me to the stage. Louis starts rubbing my back in circles.

"Group six to the stage."

I stay frozen on the floor. I can't feel my legs. I can't do this. I just can't.

"Carter, it's our turn." Cher reaches for my hand to pull me up. I grab her hand and she pulls me up.

Niall steps forward and pull me into a hug. I hug him back. This could be the last time I see him. We've become good friends. Not as close as Louis and I, but we're still best friends. Not knowing if this is the last time we will be sing each other is hard. I squeeze Niall once more before stepping back. Cher walks forward and attacks him in a hug.

I turn around to see Louis waiting patiently with his hands in his pockets. We stare at each other for a few seconds. I rush towards, throwing my arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as I can.

I don't want to say goodbye to Louis. We've become so close over the past week. Louis has become my best friend, just like Riley.

"Carter and Cher?" A guy with a headset on and a clipboard in his hands walk in the waiting room. "You're group is up. Go to the main stage."

"You're going to make it." Louis whispers in my ear. "Good luck." He kisses my cheek, his lips lingering for a few seconds.

I let go of Louis and follow Cher. The guy waves us through the door. I wave at Louis over my shoulder and head to the main stage.

We get ushered to the main stage where the judges are at their panel. All of the other singers are waiting on the stage in a line. I stand next to Cher at the end. I glance down at the camera pointed at us. That must be the camera that is being seen from the room we were just in. I send a small smile in it's direction hoping Louis saw it.

Cher grabs my hand. This is it. This could be my last few minutes on the X Factor. I could be going home in just a few seconds. I could be going home and never see any of these people again. Never see Louis again.

Louis Walsh picks up a microphone from the table. "I hate this part. You are all very talented singers, but we can only allow a certain amount through." He begins naming some people.

Tears are forming in my eyes ready to spill over at the next words I'm about to hear. I glance to the left to see Louis and Niall waiting there. When did they get there? I thought they had to stay in the room?

"Cher Lloyd. Carter Shay." I hear Louis Walsh say our names.

After a few slow painful minutes, Cheryl grabs her microphone. "You guys are going through." Cheryl says smiling.

My eyes widen in shock. A few girl jump up in down, screaming their heads off. Other girls fall down on their knees crying. Cher grabs my shoulders and hugs me. I made it. I hug her back and run off the stage to Louis.

"I'm going through!" I wrap my arms around his neck. "I did it! I actually did it!" I jump in his arms.

"I knew you would." Louis pulls me even closer.

"And you'll make it next." I say. He has to make it. They would be crazy not to send him through.

"Group seven to the main stage. Group seven."

Now it's Louis and Niall's turn. They have to make it through. If I made it through, then they will too. They have too.

I pull back and kiss his cheek. "Good luck."

Louis nods his head and heads to the stage. I watch other people go to the stage looking nervous. Niall passes me looking like he could cry at any moment. I would give him a hug, but he already passed me.

Cher stands next to me and watches them. "They're going to make it." She says mostly to herself.

All of the other guys walk on the stage and form a straight line. Simon Cowell starts saying some people's names. When the guy's names are called they walk off the stage. I wait to hear Louis and Niall's name.

Why haven't they said their names yet?

"The final contestant that has made it through is.." Simon Cowell pauses. "Is Tom Richards."

"No." I gasp. Louis can't bs going home. He just can't. I need him here with me.

Cher pulls me in a hug while tears roll down my cheeks. "I can't believe it."

"That's it, guys. I'm really really sorry." Simon apologizes.

Niall walks off the stage first crying. I push Cher towards him and wait for Louis to come down. I watch as a guy walks down in a tan jacket. He has a Justin Bieber haircut and is crying. I feel so bad for all of them. Harry walks off the stage next. He walks off in another direction.

Louis walks off the stage. I run over to him ignoring the other guys. His eyes are red. I hug Louis not wanting to let go. He buries his head in my neck and cries. I should have went home instead.

He deserves to be here way more than I do. So does Niall. I don't want to do the rest of this show with the two of them. I glance up to see a camera focused on us. Now everyone will see how close Louis and I are. They can see how much this is hurting me.

"Wait one second." A guy walks over to everyone with a clipboard. "I have a list of people that need to go to the stage. Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson."

I look up from Louis's chest. What's going on? Louis looks around at the other guys in confusion. The other guys head for the stage.

"Go." I kiss Louis on the cheek. He nods his head and follows the other guys. Cher drapes an arm over my shoulder. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Cher shrugs.

The guy from before walks over to us. "You two need to head to the waiting room with everyone else."

"Wait. I just need to see what's going to happen to my best friend. Please?" I beg.

It must have been my tear streaked face, because the guy agreed. He said after we find out what the judges say, we have to go to the waiting room. I won't even get to say goodbye.

A few other girls walk up on the stage and stand in a small group together. Louis and Niall are standing in a small line with the other boys. What is going on?

"Hello. Thank you so much for coming back." Nicole starts. "I know judging by some of your faces this is really hard. We've thought long and hard about it and we thought of each of you as individuals. And we thought you are just too talented to let go of. We think it would be a great idea to have two separate groups."

That's it. They brought them on stage to tell them to become a group? What's the point of that if they are going home?

"We've decided to put you both through." Simon says into his microphone.

The girls on the stage start screaming and jumping up and down. My jaw drops open. They're going through. They aren't going home. The guys break out in grins.

"Okay, now let's go." The guy motions us to follow him.

I nod my head, now crying because I'm so happy. Louis is going through. "Yes!" I yell, fist pumping the air. I don't mind following the guy now.

He opens a door for us where the other people going through are. Cher and I step in the room and are immediately being pulled into hugs. I hug everyone back in excitement.

We didn't it!

"Congratulations Carter!" Aiden Grimshaw hugs me next.

"If you would all go through this door." The guy opens a door on the other side of the room. "You will meet the two new groups that are going through."

I pull away from Aiden and run to the door before anyone else can. Aiden is right behind me. I burst through the door and round a corner. On the other side of the room, are the guys and the new girl group. Harry is ahead of everyone else. I run past him to Louis.

Louis scoops me up in his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck once again. Everyone else runs past us to hug each other. I'm so happy that Louis isn't leaving.

"I understand that you two are happy, but I want to hug Carter too." Niall laughs.

"Niall!" I squeal. I fling my arms around his neck. "We did it!"

•••••

Author's Note:

Please comment! I want to know who is reading this. I didn't proofread this. I was too lazy. So, there might be some mistakes. But PLEASE comment!