Today, is our first official week. Everyone is going to the studio to pick our songs for the live show and learn part of the choreography for the group song. I am beyond nervous. The camera crew will be filming us even more. It will be impossible not to embarrass myself on television now. Cher seems to forgotten about the bet which I am incredibly grateful for. I don't want her to embarrass myself even more. That would not be good.

"Hey, Cher?" I call her name from our small walk in closet.

We aren't the only ones in this room. There are four of us bunking in here. Mary almost stayed in our room, but she decided to go with Rebecca Creighton, Sopia, and Geneva. Esther is sleeping in our room with us. Mary didn't want to sleep in a bunk bed and their room is one of the few rooms with a single bed. So, we have Rebecca Ferguson, Cher, Esther, and me. Esther is near Cher's and I age.

"I found your Toms in the guy's room." Cher hands me my navy Toms that I've been looking for.

"Why were they in there?" I scrunch my eyebrows together in confusion.

"Harry said that Louis stole them from you one night." Cher shrugs, sitting on her bottom bunk.

"Awh. Harry." I wink at her.

"Why did you wink at me?" Cher fixes her shirt.

"Harry." I repeat again.

I slide my Toms on to complete my outfit. I decided that if we are learning choreography today then I wanted to be comfortable. I have a pair of dark wash shorts on with a white Jack Wills hoodie. It has the lettering in a dark blue that matches my Toms. I can dance in this outfit easily. I'll probably freeze, but oh well.

"Why do you keep saying Harry's name like that?" Cher looks at me like I'm crazy.

I walk over to the floor length mirror in the corner. "You have been spending a lot of time with Mr. Styles." I wink at her again.

Cher's eyes widen when she realizes what I'm talking about. "Harry and I are just good friends!"

I nod my head at her, not believing a word she is saying. "Of course, you are. Good friends that pull pranks on each other. Good friends that have been caught sleeping on the couch together."

"That was one time!" Cher exclaims. "Besides, you were doing the same thing with Louis."

I run my fingers through my wavy hair. "Yeah, but everyone knows that I like Louis and we are really close friends."

"So close that you should be considered dating?" Cher replies back.

I sit down on Rebecca's bed across from Cher's. "I wish." I tell her, honestly.

"Why don't you just tell him that you are crazy in love with him?" Cher giggles.

"I'm definitely not in love with him." I correct her.

"Guys, we're leaving!" Rebecca pokes her head in our room.

Rebecca, Cher, and I head out of the house to the three vans waiting for us. Cher and Rebecca dash to one van as soon as we get close enough. I break out into a run to try to get to the van before them. Cher jumps in first with Rebecca right behind her. They slam the door shut just as I reach it.

"Don't worry." Mary rolls down the window in the passenger's seat. "I told the boys to behave."

I sigh. They won't behave. They probably told Mary they would behave, but they won't. I slump my shoulders and drag my feet to the guy's van. If these guys act like they did last time, I will slap all of them.

"Carter!" Harry sticks his head out of the van. "Are you riding with us again?"

"Unfortunately." I climb up in the van.

"You aren't happy to ride with us?" Louis pouts.

"Not after last time." I answer him. "Zayn! I'm sitting with you and Liam!"

I sit down in between them in the back. Louis spins around in his seat and pouts at me. There is no way I am riding next to Louis again. I buckle my seatbelt and wave at him. Zayn and Liam were quiet the last time I rode in this crazy van. Hopefully, they will be calmer than the dorks in front of us.

The ride to the studio was rather quiet. Liam and Zayn chatted with me about random things. I knew it was a good choice to sit with them. Every few minutes, Louis would look back at me and pout. Eventually, I ended up promising to sit next to him on the ride back.

When we got there, we were lead to the main conference room. It was just a massive, empty room. No chairs. We were all just standing there, talking amongst ourselves. After five minutes of waiting, the four judges strolled in the room. No one said anything at first. We all just stared at each other.

"Congratulations on making it to the live shows." Simon breaks the silence. "Saturday will be the first live show. That night you will have a group performance and then an individual performance."

Cheryl steps forward next. "This week's theme is number one singles. The group performance song will be The Rhythm of the Night by Corona."

I think I have heard of that song before. My mum loves listening to oldies around the house. Hopefully, that will come in handy.

"We have a list of number one singles that you are able to sing. First come, first serve." Louis Walsh hands out the sheet of paper. "Pick at least two songs."

"Once you have your songs, come to us in our own studios and we will tell you if we approve." Danni smiles at all of us.

I grab the paper that was passed back to me. I don't need to look at this. I already have two songs I want to sing. The judge's leave the room. Everyone starts discussing the song they want to sing. I squeeze through everyone to the door. I open it up to see arrows pointing to where each judge's studio is. I follow the arrow to Cheryl's studio. I knock on the door once to hear her telling me to come in.

"That was quick." Cheryl comments, standing up from a chair.

"Once I heard the theme, I immediately knew what song I wanted to sing." I tell her.

Cheryl sits down in the chair and motions for me to do the same in the other one. "What are your song choices?" Cheryl crosses her legs.

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper or My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion." I tell her with a huge grin on my face.

"Celine Dion's songs are really hard to sing." Cheryl says.

"I know. Everyone will play it safe the first week. I want to stand out." I cross my fingers, hoping she says yes.

"Sing part of it for me." Cheryl demands.

I was expecting this. I know this will be a hard song for me, but I know if I can pull this off then I'll be safe. Everyone from the X Factor knows not to sing Celine Dion because she can sing really high notes. I really want to sing this song.

'Near, far, wherever you are

I believe that the heart does go on

Once more you open the door

And you're here in my heart

And my heart will go on and on.'

Cheryl stares at me for a few seconds. Did I screw up? I didn't think I did. I know all the words by heart. Maybe my voice isn't right for a Celine Dion song.

"Maybe I'll just sing Cyndi Lauper." I look down at my hands in my lap.

"Normally, I wouldn't do this. I'm positive that your voice will be able to hit all of the high notes. Everyone will be very surprised by your choice." Cheryl grins at me.

I lunge forward and hug her. "Thank you so much! I won't disappoint you! I promise!"

"Tomorrow you will meet up with your vocal coach to practice the song. Wednesday, everyone will be learning the group song and the choreography. Thursday, is practicing for the group again. Friday, is all about the song you will be singing." Cheryl informs me. "When you get back to the house, you have to do a video diary."

I clap my hand excitedly. "I love watching the video diaries."

Cheryl laughs at me. "You should be able to leave now. I still have to talk to Rebecca and Cher. Just tell the driver I said to take you back."

I nod my head and stand up. "Thank you so much, Cheryl."

"Your welcome, dear."

•••••

"Just talk into the camera like you have done before. Don't reveal what song you are singing." Dermot stands behind the camera.

I sit down on the stairs. "Can you set the camera on something and just let me talk to it by myself?"

"I'll be right back." Dermot jogs down the stairs.

"So, what are your names?" I ask the camera crew. "I want to be able to call you something else besides the camera crew."

"I'm John. This is Riley." He points to the other guy holding a bunch of cables.

John and Riley. That's easy to remember. John has short brown hair while Riley has black hair and glasses.

"My best friend's name is Riley." I tell them.

"Will this work?" Dermot carries a stool up the stairs.

He places it on the flat part of the stairs. John sets the camera on the stool and adjusts it. They mess around with it for a few minutes. Riley presses a red button and gives me a thumbs up. I nod at them. The three of them walk away leaving me on the stairs by myself.

"Hi!" I wave to the camera. "If you are watching this then that means you are a fan of the show or you are really bored and decided to look up random videos. Either way, I'm glad you're here." I put two thumbs up.

"So, ever week that I am here I will be doing a video diary. I've watched previous seasons and know how boring they can be. I promise you my video diaries will be different. I don't want you to fall asleep while watching this."

It feels weird to talk to a camera. Oh well. I'll have to get used to it.

"It's the first week of the live shows and I am so excited, but nervous. I will be singing in front of thousands of people and be on live television. I wouldn't be surprised if I tripped during my performance. I'm not kidding either. I am one of the most uncoordinated person you will ever meet. Well, virtually meet. I guess?" I laugh.

"Honey, I'm home!" Louis's voice comes from downstairs.

"And that ladies and gentlemen, would be my best friend Louis Tomlinson. He's a weird one." I tell the camera.

"Carter?!" Louis screams my name.

"If I'm here next week I promise to embarrass Louis somehow during their video diary. I have my ways." I grin, mischievously.

"What are you doing?" Louis stands behind the camera.

"I'm doing my video diary." I point to the camera.

Louis steps in front of the camera and puts his face in the lens. "Hi mum!"

"Louis!" I grab a fistful of his shirt and pull him back. I let out a yelp when he falls in my lap.

"Whoa, Carter! Not on camera!" Louis smirks.

"Get off of me!" I push him off my lap.

Louis lands on the stairs below me. "That wasn't nice." He pouts.

"I'm trying to do my video diary and you interrupted me." I glance up at the camera. "Are you going to get up?"

Louis shakes his head. "Continue with your video diary."

"As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted, I will have a surprise if I make it to the next week. I guess that's all I have to say. Louis is making this really awkward by staring at me. You can't see him, but he is doing it. So, vote for me this week! Bye!"

I reach up and press the red button on the camera. "That was rude of you."

"Yeah, but you love me!" Louis continues laying on the steps.

Footsteps pound on the lower steps and Aiden appears. "Are you done with your video diary? I wanted to go next."

"Careful, Louis might ruin your video diary." I warn him standing up.

"I would never do that!" Louis follows me downstairs.

"Yes, he would!" I yell back.

••••••

Author's Note:

Opinions? What do you think so far? Carter's video diaries will get crazier each week. I have a lot of good ideas.

Question!

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

I'm not really a fan of the movies, but I am Team Jacob. Or Team Jasper.

Yeah! Comment!