We will meet again

Chapter 6 - Did you miss me?

Ugh. London weather. I giggled. I sounded like a California girl. But I never liked the rain. And here I was in LHR ready to step out and face this rainy and cold day. I don't want to sound ungrateful but if there's one thing I didn't miss all those months it was the weather. I was holding onto my light coat. Since the girls and I got rid of all the stuff that I brought with me the first day in LA I didn't think I would need a winter coat in the near future. And you can't imagine how hard it is to find winter clothes in LA. No, not hard, impossible.

Brian took care of our luggage and I was left with my huge hobo bag I was holding on to as we exited the airport. I told no one I would be coming. I wanted to surprise my family and Kat.

A car was waiting for us outside. As we approached it I heard the driver say "You must be Mr. Friedman."  

"Yes, and this is Aly my assistant."

"Hi."

"Hi Aly. Must be so exciting for you. Your first time in the UK."

I nodded. I was simply too cold to speak. London must've have gotten colder since I left. Brian snorted.

I got in the car and sat there rolled up in a bundle, my back pressed against the seat. I wanted to get to the hotel ASAP. The flight was long and exhausting. Although I did nap for a bit I felt like I was running all the way from LA to London. I decided to take flying off the list of my favorite things to do.

We arrived at the hotel and yay for me there were two separate rooms booked for us. They were connected by the bathroom which we would have to share. But since it was huge I didn't see a problem there.

I took off my clothes and decided to take a bath. Brian was scheduled to meet up with Simon and the other producers and told me I could stay here or roam around town. I settled for a nice hot bath instead. My bones were hurting from all the intense practice and workout of the last weeks. Brian came up with a new routine for X Factor. In just 4 weeks. I wasn't sure if I had all the steps memorized and as I lied there in the tub in my mind I went through the whole thing. I didn't wanna embarrass Brian and I definitely didn't want him to regret taking me with him.

An hour later my vibrating phone interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey Aly. What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just chilling in my room." It wasn't a complete lie.

"Listen. I need you to come to The X Factor studios. Apparently we're being thrown into the cold water right away."

Great. "I'll be there as soon as I can." I said and hung up.

He texted me the address and I quickly got out of the tub and got dressed. This time I put on two shirts and hoped that that would keep me warm. I made a mental note to stop at the mall sometime today and grab a few warm clothes.

Brian's POV

"What do you mean, we're starting right now?"

Simon eyed me suspiciously. "We're here to work, aren't we. So why wait?"

"Sure, ok. Ummm... You want me to do it alone or should I call my assistant and have her come over?"

"Oh, so you brought an assistant with you. I didn't see anyone so I assumed you're here alone." I could tell Simon was not happy.

"I told her to stay at the hotel thinking it would be just me meeting the contestants today." Shit! He actually managed to make me sweat.

"No, no. We'll dive right in. We don't have much time. We picked out top 30. You are here to help us narrow the number down to those who can sing AND dance." He left no room for arguments.

But that didn't stop me.

"You know dancing isn't something you can learn in one day, right? It takes time, dedication and persistence. I can only teach the contestants a small routine and based on how they perform today give you my personal opinion about who has talent and who doesn't. You shouldn't send someone home just because they can't dance."

"You'll be staying longer than just one day. After we narrow it down I'll have the top 15 live together in The X Factor house. You will be practicing with them daily, for at least 2 months." He finished and stood up.

"Wait! What? No! No, that's impossible. I didn't know I had to stay for that long?"

"Do you really think I'd fly you in for just one day?"

Now he was definitely pissed.

"Listen I'm sure you will make it work. And you will have to because you signed the contract. Don't forget that!"

Did I forget that? I wasn't sure. Maybe I missed the part where it said I had to stay in London for 2 months. I'd have to get my lawyer in LA to look at it once I was back at the hotel tonight.

This was not good.

Aly's POV

I walked down the street and took a right turn to get to the back entrance of The X Factor studios. I saw a big bloke standing in front of a locked door. I took out the All Access pass Brian left on my bed and showed it to him. He furrowed his eyebrows but unlocked the door to let me in. Brian came up to me, panic written all over his face.

"Is everything ok? I got here as fast as I could."

"It's fine. I'm fine. Listen, ummm... Apparently I signed a contract that said that I had to stay in London for two months and teach the top 15 contestants. But here's the thing. I can't. I just can't stay here. I have to go back. I got stuff to do. So I was thinking that maybe, well since you got the routine down to a T, maybe you could replace me. I'm not sure if this is even possible, but we could at least try, right?" Brian took a long breath and exhaled.

I was unable to speak. He wanted me to teach classes? Actually teach people? Me? I'm a 17 year old girl. Ok, I probably have more experience in dancing than most of the contestants but the majority of them is older than me. I can't teach these people. They wouldn't listen to me.

"Aly?"

I shook my head. "Ok, let's try this." I said, sure that Simon would never agree to this.

Brian turned around. "Simon, let me introduce you to Aly. She's one of my best dancers." He thought about what he said. "No, she's my BEST dancer!"

I eyed him suspiciously. What was he up to?

"Aly." Simon said shaking my hand for a split second. "Ok, let's go. We don't have much time."

As we went down the halls I made sure to stay close to Brian and Simon. I didn't wanna get lost.

When we reached the stage my heart stopped for a second. 30 people were standing on stage waiting for the auditions to continue. I didn't know what to do so I kept looking down.

"Dear contestants," I heard Simon say "let me introduce you to your dance coach, Brian Friedman.

"Hi everybody." I heard Brian say and looked up. The contestants were pleasantly surprised.

"This is Aly, my assistant" he continued "she's going to help me and you guys with the routine."

"Hi Brian, hi Aly." I heard some voices mumble.

"Ok. We don't have much time. Let's get to work. After today some of you will be going home." Gasps were heard when Simon finished his speech.

Everybody gathered their stuff and we all followed Simon to the dance room.

"Brian and Aly will be taking over from now on and I'll see you tonight." Simon said and with that we were on our own.

Well I'm sure Brian felt completely comfortable. It was just me who was going crazy.