A Different Beat

Margo took a deep breath, letting it out in one short sigh as she leaned back in her chair. Ashton’s entire team was here, but their team captain was not. She took the opportunity to look over her fellow team members, chewing her lower lip at how they all seemed to have the right look for show business. She just turned her head back towards her lap, picking at her chewed down fingernails.

“Well, should we give him five minutes or start laying name games?” A handsome brunette with long curly hair asked. The blonde next to him giggled, a bright smile on her face.

“Come on guys, maybe he’s just in the WC.” The only other man on the team, who was older with pitch black hair, said. Margo remembered the host saying he was the oldest person on the show at thirty as he scratched his chin. She had watched his audition and knew that he would probably be the one to make it to the end. She pressed her lips together, struggling to remember what his name was.

Finally the door busted open to Ashton, smiling sheepishly as he straightened out his button down. Everyone just looked at him for a long time, his hair was neatly combed, his skinny jeans were just a plain, professional looking black, and he smelled like cologne. They all just stared at him in shock as he shuffled nervously, finally clearing his throat.

“Sorry I’m late.” He apologized, plopping down in his chair before quickly siting up and wiping off the front of his shirt. Margo still couldn’t believe it was the same boy who’d picked her. The last time she saw him his curls were pulled back in a bandana, his jeans were torn to pieces, and his tank top had been the furthest thing from professional. But now it looked like he was going to a business interview as the camera rolled on them. “So, shall we get started with names? And maybe say your song too, so we can all kind of get a hold on what type of singer you are.”

“I’m Amy.” The blonde girl with the bright smile said, beaming at Ashton. “And for my audition I sang Wrecking Ball.” Ashton turned to the handsome brunette with the long hair next to her.

“Zachary.” He said, running a hand through his hair. “And I sang Let it Burn by Usher.”

“I’m Zoey.” Said the girl by his side. Her hair was brown and shaved short except for the blonde bit on top. She smiled softly. “I sang Lights by Ellie Goulding.”

“I’m Damien.” The black haired man said. “I sang Somewhere in Brooklyn by Bruno Mars.” All eyes then fell to Margo, who flushed. Ashton had that same soft look in his eyes that he’d had when he hugged her onstage and it was making her heart pound.

“I’m Margo.” She said softly, turning to look at her hands. “I sang Archipelago by Miike Snow.” She looked back up to see Ashton giving her that million dollar smile and felt her cheeks turn an even darker shade of red. She could still feel Ashton’s warn hazel eyes on her and looked back up, turning to Damien. “I watched your audition, aren’t you the oldest person here?”

“Rub it in.” Damien chuckled. “And thirty isn’t even all that old, they just want you young kids I guess.”

“My mum says on every birthday that she’s turning thirty.” Amy giggled. “So, you can just do that.” They all chuckled before silence overtook the group once again and Ashton sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“So. I have three days to train you all, do we want to just do five short sessions every day? Or maybe two on one day, three on the other, and then five short recaps on the last day?” They all looked at him again and he sighed. “And no, I’ve never done this before if you can’t tell.”

“You’ll be fine, we don’t bite.” Zoey chuckled. Ashton clapped his hands together, nodding.

“Well, I think the last one would be best. So Damien, Margo, please stay here, the rest of you are free to enjoy the house as you see fit.” He then chuckled as Zachary and Amy smiled at each other. “Just remember, there are cameras everywhere.” The three of them quickly cleared out, and once they’d gone Ashton sat back, waving for the camera man to leave them for a moment. He waited until the door shut to look at them. “Now, I hate to pick favorites, but I’m pretty sure you two are going to be my finalists.”

Margo’s eyes shot open, her mouth dropping as Ashton looked between them. Damien just shook his head. “How do you know that already?”

“Because you two were the ones that forced me to turn my chair because I couldn’t imagine my team without you.” He said, his eyes staying with Margo’s before flicking to Damien. “Now, what songs were you thinking of?”

“I was thinking of doing Maroon Five’s She Will Be Loved.” Damien said. Ashton nodded.

“Perfect, that’s a classic and it’ll work great with that soulful kind of sound you have.” He nodded towards one of the practice rooms with Damien’s name on it. “Want to go warm up? I’ll be right in.” Damien nodded, giving Margo a gentle pat on the shoulder before walking towards the small room and shutting the door. Ashton then turned to Margo, who was blushing again.

“Why me? None of the other judges turned. Why are you so sure that I’m good enough to go to the finals?” She asked. He smiled softly at her.

“Because you have a potential to your voice. There’s this quality to it that takes people away, I’ve never heard anything like it before. It fascinates me.” She blushed again, looking at her hands. He reached out, tilting her chin up and giving her that knee weakening smile. “Come on love, you have to trust me on this.” She nodded, pressing her lips together.

“I was thinking of doing Holding on to You by twenty one pilots.” She whispered. Ashton had kept his hand tucked under her chin and she gently pulled away. She couldn’t breathe when he touched her, but she knew by the sad look in his eyes she’d made a mistake. She then smiled. “Do you want to hear it?” He smiled softly at her, leaning back in his chair.

“I’d love to.”