A Different Beat

Luke nibbled down onto his thumb, waiting anxiously as Michael greeted another person onto his team. So far, Luke had found three contestants and he seemed pretty happy with his choice, but unfortunately he had been a little trigger happy and now only had two spots left. He didn’t want to fill all his spaces straight away and then hear something amazing and not be able to turn.

“You alright man?” Calum asked from beside him, looking a little worried for his friend.

“Just down to the last two so pressure’s on to make sure they’re out of this world.” Luke told him seeing Michael nodding his head and agreeing from his other side. Ashton was peaking around Cal and was smirking. Luke laughed and stuck his finger up at his friend who had so far just secured one person on his team and had plenty of spots left.

Their seats began moving again, turning back so they were facing the audience and their backs were to the stage. Luke slouched down and decided to just relax and to keep his fingers away from the button.

Out back, Cole was pacing a little, going over the lyrics in her mind. She had changed her mind over and over when it came to her first song, but eventually decided on something a little different. She was taking a well-known pop song and changing it up a little to a much slower beat. She had her trusted guitar in hand, ready to wow all four judges.

“Ready, Miss Denver?” A young lad asked, his eyes appreciating the outfit she had on. Nothing about it was revealing like some girls who had come and gone today, but she had decided to show her best assets. She was hoping to gain a reaction off the audience so the judges could feel secure in knowing she wasn’t unappealing to the eye. They say it’s about the voice, but she knew it was about the image too.

She gave him a smile before sauntering onto the stage. Her white washed denim shorts showed her long sun kissed legs, as well as a simple off the shoulder black jumper revealed a decoration of tattoos on her shoulder and upper back. She smiled in achievement when a string of wolf whistles erupted through some of the men in the audience. Cole gave a dazzling smile before stopping behind the mic stand. She stared at the backs of all four chairs and in her mind, she willed them to turn because she couldn’t go home now; she didn’t do well with humiliation, let alone public humiliation. She had acted so sure about herself to Angelia that she needed to get through.

Hugging her guitar close to her body, she took a deep breath and began strumming the chords to the famous song.

“You’re insecure, don’t know what for,
You’re turning heads when you walk through the door
Don’t need make-up, to cover up,
Being the way that you are is enough…”

She had closed her eyes by this point, her insecurities forcing her eyelids shut so she didn’t have to see whether or not anyone had turned for her. The audience were silent but she didn’t know if it’s because it was rubbish or they wanted to hear every word she was singing.

”Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you…
Baby you light up my world like nobody else,
The way that you flick your hair gets me overwhelmed,
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don’t know oh oh, you don’t know you’re beautiful…”

Cole opened her eyes without realising and almost stopped dead when she realised two out of four of the judges had turned. But she managed to carry on, determined to prove to the other two that she was worth the risk.

”If only you saw what I can see,
You’d understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I’m looking at you and I can’t believe,
You don’t know, oh oh, you don’t know you’re beautiful.
Oh oh, that’s what makes you beautiful.”

Luke stared at the button in front of him, torn at what to do. Calum and Ashton had turned already. He knew Cal would like this girl because she had such a distinct and great recording voice. Her technicality showed she had practice behind her, but yet there was a power to it that made it a little rough around the edges. He didn’t doubt Ash turned because he was panicking a little with only having one member on his team and he probably found her voice promising. But Luke couldn’t stop wondering what the vulnerability behind the voice would mean in the competition- could she handle the pressure or would she break?

“Mate, she’s just your type. I suggest hitting that button or you’ll regret it!” Cal hissed, whilst Ashton was mouthing ‘hit the button’. Michael wasn’t budging, but here Luke was, withering on the edge.

And then she hit that note and Luke was sold. He hit the button the hardest he had done all day, waiting patiently as the chair seemed to turn slower than usual. When his eyes landed on this girl on stage, he knew without any doubt that he had made no mistake. She was beautiful. Her face was the kind that belonged on television or on album covers. It was just a huge plus that she played guitar- she was winning her way to his heart already.

”So C-come-on, you got it wrong
To prove I’m right, I put it in a song.
I don’t know why, you’re being shy,
And turn away when I look into your eye-eye-eyes.”

Cole stared at the third guy who had finally turned and realised that a once hard decision on who to choose, was just made easier. The way he smiled and sat on the edge of his seat like he was hooked on her performance, sold him to her. He was gorgeous, with blonde styled hair and a cute pointed nose. The other two were great looking too, but they didn’t look like they were prepared to hang their life on the line to win her a spot on their team.

”Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you…
Baby you light up my world like nobody else,
The way that you flick your hair gets me overwhelmed,
But when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell
You don’t know oh oh, you don’t know you’re beautiful…

If only you saw what I can see,
You’d understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I’m looking at you and I can’t believe,
You don’t know, oh oh, you don’t know you’re beautiful.

Oh oh, that’s what makes you beautiful.”

Cole finished her song, letting her arms fall to her sides as the guitar got pushed to her back by the strap. She walked around the mic stand, feeling a little wobbly on her feet even though she was wearing some simple converse. She smiled a million dollar smile as the guy who didn’t turn was now facing her, seeing what he was missing out on.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” The boy on the end with the dirty blonde hair spoke.

“Cole Denver,” She spoke confidently, letting her green eyes linger on all boys.

“Well Cole, you have a tough decision on your hands. Three of us turned, but unfortunately you can only choose one team. Will you pick Ashton,” The boy pointed to the guy who just spoke, “Me, Calum,” he placed a hand on his chest, before pointing at the guy who had turned last, “or Mr Luke Hemming’s over here!”

Cole stared back and forth, biting down hard on her bottom lip as she pondered her decision, keeping them waiting a little longer than she should have.

“Okay, I’ve decided,” She finally spoke after a minute of silence.

“So who will it be?” Luke asked. All three of them strained their attention on her, waiting to hear the final decision.

“I’m a right sucker for blondes, so it’ll have to be you,” Cole pointed a manicured finger, “Mr Hemming’s.” She smirked, watching eagerly as he jumped from his seat and jogged up to her. He sent her the most dazzling smile ever that she almost melted there and then.

“Welcome to team Luke, love.” He said quietly, placing a kiss to the top of her hand like an old fashion gentlemen. “I look very much forward to working with you!”