Normal POV
"And what's your name, darlin'?" Luke Bryan asked as I entered the audition room. Yes, I'm auditioning for American Idol. "I'm Hope Araujo. I'm 26, and I'm from Pflugerville, Texas just north of here." I explained nervously. "And what are you going to be singing for us today?" Lionel asked. "I'm gonna be singing You Should Be Here by Cole Swindell." I explained & Luke smiled. As I got ready to start singing though, I noticed Luke had his phone out.
Cole's POV
Just stay quiet and watch. The text from Luke said & I frowned confusedly as I showed my band mates. "Maybe he didn't mean to.." Joel started and suddenly my phone began ringing with a FaceTime from Luke. I stayed quiet as I hit Accept & I told the guys to stay quiet. Suddenly, we saw a beautiful woman singing my song, You Should Be Here. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her.
Luke's POV
"That was beautiful. I'm assuming this is a very special song for you?" Katy asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yes it definitely is. I lost my cousin, Ruben back in 2006 in a car accident, & even 8 years later, when I first heard this song, he was the first one that I thought of." Hope explained & I looked at Cole briefly and he was smiling from ear to ear.
"I have to agree. That was a beautiful rendition of You Should Be Here. I think Cole would agree. What do you say, Cole?" I asked & Hope's face fell. "That was amazing. I hate that you had to go through all of that though." Cole smiled apologetically. "I'm.. I'm doing much better. Every year, it gets a little easier, but thank you." She thanked him nervously.
*
"I really don't mean to be rude, I would really love to sit here and talk with y'all, but I am pretty sure there's some people who are still waiting to audition." She pointed out. "Right, the guys and I need to get to rehearsal anyway, but Luke, give her my number." Cole told me & I nodded. "I hope to hear from you soon, beautiful." Cole smiled & we hung up.
"So, this may not be as big of a deal to you as what just happened, but.." I started. "YOU'RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!" The three of us exclaimed & Hope was just a ball of emotion. "Thank y'all so much. And Luke, thank you for giving me a chance to talk to Cole. I have actually been in love with him for.. well since the beginning." She shrugged. "You're welcome, darlin'." I smiled & she turned to leave the room.
*
Normal POV
"So, are you going to text him?" My friend Samantha asked as we drove home. "Should I? I mean, he did say that they were going to be in rehearsal." I explained. "So he'll see it when they're done. Just text him." She said & I pulled out my phone. Hi Cole, this is Hope. How was rehearsal? I sent. "See, that wasn't so hard. Now, just be patient, he's going to text back." Sam said knowingly & almost on cue, my phone went off. "It's from Cole!" I exclaimed & clutched my phone tightly. "Are you going to read it?" She asked. "Oh, right." I said & quickly opened up the message. Hey there beautiful. I'm so glad you reached out. What ended up happening after we hung up? You were amazing, Luke better have voted to send you to Hollywood. Cole texted back. "You should FaceTime him. You should really tell him face to face." Samantha smiled, but before I could do anything, Cole was FaceTiming me. "Hey." I smiled nervously as his face popped up on my phone. "So.. what happened?" He asked.
"I"M GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!!" I exclaimed. "Alright!! I knew you would make it! Thank you so much for singing my song by the way, you were amazing." He smiled & I blushed. "Thank you, for writing such an amazing song! I'm actually going to be seeing you on October 20, in New Braunfels. I'm finally getting to watch you and the guys live, rather than on YouTube." I smiled. "Not that I binge watch your videos or anything." I rushed. "Yes she does!" Samantha said & I gave up trying to argue. "That's perfectly alright sweetie. I appreciate the love. Back to your previous statement though, are you excited about the show?" Cole asked.
"We are so excited for the show!" I exclaimed. "How would y'all feel if I sent a car to pick you girls up, & take you back home afterwards?" He asked & I was speechless for a second. "That would be amazing, Cole! Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?" I asked unsure. "It's no problem at all, what time would you like to be picked up?" He asked. "Well, the concert is at 7, & it's going to take at least an hour to get there, so maybe like 4:30/5?" I suggested. "Let's do closer to 4. Just to be on the safe side." He suggested. "Sounds great! So, I'm assuming we're not going to be able to talk much until then?" I asked.
"Of course we will. I'll be texting you when I'm not super busy, & I'll try to call when I'm not busy at all. I really want to stay in contact with you. Until, & even after the show." Cole smiled. "I... I would love that." I stuttered. "Sounds great baby girl. I have to go, I have a radio interview scheduled in a little over an hour, and then the show right after, so I'll text you." Cole promised. "Sounds great. If I don't get a chance to tell you before the show, I just know it's going to be awesome." I smiled. "Thank you beautiful. I'll talk to you soon." Cole smiled and hung up. "Are you falling already?" Sam asked me as I put my phone away. "Please! You know me..." I paused. "I fell for Cole a long time ago." I clarified.
