Had their agents forced them to hang out for the first time at a grand event like this, Ellie was certain that this would all go differently. A part of her was grateful that they had time away from so many flashing lights beforehand, and Nath’s company provided comfort amidst all the chaos. Knowing that there was someone she could trust, that they were on the same team together. Her cheeks flushed at their comment, not quite believing in his words. Nath ought to deserve the attention as much as she did — and wasn’t that the purpose of their relationship, in the first place? Then his rambling came and she couldn’t help but smile, squeezing his hands gently in reassurance. “You’re not making me nervous. You’re helping me, actually. I never usually turn up to these things with anyone, so,” He reassured her all the same with his next remark, laughter spilling over lips with a shake of her head, although feeling her nerves calm down just the same. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
“You know, do you fancy trading?” Ellie was almost envious that Nath didn’t need to get involved with any interviews, but rather allowed to take a break instead. Although before she could get an answer, her publicist came and pulled her away to said interview. Shooting one last look over at Nath, her facade returned at once, a smile plastered across her lips as cameras and microphones were thrusted too close to her face than she liked.
The questions were always the same: Who are you wearing tonight? What’s your upcoming project? Who do you think will win tonight? Then it was peppered with questions about Nath, how they met, when did they start dating — and just like she practiced, her answers were sufficient enough to keep the press satisfied and at bay. As the interview came to an end, out of the blue, a man suddenly spoke over everyone else. Ellie! Are you finally happy now that you’re off the market? Have your parents met — I mean, would your dad approve of Nath?
“Uh,” The questions threw her off, and Ellie blinked, opening her mouth but nothing came. Of all the events where she didn’t need to think about her dad, she would’ve expected tonight would be the night for that. Not once in an audition, a screen read did she ever choke. But she could feel the inevitable happen as panic clouded over her and her heart began to pick up its pace. “That, um…” Just say something.
And he lets her go. Willingly, because he was ordered; and it feels strange now, because they’ve basically been inseparable since the start of this whole act. They were to appear as much of a real couple as they could, and being seen alone in public would only weaken that narrative. And so they’d done so, and inevitably, become acquainted to each other’s quirks as well.
And her dad — he’d heard, bits and pieces, and even less from Ellie, but the way she reacted, his death was still raw so they didn’t dare push the topic. They knew what it was like from the publicity side of things, where every person and their mother wanted to know how they’d felt. At least he had the book to defer to. They’d bonded over the unspoken understanding of the hole in their lives — for her, a love ripped away, and for him, a love that he didn’t think he received. In the end, it’d resulted in the same thing.
So he lets go, but he hangs back. It’s subconscious enough that their hand feels empty without hers (funny how a few weeks ago the very gesture had felt awkward), so he holds their hands out in front, fling that space. He catches a few words, almost proud at how natural she sounds, like everything about them were true.
(Some of it is true, of course. Like that time he’d laughed so hard at her that spaghetti came shooting out of his nose onto his plate, or when he’d pulled her into a fountain because they’ve always been a clumsy bastard.)
But in the brief moment they don’t pay attention, squinting at some actor that he thinks he recognizes, everything crumbles. They look at Ellie, who’s stammering away, face slack and tight at the same time. They look around, wondering if their agent, her publicist, anyone would come to her rescue and save the interview before it went up for the entire world to see. Maybe some of it is selfish too; he knows that catching somebody like her at a weak point could be the errant thread that unravels everything else.
Nath does what he does best. He acts. They stride forwards, unable to see anything but Ellie and the shrill blonde holding the microphone, and shoves himself into frame with a wide, but tight smile on their face.
“Hey!” Nath looks between Ellie and the interviewer, grinning. “What are we talking about?” They don’t care that they’ve broken about a million of their agents’ rules, that muscling his way into an interview was about as bad as revealing the truth about their relationship, but he can’t help himself. Letting her flounder like a fish out of water seemed wrong, because even if she isn’t really his girlfriend, Ellie is still their friend.
