What's Next? || Ant x Stephen

The Paparazzi - Chapter Nine

Ant and Stephen woke up to a huge crowd of paparazzi in their gardens, moving around shouting at the door, even though it was only 6:30 in the morning, Stephen got out of bed and made his way over to the curtain and peeked out at the crowd of cameras on his front door. He huffed out a laugh, he shook his head and walked back over to his bed and sat down, he reached for his phone and scrolled through his contacts when he saw Ant's number. 

The phone rang for a minute before Ant finally picked up. "Hello?" He said in his morning voice, it made Stephen laugh when Ant answered with confusion as to who called him, that usually happens when it's early. "Hey Ant, it's Stephen" he said teasing Ant slightly "Oh, hey Stevie, are you okay?" Ant asked, as he sat up in his bed "Yeah, everything's fine" He said laughing at Ant "Why'd you call me then?" Ant laughed along "You haven't looked outside yet?" The younger man laughed "what?" Ant laughed again, he stood up and made his way over to his window, when he saw the group of people with cameras in their hands just waiting for Ant to leave his house. "Oh-" was all Ant said, whilst Stephen was still laughing "Yeah, I forgot about the paparazzi" Stephen said "Yeah...I've got to get ready for work, I'll see you at the studio?" Ant said as he walked back over to his bed and sat down. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit. Good luck, I love you!" Stephen said smiling "Good luck to you, I love you too" Ant replied giggling as he ended the call.

Ant sat on his bed for a few extra minutes, he finally stood up and went over to his wardrobe to get changed. He grabbed a grey shirt and black jeans, he got changed and went downstairs. He walked into his kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, as he turned around, he saw the crowd of paparazzi had gotten a bit bigger, he was used to paparazzi, it's part of the job. No matter how annoying they are. 

After he had eaten his breakfast, he got his bag and put his jacket on. He stood in front of his door for a moment until he got a message from Dec that the car was outside. He took a deep breath and opened the door. The moment that door open a little bit the cameras started clicking, the crowd started shouting and they were pushing into each other just to get a picture of Ant getting into a car. They would bump into Ant a few times, but he was determined to keep his head down and just get to work. 

(***) 

As Ant ended the call, Stephen looked out his window once more as he huffed out a laugh. He also knew that paparazzi was 'part of the job' but that doesn't mean they aren't a lot to handle most of the time. Sometimes, in certain situations, you can avoid them but, in this situation, he couldn't. They were waiting in his front garden for him to leave his house, all so they could get a photo. 

Stephen practically did the same as Ant, he went downstairs, ate breakfast, made a cup of coffee and got dressed into a blue shirt and black jeans. Although he was running a bit late, so he was rushing around looking for certain things, he finally got everything, he grabbed his bag and his jacket and made sure he had his keys, but because he was late and rushing around, he forgot all about the paparazzi outside his house. He rushed out of his door and as he stood outside the crowd of cameras started flashing as the crowd started yelling questions at him, mainly questions about Ant and his relationship with him, when he got out and remembered the crowd of people, he froze. 

Even though Stephen is on TV and does live shows at Butlins once in a while, he does still have a level of social anxiety that is a bit... heightened. Usually, he's able to avoid them but when they're in his front garden that does make it a bit harder. He does get a bit nervous, and anxious when it comes to the paparazzi, the yelling, the flashing light on their cameras. He doesn't know what to do, it gets a bit overwhelming for Stephen.

He stood there, in front of his door, not knowing what to do or say for a few minutes. When a car pulled up in front of his house as a tall man pushed through the crowd of people and made his way to Stephen. He knew who it was as well, it was Ant and Dec's driver, Dave. He nodded to Stephen to make sure the man was okay; Stephen didn't exactly nod back, he shrugged his shoulders and gave a faint nod, but Dave knew Stephen pretty well, so he knew what the faint nod meant, it meant that he felt a bit weary and anxious. Dave put his hand on Stephen's shoulder and told him to keep his head down. He carefully guided the man through the crowd of people and into the car where Ant and Dec sat. 

Once he got into the car and sat down, he let a loud sigh of relief, Ant realised something was up the moment Stephen sat down. He knew how the large crowd of people shouting would overwhelm the younger man, that's why the moment he got in the car with Dec, he asked Dave if he could drive past Stephen's. He didn't want him to have to deal with it on his own. 

"You okay Stevie?" The younger Geordie man asked as he switched sides and sat next to Stephen, placing his hand just above his knee. Stephen sat there in silence for a moment, just taking deep breaths. Trying to calm himself down. "Yeah. I'm good just-" Stephen started he didn't know how to explain it, he just felt so anxious. "Overwhelming?" Ant asked, as Stephen nodded. "Well, you're okay, and if you want, we can pick you up for the rest of the week?" Dec asked, him and Ant both knew about Stephen's heightened level of social anxiety, so they both knew how to handle it, they knew some of the things that triggered it and what certain situation they should try their hardest to avoid. "You sure? I can make my own way if it's too much for you guys too-" The younger man started when Dec interrupted "Oh don't be stupid mate. Of course, it's fine" Stephen smiled at the boys as the car started to move, as they make their way to the studio. "Thanks guys, it means a lot!" Stephen said as Ant and Dec nodded at him with a smile on their faces. "No problem nonsense" Ant said trying to make Stephen laugh, which he did, Stephen let out a quiet laugh at the nickname Ant had given him a few years ago on BGMT.