Action (DNF)

Chapter 9: Dining Hall

George POV.

Other limos were stopping in front of the clear path, and they were all of the same design as the one that myself and the blond were in, making it obvious to me that this is where we were going. I cautiously glanced over at Clay, not exactly sure why this extremely public place was where we were, and he smiled softly while taking my hand. “Are you ready to go George?” He questioned.

I blinked over at him in confusion, a million questions in my mind about why we were here, and why there were so many people around who all looked one thousand times more flash than I did. After a couple of seconds I just asked ‘go where?’ which was possibly the dumbest thing I could have asked, but I couldn’t help it. My mind was going crazy by looking at this place.

“We’re going inside.” The blond stated, motioning to the door as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“But why are we? All of these people look like they wouldn’t want to be around people like us.” I suppressed a whimper as I saw them.

Clay rolled his eyes with a smirk. “George, I am one of those people.” He said with a laugh, making my eyes widen worriedly.
“Wait… so you’re famous? Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday? Or at any other point in time?” I asked, and he was going to respond before another limo behind us honked its horn angrily.

The driver in the front looked back at us. “You two need to get out now, or I’m driving off with you and dropping you home.” She practically hissed. The blond nodded and suddenly opened the door without telling me.

Bright camera flashes got sent off in our direction, making me nervous. Clay put his hand on the small of my waist and gave me a reassuring look, which I refused to look at. I attempted to stay calm as I stepped out into the cold evening. The moment that the photographers saw me and didn’t recognise me they began bombarding the two of us with questions.

Sweat began rolling down my forehead from the bright lights being shone at my face as I tried to blankly answer the questions. I made sure to stay as close to Clay as possible, feeling my ears ring as he directed me for when to move and stop for photos.

By the time we stepped into the giant foyer I was shaking slightly. All of the people entering the building were spaced out so we probably had a minute before the next couple came in and I was just shaking lightly. “George…” Clay spoke gently, cupping my face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry.” I responded, attempting to calm my shaking. “I just wasn’t prepared for… that.”

“I should have warned you,” the blond stated apologetically. “It can be overwhelming and I just threw you into the situation without telling you anything.”
“That’s the most people I’ve been around in years. And they all just asked those insanely personal questions.” I huffed out.

“Now you know what my world is like.” The blond sighed. “Thankfully past this door it is invite only. None of them will be here disrupting us tonight, and they all are forced to leave by security before we get out.”
“So it’s just other famous people like you?” I asked, feeling cautious.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. Most of the guys I know aren’t uptight dicks like some celebrities I’ve met. I hate to be rude but you should be grateful the Kardashians aren’t here.”
“I’m not really sure who they are.” I admitted, feeling bad that I didn’t understand what his reference was.

As we spoke another celebrity couple walked past, a pair of tall pale skinned blondes. One gave Clay a polite hello as she walked past and he responded with an equally happy ‘hey Cassie!’.
She disappeared into the main dining hall, which had a white curtain separating it from the entrance foyer.

A couple seconds after the Cassie woman was gone the blond looked back at me. “You want to head inside?” He asked me. “Or if you are uncomfortable about being here I could book us a taxi and we could head back to your house and order a pizza or something.”

For a moment I considered it, heading back home and just sitting on the couch to read instead of being in a giant dining hall surrounded by some of the most famous people in the country, but then I shook my head. Wilbur would probably kill me if he found out I passed on this opportunity, seeing as there have already been photos taken of us for tomorrow morning's paper.

“I’ll stay.” I decided. “I guess it might be kind of fun.” Clay smiled happily at my decision, his hand snaking back around my waist as he led me through to the dining hall, and seeing the inside almost made me regret my decision. Everyone inside was dressed in such expensive clothes, it probably cost one hundred times whatever I was wearing.

I continued to look around and got even more self conscious as I also noticed their jewellery, and their hair styles, and their make-up, and even their shoes. The total of one outfit could probably pay for my house and all of the furniture inside of it. But I couldn’t stop walking to take in the scene as Clay continued to direct me towards a group of people.

“Hey guys!” He greeted them happily, making it clear that these were his friends by his enthusiastic hello. “Allow me to introduce you to my date for tonight.” The blond took a small step away from me and I gave an awkward wave. “This is George,” he introduced.
“Hi,” I said as I averted my eyes away from their judgemental gaze.

I could barely recognise one member of the group. A ravenette with amber coloured eyes who was at the bar on the day that I met Clay. “Nice to see you again George,” he greeted. “My name is Sapnap if you haven’t been told that already.” He then motioned to the brunette who was holding his hand. “And this is my boyfriend Karl.”

Karl held his hand out to shake mine and gave a polite hello. “It’s nice to meet you George,” he smiled. “Sapnap told me a little about you after he met you.” Then he leaned slightly closer and muttered, “he told me all about how Clay seems to have a crush on you.” I chuckled slightly, before noticing the blush on the blond’s face as he glared at the ravenette.

“I swear that Karl is making that up,” Sapnap said with an awkward chuckle as he took a small step away from the blond and I couldn’t help but chuckle along with Karl.
“That better be the case,” Clay muttered, although the way he spoke it was clear he was just joking.

The brunette’s eyes then drifted past mine to look around the room and then his smile grew wider. “I can see Chris, Chandler, and Jimmy over there.” He said to Sapnap. “I’m gonna go say hi and I’ll be back when they get ready to serve dinner.”
“Okay,” Sapnap nodded. “I’ll see you soon.” Karl smiled before hurrying off into the crowd.

I glanced over my shoulder in the direction that the taller brunette left before glancing back to the pair. “Who are Chris, Chandler, and Jimmy?” I asked.
“Oh they are some of the other people who work on a show that Karl is on, Jimmy hosts it.” Another ravenette stated before holding out his hand to shake. “My name is Quackity by the way.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” I smiled. After Quackity stepped back a couple other members of the group stepped forward. Over the next couple of minutes I was introduced to a lot of Clay’s other friends.

There was Niki, a well known stylist. Bad, a pg-13 actor. Skeppy, Bad’s boyfriend and a notable prankster. Foolish, who hosted a home renovation show. And finally Techno, who was well known for playing in often dark r16 and r18 movies. They all seemed quite nice and I began awkwardly chatting with all of them.

Clay stepped back and allowed me to socialise without saying much. “He is much nicer than Monica was when you brought her with you.” Foolish said with a smile after we’d had a brief conversation..

“He is, isn't he?” Clay smiled, and I was about to ask who Monica was, but before I got the chance a man in neat white clothing stepped onto the stage at one end of the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” He spoke in a booming voice. “Dinner is about to be served, so please head to your seats.”

Most of the group all said something about how it was nice to meet me before heading off in separate directions, and Clay grabbed my hand to get my attention. “Come on George.” He smiled. “Our table is over this way.” As he spoke he began leading me closer to the front of the room, with me glancing awkwardly at everyone else the entire time.
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1556 words