Nightwing: Heartache

Part 17: Prodigy Premiere

July 25th, 7:00pm
Hollywood

The thing about being watched, is there are different kinds. Willa had learned this through the years. There was the kind when you could feel a cute boy looking at you, there was the kind when everyone around you was waiting for you to break, then there was the kind that came with fame, from being on camera all the time, when the general public was allowed to watch you. The feeling of being watched was a constant for Willa, but the past three days it had felt heightened. Pointed. Not enough to make the hair on her arms stand up, but enough that Willa was constantly scanning rooms for someone that didn't quite fit, but she never saw anything out of the ordinary.

Right now, Willa was in a car, standing up, holding on to the ceiling while her makeup artist did some last minute touch ups and her stylist smoothed out any wrinkles in her dress. It was almost showtime. The Prodigy premiere was about to start and Willa had butterflies. She got nervous every time, but especially for this movie. Now there was more attention than ever on the sequel, on her performance, on box office numbers. Goode World Studios needed to know they made the right decision hiring her. And sequels were notoriously harder to impress audiences with. But she couldn't think about that now, she had to focus on not getting lipstick in her teeth, on not falling over her dress when she got out of the car. Just have fun, Sam always told her.

And they were here. Willa could hear the screams from inside the black SUV, the hundreds of people lining the red carpet, dozens of photographers. She took a breath as the door opened, then stepped out.

The flashing of cameras blinded her, but she knew not to panic, that her eyes would adjust. She slowly walked down the line, shaking hands, giving hugs, and taking selfies with the beautiful people who had staked out their spots for hours. She basked in the attention, let it wash over her, let herself believe when they told her how much they loved her, how beautiful she was. It was intoxicating. She gave that energy right back to them, wishing she could stay and tell all of them how much it meant to her.

Another huge cheer went up as another black SUV pulled up and Evan stepped out. The roar was almost deafening once people got a glimpse of Evan in a sleeve black suit, top buttons unbuttoned and wearing a pair of fashionable glasses that somehow made his dimples even cuter.

Evan spotted Willa and came straight to her to wrap her in a hug. More cheers at the display, and practically screams when he kissed the side of her head. They signed posters and took pictures together before heading to the actual red carpet, where a hoard of photographers waited.

"Ready?" Evan asked Willa.

Willa straightened the edges of his jacket and nodded. He let Willa walk first and she posed for the photographers, trying to cater to as many of them as possible. She moved to the next spot, aware Evan had taken her previous one. She stopped in the middle of the carpet, waiting for Evan to catch up with her so they could pose together. These are the pictures everyone really wants, the leads in the movie with their arms around each other. Tomorrow, hopefully, people on social media would be talking about their outfits, how they coordinate without being obvious, how Evan's hand on her waist was a little too low to just be casual, how they laughed together, even if it was posed. Hopefully that would translate to ticket sales.

She saw a flash of green near the end of the carpet. Willa smiled and waved at Garfield, a suit jacket over a white tank top and his signature sunglasses on his face. She beckoned him over when he waved back and the kid happily jogged over, hugging Willa tightly.

"You really are a moviestar!" Gar proclaimed. "Space Trek premieres aren't even close to this big." He gestured to the rows of photographers, the hundreds of people outside the theater. He shakes hands with Evan, who looks a little starstruck.