Ariana squinted against the flashes of the cameras as she stepped out of the limo after Ethan, holding his hand as they were escorted down the red carpet by security. As many years as she'd dealt with events, she'd never get used to the cameras.
"You doing okay?" Ethan asked.
She nodded. "I'm fine."
"Are you still cramping?"
"Yep."
"Is it bad?"
"Getting worse."
"I told you we should have stayed home."
"This is our movie premier. I wasn't staying home because of period cramps."
"You're not on your period."
"But it's gonna start, that's why I'm cramping so bad. I'll be fine. I'll tell you if I need to go home."
Ariana put on a smile when they were led to a carpet reporter, stepping a little closer so she could hear.
"Good evening! I'm Carly Jones with Entertainment Tonight. How are you tonight?"
"We're great, how are you?" Ariana asked.
"I'm fantastic. How excited are you for tonight?"
"Very! We've waited for this day a long time, so we're glad it's finally happening."
"Ethan, how was it going from Ariana's on-screen love interest to being her actual love interest?"
"Well, I wasn't hers. Galinda was Boq's, but it just kind of happened naturally," Ethan said. "We worked together for a year and we were going through the same situation at the time, so we bonded over it and here we are a year later."
"What do you both say to those that criticize your relationship?"
"That people should mind their own business," Ariana said. "It's not something we talk about."
"I hear you, my apologies. What do you hope for tonight?"
"Just that it goes well and that the movie is appreciated. We all put a lot of effort into the movie to make it the best we could to capture Elphie and Galinda's story, so we're hoping we do the originals proud."
"Have Kristin or Idina told you how proud they are?"
"Countless times. Kristin cries every time we talk about it," she said with a small laugh. "She was my mentor during filming and she hasn't seen the final product, so I know there's going to be lots of tears from Kristin. She watched me grow up, so for her it's like seeing her baby on screen following in her footsteps."
"We're being told to wrap it up, but thank you so much for talking to us, congratulations on the movie, on your relationship, and have fun tonight."
"Thank you, have a good night," Ariana said before they were led away.
There were stopped a few more times for interviews, but finally ended up in the lounge backstage.
As soon as Ariana spotted Kristen, she let go of Ethan's hand and made her way to her, hugging her. "How many times have you cried tonight?"
"None of your business," Kristin said. "How are you? Nervous?"
"A little. I'm crampy, I'll just be glad to be in bed tonight."
"You'd sleep all day if you could."
"I did, that's why I'm late."
"I was starting to think you weren't coming," Joan said as she made her way over. "Why are you so late?"
