About a Girl

chapter forty eight

September 2, 1993

"I. Look. Disgusting." Lily moped, staring at her reflection in the mirror of their hotel room.

"No you fucking don't," laughed Kurt, coming up behind her and hugging her from behind, looking into the mirror with her. "You look stunning."

Lily couldn't help but smile at his praise, even if she was incredibly uncomfortable. She was 8 months pregnant and yet had somehow managed to stuff herself into a green silk, slip-style floor length dress. Today she was going with Kurt, Dave, and Krist to the MTV Video Music Awards and she was scared shitless to say the very least. She'd never in a million years dreamed that she would be attending an event like this, and she definitely hadn't dreamed that she would be pregnant. In her mind, she looked like a child with a pillow stuffed under her shirt wearing one of Mommy's fancy dresses: idiotic and laughable.

But to Kurt, she was the most beautiful creature to ever take a breath. And for the first time ever, he was excited to go to one of these fancy-ass events because he couldn't wait to show Lily off. He knew everything would be so much better with her there, and he couldn't be happier that she had agreed to come, in spite of being in a state of perpetual exhaustion due to being well into her third trimester.

"I look stupid," Lily sighed. She sat on the bed as Kurt helped her tie the laces on her blue high-tops. There was no way she was wearing heels. "Everyone's gonna laugh at me. They're gonna be saying 'look at that stupid little girl with Kurt Cobain, why does he waste his time with her when he could have literally anyone else in the world?'"

"They won't laugh, they'll be too busy having their breath taken away by how gorgeous you are," Kurt replied. He stood up and took her hand, pulling both of them towards the door. "And I don't want anyone else. I want Lily Elizabeth Stevens."

They met Krist and Dave in the hotel lobby and the four of them took a taxi over to the event. Lily sat between Kurt and Dave in the back, her head leaning on Kurt's shoulder as she stared out the window.

"So Lily," Dave started. "Are you excited for your first red carpet?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I guess so. I don't really like the idea of a hundred strangers staring at me though."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to act super weird so no one will pay attention to you, Tiny."

"Yeah me and Dave will make out or something and then no one will care!" Added Krist from the front seat.

"You guys do that all the time anyways," Lily laughed. But she appreciated the sentiment. Krist and Dave were like the older brothers she'd never had and she adored the way they looked out for her.

Before she knew it — before she was ready — the taxi stopped and the four friends were piling out of the car and onto the red carpet. Kurt took her hand, giving it a squeeze of encouragement.

"Ready?" he asked.

Lily nodded, taking a deep breath. She stepped out of the car and was immediately greeted by the flashing lights of reporters' cameras. She fought the urge to hide behind Kurt as they walked, clinging to his hand and staring at her feet. Kurt noticed her discomfort and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him and kissing her cheek softly, trying to help her relax a bit. It worked a little, and she managed to lift her eyes from the ground, actually giving herself a chance to look around at her surroundings and take in the sights of the people around her.

After ignoring the reporter calling their names for as long as they could, Kurt and Lily finally gave in and started talking to them. Lily clung to his side, looking around with wide eyes at the cameras and microphones, as Kurt answered questions about the new album and the music video they'd been working on earlier that day and how he felt about being nominated for Best Alternative Music Video. Lily laughed at his unserious responses – she loved the way that he just didn't care, the way that he was completely unfazed and uninterested in being famous and all the shit that came with it. At one point, when he was talking to a female reporter from Sassy, the subject changed and the reporter started asking Lily questions.