Since I Saw Him Last: A Gary Barlow Fanfic

Chapter Thirty Eight

"Gary, I know nothing about tonight. I don't even know what film it is." We were on our way to the film premiere, Gary was resting his hand on my thigh. I wished he would slowly move his hand further up my leg. It's a shame it's only a short drive. "The film's called Rocket Ship. I helped compose some of the songs for the film so I have to attend. You've heard of it?" Gary raised his eyebrow. "Of course I have, there's posters everywhere. And I knew you'd helped out but I didn't put two and two together. How stupid of me." Gary laughed and squeezed my thigh, "Don't worry about it. We've had a lot going on. You can't help that your focus is all on me." "How dare you! I don't think about you 24-7!" I scoffed as I folded my arms. I'm lying through gritted teeth. "I know, I know. I'm only joking." He removed his hand from my thigh and reached out to pull my face closer to him, he kissed me gently with his soft lips. "Gary, how am I meant to hold myself?" I asked quietly. Gary's eyebrow rose questioningly. "I'm guessing there's going to be reporters wanting to speak to you. Should I stand by the side and wait for you to finish talking to them?" Gary started laughing at me, "Natasha, I'll be keeping you with me at all times. I'm not letting you out of my sight." Gary said with gusto. "So if paps are there I should be posing with you?" Gary nodded, "And some of the reporters will be from television so I might be on camera too?" Gary nodded again. "How cringe!" I bit my bottom lip, I was fraught with fear. "Don't worry so much. Be natural. I'll be standing right by you and the focus will be on me. I'm not a big lover of these events, so many people in all directions wanting to talk to you or take a photo of you, but it has to be done. They'll be fans there of course." Fans? I didn't even think of that. They'll be wondering who this girl is standing next to Gary and they'll start giving me dirty looks. Oh, the thought! "I can tell this isn't your favourite thing about being famous. I know from the crooked smile you give at these events." I said trying to get my mind away from what could be coming up in a mere few moments. "You've observed me." Gary winked. "I have. I've always known that. But knowing you in real life, it's easier to tell when you're feeling awkward." I smiled warmly at him. The car pulled up, I could hear crowds of people and see flashes of light. "Are you ready?" I nodded at Gary. He gave me one last peck on the lips. The door on Gary's side was opened by Tony and he slid out. The cheering was deafening. I could see Gary waving at the crowd. He turned around, motioned for me to get out by offering his hand and pulled me from the car. I closed my eyes. Shit, the rest of my life will never be the same.

Gary grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed it. He was facing forward but leant his head to the side a little and whispered, "You look beautiful my little fangirl." Gary knows what he's doing. The fear must've made the expression on my face go sour so this was Gary's attempt to turn my frown into a beaming smile. It's worked Gary, it's worked. We were ushered down the red carpet and were asked to stop so the paparazzi could take photos. We stopped in front of a film poster board. All I could hear was Gary's name being called by various paps so that he could look in their direction. "Who's the girl Gary?" I heard one guy call. "Gary! Over here, lovely girl you got there." I heard another shout. We spent about 5 minutes posing before we moved on. Gary grabbed me by the hand again as we walked further down the red carpet. There were fans screaming Gary's name. Some fans were crying hysterically so they could get Gary's attention. I thought Gary would let go of my hand to walk over to them but he pulled me over to the barrier before letting go. "Gary, Gary. Can I get a photo with you?" One fan said. "Gary! Can I have a hug?" Another fan said. "Oh, hello. How you doing?" Gary said to one fan as he moved down the line. It was obvious that this fan had met him several times before because Gary recognised them in the crowd. "Who's this Gary? Your lady friend?" The brown haired girl smiled over at me. The line of fans were staring at me too, I smiled sheepishly and my face started to blush. Gary was signing CD covers and magazines for fans as he replied to the girl, "Yeah, this is my girlfriend Natasha. You'll be seeing a lot more of her." I searched the brown haired girl's face for a reaction, she kept smiling at me and then looked over at Gary, "She's gorgeous Gary. I knew you had good taste." Gary looked up, nodded and smiled his crooked smile. After about 15 minutes greeting fans, taking pictures and signing autographs, we were guided down the red carpet again to greet reporters. Gary held my hand once more and whispered, "I've only been asked to do one news interview. I shouldn't be long." Some of the reporters started calling Gary's name. He nodded and waved at them with his free hand. "Hi Gary, we're Channel 3 news. We've been authorised to interview you." A blonde reporter said. She was conservatively dressed, I could tell she was melting at the sight of Gary. Gary let go of my hand and looked at me intently, he wanted me close to him. The cameraman spoke up, "Going live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." "We are here in the city at the premiere of Rocket Ship. I have here with me now Gary Barlow, it's lovely to meet you." She said coquettishly. "It's lovely to be here." He said still wearing his famous crooked smile. "How do you feel about being here tonight?" She asked wide eyed. Gary placed his hands behind his back and inflated his chest. "Fantastic. I helped compose some of the songs featured in Rocket Ship. I'm excited about hearing them tonight as part of the film. We spend so much time putting together a three or four minute song. I'm hoping the hard work's paid off." Gary's face furrowed as he bit his bottom lip. Gary, I wish you were looking at me like that. I love your concentration face. "I'm sure it's paid off Gary. Are there any other projects on the horizon?" She knows full well Take That are going on tour, why can't she just say that? "I'm sure you've heard Take That are back on tour which starts next week. We're really excited about getting back on the road again. It's a different set up this time, only three of us, but we have just as big a show planned as all our other tours. We really hope the fans enjoy it." Gary said modestly. "It does sound exciting, we can't wait till it starts. On another note, it looks like your bachelor days are over?" She smiled at Gary before looking over at me. Gary removed his hands from his back and held his arm around my waist. "The rumours are true," he chuckled, "I don't want to say too much but I am off the market. And I'm very happy." Gary sounded a little uncomfortable. I could only assume he wanted to keep details of our relationship as private as possible. He smiled awkwardly at the blonde reporter as he squeezed my hip. "Thank you so much for your time Gary. Enjoy the film." Gary nodded at her, grabbed me by the hand and directed me towards the entrance to the cinema.

Gary breathed out heavily once we were inside the venue. The buzz from the crowd got fainter and fainter as we roamed further into the cinema. "I'm so glad that's over." "Gary, I don't know how you do it. It's manic. Everyone shouting your name and wanting a piece of you. It's not easy." Gary shrugged his shoulders. A lady approached us with a tray full of champagne flutes, "Champagne, sir? Madam?" "Thanks." Gary nodded. I smiled coyly at the lady. "So what happens now? Are we supposed to mingle until we get called in?" Gary finished drinking from his flute before he spoke, "Mmm, well. I think they leave us to mooch around until we get called. They should have our seat numbers at the door before we go in." Gary took another sip of his drink. "Slow down with the drink Gary." I laughed. "Mmm. This is what being out there does to me. I need to take the edge off." He put his hand on the small of my back. "Gary!" We both turned around to see a tall, heavy man standing behind us. He had a thick head of grey hair slicked back that stopped before his shoulders and was wearing a pair of circular gold rimmed glasses. Gary's grin widened as he opened up his arms to hug the man. "Lloyd, how you doing? It's been ages." "It has Gary, so great to see you." They pulled away from each other and Lloyd rested his hand on Gary's shoulder. "Gary, who's this delightful young woman?" Lloyd removed his hand from Gary's shoulder and prodded him on the arm. "Lloyd, this is Natasha. Natasha, this is Lloyd, he co-produced the songs." Gary watched me as I looked over at Lloyd. He extended his hand to shake mine but I leant forward to eurokiss him. "Eurokiss? Very classy lady." Lloyd winked at Gary. "Is this why you've been so unreachable lately?" Lloyd teased. "I must say, she's a very good reason for being distracted." Lloyd nudged Gary. "Lloyd, please. She's in the room." Gary laughed nervously. Gary and Lloyd moved on from the small talk, they started chatting about something musical and geeky. Naturally, I hadn't the faintest idea what they were talking about so my attention drifted. I looked around at the party congregating in the foyer. The odd person looked over at Gary and then to me, most likely they were curious about who Gary was with but no one cared enough to stare. I liked to think it was the dress that made me blend into this A-List crowd but deep down I knew it was because as a person, I didn't stand out. I wasn't so hideously average as I thought I was. I was surprised at the reception I'd received outside, the paps weren't suffocating, the reporter at the very least made a reference to me and the fans, surprisingly, took to me well. Maybe I can be a part of this world. Maybe I can live the glitzy and glamorous life of an A-Lister. I was jolted back to reality by Gary's hand on my back, "Time to go in." I smiled back at him with a slight smile, "You okay?" Gary asked as he bit his bottom lip. "Yeah, I'm good." "You just looked a bit worried back there, like you had something on your mind." I shook my head, "No Gary. Sometimes I go into a daze, I'm a daydreamer." I smiled back at him. His hand moved to hug me around my waist. We reached the door to the cinema screen, "Name please?" Said a young brunette gentleman wearing hipster black rimmed glasses. You should know his name... "Gary Barlow." Gary's eyes didn't move, he stared back at the young man. "Your seats are H3 and H4." Gary nodded without thanking him. I love Gary's quiet confidence. He doesn't need to be rude or brash. A good mix of being honest whilst still keeping his gentlemanly values in tact. We walked through some large double doors to find our seats. The row was already filled, we crept past those seated in H1 and H2. Gary walked in first, he sat in the fourth seat and I sat in the third. Gary undid the button on his suit jacket. He rested his elbow on the armrest between us and started stroking his beard with his hand. "You seem a little agitated Gary?" I whispered to him. He stretched his arm on the armrest, he opened up his hand, palm facing upwards. He moved his long, slender fingers. He was motioning for me to hold my hand in his. I placed my hand on top of his and interlocked my fingers with his long, slender fingers that were well moisturised. He leant his face forward and whispered into my ear, "I just want to skip to the songs so I can get you home, take you out of that beautiful dress and fuck you every which way I like." He moved back a little to see my reaction. "Gary, you have such a nerve." My eyes and smile were wide, I giggled quietly. He smiled back at me wickedly as the lights in the room were turned down and the film started to roll.