PERMANENT - Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 35 - Awkward

Sunday 8.50pm

Here I was again, about to walk onto the red carpet for Titanic, my second red carpet event ever, and although I had done it only a couple of days ago, I was feeling 10 times more nervous than last time. It was in my hometown, there was a lot to live up to - my parents would be here, my friends would be watching. But mostly, I think, it was because me and Leo had minimal contact since everything happened, and I needed him in order to get through today without passing out from nerves.

After coming back from visiting my parents, I checked into my (separate) room only late at night, so I didn't get to see anyone, and today had been a blur of hectic preparations. The only thing that made me feel considerably better was seeing the Titanic cast after being separated for so long, who greeted each other like family.

I fiddled with the jewels of my dress (a beautiful Kayat designed dress that made me feel like a queen)
as I knew now I only had a couple of minutes before I had to walk down the red carpet, but I felt like I was going to be sick all over myself, or somewhere in the corner of the room, which was decorated in a decadent red velvet.

The curtain behind me opened and some lady, who was carrying a clipboard and had an ear piece in, entered, pushing Leo in in front of her. He looked like a deer in headlights upon seeing me, but shook it off as he walked closer to me.

"Alright ready?" She asked hurriedly, without waiting for an answer as she carried on "3, 2, 1 go go!" She said in a loud whisper, pushing us both out of the curtain. "Wait what?" I asked, panicked. I didn't know we would be walking down together, and that made me feel both better and worse.

"GO!" She repeated, giving us a final shove. We both entered onto the red carpet, and instantly uproars of screams greeted us. It was much more intense than Tokyo was. I looked up at Leo, and we shared a look of reassurance - however bad our situation was, we were undoubtedly there for each other no matter what. He wrapped a firm arm around my waist as we stood posing for pictures, pretending everything was okay.

"You look nice," he said, not too loud, but loud enough for me to hear, still facing the cameras. I half smiled, adding a sincere "Thank you. As do you," before we resumed to our silence.

A couple of minutes after, we separated off to do autograph signings for screaming fans (I think I saw multiple girls nearly faint when Leo came over to them). What surprised me the most was that those same girls were also screaming for me, and their screams only got louder as I came closer.

I briskly started walking along by the railing separating the crowd and the stard, signing as many autographs as I could.

"Oh my god Penelope!" The current girl I was signing for was on the verge of tears, clearly too overwhelmed by being surrounded by so many famous people. "I've watched the trailer like a hundred times, and I already love it, oh my god and Leo is so perfect!" She repeated.

I laughed and nodded, handing the signed piece of paper back to her. "Hope you enjoy the film sweetheart." I replied to her, which was welcomed with a hug as she tried to clamber over the railings. I could see security from the corner of my eye talk to each other and point, but I shook my head at them, and they ceased talking, standing back in their places, hands hanging down, clasped in front of their bulky bodies, standing expressionless once again.

The girl let go and I smiled at her before moving on to the next. This lasted for a good 10 minutes before a man, a member of the backstage crew, hurried me along to where a bunch of journalists stood waiting with microphones and cameras.

I could see Leo coming up behind me, so I stopped and waited for him to catch up.

A woman of her mid 40's stood with her microphone to her lips, smiling widely, revealing a set of incredibly white teeth.

"Hi!" She greeted us both with an air kiss on each cheek. Me and Leo stood side by side, him slightly behind me.

"So first of all, we have to ask this question," she started with a friendly laugh "Did you come here as a couple?" She outstretched the microphone to us, waiting for an answer. I nearly visibly choked, but I held on to it.

Leo answered before me confidently "Yes, absolutely." He nodded and smiled proudly at his answer, which he said to mean 'we came as a couple......of friends'.

"And there's nothing we else we should know about?" She pressed, implying something more than friends, which of course we wouldn't answer - we didn't even know ourselves.

"Not at all." Leo answered again after a pause.

"Alright, just wanted to clear that up after the speculation," she laughed again.

"Penelope did you expect so much hype around the film, this being your first breakout film?" She directed the question to me.

I deliberated the question before answering "I don't think I did expect this, no. Obviously I knew how good of a director Jim is, and Leo too is such a talented actor," I said, pointing to him "but I don't think you can ever really prepare for it. Not really." I chuckled, as did the interviewer.

"And how long did it take you two to perfect that iconic kiss?" She asked with a cheeky laugh. Not long at all.....not long at all. Were these questions all gonna be this awkward?

"Ummm," Leo hummed, looking at me with an amused expression, and me the same to him.

"We just sort of went out and did it didn't we?" I said, looking to Leo for confirmation, to which he nodded.

"Yeah we never really practised it, we just let it come naturally." He added. Was that even true? I could name a few 'behind the scenes' kisses that proved otherwise.

The interviewer nodded in understanding before asking the next question. Once we had finished with all the interviews, around 20 minutes had passed, and we were ready for the after party with the rest of the cast, along with a host of other famous faces.

//

"My niece loved it when I she went to the premiere in Tokyo," Frances gushed to me "and she absolutely fell in love with you. She asked me the other day if I could take her to get her hair dyed red like you had it in the film." I laughed "Really? I hated it."

"Oh yeah! And of course, completely smitten with our Leo. Who isn't?" She carried on. "I'm so glad it turned out the way it did-"

I felt a tap on my back, so I turned around. Leo stood before me, fiddling with his fingers. "Nel....hey, can we talk?"