The Three-Month Rule

Chapter 19 - A Rising Star

"You don't have to do this," he looked down at her.

"I want to," she told him, looking up at him, her blonde hair style around her bare shoulders.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes. I need to do it at some point. I may as well do it now," she said.

"...Ok," Tom hesitated.

"Ready?" the director asked them, entering the room with a clipboard.

Allegra stood, joining Tom on his feet.

"Yes," they both replied.

They walked hand-in-hand onto the set of 'Access', Natalie Morales sitting in her grey chair on the right side of the tv screen which was positioned in the middle. Two grey seats had been placed on the left side of the tv for Tom and Allegra to sit down.

Natalie smiled broadly at them, clapping as they took their seats opposite her.

"Hello, both of you! Welcome!" she said as Tom leant forwards to shake her hand, Allegra copying him shortly afterwards. "Thank you so much for joining us today."

"Thank you for having us. It's a pleasure," Tom said politely, shuffling into a comfortable position in his seat. He positioned his left foot on his right knee and interlaced his fingers, resting his hands on his upper abdomen.

"How are you both enjoying the USA?" Natalie asked them.

"It's always nice to come back," Tom replied.

"I've never been before but I'm thoroughly enjoying it," Allegra smiled confidently, her blue dress accentuating her figure and making it difficult for Tom to keep his eyes off of her.

"That's great to hear!" Natalie smiled happily to her. "So, you two have been officially together for three weeks now?"

"Just under, yes," Tom smiled proudly with a nod.

"Are you still in the honeymoon-phase?"

Tom looked at Allegra. "I think so," he smiled. "It's such a warm feeling and light in my life and I hope it stays this way."

"You had an interview at the weekend where you spoke very fondly of Allegra –"

"Did you?" Allegra asked, shocked.

Tom chuckled to himself and shuffled in his seat again, squeezing Allegra's hand with his.

"I did, yes," he said. "I am very fond of her."

"Allegra, have you read it?" asked Natalie, picking up on Allegra's surprise.

"I haven't," Allegra replied with a shake of her head.

"I'm sure there's some copies of the magazine backstage," Natalie smiled happily. "So, Tom, last week, you appeared on the game 'Up the Wall' alongside Ariana Grande, Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Swift. What was that like?"

Tom hesitated, repeating the question to himself in his head and trying to decide the best way to approach it. He knew where the interview was headed and wanted to try and steer it in a direction that he knew he and Allegra would be more comfortable in.

"I did, yes. It was fun," he said.

"You and Ariana won, didn't you?"

"We did," Tom smiled.

"Taylor didn't seem to like that too much," Natalie chuckled.

"Didn't she?" Tom asked, trying to grasp the steering wheel of the live interview.

"The whole evening has caused quite a bit of controversy online," Natalie explained, causing a frown to grow on Allegra's face.

"Has it?" Tom asked.

"Yes," Natalie replied slowly, wondering if he was pretending or not.

"I don't see why," he told her.

"She wrote some indirect tweets about you –"

"If they're indirect, how do you know they're about me?"

Tom was clearly very uncomfortable, and Allegra looked at him to try and offer strength.

"I think it's pretty obvious," Natalie scoffed, a new tone in her voice replacing her polite, friendly manner.

"Not necessarily. That's just an assumption you've made," Tom said simply.

Allegra glanced at Tom's manager who was offstage, whispering to workers impatiently, anger clear in his actions.

"Allegra," Natalie began, leaning forwards to her to hopefully try and change the topic. "What's your opinion on the situation between Taylor and Tom?"

"What situation? There isn't one," Allegra replied calmly.

"There clearly is, following the events at the gameshow."

"Nothing happened at the gameshow," Allegra smiled. Tom observed her expression, presently surprised at how calm she was remaining.

"Tom, what's your opinion?" Natalie asked, refocusing the attention onto him.

Tom sighed and looked at Natalie, a blank expression on his usually kind face.

"There's no bad blood, as it were, between Taylor and I," he explained. "We broke up over two years ago and we haven't spoken since. I'm happy now and I wish nothing but the best for her. Thank you," Tom gave a nod to Natalie and smiled before he stood up, leaving the stage.

Allegra looked at Natalie and then to Tom's manager who motioned for her to leave.

She left.