Cut!

Take 30 - Change Your Ticket - Part 1

A/N: Please comment as you read. It makes my tummy tingle in funny ways. 

As I looked behind the curtain and stared into the crowd of reporters, I could feel my knees weaken. Lucky for me, I leaned against the wall, hoping that the small amount of support would help me stand tall despite everything.

Harry had succeeded in taking my mind off things the night before. He’d stayed mostly silent, whereas I had been busy snapping pictures. Whenever I’d mumbled to myself to stay calm, I’d heard him chuckle in the background. His presence alone had made me feel safe, and it didn’t take long until I had gathered the courage to ask Harry to pose for me.

Of course, those pictures wouldn’t be a part of the portfolio, but I enjoyed taking them nonetheless. He’d fooled around, and I had ended up taking more pictures of him than the actual city.

I didn’t mind, though. The shots I’d snapped with the sunset were enough to fill up my portfolio alone, and I just needed to get back to my computer in order to tidy them up.

We’d stayed up there until late, and when we finally made our way back to the room, both of us had crashed almost instantly.

The nervousness hadn’t shown until this morning. I’d spent an unimaginable long time with a stylist, and the fake eyelashes were uncomfortable. They made my eyelids feel heavy, and I was pretty sure I looked like I was flirting whenever I tried to look at someone.

“Are you okay?”

I turned around to see Louis right next to me. Mustering up a small smile, I nodded. “Just a bit nervous, I guess.”

“The first time I had to perform in front of a crowd, I almost puked right on stage,” he said. “Don’t worry. It just means you’re human.”

“I know that I’m human,” I said. “My body doesn’t need to remind me of it.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Trust me. It’ll be over soon.”

I tried to look convinced, but I didn’t feel it. The only time I’d actually spoken in front of a group of reporters, had been in Chicago when I left the rehab clinic. I hadn’t been nervous back then, but I was sure it was only due to the annoyance I’d felt at the time. They’d cornered me and demanded answers from Ludmilla. I’d acted without any chance to think.

This was in an entirely different league. Here, I had to think about every answer. I couldn’t just blurt what came first, but I needed to stay calm, collected and professional.

But I wasn’t calm, collected or professional at all.

The worst part was that I needed to appear like this was something I did every day. Ludmilla had often been interviewed. I glanced at Louis.

“Thank you,” I said.

“For what?”

“For everything.” I shrugged. “For keeping my secret, for comforting me now, and for just being you. I don’t think I would have shown up here if it hadn’t been for you.”

He chuckled. “You’re stronger than you think, Cami. Those reporters won’t know what hit them.”

“Still…” I turned towards him and wrapped my arms around his torso. “Thank you.”

He hugged me back, and in a weird way, it almost gave me renewed strength. After he had released me, I didn’t even need the wall anymore.

It was nice having Louis around to tell me everything was going to be all right. Even though, Zayn and Harry had offered their own advice, they’d based them on someone who’d already done this a hundred times. Louis’ advice where different. He spoke to me, taking into consideration that this was my first press conference ever.

His mere presence here had dissolved some of the fear and nausea inside of me. I smiled genuinely.

“We’re going out there in a few minutes,” he said. “Are you prepared?”

I held up a hand, bopping it slightly. “Somewhat. Since I don’t know the nature of the questions, it’s going to be hard to properly prepare for them.”

“They will ask about the movie first, which will be answered by you, Harry and Steven Sayven. After that, they’ll move on to the concert tonight. Those parts should be easy enough. The open mic questions will be hard-hitting. And of course, the random questions at the signing later.”

I nodded along as he spoke; I already knew all of this. I still thought this was way too early, though.

There was still two and a half hour until noon where the signing would go on for an hour. After that, we’d have five hours to rehearse at the stadium where everything was set up. Honestly, I didn’t know how the guys could live like this.

Everything was just so… hectic.

I turned away from the gathering of reporters, taking a deep breath. I could see Harry approaching, and my heart skipped a beat at the sight. He was styled up, as well.

And Harry Styles was a fine-looking man.

He smiled when he caught me gawking. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said.

“Good.” He took my hand and kissed the knuckles. “Everything will be all right. I promise.”

We were interrupted by the rise in chatter from behind the curtain.

Harry lifted a finger to his lips, and I tried to listen. Steven would call us out in a moment.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Steven said. “It’s with great joy that I stand before you today in order to present to you the very first direct collaboration between the music and the movie industry. I’m honored to stand before you now, and I can’t wait until Love Beat premiers in three months.

“I’ve had the great pleasure of working with not only some very talented actors, but also the award-winning band, One Direction during this production.” Steven paused. “Without further ado, I’d like to invite One Direction and Ludmilla Hanson on to the stage.”

As the sound of an applause filled the room, my stomach churned. This was it. I tried to do my best to slip into the role of Ludmilla, and after a small squeeze on my hand from Harry, I walked out onto the podium.

 A/N: What do you think? Tell me in the comments. Do you foresee another disaster or will it run smoothly? Please give this a vote. It'd make my day.