Lost on You [Lewis Capaldi]

Chapter 20 - the red carpet

The London traffic was awful. What should have been a short car ride to the venue lasted much longer than intended. Which meant they were already running late.

Even something as simple as just leaving the hotel had been hard. There had been crowds of fans waiting for them, blocking their path to the car.

Screams had erupted when Lewis stepped out of the hotel lobby, wearing his favourite pair of red heart-shaped sunglasses. Keira knew he probably wanted to chat with all of his fans, but they just hadn't had time. He waved to them, taking as many photos as he could before they were hurried towards the car by security.

Keira had been glad about that part. Although her fears were getting less and less each day, just the few seconds she was amongst the crowd was enough to set her heart racing.

But on the journey to the venue, Lewis assured her that those would be the worst of the crowds. And she trusted that he was right.

"We're here," the driver grumbled, clearly just as frustrated at the traffic as everyone else.

As they pulled up to the venue, Lewis looked over to Keira who was sat beside him in the back of the car.

He smiled, squeezing her knee gently. "You ready?"

Keira could already see the wall of journalists and photographers, their cameras flashing brightly as people strolled down the carpet. No one looked nervous as they posed for the cameras. It was like they did these sorts of things all the time.

That's because they do, Keira reminded herself, trying not to feel too jittery about being in the same room as so many celebrities. She didn't recognise anyone on the carpet now, but then again, they were quite late and many of the guests had probably already made it inside.

"Keira?" Lewis asked, bringing her attention back to him.

"Sorry," she said, placing her hand on top of his, lacing their fingers together. "I'm ready when you are."

"Then let's go," he grinned.

But before he could move, both of the car doors were opened by men in dark suits. They greeted them, smiling politely. Keira threw a bemused look at Lewis and he just shrugged before sliding out. She followed, gathering her dress and carefully stepping out, trying not to stumble in her heels.

He met her on the other side of the car and they stood facing the red carpet. The photographers had already caught sight of them, angling their cameras ready.

Before they began walking, Lewis leant in to whisper in her ear. "Showtime, baby."

He winked at her once before flipping his sunglasses back on. She couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"I know, I'm so cool," he said, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back.

She knew he was probably just trying to distract her from her nerves with humour. But it was working.

"I hope I don't cramp your style," she said as Lewis guided them forwards, shoving his other hand in his pocket.

"That's a good point," he replied, his grin hadn't left his face once. "I should have brought you a pair to wear as well."

A few of the photographers began calling Lewis' name, giving them directions of where to look. They stopped walking; turning to face what seemed like a hundred camera lenses.

"Say cheese," Lewis said to her beneath his breath.

And even as the cameras flashed and people yelled frantically at them, she couldn't help but smile.