"Alrighty, gang. We're gonna head in, do the interview and please, for the love of God, don't spoil anything," Anthony said, throwing Sebastian a pointed look.

Paul snorted a little as soon as he noticed that Sebastian wasn't paying attention to whatever Anthony was saying. A smile played on his lips as he gave Sebastian a light pat on the back to draw his attention to everyone in the room.

Sebastian looked up from his phone with puzzled eyes. "Huh, what?"

Chris burst out laughing as Anthony rolled his eyes. "Sure, let's all just ignore Mackie, right?" Anthony said in an exasperated tone.

Both Sebastian and Paul stifled a laugh while the former walked up to his friend and clapped his shoulder. "Sorry, bud. Was just texting my girl to see what she's up to."

"Isn't she in the midst of an audition right now?" Chris asked, fixing his tie a little.

Sebastian shook his head in response. "In about forty-five minutes, she will be."

Just as Anthony was about to say something, a knock sounded at the door to their dressing room. One of the staff popped in briefly and told them that they were going to be on in eight minutes before she left the room hurriedly.

"Alright," Anthony said once more. "No spoilers, Sebastian."

Sebastian shot his friend a confused look. "Me? Why don't you tell Holland that?"

"He's not here," Anthony deadpanned, waving his free hand around the room. "Plus, the kid's rubbed off on you and so has his tendency to spoil our movie."

"Tell that to both Mark and Tom for the next movie," Paul chuckled as he straightened out his suit.

All four men shared a laugh right before they decided it was about time to head out to the set. Sebastian spared one more glance at his phone before shoving it into the pocket of his pants, a semi-disappointed sigh leaving his lips as he closed the door behind him.

. . . . . .

"So, Sebastian. . . you and Jean Pierce, who stars in The Originals, have just recently made your relationship public, yes?"

Letting out a nervous chuckle as the crowd went wild with their wooing, Sebastian shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat and absentmindedly undid the button of the blazer that sat nicely on his shoulders.

He knew this question was coming and he knew full well that he'd definitely get asked about his relationship with Jean at some point during the press tour but here he was, sat in his designated seat, in the company of his friends and a live audience.

He wasn't entirely sure if Jean wanted to comment on their relationship publicly because they never actually talked about it—they didn't feel the need to at the time but now that the question was finally raised, Sebastian found himself a little tongue-tied.

"Um, well. . . " Sebastian trailed off, shifting in his seat again as his eyes wandered over to the sea of audience.

Paul, who was sat right next to him, noticed his apprehension and instantly decided to lend a hand. "He gets all flustered whenever he thinks about Jean so, you'll have to excuse him," Paul chuckled, sending the crowd and Jimmy a feigned, apologetic smile.

The entire room burst into a fit of laughter, with Chris' infectious laugh resonating across the expansive studio and some of the members of the audience expressing their adoration.

Sebastian scrunched up his nose absentmindedly, his face now redder than before as the thought of Jean giggling at the sight of him all flustered crossed his mind. Just the thought of her was enough to calm his nerves a little and Sebastian found himself silently thanking Paul for the quick save.

"Sounds like you two have been dating for quite a while now," Jimmy commented, subtly trying to coax Sebastian into answering his previous question.

Sebastian nodded, averting his gaze to his shoes as a small smile played on his lips. "You can say that."

Jimmy raised a questioning brow at him but before he was about to question him further, Anthony interjected. "Technically, these lovebirds have been dating for like two and a half months now. They just don't wanna admit it."

This earned a nod from both Chris and Paul, and Sebastian felt his cheeks flush for the third time tonight. The boys have always been going on about how Sebastian and Jean have been 'mentally' dating ever since they patched things up and stopped trying to avoid one another as well as their budding feelings.

"And will she be attending the premiere with you later?"

"Unfortunately, no," Sebastian said, flashing him a small smile but his eyes couldn't lie for him even if his life depended on them. "She has an audition to attend."

"Any chance that the casting director is a Marvel fan? Because if he or she is a fan of your movies, then there's a good chance that they could postpone her audition until after the premiere," Jimmy suggested, chuckling as he did so.

"That's exactly what I said!" Sebastian laughed, earning a laugh from everyone in the room. "But technically, it's my fault 'cause I asked her a little too late."

Anthony turned around and gave Sebastian a pat on the leg while Chris did the same. "He tends to get all mushy about this nowadays," Chris teased.

"I'm a changed man," Sebastian said, smiling lightly to himself.

"Well, Sebastian," Jimmy began. "What if I told you that Jean actually contacted me beforehand to have something delivered to you right here on the show?"

The crowd wooed again as a few of them began cheering. Chris' eyes went wide just as Anthony stood up from his seat abruptly and turned to look at Sebastian, who was very much confused by what was going on. Paul's mouth hung agape as he, too, rose from his seat and began pacing around.

Sebastian looked around the studio with frantic eyes. Jimmy was still sat in his chair, a mischievous smile now plastered on his face as he continued to tease Sebastian about the possibility of Jean actually being on set.

"Now, wait a minute!" Sebastian said, his frantic eyes now darting over to Jimmy as he stretched out his arms. "My girlfriend would have told me—"

"Jean?!" Anthony cried aloud with a hand over his mouth.

Sebastian nearly tripped over his own two feet when he stood up abruptly. The crowd was wild with cheers and woos as boisterous laughs resonated across the entire studio.

"Jean, is that—oh well, oops, wrong person," Anthony said nonchalantly, turning back to Sebastian.

Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks as he shot his friend a murderous glare. Jimmy was still chuckling from his seat, Chris was sprawled across the couch as his body shook with laughter while Paul was already making his way over to Sebastian.

"She's not here, Sebastian," Jimmy called out, watching as Sebastian plopped down on the arm of the couch Chris was on.

"You guys are the absolute worst!" Sebastian laughed, groaning inwardly as he leaned on Chris for support.

Chris held his friend up by his torso and patted his back reassuringly. Anthony came up from behind Sebastian and hugged him as Paul clapped his shoulder, supressing a giggle.

Sebastian felt like he was out of breath, not just from all that laughing but because he really thought Jean had pranked him and planned all this and that she could actually attend the premiere with him later.

"April Fool's was eleven days ago!" Sebastian yelled, feigning exasperation as he earned a hearty laugh from everyone in the room.

. . . . . .

Seb
i really wish you were here. i got pranked just now. they made it seem like you were here and that you'd planned the whole thing to surprise me and god, how i wish it was real.
anyway, how was your audition?
i miss you.
DELIVERED 5.01PM

Sebastian let out a small sigh as he locked his phone, pocketing it before looking out the window of the car they were in. Chris, Anthony and Paul were talking about something he wasn't fully aware of, mainly because he had his mind on something else—or rather, someone else, and he simpered a little at how different things were between them just months ago.

"She hasn't texted you back?" Chris asked, shooting his friend an apologetic look.

Sebastian shook his head lightly. "Probably out with her friends. She hasn't seen them in a while."

"But isn't she gonna start filming again for The Originals?" Anthony asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Yeah, in September," Sebastian replied. "Still a long way to go and her cast mates are like family to her, just like how you guys are like family to me."

"Oh, I'm so touched," Paul said as he pretended to choke back a sob, "even though I've only been with you guys for like one movie."

"Still family, tic-tac," Anthony reassured him, nudging his elbow with his.

"We're here," Chris announced as he sat up a little straighter to smooth out his suit.

Sebastian sat up with a sigh and did the same, Mackie and Paul following suit. As soon as the door to their car opened, lights began to blind them a little as the cheers and screams from the crowd began to overwhelm them.

Chris reached for his sunglasses, waiting for his friends to pile out of the car before heading in together. The walk from the drop-off point to the centre of the venue was filled with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, interviewers and cameramen calling out to their cast mates and other stars who'd arrived on the red carpet.

A tight smile formed on Sebastian's lips as the jitters began to kick in again. He bit his upper lip and continued to walk towards the centre with some of his best buds by his side.

Chris was checking up on Sebastian from time to time to make sure he was okay. Anthony and Paul were by his side, poking him to get him to laugh and crafting inside jokes. Sebastian was more than grateful to have these guys by his side.

Despite having twice attended a premiere this big, the jitters would always find their way into his system and he'd always find himself absolutely restless.

"Wow," Sebastian murmured to himself as soon as they got to the centre of the venue, his mouth now hung agape and his baby blue eyes scintillating.

"Don't say 'wow' just yet," Anthony jested, clapping Sebastian on the shoulder.

Sebastian raised a confused brow at his friend before he shifted his gaze over to Paul and Chris, who had smirks plastered on their faces. Just as Sebastian was about to ask Anthony what he meant by that, Robert came over and gave them all hugs.

"You're finally here—great, 'cause there's someone I really want you to meet," Robert said as he grabbed a hold of Sebastian's hand.

"What—who?"

"So many questions," Chris tutted, trailing right after them.

"A girl!" Anthony exclaimed with a big grin playing on his lips.

Sebastian's eyes widened in response to that and was quick enough to pull away from Robert's grasp, turning on his heel to walk in the opposite direction. Chris chuckled aloud as he wrapped an arm around Sebastian's torso, pulling him towards Robert, who was cackling. Paul and Anthony were giggling like a couple of school girls as they watched Sebastian's struggle in both Chris and Robert's grasps.

Sebastian threw both men a sideways glare as he struggled to plant his feet firmly on the ground. "You guys do know that I have a girlfriend, right? Remember Jean? The girl I'm head over heels for—"

"Yeah, yeah. We know, Seb. We know," Robert said nonchalantly, rolling his eyes playfully as he continued to drag Sebastian towards Lizzie and Scarlett, who looked like they were huddled around someone.

Chris called out to both Lizzie and Scarlett, prompting them to look over their shoulders for a brief moment. Scarlett sent a wink to her friend just as Lizzie nodded in response.

"Look, I'm not fucking kidding when I say that I'm not interested in meeting any other girl aside from my girlfriend. So, if you think that by dragging me towards whoever it is, you're gonna get me to open my mouth and talk then you both can dream the fuck—" Sebastian spat but was interrupted by an all too familiar voice, which made him snap his head towards Scarlett and Lizzie for a brief moment before doing a double take.

"Well, it's nice to hear that I cross your mind every once in a while."

"Jean?"

---
a/n; i know this book hasn't been updated for 9 months and i'm so sorry about that. i had some serious writer's block for this book & just recently got back into writing it again 🥺 if you're still reading this—hi, thank you, i love you 🥺 also, thank you for 3k votes & nearly 100k reads. you guys are absolutely amazing 💫💞