HOW TO NOT LOSE YOUR DOG.
( chapter thirty two, real life )

As soon as the limousine car door swung open, Effy felt her heartbeat increase rapidly.

She had imagined this moment repeatedly for days on end. While washing the dishes; while watching the latest episode of Gogglebox with Beau (but not really paying attention), and even on the phone to her mum back in England. But now it was actually happening right in front of her eyes, everything was way more intimidating, to say the least.

She wasn't a celebrity. Nor was she special enough to be in a place full of professionals and people who deserved this life, through their art and their jobs. She was a dog-walker - and not a great one at that. But, still, a commoner. Not made for a red carpet and fancy dress.

"Oh my Jesus Christ of Nazareth," Mona whispered in awe, staring at everyone towards the entrance.

Dashes of gold, silver, purples, browns, blacks and reds sped past the girls' eyes as their senses tried to take in everything at once. Women elegantly stood in gowns of the finest silks and velvets, while men accompanied them in designer suits fit incredibly to their bodies. Effy almost felt ashamed of her £20 black dress from Primark.

"We definitely shouldn't be here," Effy chuckled as they stagnantly stood by their car.

Mona nodded slowly. "You know, some dogs when they run off find sticks or dead squirrels... But ours bought us to a fucking Red Carpet." Effy slapped her upper arm as the pair shared a laugh, which relieved them a little. "Cheers Beau."

"What do we do now?" Effy mumbled uneasily, gazing around. She hadn't quite gotten a step-by-step book on what to do when getting to a red carpet. Sure, she'd watched a few videos on Youtube, but there wasn't much of a guide.

Mona discreetly nudged her side. "Oi- Tommy boy and hot-fucking-assistant guy approaching at 10 o'clock."

Effy swiftly turned her head, and low and behold, Tom was indeed approaching them. He had a stupidly wide, boyish grin on his face and sported a plain, but incredibly-looking black suit. A devilishly handsome man in his early 30s followed behind him, Mona eyeing him down with a lovesick gaze. He had a short stubble and his dark blue suit sculpted his strong figure, a notepad in his hand. Effy guessed he was Tom's assistant for the night.

"Eff!" Tom yelled happily as he opened his arms and Effy happily accepted the embrace. He smelt like expensive cologne and clean laundry, which Effy quickly sank into, her nerves slowly clearing away. As he pulled away, he slid his arm down to hold her lower back, gesturing to his lavishly gorgeous friend. "Eff, this is Niklaus. He's my assistant for tonight. Niklaus, this is Effy and Ramona Clarke - the girls I was telling you about."

"Nice to meet you," Effy smiled as she shook his hand. Mona cleared her throat and shook his hand, her cheeks burning a bright red. Niklaus then proceeded to lift her hand to his plump lips and pressed a small kiss on her knuckle, making Mona's whole face glow pink.

"Anyways..." Tom awkwardly continued. "Niklaus, I think Effy and I are okay from here on out. We're going to head down to the carpet if you'd like to go elsewhere. Mona, you okay to go with him?"

"Yep- yep. I'm very happy to do that. Yes. Go for it you two. Have fun! See you! We'll go somewhere else. Bye!" With that, Mona grabbed his hand and strode off towards the entrance of the building.

Tom and Effy stared at the retreating pair with a mixture of confusion and astonishment. "I don't know what it is, but there is something so profoundly disgusting about seeing your older sibling all mushy." Effy cringed as Tom let out a loud laugh.

"I think you look really beautiful today, Effy," Tom told her warmly, causing her to bow her head.

"Just today?" She cheekily answered, backing up to avoid Tom's squatting hand.

"Oh, be quiet. You always look beautiful."

She grinned appreciatively. "Thanks, Tommy."

"Right, let's head off, shall we?" He began to lead her away from the car and towards a grand amount of people, the volume of people shouting and cameras rapidly clicking getting louder with each step. "Zendaya, Laura, Jacob and Harrison will probably already be near the premiere building by now, but we've still got loads of time. How are you feeling about being here? I know it's not your type of atmosphere..."

Effy shrugged. "I mean, I wasn't too enthusiastic about it this morning, but I'm starting to warm up to it. As long as you stay by my side, I think I'll be okay."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

As they approached closer to the carpet, the volume had increased significantly from the car. She couldn't hear Tom's voice anymore without multiple other people shouting names down her ear. How anyone could stand this for hours on end, she didn't understand. She'd only been there a couple minutes and her ears were most likely damaged of some capacity.

She grabbed Tom's leading hand from behind her back and gripped it firmly. There was no way she was loosing him in the crowd. Not by any chance.

Sensing her uncomfort, Tom pulled her towards the back of the carpet. It was always busy at the entrance, but the further you went in, the more room there was to move around and breathe.

"You okay?" He asked, placing his palm gently on her upper arm.

Effy nodded. "Was it like this on your first red carpet?"

Tom laughed and nodded, "I was 15 on my first premiere. I nearly shat myself." She chuckled, shaking her head. "But remember Eff, it's okay to feel nervous. If you want, we can go hang around the back before the premiere starts-"

"No, no," she spoke, furrowing her eyebrows in determination. "Let's go take some bloody photos and do some interviews because I didn't buy this fucking dress for nothing."

"Alright," he chuckled. "Let's do that."

❥

"Tom!"

"Tom Holland, over here!"

"Tom, this way!"

"Tom Holland, over here!"

"Tom and his lady! Look this way!"

From the videos Effy had watched, their main advice for photos was to look confident and smile. So, she did her best. As long as she didn't look like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole, everything would work out. Hopefully.

Reaching the middle of the carpet, Tom securely hooked his arm around her waist as she leaned against him. He proudly smiled at her, "You're doing amazing. Now all you have to do, is try to look as happy as possible. But you're with me, so that won't be a problem." He said jokingly with a smirk.

Effy raised her eyebrows, her mouth open as she stared at him. "You're such a nob."

"Love you too," he snickered. She shook her head with a smile and turned towards the cameras, who'd caught the whole exchange.

"Tom, over here!"

Right in front of them, a petite lady stood with a microphone in her hand, waving them over.

'Ah, interviewers...' Effy thought, encouraging Tom to go forward towards the enthusiastic lady. She definitely wasn't here to interview Effy about the film.

Taking a moment to stare around the atmosphere, she realised it wasn't as daunting as it had first appeared. Behind all the cameras, people stood with champagne glasses and pleasant smiles on their faces. Everyone there clearly had their own business and jobs to do - they didn't have the time to stand around and criticise your every move - which Effy quite liked.

"Effy!" Tom called, waving her over to where he stood with the interviewer, causing her to furrow her brows. Huh?

"So, who's this?"

Tom grinned at the lady, "This is my... er, soon-to-be partner, Effy Clarke."

One.

Two.

  Three.

She whipped her head around to stare at Tom in shock, "Wait, I'm your what?!"

Tom, however, didn't seem at all phased. Instead he raised an eyebrow, "Does that sound good? Being my partner, Eff?"

Effy gaped at him for what seem to be ages. Was he seriously asking her... now? On the red carpet. Of his film premiere. To be his girlfriend?

"Well- I mean- I, er, wouldn't mind," she sputtered with wide eyes, before muttering under her breath, "Tom, can we talk?"

He nodded goodbye to the interviewer and pulled her off the side of the carpet.

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry! I panicked!"

"You panicked?" She exclaimed.

"I didn't know how else to tell you!"

"Maybe a, 'Hey Effy, I'd really like for you to be my girlfriend' would've been better than just dropping the bomb on me!"

"I know! I know! I'm sorry!" Effy huffed and crossed her eyes. "Listen," he sighed, "ever since I met you that first time on set, I just knew there was something about you. The way you held yourself and didn't care what others thought, and the way you treated me like a normal person, and didn't put me on a pedestal. I liked that about you... No fuck that, I like you, Effy. So much." He stressed out.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

Tom cocked his head, "Be my girlfriend, Effy?"

She shook her head with a chuckle, "That's better." She pulled him in as his lips met hers and she felt him washing over her like a wave of warmth. She curled her toes, unfurling all her senses as the taste of him nearly silenced all thoughts.

Euphoria.

( end of chapter. )