The Meeting

The Awards

6 months later.

Adjusting to life without Leah was hard. The last few months had consisted of promotional events and preparations for the release of my album and subsequently, appearances on radio shows and entertainment channels to discuss my newly founded success. My album had reached number one in the iTunes chart just two weeks after its release. I had received messages of congratulations from people I didn't even think new I existed. My Dad was beyond proud of me, Ellie and Lydia cried almost every time it was mentioned and I knew that somewhere out there, Leah would be watching this whirlwind unfold and she too would be proud of my success.

Tonight, it was the Brit Awards and I had been nominated for best breakthrough artist, album of the year and song of the year. When we received the call to tell us that I had been nominated, we originally thought that Gavin was pranking us but now that I was getting ready, it was beginning to feel real.

As I stepped onto the famous red carpet, the photographers shouted my name from every direction, it was overwhelming at first but I soon settled. I felt confident tonight for the first time in while, I was wearing smart green trousers, a matching blazer and a dressy top, not wanting to stray too much from my stage attire and wanting to help the promotion of fashion being gender free. I gave several interviews but one in particular made my heart drop. Dawn Wiley, from London Entertainment Daily had pulled me aside for a chat, I always enjoyed chats with Dawn as she brought humour to them.

"Alex! Thank you for giving us at LED a few moments of your time!"

"No, thank you! It's always a pleasure to speak to you."

"What's it like being at the Brits? This time last year you played your largest gig of 3,000 I believe? Now you're selling out arenas and nominated for THREE awards. Sum that up for me?"

"It's an honour and a privilege to be honest. I never thought I would get to this point and being here tonight makes all of the hard work and the sleepless nights worth it."

"I bet! What's one thing you hope to achieve through your success?"

"As rehearsed as it sounds Dawn, I just want to inspire people. Not just those with a passion for music but those with any passion in life. I want to inspire them to never give up on the dreams."

"I think that's the thing that draws a lot of people to you, Alex. You have never lost your roots, you have stayed incredibly grounded and down to earth. How have you managed that?"

"I've surrounded myself with people who are the same. You know, my two best friends Ellie and Lydia, when I first started this they used to discuss where I would take them on holiday when I released my first album, they talked about private jets and private islands. When the album was released, they invited me over for a face mask and movie night and we ate £1 popcorn from Tesco. The money meant nothing to them, it was their proudness of me that they held onto and I think having people like that in my life has helped me to remember who I am."

"Speaking of people in your life, how's that going? Anyone we should know about?"

"Unfortunately, you won't be getting a front page story from me, Dawn. I've been focusing a lot on the album and the upcoming tour so I haven't really got time for wining and dining right now. Unless you want to grab a drink after?"

"Always the charmer, Alex! I have to ask or the fans will kill me. When you say there's no one special right now, does that mean there's a potential fans could see a reconciliation between you and Leah Williamson who I've been told is here tonight representing the Lionesses?"