Just An Act

Chapter six

I gasp when I catch sight of myself in the mirror. The artists have done their best and I'm so thankful, that they didn't mess up. You could mean I'm used to look at my different mirror reflection almost everyday. But I'm not. I'm still startled every time my face gets baked.

"It looks amazing, Suzanne. Thank you so much." I smile when she hugs me.
"Don't say 'it' to your face, darling. Plus, I didn't have to do much, since you're already a natural beauty." I blush at her compliment.

"Uh, thank you." I say awkwardly and she laughs.
"Now, now. Don't get awkward around me. I'm the one who's going to help you into the dress, so you better feel comfortable." I laugh at the elder lady. I mean she's not 'elder' old. But like 40.
I didn't want to ask, since it's rude. But also because it's irrelevant. I like her, no matter how old she is.

She pulls me into the dressing room, where the dress hangs in all its glory. I almost squeak when I see it. I can't wait to be inside of it! I'll have to thank Darmetir for this. Maybe, it will smoothen the tension between us.

With Suzanne's help, I get into the dress faster than expected. We both gasp when I stand in front of the full length mirror. I don't know how it feels to be in love, because I've never been in love with somebody. But if you asked me tomorrow if I've ever fallen in love, I'd say yes and show you a pic of this dress.

"Darling. You look stunning. Blake will not be able to look away from you." She smiles at me through the mirror. I give get a small smile back and turn around.
"I guess. Hey, what time is it?" I ask her.

"It's almost 7:40." She says. Alright. So if we want to be fashionably late, we'll have to leave the house now. After thanking Suzanne and her team I make my way downstairs. I have no idea which floor I'm on, but I'll manage right? It's not like a maze or something.

Minutes pass and I still don't know where Darmetir is. Why must he be so...argh...I don't even know.
"Duncan?" I hear a deep voice behind me. It's him. I turn around.

"There you are! We have to leave now." I say, approaching him. I frown when he doesn't move. But he's in his suit, so at least he didn't forget about the gala.
Once I'm in front of him I can make out his face expression. He's frowning at me, which makes me frown back at him.

"Darmetir?" I snap my fingers in front of his face. That seems to catch his attention when he shakes his head slightly and clears his throat.

"You-uh you look nice." He says awkwardly and I blush again.
"Uh, thanks. And thanks for-you know- buying it." I answer him and he nods. After that he continues to just stare at me. What? Before I could open my mouth, another voice interrupts.

"Miss Duncan? Where are you?" I think it's that Cody guy. Oh shit, the gala, right. Seeing Darmetir still looking at me, I roll my eyes and take his hand in mine. I pull him, but he doesn't budge.
"Darmetir. Come on." I hiss and he follows me. What the fuck is wrong with this guy?

"Where here! Where are you?" I yell back and drop Darmetir's hand, knowing I don't even know where he is. Suddenly this guy from this morning appears out of nowhere and smiles at me after taking me in. I smile back before pointing at the clock. He seems to catch on and motions me to follow him.

We make our way downstairs and into the waiting car. I sit in the middle, with Darmetir to my right and Cody to my left.
"I don't think I introduced myself properly this morning. I'm Cody Leave, Blake's manager." He chuckles and I shake his hand.

"Gabriella Duncan." I tell him. On the way to the gala we actually make a nice small conversation, with Darmetir silently listening.

~~~

"You ready?" Darmetir asks me, once we parked directly in front of the golden carpet with the paparazzi on either side of it. I nod and he opens the door and gets out. I can see the flashes going crazy and the paparazzi shouting at him to look at them.

He holds the door open for me and offers me his hand. I slip my rather small hand into his big one and let him pull me out. Cody follows after us. As soon as I stand, Darmetir places his hand on my waist and pulls me closer to him.

"We don't want to disappoint the paps." He whispers in my ear and smiles at the camera. I follow him on the golden spot in front of the big screen behind us, so that they can take pictures of us.

"Is she your new girlfriend?" Somebody asks.
"Darling, look at me!" Another one yells. I try to look at all of them with Darmetir side hugging me. I just realized how perfectly our bodies fit with each other.

"Are you guys official?"
"Can we see you kiss?"
"Where did you meet?"
"Are you a couple?"
"Did he knock you up?"
I gasp at the last one and look at Darmetir, who has an amused expression on his face. He smirks at me and I smile at him.

"What are you trying to do?" I whisper.
"Oh, nothing. How about the kiss?" He asks, rather loudly. Oh he knows exactly that if I say no, I didn't do a great job. He smirks when I take his jaw in my hand.

I kiss his cheek, hearing the cameras click even faster and seeing more flashes. I let go after a second or so and with one last look at the mass of paparazzi, we turn to leave the carpet and get into the actual event.