The Three-Month Rule

Chapter 18 - It's All Fun and Games

"I'm not doing it. There's no way," Tom said aloud to himself, pacing the floor back and forth as his fingers brushed his beard.

"Tom –"

"It's not happening."

"Tom –"

"I'm not going to do it."

"Tom!"

Tom stopped where he was, looking up at Allegra who had remained calm and composed the entire time.

"It's ok," Allegra told him calmly.

"No, it's not," he shook his head and looked at the floor.

Allegra had perched herself on the arm of the sofa in their hotel room, the morning's sun sending warmth through the window. She looked at him, wishing she could ease his concerns.

"It's work," she said.

"I'm not getting involved with her again," he said quickly, unable to look anywhere other than the floor.

"You're not getting involved," Allegra reassured him. "It's a gameshow. And you're opponents," she reminded him.

"I don't even want to give her a chance," he said quietly. "Knowing her there'll be a new song about me out next week."

Allegra stood and walked slowly to him, stopping a few inches away and placing her hands gently on either side of his face. She pulled his face up so they were eye-to-eye, and she offered a smile to him.

"Tom..." she whispered. "You can do this if you want."

"I don't want anything to do with her," he closed his eyes, feeling safety from her hands on his skin.

"It's ok," Allegra repeated. "Like I've said, you'll be opposing her, and I'll be right there anyway. You might enjoy it," she shrugged with a smile.

Tom sighed and opened his eyes again, looking deeply into hers.

"You can do this," she said again.

"If you don't want me to then I won't," he said, searching desperately for an excuse.

"Tom, it's business. I get that. You play and then you leave. Hopefully with the prize," she winked.

"...And you'll be there too?" he asked.

"The whole time."

***

Tom walked out of the dressing rooms, clad in a white V-neck t-shirt, dark jeans, his grey suede lace-up shoes and his navy Ralph Lauren barracuda jacket. He had had his beard trimmed to a perfect stubble, which complimented his cheekbones, and his hair had been gelled back sleekly, the parting pulled over to the right.

Allegra's breath was taken at the sight. She had never seen him in person after he had been styled, and she struggled to stand at the new sight before her eyes, pride overwhelming her.

"Ready Twiddles?" Christian grinned.

Tom looked at Allegra, hands in pockets, and raised his eyebrows.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied.

"Let's go," Christian said, pointing Tom to a curtain that led out onto the gameshow set.

"Good luck!" Allegra smiled.

"Are you sure this is ok?" Tom asked her once more, taking her hands in his and playing with her fingers.

"Of course," she said. "Go and have fun. And win," she winked.

***

"Next on 'Up the Wall', you know him from 'The Avengers', 'Thor', 'Kong' and 'Crimson Peak', please give a cheery welcome to Marvel's own 'Loki', Tom Hiddleston!" the presenter called.

Tom strode out, making the crowd cheer and scream excitedly. Many women screamed "I love you, Tom", bringing a smile to his face.

Tom walked to the presenter who wore a sparkly purple suit and shook his hand as the crowd continued to cheer, before walking to the panel opposing him where Ryan Reynolds was sat. Tom shook Ryan's hand with a smile and they patted each other on the back.

"Welcome to the show!" the presenter said as Tom sat on his panel next to an empty chair.

"It's great to be here, thank you," Tom smiled into the microphone.

"Now for the ladies..." the presenter said, making the crowd woo with anticipation.

The lights dimmed into a neon pink, causing the yellow, purple and blue set to look like it had jumped out of the 60's even more. "Ryan," he began. "Joining you tonight is a ten-time Grammy Award winner. You know her songs 'Love Story', 'Bad Blood' and 'Look What You Made Me Do', everyone please welcome, the wonderful Taylor Swift!"

'Love Story' played lightly in the background and the crowd cheered as Taylor walked onto the set wearing a light blue, navy, orange and white long-sleeved top tucked into a navy skirt, brown heels fastened comfortably on her feet. Her hair was styled in a wavy blonde beautiful mess, her makeup bringing out her perfect blue eyes.

Tom shuffled in his seat as she kissed the presenter's cheek before she joined Ryan's side, hugging him and kissing his cheek, taking her place on her panel beside him.

"Last but never ever the least, you know her songs 'Problem', 'Dangerous Woman' and 'No Tears Left To Cry', please give a massive welcome to seven-time Teen Choice Award winner, Ariana Grande!" the presenter said, extending his arm towards Tom as Ariana trotted happily onto the set, 'Into You' playing in the background. Cheers filled the room once more as Ariana kissed the presenter's cheek and took her place beside Tom, kissing his cheek as he hugged her warmly.

The music and the crowd's cheering died down as the presenter welcomed everyone onto the show.

"Let's begin!" he said excitedly. "We'll start with a quiz round, then go on to two impression rounds- music then film, and we'll finish with some riddles. The winning team get their polaroid on our wall, an 'Up the Wall' trophy each to take home, and a $5000 donation to a charity of their choice. First things first, let's find out your team names. Tom, Ariana, what name have you chosen?"

The camera panned to Ariana who was wearing a black jumper dress with grey thigh high boots, her hair pinned back into a sleek high ponytail.

"We went with Boogie Woogies," she laughed as the crowd joined her in laughter.

"Ryan, Taylor? What name have you chosen?" the presenter asked as the camera panned to the opposing team.

"We were going to go with Twerk It," Ryan said, sending the crowd into laughter again. "But we decided to go with Quizards."

"Because it's more appropriate?" the presenter laughed to himself, thinking he was funny.

"Because it's funnier," Ryan corrected, the crowd laughing.

"Ok, let's begin. First question," the presenter announced awkwardly.

***

Taylor smiled at Ariana who was laughing with Tom, and then looked to Tom, her smile fading. She sighed sadly to herself as Ryan was making jokes with the presenter, secluding herself away from the present.

"Boogies Woogies," the presenter said, turning the Ariana and Tom. "You won the first round so you'll go first in this round. In your teams, you'll take it in turns to do impressions. First it will be music and then it will be films. For music, you can sing it, but you can't say the name of the song, and for films you can act out extracts, but you're not allowed to say character or place names. Are you ready?"

"I think so," Tom smiled at Ariana.

"Who's going first?"

"I feel like Ariana needs to go first because she's the singer," he grinned.

Ariana laughed along with the crowd and covered her face with embarrassment.

"Let's do it!" she cheered enthusiastically, ready to press the large red button on their panel.

"You'll have one minute to get as many as you can," the presenter told his guests. "Ready? Go."