It's You [H.S.]

10.3 | With you

A/N: This is the second of a double update, so please ensure you check out 10.2 (the previous chapter) first! And 10.1 if you haven't already!... Enjoy! Xx

7th January 2018 (continued)

Even having taken her phone back off Charles in the car to call Harry for a quiet couple of verses of She's a Rainbow, Eloise still feels an intense flash of nerves as they pull up to the Beverly Hilton hotel and she first catches sight of the scale of the event.

The long red carpet stretches as far as she can see. After a holding pen swarming with producers and event staff, trying to pace out the arrivals, she'll need to pass the huge bank of rabid photographers, then run the long gamut of crews and journalists, broadcasting live interviews.

Despite Stevie and Charles' best efforts, she feels physically sick as she steps out of the car and hears the cacophony of the cheering crowd, packed into a long narrow strip running the length of the red carpet.

After a few deep breaths, Eloise shakes out the soft pleats of her silk skirt and tightens her hold on Stevie's hand. When Charles finishes chatting with the producer, her turns to her with a flourish. "Okay, it's show time, doll! Relax, and remember, if you're not feeling it, then just bloody act it!". Stevie's chuckle prompts hers too. Why didn't she think of that?

As they near the front of the queue for the photographers, Eloise can't help but turn around when the crowd cheers loudly again.

Her gaze falls on Harry immediately; straightening up as he buttons his jacket after opening Anne's door. Knowing he's nearby only bolsters her confidence that little bit more, and, soon enough, she's ushered in front of the pack of photographers with a genuine, beaming smile.

>

Near enough each other on the red carpet, flanked by Jeff and Anne, and Charles and Stevie, respectively, Harry and Eloise have to deflect a fair few questions about each other.

"I haven't actually seen him on the carpet yet, actually". Eloise is quickly caught in a fib when she promptly peers back down the carpet, only to immediately catch his eye. Oops.

Confident she's the better actor, he doesn't even bother trying, knowing his uncontainable smile each time he catches sight of her would just give the game away anyway. "Yeah, she looks stunning", he looks longingly up the line, "I'm just so, so proud of her".

They continue trading coy glances up and down the carpet.

>

With the show due to start promptly, Eloise, trying to hang back just inside the door to wait for Harry, is ushered quickly along.

Bidding goodbye to Charles for him to go and find her family somewhere in the tiered seating around the edge of the room, she doesn't have time for much more than a cursory glance at the table plan. It's like looking for a needle a haystack, so she's relieved when a production assistant helps them out and then offers to escort her and Stevie to their table in the already dimmed function room.

Spotting Christopher Nolan, Eloise is thrilled to learn their tables are almost back to back, near the front, close to the stage.

Someone, somewhere, has done them an absolute solid. And she can't even bring herself to care if it was a scheming producer, hoping for some opportunistic shots; not when she can have Harry directly in her sights all night, seated just eight or so feet away.

More than a little starstruck, by the time she's done the rounds greeting everyone else at Reese's big table - mostly the Big Little Lies cast, with just her, Stevie, Sam and their director, Jim, making up the Daisy Jones & The Six contingent - Eloise looks up to spot Harry, beaming as he heads directly towards her, flanked by his mum and rowdy cast mates. Tom, Jack and Fionn are also representing Dunkirk tonight.