"My God Catherine, you are gorgeous!" Sean proclaimed, as soon as she stepped into the room.
Jackie's head perked up and she looked over, allowing her eyes to slowly trail down Catherine's body and then back up until their eyes met. Jackie's somber face immediately lit up as the two exchanged a smile.
"Yeah she is," Jackie chimed in.
"Thanks. I'm just trying my hardest to look half as good as Jackie," Catherine winked.
"Honey please, don't make this girl's head get any bigger," Sean joked while poking Jackie.
Rachel's phone rang over everyone's laugher.
"Are we almost done here? That was the limo, he's downstairs."
"Yes, just a little more hairspray and we're all set," Sean said, spraying Jackie's hair one final time.
Catherine was hoping to get a minute alone with Jackie but before she knew it, the entire press was heading out the door with Jackie caught in the middle. As they approached the limo, it was requested that Tommy and Jackie sit alone in the back in order to be ready for the cameras. Catherine filed in with the others and tried to exchange a smile with Jackie, but she seemed to be preoccupied. When they were all seated, she glanced at her again but Jackie was staring out the window. Her hands were fidgeting with her purse. She was obviously distressed and it was killing Catherine to not being able to check in with her.
Jackie stared out the window and her stomach was in knots. In a few short minutes, Catherine would be entering her Hollywood world and she will be there in a front row seat. She was too nervous to even make eye contact with her, considering she was sitting next to Tommy. Suddenly she felt a hand on her leg, it was his. She nervously looked up at him.
"Are we cool?" He asked.
"Yeah. I'm just a little uneasy. There never get easier."
"You know you always loosen up after a few minutes. You'll be fine."
Jackie smiled at him, "Yeah, I know. Thanks Tommy."
She finally looked at Catherine, who was looking back with a smile on her face. There was so much the two of them wanted to say to one another and it was becoming painful not being able to do so.
Before they even arrived to the red carpet, they could hear the crows roaring down the street. Tommy leaned down to the fridge and grabbed some mini bottles, asking if anyone else wanted one.
"Yes please," Jackie desperately replied.
Tommy threw one to each person in the limo.
"Come on guys! Last U.S. premiere!"
Everyone reluctantly opened their bottles and cheered to Neptune 26. Jackie chugged her bottle in one fluid motion as Catherine struggled drinking just a sip of hers, covering her moth at the potency of it. Jackie leaned over and grabbed it from her before finishing that one as well, as Catherine looked back in shock.
"All right your two, get ready to go," Rachel said, directing her attention to Jackie and Tommy. "Here, take some mints. We don't need your fans and the reported smelling the vodka on your breath."
As soon as the car pulled up, a man in a tuxedo opened the door. Tommy got out first and then held his hand out for Jackie, as she nervously looked back at Catherine before exiting.
"Breathe," was the last thing she heard before stepping out into the pandemonium.
As Catherine exited the limo, she was suddenly caught up in the tornado of a Hollywood event. People were everywhere with headsets and clip boards, shouting so loudly that she was unsure how anyone could understand them. No wonder Jackie needed the liquid courage, to say this was overwhelming was an understatement. Sean was touching up Jackie's lipstick as she approached them, but both her and Tommy were quickly pulled away as soon as Catherine reached them.
"A lot to take in, huh?" Catherine heard Rachel say from behind her.
"Very much so," she replied.
"Just stay with me. We will be trailing in the background while they work their magic."
Before hitting the reporters, they entered a tunnel of fans. Jackie and Tommy were both making their way through the one, signing autographs and taking pictures with the crowd. One fan was hysterically crying and Catherine watched Jackie leaned over and gave her a hug. Right after, she knelt down to a young girl who was wearing a Tyler shirt and took a picture with her. Jackie was so goo with her fans. It warmed Catherine's heart seeing the exchange. Rachel went and grabbed Jackie and Tommy to bring them back to be touched up again before they went int front of the cameras. Jackie's cheery demeanour dropped as soon as she was away from the fans.
Rachel took notice, "What's up Jacks?"
"Nothing," she said shortly.
Her publicist overheard the conversation and cut in, "You need to drop this attitude right now before you get in front of those cameras and reporters. Also would it kill you to smile today?"
"Can you just get off my back for once?!" Jackie snapped back.
"Jackie shh, calm down. You don't want to make a scene here," Rachel said, putting herself in between Jackie and the publicist. "Just let her be. I'll take care of this."
Catherine was taken aback of Jackie's behaviour and decided to interrupt, "Do you mind if I talk to her alone for a minute?"
"Please do," Rachel said before stepping away.
"What's going on?" Catherine asked.
Jackie stayed silent as she clenched her jaw and looked off to the side.
"Hey, talk to me." It was extremely difficult to remember not to touch her.
"Give it thirty minutes and you will see. That is if you're still talking to the at that point," she said solemnly, still not making eye contact.
Catherine hated the fact that her being there was negatively affecting Jackie so much. She looked around to see if anyone could be eavesdropping, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
"I'm here to support you. Not to make things difficult. This is your job. Do it for those fans I just saw you light up for. Do what you need to do to make them happy."
Jackie finally looked her in the eyes.
"Go on Porcupine," she leaned into her one last time. "I know who you're going home with tonight. That's all that matters."
Jackie finally cracked a smile.
"You're such a tease," Jackie whispered.
Catherine flashed her a smirk, hoping their talk was enough to snap her back into her movie star role.
As Jackie walked away, she felt a sense of relief rush through her body. She was under immense pressure to make the fans, media, publicists and Tommy happy which in the return, would all directly hurt Catherine. The only person she wanted  to make her happy.
"Everything good now?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Jackie replied.
****
After reaching the photographers, Jackie posed on her own for a bit as the fans screamed in admiration. She finally began to feel at ease and gain the confidence she would need for the interviewees. Tommy stepped in and joined her which made the crowd scream every louder. He placed his harm around Jackie's waist and held her closely, as Jackie smiled big. He turned and kissed her on the cheek. At this point, the screams were deafening.
"I know he can be a jackass, but you can't deny the fact they look pretty great together. The fans adore them," Rachel said while staring at Jackie and Tommy.
"So I see," was all Catherine could respond.
She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if she ever joined Jackie at a premiere as her girlfriend. Would the fans adore them as much as they adore Jackie and Tommy?
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked.
Catherine obviously needed to work on her poker face.
"Yeah, just a little overwhelmed."
"Only a little longer, then we can all have some much needed drinks."
****
After pictures, Jackie was led straight into interviews. She didn't even attempted to talk, let alone look at Catherine, the entire red carpet. Catherine realised she was busy so she tried to not let it bother her, but she wasn't liking the fact that Jackie left her to fend for herself. Jackie knew how nervous Catherine was for this event and wasn't offering the same support that Catherine had given her. Perhaps Jackie was teaching her a lesson for not allowing them to be public yet. As Jackie made her way through each reporter, Catherine was able to stay close behind her and was able to hear every word.
"So how is the romance department? Anyone special in your life? Tommy perhaps?"
Jackie laughed, "That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"
She was given this question in varying forms from every single reporter on the carpet. It was all starting to become too much for Catherine, but she knew the pressure Jackie was under and needed to follow through on the pep talk she had given her. Through all of this, Catherine thought it was best to take a breather and distance herself from the group.
"I like to keep my personal life private but I'm in a very happy place right now," Jackie responded to the reporters.
"Is this a hint that maybe Tommy is the cause of this happiness?" Replied the reporters who were relentless at the subject.
Jackie laughed again, "We had a blast filming the movie and are having so much fun together promoting it. The fans and media will believe what they want to believe, but like I said before, my personal life is going to stay private."
After she thanked the reporters, she was offered a tiny break until the next one opened up. Things had moved so quickly that she was relieved to be given a moment to check in with Catherine, but when she turned back to talk to her, she was no whee to be found.
"Where's Catherine?" Jackie asked Rachel.
"She stepped away for a minute. I think this is a little too much for her."
Jackie began skimming her eyes through the crowd and suddenly realised how lost Catherine must had felt.
"Buy me some time, please Rachel?"
Before Rachel could respond, Jackie disappeared behind her.
A/n Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸