F o r t y - T h r e e

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As opposed to a standard winter for Manon, spent in a luxurious mansion her parents owned, or in a small, vacant apartment, she found herself standing behind an opulent blind, a dress her parents would surely be proud of her for wearing hugging her body, her face painted to fit the glamorous scenario, though she was sure it was not necessary. She doubted anyone would look her away, that night wasn't about her, it was about the hard work of many others, and though she was lucky to have been present throughout the process, she could not take credit for it.

"Are you sure you don't want to go out there? You look so beautiful" He uttered to her, viewing her as the beauty she was, catching him breathless each time he spared her a glance. Manon wasn't one to dismiss her beauty, she loved herself, but in her own way, and it surely was far from the center of her life, so of course Timothée liked to spend his time reminding her just how breathtaking she was to him. 

"I'm sure" She mumbled confidently, brushing his offer off with her palm "No one knows who I am, it's weird" Manon shrugged her shoulder at the thought of going beyond the blind, where stood a crowd of people, adorned with professional cameras and phones, where she would be scrutinized under the public eye, for being absolutely no one.

"No one knows who I am either" Timothée giggled, his hand entwined with hers. He acted for his entire life, but it was only recently that he had truly perused it after his graduation. He wasn't sure whether he would do well, the industry was a difficult place to get into, but he was willing to try, keep the promise he had made to the girl when they were young, that they would go far with their dreams, as far as they could.

"But they will" Manon bit her lip at the idea that crossed her mind more than she wanted to admit, confident that a day would come and he would no longer be the little boy from New York or a distant village in France. She believed in him more than anyone else did, recognized his ambition, passion, and talent. He was everything and more, and she wholeheartedly believed that a day would come, and he would be anything but no one. Her only wish was to be by his side, watch him grow, cheer for him in the sidelines. And perhaps one day, she too would take the stage for one of her own projects, but that day was far from reach.

"Maybe, but I don't care about that, I've got you and that's what matters" Timothée kissed her cheek, holding onto her hand for a moment longer, before pulling away and leaving for the red carpet ahead of him. 

Manon stood in her place and watched him with much adoration. In a world with so much pain, she had a perfect world of her own in front of her, and that was more than she could ever ask for.

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"It's happening" The girl shuffled in her seat, sitting beside Timothée as the large screen in front of them stared back at them blankly, though soon to be filled with distant memories of the spring spent months ago together. It would be their first time watching the project, as opposed to recalling it out of their own shared memories, and Manon couldn't help but prance in her seat, seeming to be far more excited than the nervous duo beside her.

And it wasn't long before the famed director Luca marched onstage with a luxurious tuxedo of his own, tapping the microphone set up on the small stage for him to speak of the intro. Yet as opposed to telling everyone of a well-prepared speech meant to thank the participants, or introduce the project, before leaving the stage and letting the experience overtake everyone as it had overtaken anyone who had worked on the project, he spoke of another story, one not belonging to the movie they had filmed, but to a particular girl in the crowd.

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