Expectations

Chapter 13

When Shay is done getting the flour out of Alex's hair, she quickly styles it and applies some light makeup to his face. Once she's satisfied with his look, she lets us go and we walk down the hall to a room where all of the press and interviews are going to be held.

One by one, throughout the morning and afternoon, I let interviewers into a room to speak with Alex for their allotted time, as written on my schedule. It's amusing to sit in on the interviews and listen some of them ask the most ridiculous questions. Some interviewers even got him to play quirky games during their time. Regardless, it's a long process watching interview after interview that consists of similar questions go on for about three hours.

When the last interviewer leaves the room I give her a small smile before walking over to Alex who is leaning back in his chair and letting out a relieved sigh.

"Thank God, the worst part is over," he says, running his hands over his face. "I'm sorry, but if one more person asks me how excited I am for the show tonight or how this tour is going to be different from the others I'm going to explode."

I can't help but let out a small giggle and shoot him a sympathetic smile. Nearly every interviewer did ask him that question, and there were only a number of ways he could change up his answer to not be so repetitive and robotic. I have to admit, even I was getting a little bored of that question.

"Let's go to lunch, I'm starving." He stands up and rubs a hand over his stomach.

We walk down the hall to where catering is set up and grab our lunch, sitting down at an empty table. Most of the tables are empty, only a few people are throughout the room considering it's 2:00 p.m. and most of the crew got to eat around noon.

Alex lets out a sigh and grabs his sandwich, taking a few bites. Now that I'm sitting right next to him and able to see him up close, I can see his eyes hold a slight dullness to them and they're laced with a bit of hardness, an utter contrast to this morning. I also detect some agitation as his leg bounces up and down under the table and he has his eyes are cast down, not looking at anything in particular.

"Hey." I gently touch his forearm, gaining his attention as he stops mid chew to look at me. "Are you good?"

He lets out a breath through his nose, finishing up chewing and setting his sandwich down before wiping his hands over his jeans. "Yeah, I just didn't get much sleep last night." He runs a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends and sitting up straighter. "Then having to do interviews for over three hours doesn't really help. I guess I'm just still really nervous about tonight."

I nod and purse my lips in understanding. I can see he's hitting a wall and needs some comfort and reassurance to troop forward.

"You're going to do great tonight. I've seen the show and how hard you've been working. Everything will go just fine," I try to reassure him. "Heck, I'm sure most of these girls would even pay a hundred dollars and give you a standing ovation just to watch you stand there and breath," I try to joke, and my heart swells a bit when a genuine smile tugs at his lips.