Break Down Your Walls

[19]

~𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴~

Charlie finishes curling the last bit of my hair while I finish up my makeup and when I look at myself in the mirror, I can't help but smile. I actually look and feel beautiful.

"I can't believe you get to go in a limo! You have to tell me if it's just as amazing as everyone makes it out to be!" Her smile widens as she looks at me through the mirror.

"A masterpiece." She adds, giving me a small hug from behind, trying not to touch my hair. I squint my eyes and let out a small chuckle.

"Thanks, Charlie." I say as I begin to get up from my vanity chair. "And don't worry, I'll definitely give you all the details!" I assure her, slipping on my black heels.

I run a hand down my dress and let out a long sigh. "I really don't want to mess this up. And after what happened yesterday, I'm not sure how I'm going to react when I see Mr. Holland." I look down at my hands before crossing my arms in front of my chest self consciously.

Charlie walks up and moves my arms away, giving me "the look." You know that look that your best friend gives you when you are being ridiculous? That look.

"You've got this, y/n! Don't let your insecurities prevent you from having a good time." She gives me her widest reassuring smile. She's right. I got this!

I look down at my phone to check the time. Crap! If I don't leave now, I'll be late! I quickly kiss Charlie's cheek. "Thank you so much for helping me get ready!" I spit out as I try and grab everything I think I'll need.

"Anytime! Now go! I'll be waiting here for you." She shoves me out the door and I try and make it down to my car as fast as I can, which isn't very fast in these ghastly heels.

In about twenty minutes, I get to my usual parking spot outside the office building and I can see Abby standing outside along with Haz. Abby looks amazing! She's wearing a haltered black gown that flows out at her feet. Haz is looking...very handsome. His hair is intentionally messed up and he is wearing a black suit and tie.

I don't see Mr. Holland anywhere, but I do see a white limo sitting in front of the building. I take a deep breath before gaining the courage to get out of my car. I quickly fix my sleeves to be more off the shoulder and the slit of my dress shows with every step I take.

"Y/n?!" Abby exclaims, catching a glimpse of me. My face goes red and I look down slightly, but then I remember what Charlie said about not letting my insecurities get in the way of my night. I mentally slap myself out of my bubble before lifting my head with confidence.

"Is it that obvious?" I ask with a small chuckle. While I continue to walk towards them, I look over to see Haz, his eyes wide.

"You look amazing." He says after a few seconds. I join in with their small group, gripping my purse in my hands.

"Thank you." I put on a small smile, trying to keep my cool. "You both look amazing. You clean up very well." I give them both a wink, looking over my shoulder towards the limo.

"What are we waiting for?" I ask, wondering why we can't just wait for Mr. Holland in the limo.

"We were just waiting for you, actually. Mr. Holland, the agents, and the two actors being presented are already in the limo. We just wanted to make sure you knew where to go." Abby says, linking arms with me as we begin to walk towards the long white vehicle.

"Oh, I didn't mean to keep you all waiting." I say, looking over at Haz.

"You didn't, everyone else was just early." He says, letting out a quiet chuckle. I reply with a grateful smile and once we get to the limo, someone hops out of the driver's seat and opens the door for us.

"Thank you." I say while getting in the limo along with Abby and Haz. Once I enter, there are so many seats that I don't know which to sit in, so I let Abby choose first before sitting next to her.

I look over to see the others on either side of the limo while Mr. Holland is directly across from me, Haz sitting next to him. I lock eyes with Tom, his cheeks getting slightly red. I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, but I don't move my gaze off of my boss.

"Mr. Holland, you're blushing." I say, a small smirk forming on my lips. Meanwhile the other people in the limo look at me like I am crazy for saying something like that to my boss, except for Abby and Haz of course. "Should we request for the air conditioning to be turned on?" I tease.

He looks frazzled for a moment before he shakes his head and looks towards the window. "No." He says simply. Seeing him all worked up like this gives me an adrenaline rush, one that I don't want to stop.

"Alright, if you say so." I look away from him as well, my own face going red as I recall how charming he looked in that moment when our eyes couldn't move off of each other.

His hair is slightly greased back to try and keep the curls tamed, but there are still a few stubborn pieces that poke out. He also looks so classy in his black suit and bow tie, that can't be ignored.

I feel a light nudge on my arm and I look over at Abby who mouths, "What was that?" I only give her a smile and a small shrug. Then she gives me the look.

"I was only asking if he was warm." I tease her as well, knowing I'm not giving her the answer she is looking for.

She rolls her eyes with a "yeah right" expression and we both let out quiet giggles and I can see Tom looking over at us from the corner of my eye.

I give him a small smile, but instead of getting one in return, he looks away again, placing a hand over the bottom half of his face. What happened when I snapped at him that made him so...fragile?

The rest of the ride to the gala is filled with Abby and I laughing and dancing in our seats to the songs on the radio, not caring one bit about the strangers watching us in the limo. The driver even put on the disco lights after hearing it was my first time in a limo and Haz pulled out some champagne out of a cooler that was under a seat.

I clink glasses with Abby and then take a big swig of the bubbling liquid. I can't believe there was a cooler under a seat!

"There is a reception after the awards. Don't waste away in the limo." Mr. Holland says with a disgusted tone. That was the first thing he' said in the past thirty minutes.

"It's only one glass. Maybe you should have one, sir." I suggest with a teasing attitude. He simply scoffs and then looks back out the darkened window.

"Excuse me, Miss. What is your name again?" One of the actors looks at me, his light green eyes looking me up and down with a small smile.

"Y/n. I'm Mr. Holland's secretary. And yours?" I ask, curious as to why he is suddenly interested in my existence.

"Steven." He says simply, Mr. Holland quickly looking our way before turning away again.

"You are one of the actors for the company, correct?" I ask, wishing he would keep his eyes up where mine were.

"Yes, Miss. Maybe I'll be able to buy you a drink later at the reception bar?" He suggests. Man, he's bold to ask that in front of six other people.

"Depends on my mood, Mister Steven." I play hard to get because honestly, I don't feel comfortable being anywhere close to alone with this man.

"I'll hold you to that, Miss y/n." Can he just shut up already? Please and thank you!

As we pull up towards the red carpet area leading towards the entrance of the huge building, I can't help but think that tonight will be an excitingly scary night and my adrenaline is kicking in full throttle.
~ ~ ~
Hey guys, so I updated! Haha, hope y'all are happy! There will probably be a few gala chapter since there's a lot that's going to go down, so be prepared ;)

Also, seeing all of y'all's encouraging comments really make my day and I seriously can't thank you all enough and tell you how much it means to me!

I'm not really sure what else to say because I'm an awkward fanfic writer 😂 Kk, bye! I'll catch y'all in the next part <3

~Aidan