Page 28 of Sebastian's Baby

6

LEVEL 6 – Movie Night

“Sebastian!What do you have to say about the trial?”

We’re running what we call The Gauntlet at a movie premiere in Los Angeles on a Sunday night. This reporter is the fifth to ask me about the trial, which started this week.

“We probably have less information than you, I’m afraid.” I give the woman a charming smile, and she giggles.

“Fair enough. Are you looking forward to the movie?”

“Absolutely. Darius Thompson’s first time directing? I can’t wait to see what he’s done.”

“Were you excited to be asked to be on the soundtrack?”

I grin because although the contracts were all done officially, Darius asked Gabriel if he could use one of our songs when he was at a family dinner with Ariana.

“Yeah, of course. It’s always an honor when people value your work and want to include it in their own art.”

“Sebastian!” someone else calls, and I move toward them but look for my friends at the same time.

Somehow, I’ve ended up ahead of them on the red carpet. I answer the new reporter’s questions and pose for a couple of photos before I stand back and wait for the guys to catch up.

“All good?” Hayden asks when he reaches me.

“Yeah, just waiting for your slow asses.” I grin at him.

“Harrison and Heather are being hammered pretty hard,” he murmurs to me.

I look back at our friends and cringe as I watch them. Both have media training ingrained in them, but Heather is holding herself a little straighter than she normally would, and Harrison is holding on to her hand as though he’s drowning and she’s his lifeline.

“Damn. The sooner we get inside, the better.”

Hayden nods his head. “I agree.”

They reach us a few minutes later, and we do the rest of the red carpet together. It allows Gabriel and me to field more of the questions, and I’m careful to stand as far from Heather as I can when we take group pictures, choosing to stand on the other side of Ariana instead. As much as I find our joke funny, I don’t want to do anything to make this whole thing more stressful for everyone.

We finally make it into the theater, and almost immediately, we’re greeted by Darius and Susan Thompson, who were a short way ahead of us on the red carpet. Ariana’s face splits into a bright smile when we walk over to them.

“Aunt Susan, Uncle Darry! It’s good to see you,” she says as she hugs them.

“Ariana, dear. What an exciting night. I’m glad you’re here,” Susan says.

“Are Lucas and Anabelle here?” she asks.

Susan nods. “Yes, they’re already inside with their friends.”

“Gentlemen, it’s good to see you. I want to thank you again for allowing us to use your song. It works perfectly in the film,” Darius says.

“No problem, Darry. It was an honor that you wanted to include us.” Gabriel gives him a smile.

We move on in the big lobby area, greeting a few other celebrities we know before I see a group of about five people, who I’m sure are fans, hovering nearby and looking nervous.

I smile at them and say, “Hi, guys. Did you want to get a pic?” A couple of them nod at me. “Come on over, then.”

They move to stand with us, and a couple of them hand their phones to Heather and Ariana, who take our pictures before they thank us and walk away, chattering excitedly with one another and looking at the pictures we took.

As we head toward the VIP area, I recognize April from behind, and from the long blonde hair of her companion, I’m guessing she’s with Julia Shepherd, who is an actress friend of hers.

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