Chapter Text
Wylan blinks and keeps the smile he has plastered on his face. Bright flashes of light and people calling his name all blur into a chaotic background.
“Wylan!”
“Wylan!”
“Mr. Van Eck!”
It’s exhausting, honestly. But still, Wylan feels nothing but gratitude that he is at the Oscars, even just to be nominated. The youngest in his category! It really is an honor. So he deals with the awkward press interviews and the slews of photographers. He even goes over to meet some of his fans who are holding signs with his name and face plastered on them.
“Hi!” One girl exclaims, tears in her eyes. She sucks in air desperately as her poster of his shakes like a leaf in her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Wylan says, smiling at her enthusiasm. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Taylor! I’m your biggest fan. I love your work so much!”
“Well Taylor, it’s very nice to meet you,” Wylan said. “Thanks for coming to support me, I really appreciate it.” He crouched down to be in a selfie with her, then moved on to the next fan.
As he moved down the line, signing and taking photos, Wylan’s manager/bodyguard gently tugged at his arm. Inej, although appearing small, was extremely powerful and dangerous. Wylan would not hesitate to put his life in her hands, and it didn’t hurt that she was one of his oldest friends.
“Wylan, you’re such a pushover. Come on, we have to get going. The ceremony will start without you.”
Wylan reluctantly left to enter the building, but as he began walking in, his palms began to sweat. He could feel his face turning that one specific shade of red that he could not get rid of, not matter what. Not that he was nervous for the awards themselves, though, because he felt fairly certain he did not have a chance of winning. He was just happy to be able to attend the awards at all, and be in the presence of his celebrity crush: Jesper Fahey.
-
Even the thought of being in the same room as Jesper and setting eyes on him in person was enough to make Wylan nervous - too nervous to be going on national television in a matter of minutes.
“Calm down,” Inej urged. “You’re famous too, or did you forget?”
Wylan jumped, “how do you always do that??” She had seemingly materialized on one side of him, when he could have sworn she was on his other side one second ago. “That’s not why I’m nervous. He probably doesn’t even know I exist.”
“Even though you’re nominated for the same category. He doesn’t know you exist. Sure. ” Inej hummed her dissent. They entered the room, full of beautiful people dressed in designer clothes and cameras everywhere. Celebrities sat at almost every table, Wylan felt almost immediately like he did not belong. It must have been some kind of cosmic fluke that he was nominated in the first place. Deep breaths, Wylan. Deep breaths.
A plate of delicious-looking appetizers carried by a waiter passed by, and Wylan couldn’t help but watch them ravenously as they passed. He hadn’t eaten since that morning, not wanting to look bloated in his suit. He would kill for some of Nina’s waffles right now. As his eyes tracked the plate, Wylan felt his shoe catch on something. And before he knew it, he was losing his balance, and what must have been some very expensive flooring was rushing up to meet him. How embarrassing , he thought idly. Tripping at my first awards show. I hope no one is recording this .
But before he could faceplant completely, a pair of well-toned arms in a very expensive suit caught him. They both wobbled, but Wylan felt himself being gently hoisted up and set on his feet. Wylan’s face instantly flooded with color, and he felt his palms begin to sweat again. He couldn’t even bring himself to look up and thank his savior.
Until he heard a deep voice say, “ah, my competition.”