The cameras flashed and shutters whirled as the driver opened the door of the limousine. I felt my heart pounding, racing as I could already hear the crowd of paparazzi and photographers swarming outside the premier
I was wholly uncomfortable here. This was not something that I would normally do, and under normal circumstances, not somewhere I would ever find myself. I was not used to this, not used to the crowded environment or attention which was about to come my way. But I had been asked to come here by my best friend, who had been there for me as long as I could remember.
As the cameras flashed, I was drawn back to the days of our youth, where we would run between the yard that connected our two houses, when we would play together from before day break until the last moments of the twilight. Those days had gone as we grew, school dragging me into the city, and a fortuitous casting when we were twelve leading her around the world.
Despite this, we stayed in touch. Stayed close. The technology of today made it easy to keep tabs on each other, to maintain the friendship we had developed as children. When the phone call came that she wanted me to attend the premier with her, I jumped at it, more than happy to get time with my friend.
The movie was called "Mantis" and from what I had been told, it chronicled the rise of a young businesswoman through the cutthroat world of high stakes business deals. And it stared my friend, Maisie Williams, as the lead.
It seemed an odd choice of casting, even to me, her friend. And Maisie had admitted to me on the way that she was nervous about it. That she had found herself second guessing her performance and whether she had what it took to be a leading actress on a movie like this. Playing this role was much different than being Arya Stark.
I was snapped back into the moment as Maisie wrapped her hand around my bicep and looked up at me.
"Mack" she said in a soft voice. "Let's go. The longer we wait, the more attention we will get"
I nodded and pulled myself out of the limousine, offering my arm out to Maisie once we were both standing. Even in her heels, she barely came up to my shoulders, the form fitting black dress she wore complimenting my black suit perfectly. I had been unfamiliar with properly tailored suits, but her stylist had made sure that I looked the part of someone who would have a leading lady on their arm.
Her hand again found my bicep as we began to walk, my arm instinctively pulling tight to my body, keeping up close. As we walked, there were numerous pictures and we had to stop for a could have quick interviews, but we kept moving as best we could.
Once we made it inside, we were led to our seats and settled in. Maisie seemed to grow more nervous as everyone took their seats. I watched as her toes rested on the ground, her knee bouncing up and down in a fast, rhythmic motion. It was a sign of her nerves I recognized well, dating back to when we would have tests in grade school. I rested my hand on her thigh with a firm grip, trying to calm the movements.
"It's going to be fine Maisie" I said, doing my best to be supportive of her in the moment. I hadn't expected her to have such nerves about things, not after shooting as much for Game of Thrones as she had. "I'm sure that you absolutely killed it"
"Thank you Mack" she said, her hand resting on mine as she looked over at me, her leg movements slowing as she spoke. "I knew you would be able to help calm me down. That's why I wanted you to be here with me. I...I needed to have someone I could trust here with me"
I smiled back over at her as she spoke, her words making me feel nice, feel important. Feel like the distance that had grown between us had not been as great as I had feared. A part of me wanted to ask what had her so nervous, why she felt she needed someone that she could trust to be here with her. But I left the question unasked.
The movie started much as any other would, the characters on screen going about their days, meeting and interacting. Maisie was present from the beginning, a young woman using everything she could to get ahead.
"Maisie" I whispered about twenty minutes in, not wanting to disturb anyone else in the theater, but feeling drawn to say words of support. "You're doing really well with this. I'm so proud of you"
The Maisie on screen was a picture of pure confidence. Moving and speaking without hesitation, controlling the room and situation she was in during each and every scene. The Maisie sitting next to me was anything but. Her leg was bouncing again, her thumb picking at the point where her nail and cuticle met. With each passing minute, she seemed to grow more and more nervous.
The reason why became clear when her character needed information about a merger between two companies. She had one of the executives of the larger firm in her office, trying to get the details of when the deal would be made public, when she would be able to use this information to her advantage.
The man was reluctant. But Maisie was persistent. As the scene culminated, I knew exactly why she had been so nervous. Her character locked the door to the office, pushed the man down into her chair.
What followed was not tasteful like her sex scene in Game of Thrones had been. There were no forgiving camera angles. No fading to black or scene shifts to preserve modesty. She stripped fully and then was shown in detail as she used her body to weaken the man's resolve. For the next two minutes, her moans and grunts were all that was heard over the speakers of the theater.
I found myself staring at the screen, watching intently as the woman I had known since childhood was shown in the most intimate of details. I had always found Maisie to be an attractive woman, but seeing her like this, it changed how I viewed her, changed how I looked at her. It made me painfully aware of two facts: that my hand was still on her thigh from where I had been trying to calm her leg, and that my cock was rock hard, straining against the material of my suit pants as we watched the rest of the movie.
It took a few moments for me to gather myself and look over at Maisie. She had pulled herself back into the seat, as if she could disappear into the leather itself if she just tried hard enough. I didn't have the words to say in the moment, so I simply sat quietly, trying to be a supportive presence for her.
As soon as the movie ended, there was a buzz in the room. The critics say ere speaking highly of it, the directors and cast seeming to be quite pleased with themselves and the response they were getting. Everyone except for Maisie seemed to be quite pleased with everything in the moment.
We couldn't simply leave, as much as I could tell that Maisie wanted to. We had to make small talk, everyone seeming to want to go out of their way to tell her how well she had done, how commanding of a performance she had put on. Each comment just seemed to make her more uncomfortable and we kept moving as best we could, until eventually we made it out of the theater and back to the limousine
Once we were inside and alone, I finally spoke.
"Maisie" I said with a smile on my face. "You. Were. Amazing. You completely controlled the room with every scene."
She looked over at me, her eyes seeming to fight off tears a bit.
"I wasn't right for the role" she said softly. "She was supposed to be someone powerful. Sexy. Enthralling."
I let out a heavy sigh and reached over, taking her hand gently in mine as we sat. I knew Maisie had always been overly critical of her own work, but this seemed even more so than usual.
