began to slow, and Kaylee looked out thewindowto see what was happening. The sides of the streets were barricaded, and there wassecurity allaround. They sat still for a few minutes, then crawled forward one spot. The cycle repeated until they were at the drop off point.
Kaylee looked at Ashton and nearly laughed. He was chewing on his lip nervously as he waited for the doors to open. It was very unusual to see him nervous, but he was definitely that and then some. She wanted to tease him, but she was nervous too, so she bit back the snarky remarks she wanted to make.
"You ready for this?" Kaylee asked instead.
Ashton turned to her. "I think so. Just smile the whole time, right?" he asked.
"You got it. Piece of cake!" Kaylee said cheerfully.
Ashton reached out and grabbed Kaylee's hand as the door to the limo was opened from the outside. Everyone filed out of the limo, leaving Ashton and Kaylee to get out last. He crawled out as well as possible, then turned to offer his hand to Kaylee. When she stepped out of the limousine, the reporters began hollering for attention and the lights were suddenly popping everywhere around them, almost blinding them both.
Seeing all the flash bulbs go off, and hearing all the reporters calling, Ashton froze. He forgot what he was supposed to say or do. He wasn't smiling, and he wasn't walking. He simply stood there, looking a little lost and rather scared. Kaylee gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and a wide, radiant smile. His confidence returned as he led Kaylee down the red carpet entrance.
All around them, people were yelling and asking how it felt to be nominated for an award. The red carpet was blocked off on both sides, but the reporters jostled for position, pushing in as much as they could. It felt like a corridor of madness. Microphones were shoved in their faces, and flash bulbs spotted their eyes. They stopped at a few of the well-known interviewers, and politely answered a few questions. The whole time, they were eagerly making their way to the doors of the American Airlines Arena.
The red carpet took much longer than anyone might have thought; what appeared to go by in a flash on television crawled along for over an hour on the carpet. Once inside the flash bulbs stopped, and even with everyone talking at once, it was a lot quieter than having the reporters yelling their questions.
Kaylee looked down and realized that Ashton still had his hand intertwined with hers. He hadn't let go of her the entire time, even as he talked to reporters and smiled for the cameras. For some reason, it made her smile.
The others headed to their seats, while Ashton and Kaylee stayed in the lobby for a few minutes. He didn't seem to want to go into the main room; in fact, Ashton looked pale, and Kaylee realized exactly how nervous he was. "Hey, you okay?"
"You know, I don't think I've ever been this nervous. This is such an important moment for us as a band, and for our future. I know that it's a long shot for us to win, but I am going to be disappointed if we don't. I know it's just a bunch of metal, but it's important metal." He looked around the room. "Look where we are, Kaylee. Look at all these people. We don't belong here, we are so out of our league."
"No," she said, looking around. "You're newcomers. But everyone was a newcomer at some point, right? Does that make them any less worthy?"
Ashton smiled at her and let out a deep sigh of relief. "That's exactly what I needed to hear, Kaylee."
"It's the truth, isn't it?"
His smiled broadened. "It is. Thank you."
Kaylee grinned up at him. "Time to shine, superstar. Let's go in."
His hand squeezed hers again as they walked down the aisle to their seats. Making their way to their spot, Kaylee looked at everyone in the crowd. She couldn't believe all the famous people she recognized, and it gave her a little jolt. The realization of how truly momentous this night was finally hit her. This was the big time - the real big time - and they were all a part of it.
Ashton was also humbled. He saw so many people he had idolized, and never thought he would see them in person, let alone be sitting next to them at an awards show. This was the kind