"It's just- before I lose you in the crowd" Tom starts, "I uh… I have a premiere tomorrow evening, and one of my good friends who was planning on coming can no longer make it." He hesitates and looks at you thoughtfully. "Anyway, I was wondering if I could, perhaps, tempt you to accompany me."

Your eyes widen and your mouth falls partially open in surprise at his unexpected invitation. The moment is awkwardly prolonged by your inability to speak. Tom shifts his weight and bites his lower lip, but keeps his eyes locked on you hopefully.

"Tom," you start, "I- I'd absolutely love to, but I couldn't possibly impose..." you muster.

"Puleeease," he objects, "it would be a delight to have you by my side. Much more so than an empty chair." His reassuring smile makes you melt.

"Alright," you agree.

Tom's face lights up with child-like enthusiasm. "Excellent!" he says, relieved. He pulls his phone out of his pocket. "Do you have classes tomorrow?" he asks.

"Just one," you retort, "but I guess I can miss it."

"No no, I wouldn't dream of you missing school. We can work around your schedule. What time is your class?"

"Two to three."

"Perfect," he says, typing it into his phone. "We can go dress shopping in the morning if you like. Unless you already having something you want to wear, in which case I'd just need to coordinate my tie."

Tom Hiddleston wants to coordinate his tie to my outfit! Wait, is this a date? No. No! Don't be stupid. It's just for the press.

"Shopping sounds good," you say, trying to remind yourself to breathe.

"How's, say 9am? Gives us enough time to look around and have a bit of lunch before we get you back to school…then I'll be by again around 5 to pick you up."

"Perfect," you agree.

Tom puts your number and address in his phone and thanks you for being patient as he does so. Then he takes your hand and walks you back to where your friend is standing- back to where he found you.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he announces, bowing slightly. "So sorry to have kept you waiting," Tom apologizes to your friend. "Enjoy the rest of your evening ladies." And with that, he disappears into the sea of people in the ballroom.

To be continued…