Chapter 8: kissin' and fightin'
FLASHBACK
Chris and Scarlett shared a look after reading the text messages they got. They had both received the same text message from one of the Russo brothers, telling them whether or not they would be shooting the mall scene today or tomorrow. The two friends stared at each other.
Scarlett's face burst into a joyful smile while Chris pouted and held out his tongue at her. She had won, which meant he had lost his hoodie.
Anthony Russo:
We won't have time to shoot the mall scenes tonight, we had some technical problems. Instead we're filming them tomorrow morning, we're going to have to push back a bit the schedule so be there tomorrow at 8am sharp. Good Night, guys.
"You see, I told you! I was right, we aren't shooting any night scenes." She held up her phone in victory, shaking it a little bit and laughed when he rolled his eyes at her. "Come on, Evans, take your shirt off."
Chris couldn't help the blush that was forming on his cheeks. "Yeah, yeah." He dismissively said and tried not to show the disappointment on his face. He had really hoped to be right but the possibility of that happening was low. He grabbed the hem of his hoodie and pulled it off his body. He arranged the shirt he had underneath and handed her the cloth. "There you go. Take good care of it."
"You're making it sound like I'm taking away your favorite toy." She commented with an amused smile. It might sound silly, but to her eyes he did look like he was giving up the most precious thing in his life. "It's in good hands, I promise to feed it and wash it. I'll even walk it outside." She joked, barely managing to hold back her laughter.
"Ha, ha, ha." Chris let out a fake laugh but was actually amused by her. He watched her as she proudly smiled at her own humor. "You're hilarious." He shook his head and checked the time on his phone. "Well, as much as it was fun losing to you, I think I should head to bed. Night, Scarly."
Scarlett looked up at him as she played with the hoodie in her hands. "Chirs, wait." She called out when he was about to enter his trailer.
He turned around and looked down at her. "Yeah?"
"I-" She cleared her throat as she looked up at him. "Damn it." She tiptoed and grabbed the back of his head, crashing her lips against his in a languorous kiss. He instantly kissed her back, setting his hand on her cheek to bring her closer. Scarlett's lips moved with his and after a minute, she pulled back. Chris was as breathless as she was. "You said that if they texted in the next five minutes, you'd win." She explained once she regained her breath. "So, I guess we both won. Goodnight, Chris."
Scarlett gave him a soft smile and climbed down the two steps before walking to her own trailer and disappearing inside. Chris watched her leave with his mouth half open. He hadn't expected to kiss her tonight. He thought about the situation and she was right, they had both won. His eyes grew at least three sizes as he realized something. She kissed him. Scarlett kissed him and it was amazing. He forgot how much he loved the feeling of her lips on his. The last time he had kissed her was on the set of The Nanny Diaries, and that was years ago.
"Wow." Chris breathed out and a small smile appeared on his lips.
PRESENT DAY
"We were hanging out the evening before we shot the mall scenes and we were outside your trailer. I got cold and you gave me your hoodie. When I wanted to give it back, you said to keep it. So I did and I love wearing it." Scarlett explained.
Chris looked at Scarlett who had gone up to the bedroom area to brush her hair. "It isn't what happened." He said with a soft voice as he watched her pass the hairbrush through her hair. "We kissed." His voice resonated with absolute disbelief.
"What?" She frowned, lifting her head up to look at him and setting her hairbrush on the bed.
His eyes met hers and he nodded a couple of times as the memory flooded back his brain. "That day. I didn't give you the hoodie, you won it. We bet on something and you wanted my hoodie." He gestured with the tip of his fingers to the hoodie she was wearing. He momentarily paused and scratched the top of his head. "If I had won the bet, I'd have kissed you. But I gave you my hoodie then you kissed me."
Scarlett's head snapped to him and she narrowed her eyes at him. She could see him look at her with intensity but she dismissively shook her head as she slipped some socks on her feet. "That didn't happen." She said in a defensive tone. "Anyway, let's rehearse. I'd hate to have my toes stepped on."
"Scarlett, it did happen." He insisted with a frown. He watched her get up from the bed and walk over to where he was standing. "I don't want to make a big deal out of it, okay? But I know it happened. I see it, I remember it."
"And five minutes ago you didn't even remember about your stupid hoodie!" She harshly snapped, glaring at him. "It doesn't matter what happened, it doesn't matter how I got the hoodie, okay? So, just drop the damn subject."
Chris' head jerked back in surprise as his eyes widened. He sighed and gave her a small smile as he nodded his head. He didn't want to anger her any more than she already was, so he just did as she asked and dropped the subject. But his mind was going insane with thoughts, he couldn't comprehend why she got mad. Or even why she was pretending they hadn't kissed when they had.
"Now that it's clear, let's dance." She spoke up, her eyes softer than a few seconds ago.
Chris blinked a couple of times as he looked at her and slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, okay." He mumbled and turned to face the bookshelf where his phone was. He clicked on the screen of his phone with his fingertip and the music immediately began, resonating through the silence of the apartment.
He marched back to where she was and held out his hand for her to take. Scarlett grabbed his hand and was pulled closer to his body. He set his other hand at the base of her waist as her hand placed itself on his shoulder. "1, 2, 3." He whispered to himself as he began dancing with her. He could feel her staring up at him but his eyes weren't on her; They were on the ground, watching his feet move around. "1, 2, 3." He quietly repeated as he swiftly moved around the little dancing space.
"Wait," Scarlett spoke up and put a hand on his cheek, making him look down at her. She gave him an encouraging smile and said."You're thinking too much into it. You're troubled, you're gonna trip down and - as much as it would be hilarious to watch - I don't think it'd be so good for your self-esteem."
"I- I'm-" He fumbled with his words before releasing a sigh and letting go of her hand and of her waist. He passed a hand through his hair and caught her eye. "I don't understand."
"There's nothing to understand, you just move accordingly to-"
"I'm not talking about the dance." He interrupted her and shook his head back and forth. "Why are you reacting like that? Why is it so hard for you to admit that the kiss did happen?" He saw her shoulders slump down but he couldn't stop talking. "Am I such a horrible kisser? Or, I don't know, maybe I'm just a friend and you randomly blackout every romance moment we could have had. You know, it can happen. Like some sort of trauma. Although, I don't see how -"
"Chris! You're rambling on. Just stop talking." She held up her hands before setting them on his shoulders. "Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you, I shouldn't have. But I... Well, let's just say I'm not proud of what happened. Chris, you and I are friends. We aren't supposed to kiss. It's easier for me to pretend that nothing happened. Do you understand?"
"Yeah." He gave her a small unconvincing smile and grabbed one of her hands from his shoulder. He held her hand and squeezed it. "I shouldn't have insisted, tho."
A smile appeared on her face as her eyes softened. "It's fine."
The two friends shared a look and the apartment became silent again. Chris was the first one to look away, he glanced back to his phone then looked back at her. "We should probably rehearse. For real, this time."
"Yeah," She chuckled and got into position alongside him. " I know you can do it. Just look into my eyes, don't think about anything. I'm right here."
Mwah!
(not me who forgets to update the chapters there, too. Oops)
