#it makes me soooo mad :) like shows have to be Immediately Good And Profitable!!!

[jennycalendar]

thinking today about how parks and rec would not have survived in today's streaming-service climate. like at all. which stands as such a good example of What The Problem Is

[hoeassproductions]

Break A Leg: Chapter 7

Masterlist Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not own, possess, or have any links to Chris Evans, nor do I profit off of this work. Any claims otherwise are grossly misleading. This work is not to be posted anywhere else without my explicit permission. If you would like to be added to the tag list, reply here or send me an ask. I’d be happy to add you! Happy reading! Word Count: ~1,400 

The Best of Friends

On my way home, I do my best to distract myself by creating a mental list of all the things I need to do before Chris comes to get me. I start writing down all of the things I need to get done in the notepad I keep in my purse for moments like this.

Pay bills... water plants... empty fridge... not freak out about being alone with Chris for 4 hours driving to a secluded area…

I have a long list by the time I get to my car. Once I get home, I check the time.

2 hours. You got this!

I send a quick text to Eric asking about dress code and specifics about the trip. While I wait to hear back, I send Chris my address and let my mom know I'll be gone so she can come and water my plants. By then, Eric texts me back.

E: It's casual. Come prepared to move around.

That doesn't give me much to go on… so I got my suitcase out of the closet and pack a little bit of everything to cover all of my bases.

I bring the now packed to the brim suitcase to the front door and get to work on some of the other things on my list. Before I know it, it's a quarter after one and I still haven't heard from Chris. I look around my house to see all that I had accomplished in the short amount of time. Proud of myself, I pick up my phone to shoot Chris a text about being ready when I hear an abrupt knock on my door.

Through the side window, I can see that it's him. “Hey I was just about to text you. Let me grab my wallet and keys and we can go.”

As I walk to the end table on the other side of the living room, Chris assesses the living space he can see. “Nice place you got here” he says.

“Thanks” I say  sheepishly.

“This your bag?” he asks, motioning towards my suitcase.

I nod ‘yes’ to him as I walk in his direction.

“Great, ready to go?” he asks as he picks it up.

We walk out to the porch and I lock the door behind us as Chris goes to put my suitcase in his trunk then meets me at the passenger door to open it.

“Thank you, sir” I say as I lower myself into the seat, not breaking eye contact and giving him a smirk.

Chris is still standing in front of me holding the door open, his jaw hard set, when I have gotten myself settled into the seat and buckled in.

“Earth to Chris!”

“Yeah. Right.” he finally responds, breaking out of his daze.

Chris slams the door close just a little harder than necessary and walks around the front of the car while muttering something quietly to himself.

He gets in the driver’s side, grips the wheel until you can see the whites of his knuckles and takes a deep breath.

“I waited to get gas in case you wanted to get anything for the road” he says in a quiet, rough voice.

Without waiting for me to reply, he peels out of my driveway and down the road a few blocks towards the nearest gas station without saying another word.

Chris pulls up to the first empty pump. He fishes his wallet out of his pocket and hands me a 20. “My contribution for the snacks. Feel free to get whatever you want,” He says gruffly, then steps out of the car to start pumping the gas.

Trying to shake his tense mood, I go around the pump to go inside. I head straight for the bathroom and lock the door. 

Get it together, Y/N! He’s already being weird. Get a hold on yourself or you'll make this awkwardness worse. You need to lighten the mood.

I quickly pee and wash my hands. I leave the bathroom prepared to distract him with good snacks and my amazing road trip DJ skills.

I'll just play songs he can't resist singing along to. He'll have a better mood before we even leave the metro area.

I grab some snacks I like, some I think he will, and head for his car. With my arms full, I walk slow to not drop anything but I quickly realize that I can't see Chris in the car as I begin to cross the parking lot. Just getting in earshot, I can hear him on a phone call.

“Yes I know I need to calm down. I can't help it. You know how I can get when this happens and she has no clue… Ma, I know I need to say something but it's too early... I can't tell her… I love you too. Thank you for the advice and helping to ease me. I have to go. She will be back any minute…”

When I hear this, I quickly retreat a few feet back across the parking lot. Questions already bombarding my thoughts, I take a deep breath and act as if I've just arrived.

“OK, Evans. I hope you're ready to get this road trip started because I got the goods and some sick tunes!” I say as I round the gas pump and he comes into view.

Chris takes in the massive amounts of snacks and candies in my arms, and begins to laugh as he approaches to open my door for me. “You know it's only a few hours right?”

“Hey! If you aren't snack shopping for a road trip like an unsupervised 7 year old, you aren't doing it right.”

“Fair enough” he agrees. Once settled in my seat, I sort the snacks for now and later.

Chris gets in the driver’s seat and I begin to show him our stash for the next few hours.

“Okay, I got waters for each of us. Potato chips, red vines and jerky. The classics. Then some protein bars, because I didn't know what you've eaten today, some Cool Ranch Doritos and, my personal favorite, Starburst Jelly Beans.”

“You got jelly beans? Pop those suckers open! Full disclosure, I have zero control when these are in arm’s reach, so you better act fast!”

“A jelly bean lover? Man after my own heart! Now, on to some tunes. Do you have a genre in mind or you can take a chance on a playlist I already have for occasions such as this. Pick your poison.”

“Let's go with your playlist. Let's see what you got!”

With that, I hit shuffle and let fate, as well as my great music taste, decide our road trip soundtrack. Immediately, we both begin eating our snacks and enjoy singing to the music, happy to be getting the awkwardness out of the way.

Before too long, my mind begins to drift back to what I overheard earlier.

I know why I'm nervous but why is he?  He told his mom on the phone that it's too early to tell something, but what?  Maybe he’s up for a big part or something?

Combing through my thoughts, I didn't realize that I spaced out until Chris’ hand is waving in front of my face.

“Y/N, where'd you go?”

After being quiet for a few moments, I finally get the confidence to respond honestly. “I overheard some of your talk with your mom earlier-”

Before I can finish my questions, Chris enters into a coughing fit.

“Oh my God. Are you okay? Breathe. BREATHE!” I tell him as I pass a water bottle.

He takes a few gulps while trying to concentrate on the now open road. After he finishes off the bottle, he becomes very quiet.

“Chris, is everything alright? You seem pretty anxious…”

“I'm sorry Y/N, but I need to know what you heard. That was a private conversation.”

“I didn't mean to upset you. I only caught a little. You seemed anxious and upset, I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help you?

”Y/N,”Chris starts, his eyes now boring into you. “You've done enough” he says.

The rest of the ride is fairly silent, even missing our sing along. With about twenty minutes left, he grabs my hand in his and holds them together.

“I’m sorry. You mean a lot to me and I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Our friendship...yeah, me either. I understand. We’re good” I say to him as I force a smile.

Previous Chapter

A/N: It’s been soooo long, I know. I’m the worst. I’ve really struggled with having time to work on this story as well as finding a transition that felt right. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve for this retreat though, so stay tuned! Any feedback you have on this chapter, or how the story is progressing so far, please let me know!

I’ve done my best to update the taglist, but if you’re finding you’re not on, and want to be, let me know! New readers are always welcome!

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