I Wish I'd Known (Chris Pratt Fanfiction)

Chapter 15

Paxton

The next few months can be summed up in one word:

Bliss.

Absolute bliss. We got to go public now, which in my mind I'd worked up to be this stressful thing that would make my world turn upside down. And maybe it would have if I'd been dating another celebrity it would have been, but not with Chris. He made my life as simple as possible. Our relationship wasn't complicated or messy. I could be myself around him and he around me. We were silly and absolute weirdos, but we still had those deep "stay up until 4AM" talks.

When he wasn't around me, I felt like a big part of me was missing. And when we were together, I felt like I was forgetting there ever having been a time that I was unhappy. 

Everyday was an adventure because we made it one. Picking up dry cleaning? Pretended to be a Romanian couple that believed in vampires. Red carpet event? Named off Sesame Street characters when a photographer asked us who we were wearing. Party or event? Competition to see who could hold the most babies. (And I won everytime.)

My semester at school was pushing on. I tried to distance myself from Conrad, considering the creepy vibe I got from him when we last spoke. But we needed to finish this project, so I had to bite the bullet. I called together a meeting with my group since Chris was out of town to New York to shoot some promo footage for an upcoming meeting.

"I heard there's a lady in New York who I might fall for," I recall him saying right before he left.

"Oh yeah? Is she French?" I quipped back.

"Oui, mon amour," he smiled kissing my cheek.

"Well I heard everyone in NYC has been inside her. You might wanna watch out," I said stone faced.

"I figured she was too good to be true. I mean, what kind of name is the Statue of Liberty anyways?"

"The stupidest," I said, showering him with kisses.

It was getting warmer now, but the chill still remained. I pushed through the rain that was falling, shivering from the droplets that had dripped down the back of my neck. As I walked into the university's library, I shook the water off me and took in the warmth. I found our study room and greeted my group mates gladly.

We were on the last part of the project, the final paper covering everything we did, including our thoughts on it.

Harmony, Emily, and I were bouncing ideas off one another while Conrad sat quietly, not contributing.

"I love delving deeper into all the different Freudian theories as much as the next person," I said to the girls,"but we need to remember that the basis of this paper needs to be around what we, as the experimenters, think of the outcomes we got in this project."

Harmony and Emily nodded in agreement, and I looked up to find Conrad's eyes boring into me. He was cold and distant today, definitely not like the usual Conrad.

"What do you think, Conrad?" I asked, hoping to get him involved.

"I wanna know why you're even still in school," he said through gritted teeth.

"Huh?"

"With that filthy rich boyfriend of yours, you wouldn't have to work a day in your life. So why the fuck are you here?"

I cringed at his language. I'm not proper and I've been known to swear at times, but the anger that came through his words made my skin crawl.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Harmony spoke up. "We're lucky Paxton is here, she's like the smartest person in our major."

"Yeah. She's so smart.."Conrad trailed off, cracking his neck.

"Anyyyywaaaayyss...." Emily spoke up. "If you're done being as asshole now, I think I'd like to finish this paper."

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, we're almost done," I said cheerily.

Everyone seemed to get back on task and we finished the paper. With no help whatsoever from Conrad, I might add.

As we packed up, I gave the girls a hug and thanked them for being fantastic partners. I know we would get an amazing grade on this paper. With the girls gone, I was left packing up my book bag with Conrad. I missed the Conrad at the beginning of the year. He was so kind and fun to be around.

"Hey, I'm sorry for whatever I did to you this semester. I thought we were good friends.." I said quietly to him.

He scoffed, licking his lips and steepling his hands in front of him. "You think you're so much better than me."

"No I don't!" I cried out. "I've never thought that! Just because I wasn't interested in dating you doesn't mean that I think any less of you as a person."

He shook his head. A low chuckle escaped his mouth and he rubbed his face with his hands. He had all the signs of exploding at any second. "You don't get it."

He stood up and made his way over to me. Every muscle in my body tightened and froze. Coming up close, I closed my eyes tightly, afraid of what might happen, as he whispered in my ear, "If I can't have you, he sure as hell shouldn't either."

My eyes shot open, but he was gone. Panic and bile rose up inside of me. I stepped out of the room looking around wildly, scanning the room for any sign of Conrad. Running my fingers through my hair, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I called Sophie.

"Buenos noches, chica!" she said cheerfully.

"Soph, the freakiest thing just happened," I said quickly.

"Are you okay? Spill!"

I recalled the entire story to her and I heard a laugh on the other end. What the hell? What about this story is funny?

"This isn't funny, Soph! I'm freaking the fuck out."

"Pax, it's CONRAD," she emphasized his name. "He's a goofball, football star. He's not a creepy stalker guy. Maybe he's just messing with you?"

Was I overreacting? No. That wasn't messing around. That was a threat. Giggling came over the phone. "Stop that," Sophie whispered. "Ugh, Ryan, stop I'm on the phone."

"Ryan is there?" I asked by distracted best friend. Ryan is her ex that I called her "light bulb lover." On again, off again constantly.

She was quiet and then sighed, "Yes. And don't hate me, but I was wondering if you could stay at Chris' tonight?"

"Wow. I've never received a sock on the door over the telephone." I replied, scratching my head.

"I'm sorry. We're just being kind of... loud," she giggled. "Okay I gotta go. I LOVE YOU BESTIE BYE!" she yelled and hung up.

Sleeping at Chris' wouldn't be bad. I had the key and all, but it'd be far less enjoyable without him.

Having calmed down from the Conrad situation, I trekked out into the cold, rainy night. Pulling my hood up around my face, I walked to my car and hopped in. I felt the thunder shake the world around me as I drove into the night towards the apartment.