Caught Between 💙

Chapter 5

"Ashley! Wake up!!" She is awoken by Annie shaking her on Sunday morning. "You have to see this." She hands Ashley her phone.

She sits up and looks at it. The headline 'Girl Claims To Be Pregnant By Sebastian Stan'.

"Oh my god." And it was her own work that released the story, along with images of this girl. She had never seen her face before. She was so pretty, far more attractive than herself. Now everyone was going to know that they broke up because he cheated on her. She hated that. No matter how angry she ever was at Sebastian, she never said anything about their breakup. She never wanted any of his fans to see him differently than who he really was. And who he really was was not a cheater.

They are startled by aggressive knocking on their door. She groans, already knowing who is it. Annie leaves to let him in, and he soon is standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

"So much for starting over huh? Please just go Sebastian."

He sits on the bed next to her. "She isn't pregnant, and if she is, then it isn't mine. I swear. I wore protection, and"

"Wait, so you were drunk enough to make a stupid mistake, but not drunk enough to forget to wear protection? How so?"

He groans. "I know! Okay! You interrupted us anyways. I never finished. Please. I made her leave as soon as you did. I promise."

"Oh, well. I'm sorry I interrupted your fun Sebastian. Just please go, I really can't deal with this right now." She buries her head under her pillow.

He hesitates but leaves.

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She eventually falls asleep for a few hours until she's woken up by another knock on the door. She hears Annie open the door, "She's in her room."

She sits up and sees Chris enter her bedroom, "Can I come in?"

"Yes please. But only if you promise not to say anything. Please."

He nods and closes the door behind him. She pats the bed next to her and he lies down on top of the blanket next to her. He puts his arm up for her to lay her head on his chest. As she does, the stress of the morning finally seems to affect her and she starts crying.

He doesn't say anything as he lets her cry, slowly rubbing her back. He couldn't deny that he had started to develop feelings for her over the past few months. But he would never do anything knowing full well she was still in love with Sebastian. And he'd never do that to his friend. But he enjoyed being friends with her even if he regretted a bit how close they had become. Lines were starting to become blurred. When she stops crying he breaks the silence. "Have you talked to him."

She sits up on the bed and faces him. She just nods and he wipes away the tears on her face. "He came by first thing this morning. What are you doing here Chris?"

"I came as soon as I saw it. I knew you would need a friend."

She smiled at him, she was so grateful to have had him these past few months. She was still in love with Sebastian, but she couldn't deny the growing warmness in her heart for Chris. She places her hand softly on his cheek. "Thank you."

He grabs her hand from his face and kisses it and holds it. "What did he say?"

She knew she needed to put distance between her and Chris. She stands up and starts to pace. "He said it isn't true. And I believe him, but I'm not sure it matters. Now everyone is going to know why we broke up. I don't want anyone to see him differently. And we had just decided to try and start over. What are we supposed to do now?" She feels the tears start to well again as she starts to overthink everything. "And this girl, trying to get her 15 minutes of fame despite of who gets hurt in the process. And Meredith! She had to have approved this. I don't know how she could have done that without even checking with me."

Chris stands up and closes the distance between them. He puts his hands on her face to make her stop pacing. "Shh. Just breathe, ok?" He tucks some hair behind her ear and uses his thumbs to wipe the tears that wet her cheeks. "Calm down. One thing at a time." She looks up at him in the eyes. He bends down and kisses her on the forehead, making her heart race.

"Why are you being so good to me Chris?"

"I'm your friend."

"I know, but that's not all it is." She wanted to hear him say it.

He puts his arms around her waist, "You already know why."

"I know. I need to hear you say it Chris."

He watched her bite her lip, wanting so much for them to be on his. He gently cradles her cheek in his hand, "I want to be with you."

She grabs the back of his neck as her lips crash into his. He pressed his body against hers and his tongue finds hers. He lifts her up and presses her against her bedroom door a little too hard. "Ow!" They both start to laugh as he holds her against the door. He rests his head on hers, both out of breath. "You need to put me down Chris."

"I know. I don't want to though." She laughs as he carries her to her bed and sets her down. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He looks at her and can tell his words hurt her. He bends down in front of her. "I just mean, I want to. But not like this."

She puts her hands on his neck. "I know. Can you just go? I'm sorry."

"Okay." He kisses her on the forehead and walks to the door and hesitates with his hand on the knob. He doesn't look back at her, just looks down at the floor. "Just know I've wanted to do that for a while." He leaves, shutting the door behind him.

"Fuck!" She plops back onto her bed as Annie comes in and sits on the bed next to her comforting her. She wasn't even really sure who initiated the kiss, just that she liked it. She wanted it. She wanted more.

**************************************

Sebastian hears a knock on his apartment door and runs to open it, hoping it was Ashley. He opens the door to find Chris standing there. "Oh. Hey." He leaves the door open and goes and sits on the couch.

"Hey. It's good to see you too!" Chris enters the apartment and closes the door. "How are you?"

Sebastian looks up at his friend, "Oh you know. It's the gift that keeps on giving. One mistake and my whole life falls apart. How is she? I assume you saw her first."

Chris sits down. "I did. How do you think she is? She's angry, but if it's any consolation, she believes you."

"I guess that's something." He leans his head back on the back of the couch. "I really fucked everything up didn't I?" He looks back at his friend. "Hey, Annie said you were there a lot after the break up. I just wanted to say thanks, for being her friend."

Sebastian thanking him makes Chris uncomfortable. "Of course. Look, I have to tell you something. And you aren't going to like it."

"You don't have to say it." Sebastian stands up and pours himself something to drink.

Chris stands up and follows him. "I think I do. I-"

Sebastian holds his hand up. "You've spent a lot of time together. You have feelings for her. I know. I saw it all over your face when you got here. The guilt. It's fine. I know you would never do anything. At least not at the moment."

"I kissed her."

"What?" He sets his glass down. "When?"

"This morning, before I came here. I'm sorry. I'm not even sure who really initiated it, it just kinda happened. It's my fault though, she's going through a lot. And I've blurred lines with her. And I wanted to kiss her in Toronto, but I didn't. I'm sorry."

Sebastian groans as he heads back to the couch and plops down. "Look. It's fine. Thank you for telling me, but we aren't even really together. And after everything, I don't really have any right to say anything or be mad."