Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

.22.

Chris POV

    Some would say Opal is full of nothing but red flags.

    I'm not blind. My eyes are wide open.

Maybe it's the fact that I don't see the red flags as warnings or BEWARE signs, but more so a cry for help.

I've been taught to not look at things simply at surface or face value. Spending time in an interrogation room will do that to you. Most of the time there are things much deeper, not superficial. And that's where I think Opal is, walls upon walls, caused by something that I believe to be drastic.

I open the car door for her, just as I have every day through my trip. "Thanks," she offers with a tight lipped smile.

"Tired?" I ask after sliding into the driver's seat.

"Not as much as I thought I'd be," she replies before stifling a yawn that then sends her into giggling. "Oops."

"Know anywhere to get pie around here?" I ask.

It's only eight o'clock. I leave tomorrow morning. I'm not ready to say goodbye or even goodnight so I fish for more time with her.

"Didn't you just eat wedding cake?"

"What can I say? I like pie better," I say nonchalantly.

She cuts her eyes at me, possibly still wondering why I've not cranked the car yet. "Well?" I ask.

"Oh, you're serious?"

"I didn't know cops could be anything but serious," I joke with her. "But yes...pie."

Opal thinks for a moment. "Well, Cafe Shay serves pie but they closed at eight. I can see if Mila made any for dessert tonight." She takes her phone out of her purse and makes a call.

   "You're in luck," she tells me when she hangs up. "Mika made a cherry pie and a banana cream pie. There's leftovers of both. I'll get it for you when we get back."

   "Excellent." I finally crank the car and head back to Magnolia.

Our ride starts in relative silence, until Opal finally speaks up. "How'd you know what to do during my attack?"

I glance from the road to her and back again, slowing down for a red light. "Training, actually. You never know what you'll experience at a call."

"Well, I can tell you're good at your job then. I've never been able to come down from that bad of one so quickly before, so, thank you," she explains. "I really do appreciate it. I probably wouldn't have been able to perform if it wasn't for you."

I silently nod my head, debating whether or not to probe the topic, or lighten the mood. Lighten now, probe later. "Yeah, about that song..."

She whips her head in my direction. "What about it?"

"Wasn't it like a main song from that vampire movie? Ya know, with the weird sparkly guy and the overgrown dogs?" I know what I'm talking about but figure if I describe it this way then maybe I'll put her at ease a little more.

Opal quietly chuckles, shaking her head. "Twilight. And yes, it's from that movie. Lily and Jameson went to see it on their first date. It's actually a funny story."

"I'm all ears."

"The girls and I had a standing date to go opening night for every one of the Twilight movies, without fail. That is until Jameson came into the picture. He asked her to go to a movie and she said yes but only if she could choose which movie. Crazy lady chose our movie for their date night. Anyways, it was the fourth movie. Poor Jameson sat through the whole thing, knowing zero information about the actual three movies before it, lost as he could be. Lily said he never complained and that's what earned him the second date."