TALK ME DOWN → SEBASTIAN STAN

sixty six | real life

Sebastian stood on his best friend's doorstep, his head bowed and his eyes stinging with tears. He didn't want to cry but even the mere thought of losing Riley brought tears to his eyes. When the door opened, his head whipped up and he saw Chris standing there. He knew that Chris wanted to send him away, but as soon as he saw the tears glazing over Seb's eyes, he couldn't find it in him. Instead, he opened his arms to Seb, pulling his friend into a tight hug.

"You've fucked up," he whispered to Sebastian, who began to cry quietly. Tears were just falling and he couldn't stop them, he couldn't find the strength to stop the sobs that rushed out with every breath. Chris then pulled back and grabbed Seb by the collar, staring straight into his bloodshot eyes. "I'm not going to lie to you and pretend everything's okay, because it's not. She's upset. . . No, she's devastated. She thought she could trust you and you didn't tell her the truth."

"Chris," his voice was shaking, but he didn't care, "I promise you, I was going to tell her the second I got back from the takeout place, I swear. You've got to believe me." Chris stared at Sebastian, who had begun to cry again, his face in his hands. "You know I wouldn't do this to her. I wouldn't do it to anyone."

"It's not me you should be explaining this to," Chris said, before hearing Riley's soft footsteps.

When Sebastian looked up and saw her, his heart broke. She looked pale and was trembling, her bottom lip shaking as she gnawed on it anxiously. Her fists were clenched and tears were welling in her eyes. He couldn't believe that he could do this to her. Now that he was seeing her in person, he understood exactly what he had done. "Riley," he whispered.

She set her jaw and looked down at her feet. He went to rush to her, but Chris caught him by the arm. "Don't," he said to Sebastian. "You know as well as I do that it'll only make things worse."

"Chris. . ."

"No," he said firmly. Sebastian finally seemed to snap out of his stupor and looked sideways at the blonde, his mouth falling open. "Sebastian, if I was you, I would go now."

Riley looked up and saw the familiar blue eyes staring into hers, tears sliding down his face. Her heart broke and she clenched her fists more, her eyes welling with tears at the sight of his turmoil. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice cracking. Sebastian stared at her, and was about to speak when her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket, gasping to see her mom's caller ID.

"Mom?" she said, her voice hoarse. Both Seb and Chris's eyes widened, and Chris let his arms drop from in front of him, ready to rush to her side. As the news went through her head, her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't stop a smile breaking onto her lips. "I'll be right there."

When she hung up, she began to cry and Chris ran to her, pulling her into a hug. "He's okay," she cried into his shoulder, hugging him tight. Even Sebastian felt a weight lift off his shoulders upon hearing the news. "I can't believe it."

"Let's get you to the hospital," Chris said, pulling back and taking a hold of her face. As the two made their way to the door, Sebastian was at a loss as to what to do. It was only when Chris looked back and waved him along with them that he could smile and follow them. He clambered into the back of the car, with Riley sitting shotgun and Chris driving.

Riley looked over her shoulder at him, her blue eyes meeting his. The second she looked at him, her eyes filled with tears once more and she looked back to the road. She couldn't bear to look at him, but she knew how worried Sebastian had been about Sam and she just wanted to have a moment of peace where she would be able to pretend everything was alright. Because, God knows, everything was not alright. And Sebastian didn't even know the half of it.