Incandescence || c.e.

36| The Confession

It was a hot and dry April morning in Atlanta, and Carla was attempting to escape the heat as she sat in her trailer. She was fanning herself with a Men's Health magazine that either Jeremy or Sebastian had neglected on their last visit to her trailer, and perched cross legged on the table with her laptop in front of her.

Carla hadn't had a break in a full week. When she wasn't filming, she was promoting, rehearsing, interviewing, discussing the script, or babysitting Jeremy's daughter.

These past fifteen minutes had been pure bliss. Carla was able to browse twitter and drink some iced coffee without worrying about being screamed at to get back on set or go to makeup.

The sound of the Grateful Dead's song Sugar Magnolia played from the stereo in the back corner and Carla hummed along as she scrolled through her twitter feed. She was laughing at a few dog videos that Harper had reposted, when a certain article caught her eye:

ARE MARVEL COSTARS CHRIS EVANS AND CARLA MOORE IGNITING A SECRET ROMANCE?

Carla let out a gasp, clicking the link to the article and her eyes scanning the words as she felt her cheeks warm up from more than just the Atlanta heat.

She and Chris had gone on that date more than a week ago now, and she still couldn't forget about it, nor could she deny the palpable romantic tension between the two of them on set.

The date had been sweet and simple, quite like the coffee the two had enjoyed. They talked for hours, laughing at one another's terrible jokes and references, and throwing sugar cubes at each other to the point where the manager of the coffee shop walked over and took away the bowl.

Chris was easily one of the sweetest and most amazing guys Carla had ever went out with, but she still couldn't become filled with trepidation over the thought of her ruining their relationship. She had never been good at dating, and couldn't help but feel like she was unlovable or didn't deserve the kind of care Chris gave her. Not only that, but if Carla and Chris broke up, she'd lose one of the best friends she'd ever had.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Carla slammed her laptop shut, jumped off the table and walking over to the fridge and opening the freezer. She closed her eyes, inhaling the icy cold air, grabbing a few ice cubes and shoving them down her shirt.

"CARLS!"

Carla screeched, one of the ice cubes slipping out of her bra and dropping to the floor, her shirt soaking wet and eyes wide with embarassment.

"What, Seb? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something very important here?" Carla crossed her arms, yet another ice cube falling out of her shirt and onto the floor.

Sebastian laughed, running a hand through his sweaty hair. He had clearly come from filming some sort of fighting scene, and Carla wondered if it had been with Chris.

"Yes, shoving ice cubes into your bra does seem like a very urgent matter," Sebastian teased, poking Carla's shoulder playfully.

Carla had known Sebastian for three years now, and he was one of her closest friends. One of the side effects of being so close to Sebastian, was that Carla could always tell when something was off with him, and lately something was definitely off.

"So what's up, Seb? Did you just come in here to interrupt the first break I've had in over a week?" Carla asked with a hint of snark in her voice.

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. "I'd tell you to chill but that's clearly what you were in the middle of doing." He nodded at the melting ice cubes lodged in Carla's bra.

"Seb!" Carla groaned. "What is it you want?"

Sebastian sighed, becoming more serious and causing Carla to fill up with worry. He usually never stopped being goofy around her so easily.

He took a seat on the couch, and Carla sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Look, Carla. This is probably going to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to say, but I don't think we can be friends anymore..."

Carla felt her heart cease beating in her chest as she stared at Sebastian. She removed her hand from his shoulder, clenching it into a fist in her lap, but stayed silent.

Sebastian swallowed, tears clearly beginning to well up in his blue eyes.

"The reason we can't be friends is because...I'm in love with you."

Carla's fist unclenched, and she stood up.

"Carla?" Sebastian asked, grabbing one of her hands in both of his. "Carls? Carla, say something."

But she couldn't. All the things she wanted to say were swallowed by fear and worry and anger and confusion, so she just shook her head.

She tore away from him and went running out the door, ignoring the shouts of her name as she sprinted to her car, hoping in the driver's seat and starting the ignition, hoping that if she couldn't drive away from all her problems, she'd crash and they'd end for her.