jones ✧ s.stan

2

REAL LIFE

Emma finally sits down after 15 minutes in a line to get coffee. She takes her phone and starts to re-read (probably for the 100th time) the questions Leslie sent. 

Leslie is her roommate, best friend, sister by choice - you name it. A month ago, the magazine she works for assigned her an interview with no other than Sebastian Stan. Unfortunately, she got severely sick three days ago and in her words - "I'm NOT going to sit there sneezing my brains out in front of him, no way."  Plus, she could get him sick, and no one wants that, right? 

Leslie didn't want her boss to know she wouldn't be able to attend the event because if so, another person would get the job done and she wasn't very fond of that.

So here is Emma - in Philadelphia with Leslie's Official Wizard World Journalist Pass, trying to keep her fangirl side in the closet.

6 hours later  

"Leslie..." A tall, grey-haired man takes the paper closer to his face. "Winters?"

"Yep, that's me!" Emma is mentally praying to God that she won't be caught. "The last one here."

The man looks up and realizes that it's true - Emma is the last soul in that waiting room. 5 hours ago that place was full of journalists pacing around and breathing heavily, making her lose her mind. "Well," he smiles. "You're up."

Emma smiles back, following the man out of the room. He talks again - "Before the interview, you have the chance to take a picture with Sebastian. Even though your pass isn't for a Meet & Greet," he points at the card in front of her chest and she gulps hard. "He likes to get the chance to give everyone something to remember." Emma keeps on walking by his side, just nodding to everything he says. "Right now, he's with some fans. But you can walk in, wait for him to take pictures with them and then you're up."

"Thank you..." She locks her eyes on the little paper on his t-shirt. "Jake." Emma grins as he opens the door for her and jumps a little when she hears it close.

Breathe Emma, breathe - she repeats under her beath over and over. Looking around, she sees some fans still sitting down, waiting for their chance to meet their idol. After a couple of seconds of studying the room, her eyes land on him - he's wearing a simple dark blue long-sleeved shirt with black jeans and a back cap.

This is weird, she thinks. Emma has the habit of analyzing people or, as Leslie says, "reading through them" and that's why she just spent the next 20 minutes staring at him, understanding that something isn't right. 

Sebastian is clearly making an effort to keep his eyes open. The man smiles at the camera - hardly - and tries to give his fans the attention they deserve. However, Emma is the only person in the room who's able to tell this is all a facade.

Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't realize that the last fan just left and it's her turn. Jake snaps his fingers in front of her face making her step out of her trance. Emma stands up, adjusting her shirt and starts to walk in his direction.

"Hey there," his voice is way much deeper in person, she realizes. "Sorry I kept you waiting."

"N-No problem," Emma lightly stutters and furrows her eyebrows together. Something is not alright with this guy, she feels it. "You know what, forget about the picture." Emma, partially known for her impulsive decisions, like this one. A smile starts to form on her lips as she stares straight into his eyes for the first time. 

Sebastian frowns, confused as anyone would be. "What?" He whispers. 

"You look like you need a hug," Emma smoothly shifts her head to the right, still trying to figure him out and takes a step closer. This is not the suppressed fangirl talking, it's the psychologist in her taking action. Slowly opening her arms to him, Emma keeps searching for answers in his expressions.

Sebastian inhales strongly and allows her to wrap her arms around him. After a hesitant second, he does the same and softly hugs her back.

"Alright," she finally says, stepping back. "I... I still have a few questions, if you don't mind." 

"No! Not at all," Sebastian takes his left hand to the back of his neck, nervously. "Thank you for that, it's..." he looks up at her, still trying to find the words. "Nice of you."

It's not like he hasn't been shown some kindness today. In contrary, he received lots of love from his fans, he always does - but this gesture was different. 

"M-Maybe we could do this with no cameras. I mean, I just need a few answers for an article, anyway." Emma suggests, knowing that the last thing he wants is to be in front of those hungry lenses.

"That'd be great, to be honest..." Sebastian replies, sharing a weak yet cute grin.

The cameraman, feeling probably as tired as Sebastian, shuts down his equipment as Emma unlocks her phone and opens her interview guide. "Do you need anything, Seb?" Jake asks, taking a sip of water. 

"Is the car ready?" Sebastian sways to the right so he can face Jake who's standing near the door. 

"Yep," Jake replies and turns off the annoyingly noisy walkie-talkie on his belt.

With his hands shoved in his pockets, he turns his attention to the girl next to him. "Well, how does a cup of coffee sound to you?"

"Right now?" She looks up from her phone and he nods. "Nice, I guess..."

"Then let's go," Sebastian chuckles at her. 

Emma grabs her stuff and follows him out the door. She thought that someone would bring them coffee, not that they'd be going out. "Where are we going?"

Jake sticks out his hand for her pass card - she won't need it anymore, apparently.

"Denny's," he announces. "I've been in this building for hours. It's giving me claustrophobia." Sebastian lets out a desperate sigh. "I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine," Emma nods to let him know that's it's more than okay. How, could it not be?

Jake takes them to the back of the building and holds the door for them. "Here, we're going to this one." Sebastian gently grabs her arm and leads her to the correct vehicle.

"Is this yours?" Emma questions after he starts the engine.

"No... My car is back in New York." His eyes are locked in the rearview mirror as he reverses the car. "I travel a lot, so I rarely use it. Sometimes I feel like I forget how to drive."

"Hmm, please, do remember how to now. I don't want to be involved in a car crash nor in celebrity drama." She spits out that fast response and pulls a laugh out of him.

"I can't make any promises."