His Dirty Little Secret (Chris Evans)

52. Kind of a party

"Oh, I only j-just got here." 

"Ah, well, allow me." Before I can refuse, Zach wanders over to the fridge and grabs me a fresh beer. I glance around at everyone; dancing, laughing, drinking. I've never been comfortable in big crowds. Especially when those crowds are drunk and I'm completely sober. I guess I could have a few and then call Chris before it gets too late. "Here ya go." 

"Th-Thanks, Zach." He smiles softly and nods. We clink bottles and take a sip of our beers. 

A few hours pass. I'm getting pretty drunk. I've been drunk texting Chris quite a bit, while also talking to Jamie and Zach, and dancing with strangers. Zach seems to be keeping a pretty close eye on me. It's quite daunting to be honest. I'm not sure I'll ever understand him. 

Midnight is nearing and I decide it's a good idea to call it a night. I manage to sneak into Jamie's bedroom to call Chris. He answers within a few rings. "Heyyyyyyyy handsome!" He chuckles softly. 

"Hey there, party animal. You ready to be picked up?" 

"Mhmmm, yes pleeeease. If youuuu d-don't mmmind."

"Of course not. I'll be there in about twenty minutes." 

"Thanks, good lookin'." He chuckles again. 

"I'll see you soon. Stay put." He tells me, before ending the call. I giggle to myself and then leave the bedroom, only to jump into Zach. 

"Oops, sorry--" I mumble and he chuckles. 

"It's alright. You leaving now?" 

"Mhm, yeah, in a m-minute." 

"You got a ride?" I nod. 

"Yup!" 

"Ah, that's good then. Who's coming for you?" 

"J-Just a friend. Anyyyyway, yeah, n-nice to see you, Zach. See ya." I utter, quickly slipping past him. Weird. I wind my way through the crowd, trying to track down Jamie to say goodbye. When I see him over in the corner, I stumble over. "Jamie!" His eyes snap to me and he grins, throwing his arms out. 

"Heyyyyyy, dude!" 

"Heyyyyyy! I'm going now." 

"Whaaaaat, no! You can't!" 

"Nooooo, I g-gooottta." 

"Loverboy coming to pick you up?" He asks with a wink and I smile uncontrollably, nudging him. 

"Shhhhh." He laughs. 

"Well, thanks for coming! And sorry there was so many people." 

"It's all g-good. The alcohol helped. Thanks f-for having me. See ya soon." I answer, giving him a hug. Once I make my way back through the crowd, I head out of the apartment. When the cold air hits my face, I shiver a little and smile. Ah, this is nice. Yes. I'll just wait here until Chris comes. I sit on the edge of the pavement and glance up at the stary night. 

Hours seem to pass, but it's realistically only been about ten minutes since I sat here. 

"Still here?" Zach. Won't this guy give it a rest? I hope he leaves before Chris gets here. He lowers himself to sit next to me. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Well, I was a little worried about you, to be honest. Wanted to make sure you hadn't drove yourself." 

"B-Bit late if I had d-done that." He chuckles. 

"Yeah, suppose you're right." 

"But I'm nnnot that st-stupid." 

"Right, yeah. Sorry. Daft thing for me to think. Do you really have a ride coming though? I've got a cab coming any minute. You're welcome to hop in." 

"No, m-my ride will b-be here any minute, thank yooouuu." 

"Is it Chris?" Ohhh shit. Why would he think that? I gulp. 

"What.. mmakes you s-say that?" He shrugs. "So what if it is, anyway?" 

"You're pretty close, huh?" 

"I g-guess. We work t-together. We've b-become good friends. That's all." 

"If you say so." 

"I do s-say so. What's y-your problem w-with Chris anyway?" I ask, the alcohol clouding my awkwardness.

"I don't have a problem with him. He has the problem with me. I knew he didn't like me the moment he clapped eyes on me." He comments with a shrug. "I don't know why." I scoff. 

"Maybe b-because of how much of a p-pompous arse you were." I snap back, stumbling to my feet. He rises to his feet too. 

"I wasn't." 

"You were. You w-were arragont and p-pretentious." 

"That's ridiculous. You're just drunk, Meg. You don't know what you're saying." He tries to reach out and  help me steady myself, but I quickly push his hands away. 

"I'm f-fine." 

"Stop being stupid." 

"I'm a little t-tipsy, Zach. I'm n-not drunk enough to n-not be able to take care of m-myself." Suddenly, car headlights shine brightly in my eyes and I squint. A body quickly hops out of the car. Chris. Thank heavens. 

"Meg, is everything okay?" He asks, glaring at Zach. I nod with a smile. 

"All g-good. Lets go." I answer, waddling over to him. "Bye, Zach." I mumble, yanking Chris back towards the car. He helps me in and then gets back into the driver's side. 

"Are you sure you're okay? Did he try anything with you? Cause I swear to fahcking christ if he did--" I laugh softly and place my hand on his forearm. 

"He didn't, he didn't. Chris, look at me." He glances over at me. "It's f-fine. The only th-thing you missed was mmme calling him a pompous arse." I say with a giggle and he laughs too. 

"You did?" 

"Mhmmm." He grins smugly, starting the engine back up. I sniff the air. "Chris... why can I s-smell McDonald's?" 

"Oh, shit, yeah! I brought you one. It's in the backseat." I gasp loudly, turning to the back and reaching out for the McDonald's on the seat. 

"Oh my god, I love you! Thank you!" I blurt out without thinking. Oh shit. My eyes widen. He laughs and when I glance over subtly, he's still smiling. Okay. Good sign. 

"You're welcome. I figured you'd want some greasy food." I nod eagerly, getting stuck in. "Did you have a good time?" 

"Yeah, it was okay." He chuckles, raising an eyebrow. 

"Just okay?" I giggle a little and shrug. 

"Was pretty c-cool actually being at a house p-party. And the alcohol helped m-me relax a little. Y'know, not overthink as mmmuch. But it's hard when y-you don't know anyone." He nods gently. 

"Right, do you want me to take you back to yours or mine?" 

"Yoooooours. I wanna cuddle Dodge." With a smile and chuckle, he nods. 

"Lucky Dodge. What about me?" He pouts and I smile a little. 

"Hmmmmmmm, mmaaaaaybe you too." 

"I'll turn that maybe into a definitely." I giggle again, shoveling fries into my mouth. 

When we arrive at Chris's, I get over-excited about seeing Dodger, giving him a cuddle and a chicken nugget upon my entry. Chris also gets his way when we go to bed - of course I cuddle him.