A/N: Nearly a year later... sorry for the long wait guys! I'm hoping to wrap this one up soon, so keep an eye out for updates on this and the updated version of Better Than Revenge!

***

Chapter 34

The good news: I got a kiss from Sophia. A real kiss. Not a scripted one. Not practice. Not a take. A real, meaningful kiss. At least, it was pretty meaningful to me. Sure, I was the initiator, but she reciprocated and that was what mattered. Maybe one day she'd be the one initiating. It was hot when girls initiated.

The bad news: that kiss drove her to hide out in the bathroom for god knows how long.

All too soon – or what felt like all too soon – she pulled away from me, moving her lips away from mine. I couldn't help but stare at her in a way the rom-com scripts I'd read would call "longing" or whatever. I wanted more. And I didn't just mean physically.

She finished pulling her body away from my arms, taking several steps away.

Nora stopped her while she was walking away. I was glad, because I was still too busy trying to process everything and what my next step should be to not scare her off. She already seemed a little scared off, like a deer in the headlights. I didn't want to seal the deal in the wrong way.

"I'm so proud of you guys," Nora said, squeezing Sophia's arm and looking like a proud mother. I guess in a way, as Sophia's first director, she kind of was. "I knew I could count on you to pull through in the end. It's been a rocky road, but you've proven yourself. You've proven you can work in conditions that may not be what you signed up for, exactly. That's valuable, Sophia. Oh, come here."

She gave Sophia a hug, and I almost laughed at Sophia's awkward response: a pat on the back. Maybe it wasn't just her averseness to me that made her respond awkwardly to me. Maybe there was some hope for me after all.

I inched my way closer so she couldn't ignore me. "Sophia."

"I'll leave you two to talk," Nora said, taking a few steps back from Sophia and shooting us both a knowing look.

Instead, Sophia's little legs speed-walked over to Tori. "Come with me to the bathroom."

"Sophia, wait," I said. "We need to talk."

"I have to go to the bathroom." She paused. "We can talk later."

"Promise?" I hated how hopeful I sounded, like a little kid in the candy store who was just told he could have a candy bar if he ate his dinner, but I couldn't help it. I was hopeful. "Before I leave?"

I had an audition for a new role in New York on Tuesday – tomorrow, I guess – and had to leave in a few hours. The last thing I wanted to do was leave for two days leaving this unresolved. If I left without talking to her, she'd have plenty of time to talk herself out of giving me and the chemistry we obviously had a chance. I couldn't risk that. But I also couldn't miss this audition. It'd be a good move for my career – much better than the project I was currently working on. Although I guess I had to be thankful to this project for reasons other than my career.

She pressed her lips together before giving me a quick nod. I guess that was as good as I was going to get for now, as insincere as it seemed. She grabbed Tori by the arm – not an easy feat since Tori was latched onto Garfield – and pretty much ran away from me. It was nothing new, but it stung a little this time. And it was the first time I wasn't running after her.

I watched her slowly disappear as she made her way off into the distance and debated following her. But she was in Tori's hands. If anyone was going to advocate Sophia giving me a chance or at least talking to me, it was Tori. Besides the rocky part where she'd thrown her shoe at me and threatened my life, Tori had always been an advocate for me.

I did inch my way closer to the bathroom she was hiding in but kept my distance. The most I did was tell a few girls to go in there later and tell her I needed to talk to her if she still hadn't appeared. After a few minutes, Tori came out alone.

I did a quick jog to get to where she was standing. "Why are you coming out alone? She still in there?"

Tori pressed her lips into a straight line and nodded. "She's a stubborn one. She won't come out of there and won't listen to me. But maybe she'll listen to you. Come on."

"Hey, wait. What makes you think she'll listen to me over you? If she won't listen to you, I have no chance."

"I have an idea. Come on, Lovesick. We've got work to do."

***

I stared at my phone as I held it in my hands, taking a few nervous breaths. I knew what I needed to do. I was just scared I'd get my ass rejected the first time I laid it all on the line.

Tori had walked me over to a nearby tree and given me a list of talking points she thought I needed to touch on when I talked to Sophia. Her idea had been that I'd stay outside and wait for as long as it took for Sophia to come out, but I couldn't do that. As much as I wanted to resolve this before I left, I couldn't miss this audition. I just had to hope calling Sophia and telling her how I felt over the phone would be enough for now.

So instead of having this conversation in person and telling her how I felt outside of a bathroom on-set, I was sitting alone in the airport, a hood over my head and fake glasses over my eyes to try to look inconspicuous while I laid the heart no one – except for my mom and Bubba – knew I had on the line.

Except she didn't answer. Not my first call. Not my second. And not any of the ten calls that followed those.

She clearly didn't want to talk to me. But maybe she was at least willing to listen. When I called her for what felt like the hundredth time, I didn't hang up when it directed me to her voicemail. I waited.

"Leave a message after the beep," the machine said. "Beep!"

I took a deep breath. "I know you don't want to talk to me. I know you don't want to talk to me so bad you'd rather hide in the bathroom for three hours, but I need to tell you this, and I couldn't stand there and wait for you to decide to come out of there. I mean, I'm waiting for my flight at the airport right now, and I should be thinking about this audition, but all I can think about is what I want to say to you right now. Well, that and the fact that the creepy guy in the corner keeps staring at my junk."

Or was that a woman? I wasn't sure. It didn't matter. You do you, random non-binary citizen, but please avert your eyes from my dick.

"I know I'm not perfect, Soph. I know my looks don't mean everything to you. I don't think they mean anything to you, actually. I don't know how because I think I'm hot, but whatever."

Okay, get back on track, Christian.

"I know I'm an idiot sometimes. I know my jokes and comebacks are usually lame. I know I can be an asshole – and I know I've especially been an asshole to you. I know my flaws. But I also know just how crazy I am about you. I'd do anything for you. I mean it. I think I'd even take a bullet for you, even though it would probably hurt like a motherfucker."

My characters had taken a few bullets in the past few years, but I was guessing the real thing hurt a hell of a lot more.

"Since I'm being honest... I'm not going to play off that kiss like it was nothing. It wasn't nothing. Not to me. I don't know what it meant to you. I'm hoping something, at least, but to me... I've kissed girls before, but it's never been like this. It's... damn it. I should've become a poet, not an actor. I can't think of anything to compare it to that'll bring you to tears."

Get your shit together, Christian. Come on.

"Anyways. If you'll give me a chance to show you everything I'm saying is true... I'll try to be the guy you need. I'll try my best to be the perfect guy for you, even though I'm not even close to perfect. I'll... I'll get a new haircut! I'll look up some comebacks and jokes that are actually funny. I'll wear a rubber band on my wrist and snap it every time I say something mean. No, I'll snap it every time I say something mean that's not even funny."

Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

"I'll always be strong for you. Even when it comes to scary movies that leave me cowering like a little bitch. I'll never leave you alone. I'll defend you, even if it ruins my reputation or makes me look like an idiot. Both of which you've already done anyway."

Many, many times over.

"I'll treat you right. I promise. You're the only girl I've ever wanted to bring home to my mom. She's kind of scary sometimes, but I think you could handle her. She kind of reminds me of Tori, actually..."

I paused. The more I thought about it, the more I saw the resemblance. Not physical, because their features were pretty different, but personality-wise, they both had to be your cup of tea for you to handle them.

"If you'll give me a chance, I promise I'll make it worth your while. And if I'm not doing enough, just tell me and I'll do better. I'll be better for you. Just say the word and I'm yours. Give me a chance, Soph. I won't take it for granted again. I... I.... Iloveyou. Okaybye!"