"So, are you going to audition for the part?"

"I'm still thinking, actually, but I'm pretty sure I'm leaning towards a 'yes'," Naomi chuckled over the phone whilst trying to balance her phone between her right ear and shoulder awkwardly as she made her way out of the kitchen and into the living room with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a glass of Rosé in the other.

Despite the numerous projects Naomi had already signed up for, she knew she couldn't say 'no' to auditioning for this role in particular. There was something about the movie (despite only being able to read a summary of it) that moved her and she knew it deep down that this project was going to be something special, something that could touch the viewers' hearts.

"You should go for it, you know," Ben piped up on the other line while he padded to the kitchen. "It sounds like it's going to be a bloody good movie, based on what you've told me."

Naomi simpered even though the British lad couldn't see it. The sound of pots clanking and Ben muttering something on the other end caused Naomi to erupt into a fit of giggles.

She muted her TV and reached for her glass of Rosé, taking a sip of it before setting it back down on the coffee table whilst the clanking of pots and pans continued to resonate from the other end of the line.

"Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"What exactly are you doing?" Just as Naomi asked Ben the question, she heard him mutter 'ah, shit', which caused her to titter.

"Well, I was reaching for one of the pots in the cabinet so that I could work on supper but as soon as I opened it, out came a baby lizard and it kind of scurried off quicker than I expected and the next thing I know—while I was looking for that pesky little bugger—I found it hiding behind one of my pots. So, it basically scampered off for a bit while I looked around for it in my cabinet but then it probably took a detour or something and decided to hide behind one of my pots. . . again," Ben explained, washing the pot while trying his best to balance his phone between his ear and shoulder.

"So, is the little intruder gone now?" Naomi teased, earning a hearty chuckle from Ben.

"It most certainly is," he replied, turning on the stove. "Are you eating popcorn again?"

A smile spread across Naomi's lips in an instant. He knew her too well. "I most certainly am."

. . . . . .

"Evans, come on! We're gonna be late. You know Renner gets really antsy when we leave him waiting outside the bar alone," Robert called from the living room while his eyes were fixated on a few pictures that were lined up on the mantelshelf.

"He's probably only gonna come out from his room. . . fifteen minutes from now," Anthony said just as Sebastian passed him a can of beer that he stole from Chris' fridge.

"I'm gonna say ten," Sebastian chimed in, flopping down on the couch next to Anthony.

"Is that a bet?" Anthony quizzed, to which Sebastian replied, "It's a bet."

The both of them shook each other's hands and nodded confidently before taking a swig out of their beers. Robert was now going through Chris' vast CD collection while Anthony and Sebastian were both on their phones, talking to their respective managers. As soon as Anthony got off the phone with his manager, Chris emerged from his room whilst slipping his blazer on.

"Damn it," Anthony muttered under his breath as soon as he took a brief glance at his wrist watch.

"Told you," Sebastian smirked knowingly, putting his hand out. Anthony grumbled playfully before slapping a five-dollar bill on to Sebastian's palm.

"Did the both of you seriously bet on how long it'll take for me to leave the room again?" Chris asked incredulously with his hands on his hips, albeit a small smile was evident on his lips. "Rob, looking snazzy as per usual," Chris complimented, to which Robert responded by smirking proudly as he pretended to dust something off his shoulder blades.

. . . . . .

"I really have no idea who I'll be doing the screen test with though," Naomi spoke up after a while.

She and Ben have been on the phone for almost an hour and a half, with Ben telling her how his day went and Naomi doing the same. When she casted a brief glance at her wall clock and realized that the two of them have been on the phone for close to an hour and a half, the conversation she had with Brie the other day rang in her ears and for some reason, she just couldn't ignore it.

"You and Ben always talk on the phone like—what? Once a week?"

"Twice," Naomi corrected her before shoving a piece of fry into her mouth.

Brie raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a look she knew all too well. Naomi groaned inwardly and looked away as her cheeks began to flush.

"Are you sure you guys don't have a thing going on?" Brie looked at her friend quizzically.

Naomi softly sighed. "We're just friends. Plus, he's usually in London most of the time and I live in New York now."

Even though Naomi had told Brie that there was nothing going on between her and Ben and that their friendship was strictly platonic, she didn't buy it at all but decided to leave it as it is, not wanting to pry anymore because she knew Naomi didn't like people prying her for information.

But as soon as those words left her lips, Naomi herself didn't seem to buy into her own words, at least not as much as she did a year ago when Brie, Jen and Ems asked the same thing about her and Ben.

"Well, whoever it is, I'm a hundred percent sure you're going to smash your screen test and blow them all away," Ben's voice resonated through the speaker on the phone, instantly tearing her away from her thoughts before smiling at his words of encouragement.

. . . . . .

Once all four men barreled out of Chris' apartment—with Chris left to lock his door—Anthony and Sebastian were racing one another downstairs to see who could reach the passenger's seat first. Robert shook his head at the two men—who were acting like five year olds if you asked him—and headed downstairs to break up Anthony and Sebastian from playfully arguing on who got to sit in front.

Chris followed suit just a few moments later and found Robert shoving Sebastian and Anthony into the backseat because, "I want Evans to sit in the passenger's seat, so the two of you can fight over who gets to sit on the left or right side of the back seat."

"But I got there first!" Sebastian whined.

"You cheated! You took two steps at a time!" Anthony argued and playfully punched Sebastian in the arm.

"It's not my fault I'm taller!"

Chris burst out laughing at his friends bantering endlessly in the backseat whilst Robert himself too found it amusing and decided to stay by the door for a little longer just to see where it went. Chris patted Robert on his shoulder before clambering into the passenger's seat and taking out his phone to film his friends arguing over who should have got the passenger's seat.

He posted the fourteen-second video on his Instagram story and in an instant, his inbox was filled with direct messages from his fans. He smiled as some of them commented on his pictures regarding the video he had just posted of his two best friends but one message in particular caught his eye.

New direct message from naomilindberg:
are they really fighting over a seat? 😂
✓ READ

New direct message from chrisevans:
they really are 😂😂
✓ READ

New direct message from naomilindberg:
too cute 😂
✓ READ

New direct message from chrisevans:
they're literally a bunch of five year olds
robert is the only exception 😜
✓ DELIVERED

After he'd sent the message to Naomi, he waited for a minute or two but as soon as he noticed that his message was only delivered and not read yet, he closed the app and locked his phone while Robert pulled the gear to 'D' and drove off to the bar Jeremy had agreed to meet them at.

"So, Chris," Sebastian piped up after a while. "Are you free on the 30th?"

Chris looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Sebastian and Anthony smirking away. "Why? Are you taking me out on a date?"

"He sure is," Robert playfully winked before setting his eyes on the road again.

"I sure am," Sebastian replied whilst Anthony whistled in response.

"I never thought you'd take me out on a date," Chris said, putting a hand over his heart as he laughed with his best mates. "But to answer your question, yes. I'm free. Why?"

"Okay, good because we've already set you up on that date we've been telling you about," Anthony responded.

Chris turned around in his seat and raised an eyebrow at his friends. "You guys have already planned the date for me?" They nodded in response. "Without even asking me if I'd be free on the day itself?" They nodded once more, their smirks etched on to their faces. "Well, what if I happened to not be free on that day?"

"Then we'd tell you to free up your schedule," Sebastian shrugged, earning a nod from Anthony.

Chris rolled his eyes while Robert was stifling a laugh, refusing to take his attention off the road. "Alright, so who is this mystery girl?"

"Oh, you're gonna like her," Anthony said confidently before Sebastian chimed in, "A lot. You'll like her a lot."

Knowing that his friends were not going to spill on anything---anything at all---about the mystery girl, Chris sighed in defeat and turned around in his seat as Robert made a right turn and started to scout for an empty parking lot. While Chris was helping Robert out with hunting for a car park, he couldn't help but overhear Sebastian whispering to Anthony in the backseat.

While Chris was helping Robert out with hunting for a car park, he couldn't help but overhear Sebastian whispering to Anthony in the backseat.

"Maybe we could at least tell him that her name starts with an 'N'?"

Anthony shook his head in response, with a rather amused smile on his face and whispered, "Nah, let's keep him guessing."

---
a/n; oooOoooh the mystery girl's name start a with an 'N' 😏 can y'all guess who it is? 😉