「     1 ½  M O N T H S  L A T E R    」

(    LOCATION ▪ NEW YORK    )

"YOU GIRLS DID WHAT?"

"Set you up on a blind date," Emma spoke up with a sheepish smile plastered on her face, her eyes darting from Naomi to Brie and Jen who were standing by her side.

Just as Naomi was about to comment further, Jen decided to chime in. "Well, you and Chris aren't seeing each other, are you?"

"We---" Naomi paused momentarily, her eyes falling to her feet. The girls knew full well that they weren't together and that it's been a month and a half since they decided that some time off and space would do them both some good. "We aren't," Naomi said carefully with her eyes trained on her friends, "but we never said that we should or would see other people."

Brie let out a small and quiet gasp as she shot a worried look at both Emma and Jen, both of whom had equally worried and guilty looks on their faces. As Brie wrung her hands in sheer apprehension, Emma chuckled nervously and hesitantly inched a little closer to Naomi before grabbing her lightly by her shoulders.

"Well, you see, Nay. . . when we set up this blind date for you, we had no idea that you and Chris were not open to seeing other people," Emma said nervously, a small grimace evident on her face.

"---and we thought that maybe," Jen added, looking back and forth between Naomi, Brie and Emma before she blabbered, "a blind date with one of Andrew's friends might take your mind off of things for a while---"

"You set me up on a blind date with one of Andrew's friends?!" Naomi exclaimed, shooting Emma a look of disbelief.

Emma bit down on her bottom lip, grimacing as she did so before her eyes swept over to Brie and Jen, both of whom were remaining ever so quiet. Naomi glared at her friends with wide eyes, mouth hung agape as she waited for them to explain just what the hell was going on and what actually made them decide that all of this was a good idea.

"Well?" Naomi pressed on, a tinge of frustration and annoyance laced in her voice.

Emma nodded slowly in response, a bashful look on her face. Naomi's eyes soon found Brie's and Jen's, both of whom had guilty looks on their faces. Letting out a deep sigh, Naomi stumbled back towards her couch and plopped down on it with her hand over her forehead.

She knew that there was no way that she could possibly bail on this blind date because this was Andrew's friend they were talking about---if she stood this guy up, not only would it leave him with a bad impression of her but Andrew would also get an earful from said friend. She couldn't possibly do that to Andrew, especially knowing how much of a sweetheart he was.

The best that she could do right now was to show up at the venue and pretend to be interested for the night but not too interested, otherwise the guy might get the wrong idea.

"Tell me this date is not taking place in London," Naomi said nonchalantly, her eyes still screwed shut.

"It isn't," the three of them answered in unison.

Bringing her hand away from her forehead, Naomi cast her friends a wary look before pushing herself off of the couch with a sigh. The second she started to make her way towards her bedroom, Brie, Emma and Jen were hot on her heels. "Who is he exactly?"

"Can't tell you," Brie said and clapped her hands on Naomi's shoulders, knowing that her friend wasn't so angry right now.

"How old is he?"

"Mmm, just slightly older," Jen said as she began rummaging through Naomi's vast collection of lipsticks.

"Name?" Naomi pressed on and turned around to face her friends, her hands now on her hips.

Dragging an imaginary zipper across her lips, Emma shook her head in response to Naomi's question, earning a small grunt from her. "It's a blind date, Nay. You're not supposed to know."

Rolling her eyes at her friends, Naomi flopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Jen was hell-bent on picking Naomi's outfit for the evening while Brie sauntered out of her bedroom to get them all some snacks because she was sure that they would get a bit peckish. Emma was sitting next to Naomi on her bed, throwing Jen some opinions on the various outfits she'd picked out for their friend.

While her friends were busy exchanging opinions about what she should wear for her blind date tonight, Naomi couldn't help but allow herself to drift away for a while. She remembered all the blind dates she'd been on and how awful they'd turned out in the end.

Naomi found herself chuckling at the thought of them, only to have a bittersweet feeling overwhelm her when the thought of Chris crossed her mind.

Sure, she didn't meet Chris on a blind date but she did wonder, from time to time, what it would have actually been like if she'd met him on one. Would they have hit it off really well? Would he have called her out for a second date the next day?

Would they have been where they were now, taking a break so that they could clear their heads a little before they start all over or perhaps try again?

"Do I really have to look that nice?" Naomi whined, letting out a small groan as she buried her face in one of her pillows. "I mean, I didn't even arrange nor did I even agree to go on a blind date in the first place---"

"Well, you did say you wouldn't want Andrew to get an earful---"

"Okay, okay," Naomi interjected, an annoyed frown now plastered on her lips. "I know what I said but if you girls had asked me if I was okay with a blind date, we wouldn't even be in this position right now."

"Jen's fault," Emma piped up, pointing towards Jen who had immediately whipped around at the sound of her name. Jen narrowed her eyes at Emma before laying out Naomi's outfit for the evening.

"I know," Jen said, kneeling down beside Naomi before gently pushing her hair away from her face. "And we're sorry we didn't ask you. We just thought that maybe it was about time you get out there again, you know?"

"And hey," Brie said as she sauntered into Naomi's bedroom, offering her a bag of chips. "Maybe Chris is open to the idea of seeing other people for the time being---"

"He is not," Naomi protested almost instantly as she pushed herself up from the bed.

"Nay," Jen sighed softly, placing a reassuring hand on her jean-clad leg.

Naomi sucked in a harsh breath, feeling the bile rise in her throat. "He wouldn't. . ." Naomi said feebly, trying to reassure herself before meekly adding, ". . . right?" She turned to them with a worried look in her eyes before averting her gaze elsewhere as though they'd burnt her. Naomi screwed her eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath. She sounded ridiculous for even saying that. "God, I'm being selfish, aren't I?"

Emma reached out to place a gentle hand on Naomi's wrist, prompting the latter to look at her her. "We're just messing with you. We know Chris isn't that kind of person and we're absolutely certain that one day, you two will find your way back to each other," Emma said, offering her friend a small yet sincere smile.

Naomi returned the smile weakly before her eyes fell to the hem of her blouse, her fingers now tracing it absentmindedly. Jen, Emma and Brie shared knowing looks with one another, silently acknowledging the fact that they all knew Naomi was still very much in love with Chris, even if they may be apart for the moment.

. . . . . .

"Why would Joe and Anthony arrange for a dinner when the press tour's only a couple of weeks away?"

This was the fourth question Chris has asked since they departed from his place ten minutes ago. Robert, Sebastian, Anthony and Paul had all showed up at his place unannounced at approximately 5pm---in fact, they practically barged into his apartment with their sunglasses on and dragged him straight to his bedroom, forced him to hop into the shower so that he'd smell nice and fresh before forcing him (again) to get dressed.

Apparently, Chris had forgotten that the directors were hosting a dinner party tonight for the entire Marvel family and to say he was excited to see everyone would be the understatement of the year.

Although, Chris was so sure that such a dinner would not have slipped his mind that easily but Sebastian kept telling him that he most probably forgot about it, especially with everything that's happened in the past month and a half.

"Because," Anthony said confidently before stalling for a moment, "they fucking can."

Paul let out a snort and this earned him a painful nudge from Anthony himself. Chris had his eyebrows furrowed, still trying to recall when this dinner was even brought up.

Had he really been too caught up with everything else that he'd forgotten about it? He was sure that he couldn't have been too caught up with the screenplay he was currently working on since he and Naomi decided that some time off would do them both some good.

"You know, I really can't recall Joe or Anthony ever mentioning about hosting a dinner right here in New York," Chris piped up after a while, turning around in the passenger seat to meet his friends' gazes.

Just as Anthony was about to throw a joke at Chris, Robert butted in and placed his right hand on Chris' shoulder while his left hand remained on the steering wheel. "Just know that your favourite person is going to be there, alright?"

"My favourite person?"

"Mmhmm," Robert hummed in response, his eyes still trained on the road.

"By favourite person, he means me," Sebastian chimed in, rolling his eyes as he smirked at his friend.

"Hey," Anthony whined, pouting before turning his attention towards Sebastian. "I'm his favourite person, so back off!"

While Anthony and Sebastian were engaged in their little banter, Chris decided that now was the right time to pull his phone out and record the entire thing before sharing it on his Instagram story. In just a few minutes, thousands of messages began flooding his inbox but one message in particular caught his eye and he couldn't help but tap on it quickly.

New direct message from naomilindberg:
are you boys finally sending them to the babysitter's? 😂
✓ READ

Chuckling to himself, Chris began typing away on his phone, all the while being oblivious to the curious glances his friends were exchanging with one another.

New direct message from chrisevans:
i honestly wish we were but we're actually on our way to dinner with the rest of the marvel cast.
if we send them to the babysitter's, everyone will start asking questions.
✓ READ

New direct message from naomilindberg:
i hope they won't embarrass you!
mackie, specifically haha oops don't tell him i said that!
anyway, have a great time tonight, okay?
✓ READ

New direct message from chrisevans:
i wish you could be there as well.
[MESSAGE DELETED]

secret's safe with me.
and i will. thanks, naomi!
you've got any plans for tonight?
✓ READ

New direct message from naomilindberg:
just heading out with the girls and a friend of theirs for dinner.
not sure where it is but i guess i'll have to rely on jen to get us there in one piece.
✓ READ

New direct message from chrisevans:
sounds like it's going to be a rough ride. 😂
✓ READ

New direct message from naomilindberg:
i honestly wish i could go to the marvel dinner with you. seeing you having a good time with your friends always puts a smile on my face.
[MESSAGE DELETED]

pray for me. 😩
✓ READ

New direct message from chrisevans:
sending you all my love. 💓🙏🏻
✓ DELIVERED

"Texting a certain special lady friend, Mr. Evans?" Paul's voice sounded from behind him and Chris was quick to lock his phone, dropping it on his lap. He could practically hear the smirk that Paul was sending his way.

Chris cleared his throat a little and peered out the window, actively avoiding the looks his friends were all giving him.

Paul had a smirk on his face that looked as though it wouldn't come off even if you tried to wipe it. Anthony and Sebastian were nudging each other in the elbow, throwing smirks at Chris every now and then while Robert only snuck a few glances at him and each time he did, he'd catch Chris twiddling with his thumbs.

Smiling to himself, Robert averted his attention back to the road ahead and pressed his foot on the pedal a little so that they could all get to the restaurant on time.

Nobody likes a late comer.

. . . . . .

"Right, okay," Robert said as he pulled up in front of the restaurant. "Why don't you guys head in first while I scout around for a parking space?"

Chris furrowed his eyebrows at Robert. "But won't it be easier if all of us helped you out---"

"Oh, come on now, Chris." Sebastian was already dragging Chris out of Robert's Range Rover before the poor guy could even finish his sentence, with Anthony closing the car door for him as Paul gestured for Robert to get going.

Grinning to himself, Robert locked the doors and sped off to scout for an empty parking lot, leaving Chris alone with Sebastian, Anthony and Paul. As soon as Chris turned around to face the entrance of the restaurant, he noticed that there weren't that many people inside nor were there any familiar faces.

"Are you guys sure we're at the right place?" Chris asked, turning to his friends.

Sebastian looked to Anthony in a quizzical manner while Paul lingered around behind them as he tapped away on his phone. "They're probably just late," Sebastian said, shrugging his shoulders.

Despite the fact that they've all told him numerous times that the Russo brothers were most definitely hosting a dinner right at this very restaurant, Chris couldn't technically ignore how bizarre all this was. He was growing more sceptical by the second, especially with his friends' strange behaviours.

"What time did you say the dinner was?" Chris casually asked, pacing about slowly with his hands in his pockets.

"7.00pm," Sebastian replied just as Anthony mumbled absentmindedly, "7.30pm."

Chris raised an eyebrow, shooting his friends a look as realization dawned upon them. Paul was quick to regain his composure because he was sure that if Chris had spared a glance at him a second earlier, he would have noticed the worried look on his face. Sebastian screwed his eyes shut before lightly elbowing Anthony, the latter wincing a little at the blow to his side.

"What's going on?" Chris asked warily, his voice now slightly demanding as he faced his friends.

Just as Sebastian was about to say something, the double doors in front of him swung open and the person that walked through them ran right straight into Chris, causing him to stumble forward.

"Oh, Jesus! I am so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was---Chris?"

---
a/n; oof a cliffhanger 👀 i wonder who that is 👀 any guesses?

alsooo, this chapter was a lot longer than i expected. initially, it was at 5k+ words but then it went all the way up to 6508 words, which is why i've decided to split it into two parts.

so, part 2 will be up tomorrow night!!! and i hope you're all ready for what's to come!!!