The months that Chris was gone after we had broken up I tried to keep him off my mind as best as I could, but that got harder and harder as news for the new Avengers movie popped up all around me. Even after months of being apart, seeing his face still made me feel something, even if it was just a picture online. I had moved on, I kept trying to convince myself. I hadn't stared at his contact information in my phone debating whether or not to text him in weeks. And shit, I had even started seeing someone else. Was he a rebound? Perhaps, but we don't have to get into that right this second. I knew Chris would be back in town around September, and as it got closer and closer I was trying to prepare myself for it. Not that I really thought he would reach out to me, but I was trying to convince myself not to reach out to him when he was back. 

"You've been especially broody lately, what's going on?" Estelle asked me one night as we were eating dinner and watching reruns of Friends.

"What do you mean broody?" I asked between bites of pizza. "I'm how I always am."

"Did you and The Man get into a fight?"

"He does have a name you know, and no we aren't fighting. Everything is fine I don't know why you're asking." That last part sounded a little too snippy and I knew the jig was up. Estelle gave me her best I-told-you-so look and paused the tv. I sighed before I started explaining. "I don't know. It really isn't a big deal but I've just been thinking about how Chris is gonna be in town and- What's that look, what are you doing?"

She looked at me like she had been waiting to hear those words come out of my mouth. "Laurel, I've known for weeks that you've been thinking about this. You may think you're good at hiding it, but I can see right through you." 

"Oh really, so how exactly am I feeling about this?"

She took a deep breath and dove in. "Well, I could tell that you regretted breaking things off with Chris the second you did it no matter how many times you tried to justify it to yourself. I saw that you were looking up production news for the movie just to see if you'll hear something about him. And The Man? Come on how dumb do you think I am?"

"His name is Adam." Was the only think I could come up with in my weak protest. 

"It's like you wanted to find the person that was farthest away from what Chris was, and you somehow managed to pull it off. He's the most boring person I've ever meant. I swear having a conversation with him is painful."

"He's not that bad. You're exaggerating." I complained and continued to eat my pizza. 

"Okay, maybe I am, but that doesn't change how you feel about Chris. Maybe you should reach out to him when he gets back in town." I tried to protest but she just put up her hands to stop me. "I'm not telling you to do anything. It's your own decision, but I think I know you well enough to know that it would make you a lot happier if you did." As much as I wanted to argue with her, she was right. I'd felt off ever since I broke things off with Chris. I'd been through plenty of break ups before, but trust me, this one felt way worse. As much as I hadn't wanted to admit it to myself before, I had definitely made a mistake. I stayed quiet instead of admitting my defeat, but I could tell she was proud of herself. 

*****

Adam had come over later that night. I might have invited him over to spite Estelle, but I was still trying to prove to myself that I was actually moving on and there would be no need to contact Chris when he got back in town. I still couldn't stop thinking about Chris and what Estelle had said, though. The next morning didn't exactly help my case either. 

"Hey, you seem a little off. Is something wrong?" I realized that I has been in a daze and Adam's words pulled me back into the real world.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Just a little distracted I guess." I looked back at him and smiled over my cup of coffee. I could tell that he didn't exactly buy it, but he didn't push. 

"Do you wanna go out and see a movie later tonight? I think there are some good things out right now, but you can take your pick."

"Yeah of course. I'd love that." I set my hand on his arm, trying to seem affectionate but I was fairly certain he could tell that it was forced.

"I should probably get going soon. I've got a meeting today that I should probably look presentable for." He gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked back into my room to get his things. Estelle came into the kitchen and gave him a respectful nod as they passed each other. 

"Don't give me that look." I told her.

"I'm not even looking at you." She laughed as she pulled a mug out of the cupboard. "You do know me pretty well though, because I was just about to ask you when you were gonna tell him."

"Tell him what?"

"Oh come on." She said, setting her mug down so she could cross her arms and stare me down.

"There's the look."

"You're impossible. When are you gonna tell him about this whole situation with Chris?"

"There isn't even a situation to tell him about. I don't know what you want me to say." Estelle started to say something but she heard my bedroom door open and she paused. 

Adam came back into the kitchen and took one last sip of his coffee. "Well, I'm off. I'll talk to you later." He gave me a kiss and turned to Estelle to say goodbye. She raised her mug in acknowledgement as he walked out of the apartment. 

We waited a few seconds until we knew he was out of earshot to start talking again. "You do not care about that guy nearly as much as he cares about you, Laurel. He would bend over backwards for you and he deserves to know why you wouldn't do the same." 

"I know you think you know everything about everything, but you're not right about this. I'm not worried about Chris at all, and I want to give this thing with Adam a shot."

"Okay then." She sighed and sat down at the kitchen table with her coffee. 

*****

Adam 

Hey, I'm outside. You ready to go?

Laurel

Yep, I'll be down in a minute.

I grabbed my purse and walked out of my room. Estelle was sitting on the couch mindlessly flipping through channels. "Have fun tonight." She said without looking at me. I could tell she was annoyed with me, but she was going to give me the benefit of the doubt until I admitted otherwise.

"I will. I'll see you when I get back tonight." I walked out of the apartment and down to the parking lot to meet Adam.

I promised myself that that night I was really going to try with him. He was the only thing that would be on my mind even if it took a conscious effort to do so. "You decided on The Help, right?" He asked as we walked into the movie theater.

"I most certainly did." I smiled as we waited in line. "I hope they did the book justice though. I hate when the movie ruins such a good thing."

"You can give me a full comparison of the two after." He joked and put his arm around me. I felt myself tense as he did it, but I tried to relax as quickly as possible hoping he wouldn't notice. He did. The smile on his face sank a bit and he moved his arm back, and I knew this was just another item on the list of things I'd done to show that I wasn't as invested as him. I had to try harder. 

I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers between his. "Oh you know I will." After we bought our tickets, Adam ran to the bathroom and I waited for him just outside our theater. I looked around at the other people milling around the theater and the various posters for movies that were coming out soon. That's when I noticed it. At first I thought I was just imagining things, but no. Chris' face was staring back at me from the poster for What's Your Number. I couldn't help myself and walked over to get a closer look at it. It was definitely him. And somehow even on a poster his smile made me feel something. "No fucking way." I mumbled to myself. 

"Did you say something?" Adam asked as he walked back over to me. 

"Oh no." I quickly shook the thoughts of Chris from my head. "I was just looking at this poster."

He turned to look at it himself. "Chris Evans? Isn't that the guy that plays Captain America?"

"Yeah, I think you're right." I swallowed hard. "Why don't you go find us some seats. I kind of have to go to the bathroom too." He gave me a kiss and walked into the theater as I headed toward the bathroom. I dove into the first open stall I saw and pulled out my phone. 

Estelle was right.

Laurel

Hey, I hear you'll be back in town soon.