𝐯𝐢𝐢.

"Wait—you're telling me that man invited you over for Thanksgiving dinner and you're going to say no? Are you insane?" Hope asked of her baby sister as they chatted over FaceTime for a bit before Faith had to take an Uber downtown for the Celtics game against the Sixers.

"Not insane, I just don't think I should bail on y'all. You know how Ma is about everyone spending Thanksgiving together..."

"Ma isn't going to let you hear the end of it if you turn him down. Screw us! It's Chris Evans!"

Faith chuckled, but there was something else that was still on her mind about the whole thing. And if there were anyone she could be honest with, it was Hope. "Ugh, I hate feeling like this."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm reading too much into his kindness. I mean, we're friends, yeah—but don't you think him inviting me to dinner on one of the biggest holidays is a more-than-friends situation?"

Hope thought about it for a second or two. "Only if you think it is. Let's look at this logically. Chris is a friendly guy, and it's obvious that he considers you an important person in his life. So, maybe this is his way of showing that. And I'm almost positive he doesn't invite all of his female friends over to meet his folks."

That was a good point. "Maybe you're right."

"I am, trust me."

"But then again..."

"If you finish that sentence, you're going to worry yourself to death. Whether you go or not—which I think you absolutely should—I'm thinking the only reason that you're stressing over this is because you're worried that it means he's crushing on you a little bit."

Leave it to Hope to get the truth out of her one way or another. "How do you always know?"

"I'm your sister, weirdo. It's my job. Come on, spill."

Faith wished it was easier for her to be upfront with her emotions instead of pretending like they weren't there. Thanks to one of her exes, it was still an ongoing battle. One day maybe she'd have the guts to unpack all that emotional turmoil, but today was not that day. "I don't know. We haven't hung out a ton just yet, but we text a good amount and it feels so natural. But at the same time, it's nerve wracking because I keep waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me."

"What do you mean?" Hope responded, eyebrows furrowing. "You think he's just messing around with you?"

"No, not really..." Frustrated, she ran her fingers through her locs. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that everything feels too good to be true. And we haven't even gotten to the Oscars date yet."

Hope's expression sobered. "Listen to me. I know you like the back of my hand, so what you need to do right now is ground yourself. Don't think about anything except for the fact that you and Chris are friends, and he likes you enough to want you to meet his family and spend time with them. That's significant, even if it doesn't feel like it."

She was right, and Faith knew it. But her words failed to spark the determination that she was sure Hope was aiming for. "I think I'm still going to decline, though. But maybe–"

Hope groaned. "Have you not listened to a word I said?"

"I have, but you didn't even hear the rest of what I'm thinking about. What if we did something for Christmas?"

Hope raised her eyebrows in astonishment. "Hold up, yes. Do it. Get off the phone right now and call that man!"

Laughing at her sister's silliness—and simultaneously a little shocked by her own boldness—Faith ended the call and dialed Chris' number. It rang a few times before he picked up. "Hey hon, give me just a second."

"Sure, no problem." Once he put her on hold, she figured it made sense to ensure she had everything ready before heading down to the lobby.

"Okay, hi. Sorry about that, they were getting everyone's food orders in. Today's our final day!"

"That's great! How are you feeling about it?"

"I'm really excited. This movie's gonna be fantastic and I can't wait for everyone to see it," He responded. "What's going on with you? The game starts in a little bit, right?"

"Yeah, I was about to head down to the lobby to catch an Uber. But listen, I wanted to get back to you about Thanksgiving. My fam makes it a big thing every year, so I don't think I'd be able to make it..."

If he was disappointed, he hid it well. "Oh, okay. No worries at all, I just thought I'd ask."

Butterflies zipped through her stomach once it got quiet for a few seconds. Say it now!

"Um, I was thinking—and if it's too much or you'll be busy, don't even worry about it—what if we did something for Christmas? My folks don't usually do anything extravagant, so I wouldn't be missing much."

"Christmas?" He repeated.

Her hopes sank just a little. "If you can't, I completely understand–"

"Hey, wait a minute—I only said one word, I didn't hang up." She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips. "As a matter of fact, I would love to spend Christmas with you. Oddly enough this year is my first time hosting everyone, so..."

"Are you asking me to help you cook Christmas dinner?"

"I might be. If that's okay with you."

Faith felt some of the tension ease from her shoulders. "I'd be happy to help. Fair warning, though, I can throw down in the kitchen—so you're gonna have to give me tasks to do or else I might take over."

She could tell he was smiling just by the tone of voice. "Oh, really? Well, I can be a little bossy when I need to be."

"Is that so? Noted. May come in handy later..."

If anyone would've told Faith she'd one day be shamelessly flirting with Chris Evans over the phone, she would've said you were crazy.

• • • •

notification

ana_d_armas just tweeted a photo.

1h

• • • •

Double overtime games were the worst. By the time Faith made it back to her hotel, she wished she could've burrowed herself under the blankets and sleep for a week. Or at least for the next couple of hours uninterrupted. Unfortunately, she knew she needed to get a draft going for the road trip recaps. If she didn't do it now, it'd have to wait until she got back home and she'd have to contend with Jessica pestering her with emails.

Maybe I'll just nap first... She thought to herself after dumping her belongings on the small kitchen island.

Too bad the second she plopped onto the couch and felt her eyes drift shut, that stupid gif was the first thing she saw.

Ugh.

In her heart of hearts, Faith knew that the tweet shouldn't have bothered her. At all. Chris and Ana were co-stars, had been on set together for longer than she'd known him. And the most important tidbit—they were both single. So, who cared if they were super close and cozy? It didn't matter.

But it did. And she absolutely hated that it did.

Ana was holding his hand so tight, as if he'd disappear the moment she let go. And the hand trailing down the arm? 'I'm attracted to my co-star' 101. Annoying as hell.

It was deflating to say the least, especially after their conversation earlier had put her in such a good mood.

Faith heaved a weary sigh and opened up their iMessage thread. She wasn't going to say a thing about the picture, not unless she wanted things to be and forever remain awkward between them. Instead, she was going to text and see if he was up for a quick FaceTime.

Here lately, they'd chat at the end of their respective evenings and give a recap of how their day went, whether it was good, bad or everything in between. It was a nice way for them both to decompress. Even more than that, when Faith did find herself in a foul mood, just seeing Chris' face light up when the call connected was the best way to cheer her up.

Faith 💜

12:54am

Hey! Game went into double OT so I just got back to my room

Chris 🤩

12:56am

Hey nice! I caught the tail end of the game over this way haha

Faith 💜

12:57am

Are you able to FT for a bit?

Chris 🤩

12:59am

I wish :( cast and crew are having a late night celebratory dinner.

Faith 💜

1:00am

Oh okay no worries :) I gotta be up early for my flight home anyway

Chris 🤩

1:03am

I can tell you want to ask me about it.

Faith 💜

1:04am

Lol about what?

Chris 🤩

1:06am

You know what. The tweet Ana made earlier.

Faith 💜

1:09am

Bold of you to assume that...

Y'all do look pretty cozy tho 👀

Chris 🤩

1:10am

There's nothing going on.

Faith 💜

1:12am

If there is or isn't it doesn't matter. We're just friends and you can date who you want, remember?

Chris 🤩

1:14am

Right. Just friends.

Faith 💜

1:16am

I need to get some sleep or else I'll be a zombie tomorrow

Chris 🤩

1:19am

Okay. Sleep well and text me when you land, alright? 💙

Faith 💜

1:19am

Yup  💛

1:20am

You should ask her out btw

Chris 🤩

1:22am

And just why would I do that?

Faith 💜

1:23am

Attractive co-stars date all the time, it'd be kinda weird if you didn't at least test the waters

Chris 🤩

1:25am

I respect Ana, but I probably wouldn't ask her out...

Faith 💜

1:30am

How come?

Chris 🤩

1:32am

Got my eyes on someone else.

Faith 💜

1:35am

Care to share with the rest of the class?

Chris 🤩

1:36am

Nope. Go to bed, Faith :)

Faith 💜

1:37am

Fine 🙄  I'll get it out of you one day

Chris 🤩

1:38am

If you say so 😌

• • • •

when i tell you it took me almost an hour to create ana's "tweet" with that gif  😭 also PLS i know in knives out chris is beardless and in the interview he has one okay 💀 just use ur imaginations, i'm doing the best i can w/o photoshop <3

ANYWAY what did you guys think of this chapter? here are some questions:

1. do you think chris will eventually ask ana out? since he's technically single 💀

2. is faith right to think that her friendship w/ chris may end up being too good to be true?

last thing, this isn't a question necessarily but we need a ship name for chris and faith!! their firsts don't really go together well so i was thinking abt beauvans (which kind of sounds french daskjdjsak) anyway unless u guys have any other suggestions, beauvans it is!

thanks for 5k <3