Life Is What You Make It (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfic)

Part 28: The Plan

A/N: Okay, readers, just a short chapter to move the story along.

The Plan

After Dean and I talk, I have a new resolve. I fought Dean a bit during our talk, saying things like 'No, it won't work' and 'It doesn't matter; Tom doesn't love me.'

"Pardon me for saying this, Mac, but it's not about Tom anymore. It's about you and people saying things that aren't true."

With a plan of attack in mind, I call Ben to talk about my filming schedule. "Alright, Mia, we'll work around the time you need off, but next week we need to get back to a regular schedule," he says.

My next call is to Anna. "What's up? Is everything okay?" She asks. "Yeah, in fact it may get better. I need something, though." "Anything you need," Anna says quickly. "I need Chris Evans' phone number," I say.

Anna is silent. Just when I think she's not going to help, she says, "I'll text it to you," then hangs up.

Once I receive her text, I take a deep breath and dial. I know he's filming with the rest of the Avengers/Guardians cast right now. Though Anna has been reluctant to share many details with me, things have been pretty cool on their set. Some may even say it's been ice cold. Apparently, Tom and Evans exchanged a few heated words last week, and though things have calmed down between the two, the cast and crew are feeling the awkwardness.

Evans' phone rings a few times then goes to voicemail. "Hey, Chris, it's Mia...Mia MacKenzie. Listen, I know things are...pretty shitty right now, but I really need you to call me back." I leave my number just in case it doesn't show up on his phone, and I ask him to call me no matter what time he gets the message.

Now I just wait.

A Call from a Superhero

At 1:00 a.m. my phone buzzes in my hand. I fell asleep with it in the hopes that Chris would get back to me sooner rather than later.

"Hello," I say, trying to wake myself up.

"Mia? It's Chris."

"Hey, Chris. Thanks for calling me back."

"No problem. Sorry it's so late."

There's a second of silence, then Chris launches into a diatribe. "Mia, I tried to tell him is wasn't you, but he wouldn't listen. He talked to Emma first, and I think he was so mad about me breaking it off with her that he wouldn't listen to me. Then we got into it again on set, and I thought for a minute he was going to throw a punch or something. Luckily, Chris Hemsworth got between us to end it."

"Chris, it's okay. This isn't your fault," I say.

I hear an audible sigh from Chris. "I do need your help, though," I say. "Do you know where Simone lives?"

Chris is silent again. "Please, Chris, this isn't about Tom and me," I say. "It's about my reputation. If word gets around that I break up entire casts and start fights on set, it may ruin my career."

In reality, I think this will blow over like Ben and Mitch say, but I'm appealing to Chris on a professional level. If I was truthful, especially with myself, I'd acknowledge that I'd look for a new job if Tom just believed me. He doesn't even have to take me back - he just needs to realize I told the truth about not playing him false.

And that's when it hits me. It's not about Chris or even Emma for Tom. It's that he thinks I played him. Oh, here comes the ice pick to the heart again.

"I know where she lives," Chris says. "But she has a boyfriend."

"Chrisss..." I say in reflex.

"I know, Mia. I suck."

"You don't suck. But I'm glad I never actually dated you despite what the press says," I say with a little laugh. Chris laughs, too.

"You know the really sucky part of this? I really liked Emma. I mean, when I dropped her off at her place after the party, I had every intention of...you know. But she shot me down. She just gave me this really sweet kiss, said she had a good time and goodnight. Normally, I would have scratched her off my list, but instead I found myself thinking of when I could see her again. And that's when I panicked, like maybe I could really fall for her. It freaked me out, so instead I called her the next day with the 'It's not you, it's me' excuse. Then I moved on to another girl, then Simone."

"So, I was right," I say.

"About what?"

"You are a player!"

Chris laughs at this and says, "Maybe I am." But I detect a note of sadness in his reply.

"Okay, Mia, here you go. But don't say I didn't warn you." With that, Chris gives me Simone's address.