Little Talks ☇ C. Evans

15 ) red carpet

"I love when interviewers want to know more gossip about our personal lives than the movie premiere." Poppy rolled her eyes, walking along beside Chris.

His arm was still wrapped across her back as if he didn't want either one of them being pulled to the side of the red carpet for another interview. That, and he couldn't seem to shake his anxiousness and being beside her helped a little.

"That's just how it is, I guess." He shrugged, glancing over at her, cameras flashing up ahead of them.

"Yeah," Poppy sighed, looking away from him and down at the carpet. "Hey, what she said back there. . .asking if I came as your date tonight. . .you said Sebastian 'beat you to the punch.' Did you mean that? I mean, were you going to ask me?" She looked up at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, well, yeah. I was thinking about it, but—"

Poppy looked down at the sound of her phone buzzing in her wristlet, "Hold that thought, Chris."

He swallowed his words, removing his arm from her back as she unzipped the wallet and retrieved her phone. A photo of Sebastian and Poppy displayed on the screen, his contact name above it.

"Seb! I lost you back there." Poppy held the phone to her ear, causing Chris to lose sight of the screen.

The two continued on down the carpet slowly, barely escaping the jaws of death—a.k.a. an interview crew working under Perez Hilton. Chris had to go unnoticed by them, otherwise he knew his night would be ruined and he'd be reminded of the article that practically pronounced him an alcoholic.

"Pop-tart, where are you?" Sebastian's voice came through on the other line, causing Poppy to chuckle.

"Looking for you," she laughed, stopping and pulling Chris to the side of the carpet beside her.

"Woah! No way!" Sebastian practically yelled into the phone.

"I know! Surprisingly, someone actually wants you around for once." She joked, eliciting a snicker from him on the other side.

"No, that's not what I meant. Harrison Ford is here!" Sebastian said, sending Poppy into a fit of excitement.

She looked up at Chris as he pretty much towered over her, all six foot of him, "Oh my gosh! Seb, you've gotta be kidding me!" She squeaked into the phone, looking around for any sign of her favorite actor.

Sebastian's laughs on the other end of the line caused her face to fall, and Chris raised an eyebrow at her sad expression.

"Yeah, I am kidding you." Sebastian laughed as he finally broke through the swarms of people and made his way over to Chris and Poppy, hanging up the phone as he drew closer.

"I hate you. That was so mean!" Poppy slapped his arm, causing him to laugh harder.

"Interesting, because somebody back there told me that you said, and I quote, 'Sebastian Stan is a ladies man.'" Sebastian smirked, looking at Chris and back at Poppy.

"Well, maybe I lied." Poppy joked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Ah, so you don't think I'm 'boyfriend material?' The interviewer back there told me she thought I was." Sebastian chuckled, looking at Chris. "But, then again, she also told me that I needed to give you guys a little push."

"And what kind of push would that be?" Chris asked, a smile growing on his face.

"A push for you guys to get together. I mean, come on, it's pretty obvious!" Sebastian replied, shaking Chris by the shoulder.

"What's pretty obvious?" Poppy asked, though her question was left unanswered as another interview and camera crew took notice of them standing idle on the carpet.

"I'll tell you what's obvious—you three sure are cracking up over here. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" The interviewer asked, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"Yeah, yeah! Totally, ask away." Chris put on his best smile, glancing sideways at Poppy before fixating his attention on the man interviewing him.

"First question is for you, then, Cap! How do you think Steve was able to adjust to modern day life in this film? He misses Peggy, I'm sure, but there are rumors that in the upcoming Avengers film, Age of Ultron, two of the characters could have a possible spark between them. Could you tell us anything about that?"

Chris rubbed his hands on his pants legs nervously, which Poppy noticed. Even his posture told her how much of a nervous wreck he was, and they had bare,y been there for forty minutes.

"I think-I think Steve was having a time adjusting, whether or not it was a rough time can be left up to the audience. As for the Age of Ultron rumors, we're still early in the filming process. Personally, I just started a little hiatus while doing all of these press tours and interviews for Winter Soldier, so I haven't heard much about them. I know, uh, there is a possible spark. . .not sure if Steve is a character involved in that, though." Chris chuckled, looking between the camera and the interviewer.

"Excellent. Well, let me ask you another question. If you had to pair Steve in a badass duo, who would be the other half? Boy or girl? Enhanced or human?"

"A badass duo? Hm, for Age of Ultron? Geez, that-that is a hard one. But, I think I would pick Black Widow. Wait, wait, scratch that; I would pick the Hulk." Chris answered, causing the interviewer to raise his eyebrows.

"That would be pretty badass," the interviewer chuckled, holding his mix between Poppy and Chris while Sebastian glanced around the carpet, "but what about Cap in a romantic kind of thing maybe? I mean, he deserves a little something-something, right?"

Poppy chuckled, leaning in closer to the mic, "Okay, I know this isn't my movie premiere, but I have one thing to say. Romance is not the kind of love we necessarily need in the Cap movies. Sure, Steve loved Peggy, and she loved him, but what made that arc so fantastic was that Cap sacrificed himself for everyone, not just the girl. And I think that forcing Cap into another love so soon after he's been discovered in the ice. . .it would be, uh, well forced. The kind of love in these films are stronger than usual; it is a family bond, a family love."

Chris and Sebastian both raised their eyebrows before holding their hands up for her to high five.

"Right, right! Wow, you've got your little team of supporters behind you." The man said, "But what I really want to know is this. If your character in Age of Ultron was the woman Cap was falling for, would you feel differently after receiving that kind of attention?"

"Why would she feel any differently on set versus off set when she receives attention from Evans all the time?" Sebastian butted in, chuckling.

Both Poppy and Chris felt their faces burning from the watchful, accusing eyes of the interviewer and the empty lenses of the cameras. Sure, they were used to dealing with rumors and accusations in the industry, but it was something new to actually believe the rumors and accusations for themselves.

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I would like to apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes in this chapter. I have a bad tendency of falling asleep while writing and then I wake up and don't realize that what I wrote made no sense. Hopefully, that didn't happen too bad in this chapter.
— Mar