Resolutions| Chriseva/ Mohnstad Fanfic

Shirt-Off

Chris knocked urgently on the door of a house he had come to know rather well; basement light lit up late at night, painted a light reddish hue on the exterior walls, the interior as modernized as any other house. He had spent many nights there, countless summers, endless winter vacations, either laughing from joy or crying in pain because William was patching him up after violent fights with other boys. Chris was highly doubtful there still existed an ointment or medicine brand in the Magnusson's residence that he hasn't used at least once.
So him appearing at their doorstep right before the crack of dawn was nothing new. Tonight, however, was another matter entirely. William wasn't home; he was at his uncles house in Athens, and his cousin, a girl who goes to their school but never seemed to cross paths with them, was house-sitting. He had seen her once or twice around the hall, yet could never quite catch her name. It wasn't as if he even put much effort into trying to remember it before, either. He was more bruised then ever, certain that if he didn't receive any medical care soon he'd pass out, or worse; he tried to remove that thought out of his mind, but he found it increasingly hard.
He heard a distinct bark and the knob of the front door turn, revealing William's cousin, apron on and all, juggling Skam, William's pet dog who always found a way to wiggle himself into everyone's arms (everyone he l i k e d; Skam seemed to hate Chris with a burning passion), and a wallet in another. '20 dollars, isn't it?' She asked in a shy but attractive voice, not looking up as she rummaged through the wallet.
Obviously expecting someone else to pop up on her doorstep, it took her several seconds to realize the state Chris was in. Those seconds were enough for him to take the girl in. Beautiful green orbs that looked as though they held beautiful green gems in them. Strawberry blonde hair that fell perfectly over her shoulders. Dimples that were visible to him even in his half-awake, disheveled state.
Fuck.
She finished getting her money out of her wallet quickly, and when she finally looked up to him she froze with the money mid-air. Chris managed to shoot her an ever-charming smile, yet it didn't appear to calm her all that much, a fact that surprised Chris. He was used to being able to ease people's worries fairly quickly.
'You're William's best friend, right?' She said hurriedly, moving her hand so that she could drop Skam down to the floor without hurting him, putting the wallet and money on the closest available surface and ushering Chris in. 'Aha.' He replied, trying to look natural, even though his ribs were groaning and he felt hot white pain surging throughout his upper left arm. 'I'll get the first aid kit; go to the kitchen and try not to move so much.' She shot out another couple of orders, in an apparent frenzy. The blood must have really worried her.
Whatever the case, Chris obeyed. He propped himself against the counter top, and could see that he had interrupted something. Seeing as the layout of the house had an open kitchen one, he could see on the living room coffee table that scrunched up pieces of paper was littered on it, scribbly handwriting on school books and so forth. She was obviously struggling with studying. She came swiftly into the room and laid down a kit with a Red Cross on it, just as the bell rang once more.
Thank God, Chris thought. Maybe it was William arriving home early. 'Eva.....?' A girl's name let out questionably from the door. 'Mohn; Eva Mohn.' William's cousin replied, swiping the money from the counter and grabbing the pizzas from the delivery girls hands. She ran back and dropped the pizzas on the table. Opening up the kit, she started swabbing away at Chris' face, concentrating on his scars rather then his dimples that she was trying very hard to stop staring at. 'Eva, is it?' Chris asked tentatively. 'M-hmmmmmm.' She answered, putting a bandage right below his jawline and washing the blood off the towel she had used to clean his face. 'Chris.' He extended his arm through the extremely short distance between them, and the nanosecond after they shook Eva turned his hand such that the inside of his palm was facing downwards, and starting putting antiseptic on his knuckles, where his skin had broken and they were a shade of dark pink. Her precision is not what surprised him, but rather her caring.
She did not tend to his wounds as though he were a bother, or someone who she just had to deal with; rather, she seemed genuinely concerned. He was not used to this. After she finished one hand she moved on to the other, and when she had finished up there, right before she was going to let go of him, he copied her previous action and planted a kiss on her hand. 'Thank you.' He said with sincerity that shocked himself. Why was he acting like this? She cast her eyes downward and smiled a little, letting him know that she didn't disapprove of the action. Just as he felt Eva was going to say something, Skam ran at full speed in their general direction and knocked right into the first aid kit, making all of its contents skitter on the table. Skam was promptly kicked out of the kitchen and into the garden, making Chris feel very happy for some odd reason. 'Take off your shirt so I can make sure none of your organs were badly hurt.' Eva said as she picked up some pizza.
'Didn't peg you for someone who would go to third base before a first date.' Chris said smirking. He couldn't possible try to act sweet around her, only for Eva to find out from literally anyone else how he really was. He would like to believe that he never lead girls on. They all know he has a girlfriend, and he never directly flirts with them. Eva rolled her bright eyes, her long lashes going skyward before walking back towards him. Armed with antibiotics and a power drink that probably has a bad kick to it, she was probably the only girl Chris had ever known to be this close to him, semi-naked, and not flirt. He made a point not of it not to walk about his own house shirtless, so that his younger siblings, two twins, never compare his body to theirs whenever they'll mature or their boy/friends, because Chris may be a jerk sometimes, but he of all people should know how important body image is when you're young.
Halfway finished, Eva pulls back and races up the stairs before running back down and giving Chris a pair of shorts. They seemed familiar. Probably William's. 'Change out of your clothes so I can wash them.' Eva said turning her back so him and cleaning up the kitchen. Chris moved quickly to the bathroom, where he actually looked at himself in the mirror for a brief moment. He hadn't been here that long, but Eva had already left her mark. His hands didn't look as bruised up as before and his face, boyish charms and all, looks much better then it did an hour ago. He loaded the washer and started it before coming back to the kitchen. Eva was munching on pizza when he came in. She made a motion for him to sit down and eat. He obliged, for the second time in one night. 'So, who did you get into a fight with?' 'A couple of drunk guys; don't worry, I won't be bothering you any more nights.' 'I didn't mean that- you can come by any time, I don't really care. I just meant-' she looked at my bruised eye '- I hope it was worth it.' Apparently it was, because that's the start of Chris and Eva's- friendship would undermine it- relationship.