DIVE [1; CHRIS EVANS]

XX.

20. TEXTS + REAL LIFE

MINNIE
are you on set today?

CHRIS
I'm not required, but I can be if you want me to be?

MINNIE
oh no no, it's cool

CHRIS
what's up?

MINNIE
I finish at lunch today, so I wondered if you wanted to go grab lunch together?

CHRIS
fake date lunch or just lunch, lunch

MINNIE
I was thinking just lunch, lunch

MINNIE
I mean, people will probs take pictures but we don't have to act up to it

CHRIS
awesome!

CHRIS
do you wanna go straight from set? I can meet you there

MINNIE
sure, sounds good to me!

CHRIS
I'm not doing much anyway so I'll head down soon and hang about for bit

MINNIE
I'm filming non-stop in like half an hour onward until I finish, but I think robert is done filming and will stick around for a bit so you can talk to him or whatever

CHRIS
or I could watch you act

MINNIE
or you could do that, sure

*

It was nice, for once, to be able to simply enjoy spending time with Chris. They weren't purposefully playing anything up. Sure, there were cameras and whispers around them that they were perfectly aware of, but they weren't going to acknowledge them. That meant they would more than likely keep their distance until they went to leave.

There was usually a level of formality when they went out, putting in effort to try and look good for the publications that would appear the same night detailing the next step in their 'relationship' but this time was different. Minnie was fresh off set, hair scraped back, practically make up free, and wearing an oversized hoodie and leggings (along with a cap to hide herself a little); and Chris was similarly wearing simply whatever was comfortable, over what looked good.

It felt like a turning point of sorts.

Minnie glanced up at Chris; the conversation had reached a natural pause. The quiet wasn't awkward by any means, but they were still at a stage where they didn't know each other well enough for it to be entirely comfortable, either.

"You know," Chris started, as though picking up on the way that the atmosphere didn't feel quite right. Minnie tilted her head to one side slightly, assuring him that he had her attention and was listening. "I've actually really enjoyed this so far." He commented, not finishing the sentence to say what this meant in case any unwelcome eavesdroppers caught onto the fact that they'd only been playing a game the entire time that people had been rooting for them.

Minnie hummed, taking a sip of her drink to give herself time to think of an answer that wouldn't come across as embarrassingly too enthusiastic agreement.

"I've gotta admit, I'm genuinely having fun," She answered, not sure whether she was talking about messing with the press, or spending time with him.

"I'm almost gonna miss you when we finish filming," He responded. But then he was looking away, as though he'd just caught up with what he'd said.

"Me too," She chose to reply quickly, not wanting him to feel as though he had to backtrack and change the meaning of his words. It was okay, she'd decided, to act just a little upon her potential desire to continue this for herself, rather than for the press.

Just a little, though, and no more.

Entertaining the though of continuing to see Chris was one thing. Teasing with the idea, she could do.

But realistically she was struggling to accept that any part of this held anything real; it was all for show, and she'd convinced herself that it'd more than likely remain that way.