back to you || crisscolfer

Chapter 4

"I still don't understand how this is better than just calling your phone," Ashley said as she watched Chris dialing the number to her cell.

"Are you serious? He's probably still at some after party! I can't just call my phone when he's out there, surrounded by hundreds of people - for all we know, he hasn't even realized he has it yet!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down, you're freaking me out."

Chris rolled his eyes at her as he finished typing the number. "Okay, let's do this."

He inhaled deep and pressed the green button. The call ringed multiple times before it was answered.

"Hello?" a quite hoarse, abashed female voice said.

Chris' whole body stiffened. He sat there, in silence, with his mouth wide open for a good while before hanging up.

He stared at the phone, still unable to move.

"What happened?" Ashley's voice woke him back to reality.

"It was Mia," Chris muttered. He was squeezing the cell in his hand so hard his knuckles were white.

Before hearing Mia's voice, Chris hadn't even realized how nervous and on the edge he actually was about the situation. He was basically a home wrecker, how could've he been okay with this?

He looked around him wildly with a startled expression. He was feeling hot and throwing up but at the same time, he was also cold and shivering. His hands were shaking and his legs felt numb and stiff.

"Chris, are you okay?"

Chris twitched as he heard Ashley's voice. He turned his gaze at her and flashed an agitated smile. "What? Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? 'Cause you look pretty shaken."

"I'm fine," Chris said, tense. "I just need a minute."

"Yeah, of course. No rush. But remember, it's just a phone call. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Chris glanced at her. She was right. It was just a phone call, nothing more. And it wasn't even his phone he was calling from! Suddenly his slight meltdown seemed ridiculous. Why had he made such a big deal out of it? Mia was so gullible when it came to Darren she would've probably believed anything he'd said. Not to mention that it definitely wouldn't have been the first lie Chris had told her. During their time filming Glee, Chris hadn't exactly been the biggest fan of the lady.

He felt himself calming down little by little; his breathing had finally normalized and the shivers eased some. When also the expression on his face was starting to look human again, Chris took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. I'm ready."

"It wasn't that hard now, was it?" Ashley looked at him with a mild smirk on her face.

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," Chris sighed as he looked the number up again. "I haven't even called him yet."

"Do you want me to hold your hand?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Now you're just treating me like a big baby."

Ashley only grinned at response. "Just make the call."

Chris raised the cell to his ear and waited for a couple of rings.

"Darren?" a loud, bit annoyed voice answered.

Chris did a brief, silent victory dance. Telling the truth, he'd been hoping that Mia would've already returned the phone to its rightful owner. 

"Hey, uh... It's Chris," he said, trying to sound cool and not too enthusiastic.

"Chris? H-Hey! What's... What's going on?" Darren sounded startled.