Close To Me

Chapter 1

"Blake open this door right now!" Pounding could be heard echoing through the small apartment.

"No!" She shouted back. "I don't want to get up!"

"I'm going to break it down if you don't open it!" Chris teased from the other side.

Blake rolled her eyes with a laugh while saying, "You're so freaking dramatic, just use your key!"

"I lost it," he whined. "Just get your lazy ass up and come open the door."

Chris snickered when he heard her loud groan and a moment later the wood door swung opened, revealing Blake. Chris' blue eyes saw her thick curly brown hair wrangled into a messy bun, an oversized tee shirt and black sweatpants covering her lanky frame, and behind her Chris could see where she had been camped out on the couch in a pile of blankets.

"You look like crap," Chris walked past her into the apartment.

"Wow, nothing says hello like your best friend insulting you the moment they walk in," Blake rolled her eyes.

"Aw you know I love you Blakey," He gave her a cheesy smile. "What I mean was I thought we were going out for drinks tonight and you're in sweatpants!"

"I don't want to go out, besides, I've been busy all day!" She retorted

Chris examined the pile of blankets on the couch, The Office playing on her TV, and her laptop on the floor, "Have you just been sitting on the couch all day?" Chris asked and then held up the half eaten bag of cheetos that was sitting on the coffee table.

"No!" She replied while grabbing her cheetos on the way to plop back on the couch. "I've been editing photos for the last wedding I shot so I've been working!"

"Yeah all that cheeto dust on your fingers really says working," Chris used air quotes on the word working while sitting on the couch on the empty spot next to her.

Blake just smiled and tackled Chris so that he was flat on his back on the cushion of the couch and tried to wipe her fingers on his face. Chris hysterically laughed while trying to fight Blake off as she climbed on top of him. He grabbed her wrists and Chris easily held her off with his muscular arms but Blake wiggled one of her small wrists out of his grasp and wiped her hand on his scruffy beard, leaving a streak of orange cheeto dust on his face.

Seeing the streak made her cackle like a hyena and Chris couldn't help but laugh in response. He easily pushed her off of him and sat up while pretending to be unamused by her antics while rolling his eyes, "Oh laugh it up fuzzball."

"You cannot use a Star Wars quote against me!" She replied.

"You're such a nerd," He elbowed her lightly in the ribs.

"Excuse you Mr. I-Watched-Care-Bears-Until-I-Was-Ten, yeah I see how cool you are and how you can look down at me from all the way up there," Blake retorted to her lifelong friend.

"Hey I'm Captain America so I think i'm pretty cool," Chris put his arms behind his head and laid back on the couch, resting his feet in her lap.

She pushed his feet off her lap while retorting with a smile, "No you play him in a movie, yet in real life... still a nerd."

"....So," Was his amazing comeback, making Blake laughing, knowing that she had won. "Hey, you're still coming with me to Atlanta on Friday to do reshoots for Civil War right?"

Blake's eyes sparkled brightly before she said through her wide smile, "Um duh, of course I am! And then we're going straight to Disney World and meeting up with your family and my mom right?"

Chris nodded before they started gushing together about all the things they had to do first when they got to Disney. Ever since Blake and her mom had moved in across the street from the Evans when Blake was two, the families had been close.

Lisa had come over to bring the new neighbors a plate of cookies to welcome them when Blake's mother, Carla, invited her in and the two ended up talking for hours and became instant friends. Carla had explained to her new friend how she was struggling with being newly divorced, going back to work and taking care of her two year old daughter and asked Lisa knew of good daycares. Lisa had given her a big smile before telling her she'd be happy to watch her since she was already home with her daughter Carly and son Chris who happened to be the same age as Blake and from that day on, the two families were inseparable.

Blake spent practically every moment of her childhood with the Evans siblings and had such a close and unique relationship with each one but Chris was always her best friend. They did everything together from playing pranks on Scott, doing homework after school, and were always each others prom dates (except for senior year when Chris just had to ask Jessica Parker which Blake warned him was a mistake, but didn't rub it in his face when she dumped him at the prom and instead bought him a pizza and listened to him vent). They were each others biggest cheerleaders and best confidant. They always knew they could count on one another and nothing could pull them apart. They never felt more themselves when they had the other one there and honestly, it wasn't very often when they weren't together.

This thought entered Chris' mind and it reminded him to ask, "So how did it go with that one guy Ryan last night?"

"Eh, I'm not going to go out with him again," Blake shrugged, digging out some cheetos to toss in her mouth. "He was too straight laced and serious for me. I don't know, maybe I'm just being too picky. Am I too picky? I mean I'm 33 and single, that's so pathetic!"

"No, it's not pathetic at all. Besides, I'm 33 and single too, am I pathetic?" Chris asked and she shot him a teasing look, causing him to laugh before going on, "Okay I walked into that one. But Blake, you're not picky enough. Nobody deserves you."

"Say that to me when I haven't sat on the couch most of the day eating cheetos and binge watching The Office and I might agree with you a bit more," Blake snickered. "But seriously, I'm starting to think there is something wrong with me. Why can't I meet the right guy for me?"

"You just haven't met him yet but you'll find him," Chris encouraged with his big grin that always made Blake smile.

"I hope so," Blake sighed while pulling her knees up to her chest.

Chris hated to see his best friend sad and wanted to cheer her up; a moment later, an idea popped into his head, "Hey... let's go pull a prank on Scotty."

Instantly, Blake's wide smile was back on her face.