A Chance Meeting | Chris Evans

Chapter 55

A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter - it kind of went in a different direction than I'd planned, but I liked it, so I've left it as is. xx
******
Becca froze in place.
Holy shit! Scarlett Johansson is here!

Scarlett.

Johansson.

Is.

Here.

No! I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to meet her. I can't believe Chris did this.

'You set this up?' She asked Chris, angrily.
'What? No-'
And now they're both coming over!
'You knew I wasn't ready to meet any of them yet!' She interrupted. 'I told you that I wasn't ready!'
'I-'
'And you did this anyway?'
'No, this wasn't me!'
'So it's just a coincidence? She just happened to be here?'
'I-I don't know.'
'Right.' She said sarcastically.
'I didn't do this.' He said, sounding worried.
Becca gave him a dirty look, not believing him.
'Please, I don't want us to fight.'
'Well, maybe you shouldn't have completely disregarded my feelings then!' Her reply came out a bit louder than she'd intended.
'I didn't! I wouldn't!' Chris's voice rose too, and she noticed that he'd started to tap his fingers against his leg. Is that an anxiety sign?
'Hey there!' Scotty said, as he and Scarlett came over.
Out of the corner of her eye, Becca could see Scarlett looking at her curiously.
'Scarlett. Tell Becs that I didn't invite you here!' Chris said a bit too loudly, completely cutting over the top of Scotty's greeting.
'Err.' Scarlett said, obviously a bit confused as to what she'd walked into.
She hadn't noticed before because she'd been cross, but now that she was paying attention to Chris, Becca could see definite signs of anxiety - his fingers were still tapping on his leg and he seemed to be breathing quicker than normal.
'Tell her that I didn't set this up!'
Okay, he definitely seems anxious.
'You okay?' Scotty asked him.
'Just tell her!'
'I invited Scarlett.' Scotty said. 'Ages ago.'
'See?!' Chris said turning to Becca.
Why's he freaking out so much?
'You believe me now?' He asked. 'You believe me?'
'Yes, l believe you.' Becca said, trying to calm him down, but it didn't seem to help.
'Because I don't want us to fight.' Chris said, sounding shaky. 'We can't fight when I'm going away tomorrow.'
'Chris, man, you need to chill.' Scotty said, but Chris ignored him.
He's working up to an anxiety attack. What the hell has set this off? It can't be just because I was cross at him, surely?
'I can't leave for three weeks if you're mad at me.' He said, desperately.
'I'm not mad.'
'I can't.'
Okay, whatever set it off, you need to help him get control back before he has a full blown anxiety attack right here in this club.
She knew what to do - she had to get his attention on her and distract him from the physical symptoms. She stepped closer to him, put her palm against his chest and gently exerted pressure - not enough to push him, but enough for him to feel it.
God, I can feel his heart racing through his shirt.
Her other hand reached for his, and moved it away from his leg to stop the tapping. She was planning to let go straight away, but he gripped her hand so hard she couldn't.
'It's okay.' She said in her calmest voice. 'I'm not mad at you. I know you didn't set this up.'
He looked at her, but his breathing was still ragged.
'You need to take a slow breath in.' She said demonstrating. 'And hold it. Then let it out slowly.'
He copied her.
'That's good.' She said, still using her calm voice. 'Keep doing that.'
After about a minute of the slow breathing, he seemed to calm down a bit, but he was still gripping her hand as if his life depended on it.
'That's better.' She said soothingly. 'You're calming down now.'
She was concentrating on Chris, so she didn't see the significant looks and raised eyebrows that Scotty and Scarlett were exchanging behind her back.
'Can you talk?' She asked.
Chris nodded. 'Yeah.' He said shakily.
'Okay. Would it help to take a Xanax now?' Becca asked quietly.
Chris nodded again. 'Yeah. Yeah, it would.'
'Do you have any with you, or in the car?' She asked.
'In my pocket.'
'Well, take however many is your dose. Do you need a glass of water?'
'No. I take them dry.'
He finally let go of her hand and she stepped back and watched as he took two tablets.
'How long will they take to kick in?'
'Not long.'
'Okay. Would it help to go and sit down or go somewhere quiet while you wait for them to work?'
'No, I'm feeling better.'
She looked at him suspiciously - panic attacks don't go away that quickly, even with medication. Maybe he was just feeling embarrassed and didn't want any more fuss. He was looking down at the floor rather than at her.
'Okay.' She said.
'I'm sorry.' He said, his voice sounding tight. 'I'm really sorry. I never wanted you to see...'
'Don't worry about it.' She said, but that didn't seem to help.
'Someone once told me that we can't help who we are.' She said, quoting him back to himself.
The tiniest ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.
Ah, progress.
'Sounds like a smart guy.' He said.
'Nah,' she joked, 'I'm pretty sure that he just got it from a fortune cookie or something.'
Chris snorted.
'I'll be right back.' He said and walked towards the toilets.
She didn't like the thought of him being by himself right now.
'Scotty, can you-' she gestured towards Chris.
'One step ahead of you.' Scotty said, following him.
'Well, that was a hell of an ice breaker.' Said Scarlett's voice from behind her.
And now I have to talk to Scarlett Johansson. Like a normal person.
To be fair, after all that, the thought of just talking to her didn't seem nearly as scary as it had.
Becca took a deep breath herself and turned around. 'Yeah.'
'Looks like we get to introduce ourselves. I'm Scarlett.'
'Hi. I'm Becs or Becca.'
'Nice to meet you Becs.' She said. 'You know, that was seriously impressive, what you just did there.'
Becca shrugged. 'It was nothing, I just helped him to calm down.'
Scarlett opened her mouth to say something, but just then Matt and Sam came over and she stopped.
'Hey there.' Matt said. 'Everything okay with Chris?'
Becca hesitated, unsure of how much to tell Matt. She knew that only a few of Chris's closest friends knew the extent of his anxiety. Was Matt one of them? She flicked her eyes to Scarlett, who shook her head almost imperceptibly.
'Just nature calling.' Said Scarlett. 'Say, have you guys met Becs?'
'Yeah, we met a few days ago.' Matt replied. 'Hey there Becs, how's it going?'
'Hi Matt. I'm good, thanks.'
'Hi Becs. Great T-shirt.' Sam said.
Becca had to look down to remind herself which one she was wearing after all the drama.
Oh of course, it's the Star Trek one, he would like that.
'Resistance is futile.' Sam read.
She smiled at Sam. 'My favourite Star Trek villains.'
'Colin's a Trekkie.' Scarlett added.
'Please don't encourage them.' Said Matt.
Scarlett caught her eye and indicated with her chin. Becca looked in that direction and saw Scotty coming back. No sign of Chris though.
Scotty gave her a big smile and said 'Becs! I didn't get the chance to say hi!' And pulled her into a tight hug.
While he was hugging her he whispered into her ear, 'Chris is okay. Just a bit embarrassed. He'll be right out.'
'So good to see you again.' He said in a louder voice. 'I really hope you enjoy it tonight. Speaking of which, I'd better get on.'
Becca watched him jump onto the stage, quickly speak to his band members and then take the microphone. 'Sorry for the delay folks.' He said. 'But we're going to jump straight in with a bit of Aretha to get you moving.'
She listened as they launched into 'I Knew You Were Waiting For Me'.
'Wow, he's really good.' She said.
'He certainly is.' Scarlett replied. 'Who's ready for dancing?' She added as people made their way to the dance floor.
'I'll come and join you in a minute.' Becca said. And then she added, quieter, so that only Scarlett could hear, 'I want to just make sure Chris is okay first.' Scarlett nodded her understanding.
She leant on one of the railings that separated the dance floor from the rest of the bar, part of her watching the dancing below and the other part waiting for Chris.