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WhatsApp Messages with Unknown

Unknown
hey, is this chris evans' number?

Chris Evans
it is. may i know who's asking?

Unknown
chris, it's ben.

Chris Evans
ben?
ben barnes?

Unknown
yeah.

Chris Evans
how'd you get my number?

Ben Barnes
to be honest with you, it wasn't easy because i had to ask a friend of mine to pull some strings in order to get your number.

Chris Evans
yeah 'cause this number hasn't exactly been made known to everyone.

Ben Barnes
well, believe it or not, it took a lot of convincing for them to give me your number.

Chris Evans
them? who's them?

Ben Barnes
i'm good friends with aaron.
asked him if he could get me your number and he actually gave me your number but it wasn't in service. aaron himself had no idea you'd changed your number, so he asked robert, sebastian and anthony. robert eventually managed to find out that it was me who's asking and initially, he and your friends were quite reluctant on giving me your number but when i told them what i was planning to talk to you about, they gave it to me immediately.

Chris Evans
okay. . .
so, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?

Ben Barnes
i think it'd be better if we spoke in person.

Chris Evans
aren't you in london right now?

Ben Barnes
not exactly.
so, you might want to look over to your left.
READ 10.18AM

. . . . . .

"Please tell me you didn't fly all the way out here just to have coffee with me."

Ben chuckled at Chris' remark, a small smile playing on his lips as he shook his head in response. "I can assure you that's definitely not the case. I'm actually here for a project."

Chris was about to say something but clamped his mouth shut when he couldn't find the right words to say. Instead, he carefully reached for his cup of Espresso and patiently waited for Ben to say something else, since he was the one who asked that they speak in person.

Crossing his hands over the coffee table before them, Ben leaned forward in his seat, catching Chris' attention as he did so. "First of all, thank you for not turning on your heel and walking right out that door as soon as you noticed me. I was afraid you might forego your usual cup of coffee and dash right out of this quaint little café."

In all honesty, Chris was rather surprised to find Ben in the café he'd always come to for his daily coffee fix, mainly because he's never even seen him here before. And just as Chris was about to ask him how he knew he'd be here, Ben took it upon himself to explain that Robert gave away his not-so-secret go-to place, especially after hearing what Ben was going to say to Chris as soon as he saw him.

"Ben, we're friends," Chris stated matter-of-factly.

Ben smiled forlornly. "We're not really friends, Chris. You and I know both know that," he said, his voice more solemn than today's weather. "I want to talk to you about Naomi."

At the sound of her name, Chris silently sucked in a harsh breath, all the while attempting to maintain his façade of indifference. He couldn't possibly let Ben know that she still affected him deeply, that he could still feel her laugh resonating within his bones, that he still dreamt of her every night and had been the cause of his sleepless nights lately. . . that he still loved her, that his love for her hasn't faltered in the slightest bit even though he was hurting deep down.

He couldn't, and he wouldn't. Not in front of the man she loves. Not in front of the man she's known for over five years. Not in front of the man who looks---

"Naomi and I aren't together," Ben interjected his thoughts, causing Chris to furrow his eyebrows and meet his eyes as he began to pale right before him because the only thing that was running through his mind right now was that if this was the truth, then he was the biggest fool to ever live. "We never were. Those articles are just bullshit, mate."

Was this a trick? A joke of some sort? Was he actually hearing this right?

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"They're all lies," Ben reiterated, steadily holding Chris' gaze. "I have no reason to lie to you."

Stumbling over his own words, Chris found it immensely difficult to convey his thoughts in that very moment because not only had he just found out that Ben and Naomi have never dated once but that the article was just one big fucking lie and he'd chose not to believe his friends."B-but Naomi---she didn't say a thing about this when she got back---"

Ben screwed his eyes shut momentarily, pursing his lips as he interrupted Chris. "That's because she had no idea that an article like that was even floating around, Chris."

A pained sigh slipped past Chris' lips before he could even stop it, telling Ben all he needed to know, that there was a huge misunderstanding between Chris and Naomi. Ben watched as pain and regret washed all over Chris' features---it looked as though his confession had beaten him to a pulp.

"I only walked Naomi back to her hotel and that was it," Ben carried on, his gaze still fixated on Chris. "I didn't go up to her room and we certainly did not hold hands or kiss in the rain or whatever rubbish they're feeding everyone."

Chris' façade of indifference was quickly withering away, knowing full well that Ben was telling him the truth, knowing full well that he'd been a fool all this while and knowing full well that he hadn't been treating Naomi fairly.

"Sure, we took a longer route and took a stroll in the park but that's because we wanted to smoothen things out, put everything behind us and move on."

"Move on?" Chris asked, confused. "Move on from what?"

A soft sigh slipped past Ben's lips as he reached for his cup of tea, bringing it to his lips. "I confessed to Naomi about three months back," he started, casting a wary glance over at Chris who seemed a little surprised by the sudden revelation because he really hadn't expected Ben to even tell him about this.

"It was about a week after she left to shoot a movie with you. I wrote her a few messages and sent them to her because I couldn't hold it in anymore. I knew she didn't have any feelings for me. . . at least not anymore because I knew full well at the time that her heart was with you," Ben admitted without a hint of jealousy in his voice, causing Chris' eyes to dart over to him. "And soon enough, she fell for you."

Swallowing the bile that had risen in his throat, Chris reached for his cup of coffee and took a big gulp before setting it down on the saucer as Ben continued, "I just had to tell her because. . . when a chest is already brimming with things, its locks and hinges will start to give way eventually. . . and then everything will come tumbling out of the chest." Ben spared a quick glance at the man who was sitting across from him, barely missing how his initial hardened expression had softened considerably. "She loves you, you know that?"

Taking his upper lip between his teeth, Chris averted his gaze to his cup and cleared his throat a little. "Does she?" he asked, his voice wavering with a hint of uncertainty laced in it.

Does she still love me now after distancing myself from her for two months?

Ben blew out a sigh as he looked over to him. "You should know it in your heart that she does, mate. Just to let you know, she's never said it to me before. . . but I know she's said it to you, and I know you love her more than you'd care to admit right now."

Pursing his lips hard, Chris lowered his gaze to his hands that were crossed over his abdomen. He was the biggest fool there was. Was it all too late now? Was he too late? Had he already lost her for good?

Realizing that Chris wasn't going to say anything else except maybe sit there in silence as he drowned himself in his own thoughts, Ben carried on with what he had to say. "I know you've probably been bothered by this article the second it came out because Naomi was completely restless about it when she found out just a little over a week ago."

A week ago. She'd only found out about it a week ago and he'd been holding it against her for two months, without even asking her about it. If only Mackie and Sebastian could see him now. . . they'd definitely say 'I told you so'.

"For the love of God, Chris," Anthony groaned in frustration as he ran his hands over his face. "Talk to her. It's not that hard to just open your damn mouth and ask her if she's seen the article or ask her if she's dating Prince Caspian!"

Sebastian nodded, agreeing with his friend as he watched Chris slouch in his seat on the couch. "Mackie's right, Chris. You really need to set aside this pride of yours and talk to her."

Chris shot his friend an incredulous look, his mouth hung agape. "Pride---?"

"Yes, pride," Anthony deadpanned, pursing his lips as he pushed himself up from the couch. "And your so-called 'respect' for her, too."

Sebastian noticed his friend was getting worked up over this and instantly moved to put a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to tone it down a little even though he wholeheartedly agreed with him. Chris' pride and 'respect' for Naomi were only making things worse.

"I do respect, Naomi---"

"Oh, no, no, no," Anthony interjected. "We're not questioning your respect towards Naomi. That's not the case here and you're missing my point. You need to stop playing by this stupid 'rule' of yours. Naomi told you she loves you. That already says something---actually, no. It says a lot---yeah, it's saying a lot. But here you are, still moping around, still assuming that the two of them are living their happily ever after when you don't even know for sure---"

"Aaron said---"

"Aaron said he isn't sure, Chris," Sebastian piped up, his arms now crossed over his chest as he glared at his best friend. "You need to get your head out of your ass and talk to her. You need to swallow your damn pride and ask her if she really is dating that Prince Caspian guy because right now, you're making stupid decisions based off a fucking entertainment article."

"How'd she find out about it?" Chris asked, his voice a little raspy as he brushed his nose with the back of his hand, shoving the conversation he had with Sebastian and Anthony two weeks ago out of the way.

"Naomi only found out about it last week when Emma caught wind of it from Andrew," Ben admitted. "And if you really want to know, neither myself, Naomi nor her friends knew about this article until last week. Clearly, you knew about it the second it came out because Naomi told me about you acting a little cold towards her after she returned from London.

"Initially, I couldn't figure out why you were acting the way you were back then but when I read the article last week, I put two and two together and understood why you started to distance yourself from her. . . because when you love someone, these kind of things can break you and before you can even tell yourself to think rationally, you're doing something that not only hurts yourself but the person you love as well." Ben offered him a sad smile before carrying on, "And while I may understand why you did what you did, it still doesn't justify your actions---"

"I know," Chris agreed immediately, his voice low as a harsh wave of regret and shame washed all over him. He'd hurt her without even hearing her out or even setting his pride aside to ask her about the article. What would she think of him now?

Ben leaned back in his seat, crossing his leg over the other as he peered out the café window with a slightly distant look in his eyes. "But. . ." he began again. "Naomi isn't exactly transparent when it comes to revealing her true feelings, and I think you know that very well," said Ben, cocking his head towards Chris. "But I have no doubt that she does love you, truly. Forgive her. . . forgive her for not being able to articulate her true feelings when she comes face-to-face with you. While she may be unequivocally talented in acting, she's almost always at a loss for words when it comes to talking about her feelings---not my words, those are Brie's words."

Chris, still trying to process every single word that had slipped past Ben's lips, had his eyebrows furrowed with deep regret still plaguing his face. There was nothing forgive her for. If anything, he only hoped that Naomi would forgive him.

The dark circles under his eyes seemed more prominent now and the soft breaths that occasionally left his lips posed as a sign that he was trying to hold himself together, all the while thinking about what Naomi was probably doing now.

She probably thought he was the biggest idiot there was out there for not talking to her about the article, for assuming the worst even after she told him she loved him, for thinking she'd run off with someone else when she'd told him that she loved him.

He really should have set aside his semi-wounded pride and asked her about it rather than assume the worst just because Ben---who looked at her the way Chris did himself---was reeled into the picture.

"Does Naomi know you're here?" Chris croaked, his eyes still casted downwards in shame.

"She doesn't," Ben replied softly, shaking his head. "But I'm here of my own free will because I want her to be happy, and I know you make her happy as she does you, even if the both of you are going through a rough patch at the moment. You're a good man, Chris. I've never hated you---and I'd really like for you to know that. In fact, I've always hoped we could be friends, good friends."

"We are friends, Ben," Chris said in a hushed tone, quoting himself from earlier on. "I've never hated you either---I could never."

The smile that quickly formed on Ben's lips was a genuine one because he was relieved to hear this despite under such circumstances and in all honesty, Chris was equally glad to hear this.

"But Ben. . . " Chris spoke up a while after the pair fell into a comfortable silence. "I think I already blew my chances. I ignored her calls, her texts. . . everything. And I didn't hear her out," he admitted regretfully, tears pricking the back of his eyes. "She probably doesn't even want to talk to me, let alone see me."

Shifting in his seat, Ben sat up a little and leaned forward. "She does. Believe me, she does," he reassured him. "Naomi and I---we waited too long, saw different people to try and forget one another but alas, our almost turned into nothing because we didn't make our feelings known. Almost relationships never turn out well, Chris," Ben advised him, giving the back of his hand a light pat. "Take it from me," he smiled sadly, "go after her. . . go after her because the longer you wait, the sooner this almost relationship will take a turn for the worse."

---
a/n; i love ben & chris with all my heart. i hope you guys liked this chapter! your love and support mean the absolute world to me!! ❤

alsoooo, we only have two more chapters to go before first signs of love comes to an official end!! i hope you guys are ready for the ending 😉

ps. if you're interested, i have a sebastian stan fanfic as well as two bill skarsgård fanfics and i'm gonna be updating them again 👀 so, stay tuned 'cause i have a lot in store for them! x