Chris paced the pavement outside Denise's apartment building, fingers playing with the hairs in his beard. He was nervously waiting to catch her before she headed to UCLA for her Tuesday morning class; one she'd told him numerous times was her least favorite and least important with her least favorite lecturer. Her exaggeration of her distaste and the unimportance of her Tuesday morning class brought forth his want to break his Tuesday routine of only seeing her after 1PM. He was filled with hope he could be a bad influence and steal her away for the whole day.

Since meeting at the airport a few weeks ago, Chris and Denise have been inseparable. It was surreal, but Denise could now safely say she was friends with Chris Evans- the same Chris Evans she had been a fan of for a few years now, who also happened to be her proclaimed celebrity crush. It was because of those little facts that made Chris' admiration of Denise's work so much more surprising. Even now, Denise was having trouble processing what Chris had told her in the airport: that he'd read all her stories and was an avid fan of her series. She'd pinched herself multiple times to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but each time she'd realize that she was very much awake and friends with her celebrity crush. Her celebrity crush who had planned a memorable day for her.

Chris' plans started with breakfast because he knew she more often than not skipped it, then he was taking her to Marvel Studios in Burbank to meet some of the people in the industry she was working towards joining. His grand finale had him pulling some crazy strings. He was in awe he had consent to take her inside the Dolby Theatre unsupervised and have dinner on the actual stage where the Oscars were held each year. He had no doubt her unparalleled talent would take her there one day, so he thought he'd familiarize her with the environment first. He didn't realize that in doing all of it, he was taking her out on a date; the one thing he promised he wouldn't do until he answered the question he'd been losing sleep over: "am I in-love with her, or the idea of her?"

But what Chris didn't see was that if he were in-love with just the idea of her, the image he'd conjured from the words she'd written, he would've just taken her out already. He wasn't being her friend to start with because he was confused. He wasn't ready to admit it, but he had a precise verdict of how he felt about her. The reason he wanted to be her friend first was so she knew he wasn't merging her in with her writing, that he respected and cared about her. It was undeniable her second person protagonist was wonderful and he wished he had that life, but he was well-aware that wasn't real and Denise was. She was real and as wonderful and right in front of him; he wasn't going to do anything to risk losing her. If he had to take it incredibly slow to achieve the life they both discernibly craved, so be it.

"As I live and breathe," Chris heard Denise's voice and a smile immediately formed on his lips. "Chris Evans." He looked up and saw her exit, smiling as she draped her backpack over her shoulder and walked down the steps to meet him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well..." He began, taking her backpack from her to help with the load; a gesture she always appreciated, along with how he'd always open doors for her. She was old fashion, chivalry was her weakness hence why she took the arm he was holding out for her while she listened as he put forth his suggestion. "I was wondering if you'd let me be a bad influence and steal you away for the day." With that offer in her mind, they started in the direction of her university.

"Mm..." She wiggled her mouth from left to right as she pondered; a mannerism he found adorable. Denise was aware her attendance was- as her generation would say- on point, so she could afford to skip one day without any negative repercussions, but that didn't mean she was going to give in that easily. "Depends," she quipped with a smirk and he bit back his smile to hide his growing excitement. "What's the offer?"

"I don't want to spoil the surprise," he winked and she rolled her eyes. "But I can assure you that it's better than anything Professor Killian can offer you." She laughed at that and he nudged her playfully, "c'mon. You're the perfect student, you can afford to miss one day. The most you'll get is a light slap on the wrist, the 'I'm not angry, just disappointed' speech."

"That is a terrible speech to get."

"True, but I promise it'll be worth your time."

"Is it worth missing my chance at an education though?"

"Oh, definitely," he nodded with a serious look that made her laugh again. The second she started laughing, he lost his composure and a wide smile spread across his face. "It's a boring and uninspiring class, Denise. I think you're much better off spending the day with a guy who's been in the industry for decades now."

"Wow, decades. That's amazing, Chris," she praised and he nodded, a little to smugly. "But do you want to know what's even more amazing?" She tried not to laugh as she proceeded to tease, "that I'm friends with a man sixteen years older than me." She quipped then laughed when he shot her a deadpan look, even though he was fighting hard not to smile.

"Ha ha," he bit playfully and she giggled. "Are you going to let me take you for the day or what?" She shrugged, smirking, but it was a question they both knew the answer to. "I know you don't want to miss out on school, but our trip is going to be somewhat educational. So..."

"Somewhat educational, you say? Oh, well- how could I refuse?" She dramatically responded in a almost south western accent. As a response, he nodded as he chuckled at her overacting. "It sounds like you've got an actually educational event beat." Her normal accent returned as she continued to tease him. "I guess I'm all yours, Evans."

Chris felt his heart flutter at that statement, which was something he'd only read himself do in her stories. He realized the more time he spent with her, the more he felt like he was living in one of her perfect worlds where nothing could ever go wrong. He looked over at her as she allowed her attention to drift from him to a woman walking her golden retriever, and smiled when he saw her smile. He could tell when he saw her at the airport she was rather fond of dogs, then he discovered who she was and realized she was more than just fond of dogs as his dog appeared in most of her stories. It wasn't until he befriended her and introduced her to his dog, Dodger, that he uncovered how big of an understatement his assumption had been. Denise had more love for dogs than she had love for the air she needed to breathe; and that checked off another big box in his books.

Was he in-love with her, or was he just there for the perfect experience? Denise was a writer and Chris had read her works; both knew what the other expected. One had to wonder if things between them were categorical. All the fog had to be cleared before they dove, they needed to see where they could land before they jumped. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, or get hurt himself. Time and experience had taught him his biggest mistake when it came to relationships was rushing into things. He couldn't do it this time, his heart would combust if he lost her. She was everything he could see for his future, so he was going to slowly work out if what he was feeling- what she was feeling- was genuine and not based off a fantasy.

"Just out of curiosity," Denise began and Chris fell out of his thoughts, "are we going to walk to wherever you're planning to take me? 'Cause um-" she glanced over her shoulder and he followed suit, "your car is back there."

"We're coming back to get it, we're just going to get some breakfast first seeing as you skipped yours this morning?" He raised a brow and waited for her confirmation; she nodded with her lips quirked. "I just know you too well, Denise." He shrugged nonchalantly, drawing laughter from her. "You should stop giving out personal details in your stories, there are repercussions to telling the internet things."

"True, but not all repercussions are bad. I wouldn't be here with you right now if I didn't write the way I wrote, right?" She poked his arm and he chuckled, but nodded in agreement. "And let's not pretend like you didn't find out that breakfast thing after being friends with me, 'cause my protagonist always eats breakfast." She reminded him and he rolled his eyes as a response. "I don't mean to skip breakfast, it's actually my favorite meal of the day. I just-"

"Like sleep more," he finished for her and she scoffed in amazement. "I told you," he winked and she bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from smiling too widely, "I just know you too well. But then again, we have lived a thousand lives together. I've been your best friend, boyfriend, fiancé, and husband." They both ignored the flutters in their stomach. "Don't you think it'd be embarrassing if I got details about you wrong?"

"Very much so," she quipped, lowering her gaze to hide her reddening cheeks.

Even though things with Chris were more comfortable now, Denise still had moments where she had to just breathe. She was a fan of his, after all. He was her celebrity crush so friends or not, she still got overwhelmed by him. The way he talked, the way he smiled, his laughter- everything got to her if she didn't take a step back from herself. She tried to remain as level-headed as she could, but there was a small part of her still holding out for a relationship with him. She knew it was wrong to a certain degree, their age gap was undeniably an issue that'd been pointed out a few times by fans or paparazzi who'd spotted them together. The chances she'd end up with him were slim, but it didn't stop her from hopelessly fantasizing. She was smart, but not when it came to love. If she liked someone enough, she could easily lose herself. The fact that she lost herself in Chris before he even knew she existed made the whole thing formidable.

It would've been fine if he wasn't a fan of her writing because then she wouldn't be constantly wondering if he was trying to see if she matched the character he loved so much. She trusted the quality of his personality, but he was still a guy who'd just gotten out of something big. He may not have been using her consciously, but there was a possibility she was simply a distraction from his ex-girlfriend. Then there were other concerns like her not being good enough for him, his mother hating her, and once again, the age gap. She was turning twenty, he was turning thirty-six. He had his whole life figured out and she was still sorting through things, even if their endgame was the same- she wasn't there yet. And that most intimidating factor arose from the contrast in their names; he was the Chris Evans and she was just Denise Hogan.

Everything about them didn't make any sense, the only thing connecting them were her stories. So what was going to happen when that became obsolete? When he realized she was flawed compared to her female protagonist? What was going to happen when he saw through everything and discovered she was just another ordinary girl?

"Pancakes or waffles?" Chris spoke and Denise diverted her attention back to him. "Wait, don't answer that," he held a finger up at her before she could answer him; she chuckled. "I should know this, I mean- what did Chris cook for your protagonist whenever they had breakfast together?"

"Pancakes," they both answered in unison then laughed. "You know what, Chris Evans. I think it's time you tell me more about yourself." She told him and he raised a brow with a cute smirk on his lips. "Every detail in my story about me is true, I've just been guessing with you. It's not very fair that you know more about me than I know about you, is it?"

"No, it's not," he smiled, his covert feelings for her surfaced and she blushed at the look of love in his eyes. "Okay then, Denise." He caught himself and quickly blinked, altering his facials so he looked like a friend instead of a lover. "What would you like to know?"