If He Was Your Fan (A Henry Cavill Fanfic)

Chapter 19: The Cavill Challenge

You are waiting. You didn't go to the Durrell challenge, even though Henry asked you to over and over. You hadn't trained for it, and you just weren't ready for a 13K run. And then, in a public social setting for the first time was something you weren't ready for. You couldn't tell him that for some reason. People had seen you around town, but not necessarily together. You went shopped with Stella, even hit the pub once with her:

"Who's your friend?" a man asked Stella one weeknight. When Stella shook her head, he turned to you. "What's your name?"

"Piss off, Lars," Stuart warns.

"Ah, come on, a name, if only to say hello?"

You glance at the good looking man, noting his size and good looks, but say, "Taken." You turn back to your drink.

"Ah, like your friend, Hannah?" he asks, looking at you both. "Mentally dating Henry Cavill or something?" He laughs. "Hey, Archer! This one says her name is Taken."

"She truly is," Archer nods, his arm curling around Hannah. Her eyes harden at you, but you are grateful that neither tell more than they should.

"If Archer can't be a nice consolation, why can't I, love?"

You sigh. You pull out your phone and start paying attention to it. You check messages. You expect none from Henry; he was probably fast asleep. You feel like this is a mistake now. You went out with two couples and even though Stuart and Stella assured you wouldn't, you feel like fifth wheel.

You look around Henry's home: You bought a mat to go in front of the fireplace. You have lavender lotion at the ready. You bought Egyptian cotton sheets for his bed, determined to make up for your disappointing him for not coming to the Durrell Challenge run. Your phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

You recognize Stella's voice. "Stella?"

"Everyone knows that Henry's going to a pub at the end of his race," Stella whispers. "It looks like every girl in the town is here!"

Your breath hitches. "There can't be many—"

"Does there have to be?"

The line clicks off, and you feel a panic. You trust Henry right now, but is it too early in the relationship to when he has so many options? He went out with an actress for twelve days once. You more than beat that record, but...?

You tense...right now, you shake your head at your own thoughts. You should be there to show support of what he believes in. You realize your needing more time to adjust to a public eye, even a small one like a town near the movie set, might be unrealistic and selfish. There will be more eyes from here on out, you deduce. This is as good as a springboard as any. This could mark the sunrise of your time as Henry's lady friend, and let's face it, you wanted to stay private so that when he tired of you, your heartbreak could be the same as it set.

What if it doesn't? What if it does because of this decision?

You take a breath. If he was any other guy, you knew you'd meet him at the finish. Chastising yourself for your mistake, you run to the mirror. Ugh, not like this!

You look into your backpack and the athletic bag left at Henry's, biting your lip as you pull together an outfit: A teal sports bra top, black leggings and a black form-fitting jacket that accents your curves. You do your facial treatment, determined not to wear makeup, looking fresh faced, and then apply mascara and lip gloss for good measure. Eyes and lips matter on stage, and everywhere else for that matter. After pulling your ponytail through the back of your baseball cap, you walk outside and grab your mountain bike, looking at Henry's. He bought one, saying he would ride with you one day, but not as of yet.