the heart never lies (chris evans)

chapter two - the start of something

Meg's POV
Today's the day — well, technically, tomorrow is the day, the day Liv and I fly out to LA. But because we live in a small town a few hours from London — where we're flying from — we figured we'd travel to London today and stay the night, as our flight is early in the morning. I'm quadruple checking my packing, paranoid that I've missed something. That's when there's a knock on the door and my mum walks in.

"Still packing?" She asks with a laugh. "Surely you've got nothing more to pack." I laugh too.

"I'm j-just paranoid that I don't have everything. But I think I'm f-fine. I have all m-my wash stuff, plenty of clothes, passport and everything."

"Anything you forget will more than likely be in LA too. It's not like you're going into the middle of nowhere." I nod gently and then sigh, sitting on the edge of my bed. It's only then that I notice my mum has a hand behind her back, as if she's hiding something, and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Mum, what are you hiding?" I ask and she lets out a deep breath, bringing her hand forward, revealing the small rectangular box. My eyes widen when I read the words on the front of the packaging — Durex. "Mum... why the hell have you g-got a box of condoms?" She sits on the bed next to me.

"Well, because it's better to be safe than sorry." She starts and I start shaking my head.

"Mum, I do n-not need condoms. What on earth gave you the idea that I would need condoms!?"

"Come on, honey — I know you fancy that Chris Evans—"

"Oh my god," I mumble, face-palming.

"And you never know what could happen. You're there for a month, Meg. That's plenty of time for him to see what an amazing catch you would be." I can't help but laugh.

"Chris Evans is absolutely n-not gonna want to have sex with me."

"Meg, don't put yourself down. You're a wonderful person and he'd be lucky to have you."

"You have to say that b-because you're my mum. I am d-definitely not his type. And anyway, I'm n-not going to get in his pants! I want to m-meet all of them and y'know, just have a n-nice time."

"I know, honey, I know. But it doesn't hurt to plan ahead, just in case. What are you gonna do if you start getting down and dirty and then neither of you are prepared, hm? The pull out method is not a reliable technique." She tells me and I can't help but laugh, shaking my head.

"Oh my god, mum. I know how s-sex works, okay? I'm twenty two years old." She laughs too and pats my thigh.

"I know, and I know you're a smart girl, but... you don't really have a lot of experience." I glance down, fiddling with my fingers. "And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I want you to be safe. There's no harm in taking them." I let out a deep sigh.

"You're n-not gonna let me leave without p-packing them, are you?" She laughs and shakes her head no. "I can't believe this. My mother, f-forcing me to take condoms."

"What? I want you to have fun on this holiday." She says with a wink, handing me the box and then standing up. I smile and roll my eyes, stuffing the box into one of my socks. She then becomes serious, and I can tell she wants to say something I may not like.

"Go on, say it..." She sighs.

"Don't be afraid to be yourself there, Meg. Open yourself up, and don't let Liv take over." I glance down and shove my hands into my pockets. "She's a flirt, Meg. You've told me that many times when you've gone on nights out together and she leaves you on your own while she goes to flirt. Every time you do something like that together you always come home really low."