my favorite part • chris evans (bwwm)

• five •

"I think I have a crush."

Mackie looked over at one of his closest friends, Chris Evans, who had just popped open a fresh bottle of beer. "You still out here having crushes at age 50?"

"Ha ha. Very funny." Chris responded sarcastically.

For the last week and a half, Chris had been going out of his way to talk to Phoenix every chance he got. He had learned so many small details about her like her: favorite food, favorite color, favorite tv show, as well as a little bit about her parents and older sister whom had just gotten engaged. He genuinely enjoyed getting to know her more and tried not to make his little crush too obvious. On and off set, the only people that noticed he was around Phoenix more was Tom and the Russo Brothers, who didn't seem to mind too much.

"Wait, are you serious?" Mackie raised an eyebrow. "Is it just a crush or a CRUSH crush?"

"I like her." Chris smiled at the thought of the woman that hadn't left his mind in over a month. "She's incredible."

"You gonna tell me who she is man?"

"Phoenix."

"Phoenix as in cute little college girl with the comebacks? Darth Phoenix?" Mackie raised an eyebrow. He spoke of Phoenix as if she were a much younger cousin and viewed her as nothing more than a kid, unlike Chris. "Ehh I dunno Chris, it's safe to bet Holland likes her too. Plus they're about the same age and seem to have a lot in common. It's best to let him have this one."

"Maybe they're just friends." Chris shrugged.

One of the reasons Chris decided to wait to make his feelings known was due to Tom. He wanted to give him a fair chance to get to know Phoenix and see if there were mutual feelings without anybody else interfering. Since they did have such a close friendship, it was only right that Chris not insert himself for a good while. After a month of waiting, Chris made the decision that Tom would've tried something by now if he was really interested in her.

"But if it does turn out that he likes her, I won't actively pursue her." Chris added.

"The last time we talked about this subject, you said you wanted to settle down, get married and have kids. She's just a college student bro." Mackie reminded. "Has that changed?"

"It hasn't." Chris admitted. "After this last avengers movie, I do want to settle down."

"Well just be patient. Your wife is right around the corner and when you meet her, she'll be ready for marriage and kids. And she won't be a 22 year old kid that's in college."

"I understand where you're coming from but I could really see myself falling for her like I never have before. She's unlike anyone else I've ever dated."

"I mean, if you really feel like she's worth getting to know on more than a friendship level, I wouldn't stop you. It's not my place to tell you that you can't go follow your heart." Mackie assured. "I just don't want you wasting what little free time you have left on someone who might not want the same things at you at the end of the day. I don't want to see you hurt."

"I don't know, there's just something about her that makes feel like..." Chris stopped mid-sentence. He was having a hard time putting his feelings into words. "I guess what I like the most is the fact that she doesn't need me. You know how much I love independent women."

"You ever think she's too independent?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm just saying she's young and living in Los Angeles alone." Mackie began. "I just don't think she'd want anything serious."