my favorite part • chris evans (bwwm)

• thirty four •

"You'll be fine." Chris assured Phoenix for what felt like the millionth time. "It'll just be my mom and brother. You don't have to worry about meeting the entire family today."

"Okay."

"They're going to love you." He spoke before ringing the doorbell of his childhood home. Almost immediately, he was greeted by Lisa, his mother, and Scott, his younger brother.

Lisa pulled Phoenix into a warm hug right away while Scott hugged his brother. "So nice to finally meet you, Phoenix."

"This is Scott." Chris introduced his brother, not even giving Phoenix the chance to respond to his mom.

Similar to what Lisa did seconds prior, Scott also gave her a warm hug.

"It's very nice to meet you." Phoenix gushed, taking a step backwards so she was closer to Chris.

Chris placed a hand on the small of Phoenix's back, urging her to take a step forward. "Mom, Scott, Phoenix bought something for you."

"Is that right?" Lisa grinned. "That is very kind of you."

"Don't be shy." Chris hugged Phoenix from behind, knowing his touch and affection would bring her more comfort.

Phoenix coughed awkwardly while easily pulling out two bracelets that contributed to cleaning up the ocean. Although she didn't personally wear them too often, she was consistently buying more and more to support the cause until finally she had a nice variety of unopened bracelets stocked up. She'd been giving them as gifts to her friends and family for months now and couldn't think of anything better to bring for Scott and Lisa.

"Every bracelet purchased removes one pound of trash from the ocean and coastlines." Phoenix stated proudly.

"Oh really? That's cool." Scott replied.

"The green bracelet helps protect leatherback sea turtles in their habitats and the gray does the same except with manatees." She added as Lisa opted for the dark green bracelet, leaving Scott with the grey one. "The beads are made with recycled glass and plastic from the ocean."

"This is a beautiful bracelet and very thoughtful. The girls are going to be jealous they didn't get one." Lisa said in response to Chris's sister's. "Thank you, Phoenix."

"Oh it was no problem really." She assured.

"Wow this is real glass. That's incredible." Scott spoke. "But I have one question: what is a manatee?"

"They're these big, slow moving sea creatures that are very important in maintaining the ocean's ecosystem but unfortunately they are endangered." Phoenix answered. "But simply put, they're sea cows."

"She's smart, isn't she?" Chris commented quietly to his mom who nodded in response. She was quite impressed with Phoenix's knowledge and passion for the health of the seas.

"Are they at least cute?" Scott wondered.

"Not exactly." Phoenix admitted.

"Come sit down and tell us more about the ocean, or animals or what ever else you want to talk about." Lisa gestured for the bunch to relocate to the living room.

"Not so bad, right?"

"Besides the fact that I just bored them with ocean facts, nope not bad at all." Phoenix mumbled to Chris after Scott and Lisa moved into the living room. Even though she felt less nervous than before, Phoenix still didn't feel she was making a great impression by talking about manatees. In her mind, Scott and Lisa viewed her as nothing but a know it all ocean conservation freak.

"Relax." Chris spoke. "Did you not see my mom's face when you were speaking? She looked very impressed; And Scott was clearly intrigued which is why he was asking questions. You weren't boring anybody."