March 2015

Lydia sat nervously on the plane, her stomach churning with anxiety. She couldn't believe she had actually said yes to the role of Nyx, the night goddess in the upcoming MCU movie. It had taken a lot of convincing from her manager and friends, but in the end, she had decided to take the plunge and go for it.

 
As the plane landed in Los Angeles, Lydia's mind raced with thoughts of how things would be on set. She knew that her ex-boyfriend, Chris Evans, played the lead role of Captain America in the movie, and the thought of facing him again made her heart ache.

Lydia had broken things off with Chris two years ago, and had relocated to the UK to get away from the spotlight and try to move on from their relationship while also dealing with family problems at the same time. But now, not only was she moving back to the US, but she was also signing a 5-movie deal with the MCU, which meant she would be working alongside Chris for a long time to come.

Her manager, Josh Lieberman, noticed her unease and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Lydia. You've got this. You're a talented actress and you'll do great in this role. And as for Chris, I'm sure he'll be professional and friendly on set. It's not like him to hold a grudge."

Lydia nodded, but still couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt she had for breaking Chris' heart. She knew that he was a good person and wouldn't hold it against her, but she couldn't help feeling scared and apprehensive about seeing him again.

As they drove to the hotel where they would be staying for the month, Lydia tried to calm her nerves. She took deep breaths and tried to focus on the positive aspects of this opportunity. She was excited to be part of such a huge franchise, and she knew that she would learn a lot from working with such talented actors and crew. She was going to reunite and get to work side-by-side with her best friends: Scarlet, Hemsworth, Hiddleston and meet many more of the talented new cast. 'It couldn't get better than this, right?' she thought to herself.

But no matter how much she tried to distract herself, she couldn't help feeling a sense of dread as she thought about the upcoming days on set, and the possibility of seeing Chris again. Would he be cold towards her? Would he avoid her? Or worse, would he confront her about their past relationship?

Lydia knew that she had to face her fears head-on and deal with whatever came her way. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she could handle whatever the future had in store for her.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a knock on the door as she looked through the peephole to see a big bouquet of flowers outside the door, causing her to frown in confusion as she opened the door to pick up the bouquet. Just as she opened the door, however, she was wrapped in a tight hug by someone, causing her to scream in alarm before she realized who the hugger was.

"Dios mío, Tom! You scared the hell out of me!" she whisper-yelled as she pulled away from the hug and slapped his arm playfully as he laughed at her reaction.

"Sorry, monkey," Hiddleston laughed before picking up the bouquet and handing it to her, "here, I brought your favorite flowers to cheer you up."

"You really know the way to a woman's heart," Lydia smiled as she took the flowers from him and walked back into the room, Tom following behind her.

"It wasn't me. Josh told me you were shaking from fear of how this would turn out and asked me to come over to check up on you," Tom replied, trying to act nonchalant, although Lydia knew he was lying.

Tom was her best friend and he was always there for her whenever she needed him. After moving to England, Lydia was very lost and Tom had offered to help her out and learn the ropes of the British lifestyle. They soon started hanging out more and more and eventually became best friends, having even worked on Broadway together for a bit.

"What if he-"

"He doesn't hate you, Lydia," Tom interrupted her, "he was very nice about the entire thing and assured everyone that things will be fine. He requested everyone to be civil and welcome you properly into the group. You don't think he would've said all that if he hated you, do you?"

Lydia slowly shook her head 'no' and Tom ruffled her hair slightly, "then why don't you cheer up? The signing is in 20 minutes, go freshen up. This is a big deal. We're going to work together again, Lyds! Come on, show some enthusiasm!"

"I'm jetlagged, Tom. Stop yelling," she whined as she walked to the bathroom to freshen up, "and can you please call and ask Josh where he is? I don't want to be late."

"Yes, your Majesty," Tom joked as he dialed a call to Josh, Lydia's manager.

Inside the bathroom, Lydia stared at herself in the mirror as Tom's words replayed in her mind. "He requested everyone to be civil and welcome you properly into the group."

She couldn't help but feel her heart swell with comfort at hearing he was looking out for her. She knew a lot of her old friends had been unhappy with her since the breakup. Jeremy hasn't spoken to her in 2 years and Robert too had ghosted her for nearly 7 months before he spoke to her again, wanting to check up on her after hearing about her mother's passing away. That was around the same time Scarlet had flown to England to check up on her as well. Hemsworth and Mark too had reached out and asked to let them know if she ever needed a friend with her.

She has seen them a few times since then. Tom and her went to Hemsworth's New Year's Party that year. They ran into Mark there. Lydia even flew back to LA for a week after Scarlet's daughter was born. The only people she hadn't met in 2 years were Jeremy and Chris. Even though she knew Chris didn't hate her, she knew Jeremy still held a grudge, not only about her breaking Chris' heart but also because she had left without a notice and Jeremy was her closest friend from the cast. He was disappointed she left without a goodbye.

But now that she was back, she hoped she could make things right with everyone and make up for lost times. She hoped her friends would accept her again.