22

~Darlina's POV~

Emmett had, surprisingly enough, already been home by the time Atlas and I got back from Diya's that day. Not only that, but he'd made dinner for all of us as well.

My stomach grumbled hungrily as Atlas and I entered the apartment, greeted by the smell of hamburgers. I locked the door while Atlas made a b-line for the kitchen, probably just as hungry as me. He and Emmett were standing by the island counter when I entered after him, kicking off my shoes at the entrance of the kitchen first.

"Hey, Li." Emmett chirped, a smile forming on his face when he noticed my presence. I waved and smiled in response, curiously poking my head around his frame. "Hamburgers?" I asked, peeking up at him. He nodded and flipped the last hamburger he was cooking, setting it on the plate like the rest. "Yep. That okay?" He responded, turning off the stove.

"You know I love anything you make." I snickered, eyeing the hamburgers to see which one was the thinnest. Emmett tended to make rather thick hamburgers that I could hardly fit in my mouth, so I always made sure to get the thinnest made one.

"Nah, you just say that so I'll keep making food." He teased, chuckling as he headed to the fridge. "How'd the day go?" He asked a moment later, glancing back at Atlas and I, flicking his gaze between the two of us. I snuck a peek at Atlas only to see him shrug carelessly, causing me to bite on the inside of my cheek. "Nothing out of the norm." I answered softly, leaning against the edge of the counter.

"Everything's going good, then." Emmett hummed, turning to face us with cheese, ketchup, lettuce and a handful of other things that he set down before closing the fridge. "I'm glad." He added, giving Atlas a particularly hard pat on the back when the large man slid past to leave. "Where are you going?" He asked with a slight furrow of his brows. Atlas gestured to the pants and tight tee he was wearing. "Gonna go change. I'll be back, I'm fuckin' hungry." He told him before leaving the kitchen.

I watched him leave, and Emmett spoke almost as soon as he was out of sight. "He's not giving you trouble, is he?" He asked, seemingly worried, but I quickly shook my head. "No, no." I assured. "He and I don't really talk much or anything, but he's actually been a big help."

Surprise crossed Emmett's face, as if he hadn't actually expected Atlas to be of use. "Really? How?" He wondered, blinking curiously. I frowned at him and placed my hands on my hips, tilting my head to the side. "Atlas actually helps me with cleaning up after the animals, though he doesn't really play with them or anything." I voiced aloud, pursing my lips. "And he doesn't seem to mind going to get lunch for me, either, which I was a little surprised about."

Em lifted an eyebrow. "That's hardly doing anything, Li." He responded. I just shrugged my shoulders and scanned my gaze absentmindedly over the food he'd set on the counter. "Not when it comes to him." I pointed out, to which I was almost certain he silently agreed with me on, or at the very least I knew he couldn't argue with me about it.

While Emmett began searching through a bottom cabinet for something, I turned away. "I'm going to go freshen up and I'll be back!" I called to him over my shoulder, already on my way out of the kitchen before he could respond.

I entered my room and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. First I took off my makeup while letting the shower heat up, then hopped into the hot water and did my best to finish up a little bit quicker than usual. I didn't want the food to get too cold while I was showering, so I wrapped myself in a towel after I got out and went to find something to wear that I would be comfortable in.

After pulling on a pair of light pink shorts, I tugged a cropped white shirt over my head and pulled my blonde hair out of the back of my top, leaving the damp strands to fall down my back. With a few spritz of perfume and a swipe of deodorant over my armpits, I left my room and returned to the kitchen, happily bouncing on the tips of my toes when I saw Atlas and Emmett were assembling their hamburgers.

Atlas' dark hair was damp from the shower he'd taken, falling loosely over the sides of his head and forward into his eyes a little. He now wore a loose pair of grey sweatpants and a white tank top that showed off his muscles, as well as the tattoos that covered his arms and chest, the ink disappearing beneath the fabric. I shook my head at myself as I realized I was staring, beginning to busy myself with making my own burger before he could notice my staring.

The two of them finished getting their food first and left the kitchen without me to head to the living room, where I followed shortly after getting my own. My stomach was growling, so I plopped on the untaken couch and happily began eating, looking up at the TV as it played South Park.

We ate in a comfortable atmosphere with one another for once, and when Emmett left to go take a shower after he finished eating, Atlas and I were left sitting on opposite couches. I nervously tapped my finger against my thigh and chewed on the inside of my cheek as I flicked my eyes towards his large frame. "You stare a lot, you know." Atlas remarked without hesitation, breaking his focus on the TV to look at me. A blush crept up my neck. "Sorry." I whispered, embarrassed.

"What is it?" He asked, confusing me a little bit. My eyebrows furrowed and I tilted my head to the side. "Huh?" I responded dumbly, unsure what he was referring to.

"The staring." He stated with a cock of a dark brow. "What the fuck are you always looking at me for?" He clarified, throwing a muscular arm around the back of the couch. The tattooed muscles flexed and bulged, drawing my attention to them more than I could ever admit. "I-I don't know..." I said feebly, honestly. I wasn't sure why my eyes always seemed to be drawn right back to him.

For a moment he just looked at me as if he was trying to read me and I rubbed my palms over my thighs, shifting my legs. Gosh, he made me so anxious when he looked at me so directly, but there was something else mixed in with that anxiousness—something that stirred low in the pit of my gut and made my face hot.

He swept his gaze up and down the length of my sitting figure before he glanced back at the TV, running a tattooed hand through his damp hair. I hesitated, sneaking glances at him every once in a while. "Does it make you uncomfortable when I look at you?" I couldn't stop myself from blurting suddenly, the question having been lingering on the tip of my tongue. My fingers anxiously fiddled with the fabric of my clothes as I waited for his response, peering at the side of his handsome face.

"Mm, no." He decided after a moment of contemplation. I waited for him to say something else, because he let his gaze linger on me as if he was considering it, but he never added anything else, causing me to frown.

I refrained from letting out a sigh and instead focused back on the TV, not quite focusing on it as I drifted into thought. If he wasn't uncomfortable with my staring, then why did he bring it up? Did he find it just plain annoying? My teeth nervously bit at the inside of my cheek with that thought. Considering he didn't really like me all that much, he probably did.

Feeling a little bit deflated, I stood up from my spot on the couch and grabbed both my plate and his to take to the kitchen. He didn't spare me so much as a glance before I left, turning the kitchen sink on after I set the dishes down. If he disliked the fact that I looked at him, then I'd have to work on not doing that anymore. I hummed to myself in affirmation of the thought and began to quickly wash the plates, putting them in the dishwasher afterwards. Since Emmett hadn't cleaned his mess, I ended up being stuck with scrubbing the dishes he used when making the food also.

Once I was finally done I put the dishwasher soap into the dishwasher and dried my hands, glancing over my shoulder to look at the clock. However, I yelped in surprise when I saw that Atlas was leaning against the end of the island counter, blocking my view of the clock with his height.

"Ah, you scared me." I breathed, placing a hand over my racing heart. He lifted an arm, rubbing the back of his head as he looked away from me. "My bad." He said. For a moment I almost allowed myself to look at him, but quickly remembered that he didn't like it and instead turned away to start the dishwasher. I heard the sound of his footsteps after a moment and assumed that he'd left the kitchen, making my shoulders relax subconsciously.

It wasn't until I turned around that I realized he hadn't left at all. In fact, he was now closer than before, leaning against the counter directly before me.

"Did Em say something to you, or did you say something to him?" He asked bluntly, catching me entirely off guard. I blinked, a frown on my lips as I peered up at him. "Sorry?" I said, confused. "What do you mean?" I responded. The question was very sudden, so I wasn't sure where it was coming from. He just shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that flexed the muscles there. "He sort of got on my ass, I guess. Seems like he thinks I'm just fuckin' off at work." He muttered.

I pursed my lips, understanding a little more now. "He asked me about work, but I told him you've actually been a good help to me." I answered honestly, feeling slightly bad that Emmett had evidently given him a hard time. I thought I'd made it clear to Em that Atlas was doing a good job, at least in what I'd expected of Atlas, but then again Emmett probably had different standards for his friend than I did. "Just don't worry about it, okay? You're doing fine." I tried to assure him, waving a hand to dismiss the matter.

Despite what I had hoped would be of comfort to him, he still looked slightly unsure, so I smiled up at him in hopes that he'd see I was being genuine. He scanned his eyes over my face, letting them linger near my mouth for long enough that my smile faded and a flush crept up my neck. Surely I'd imagined that stare, right?

"Um," I cleared my throat awkwardly and found myself playing with the fabric of my top, looking away from him. "I think I'm gonna head to my room for the night." I told him, suddenly wanting to get as far away as possible. The way he had been staring at my lips was in a manner I'd not been looked at before, and I wasn't sure what to make of it.

Thankfully, he didn't try to stop me when I slipped by him, scurrying my way down the hall with my cold hands pressed to my hot face.