Always?

Chapter 15

As grateful as he was to be back in the limelight, especially with how well everyone had taken his return, things were finally looking up for Atlas, not to mention that since Oliver had come into the picture, the stalker had been relatively quiet. But today, it was probably the day he had been looking forward to for a while, since they had all planned it really.

Tonight, everyone would be spendinfg the night together under one roof, for extra measure he had even offered his apartment for everyone to spend the night in, for the last month or so, everyone had been busy, Helios had to spend multiupke nights sleeping at a hotel closer to the set for one of his TV shows he was working on, which of course, had annoyed Matt to no end, but he was gush about his boyfriend the second he appeared anywhere.

When he heard the doorbell ring, he grinned. “I’ll get it.”

“I had no plans to get it,” Oliver deadpanned, not looking up from the book he was reading. Though he did take a dramatic sip from his coffee, just as he was about to place it back on the table, Atlas cleared his throat. Oliver pointedly ignored him and repeated the motion, and Atlas cleared his throat louder this time.

“Oh, god, what?” Oliver deadpanned, looking up.

“Coaster,” he deadpanned. “It’s right there, use it.”

When the doorbell rang again, Atlas rushed up the stairs, surprised to see his father had already answered the door. He was staring at everyone; they were all holding their overnight bags, some had brought drinks and snacks, and they were all grinning. “Atlas!” Alice yelled, raising her hands in the air. “We are already drunk!”

Atlas smiled sheepishly as he turned to stare at his father, who sighed. He stepped aside and let the rest come in, and the girls, who were indeed very drunk, stumbled down the stairs, with Matt behind him, as he had gone over to drive them home. Atlas waited until everyone left before turning to his father. He expected a yelling contest, some argument, something, anything, but all he did was stare at him blankly before rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Stay safe, and just, don’t break anything.”

He was shocked; he stood still for a good few moments, afraid that this was simply a disguise, a way to throw him off before his father really ripped him a new one, but the man just nodded again, looking in the distance at where the rest had gone.

Atlas wanted to comment, to say something, anything, but all he could say was, “Thanks. We won’t.”

He rushed down the stairs to find that the rest had already gotten themselves comfortable. Alec and Max had also come down during the conversation with his father, and they were all sitting around his small lounge. Cai was fretting over Alice, who was playing with the knives while tipsy, which wasn’t smart on her end. Oliver hadn’t moved from the couch, his head still buried in the book. Max and Alec had taken over the armchair, and Amber was leaning against the TV stand, staring off into space while Ani bothered Helios and Matt.

As everyone got situated and the room quitened down, Atlas couldn’t help but smile; it truly had felt like a long time since they had all gathered, with the new introduction of Cai, too, who had somehow managed to get the knives off of Alice. She was sitting on the couch, and he was standing close by, eyeing her warily.

Matt started the conversation off in the worst way possible. “Don’t you think it’s been quiet?”

“You’re right,” Alice said, nodding, as she rubbed her chin with her hand. “You think something would have happened by now.”

Cai, eyes wide, mouth agape, stared at her in horror. “Don’t jinx us. Knock on wood.” When Alice snorted and continued snacking on her crisps, Cai shoved her. “I’m serious, knock on some wood.” Alice groaned, leaning over and knocking on the hallway table that Atlas kept behind the couch as some decoration and some form of separation.

Alice forced a smile on her face as she looked up at Cai. “Happy.”

They spent a ridiculous amount of time together, talking and watching some movies. Eventually, everyone was fast asleep, yet Atlas’s mind was racing with the events he had planned for tomorrow; he knew he should have been asleep. But after migrating to his bedroom around midnight, with Oliver trailing in behind him, he was exhausted. Atlas said he could have slept on the bed, but Oliver wanted to be pissy, and he took the floor as he always did.

He had been typing away, working on some proposals and responding to emails Oliver had ignored, when there was a sharp pounding on the glass door. Atlas’s eyes snapped up, and Oliver was sitting up, gun in hand, at the ready as he stared at the bedroom door.

He crept passed, the others some were in half confused states, Atlas knew if Damina saw them like this, he would have a field day at yelling at tyhem, but Olive motioned for them to be quiet, as he crept over to the curtains, he genty peeled back the curtain before relaxng, a scowl forming on his face as he threw open the curtain and opened the door.

“It’s two in the f*****g morning, you better have a good reason,” Oliver snapped instead of hello as Damain walked in, staring at them,

He clapped his hands, waking up the others. “Massive job, I need all of you for it, go go go. Get dressed, you have five minutes, be outside, or I will drag you here and take you in any state of dress you are in, and trust me, the man you are meeting, you don’t want to look anything other than perfect.”

Helios let out a whine, throwing something at Damian, who dodged it with ease. “Hello, to you too, Helios. Sorry, I’m stealing your boyfriend; you can have him back when I'm done with him.”

“Don’t let him get hurt.”

“Don’t plan on it.”

Oliver was about to argue with Damian, but the man shut him down, without even paying him a glance. “I don’t care. It’s late, his stalker will not be fining him, and you’ll be back to his side before he has to go to work. You’re coming. No, I don’t care, and before you ask, no, I don’t value my life. Yes, I do want to die. We’re done, klet’ go.”

Olicer opened his mouth and closed it repeatedly like a sigh before sighing and walking back into the bedroom to get changed. “Man,” Atlas muttered, “I should learn that. You shut him up real quick.”

“If you value your life, you really shouldn't,” Oliver muttered as he walked past, storming out of the apartment via the glass doors.

~*~