That same day, Atlas headed to the gym later than usual. He frowned when he spotted Makenna there by herself on a day Thea was supposed to be training with her.

"Atlas, I've been waiting for you," Sean headed towards him, "You ready?"

Atlas looked at Sean,
"I think I'll partner with someone else today." Atlas pointed his thumb towards Makenna,

Sean glanced at her and back at him,
"Are you sure?"

"Yea, she knows about the injury, so she'll go easy."

Sean studied him for a second,
"Alright," He shrugged, "Thanks for letting me off early."

Sean tapped his shoulder twice as he walked away.

Atlas turned his gaze back to Makenna who was having her way with the punching bag. He headed towards her and took his bag off to put his phone inside. He dropped his bag on the way and the action made his phone almost slip through the partially opened zipper.

Makenna had her AirPods in and she couldn't hear anything, but she saw the movement in her periphery which made her stop and shift her gaze.

Atlas.
She experienced a weird jumpstart in her chest.

Makenna took out her AirPods and turned to face him as he stopped beside her.

"Did my sister bail on you for your brother again?"

A smile tugged at her lips because she found it amusing that she seemed to know more about his sister than he did recently.

"No. She's taking an extra shift at work."

"Right. I knew that."

Makenna smiled at the obvious lie and she was rewarded with a smile from him.

"In that case, do you need a partner?"

Makenna raised a brow,
"Do you?" She scanned the rest of the space, "I don't see Sean anymore. Did he bail on you?"

Atlas' gaze roamed her face like he was trying to memorize every inch of her,
"Something like that."

Makenna felt nervous beneath his piercing gaze, it almost made her squirm.
"Fine by me."

"Good."

Makenna decided not to head into the ring because there were just a few people left in the gym and she doubted anyone else would be coming. So, they weren't taking up space in the padded area that others might need.

"You seem more fluid."

"You think so?"

Makenna nodded,
"Has it been hurting lately?"

"No. Just tight after doing this or my workout."

Makenna got in a jab,
"Again."

"I know I've probably said this but I just find it really weird that you and my sister have gotten really close."

"You have. And I get it," Makenna said, "I would feel the same way if you and Killian were gym buddies."

Atlas laughed at a picture of that,
"I don't see it happening."

"Yea, well. Neither did I, with Thea."

Atlas felt something unexplainable. It was nice to see Makenna getting along with Thea for some reason. Weird, yes. But happy, definitely. Why? He had no idea. Or maybe he did.

"I guess I understand why you're overprotective." Makenna had no idea why she said that, but it was out of her mouth before she could think it through,

"You do?" Atlas frowned, wondering how and what Thea had been telling her, "What did Thea say?"

"Nothing." Makenna answered quickly, "My guess is you've been through the hardships of a relationship and you don't want Thea to go through that."

"Every relationship is hard."

"True. But some are just draining, hard doesn't even begin to cover it."

Atlas paused and studied her face and Makenna let out an inaudible sigh. She hated it when he did that because it felt like he was getting a glimpse of something she had mistakenly aired out.

"You've been in one of those?" Atlas asked,

Makenna scoffed,
"No."

A smile tugged on Atlas' lips,
"Then how would you know about them?"

Makenna shrugged,
"I just do."

"I can't wait to hear more on that." Atlas got back into position,

"And I look forward to keep you waiting." Makenna threw a punch,

Atlas found her amusing but said nothing,
"I guess I was a little bit overprotective of Thea at first." He finally replied, "It's her first relationship and I should've let her gain her own experience rather than try to protect her because of my experience."

"That has to be the most you've shared." Makenna's stunned expression didn't go unnoticed,

"You're not an open book either."

"At least I don't try to hide it beneath beautiful smiles."

Atlas smiled,
"You think I have a beautiful smile?"

"I never said that."

"You basically implied it."

Makenna clenched her jaw and tried to redirect the conversation to what they were originally talking about.
"Thea knows you well enough and she wasn't in the least bit bothered when you got overprotective. I like that you know everything about each other."

Makenna wished her relationship with Killian were the same but she'd burned that bridge along with everything else. She was so lost in thought that she forgot to block and Atlas got a punch in, hitting her smack in her jaw.

"Shit." Atlas cursed and quickly took off his gloves as he stepped closer to her,

"I'm ok." Makenna placed a hand on her jaw and moved her jaw to check if it was ok,

"Let me see," Atlas had his hands on her face before she could stop him.

The warmth of his hands seeped into her skin and she clenched her jaw. Atlas felt bad noticing the skin was already bruising.

"That's going to leave a bruise." His hands reluctantly fell away from her face, "I'm sorry."

"I'm ok, really," Makenna turned her face to look up at him,

Atlas' sigh filled the silence and his head fell.

I should have been extra careful.
He thought as he lifted his head to look at her.

The look on his face was a clear giveaway of someone who had the world on their shoulder. Makenna didn't want to push, she had no right even, but a part of her wanted to take away some of the burdens.

Her eyes probably portrayed what she felt because Atlas finally spoke.

"Thea hides a lot of what she's feeling from me. Sometimes I feel like I've failed her in some way." Atlas said, "It's hard to help someone when you don't know what's wrong."

Makenna's gaze shifted from one of his eyes to the other,
"Or maybe she's just growing up and learning to deal with things by herself."

"Maybe." He really hoped that was it, but even then, he wanted to know about it,

Silence filled the space between them making Makenna aware of how close he was standing to her.

"Siblings, am I right?" Makenna said to ease the growing, almost choking tension,

"They grow up too fast." They both said at the same time,

Makenna was starting to see Atlas in a different light with everything she'd put together about him and the way Thea talked about him. Also, the way he talked about Thea made it sound like she was his lifeline and that made her curious. The look in his eyes seemed so familiar and it called out the buried parts of her soul. Her heart yearned to be there for him like he'd been there for Thea. She inhaled deeply and without second-guessing her decision, she went on tiptoes and put her arms around his broad shoulders.

Atlas was shocked into stillness when Makenna pulled him into a hug. It took him a moment to actually believe that he wasn't imagining this for some weird reason. Atlas put his hands on her waist and held her close.

"What's this for?" He asked, smiling to himself,

"Just returning the favour."

Atlas buried his head in the crook of her neck and clenched his jaw when he got a whiff of her.
Damn, she smelled good.

"Are you smelling me?"

"Just returning the favour." Atlas wasn't smiling now because every cell in his body was on high alert.

Makenna pulled back, her cheek brushing against his five o'clock shadow. Her heel fell slowly to the ground as Atlas let her go. She instantly hated that she felt cold, and hated the way he looked at her like he could really see her. Past all the physical and mental masks she wore.

"You could have just said you wanted to hold me." Atlas' voice had dropped down to almost a whisper,

"You wish." Makenna's voice matched his,

"I wouldn't mind holding you," Atlas gaze pierced hers, "Only if you'd let me."

Makenna clenched her jaw at the same time Atlas lifted his hand. He slid it behind her neck, into her hair like he'd done when he had examined her jaw.

Makenna swallowed,
"It doesn't hurt." She stared into his eyes,

"I know." He said looking right into her eyes, "Neither would this."

Makenna inhaled sharply when he leaned into her but stopped short when he was so close. She held her breath for a moment as he stared at her lips. She slowly exhaled and his gaze lifted to meet her gaze.

"You're not stopping me." His breath tickled her lips as he spoke,

"It would seem that way."

Atlas felt his hesitancy leave and he felt the victory of getting her permission swirl within him. There was a hint of smile on his lips as he closed the space between them and grazed her lips with his. He then took her lips with his and kissed her slowly, taking his time like he wanted to use every second to imprint the feeling in his mind. Makenna closed her eyes and forgot how to move, breathe, or think. She wasn't completely sure what to do in this scenario or how to respond. Atlas' hand dug deeper into her raven tresses. He kissed her with precision basking in each feeling. Makenna feel deeper into the intoxicating feeling unbothered about the aftermath.

Atlas clenched his fists as he slowly and painfully pulled back to look at her face. Makenna's eyes opened to look at him and a moment passed between them. Makenna lifted her hand and held onto the neckline of his t-shirt. Her fingers curled into his t-shirt and Atlas clenched his jaw from the feel of her finger on his skin. Makenna tugged at his t-shirt, pulling him back to her and kissing him just like he'd kissed her.

Atlas' hand went around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He took control of the kiss, deepening it and letting it take a life of its own. This was new territory for both of them and it felt right. They were in a bubble where their past didn't exist and the future was unclear.

On the other side of the room, where Atlas' bag lay was his phone peeking out. His phone rang in silence and Simon's name showed on the screen. The uncertain, hopeful future was suddenly tainted with the past. Their bubble was slowly dissipating.

For a future worth living, there was no forward without taking a step back to deal with demons from the past. Or else, downhill was the only path and that led to nothing but self-loathing that spirals into self-destruction. There, you were either obliviously lost or completely broken.

Please wait till Wednesday's announcement, before you come after me with your pitchforks. *runs away*

Love you.