Forever and Always

twenty two

Waking up in my old bed is probably one of the best experiences ever. The beds at Monarch are like rocks compared to mine here at home.

"Elliot, come here," I hear my father call from outside my bedroom door.

"Coming!"

"Why were you in the ballroom last night? I told your friends that room was off limits." He questions. I didn't know those rules applied to me too.

"I was just giving Atlas a tour," I excuse myself, he and I just danced. Nothing else happened. I can't let anything else happen.

"I also had said that opposite genders cannot be in a closed room alone,"

"You and Harper are always alone in your study," I whisper, rubbing my bare arm.

"Harper is my assistant. Not a person I have an interest in. I see the way that Atlas boy looks at you,"

"And what way is that?" I fire back, getting annoyed.

"How I looked at your mom when we first met."

Groaning, "You and Mom met on vacation. It's different, Atlas and I are friends."

He just sighs with a roll of his eyes. "Breakfast is ready,"

I nod, walking back into my room to change into something a little more conservative than my tank top and boxers. I slip on my favorite grey sweats and an old ABBA shirt.

As I make my way down into the dining room, I can hear laughing. Lilah laughing. I didn't know she was coming over today.

The table is full of pancakes, both chocolate chip and normal. Strawberries are in a bowl next to a bottle of whipped cream. Santos, our chef, always goes all out when we have guests. When it's just my dad and I, he makes our favorites.

"Elliot!" Bo screeches from the other side of the dining room, his mouth full of pancake.

I wave nicely, making my way to sit next to Atlas, as I always do at Monarch. I soon notice that the seat on his left has been filled by the only person who wasn't supposed to be here. Lilah laughs at something Atlas said. 

"He isn't that funny," I tell her as I sit across from them, next to Raygan and Harper. 

"Seriously, Attie doesn't have the best humor." Bo backs me up, his mouth still full of pancake.

Lilah shrugs, "Maybe he's different around me than he is around you," 

Raygan bursts out laughing at that comment while my face gets super heated, causing Atlas to gently kick my foot with his own. "I'm.... sorry...." Raygan tries to get out while wheezing, "it's just that you've known him for a day and Bo has been his best friend for like 4 years, pretty sure Bo would know if he was funny," 

"So, today, I was thinking we could go shopping and maybe go ice skating after. Only if people are up for it though," I announce to the table, everyone seemed to like the shopping idea.

Lilah quickly bumps her way into the conversation, "I can come too, I wanna show Atlas around some,"

"Sorry Lilah, today is a Monarch student only field trip," Raygan answers for me. I can tell she doesn't like her. I knew that Lilah and Raygan wouldn't be a good match and that's exactly why I didn't invite her over for breakfast or out shopping today. 

Lilah sighs, but doesn't try to argue. Instead she puts her hand around Atlas' forearm, attempting to pull him closer. 

~~~

"That little bitch just couldn't keep her hands off your man!" Raygan shouts as we get out of the car, making our way into the first store.

"Raygan, don't call her a bitch. She's very nice, just doesn't know boundaries," Elena attempts to calm Raygan down.