Sin and Sinner

8

~Darlina's POV~

I finished doing the rest of my makeup the next day as I was getting ready for us to go to the mall, since Emmett had said we were going to leave soon. My hair had thankfully dried by now, so I quickly brushed it out before applying a bit of lipgloss and standing from my seat.

Humming to myself in contemplation, I searched through my closet for something to put on, shuffling past hangers of clothes I didn't want to wear. Eventually, I tugged on a cropped, long sleeved blue shirt and then slid a white pleated skirt up over my hips, making sure it wasn't too short on me afterwards. Pleased with this, I put on some socks and a pair of baby blue high tops before grabbing an across-the-body bag for my things.

Emmett and Atlas were already ready and waiting when I entered the living room, busily trying to tie my hair up in a bun with quite a struggle. Though I wore ponytails rather often, I always found it difficult to tie my hair in a bun, for whatever reason.

Noticing my struggle, Em smiled in amusement and fiddled around with his keys. "Do you need some help with that?" He chuckled, already stepping around me to help. I shook my head adamantly and finally managed to tie my hair up with a huff, dropping my tired arms to my sides again. "I'm ready to go." I said, adjusting my bag.

The three of us headed out to Emmett's car and I was the second to get in after Atlas, an embarrassed flush creeping up my neck when I heard Emmett cackling after witnessing my struggle. I felt Atlas' gaze on me and looked up, surprised to find that he hadn't sat in the passenger's seat like I had assumed. Now he and I were sitting together in the back seat.

I cleared my throat and sat upright, buckling my seatbelt as Emmett opened the door to the driver's seat. My eyes flicked to Atlas again, who was still watching me. "Do you want me to move to the front?" I asked him quietly, unsure why he was looking at me. Was he uncomfortable with me being back here with him? It was the only explanation that I could come up with, unless I somehow had something on my face.

However, Atlas shook his head. "No." He said, voice low yet sincere. "I was just thinking. Em seems really comfortable around you, if he's openly teasing you and shit." He stated.

Slamming the door shut as he got into the car, Emmett glanced back at us from the front seat and grinned. "Of course I'm comfortable with her. She's my roommate, idiot." He chuckled, seemingly having overheard our brief conversation. Atlas rolled his eyes and looked away, staring out the window instead. It was clear that he was no longer interested in making conversation with me, so I left him alone. I didn't want to annoy him.

The car came to a halt as Emmett parked in a spot after about a ten or fifteen minute drive, and I very carefully climbed out once the engine was off. "You can pick wherever you want to go." Emmett told Atlas. Though with a slight look of hesitancy still, Atlas began to walk ahead of us into the mall. I stuck close to Emmett's side until we entered a store, where I mindlessly began looking at different items as the two men were off doing their own thing. Being that Atlas was certainly more Emmett's friend than mine, I didn't want to get too in the way of their time.

Curiously, I looked at a hat that had chains hanging from it and picked it up, setting it on my head. It fell forward in my eyes and I frowned, huffing as I took it off and set it back down. No longer interested in any of the hats, I moved onto the other accessories, and found a bunch of different styled necklaces, bracelets and rings. They even sold earrings.

"Hey," Emmett bumped my shoulder with his arm suddenly, causing me to jolt in surprise and look up at him. I frowned, confused. "Come on. Atlas is trying on clothes and I figured I could use a woman's opinion on it." He said, already tugging me across the store. Furrowing my brows, I cocked my head to the side. "A woman's opinion?" I echoed. "On what?" I asked, almost tripping over my own feet.

We entered the changing room's area and I hesitated, unsure if I could be back here when this was a men's store. However, none of the workers seemed to care so I assumed it was okay.

"On how it looks." Emmett responded in a duh tone, practically pushing me into one of the surprisingly comfy chairs before he plopped into one beside me. I raised my eyebrows. "Are you sure Atlas agreed to this?" I asked in a whisper, worried that I was intruding. Em gave me a dirty look in response and rolled his eyes, stretching out a leg. "It'll be fine, Li. Just relax a little."

I bit on my bottom lip and crossed one leg over the other, staring thoughtlessly at the floor until I heard a door open that caused me to divert my attention. Atlas stepped out, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a tight shirt that made his muscles stand out too much for my liking, mostly because I had a hard time not looking at them. Beside me, Emmett voiced his approval while I nervously looked away, wondering why I had agreed to this.

"What do you think, Li?" Emmett asked, catching me off guard. My lips parted as I looked up at him and then towards Atlas, a heat creeping up my neck when I met his gaze. "You look nice." I said feebly, unable to muster more than that.

After Atlas left again, Emmett bumped his shoulder into mine with more force than necessary. "Nice?" He repeated flatly, giving me a look. "Aren't you the one who told me you find him intimidating?" He pointed out.

Embarrassed, I looked down and shrugged. "I just meant he looks good..." I mumbled, causing him to snicker softly. He slung an arm around my shoulders and ruffled my hair despite it being in a bun, making it look even worse than it probably already did. "You're cute when you're flustered." He said, only earning a huff from me. The door opened again and we both looked up, at which time I almost choked on my spit.

Atlas was wearing a white shirt this time, and due to that I could see the little prints of metal bars where his nipples likely were. I stared, both dumbfounded and a little bit put off. Didn't it hurt to have piercings there, or wasn't it at least uncomfortable?

Once again, Emmett tried to pull me into the conversation of what clothes looked good on Atlas, but I had already mentally checked out for the time being. I just gave noncommittal nods of my head whenever asked something, too shy to say anything.

Eventually, we found ourselves at the food court after about an hour or so. Emmett gestured to an empty table and then gave Atlas and I threatening looks so we wouldn't leave, not that he was very threatening at all. I sat down and Atlas sat across from me, the both of us watching Emmett look around through my bag for his wallet, which I'd been holding for him.

And when he left, it was just Atlas and I with one another.