All About Cherry

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

     A t l a s   C h e r r y  was restless.

     It was Friday afternoon, right before midterms, his last midterms ever, the thought of that sent chills through down his spine. He tapped his pen on his desk erratically and sighed, looking at the material on his laptop screen. Atlas should have been focusing on his studies, he should've given it all, but his mind was not eager to cooperate.

     His attention kept drifting back to Monday afternoon when he'd gone out with Daxton and Adele Holloway. He bit his tongue and read over his psychology notes. 

     Focus, Atlas. He chanted in his head over and over again, but focus was nowhere to be found.

     He fucked everything up in the lunch, he couldn't have bit his tongue and watched the siblings bicker. No, he had to join in and start running his mouth for no apparent reason, what was supposed to be a quick and ultimately meaningless meeting turned into an hour and a half long debate on whatever random topic you could think of between Adele and him. Atlas liked Adele, he really did, she was not only outspoken and courageous, but she was also well educated as well, though he expected nothing less from a Yale student.

     It was probably why he got engorged in conversation with her more than her older brother, who was supposed to be the star of the lunch. Adele had only reached out to Atlas because of Daxton, right?

     Rationally, Atlas knew he shouldn't have dwelled on the past like this, but for some reason, he felt guilty. He felt guilty because it was curiosity that led him to Daxton that day, the fact that he was irrationally drawn to his presence after a lonely night at the bar made him attend his seminar, but he ended up acting as if the guy hadn't existed when he was right in front of him. Though he did not mean to stare, Atlas caught a miserable expression on Daxton's face coming back from time to time when he thought nobody had been looking. Atlas felt like a burden then, he wished he could go back in time and take back his words of acceptance and just go on about his mundane life as if nothing had ever happened.

     Atlas was doomed to overthink everything, it had sort of become his thing, to hyper analyze something and to tear himself apart from the inside with his erratic thoughts afterward.

     He was naïve to think that Daxton would even want to see him after that Friday, he had seemed nice and inviting enough when he saw Atlas sitting alone by the bar. Thought he'd lend him some company when he needed it but couldn't bring himself to admit so. It was a one-time thing, and at least that was now clear as day, the look on his face during lunch on Monday afternoon spoke volumes.

      Atlas should've been able to rest easy and move on, he'd found the answer he'd been seeking, Daxton, much like himself initially, did not want to see him again. And fuck did that sting for some awful reason.

     It was unlike him to dwell on people, much less even care about what other people thought about him, he had little to no time for bullshit in his life. Yet here he was again, being trouble by something so trivial and inconsequential. Why did this entire fiasco make him feel like shit? Why did it bother him so much? Why did it still bother him even though all of it transpired a while ago already?

     Focus. Focus. Focus. Atlas groaned and grabbed his earbuds from the desk, trying to distract himself long enough to focus on something else. Hopefully, he'd soon be able to focus on the papers on his desk and the lecture information pulled up on his laptop screen.