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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 20, 2011 16:22:14 GMT -8
"Coming here has got to be the best idea I've had since coming to Greenvale." Tamika was truly loving how tonight had turned out. Atlas's massaging had entirely calmed her and she had closed her eyes while resting against him. Though she would occasionally wonder if Atlas wasn't having such a good time, seeing how he was just sitting there massaging her shoulders, which didn't sound very enjoyable to her. She was about to speak up and maybe consider leaving when she felt him peck the top of her head.
At first, this shocked and confused Tamika, causing her to look up at him with a confused expression. Then a smile spread across her lips as it finally sunk in what it meant. "So he likes me too. I guess maybe he hasn't been having such a bad night afterall. And my night just got better." She then wrapped her arms around Atlas and hugged him. "Yep, best idea ever."
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Post by Atlas on Feb 20, 2011 17:03:50 GMT -8
At first, Atlas wondered if he had moved a bit fast with Tamika. Her confused expression left him the same way as well. "Did I do something wrong?" he wondered. However, her smile erased all doubts from his head. She was enjoying his company, causing him to smile back at her.
She had shown her gratitude by hugging him. He responded in kind by hugging her back. He held her in silence for awhile, thinking about their relationship. "We've only known each other for a few days, yet we've grown so close. We at first decided to work together over a mutual desire to find out more about the undead menace that haunts this town, and somehow, this has brought us closer together. Funny how something so horrible can allow me to find someone as great as her. With her by my side, I feel I can discover the truth behind the shadows..." he thought.
After a moment, he leaned down to whisper into her ear. "Tamika, no matter what happens to us in this town, I want you to know that I care about you and will be with you always." he whispered silently, then turned up to look into her eyes.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 21, 2011 6:10:37 GMT -8
Tamika looked back at Atlas, her smile still on her face. "I care about you too Atlas," she said back quietly, "and...I'm glad. I want to be with you." Saying that felt a bit weird to Tamika. Traveling had made her get used to the idea that anything she had, she'd probably have to lose one day. Having anything permanent always seemed like one of those things you always dream about having yet never imagine you'd actually get. Her time in Spokane almost made her feel like she'd finally had something permanent, yet when she left, it only reinforced the idea that nothing would stay forever. Yet now, Atlas said he wanted to be with her...and she honestly wanted to be with him.
"Well, I guess there's only one thing I can do. Keep working with Brad and when he eventually leaves, find a job somewhere else in town. Maybe...maybe I could sing at the Galaxy of Terror along with that one person, what was her name again?" Tamika than kissed Atlas's cheek and said rather simply, "Thanks Atlas." Then she went back to resting against him and thought out loud, "I wonder how different everything would be if I hadn't ran into Brian in the graveyard or if you hadn't gone to the forest when you did." "Or if I had never left Philadelphia."
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Post by Atlas on Feb 21, 2011 9:26:38 GMT -8
Atlas was happy to hear her words. He never thought that she'd feel the same way about him, nor did he believe he'd feel this way about her. Although he did enjoy her friendship and it felt good to know that he wouldn't have to face the shadows alone, he never though she'd be something more than a friend.
Her kiss on the cheek not only made them red, but also allowed him to further confirm his feelings for her. He ran his fingers across her bare back softly as she rested against him. Atlas listened to her thoughts as he stroked her back. "Maybe it would have been different. Or perhaps we would become friends under difference circumstances. I can't say for sure. The one thing I'm glad about is that fate brought you to me." he replied smiling. He then bent down to kiss her cheek.
Atlas sat with Tamika for awhile in silence, enjoying stroking her back while she laid resting against him. Along the way, he glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. If she has to go back, she might encounter them..." he thought. However, he had an idea.
"Tamika, I was thinking. It might be dangerous for you to go home tonight, with the shadows roaming at night, even for someone as capable as you. If you wanted to, you could spend the night at my house and then go back in the morning. How does that sound?"
He waited for her response, hoping she'd say yes.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 21, 2011 15:01:28 GMT -8
Tamika smiled at Atlas's response and blushed as he kissed her cheek. "I guess I shouldn't worry about what ifs. Especially if I'm already happy with my current situation." She peacefully rested against Atlas, loving his gentle stroking on her bare back. After a while, she became so relaxed, that she actually almost fell asleep against him, and was slightly startled when Atlas spoke up.
"Hmm? Why is he worried? It can't be tha-" Tamika then spied a clock and saw just how late it was. "Shit," Tamika muttered as she forced herself to leave her very comfortable position on the couch and head over to a window. "Yep. Shadows. Right on time," she thought as she saw the limboing figures moving around outside. She even thought she could see a shotgun in one of their hands. Tamika than turned toward Atlas and considered his offer. "Risk life and limb fighting shadows in a backless dress armed with a pistol and a pair of shoes and then drive back to a hotel at night and possible crash into a giant dog or stay at the house of a guy you like for one night...As tempting as almost certain death is, I think I'll just stay here." With that decided, she smiled and said, "I'm guessing you'd rather I not use you as a pillow all night, right?"
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Post by Atlas on Feb 21, 2011 15:15:59 GMT -8
Atlas had noticed that he woke Tamika up when he spoke up. "Hmm, she seemed so comfortable too." he thought. Her expression when she looked out the window confirmed his suspicions. "Yup, they're here. Well, if she does have to leave, maybe I could help her get home." he thought. However, he was pleased to see that she wanted to stay.
He chuckled at Tamika's response. "Heh, of course I don't mind. However, I don't think falling asleep on the couch is the best way to go, especially wearing that dress. If you going to stay the night, I should get you something more comfortable to wear." he said as he left to go to his bedroom.
Atlas opened up one of the drawers containing his sleepwear and pulled out a pair of flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt. "Hmm, I don't know if this will fit, but this will have to do." he thought.
Atlas returned with the clothing neatly folded and handed it to Tamika. "You can wear this for tonight. I know it's a bit big, but I'm sure it will fit. You can change in the bathroom over there." he said, pointed towards a door leading to the bathroom. "I'll pick out a movie for us to watch which you change."
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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 21, 2011 16:13:26 GMT -8
"Thanks Atlas," Tamika said with a smile as she took the clothes from him. She then headed into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
Getting out of the dress was simple enough. Getting Atlas's clothes to stay on her was a different matter. Most of her issues can from the fact that Atlas not only weighed a little less than twice her weight, yet was also about 10 inches taller than her. Eventually, she sort of got the pants on by tying the ropebelt on it into a rather huge bow and rolling up the pantlegs high enough so she could walk. The t-shirt was much easier, though once she had it on she noted amused that it covered about as much as the dress did. Then Tamika looked in the mirror and realized the one thing the dress covered that the t-shirt didn't.
"SHIT!" Tamika her completely scarred arms reflection in the bathroom mirror and panicked. She had left her jacket in her car, which was currently surrounded by limboing shadows at the moment. Even if it wasn't surrounded, she wasn't sure that she could slip out of Atlas's house without him noticing. Just putting the dress back on and saying she couldn't fit in his clothes seemed like a possiblity, yet Atlas would probably be suspicious since, as she had just proved, it was humanly possible for her to fit in his clothes. "Well, I guess I would have had to tell him eventually. The sooner, the better, right?"
Her face rather sad, Tamika slipped out of the bathroom. She then stood outside the bathroom and stared at the floor. "Atlas. I've...there's something you need to see," she called to him dejectedly.
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Post by Atlas on Feb 21, 2011 16:25:33 GMT -8
Atlas sifted through his DVDs. "Hmm, let's see..." he thought. His finger ran across various titles until it landed on his favorite: To Kill a Mockingbird. "A classic. I wonder if she'll like this one. If not, I can choose a different one." he thought.
He heard Tamika's voice come from the bathroom, though it sounded depressed. "Hmm? She seemed happy a while ago. Is it that my clothes don't fit?" he wondered. However, he had arrived to something worse: Tamika's arms were covered in scars, including some nasty ones around her wrists.
Atlas now understood why she seemed depressed at times: she really had been. Even if all of the scars weren't self-inflicted, he was certain the ones around her wrists were. "The poor girl. What could drive her to do this?" he wondered.
Atlas immediately took her into his embrace and held her tightly. He was quite surprised to see her scarred was that, but he wouldn't let it get in the way of forming a relationship with Tamika: he promised to be with her and he'd see it through. "How did you get those?" he asked.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 21, 2011 16:54:04 GMT -8
Tamika was slightly surprised and glad to have Atlas holding her. It was nice to have him comforting her while she'd have to explain the constant reminders she had of her past.
As she expected Atlas asked her how she got the scars. Tamika took a deep breath and said, "From several different causes." She took a short pause and continued, "A couple I caused myself." One of her wrists twitched while she said this, as if remembering the feel of her slicing it open with a shard of glass. "Some of the others were from fights with gangs." "And some other people," she added mentally, yet she felt that telling Atlas that she had been involved with mobs right now probably wouldn't be a good idea. "Most of them, however, were from beatings...from my father," Tamika finished. "Please don't freak out on me."
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Post by Atlas on Feb 21, 2011 17:08:05 GMT -8
Atlas listened to her explanations of the scars. As he had figured, some of them were caused by self harm. Others, however, came from gang fights. "Gang fights? Did she used to live in a dangerous place? Maybe that's why she moved here." He thought. This made the last one far less surprising. Hearing it only made him hug her even tighter "Bad neighborhood and abusive parent. The poor girl..." He thought.
After her explanation, he looked into her eyes, trying to find a way to comfort her. The scars of her past would never heal in the span of a single night. However, she had seemed happier before by being with him. Atlas figured that he would be able to help her somehow.
"It must have been a rough life for you before coming here. Still, it's good that you told me. I want to help you and as long as I'm with you, I'll do everything I can to help you heal from those scars." Atlas told her with as much sympathy and compassion as possible.
"Tamika, I care about you so much because..." "Might as well let it out..." he thought.
"Tamika...I love you." he admitted.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 21, 2011 19:53:50 GMT -8
Tamika appreciated Atlas's sympathy and was glad that Atlas was who she was explaining her scars to rather than someone else. "Thank you Atlas," she mumbled as she gently wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. She was about to rest her head on his chest, when he spoke to her again and caused her to stare up at him in surprise.
""I love you."" Tamika could count on one hand the number of that she'd met in her entire life that loved her. Hell, she could probably count on two the number of people who actually cared about her at all. Hearing the words "I love you" from anyone was a great surprise to her, especially from a guy she had met just a few days ago. And yet, just like everything else he had done that night, she didn't not like it.
Her surprised expression faded into something more thoughtful and she looked away from him as she wondered, how DID she really feel about him. Despite the short time she had known him, she had told him more about her than anyone else. She had risked her life to keep him safe, and he had comforted her even when he was completely wasted. Tamika did care for him a lot and would be really hurt it if anything bad happened to him. Yet, did she love him?
After a few more moments of thinking, Tamika looked Atlas in the eye and said, "I...have to admit. I really don't know anything about love, or relationships, or anything like that. Yet..." She took a breath and her cheeks blushed slightly as she continued.
"I think...I love you too, Atlas."
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Post by Atlas on Feb 22, 2011 6:24:18 GMT -8
Tamika didn't quite know what to make of Atlas's response. "Ohh, shit, I probably said that too soon." he thought. Even with what was going on, it had seem too early for him to declare his love for her. Still, what was done was done and all he could do right now is wait for her response.
After some time of thinking, she revealed what he had been secretly hoping: she loved him too. He took her into a deep embrace, feeling happy inside to hear those words. He was aware that Tamika was not familiar to the idea of relationships or love, but then again, neither was Atlas. Most of his past relationships barely lasted and he always seemed more preoccupied with work than relationships.
After a few minutes of embracing his newly found love, he looked at her smiling. "Want to watch a movie? I'm sure it is a lot more comfortable on the couch." Atlas smiled at Tamika, leading her over to the couch.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 24, 2011 21:26:56 GMT -8
Tamika smiled as Atlas held her in his embrace. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, happy that, for once, something in her life seemed to have gone right. "Well, yeah. Except that you two along with Brad have to fight shadows, find out about a town's history, deal with creepy FBI agents...alright, I'll shut up now...love is amazing."
Smiling back at Atlas, Tamika nodded and followed him to the couch. After curling herself up on the comfortable couch, she asked, "What movie did you pick? Or do you want to surprise me?"
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Post by Atlas on Feb 25, 2011 5:35:09 GMT -8
Atlas felt her arms tighten around him, which caused him to smile. "Perhaps things are finally starting to turn around. Well, there is still the shadows and the lack of business, though I can worry about those another day. For now, I'll enjoy my time with Tamika." he thought.
Atlas showed the DVD to Tamika. "It's one of my favorites, To Kill a Mockingbird." he replied. He took the DVD out of the jewel case and put it in the player. "I'll be right back, I'm going to change into something a bit more comfortable." he added and left the room for a few minutes.
When he returned, his outfit was replaced with flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, similar to Tamika's. He pressed play on the DVD player and sat down next to her, allowing the movie to played.
Atlas wrapped his arm around Tamika and stroked her shoulder. She felt warm and soft to the touch, causing Atlas to smile. He looked at her and enjoyed seeing her relaxed finally. "After what you've been through, you deserve time to relax." he thought. Taking his hand, he tilted her chin up a bit towards him and moved his head in to place his lips around her's to kiss her.
"Best night ever..."
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Post by Tamika Weir on Feb 26, 2011 17:10:27 GMT -8
Tamika watched as Atlas left the room and then snatched up the DVD jewl case and stared at it, trying to figure out what the hell the movie was about. "'To Kill a Mockingbird". Is about some guy hunting a bird for some reason? Or is a mockingbird supposed to be a name or something for a person who makes fun of others or rats other people out? And the main character needs to kill said mockingbird to shut them up? And Atlas said this was his favorite movie?" Looking at the jewl case, she had her doubts, since the guy on the case didn't look like an obsessed hunter or a hitman. In fact, he looked more like a nerd than anything else. "Maybe he's the mockingbird that the hitman's trying to kill?"
As Atlas returned, she put the jewl case back where she found it and sat back down on the couch, slightly dreading the film. "I guess if he likes obsessed hunters or hitmen that's his problem. I would prefer something less violent or insane, but whatever." When he sat down next to her, she gently rested her head on him deciding to watch a little bit of the film and then zone out for the rest.
Tamika relaxed once more as Atlas wrapped his arm around her and stroked her shoulder. To her surprise, the movie wasn't violent in the slightest. It actually seemed to be more about a lawyer named Atticus (haha, irony) and his kids than killing anyone or anything. "Huh. You have misleading name movie."
She was completely relaxed and actually was somewhat enjoying the film to an extent when Atlas tilted her head up slightly with his hand. "Huh. What is he-" Her thoughts were cut off as Atlas kissed her. For a split second, she panicked, causing her to tense up, clench her fists and almost pull away from him. Then her brain kicked in and she calmed down a bit. "DON'T FREAK OUT! This is Atlas. Not your old boss or some other perv. He doesn't want to rape you or anything like that. It's just a kiss. It's just a kiss from the guy that you love. Now relax damnit!" Her brain's reasoning did calm her down, mostly, and she managed to kiss him back slightly. "Damn, damn, damn you old boss! Damn you to hell! I hope Atlas isn't worried too much..."
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