I Have Friends In Both Places
Eighteen

It was the night before the attack day, and Atlas couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was what might happen. There was no definite, screw whatever tablet they put their faith into. There was no for sure answer, and it terrified Atlas to no end. Even with headphones in and music playing softly in his ears, he couldn’t block out the paranoid thoughts.

And what about Alijah? The two had grown incredibly closer in the last three days. After sitting around in Atlas’s bedroom for a while, just listening to music, they found time to simply say good morning or goodnight to each other, sharing smiles and brushing shoulders when they walked past each other in the halls.

What if Alijah got hurt during the battle? What if he died? Atlas didn’t think he could live if Alijah wasn’t with him. Through the small amount of time the two had known each other, a bond had been formed, and Atlas thought his soul might as well have intertwined with the boy’s because if Alijah’s disappeared, so did his, and that’s something that kept him up – the thought that Alijah might just die and leave Atlas to follow him.

Every time Atlas closed his eyes, images of the older boy dying in various ways plagued his mind to where all he wanted to do was check on him, but that would be weird. Right? He wasn’t sure, but he soon found himself pulling his covers off, slipping on a pair of pajama pants, and walking out of his door to Alijah’s.

Atlas stared at the door for a few seconds, contemplating whether or not to knock, but as he raised his hand to follow through with his actions, the door flung open, and Atlas was face to face with a sleepy Alijah Hood. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Alijah spoke up, his voice laced with confusion as he rubbed his eyes. “Atlas? What are you doing here?”

“I was- uh- I was going to check up on you.” Atlas’s voice was quiet, afraid he would wake someone up. It was late at night, almost midnight if they were going by the normal twenty-four-hour schedule of life.

Alijah smiled a small smile and nodded. “I was about to do the same to you.” He chuckled a bit, relaxing his shoulders as he looked at the boy. “Would you like to come in?”

Atlas had never seen Alijah’s room before, so being invited seemed like a new journey. It was something new to explore, but right now, all he wanted to do was go to sleep. Yet, he knew that if he stepped back into his room, he wouldn’t sleep for the rest of the night, so he simply nodded. Alijah opened the door wider and motioned for the younger boy to follow him, smiling as Atlas’s eyes opened in awe.

Alijah’s room was beautiful. It was incredibly large with a tall ceiling. Instead of a normal light hanging down, strips of what almost looked like fairy lights fell down, lighting the room with a soft glow. His walls were painted a maroon-ish color, and a bed about the size of Atlas’s sat in the middle of one of the walls. Vines of flowers climbed up the walls, weaving into intricate patterns, and random knick-knacks sat on various shelves scattered around the room. Two shelves almost touched the roof with how tall they were. They were on either side of Alijah’s bed, and they were filled to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes like a little library in his room. It looked like controlled chaos, and Atlas loved it.

The one thing that caught his attention most, though, was the wall that faced the door because it wasn’t a wall at all. It was a black hole, barely contained by a layer of what looked like glass separating it from the room. The various colors glowed lowly throughout the room, and Atlas watched it move slowly. It was breathtaking.

The room in itself was a complete contradiction of what Heaven had. While Heaven was sleek and clean with nothing besides the basic needs of a building, Alijah’s room had every and anything that was needed and not, and it was beautiful.

“Do you like it,” Alijah questioned, breaking Atlas’s train of thought.

Atlas nodded and mumbled quietly. “It’s wonderful.”

“Yeah.” Alijah grinned. “Kind of reminds me that I can be myself.”

Atlas nodded, and followed Alijah to his bed. He sighed and looked back, watching as the multiple colors reflected across Alijah’s face. “Are you worried? About tomorrow, I mean.”

Alijah shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean, yeah, I’m worried. I’m worried for my men, my family, for you. I’m always worried. Even with the prophecy or whatever with us, there’s always that chance that it could be wrong.”

Atlas nodded. It was always about the prophecy. It’s what everyone relied on. Of course, they would. It was the word of God, but what if he was wrong? It was blasphemous thinking, but it was still on Atlas’s mind, and obviously, Alijah was thinking the same.

“Tomorrow,” Atlas began, licking his lips. “Tomorrow, can you just make sure you’re safe? I don’t think I could take it if you got hurt, Alijah. I don’t think I could take it if anyone got hurt, but you’re one of my top priorities.”

“I should be saying the same for you, angel. You’re a key part in this.”

“Don’t remind me.” Atlas shuddered at the thought.

Alijah cracked another grin at that. “Why’d you come here, anyway, angel? Why were you checking up on me?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Atlas shrugged. “Kept thinking about tomorrow and everything that might happen. It was keeping me up.” The next part, Atlas whispered. “Didn’t want to sleep alone.” Atlas sort of expected Alijah to laugh, but instead, Alijah grabbed Atlas’s hand, intertwining their fingers making Atlas blush a bit.

“You could always just sleep with me.” Alijah closed his eyes after saying that. “You know what I mean.”

Atlas chuckled a bit at the statement. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, this bed can obviously fit the two of us.” Atlas laughed again. “Besides, I could use someone to hold tonight.” And, to Alijah, that was such an embarrassing thing to admit judging by how red he got, but Atlas felt the same, so he nodded and lifted Alijah’s knuckles to his mouth, kissing them softly.

“So, which side of the bed is mine?”

And with that sentence, anything awkward surrounding the two was gone, replaced by a bit of laughing and sighs as the two pulled themselves under the thick covers of the huge bed. The moment the two were together, Alijah wrapped his arms around Atlas, pulling him swiftly towards him. Alijah’s arms stayed around Atlas’s waist while Atlas’s wrapped around Alijah’s, his face pressed against Alijah’s shoulder with a content sigh. Atlas’s wings easily wrapped around the boy while he felt Alijah’s wrap around him, though he couldn’t see them. They were concealed from the eye as long as Alijah wished for them to be.

The both were finally happy, tired eyes closing slowly as sleep overtook them, both sure that the other would protect them if any harm came while they slept. Surprisingly, the soft lights in the room that would normally annoy Atlas while he tried to sleep only made him relax more as the soft glow seemed to warm him just as Alijah’s body was.

That night, both boys learned how the other’s slept as Atlas moved a lot, shifting his position in his sleep almost five times. Alijah snored softly, not loud enough to be annoying, but enough for Atlas to hear all night. No matter how Atlas’s position changed, Alijah’s body always wrapped back around his, surprising the both when they woke up to Alijah’s face on Atlas’s stomach while his arms were wrapped around his hips. Atlas’s body seemed unnaturally cold while Alijah’s seemed unnaturally hot, and they seemed to cancel each other out when they were together.

Both could admit, the next morning, however, that they had never slept better than that night, though, both finding complete comfort and trust in the other, and Atlas was happy that he made the choice to go to Alijah the night before.

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