From this moment on

" I was tired of being an 'idiot' in my brother's eyes. I know that it was a ' barbaric' way to get back at him, but it worked. He never placed any spiders inside my blankets or on my bed again. He surely learned it the hard way." With a proud smile on her face, Dada made her way to the bed and sat on it.

" You were a little troublemaker too. I can say that I am innocent when compared to you as I never got to pee on my brother's bed or in his shoes."

" He forced me the same way Rex made you take revenge on him." She tried to justify her actions with her reasoning as she adjusted her body to face him as if ready for a battle of words. Her eyes locked onto his face and seeing him staring back at her, she averted her gaze.

" Whose guitar is that?" She said while pointing at the musical instruments, more specifically the guitar which stood out in a black case.

Though, the case looked new from afar, upon closer look, one could see the faint words on the lid which was an indication of it having been touched over and over again.

Atlas looked over to where she had pointed. He parted his lips and sat up straight with his arms folded.

" It's mine. I got it when I was doing my final year at GreyView University. I used to work part time at 'Pink Flavours Butchery', and it was the second thing I bought with my first pay."

" That's great, and does that mean that you can play? How about we test your skills? Come on." Dada sprang up from the bed, retrieved the guitar, and passed it to him before he could say anything. Atlas gazed at the guitar placed before him for a long while as if in deep thought.

" Come on. Pretty please, please please." She retreated back to create space between them. Kneeling on the soft mattress, she clamped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Looking at her expression, Atlas gradually gave in. He sat up comfortably and positioned the guitar in his arms perfectly. His left hand held the guitar's long neck as the other one rested on the sound hole. His slim fingers nudged the stings playfully in a disoriented rhythm as he adjusted them.

" What song do you wanna hear? I will try to play it for you, and please don't judge my voice."

"Kgmm kgm!" He cleared his voice while waiting for her answer.

" Any song you can think of." Making herself cozy on the bed, Dada replied softly.

" Okay."

A moment later, a melodious tone filled the small house as Atlas's fingers danced and pulled on the thin guitar strings.

Dada's eyes widened in shock. She pointed at the guitar in amazement. " This song!"

'''''''' Time is going by so much faster that I

And I'm starting to regret not spending all of it with you

Now I'm wondering why I've kept this bottled inside

So I'm starting to regret not telling all of it to you

So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know

You're never gonna be alone

From this moment on

If you ever feel like letting go

I won't let you fall

You're never gonna be alone

I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone''''''''

Atlas finished playing the song, and placed the guitar aside on top of the lamp table next to him. With a smile, he turned his body a bit to face Dada.

" I played any song of my choice, hope you liked it."

Looking at him in amazement and reverence, Dada wiped away the tears streaming down her face. She closed in the space between them before hugging him tightly.

" Wow! That is 'Never gonna be alone' by Nickelback, right? My grandfather loved that song so much."

"Am sorry for being too emotional, I suddenly thought of him as you were playing." She said whilst pulling her arms away from his body.

" Not a problem. So, out of ten, how do you rate my singing?"

Tilting her head upwards, she pretended to be engrossed in her fantasies. A tiny smile bloomed on her face later on followed by her answer.

" Nine out of ten. Not bad."

" What about the remaining one?"

" I can't give it to anybody, only my muse deserves it. You sing like him though which is why I gave you nine. Am not stingy, right?"

" Who is your muse?" Atlas shot her a questioning gaze prompting her to say more.

" My crush of course. He is my painkiller and stress remover, the one and only 'Ash'." Her hands clutched her chest like a teenager who had tasted love for the first time.

" Ash?" Questioned Atlas in a serious tone.

" Yeah. He is a well known singer and a professional dancer. I knew him after my friends took me to his show three years ago. Guess what?

Without waiting for him to answer, she replied back.

" He is always putting on royal blue masks whenever he performs, but I assume that he is very handsome. His rock hard thighs are ones to die for especially whenever he is dancing. I wish I could feel them, and sign my name there."

With an enchanted expression, Dada let her mind go astray.

With a silly smile on her face, she began narrating her encounter with Ash. Her eyes lit up while her full lips parted from time to time.

" Ahh! I almost forgot why I came out of my room. Do you have water in there?" Dada stood up and pointed towards the freezer. Her short plump legs took her there.

Her eyes widened in shock the next moment.

" Just water? Your fridge only has water inside?" There were packs and packs of bottled water stashed on top of the other.

Atlas chuckled at the question. He stood up and walked towards her and grabbed a bottle for himself. He unscrewed it and gulped it all in one go.

" You must have been more thirsty than me." Saying so, Dada opened one too and drank half of it. She then screwed it and placed it on top of the bar fridge.

" Can you play one last song before we go. I will lay down for a bit on the bed, thanks." With that she went back and dived on the plush mattress.

''''''''''' Don't change a thing, you are amazing

I can't believe you've come and saved me

We can stay here, spend everyday dear

I wouldn't mind....'''''''''''

The soft melody unknowingly lulled Dada to sleep. With her eyes shut, she lay sprawled on the small bed without any care. Atlas moved closer to her and with his finger, he traced her facial features, from her thin eyebrows to her chin.

Dada shifted slightly and he let go.

" Goodnight."

He lifted the covers and tucked her in properly. He then went on to remove the black contact lenses from his eyes before squeezing himself on the other side of the bed.