Blank Canvas

●Chapter 34●

"Aria, I've been meaning to tell you something. For a long time now." Atlas paused, making me wait for him to continue in anticipation. "But before that, I would like to explain a few things to you."

I don't know but I was sort of disappointed because I'd expected him to confess to me about his feelings for me. I was sure that Atlas must have noticed it too because he cracked a small smile.

'And for heaven's sake, can you please clear to me about your Mars identity too?!' I wanted to scream but refrained myself from doing so.

He led me towards a small round table with two chairs facing each other. A clean, white satin fabric was wrapped around them. A bottle of red wine and two stem glasses were placed immaculately at the center. 

My heart skipped a beat when Atlas pulled out a chair for me. Passing him a grateful smile, I took a seat before he did the same. He poured us both a glass of that exquisite red wine. 

I happily accepted the glass from him because I had a feeling that I might need it. Clutching it with my hands tightly, I looked at him expectantly and nodded my head calmly. However I wasn't in the least bit feeling calm because my insides were literally screaming, 'God, this is awkward!'

"So... how are you?" He finally asked. I could tell that he was stalling by making small talks.

"Just peachy these days," I answered him honestly and he released a carefree laugh. "What about you?"

He just shrugged, not really giving me an answer. I looked at him more closely to gauge his expression but he just kept on smiling. Not one of those creepy maniac smiles but a genuine one.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Straight to the point, huh?" He chuckled but he was just as nervous and soon his face turned somber. "What do you want to know? I mean, about me?"

I knew what I wanted to know but I needed to take it slow. I didn't want to barge him with too many questions so I decided to ask him about Jenna later. "Why didn't you tell me that you're Mars?" I inquired, taking a sip of my wine. It tasted heavenly.

"I came to this town for two reasons and one of them was a means to escape the media's continuous shadows looming over me." I had an idea about what his second reason might be but I stayed silent. "It was their sole mission to get a glimpse of "Mars's" face back when I was in L.A. It put a lot of pressure on me and I was completely done with them. It got to the point where I was very stressed out and couldn't take it anymore because they'd just keep on pestering me. Not only this but they also wanted me to comment on some stuff that I didn't have the strength to talk about." He avoided my gaze and I heard a slight crack in his voice but he collected himself quickly. "Anyway so… I've always wanted to visit this town but I was never really sure until now." 

If I wouldn't have paid proper attention, I wouldn't have noticed the rueful smile playing on his lips. Others would have taken it as just a simple smile but I knew better than that. I really hated seeing him like this.

"The moment I came here, I felt like a burden was lifted off of my shoulders. Like I could finally breathe again. Nobody cared enough to give me a second glance. I swear that I've always wanted to tell you about who I am. But… but for the first time in my life I realized that somebody was talking to me because of me instead of my popular face Mars," he explained to me.

Something within me ignited hearing those words. It was as if a light was burning and I felt alive after ages. This man in front of me didn't even realize how much he could affect me with just a simple smile.