Twisted Tinsel Town

“Rise and shine, Atlas.”

Atlas turned over in his bed, expecting Max to be the person speaking to him.

He saw Zig sitting on Max’s bed instead, Ethan picking up his school supplies and quickly putting them into his backpack.

Jumping (figuratively), Atlas blushed. “Z-Zig, p-please don’t do that!”

Zig chuckled awkwardly and ruffled Atlas’s bedhead of hair. “Sorry, buddy. Class starts today though. Max left you a note saying that he was over at the rec center working out before class, but you slept through your alarm. So he sent me and Ethan down here to come and get you for school.”

Atlas took in his words before nodding with a small smile on his face as he sat up. “Thank you, g-guys.”

“Not a problem, Atlas,” Ethan replied. “Now, go get dressed! Class starts in half an hour for you.”

“O-Okay, Ethan!” He got up out of bed and ran around, tossing some clothes into his arms before heading down the hall to go change in the bathroom.

Zig sighed as Ethan finished packing Atlas’s bag. “I hope Atlas is gonna be alright…”

Ethan nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. You’re starting classes here too, and you’re in his first one every morning. You and I will be able to keep tabs on him and Max.”

Taking a breath and nodding, Zig stood up as Atlas came back into the room.

Atlas grinned, freshly dressed. “R-Ready!”

Zig smiled softly and wrapped an arm around the young boy’s shoulders. “Let’s go.”

It took a few minutes for the three to meet up with Max, who was sweaty from working out in the rec center. After getting coffees and breakfast, the four made it to the Jackson Auditorium – the biggest theater that was used for teaching.

Atlas took a deep breath, holding a textbook to his chest to try to calm his nerves.

Max frowned. “You gonna be okay?”

Nodding, Atlas closed his eyes to calm himself down. “Y-Yeah…”

Rubbing the younger boy’s back comfortingly, Max led his roommate through the main doors of the auditorium.

Off to the side of the room, a petite girl with bright red hair caught the attention of Max.

“Holy crap…” Max gave a small smile, waving to her when she turned to face him.

The redhead blushed brightly, waving back at him.

Max looked down at Atlas. “You okay if I go talk to that girl?”

Atlas nodded. “G-Go ahead! She seems n-nice!”

Grinning, Max clapped the brunet’s shoulder and strode over to the redhead.

Zig had already gone his own way, going to hang out with a tall raven-haired rocker girl with purple highlights in her long ponytail. They seemed to already know each other.

Ethan stayed behind him, texting a client on his phone but well aware of his surroundings.

That’s when someone else in the room finally catches Atlas’s attention.

Walking up to the front of the stage from the back area was a man that seemed to tower over the rest of the students by comparison. He was dressed in a nice set of jeans, a plain white dress shirt, a beige sweater, and a pair of nicer-looking shoes. The hair on his head didn’t look out of place, even with the few locks that weren’t tucked in with the rest of it.

Even the hardened look on the man’s face didn’t turn Atlas’s eyes away from him – he was just that captivating.

Atlas looked at this man as if he was looking at his very own real life Disney prince.

“Recognize him at all?” Ethan asked with a grin, patting Atlas’s shoulder. “That’s Thomas Hunt. He’s a director.”

Shaking his head, Atlas continued to stare off in the professor’s general direction. “N-No…”

Ethan chuckled softly. “You think he’s handsome, huh?”

Atlas blushed a bright tomato red. “Y-Yeah… J-Just like a prince.” His smile widened as he clung his textbook to his chest again.

He felt a forceful shove to the center of his back, and he went tumbling down the stairs of the theater.

Gasps filled the room before there was a stunned silence as a pair of high-heeled footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Bianca sneered and marched over to Atlas. “That’s what you get for getting me on academic probation!”

Ethan, Max, the redhead next to him, and Zig all rush up from their seats to check on Atlas.

The rest of Bianca’s entourage were as stunned as the rest of the students.

A girl with glasses that was around Atlas’s age ran up to him, shoving Bianca away in the process without meaning to, and knelt down next to him. “Oh my gosh, are you alright?” She took out a small bag.

Wincing in pain, Atlas looked up at her gratefully. “I-I think so… I d-don’t think I have a concussion o-or anything serious like that.”

“That’s good!” the girl exclaimed in relief as she wrapped gauze around a gash in his arm after treating it. “I-I’d help you up, but I’m not that strong…”

“Allow me,” a voice said softly as some of the group surrounding the two kids backed away a bit. The origin of the voice – Thomas – stood next to the girl that gave Atlas first aid and offered out his hand to help him stand. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

Blushing slightly as he sat up first, Atlas slowly grabbed his hand and stood up.

Thomas took a deep breath as he turned to face Bianca, his face suddenly becoming very grim. “And you…” He stepped toward her, the anger in his eyes undeniable as he sucked breaths through his teeth. “You will never touch him or another student like that ever again, so help me God.”

Crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently, Bianca sneered at him. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Oh, but you fucking will be.” In an instant, he gripped her wrist when she went to shove him, almost crushing it in his hold. “I am not easily persuaded to take your side, Miss Stone, because I see you for who you truly are – a highly shallow, materialistic, shell of a girl who is turning into a Hollywood train wreck.” He pushed her arm back toward her and growled lowly in his throat. “Sit down.”

Bianca didn’t move.

Thomas glared at her and got right up in her face. “Did I fucking stutter? Sit down or I will make sure you never step foot on this campus again. You’ve cut into my teaching time as it is.”

Still, the girl hadn’t budged an inch from her spot on the floor.

Atlas finally turned to face the girl that gave him first-aid a few moments earlier in the class. “She scares m-me…”

The girl nodded, holding his hand. “Me too.” She gave a small weak smile. “I’m Grace.”

“I-I’m Atlas.” He gave a small smile back at her as they stayed close.

Once Thomas realized that Bianca was just going to stand there and continue to interrupt his lecture, he sighed. “I’m honestly not in a teaching mood right now, thanks to this… debacle. Unless I call your name to stay here, get out.” He glanced at the student names for the University Board Committee probation hearing on a post-it note before he spoke softly and sternly again. “Zigmund Chavez, Shae Pomar, Lance Sergio Rispoli, Atlas Seville, Addison Sinclair, Bianca Stone, Max Warren, and Jennifer Whitman.” He pointed to Ethan and to Grace. “You two may stay here. Class will start tomorrow, and I will email the syllabus tonight.” He closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself. “The rest of you… please leave.”

The rest of the students dispersed as they went outside of the auditorium.

Atlas kept his hand in Grace’s, squeezing it tightly as the two of them stood up from the stage and made their way toward Thomas.

Said professor turned to Ethan and sighed. “Blake, you lead the rest of these students along to the conference room on the other side of the building. I must speak to these two alone…”

Ethan nodded and immediately went to Max and Zig’s side. “Yes, Professor.” He led the group of students out of the auditorium.

Once the room was quiet, Thomas turned to the two young kids. “Alright, you two, listen to me…” He knelt down in front of them and sighed deeply. “You made a brave decision to come here to Hollywood, to preserve what little purity still exists in this town…” He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and rubbed them softly. “Even if I come off a little hard on you, please don’t take it personally. I have to run this class like a manager would run a business, and that sometimes means making you two do things you won’t like. But I don’t do it to make you upset or to turn you away from this business. I do it to challenge you to be your greatest in every possible way.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “This meeting you’re about to walk into… It’s going to be scary for you both, I’m sure. But my colleagues and I are fair, and I will make sure you’re given only the best treatment to clear you and your friend’s names, Atlas.”

Atlas nodded, taking in every word Thomas just said with awe and undivided attention. “O-Okay…” His cheeks were dusted with a tint of red, and his eyes sparkled.

In this moment, the professor felt a slight change in him that led to him almost spilling his guts out in front of these two freshman – one whose mind was eager to learn, while the other was the same but had a love-struck glint in his eyes. They almost melted the professor’s hardened heart.

He knew in that moment that he had to make sure these two kids were going to last here, even if he had to bend his own rules a little. Even if one of them seemed to be in love with him.

Thomas sighed softly, standing back up. “Please follow me to the hearing room.”

Atlas and Grace nodded and quietly followed, their hands held together tightly.

When Thomas opened up a wooden door a few minutes later, eight seats – one higher than and behind the other seven – were present in one of the rooms that seemed like it used to be an old classroom at one point.

A much older gentleman dressed in gray sat at the highest seat. He adorned a golden badge and held a gavel in his right hand. Six of the other seats were filled with other professors, it seemed.

Thomas turned to the two kids he led in, giving them a small smile as he guided them over to a bench so they could sit between Ethan and Max for comfort. “Good luck.” He rubbed Atlas’s shoulder before turning to walk over and sit in seat number three – in between a woman who looked like she belonged in the government and another woman dressed as nicely casual as Thomas was.

Once all seven University Board Committee members were seated, the gray-haired man with the gavel knocked it against the platform in front of him.

“Good afternoon, students,” the man spoke with a gentle voice as the room hushed from its quiet whispers. “My name is Colin Stafford, and I am the Dean of Students here at Hollywood University. Below me from left to right are the seven members of the University Board Committee: acting professor and student play director Harvey Olson, digital media professor Chalise Edwin, Hollywood 101 professor Thomas Hunt, fashion and business professor Priya Singh, photography professor Hiromitsu Moriyama, writing professor Enrique Vasquez, and undeclared student advisor Helen Twombly. Over by the door is one of our head campus security officers, Diego Barrantes.”

Atlas turned to see Diego and smiled.

Diego smiled back.

Looking at the student crowd, Dean Stafford realized that there were more students than he anticipated. “There’s two students extra.”

Thomas sighed softly. “Permission to explain, sir.”

“Permission hesitantly granted.”

“Mr. Blake is an agent to some of these students in question. The young lady next to Mr. Seville is simply here for moral support for him during this hearing and she will not be speaking in anyone’s defense.”

Dean Stafford nodded and hummed. “Alright then. Now, the first order of business… let us all look at the video that was recorded of the incident in the campus coffee shop. Ms. Whitman, this confrontation was recorded from your phone, correct?”

The pixie-cut blonde girl stood up and nodded.

“Is it true that it was also live broadcasted to all of your social media accounts?”

“Yes, Mr. Stafford.”

“Please hand your phone to Officer Barrantes your cell phone so we can see the video of this.”

Diego stepped forward and held out his hand so he could take the phone.

Bianca glared at her friend. “Don’t do it, Jenni.”

“It’s an explicit order from the Committee, Ms. Stone,” Dean Stafford said in an attempt to silence her.

Jenni bit her lip, but she eventually gave her phone to Diego. He, in turn, gave it to Professor Edwin – who set it up to broadcast the video onto a television.

In front of everyone, the full video of the fight played – the full video wasn’t given to May Gordon on her talk show, just the part from Max tackling Bianca to the ground and onward.

Atlas had to look away as Grace watched the incident in horror. She hugged him tightly as he sobbed into her shoulder.

Thomas watched the two after the video replayed a second or third time; it only took once for Thomas to know what punishments to give everyone involved. Watching Atlas in tears broke his heart a little, more than he thought it would…

Was it okay for him to feel like this? Especially for a student? Especially on their first day of knowing each other? He was letting his heart guide his emotions and his actions for once in his life – which was good for him, believe it or not – but having it happen during a Board Committee meeting was not the right time!

Dean Stafford took notice of Atlas and Grace as well, turning to Diego. “Stop the video.”

“Yes, sir,” the security guard replied, stopping the video and handing Jenni’s cell phone back to her.

“I think I’ve seen all that I need to see from that.” Dean Stafford cleared his throat as he set down his gavel. “Mr. Seville… please step forward.”

Atlas sniffled and looked up at all of the Board Committee members. He wiped his eyes and stepped forward by himself, his eyes bloodshot from sobbing earlier.

Dean Stafford sighed softly. “Mr. Seville, from what we all can see on that video, you did not put your hands on any student in this altercation whatsoever. You didn’t do anything to anyone that would serve cause for you to have a punishment. And the actions done by Mr. Chavez were to defend you from getting hurt by Ms. Stone and nothing more.” He took a deep breath. “Do the rest of you concur?”

To Atlas’s relief, all seven Committee members nodded.

“In response to this unanimous agreement by the Board Committee, I hereby rule that you are no longer on probation and not have to prove yourself to the University.” Stafford knocked his gavel against the platform.

Atlas looked gratefully up at all eight members, happy tears in his eyes. “O-Oh thank you! Th-Thank you so much!” He blinked, looking up at Dean Stafford. “M-May I bring something else to your attention, Mr. Stafford…? I-It may compound with this incident that you watched…”

“You may have the floor, Mr. Seville.”

Nodding, Atlas nervously played with his fingers as he spoke. “I-I went into Professor Hunt’s Hollywood 101 lecture this morning a-and Bianca pushed me down the stairs in front of everyone in the room…”

Bianca got up from her seat. “You snitch!” She rushed over to Atlas and gripped him by the shoulder and by the throat.

Diego pried the girl from off of Atlas. “You just earned yourself a court date.” He handcuffed her hands behind her back and pulled her up so she was standing again.

Stafford turned to Thomas. “Is this true?”

Thomas sighed. “Yes. Every student in here was a witness to that incident. The young lady that was by Mr. Seville’s side gave him first aid after he fell.”

Grace nodded in agreement.

Dean Stafford took a moment to contemplate what would happen for these two incidents, and he sighed. “Alright. Mr. Chavez, you’re free to go once this is over, since you were mainly here as a character witness even though that video spoke for itself.”

Zig nodded.

“Ms. Pomar, Mr. Rispoli, and Ms. Sinclair: you four are also free to go since this is all of your first offenses and you were just trying to get Ms. Stone off of Mr. Warren.”

The three nodded quickly and sighed in relief.

“Speaking of Mr. Warren… you were only trying to defend Mr. Seville here, but you initiated the first punch to her instead of the other way around. For this, I will give you only one semester of quiet academic probation. You must complete one major project over the course of this semester, and someone from that project must vouch for your character in an end-of-the-semester hearing as a purely formal precautionary measure.”

Accepting his fate, Max nodded in understanding. “Yes, sir.”

“The same goes for you, Ms. Whitman.” Dean Stafford’s face turned to Bianca, and it suddenly got grim as he glared at her. “For your absolutely unacceptable behavior toward this poor boy, and for seemingly having no moral compass of your own…” His face darkened more. “You are hereby expelled from this university and barred from ever entering it again.”

Bianca shrieked, throwing a hissy fit in Diego’s tight grip. “This school won’t be standing after me and my daddy are through with it.”

“Your father has no jurisdiction here!” Thomas yelled back at her. “And neither do you!”

“Thomas…” Stafford interjected in surprise at the outburst.

Diego waited for proper police officers to come in and take Bianca away.

With baited breath, Dean Stafford sighed again. “This University Board Committee meeting is officially called to a close. You’re all dismissed.”

It had been less than twenty-four hours since the incident at On the Grind, and Atlas had never been so scared in his life.

The poor little guy couldn’t sleep that night after the whole fiasco with Bianca and her friends, staying up all night and arranging his desk so it was immaculate for when classes started. He knew that he wasn’t in trouble, but it was the fact that Max was in trouble for defending him that troubled him so much.

Now it was eight in the morning, and after turning on the small television in their room to watch it, Atlas popped a coffee cup in the brewer and watched the drink cascade over the ice. He grabbed some milk and sugar, putting them into his coffee as he heard a stir coming from Max’s bed a few yards away.

Max groaned sleepily. “Morning…”

Atlas smiled slightly back at him. “G-G’morning.”

“What are you doing up?”

“C-Couldn’t sleep…”

Max sat up and rubbed his eyes before getting up from bed, concerned. “You haven’t slept all night? Aren’t you tired…?”

“Y-Yeah, but I-I’m worried about you, Max…” He sighed. “W-We just got started and you got in trouble… I’m the reason th-that you got in trouble because you were defending me…” He sniffled.

“I couldn’t let her continue to hurt you like that, Atlas. I’ll take flack from other people if it means you won’t be hurt.” Max wiped Atlas’s eyes. “I’m your friend, and I’ll always protect you from mean girls like Bianca.”

Atlas nodded and hugged Max with all of his might, feeling the blond’s arms wrap around him as well.

The two stayed in this embrace for a moment until a voice on the television interrupted their quiet moment.

“Social media is going nuts over a video of a fight that broke out in a coffee shop yesterday,” an older woman spoke, the anchor of an entertainment news program.

Both boys glanced over with wide eyes.

“This video, taken by celebrity debutante Jenni Whitman, shows a university student in an unprovoked attack with another student right in the middle of the coffee shop floor,” the woman continued, video of the incident the boys were involved in yesterday playing on screen next to the reporter.

Max’s face fell. “Shit…”

Atlas audibly gulped.

“Seven students are involved in this altercation, including the student that captured this video, and all seven are under academic probation until a thorough investigation of this incident can be done.”

The blond groaned, hanging his head. “God damn it…”

Atlas hugged his roommate again tightly and closed his eyes, still trying to process what exactly just happened. “M-Max, I’m so sorry…”

Max patted his head and sighed. “It’s okay, Atlas.”

The two heard an abrupt knock at their door.

“I-I got it.” Atlas stood up and walked over to the door to open it.

Standing in front of him was an older guy in an immaculate blue striped Armani suit, a binder under his arm. “Are you Atlas?”

Atlas nodded nervously. “Y-Yes, sir… May I-I help you?”

The man chuckled. “I’m actually here to help you, my friend. Diego might have mentioned me in passing yesterday?”

“O-Oh! Not b-by name, but yeah. He s-said you could help me avoid trouble.”

“I certainly can!” He held out his hand for Atlas to shake. “I’m Ethan, and I’m actually an agent.”

Atlas shook Ethan’s hand. “L-Like a talent agent?”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, but I’m going to law school too to be and even better agent. I can help you and your friend over there.”

Max looked up at the two in surprise. “So you're gonna help us get out of this mess?”

Once Atlas let Ethan in, the latter spoke. “I can't get you out of this since it's out in the open on video, but I can minimize the damage it deals to your career. That's if you make it through the probation hearings.”

Sighing, Max ran a hand through his hair. “We're so screwed.”

“Not if I can help it, you're not.” Ethan smoothed out his suit jacket and sat down. “I have a famous friend you guys might want to meet. We’re having lunch at On the Grind if you both want to join. It would be good for both of your careers to have his say at this hearing.”

It took Atlas a minute for all of the information to finally click in his head, and his lip wobbled. “I-I'm in trouble too…?”

Ethan sighed deeply. “I'm sure you'll get cleared right away once they show the University Board Committee the entire video. May Gordon only got part of it – probably because Jenni herself had turned it in to her.” He checked his watch. “If you guys want to come to this power lunch with me, you've got a few hours to get ready.”

Atlas nodded. “O-Okay, Ethan!”

Max nodded. “Count us in.”

Thomas was in such a stupor that he didn't know what to do with himself.

Naturally, this was a hungover stupor that he was in; he had three glasses of scotch the night before, and he had passed out on the couch in his second-floor apartment with the television on.

…Again.

His nights typically went like this after particularly bad days at work – he considered almost every day a bad day by now, but he only drank after the worst of the worst of days when being at Hollywood University put him through the shredder.

Opening his eyes as they readjusted to the darkness of the room, Thomas turned over and had to shield his eyes from the bright gleam of the television while it played morning talk shows.

A set of knocks sounded, but Thomas hadn’t properly registered them and thought they were coming from down the hall.

“Thomas,” a stern voice spoke from the other end of the door.

Closing his eyes, he didn’t move from the couch.

His visitor grew irritated. “Thomas!”

The professor immediately sat up at the sheer volume of the voice waiting for him. “Okay, okay!” He pulled on a sweater to go with the sweatpants he was wearing and opened the door for his impatient guest.

“You look like hell,” the man in front of him spoke.

Rolling his eyes but managing an amused smile all the same, Thomas opened the door more for him. “Nice to see you as well, Enrique.”

“I wasn’t joking when I told you that, Thomas.” Enrique Vasquez, another of Thomas’s coworkers, walked into the apartment and sat in the leather recliner. “I was merely being observant.”

Thomas sighed. “Well, you’re not wrong, I suppose.” He went to close the door. “Can I get you anything?”

“Don’t close the door!” a younger man rushed down the hallway toward the apartment with coffees in his hand.

Pausing, Thomas chuckled, his head hurting a bit from the bright lights of the hallway. “Ah, James. Always a pleasure to see you.”

James grinned. “Likewise, Professor.”

“I told you, James: you can call me Thomas now. You work for Professor Vasquez, not me.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Thomas turned his attention back to said professor. “Now… to what do I owe the pleasure of you two visiting me this morning?”

Enrique sighed. “I’m afraid that the reason is not for pleasure, Thomas.”

“Oh…” Thomas slumped onto his loveseat, sipping the coffee James had given him. “What’s going on?”

“We have a University Board Committee hearing tomorrow after our lectures.”

Thomas swallowed his coffee before groaning. “Are you kidding me? Who in their right mind would screw up before their first day?”

James sighed. “These kids got into a fight in the coffee shop on campus. There’s video evidence that premiered on May Gordon’s show.”

“Well, that must be why I haven’t heard about it. I don’t watch her garbage can of a show.”

Enrique shook his head. “Neither do I, but Priya told me about it this morning.”

Thomas sighed and leaned back in the loveseat, closing his eyes. “Alright… If you’re not going into the campus today, can you two stay here? I’m not in any condition to go into work, despite appearances.”

“I have to go in, but James can stay with you.”

“That’s fine. You’re always a busy man with your writing, Enrique.”

Enrique smiled slightly. “Tenure as well.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Thomas chuckled. “Go on now. I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow.

“Of course.” Enrique eyed James with an undecipherable look. “Make sure Thomas doesn’t do anything that’s too reckless.”

James nodded. “Of course.”

Satisfied, Enrique nodded and headed out the door.

Ethan walked with Atlas and Max over to On the Grind a few hours later.

Zig was leaning against the outside wall when they approached. “Hey there, you two. Let’s make today better than yesterday, okay?”

Atlas smiled. “W-We’ll definitely try!”

Ethan grinned at the tall barista. “There’s the Zigster!”

“What’s up, Ethan?”

“Not a whole hell of a lot! Just picked up these two as clients!”

Zig chuckled. “Good move getting the little guy so fast.” He went over to Atlas and patted his head. “Ethan is my agent too, little guy. He’s good.” He turned back to Ethan. “I got you guys a booth in the way back after what happened in here yesterday. Bianca Stone and her cronies are nowhere to be seen, and your special guest is already here waiting for you guys.” He smiled. “I’ll take your order. It’s on me.”

Ethan nodded. “Thanks, Zig, you’re the best.”

Atlas and Max followed Ethan and Zig inside the café, grabbing food and drinks before heading to the booth that the agent’s famous friend had invited to lunch.

Once the mystery man turned around, Ethan smiled. “Hey, Chris.”

Chris smiled. “Ethan! Good to see you again!”

Atlas and Max were instantly starstruck, and the older boy was the first to speak. “You’re Chris Winters!”

The actor smiled softly as Ethan sat next to him, coming off very approachable to the two kids. “Yeah, I am.”

“You just starred in Fireman: Inferno, right?”

“Sure did! I had the premiere afterparty last night.” Chris blushed awkwardly. “I hate bragging about my work, but boasting sells.”

Ethan patted Chris’s shoulder and laughed. “Gotta ham it up for the press, am I right?”

Chris nodded and smiled in response. “Yeah, but the schtick can get old.”

Atlas, too starstruck to speak before, gathered up some courage to say something after finally sitting down next to Max. “Y-You were in Modern Wonders too, r-right? That b-baseball movie?”

Pleasantly surprised by the question, Chris grinned. “Yeah! Wow, that’s one of my favorite movies I was in as a teenager!”

“I-I used to watch it with my dad when I was in elementary school! M-My dad actually worked on the movie too!”

Chris was intrigued now. “Oh really? What’s his name?”

“His n-name is Dave! D-Dave Seville!”

“What did he do for the movie?”

Ethan and Max shared amused looks as the two brunets continued their conversation.

Atlas took a minute to think. “He w-was a composer for it, I think!”

Chris smiled. “That’s really cool! I don’t think I ever met him during filming, but I’d love to meet him one day.”

“Y-You would?” Atlas blushed with a toothy grin on his face.

“I don’t always get to meet everyone I work on a film with, but I try to! I like to get personal with everyone in a production!”

Max grinned. “Well with your personality, it’s hard for people not to want to know you better.”

Chris blushed and waved the compliment off. “Oh, I don’t know if it’s my personality…”

Ethan gave a charming smile. “Maybe it’s your giving nature then?”

“You guys are driving me nuts over here!”

Atlas giggled at the sight of the three of them talking, feeling embarrassed at first that he was making an idiot of himself in front of an actual movie star.

That is, until Chris cooed at him.

“Your laugh is one of the cutest things I’ve heard in a while!” The sincere look on Chris’s face was genuine and endearing. “What’s your name, buddy?”

Atlas smiled brighter at the actor. “I-I’m Atlas!”

Chris held out his hand for Atlas to shake. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

If Atlas thought he was dreaming now, this moment only made that notion more believable. “I-It’s nice to meet you too!” He felt his phone vibrate, picking it up when he saw the contact was the one person he wanted to hear from most right now. “Hi, Daddy!” He blushed in embarrassment, but realized it was actually okay when the other three men smiled at him regardless, despite Max’s very confused look at first.

Dave chuckled on the other end of the line, and Atlas could just feel his father’s positive energy radiate from him. “Hi, Atlas! Do you mind if I switch this to a video call?”

“N-Not at all!” He waited patiently for the call to transfer to video, and he beamed with delight. “Oh, y-you’re in your office again!”

Chuckling, Dave propped the camera so it was angled just right to show his face. “I finally managed to clean it after your little brother tripped and the music sheets went everywhere in the room.”

“I said I was sorry!” an oddly… squeaky voice replied with an amount of sass only one of his younger brothers could muster.

Dave gave a stern look to the origin of the voice. “Yes, but I still had to clean up the mess.”

Atlas blushed, hoping his little brothers wouldn’t make a guest appearance yet. “S-So, Dad, I’m with some people you wanna meet!”

Putting on a smile, Dave got comfortable in his office chair. “I’d love to meet them!”

“Th-This is Max, m-my roommate!” Atlas tilted the phone camera toward the blond boy.

Max waved. “Hi, Mr. Seville.”

Dave smiled warmly. “Hi there, Max. What are you studying there?”

“I’m undeclared right now, but I’ll be putting my feelers into a little bit of everything.”

”Nothing wrong with that! You watch over Atlas, okay?”

“I sure will, sir. With everything in me.”

Atlas smiled as he swapped the orientation the camera was in. “Th-This is Ethan! He’s m-my agent!”

Ethan gave a charming smile. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Seville.”

“Nice to meet you too, Ethan,” Dave replied. “It’s good that he found you, but don’t go fishing for projects without his say-so, alright?”

Atlas blushed. “D-Dad…”

Ethan laughed heartily. “Trust me, Mr. Seville. I don’t do anything without client permission.”

Dave smiled. “Well alright then. Thank you for being upfront.”

“I-I have one last surprise for you, Dad…” Atlas finally turned the camera to Chris. “M-Meet Chris Winters!”

The older man gave a surprised facial expression. “Oh wow! Mr. Winters, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Chris laughed. “Likewise! Atlas told me you composed on Modern Wonders!”

“I sure did!”

“That’s great! I love meeting as many people as I can from the movies I worked on that don’t usually get to see me in person! It helps me not seem like a surreal figure, you know?”

Dave nodded. “That’s very admirable of you, Mr. Winters.”

Chris gave out a chuckle. “You can just call me Chris if you want, Dave. I hope I get to work with your son someday. His future’s already looking so bright.”

“Is that the Chris Winters you’re talking to, Dave?!” the squeaky voice sounded off again.

Atlas blushed again and closed his eyes. “Oh no…”

Max frowned. “Oh no what?”

Dave sighed in frustration. “Not now, Alvin…”

“But I want to meet Chris Winters!” the squeaky voice responded.

“M-Me too!” added a second high-pitched voice that was partially reminiscent of Atlas’s in Max’s opinion.

“Oh for God's sake, you two!” chimed in a slightly less squeaky third voice.

Dave sighed. “Really, fellas?”

Atlas groaned slightly in embarrassment.

One by one, three chipmunks – yes, chipmunks – graced the screen with Dave. “Hi, Atlas!!”

Max blinked. “Holy moly.”

The oldest Seville son waved. “Hi, guys.”

“Did you have to get nosy at the mention of Chris Winters?” the chipmunk in blue with glasses scathed at the one dressed in red with a baseball cap.

“Hey, it's not every day you get to meet someone famous!” the red-clad rodent retorted.

“We're famous people, Alvin.”

“Riiight…”

The chipmunk in green looked up at Atlas with big brown eyes and a concerned face. “Did we embarrass you, big brother…?”

Biting his tongue to not make his brother upset, Atlas shook his head. “N-No, just wasn't expecting you guys, th-that's all.”

“Are you sure?”

Nodding, Atlas smiled genuinely. “I-I'm sure, Theo.”

Theo smiled and looked at the other three boys at the table. “Hi, I'm Theodore!”

Chris immediately felt his heart swell. “Aw, hi, buddy!”

Dave smiled. “These are my youngest sons – Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.”

Alvin, the one in red, grinned. “I'm the awesome one!”

Simon, the one in blue, rolled his eyes.

The three boys at Atlas’s table chuckled.

Atlas smiled. “I-I know you wanted to talk, Dad, b-but you can always text me too if they ever become too much of a handful!” He giggled.

“Yeah, but what's the fun in that?!” Alvin asked.

“Please, Alvin, I'm begging you not to embarrass Atlas. He's making friends at school. He'll be fine.” Dave looked back to Atlas. “Talk to you soon?”

Atlas nodded. “Y-You bet! I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, kiddo. Have fun at school, okay?”

“O-Okay, Dad! B-Bye, guys!”

“Bye, Atlas!!” the chipmunks cheered before the call disconnected.

Atlas hung up as well before blushing in embarrassment he hid from Theodore. “I-I was hoping you guys wouldn't know about them until you really got to know me but… those are my little brothers.”

Max looked concerned. “Why did you want to hide them from us?”

“B-Because I want people to get to know me as a person of my own rights and thoughts, a-and not just lumped in as related to my famous brothers, you know?”

“We getcha. But we already know you as your own person.”

“And you're pretty great,” Chris added.

The youngest boy blushed. “Oh stop…”

Ethan smiled. “Don't worry, Atlas; I can help you tastefully develop your own signature brand that's different from your brothers and still maintain a good relationship with them. I'm sure they'll understand!”

Atlas nodded gratefully. “Th-Thank you!”

“Of course! Now, let's finally eat! We got distracted.”

It had been a very long week.

Eighteen-year-old Atlas Seville had just moved out to California so he could attend Hollywood University, one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the country. This was the first time that the boy was living somewhere without his family, much like most other incoming freshmen to the school. Understandably, he was excited to be here but very nervous to be out on his own.

Atlas worked very hard to get to step foot on the campus at all. Born with developmental disorders, he struggled to learn subjects in school for a few years. Despite his memory being almost photographic, it was his communication skills that were somewhat lacking. He wasn't officially diagnosed, however, until the fifth grade – with the diagnosis of a stutter, acute social phobia, and Asperger's syndrome. There were other developmental hurdles for Atlas, but he managed to get by.

Since then, Atlas and his father Dave began to work with a therapist and he's made leaps and bounds to improve on his grades with great payoff.

Reaching the front gates of Hollywood U's campus in a taxi cab, Atlas quickly paid the driver with some of the money he had on his person. He quietly got out of the cab, bags in tow and head held high.

Standing at about five-foot-four, Atlas was small in both size and stature. His windswept brown hair and bright blue eyes complimented his rounder face and pale complexion, and he always seemed to have a childlike wonder and energy to tie it all together.

Entering the campus, Atlas started to look around in awe at all of the buildings around him. Most of them stood taller than the ones in his hometown, except for maybe the city hall there. He was so focused on marveling the brilliant architecture that he didn't see directly ahead of him, walking directly into someone.

“Whoa!” A toned blond, who appeared to be a few years older than Atlas, looked down at the brunet as he picked up his luggage that he dropped. “You okay there, little guy?”

Atlas heard the rough voice and quickly looked up at the other boy after frantically getting a grasp on his bags. “Oh! Y-Yeah, I’m okay, thank you.”

“You need some help? Four bags seems like a lot.”

Sheepishly, Atlas nodded. “Some help w-would be nice, actually…” He blushed. “Y-You can carry a suitcase and my backpack.”

The blond smiled and bent down to grab the suitcase for him. “You got it.” He stood upright again. “My name’s Max, by the way.”

Atlas blinked in slight surprise. “M-Max Warren?”

Max grinned. “Yeah! Why do you ask?”

“I think y-you’re my roommate!”

“Your last name Seville?”

“Mhm!”

“Then yeah, you are!”

Atlas squeaked in excitement, putting down his bags to hug Max tightly.

Max chuckled and hugged the smaller boy back. “You seem younger than eighteen, ya know.”

“I-I get that a lot.” Atlas smiled brightly up at Max and stayed in their tight hug. “B-But I’m not worried.”

“Adds to your innocent charm.”

To the blond’s surprise, Atlas let out what seemed to be a childlike giggle. “E-Exactly!”

Max laughed. “Well, I’m gonna protect you with my Goddamn life, okay?”

“Y-You promise?”

“I promise.”

Atlas smiled brightly and latched onto his arm. “Thank you for helping me, b-by the way.”

Max flashed a movie star smile. “Of course. What are roommates for?”

Thomas Hunt loathed having office hours.

Such hours are required for every professor – whether they were adjunct or not – and most faculty members at Hollywood University. Hours for dozens of students to line the hallway just to see him. As much as it might seem that Thomas's Hollywood ego (or, maybe, lack thereof depending on personal perspective) would love being showered in the attention, the students themselves irked Thomas to no end. Each had with them their own... quirks, to put it nicely, but they tended to fall into one of three categories.

First, there were the students that consistently came to his office and asked a million questions about assignments. They would typically be so far behind with the assignment that he almost knew they were going to fail it, either because they cheated or they were just lazy. He wasn't so surprised with the students that did this, but they were generally quite bothersome anyway. A few extensions of the category included, but weren't limited to, students asking for his opinions on other professors' assignments just because they wanted to impress him.

Ha. Impress Thomas Hunt? Already an improbable task.

Next came the students who would come into his office for one sole purpose: to flirt with him. These types of students angered Thomas even more than the students in the last category did. Did they not realize that his standards were higher than the Empire State Building compared to most of the students with infatuations for a man that was almost twice their age?

Of course... the almost criminal age gap hadn't stopped him before at one point.

But that's a story for another time, I'm afraid.

Lastly, there were what Thomas liked to call his "platinum status" students – the students who managed to gain a massive amount of his respect with their work ethic and composure, and whose projects continued to blow him away with their intuitive creativity and the sheer effort put into them. These were the students he believed could do some good in Hollywood and in the world, and he talked to these students at least once every other week.

Unfortunately, the professor hadn't gotten the chance to meet any of these students before their summer break, which was now very close to finishing up.

Thomas was snapped out of focus as he finished typing up his syllabus when he heard a knock on his office door. He saved the document and closed his laptop for the moment, looking toward the door. "Come in!"

Once the door was pulled open, in stepped fellow professor Priya Singh, a stack of manila folders under her arm. "Ah, you're here early for a change."

"Figured it was time I prepared here for my next semester of personal hell," Thomas quipped back at her with a sarcastic smile.

"You don't have to be so bitter about it," was Priya's deadpan response.

Thomas sighed. "Sorry. I thought I would catch you in a good mood for a change for our first day back together, but apparently, that's not the case."

"No harm done, I promise." Priya set down the folders that were under her arm. "Your new student files for the roster for your Hollywood 101 class. Straight from the undergraduate department."

Eyes widening, Thomas looked to the pile of folders, then back to her stunned. "There's got to be at least two hundred files in this batch..."

"Which is why that class is now in the auditorium."

Thomas grabbed the top folder of the bunch, sighing in dread. "Good God... and I have to put all of these in the system by…?"

Priya shook her head. "By tomorrow."

"Christ..." Thomas looked down at his tapping finger in defeat before moving some of the folders closer to his laptop. "Guess I should get to work on this then. And I was hoping to leave on time tonight."

"I know it's a lot, but I'm sure you'll live. I have to get my things in order. I'll see you later today, alright?"

Thomas nodded in reply before he watched Priya stride out of the room and shut the door with a click behind her. He let out a sigh, shaking his head as he started to comb through the files of students in his classes.

With the way things were going right now, this was going to be a long semester…

About two hours and lots of work later, Atlas and Max had finished pulling their dorm room together and were now walking into the coffee shop that was on campus called On the Grind. The two ordered coffee and sat in a booth next to the windows. Sunlight illuminated the seats and the table as they talked.

Max took a small sip of his drink. “So the name Atlas, huh? “How’d your parents give you that name?”

Blushing, Atlas grabbed his arm awkwardly. “M-My dad named me after the Greek titan that carried the world on his shoulders in mythology.”

“Holy shit, that’s cool! What’s your full name?”

“A-Atlas Dorian Seville. My d-dad gave me the middle name from The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

Max raised an eyebrow at the younger boy. “Who’s that and where’s his picture?”

To that, Atlas burst out laughing, making his freckles practically glow in the sunlight now. “It’s a b-book!”

“Oh…” It was Max’s turn to blush now.

Atlas giggled. “I-It’s okay, Max!”

“Well, well, what do we have here…?” a shrill, unrecognizable voice interrupted from next to them.

The source turned out to be coming from a shorter girl that had abruptly showed up at the end of the table. Max immediately thought she had the appearance of a Jersey Shore reject, while Atlas… wasn’t sure what to think at all. An entourage of four stood behind her – three other girls and a boy.

“I believe this is our table,” the queen bee continued.

Max furrowed his brows at her. “I’m sorry?”

She crossed her arms. “Every time we’re in here, we sit here at this table – mine and Lance’s names are engraved under it!”

“God, Bianca…” one of the other girls muttered as she rolled her eyes.

Atlas looked under the table curiously – and sure enough, by the pole on his side of the table, there were two sets of initials carved into the wood: B.S. + L.S.

Max sneered. “Your names may be on it, but it’s not your property.”

Bianca leaned in toward Max, and if looks could kill, he would have likely imploded. “Do you even know who I am? My name should be on anything I want.”

“I-It’s just a table…” Atlas spoke up quietly as to not cause a scene.

Turning her attention away from Max, Bianca slowly stood upright again and glided her French-tipped fingernails across the table. She went to one of her friends, grabbing the drink out of their hand and letting it loose on Atlas in the blink of an eye. Her cold villainess sneer locked onto his fragile frame. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t have, retard.”

Atlas’s eyes went wide and watery as he heard the gasps throughout the coffee shop and the sound of someone typing on their phone.

Max stood up from the booth and got in Bianca’s face. “You want your table? You can fucking have it, princess. But if you ever hurt my roommate again, you’re going to have hell to pay.”

Bianca gave him a wicked smirk. “Oh?” She noticed Atlas standing up to join Max. “You mean like this?” Her hands pushed abruptly against the smaller boy’s chest, slamming him into the table and causing Atlas to cry out in pain.

The older boy growled and stood protectively in front of Atlas, his icy eyes on the mean girl. “Don’t call him a retard. And don’t you ever touch him again! If you’re still looking to try, you gotta try to go through me, bitch.”

And that’s exactly what Bianca did.

She threw the first slap before going in for punches, and to keep on the defensive, Max fought back.

Lance and two of the other girls tried to pull Bianca off of Max, while one of the baristas ran over to the scene with a security guard.

“Alright, alright, break it up!” the security guard shouted, prying Max away from Bianca.

The barista, on the other hand, went over to Atlas immediately and covering him protectively so he wouldn’t be swung at. “Are you okay?”

Biting his lip, Atlas shook his head as tears fell from his eyes. “N-No… I-I’m overwhelmed and scared. Is M-Max gonna be okay?”

“He might be in some trouble for this, but I think he’ll make it out okay.” The man smiled. “I’m Zig.”

Atlas sniffled, wiping his eyes. “I-I’m Atlas…”

“I dig that name.”

“Thank you!”

Zig leaned up when he heard the scene quiet down and sighed in relief when he saw that everyone in the fight was gone.

Shaking his head, the security guard sat down across the table from Atlas and Zig. “Hi there, buddy. I’m Diego. Listen…” He gently grabbed Atlas’s hands. “I have to warn you: your friend might get in trouble for this since you guys were on school property when it happened. You’ll be okay, but you’ll have to tell people what happened in a hearing, okay? I don’t know when that will be, but I know a guy you should meet in case something happens like this again.”

Taking in all of the information, Atlas nodded slowly, his eyes filled with worry.

Zig rubbed his back comfortingly. “You’ll be okay. You aren’t in trouble.”

Atlas nodded again. “O-Okay…”

Diego took a deep breath as he pulled out a small notebook, quickly writing down his cell phone number. “Here, buddy. You can call me anytime if you’re in trouble.”

“I’ll add my number too,” Zig added on, taking out a pen and jotting it down before sliding the paper over to Atlas. “Here you go.” He turned to look outside. “Your friend is waiting for you to go outside. You’re going to be okay.”

Atlas took a deep breath and nodded a third time as he stood up. “O-Okay. Thank you.”

Diego smiled warmly. “Of course. You go on ahead and get back to your dorm room so you can go and change out of those clothes.”

“R-Right…” Atlas frowned. “T-Talk to both of you later…” He made his way out of the café, praying to God that his whole semester wouldn’t be riddled with incidents like this.