Salem ends up grabbing himself McDonald's as well. Once he arrives at the police station, he walks to his father's office. The man seems happy to see him upon entry.

"How was school?" Jack asks. Salem pulls a chair up beside his desk and takes a seat, unpacking the food. He doesn't really want to talk about school, if he's being honest. School sucks.

"It was okay. Mercedes dumped me." Salem notifies him. He says it so casually, he actually catches himself off guard. He tries to act sad, as an afterthought, because that would be the appropriate reaction to being broken up with. An expression of sympathy immediately takes over Jack Heart's features.

"I'm sorry," he replies. Salem just shrugs. "What happened? You two seemed to really like each other."

Salem doesn't know what the hell this guy is talking about, if he's being honest. Sure, Mercedes is pretty and popular and sweet, if a bit crazy, but she was a decent girlfriend. Salem was never all that into her, still, which is why he currently is not feeling an ounce of heartbreak.

Oh well. He'd rather his father think he's heart broken than unaffected, to be honest. Also, Salem is absolutely not telling this man why they broke up. Jack never approved of Atlas, not even a little bit. He was so happy when he thought Salem moved on.

Wait, no. There's no thought about it. Salem did move on, he's completely over that guy.

"I don't know, it just didn't work out." Salem says. He's trying not to be suspicious, but fails ultimately when he continues; "I have some questions about Atlas, though."

At the mention of the guy, Jack's eyes shoot over to meet Salem's. He immediately has a familiar curl to his lip, eyebrows slightly furrowed. His look of disapproval.

"Salem..." his voice is unsure. "I'm not sure it's wise to talk about—"

"I know, I know." Salem interrupts, fidgety and nervous. Jack leans back in his chair and gives the boy an expectant look. "It's nothing to do with... um, you know, us. I just have some questions about his criminal record."

Jack frowns, and Salem makes the executive decision to stop making eye contact. He doesn't like that look in his father's eyes, one he knows all too well. Sadly.

"Why?" Jack asks, and his tone sounds guarded. Salem continues to stare at the hardwood floor, and he hears a distant commotion. It sounds like one of the dogs. It hardly registers in his mind, thoughts running a mile a minute.

Salem knows about Atlas' criminal record, obviously. However, he was never told the specific crimes that the guy had committed, aside from his fighting. Any time Salem asked he was met with evasion, from both his father and the man himself, so he eventually gave up. Now, though, they aren't together anymore. So he should be able to know, right?

Also, Salem refuses to believe he robbed a bank. He'd always assumed Atlas was arrested for petty crimes, though he is fully aware that Jack would go easy on him generally. Atlas had mentioned it to him once.

Still, both Jack and Atlas constantly tried to keep Salem out of it. Now, though? After the bank incident? He wants answers, to simply ease his mind if anything.

"I just want to know the things you arrested him for."

"Why?"

"Why not? Isn't it public record?"

Salem meets Jack's eyes at this, and the man does not appear to appreciate Salem's tone. Salem is genuinely thinking about coming clean. Just telling this man everything.

"I would like to know why it's important to you."

Salem bites his tongue, though he wants to scream at the top of his lungs. You know why it's important to me.

"I... was just in the bank on third," Salem starts. Jack's eyebrows raise, concerned expression taking over his features. He probably knows where this is going. "One of the robbers was just really familiar, and he reminded me of Atlas, and then he let me escape... and I never thought Atlas did anything that bad, but robbing a bank is a felony, and I just... I don't know..."

"The bank on third." Jack says, and his look of worry is starting to freak Salem out. "It was robbed almost an hour ago—you were there?"

"Well, yeah, but then one let me go—"

"Why didn't you call me? I want you to call me next time—promise, if anything like that happens again... if you're in trouble..."

"I will call you." Salem promises, and Jack just stares at him. Salem wasn't expecting this sort of reaction, though he supposes that it was an armed robbery. Salem can't help but wonder if there were casualties, going off of Jack's reaction.

"Promise."

"I promise."

Jack gives him a swift nod. Salem notices that the man is already done with his food, aside from the McFlurry. He's eating that now. He must've been hungry.

"He just has a few misdemeanors, nothing big." Jack gives him the most vague answer possible. Salem frowns, and he knows he won't get anything else out of this man. Still, the robber from the bank... those familiar hazel eyes, the tattoo, the way he said Salem's name...

"I have work to do. The Di Angelo's are seriously making my life hell this week, for some reason." Jack says, and Salem just nods. He knows better than to get in the way of his father when he's dealing with that family.

So, not long after that, Salem leaves the police station and heads home. With each passing moment, though, he only has more questions.

-

Salem feels like he's losing his mind.

He was with Atlas for almost two years, he thought he knew everything about the guy. However, lately, he's been thinking more about their relationship. He is beginning to realize that he doesn't know the man as well as he thought.

For one, he never met Atlas' family. He knows that the guy's parents are still married, both alive, and he has two sisters and two brothers. Still, the entire time they were together, Atlas only mentioned them a handful of times.

Salem has also never been in the guy's house. He never went through Atlas' phone, he didn't even know the password. Don't get Salem wrong, he wanted to. He wanted to know everything about Atlas. He wanted to snoop through all his stuff. However, he restrained himself in hopes of not seeming insane or obsessive.

In the end it was a losing game, but that's another story.

Anyway, Salem has come to a reluctant decision. He needs to ask Atlas about this.

Since they broke up, Salem has not initiated a single conversation. He's been way too nervous, and he honestly still is. Atlas will never fail to turn him into a complete mess of a human.

Salem just can't function properly around him, especially now that they aren't together anymore. This whole bank-robber-identity thing is about to drive Salem clinically insane at this point, though, so he's decided it worth it. He will initiate a conversation with Atlas Marino, and it will go fine.

Salem really just needs to ease his mind.

"This is a horrible idea." Zona says from the other end of the line. It has been two days since the incident—Salem has had the entire weekend to think about it. Zona obviously disapproves, too bad he's already made up his mind.

"Okay, well, it's necessary."

"Not necessary enough," Zona replies. Salem is in the middle of doing some last minute homework. Really last minute, since it's midnight and he has school in eight hours.

"It's driving me crazy, though! I never noticed before, but Atlas is so mysterious—"

"You've got to be kidding me." Zona replies, and then she's video calling him. Salem reluctantly answers, setting up his phone so she can clearly see him. Her face is all close to the camera, brown hair in its usual bob haircut, though slightly damp from her shower. Her brown eyes are studying him, freckles more prominent from the tan she'd gotten over the summer.

"Oh my god, you're serious."

"Yeah, I am." Salem replies, irritated. Why do all his friends suck?

"Salem, please listen to what I'm about to say, for once in your life."

"Whatever."

"We are talking about Atlas Marino right now, not some random guy. You are literally the only person I know that isn't afraid of him. I know that you don't see it because he fucking brainwashed you—"

Salem resists the urge to object to that, though he really wants to. Being in love and being brainwashed are two completely different things, and neither apply to this situation.

"But he's no good. He's going to spend the rest of his life in and out of jail, trust me. All he will do is let you down if you pursue this. You need to keep your distance and you know it. If not for me, do it for your dad. Atlas is quite literally the worst possible match for you."

"Okay, you're overreacting." Salem replies, doubtful. "I'm not saying that I'm gonna marry him, I just want to ask him about this."

"You and I both know that's not all." Zona replies, and Salem hates to admit it but she's right. Sure, he wants answers, but deep down inside...

Deep down, he has a craving. It's eating him up inside. He has spoken to Atlas one time in the last six months—that one instance Mercedes had been referencing—and it sated him for a while. That relief is long gone, however. Salem... well, Salem needs his fix.

"I'm just going to ask him about this. Our break up was mutual, stop acting like he broke my heart."

Zona just stares at him knowingly, and if Salem didn't know better... he'd say the look in her eyes was almost pitying. Like she could read Salem's thoughts, see into his soul. Like he's lying.

"Promise me that you'll be careful." Zona's tone is more serious now. Salem resists the urge to roll his eyes. She takes everything way too seriously, but then again, she always has.

"I promise."

Zona nods, seeming satisfied with that. To be honest, the girl has made him feel a bit better about this. He feels more confident. He is still going to speak with Atlas, but he is going to make damn sure he has the upper hand.

Salem will not let Atlas get in his head. He will not allow the man to sway the conversation at all. It's going to be a get-in-get-out situation. The conversation will take less than a minute, and then Salem will avoid him until graduation.

He will not allow Atlas to bewitch him with his beautiful eyes and hair and face and—and...

No. Salem will be strong about this.

"I gotta go to bed. See you tomorrow." Zona wishes. Salem says some parting words back, and the girl hangs up. He puts in his headphones and begins playing some music to help him focus. He goes back to his homework, trying to get his mind off the inevitable conversation he will have with Atlas tomorrow.

Holy shit. A conversation. With Atlas. God, Salem hopes it goes well. Atlas is practically the CEO of getting the upper hand in every situation, but Salem will make sure that he remains in control. This will be entirely on Salem's terms.

Salem finishes his homework an hour later, though he did a pretty subpar job. He lays in bed, after taking a shower, and closes his eyes. His mind is racing a mile a minute as he goes through every possible scenario that could happen tomorrow. He is making sure he has a script for every outcome. He will not let Atlas direct the conversation, because that only goes one way.

When Atlas is leading conversation, it always goes back to referencing their relationship or their break up, and sometimes Salem's character flaws. Salem can't let it go down that route. He knows that if Atlas starts bringing back those memories, he will lose all composure.

Salem will not allow himself to think about what could've been, or what is. It's over, they're over, and tomorrow they will have a simple conversation about Salem's suspicions. Nothing more, nothing less. Everything will go perfectly according to plan. Salem will make sure of it.

Salem finally falls asleep, about a half hour later, to his racing mind and wishful thoughts.