HEâS HELPING SET THE FOOD OUT ON THE COFFEE TABLE when he hears payton comment on his painting, and though his initial reaction is to brush the compliment off, mumbling something about it not even being finished, his attention is brought to the word âtoo.â â â you paint, as well? of course you do. â he almost says it like a thought, more for himself, than for her. of course she fucking does. perhaps sheâs made it a goal for him to romanticize her.
he takes the napkin from the girl sat beside him and heâs listening to her talk to him about sandwiches, and the close to one hundred that sheâs determined to try â and heâs trying really hard not to look like heâs beaming. but he canât really help that heâs FOND of her; itâs like her whole aesthetic is just being a ray of sunshine, which was really refreshing considering even atlas got tired of his own omnipresent broodiness sometimes. so, yeah. he tries his best to be reserved of the fact that heâs pretty keen on her, but with the way he looks at her with eyes crinkled & a crooked smile, that facade is betrayed in an instant. â youâre fucking crazy, payton, â he comments, followed by a chuckle of disbelief mixed with admiration. he wipes his hands with the napkin as he continues. â i donât even think there are ninety-nine real variations of sandwiches, anyway. they probably have like, ten actually different sandwiches, and then the other eighty-nine are just ever so slightly different than the first ten. like the number eleven is probably just a number ONE but with like, MAYO instead of mustard or something. â heâs finished with the napkin now, & he throws it into the empty bag in front of them with nonchalance, officially designating it the bag for their trash. â â and anyway, youâd have to go every single day to try them all, and if you do that, then iâm just gonna be forced to start calling you Sandwich Girl. or something equally embarrassing but relevant. â he gives her a matter-of-fact look & shrugs his shoulders. â i donât make the rules, okay? and it would literally KILL me to not make fun of you. â
he goes for his sandwich again, intent on finishing it, when payton asks him about his day. but he waves that question away, barely able to contain the fact that heâs so pleased that she had one of HIS songs stuck in her head. sometimes, he forgot that theyâd met before, a long time before the village was even a possibility to atlas. it meant more to him than he could explain in words when his castmates supported wallows ( and the fans, too, of course ), but it was always a special kind of appreciation when it came to payton because sheâd been a listener before she knew atlas personally. music was really important to atlas ( maybe even too important, at times, when it came to budgeting time & attention to other things, like class or work ), and it was nice to have someone who was a part of the same music scene that he was in, and even nicer that she was into his passion project. â literally, nothing, â he responds quickly, shaking his head, in answer to her question. â i am actually, quite literally, never doing anything interesting. thatâs just an illusion i like to give people to make myself seem intriguing. â BUT, iâd LOVE to know what song you were listening to, â he insists, cheekily.Â
âatlas, youâre insulting my new best friend, the self-proclaimed sandwich god of new york city, this man would knock you out and spread you like mustard on rye if he heard you right now. back it up,â she was just teasing, holding up her hand, palm staring him straight in the face as if blocking out his statement, void. âperspective ââ thereâs at least a dozen variations of meat, sliced, or spreadable salad style not to mention meatless sandwiches are all the hype right now, i might not follow the vegan flow but iâm no hater. plus the choice of cheese alone can completely alter what makes a sandwich itself and then add in the veggies and the spreads, hot or cold, i mean CâMON, the possibilities are truly infinite.â payton shakes her head, a grin still ever so slightly attached to her lips before she goes in for another bite. could she continue to ramble about her limitless belief in sandwich fillings, sure, totally ( probably for hours ) but any person besides atlas wouldnât have even humored her with a response, so for that she was patting herself on the back for choosing her audience wisely when spitting out obnoxious statements. âmake fun alllll you want, but when i finish number 99 and they give me the key to city, promise me youâll come up with a better name than Sandwich Girl. spare us both the embarrassment.â
making a proper dent in the second half of her sandwich, payton looks sideways at atlas, âyou quite literally just lied! call me crazy, i think youâre crazy!â she pushed her elbow at him, nudging him in the side, hard enough to make it worth the effort, but not enough to actually inflict pain. âsince when does making music not count as interesting? and good music at that, i mean every kid with a laptop these days claims theyâre a musician but youâre actually doing it. and you show up on set and kill it and you paint, which heck no i do not share that talent, as if i wish.â payton heard him before when he thought she too was spending her free time painting, but her mouth-full of bread made refuting him one hundred precent the wrong choice at the time. âiâm a one gig kinda girl, but mr. actor, musician, painter...you artistic prodigy you. and you just put away that sandwich like a true champ, i am always being impressed by you, itâs like youâre tryinâ to show off, i swear!â her words were meant only as an overwhelming genuine compliment, she really did admire him. payton put her efforts in one basket and she was more than content with that, but it always fascinated her when others were able to bring art into their lives in more ways than one, and succeed at it like atlas. â what you described is actually my MO, so hop off that train and embrace the fact that you could literally be doing nothing and youâd still be infinitely more interesting than the person before you. own it but also be humble, kendrick lamar taught me that and heâs a king so.â she adds nonchalantly with a shrug.
ironically the name of the song that was playing over and over in paytonâs head all morning perfectly described what she was currently feeling. crumpling the wrapper that once held her sandwich into a haphazard looking ball, payton tossed it into the now trash bag on the table before turning to atlas âiâm full.â she answered, unable to hold back the laugh that followed after it. âone of my favorite wallows bangers and exactly how i feel after that monster sandwich.â surely atlas didnât need her to clear that up, but it felt right so of course, she did anyway. payton leaned back into the couch, nodding her head to match the beat of his song that rightfully so was back to blasting live in her mind now that her distraction was being digested. âbut oh my god, confessions of a true wallows stan, i used to think that whole reeseâs line came out of frickinâ left field but now that i know you...itâs the most you line iâve ever heard and itâs made me unable to eat a reeseâs cup without thinking of you or this song? also convinced that was your original goal, using peanut butter and chocolate to subconsciously make your fans think of you, subtle subduction. smooth guy, i see you.â she spoke slyly, basking in the effortless comfort that atlasâs company provided.