(Song of the chapter: 'Wolves' - One Direction)

ARCHER

The first time I'd seen truly seen Riley, she'd been breezing through the school halls with a bag in each hand and a phone to her ear. She was talking animatedly, bursting into a wide grin every so often.

A sight like that was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was Riley. Everyone had stopped to look.

Including me.

Her walk was one of finesse– one long shapely leg placed before the other, hips swaying in the most captivating way. I'm sure she was aware she had most of the school's attention as she strutted by, yet she'd tuned them all out easily and focused on her phone call.

Not everyone was capable of such multitasking.

One onlooker had been so absorbed in watching Riley, she walked right into a wall and dropped all her books.

Riley, who was headed her way, had stopped. Almost distractedly, she'd transferred the phone to the crook of her neck, bent down to pick up the books, then handed them back to the girl with a dazzling smile. Then she continued walking like nothing even happened.

Once she was gone, my eyes strayed back to the bystander. She'd looked as stunned as I felt.

Stunned, because I recognized the sensation zipping through my veins. Everything went dark, and Riley's face popped up in my mind in almost blinding color.

My heart beat hard enough in my chest to rattle my ribs.

Suddenly, instantaneously, I was in love.

Being in love was all or nothing for me. Like an action potential, my heart either sped up at the sight of someone, all my neurons firing crazily, or it didn't. And it always, always, took just a second.

It was dangerous too, because I fell too hard, loved too deeply, and then I had problems letting go.

Or, under special circumstances, my feelings could turn into the completely opposite emotion. That didn't bode well for anyone.

Once, someone I'd loved completely and devotedly had told me no one would ever love me. She'd been wrong; Avalon loved me. My father did too, though he was somehow allergic to showing any kind feelings towards his children.

I hadn't gotten this trait from him, that's for sure.

But for a while, I'd believed her. I'd never fallen in love with any of the girls I slept with, so I thought romantic love was out of my reach. The only love I welcomed and reciprocated came from my Pack, my family, so I learned to be satisfied with that. I believed my singular purpose in life was to protect my Pack at all costs.

Then Riley happened.

I started to look for her in hallways, food courts, lecture rooms... Wherever she was, my eyes immediately strayed in that direction.

I wasn't the only one enthralled by her. Everywhere she went, people flocked towards Riley, actively seeking her out. She was almost never alone. It looked exhausting honestly, but she seemed to really like having a lot of company.

We didn't have that in common, clearly. But something we unfortunately did was that we both liked to kiss girls.

This should've been the part where I realized we had no chance in hell, then proceeded to move on.

No such luck.

I continued mooning over her like an idiot. Other girls weren't distracting to me anymore. Anyone taking the time to look would've seen how smitten I was by her, like there was a tattoo on my forehead with her name written inside a heart.

Jason noticed. He was the only person at school who heedlessly came over to talk to me despite the vibes I gave off, which kept guys away but simultaneously attracted girls.

I've never really figured out how that works.

I always thought he was trying to work up the courage to ask me out or something, but he told me I "wasn't his type".

Nonsense.

So Jason found out about my crush on Riley and teased me relentlessly. Like he was one to talk. I knew he always skipped a beat whenever he saw this guy on the swim team who was famous for wearing really small Speedos, and he hadn't made a move either.

Yet he was judging me? Ridiculous.

The day Riley came over to me, I honestly thought she'd figured it out too and wanted to tell me, politely, that my obsessive staring was creeping her out and I should stop.

Instead, she'd invited me to spend an entire day with her. I couldn't believe it.

Thankfully, I'd been able to actually perform the experiment instead of gazing at her the whole time and accidentally blowing up the place. But it had been very difficult.

Couldn't she see she was in my thoughts and dreams and was basically taking over my life?

Didn't she know I was letting her?

I blinked back to the present, blowing out a breath. The cool wall at my back was a nice relief from the sun's heat. I frowned down at my phone as it came back into focus.

Wasn't there something I was supposed to be doing?

Oh, right. I tapped on contacts, my thumb reaching for a name at the top of the page.

"Archer?"

My breath caught in my throat. I turned, and Riley was standing right beside me, hauntingly lovely like she'd popped straight out of my thoughts.

I'd been so absorbed in thinking about Riley, I hadn't noticed Riley approach. The irony.

Her head tilted to the side as our eyes met, and she smiled.

I felt it again, my cells all jumping for joy at the sight of her, electricity zipping through my skin. Color leached away from everything except from her.

No, that wasn't quite it– all the light seemed to come from her, rays bursting from her sides like wings.

As she blinked long dark lashes at me, her magnificent blue eyes disappearing momentarily, I could've sworn I heard those wings flutter. 

RILEY

Humming, I made my way through the doors and into the sunlight, my bag swinging against my hip.

I'd made it just in time to submit my paper (about ten minutes before it was due). I was so happy about my success, I skipped over the final step and onto the pavement. I made sure not to jostle my pumpkin spice latte though. Couldn't ruin my new coat.

The long, black suede jacket had a stylish gold trim, and I'd paired it with a white button-up shirt, loose brown pants and Doc Martens.

The complete outfit made me look like some famous explorer. You know, those dudes who went around discovering places people already lived in?

Taking a sip from my latte, I spun around.

And abruptly froze when I spotted Archer.

He was leaning against the wall a few feet away, wearing black jeans and his signature leather jacket. He was staring at a phone screen, sunlight gleaming off his floofy strands as they fell into his face.

One day, I was going to find out the secret of his shampoo brand.

But right now, my hands itched to brush the hair away from his face.

He seemed completely unaware of his surroundings. I took this opportunity to study him, gripped by a quiet fascination.

"Here we see a bad boy in his natural habitat," I whispered.

His brows were furrowed like he was deep in thought. What was he thinking about so seriously?

You could just ask him, I thought to myself.

The thought of approaching him made butterflies flutter around my insides, swirling up a storm.

Wow, I was shy. This was new.

And ridiculous. We'd spent days working on a project together, and I hadn't been shy around him then.

But that was before he'd shown up to my party and taken off his shirt, showcasing a really muscled torso I still haven't been able to stop thinking about, and kissed me.

Now I wore his shirt to sleep and dreamt about him and woke up with my forehead tingling like Harry Potter's lightning scar.

I liked him. A lot, I realized.

I've never really been one to resist.

So, without giving myself time to think it through, I trashed my coffee then walked over to him.

"Archer?"

At the sound of my voice he straightened and turned, his brows unfurling.

When our eyes met, the fluttering turned into a roar, my butterflies beating their wings so loud I thought he might actually hear it.

Nobody spoke for a moment. I broke the silence.

"Hi," I breathed, plastering on a grin.

Archer blinked, as if in slow motion. 

"Riley. Hey."

My name had no business sounding that wonderful coming from his lips. I ducked my head, feeling my cheeks flush.

"I, uh, just submitted my paper for Mr. Jerald's class," I told him, fingering my bag strap.

"I cut it a little bit close," I admitted. "But, it wasn't late! And that's really all that matters."

His incredibly pink lips quirked up.

"Good for you."

I grinned, warmed from my head to my toes. "Thanks."

Words formed in my head and escaped my mouth before I fully processed them.

"Are you...busy?"

Those incredible lashes brushed his cheekbones.

"No," he murmured.

The way he spoke heated my blood, turning it to molten lava. It was a wonder I wasn't a melted pile of mush on the floor.

"Do you wanna do something? I have the entire day to kill." My tone was light; quite at odds with the feelings rippling through me.

He said nothing for a long moment. I bit my cheek, feeling nervous.

Was I being too forward? I know he said we couldn't be just friends, but that didn't mean we couldn't spend any time together, did it?

That just would suck.

"Sure."

I snapped out of it when he replied, trying not to look too relieved.

"Great! I can just tag along with you, if you don't mind. My assistant is waiting by my car and she can take it home for me."

He shrugged. "Yeah, that's fine."

Yay. He pushed off the wall, and together we made our way to the parking lot.

I headed straight for my car and handed my bag and keys over to Really Responsible Rebecca.

"I won't be home for a while, so take these for me?" I asked.

Rebecca nodded and started to slide into the driver's seat.

"Oh, wait!"

I quickly rummaged through my bag and retrieved my Gucci sunglasses. I put them on and contemplated my reflection in the car window.

Perfection.

"Thank you!" I waved. She waved back then drove off.

I swiveled around, finding Archer standing next to a shiny black Audi.

"Where's your motorcycle?" I asked, walking over to the passenger's seat.

"It's in my friend's shop," he replied as we buckled in. "I'm actually headed there right now."

I perked up. "Yes! I wanna ride your motorcycle."

He gave me a wry smile. "I'm sure you do."

He started the car, and cool scented air brushed my cheeks. I lifted my sunglasses, suddenly remembering something.

"So," I made a show of looking around.

"Where are all of your One Direction CDs?"

Archer stilled, then slowly looked at me. I returned his baleful glare with a shit-eating grin.

He let out a long-suffering sigh. "I will never forgive her," he muttered sourly.

I giggled. The wind carried away the noise as we pulled into the highway.

"Honestly, finding out that you're a Directioner was the best thing ever. I know you have those albums around here somewhere..."

And he did. I finally found them in the glove compartment.

"Wow, you really do have them all," I noted, cheerfully thumbing through the stack.

Archer sighed, resigned in the face of such irrefutable proof.

I was amused. "What's your favorite album?"

"Midnight Memories," he grudgingly replied, shifting gears.

"I really like the message of it."

I approved. "Literally one of their best albums. I'm always torn between Four and Up All Night 'cause they have the best songs to party to."

The corner of his lip tilted up. "I can see why you'd like that."

I thought for a second. "I think I'll play one of our neutral albums."

Decided, I carefully picked out Take Me Home and popped it into the slot.

_

"AND IF YOOOOOOOU, YOU WANT ME TOOOOOO, LET'S MAKE A MOOOOOVE, YEAH!"

We were stopped at a red light. I hadn't even noticed– I'd been too busy jamming to the music. Archer was turned in his seat, facing me, and currently looked like he was contemplating what crack I was on.

I sounded like a cross between a yowling cat and a punctured bagpipe, but I couldn't really summon up the necessary remorse for assaulting his ears. I was just enjoying myself too much.

I put my hands in the air and swung 'em like I just didn't care.

"SO TELL ME GIRL IF EVERY TIME WE TO–OH–ACK!"

A strand of hair flew right into my mouth, cutting off my singing.

I coughed and hacked, doubling over. Archer seemed to be trying really hard not to laugh. The villain.

"You have a very interesting voice," he mused when I finally quieted down.

I swung my hair over my shoulder with as much dignity as I could muster.

"Well, I'm not famous 'cause I'm talented," I said with a shrug.

He gave me that grin again, the one that lit up his eyes. I suddenly couldn't breathe again.

"Don't sell yourself short, angel."

I stared at him, my own grin taking up my face.

"Angel?" I inquired, raising a brow.

"It suits you," he said confidently.

Hmm. "I like it!" I decided. "It's like that Made In The A.M track was meant for me."

"Maybe it was." He said it nonchalantly, but his eyes were dancing. I smiled back.

"You can be Olivia," I offered as the lights finally turned green.

Archer snorted. "Shut up, Riley."

I spluttered out a laugh.

After a few more minutes of driving, Archer came to a stop in front of a repair shop. 'The Cool Garagé', the sign proudly read.

I looked at Archer questioningly.

"Come on." He led me inside. We stepped past rows of vehicles and parts lying around, the scent of gasoline surrounding us.

I recognized the olive-skinned, brown-haired figure behind the counter.

I lit up. "Bowling Alley Doctor guy!"

He grinned when he saw me, his brown eyes crinkling behind his glasses.

"Miss Mason. We meet again."

Archer looked between us. "You know Alex?"

"Yup," I nodded. "We met when I went bowling with my brother and his friends. I think the place was called 'The Cool Bowling Alleé'?"

"It was quite the memorable introduction," Alex quipped.

"Ooh, ooh!" I raised my hand like I was in class. "Let me tell the story."

I turned to Archer. "So," I cleared my throat, "we were all sitting down and there was this girl standing in front of us, ready to bowl. She kinda forgot to let go of the ball first, so what happened was she skid forward, then fell flat on her face. Her ball rolled off without her, but it knocked down all the pins so she still won, really."

Archer's lip started to twitch.

"Anyways, we all hurried over to make sure she was okay. She was still conscious at the time even though she'd bumped her head pretty hard, but when she saw us her eyes got really big. Apparently she was a huge fan of all of us, and seeing us all rush over and start hovering over her was the final straw."

I inhaled. "So she fainted."

A snort escaped from him.

"We didn't think that was good for her since she'd just hit her head, so we tried to wake her up. Brandon fanning her in the face didn't work; Jasper took off his sock and waved it around her nose, which did work, but she started having an asthma attack so really, Jasper almost killed her. It was a whole mess."

Alex laced his fingers together, looking incredibly entertained.

"Then I gave her CPR, and she stopped hyperventilating and kind of just stared at me. I thought she looked really cute when she wasn't gasping like a fish, so I told her to call me."

I paused. "She fainted again."

At this point, both males were shaking with laughter. I held in my own giggles, intent on finishing the story.

"Then Rhys – he's really good at keeping his head in situations like this – he was like," I deepened my voice,

"'IS THERE A DOCTOR IN HERE?' Then someone replied–"

I made my voice even deeper, "DID SOMEBODY SAY 'DOCTOR'? We looked back and the smokescreen cleared and them boom!"

My arms widened across Alex's profile. "This dude showed up! He did a couple things and then the girl was fine. Someone came to pick her up and everything. She never did call me though," I mused.

"I think she was too embarrassed."

I gave a half-shrug. "Can't really blame her."

Archer shook his head, his laughter finally subsiding.

"That's the craziest story I've ever heard."

"Not for me. Things like this just seem to happen around me, like I'm the center for chaotic energy."

I beamed. "I love it."

They chuckled.

"So, you said he's your friend right?" I looked between them. "How did you two meet?"

There was a pause.

"We–"

"Uh–"

They both spoke at the same time. After another moment of staring at each other, Archer opened his mouth.

"We– we're in business together."

"Mmhm," Alex nodded in agreement. "Mmhm."

I blinked. "What kind of business?"

Archer turned to me. "It's uh–" He spread his hands.

"It's an...expanding business. It expands," he explained, then clasped his palms together.

Alex's head bobbed firmly. "Right, right," he mumbled in assent.

I stared at them.

One of Archer's shoulders rose. "My, um, my dad– he's a partner in the business. So I–" he cleared his throat, "I participate, as well."

Alex's eyes were closed while his chin dipped like he found Archer's words profound.

"Word, word."

My eyebrows rose into my hairline.

Nobody spoke. Then, clearing his throat again, Archer turned back to Alex.

"So, do you have the...papers I asked for?"

Alex reached into a hidden desk and slid over a stack.

"So she comes into my café at least thrice a month and waits tables," he explained as Archer flipped through it.

"In exchange, I give her what she needs. She doesn't let me pay her or offer her a permanent job, and I get the sense she doesn't like staying in one place too long."

He popped a toothpick in his mouth. "I don't know, but I think she'll be a good fit."

As Archer flipped through the pages, I saw his eyes suddenly catch on something.

He looked up, his expression one of disbelief.

"Wait, seriously?"

Alex nodded, his lip curling around the toothpick.

"Small world, isn't it?" He commented.

As I glanced between them, it instantly clicked.

"Wait a minute."

They froze.

I turned to Alex. "You run a bowling alley, this garage, and a café? Just how many businesses do you own?"

Alex bristled, somehow managing not to spit out the toothpick.

"I'm not telling you. I can't let you know about my plan to slowly take over the world by monopolizing all private services."

I gave him a look of barely restrained amusement. "You just did."

"Oh." He looked briefly sheepish.

"Oops."

Amused, Archer plucked one sheet from the stack and handed the rest back to him.

"My bike, Alex."

"It's in the back."

He nodded his thanks and started steering us in the direction Alex had indicated.

"Have fun taking over the world and stuff!" I called back with a wave.

"I will!" He hollered.

I chuckled. What a funny man.

I faced Archer, curious about the paper he held.

"What's the deal with that?"

He looked thoughtful. "I'm about to do something I know Avalon isn't going to like, but it needs to be done for her sake," he said, folding it up and pocketing it.

"Ah." I nodded sagely.

"Trust me, I totally understand the responsibility that comes with being the older one. When Rhys was younger, he used to have this puce green shirt he wore all the time. It completely clashed with his eyes and washed out his complexion, but he didn't even care. I mean, can you imagine an uglier word than puce?"

I shuddered.

"One day, I had enough. I took his shirt and buried it in the backyard, then told him it ran away. I don't think he really believed me," I reflected.

"In fact, I think he's still holding a grudge to this day. But, that ugly shirt is out of his life and he's making better fashion choices, so I regret nothing."

Archer's face held only amusement.

"Well, I suddenly feel better about doing this," he drawled.

"You're welcome!" I chirped.

As we drew closer to a wicked-looking motorcycle, I asked him, "Where are we headed now?"

He mulled for a moment, biting his lip. I watched, fascinated, as the skin came out shiny and just a tad pinker.

Those lips stretched into a smile as he handed me a helmet.

"It'll be a surprise."

I put it on, pouting. "I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one," he reassured me. His grin was so infectious, any further arguments died on my tongue.

I was too distracted to do the straps. He reached over and did them for Distracted, I fumbled with the straps. He reached over and did them for me, then slid onto the bike.

Taking a breath, I got on behind him.

He revved the engine and I scooted closer, gently wrapping my arms around his torso.

I felt his muscles bunch as he sharply inhaled. I pulled back a bit, apprehensive.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I doing it wrong?"

Immediately, he relaxed under my touch. His sigh was as soft and delicate as the wind.

"No," he whispered. "You're not."

_

I looked around in awe as we came to a stop.

"Woah," I breathed. "I didn't know there was a carnival in town."

The sights and smells drifted over to us: the scent of candied sweets and grilled food combined with the ocean breeze, pelicans squawking loudly overhead, flashing lights dotting the area – from the colorful stands to the jaw-dropping rides.

That haunting melody unique to amusement parks filtered into my ears.

Archer's hair tickled my cheek as he looked up at me.

"I told you you'd like it."

I was extremely excited. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

After taking a subtle sniff of his hair, I took off the helmet without getting any helmet hair (yes, my shampoo is also a force to be reckoned with), and we hurried over to the fairgrounds.

There were so many attractions, I didn't know where to look first. The decision was suddenly made easy when I spotted a red-haired figure holding balloons.

"Oh my God, its a clown!"

I swiveled to Archer. "A clown!" I repeated, just in case he'd missed it.

His lip twitched. "I see that."

It was settled. "Alright, first order of business." Unthinkingly, I grabbed his hand and started towing him along.

"We are going to get me a clown nose."

He chuckled. "Why do you want one?"

Wasn't it obvious? "To wear, duh."

"Pardon me, Mr. Clown?" I asked when we approached him.

The clown faced us, a huge grin on his powdered face.

"Hiya folks! Want a balloon?" He kindly offered us one.

"Uh, no. See, I was wondering if I could trouble you for your nose."

He blinked, his confusion evident. "My–?" Hesitantly, he pointed at his face.

I nodded earnestly. "I could pay you for it."

After a few more moments of blinking, he reached up and pulled off the squishy red ball, revealing a red-painted nose underneath.

"You could just...take it, I guess."

"Really?" I beamed. "Thank you!"

I scurried away, giddy about my acquired good. I put it on, then turned to face Archer.

"How do I look?" I did a flourish.

He raised a brow, looking terribly amused. "Like a clown."

I cracked up. "Why did that sound so mean?" I gasped out.

He started laughing as well. Once we collected ourselves, he asked, "Do you want to go on the rides?"

My head bobbed. "Sure, let's look around."

We passed a carousel, a Ferris wheel, stands displaying games like whack-a-mole, ring toss, something involving a sledgehammer...

I stared at each of them in turn, awestruck. Just when I thought I could decide, the next ride over would catch my eye.

The sound of a high-pitched scream had me spinning around. A girl inside a glass tank suddenly fell into the pool beneath her with a loud splash. The crowd whooped. A little boy tossed a ball into the air, a proud look on his round face.

My eyes lit up. Bingo.

"I wanna do that!" I told Archer, pointing at the dunking booth.

He looked at it, looked at me... then shrugged.

"Okay."

We stepped right up, getting into the line. I could barely keep still. This was so exciting!

A short wait later, I was in the front. I slid my phone, sunglasses, and precious clown nose into my jacket pockets, handed it over to Archer, took off my shoes, then happily skipped into the tank.

Realization struck when I sat down and dipped a toe into the water. It was fucking cold.

This probably wasn't my best idea.

I looked up, seeing a crowd of people all eagerly waiting to throw balls at me. I frantically sought Archer out and found him standing a little to the side. The jerk smirked as he read my panic. I didn't even finish mouthing 'S.O.S' to him when the onslaught began.

"EEP!"

I squealed like a rat whenever any balls came close to hitting the target. My heart was pounding hard against my palm.

This was quite anxiety-inducing.

Thankfully, I was still dry while the numbers kept dwindling.

Looks like I'm gonna get out of this unscathed, I thought smugly.

Then Archer picked up a ball.

My heart stopped. Uh-oh.

He thoughtfully studied the target, and I fought the urge to scream. One look at the diabolical grin that crossed his face and I just knew my luck had run out.

Probably not a good time to remember that I couldn't swim.

There was the sound of a ball thumping against a hard surface, then the ground gave out from under me.

With a shriek, I plunged into the freezing water.

_

"I shan't talk to you," I told Archer with a scowl after emerging from the bathroom.

My hair hung in damp strands across my shoulders. I'd scrubbed off all my makeup and got my hands on some new clothes – denim shorts and a t-shirt that read 'I Survived The Dunk And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt'. My former clothes were stored in a drawstring bag at my back.

I stormed past him, but he easily fell into step beside me.

"But you are talking to me, angel," he stated, biting back a grin.

I harrumphed. He wasn't sweet-talking his way out of this.

He nudged my shoulder. I pursed my lips, ignoring him.

"I could win you a stuffed animal," he enticed, nodding towards a nearby ring toss.

I was conflicted. I did want a teddy bear.

"Alright, fine," I easily capitulated.

Shooting me a grin that warmed me right up, he slung an arm around my shoulders and led me towards the stand. I snuggled closer to him, feeling his fingers play with my hair. He smelled really good. I caught a musky vanilla scent and a hint of mahogany.

Night was falling, making the lights brighter and the chatter enveloping us even louder.

We stopped in front of the booth. Multicolored glass bottles were lined up in neat rows, and a wonderful array of stuffed toys hung overhead. A cheery man in a striped hat gave Archer some rings when he handed over a few bills.

I tugged at my hair while Archer stared down the bottles.

That was strange. My strands were already completely dry.

Three rings landed on three separate bottles at the back in a neat line.

I was impressed. "Geez, what are you, Deadshot?" I asked, gazing up at him while the man retrieved the rings.

"You have killer aim."

"Why, thank you," he said oh-so-modestly, executing a half-bow. I giggled and he grinned.

He nodded towards the waiting worker. "Go on, pick one."

My eyes roamed over the animals then stopped on a stuffed brown baby wolf.

"That one!" I pointed

Archer's brows rose. The man handed the huge toy to me and I hugged it happily, filled with serotonin.

"I'm going to name you Bow," I told the cute creature.

Archer's brows rose even higher. I had no idea why. Bow was a totally random name.

"Bow Zhang-Mason!" I declared, proudly holding up the teddy bear. "You can have him on weekends," I said to Archer.

His lips tilted up. "And just like that, we're parents again."

My lips rose in response. "We seem to do such a great job of it."

Our eyes held, and an electric charge passed between us. I took an unknowing step closer, drawn in by him.

"Riley?"

I abruptly whirled around.

A little girl with pigtails and two older girls behind were staring at me with starstruck faces.

"It is you!" The little girl squealed. She held up a phone.

"Can I get a picture pweese?"

Her lisp was so adorable, my heart melted right then and there.

"Sure!"

I remembered Archer. "Hey, do you mind? It'll only take a second."

"Yeah, go for it," he easily agreed.

I smiled, then squatted down to the girl's level and mashed our faces together. She held up her phone, and her, Bow and I posed for the selfie.

The girls with her wanted one too, then a crowd slowly formed around us. Archer didn't seem bothered, so I took my time posing with all of them.

Then I was done. But not quite. They suddenly noticed who I was with and trained their camera's on Archer.

"Is this your boyfriend?"

My eyes widened. "Uh–"

"He's your boyfriend, isn't he? How many relationships have you been in? Is this one different? Is it 'cause he's a guy? Are you guys on a date? How'd you two meet? Give us all the deets!"

The questions came from all directions, making my head spin. They started inching forward, crowding me in, a ravenous look in their eyes.

My eyes met Archer's, both of us sharing the same thought.

RUN!

I grabbed his hand and we swiftly hightailed it out of there.

_

"HEY, I THINK THEY WENT OVER HERE!"

"COME ON!"

Numerous little feet pounded in our direction. I held myself very still, my face a frozen mask. I didn't even dare look at Archer.

The group ran right past where we stood, our heads stuffed into cardboard cut-outs.

I waited until the last of their footsteps receded before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like the coast is clear."

"Seems so." Archer glanced at me. "Can I ask why I'm the woman?"

I exhaled patiently.

"For the last time, Archer, it just happened that way, okay? I don't make the rules."

He snorted. "Yes you do. You literally bumped me so you could stick your head in that spot."

"Well can you blame me?" I rounded on him. "This one matches my aesthetic."

I looked over at his cardboard image.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you have an amazing cleavage."

He snorted again.

We finally extracted ourselves from the cardboard cut-outs. I looked left and right, making sure none of those kids were in sight.

But just to be sure...

I swiveled around to face Archer. "We need disguises!"

He raised an eyebrow. "We can go buy face masks or something."

That did sound good, but, "I have a better idea."

I opened my bag and grabbed my clown nose, then plopped it right onto my face. Archer's lip twitched as he watched me.

I reached up and pulled off my sunglasses, then gently slid them onto Archer's ears.

Taking a step back, I admired my handiwork.

"We're completely unrecognizable now. They'll never know it's us."

Archer nodded in assent. "These are foolproof disguises."

I giggled. He looked adorable in my shades.

"C'mon." He grabbed my hand this time and tugged me along in the direction opposite to that the mob had gone.

"We're gonna miss the fireworks."

I briefly ignored the tingles running up my arm and focused on his words.

"Fireworks?"

"Yeah." He grinned back at me. "You'll see."

We stopped briefly to buy hotdogs, then he led me to the pier. We leaned against the railing separating us from the seaside, and he lifted my sunglasses, looking up. The sky was completely dark as I stared at it, stars winking in and out of existence. I waited patiently, eating my hotdog.

It started. Colored streaks of light shot into the air then detonated in a glittering display. Sparks rained down like confetti, mini-explosions popping in my ears.

I watched it, entranced.

"Woah. It's so beautiful," I whispered, finally remembering to speak.

"It is," Archer murmured. I looked at him.

He was looking at me.

In his dark eyes I saw yellow and blue bursting into bloom from the display behind us – but he only had eyes for me.

The wind picked up, whipping hair in my face. With tender gentleness, he reached up with his palm and brushed it away. His other hand cupped my cheek, both hands now framing my face.

I shivered, though the heat of his palms and the fire in his gaze were warming me up quite nicely.

He angled his head, his eyes asking for permission.

I could picture it now: We'd kiss, then he'd take me home and I'd...invite him in. Then we'd continue to kiss. In my bedroom.

I slammed on the brakes and reluctantly pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

The flash of hurt was there and gone before I even really saw it.

"I didn't mean to overstep," he said, dropping his hands.

Panicked, I grabbed them, desperate for him to understand.

"No, it's not you, it's me!"

I winced once the words left my mouth. Fuck, that sounded terrible. Archer seemed to think so too, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

"I took a vow of celibacy!" I blurted out.

His expression turned quite comical. I don't know how else to explain it – he looked like a chicken that just had a feather plucked from its posterior.

"You what?"

At least he didn't think I was lying. It would be a pretty weird thing to lie about, wouldn't it?

Where do I even begin to explain?

"So, my ex, she– " I licked my lips, trying again. "We– did not leave things on good terms at all. She said some things and then I said some things and– and she was mostly right. I don't know a lot about relationships, but I do know that I suck at them."

I looked up at him. "I also know that I'm insanely attracted to you, and if you kiss me right now I'm gonna ask you to sleep with me, and I don't know how that would work since I've never been with a guy before. But aside from that, I'm still really bad at commitment and I don't trust myself not to mess this up somehow."

I'd seen way too clearly how 'mistakes' in a relationship could damage a person, and I didn't want to repeat them.

Archer was quiet for so long, I started getting worried.

"Okay, maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit here," I said, backpedaling. "You don't...do relationships either, do you?"

Bold of me to assume that he wanted something more than just a kiss.

At that, he came back to life.

"No," he replied, and my heart squeezed in my chest. Which was dumb, since that made things easier.

"But I want to," he continued. "With you."

His sincerity made the fist around my chest loosen.

"That's why I need to sort my shit out, because I'd love to be with you too. You don't deserve my suck."

Quite frankly, nobody did.

This was a really weird conversation to be having with a clown nose on.

I snickered, pulling away to tap it with my finger. "I can't believe you were gonna kiss me even though I was wearing this."

He laughed. "Not even you can make me not want you."

I shivered again, partly from his words, partly from the cold. Archer slung his jacket around my shoulders, then booped my red nose.

"Let's get you home, angel."

_

The rumbling of the engine cut off as his motorcycle came to a stop right in front of my porch.

I raised my head from resting it against Archer's back, where I'd listened to his heart beat the whole way home.

"Thanks," I said, sliding off the bike. "I had a lot of fun tonight."

His grinned. "Me too."

"Oh," I remembered. "Here's your jacket back. It's like every single time we run into each other, one of us is always taking off our clothes," I observed, handing it to him.

Archer's eyes glinted mischievously. He opened his mouth.

I quickly placed a palm over it. "Uh-uh. I know that look." I stared at him sternly. "No making dirty jokes."

Something hot and wet trailed across my hand.

"GAH!"

Reeling back, I looked at him in disbelief.

"You licked me!"

He blinked innocently.

I huffed, pointedly wiping my hand on his jacket, then stomped towards my front door.

Then stopped. I turned back, hugging Bow to me.

"Would you wait for me?"

His dark eyes were more beautiful than any star in the sky.

"Of course," he said quietly.

I couldn't help it. Before I knew it, I ran over and kissed him on the cheek.

Cheeks heating, I spun around and scurried into my house before I could see his expression, a silly grin tugging up my lips.

********************************************************************************

I had so much fun with this chapter! These two crack me up so much. I had even more fun imagining it and creating that picture. I was cackling so hard, just laughing to myself as I was making it like that weirdo who always laughs at their own jokes. 

Which I do. Unashamedly.

I have decided to change their ship name from Arley to Archangel. You know, Archer + Angel? 

It's so bloody brilliant, and the idea just came to me a few weeks ago on the way back from the grocery store. Writer tings.

Let me know what you guys think about that, and about this chapter as well! 

And remember, clowns have rights too! Except Jacques, of course.

Love ya,

Lulu.

https://youtu.be/jMhXEnQLni0

(I love him so much ❤)