By Your Side. (Sequel to Art Girl and Wolf Boy)

By Your Side. (2)

If you're tossin' and you're turnin
and you just can't fall asleep
I'll sing a song beside you
And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me
Every day I will remind you

- Bruno Mars, Count on Me

*

 

Phoebe's POV:

 

I woke up to light snoring beside me and turned, looking at Archer. I flicked his nose. He wrinkled it and, without opening his eyes, flicked mine back.  

For the first time in days, I laughed.  

I go up and put on some of his clothes and we went downstairs, where his dad and my daddy were eating cereal and talking. My dad had dark rims under his eyes, I noticed. He turned and gave me a wavering smile. I ran to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry daddy."  

He kissed my forehead. "It's okay, Phoebe."  

Archer was fixing two bowls of Fruit Loops. I took mine and poured milk on it, stirring it around a little but not taking a bite. Archer nudged me a little. I looked at him. He was practically begging me with his eyes 'eat'.  

I sighed and started eating. Satisfied, he started to too.  

Dylan's POV:

 

I walked into the kitchen, yawning, to see Jude and Tony gaping at Archer. Jude looked at me and grinned as I walked in. I raised my eyebrows at him. He motioned me over and I sat down next to him. "What's--"

"Shh!" Tony and Jude hissed.  

I took Jude's cereal and started eating and watching the kids.  

Then, I saw it. It was very subtle, but you could still notice it. Phoebe would stop eating, about to put the spoon down, and then Archer would nudge her in the side with his elbow. She'd look at him, sigh, and then start eating again.  

She ate the whole bowl.  

Tony, I could tell, didn't know whether to scowl at Archer or clap him on the back. He didn't get to decide though, because Archer hopped off the stool, grabbing Phoebe's hand like it was the most natural thing in the world and walked out of the house, saying, "Come on, I want you to meet some of my friends." Jude put a hand on Tony's arm and said in a low voice, "Don't. Archer'll take care of her."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about." He growled. Jude bristled. Disrespect to an alpha is a big no no, especially on his own land. To keep him from fighting Tony, I put a hand on is arm. He visibly calmed down. "I understand that you just lost Molly," he said in a gruff voice. His arm tightened around my waist. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Dylan. But you WILL not be treating me like crap. Got it?"

Tony glared at him silently for a few moments, then stood up, his chair scraping back on the tile. "I'm going to get a beer."  

I looked at Jude with a 'really?' look. He shrugged and gave me a peck on the lips. "Sorry if I was being a jerk."  

Phoebe's POV:

 

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking down at me and Archer's entwined hands. I felt my cheeks start to heat up.

"You'll see. Come on," he tugged me into the forest. I followed him closely, looking around.

Their woods were a lot bigger than ours, the trees were taller. There were some scratched ones where the wolves were playing around. We walked for about five minutes until we came to this huge clearing. I gaped. "Wow."

"My mom says that our moms used to come out here and talk." Archer told me.  I looked around, still holding his hand. It was warm and comforting.

There were a few shrubs and stuff, but other than that it was just grass. The sky was big and blue, almost the same color as Archer's eyes.

"Think fast be quick!" I heard. And suddenly, a football was hurtling toward me. I threw my hands up quickly to protect myself. Instead on the teeth-shattering collision that I expected though, I heard a loud 'smack!'

I opened my eyes. Archer was in front of me, in a crouched position, the ball in his hands. He stomped over to a boy across the field, a tall, brown haired, lanky guy with a goofy grin that fatered when he sa Archer. He folded his arms across his chest. Archer promptly shoved the football into that same chest.

I held back a giggle at the guy's shocked face as he grabbed his ear and started dragging him toward me. They looked really silly, this shorter, skinnier blonde boy leading a boy that had to be at least a teenaer by his ear. Archer stopped a few feet in front of us and yanked on the ear again. It was red now.

"Apologize to your cousin, Max," he ordered, scowling.

My cousn. My stomach dropped into my feet. So he'd seen my embarrising performance yesterday...

"Sorry," he grunted. Archer released his ear and he called him a very bad word before turning to me.

"Uh, I'm sorry about Aunt Molly."

Tears welled in my eyes. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

I wiped the tears away with back of my hand and shrugged. "It's okay. I'm Phoebe, by the way." I stuck out a hand. His, much larger, enveloped mine, and then he pulled me in for a bear hug. I let out a surprised squeak.

"Max, I thought mom told you to stop hugging random people!" I watched as a girl materialized out of the bushes.

She was tall, nearly taller than Max, with brown eyes and a serious expression, a complete opposite from his goofy one. She was carrying a muddy soccer ball in her hands.

"She's our cousin, Marissa. Duh." He let me down and I stumbled back into Archer's waiting arms. They both laughed.

"You okay?" He asked quietly as we watched the twins fight about nothing. I looked at him and sort of smiled. "I...I think so."   

He introduced the other kids as they came, even I forgot most of their names. They didn't care though, and we played a hard game of soccer. My the end of the day I was too tired to even cry.

My dad carried me up the stairs while I waved a sleepy goodbye to Archer.

The next morning, I saw I messy head of blonde hair next to me. 

I smiled. And I flicked his nose.