Arriving at Allan's room, he lets go of me and heads straight to the bed. The warmth of his hands lingered on my arm, suddenly feeling cold. Allan was still busy downstairs and as much as I wanted to stay long enough to make up for lost times, I'll make sure to text him later.
I faced Christopher, clearing my throat for his attention. "I'm sorry but I have to go now. Sober up quickly, okay?"
He stayed silent, simply staring down with furrowed eyebrows and shifted lips to the side, his once nonchalant face vanished. As I turned to leave he finally said something. "Can't you..." He muttered, sounding unsure. Humming in response, I turned back to him. He ran his fingers through his hair as he avoided my eyes. "Can't you stay? Even just for a while..."
My gaze wandered around the room, I opened my mouth before changing my mind and closing them again. Noticing my awkwardness, he spoke first. "I know I may be asking for too much, considering how much you've done for me... But I'll make sure to pay you back tenfold."
"You don't have to pay me back, if you need someone to stay with you I can ask Al-"
"No." He said firmly.
"It has to be you."
My eyes shot wide open at the sudden declaration, eyes constantly blinking, I opened to speak but he beat me to it. "I'm just... Scared..."
I rushed towards him as I sat down on the bed. "What...? Why?"
Staring at the ground, he breathed out a whisper. "I'm scared it'll- it'll come back..."
My mind began to wander free on the possibilities. Could he be in danger? Is he being chased? Was that why he didn't want to be seen?
My worries were quickly cleared up when he continued, "I don't want my headache to come back."
I sighed in relief, I stood up. "If that's it then I'll just get you some med-" He grabbed my hand, pulling me back down.
"I've already told you, it has to be you. You're my Tylenol."
He sounded so serious that I couldn't just laugh it off as a joke. He's totally convinced that I'm the cure for his headache, like I'm some consumable medicine.
But to be fair, he is drunk... It'd be pointless trying to argue with him knowing he's extremely stubborn.
It won't hurt to stay for a while, I'll leave once he's fallen asleep.
Nodding in defeat, I sat back down. He raised an eyebrow as he patted on the bed, gesturing for him to lay beside him. Caught dumbfounded, I pointed at myself questioningly. He nodded, staring as if I was dumb.
I hesitantly followed, carefully propping myself on the bed, trying not to wrinkle the sheets. There was a deafening silence between us, the music was still booming from downstairs but not enough it could be distracting. Nothing else was distracting me from this moment, the silence was louder for me to hear anything else.
My body laid stiff on the soft mattress, I looked to my left to see Christopher laying comfortably as he stared up at the ceiling. His long eyelashes fluttered softly at every blink, looking as if he was deeply contemplating something.
My muscles loosened up, tension vanishing. My eyes fixated on him as if to study him. He was something, I never met someone so stubbornly unpredictable. But thanks to him I had a decent time. Even though this wasn't what I was expecting from a party and I had to look after some drunk stranger,
I still count this as a break.
I watched as he slowly let his eyes shut, drifting off to sleep. I lifted up my arm but it willingly went back down. By the looks of it, I had gotten so comfortable that I couldn't bring myself to get up. Blaming Allan and his soft mattress, I decided to stay for a couple minutes before going. If I were to give Amelia a long scolding, then I would need some rest.
Pushing back my thoughts, my eyes voluntarily shut, worries drifting away as I allowed myself to enjoy my break.
☄• ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊° .☆•°. *࿐
A sudden bright light shined directly onto my eyes, I groaned as I turned my head away. Feeling a comfortable warmth in my arms, I pulled it towards me, yearning for more of the pleasant feeling. It was weighing on my chest but the aroma of citrus and its softness, like a pillow fresh out of the laundry made me refuse to let go.
My comfortable sleep that I rarely get was suddenly shattered by a rough slap on my shoulder. "Archer!" The culprit who disturbed my sleep said in a loud whisper. I forcefully opened my eyelids to see Allan staring down at me like he had seen a ghost. Before I could give him a piece of my mind for waking me up so abruptly, I looked down to see what was weighing my chest. My eyes laid on Christopher who I thought was a really comfortable pillow, laying his head on my chest as his hands wrapped around my waist.
My eyes widened as if they could pop out, I looked to Allan for help but he just looked at me, equally as panicked. Having no one but myself to get out of this situation, I carefully slipped out of his grasp, stopping at every second and holding my breath each time he made a sudden movement.
After successfully escaping without waking him up, Allan wasted no time to drag me out of the room and into the hallways. "Dude! How... What- Why?!" He yelled but still managing to stay quiet. I glared, quickly speaking before he could get any ideas. "Whatever you're thinking of, it didn't happen."
He scoffed. "It's hard not to think that way when I witnessed with my own eyes of you cuddling with Chris Adler!" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Chris Adler?"
Looking baffled as if he could explode any moment, Allan yelled, "Yes Archer! Chris Adler out of all people! God... and people say I'm stupid!" He slapped a hand to his forehead.
He looked me seriously in the eyes. "Chris Adler, the asshole who stole your spot last game just cause he felt like playing!"
Huffing, I turned my head away. "How am I supposed to know? I never crossed paths with the guy!"
Chris has always been that way, taking a person's opportunity that they've worked so hard for. Although we might've played together before, I could've never known since I couldn't be bothered to remember his face.
A guy like that isn't worth remembering.
I thought he was decent, but turns out he was the same guy who took my spot out of nowhere. Even when I attended training as much as I could, I was replaced by the guy who never showed up to one, just for the sake of his own glory.
"So his name isn't Christopher Holt?" I asked, burying the disappointment in my voice.
"It's true his name is Christopher, but he gets pissed when he gets called that for whatever reason. But the Holt part, I don't know where you got that from."
"He told me, I guess he lied."
"Clearly." Allan said sarcastically. "He probably knew that you're one of the people he fucked over, so he lied in case you'd beat him up for it."
I pursed my lips as I nodded my head. Sighing, I pulled out my phone to check the time. My eyes almost popped out of the socket when I saw it was already 6 in the morning and I'd missed messages from Abigail.
Shoot! I was supposed to pick up my sisters!
Panic rising, I turned to Allan. "Hey, thanks for the favor but I have to go! I'll see you at practice!" Not waiting for a reply, I rushed out as I waved Allan goodbye.
"You better keep your word, you prick!" With an annoyed expression, he waved back. As I ran, I pulled out my phone, reading the messages Abbie sent.
〖🐰Abbie🐰〗
9:42 PM
🐰Abbie🐰: Archy you don't have to come anymore
🐰Abbie🐰: I've already separated those two if you were to come
11:21 PM
🐰Abbie🐰: Archy I hope ur having fun! You don't have to worry about us bc we're fine ☺️
🐰Abbie🐰: I'm glad you stayed bc we all want you to enjoy your break ❤️
🐰Abbie🐰: You don't have to pick us up either, we'll make sure to go early in the morning
6:35 AM
🐰Abbie🐰: Archy we're homeee!!
🐰Abbie🐰: We're gonna make breakfast so come quick! You still have school mister!
I stopped in my tracks, smiling at the messages. Abigail was still as reliable as ever.
I'll make sure to tone down the scolding for her.
Amelia however...
I slowed down my pace, letting myself appreciate the view. The trees were being swayed by the cold breeze, the once dark sky faded into a bright blue as the sun gradually rose.
It was nice to take a step back and let my mind be at peace, to appreciate the things around me, it's been a while since I've done that.
And I was glad I had gotten the chance to do so.