Soon enough, our holidays were over and I had to bid goodbye to Mum and Dad and Pippa. I'd really miss them and couldn't wait to see them again during our half term break.
But I'd also missed Kate and Angie so much. When I saw them standing in front of the huge school door, a huge grin overtook my features and I rushed up to hug them. Even Beth came up to me and I gave her a hug.
"How have you girls been? I missed you all so much!"
Thus we chatted endlessly until the beginning of the assembly, when I had to go up on stage to deliver a speech after Mr Richards. Along with Archer.
Oh god, I'd forgotten about Archer.
He stood stiffly beside me, his lips pursed and eyes looking straight ahead as we waited for Mr Richards to finish his address. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and caught him looking fleetingly at me, but as soon as his eyes met mine, he looked away.
I sighed. Things would be awkward again.
We went up on stage after a few minutes and gave our respective speeches, informing the students of all the upcoming events and work and reminding them of the same old school rules. Standard protocol.
Later that day, when we were both in the study doing our work, I couldn't take the silence anymore. All this while we'd successfully ignored each other but there's only so long you can go without talking to the only other person in a small room.
I turned to Archer. "Hey."
He didn't even look at me.
I was getting increasingly pissed off by the second. He had no right to be mad at me. What I'd said to him back at the gala was fully justified and he didn't have to be pissed off or tense about it. We could just forget and move on.
I prod him further. "Is there a reason why you're ignoring me?"
Again, no response.
I poked him in the elbow. This time he turned to me with an irritated expression.
"Vivian, can't you see I'm busy? You may be jobless right now but I have tons of work to do so leave me alone."
I blinked back my hurt. So all I got for showing some concern was being called 'jobless'. Great.
"You know," I snapped, "It wouldn't kill you to be nice for a change. I was only trying to understand why you've suddenly become this stone wall, that's it. But apparently that makes me jobless, so fine. I won't bother anymore."
I was fed up with his attitude. I hated his guts anyway, and this was just fueling the fire even more.
I decided I would mind my own business and continued with my work, neither expecting nor getting any reply from the boy sitting beside me.
After around fifteen minutes, his voice suddenly spoke up.
"I wasn't being a stone wall."
I turned to him with a frown. "What?"
"Earlier, you said I was a stone wall. No, I'm not."
I stared at him. "Is that all you got from what I said? And how else would you describe how you're behaving right now?"
His eyes flashed. "Well, excuse me for keeping my distance after what you said at the gala!"
I flinched at his tone. "God, how touchy are you! I literally said the same thing you told me when I accidentally called you Arch! Why do you have to make such a big deal out of it? And what I said wasn't wrong so why are you mad about it?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Forget it. It was stupid anyway. And it's not like I meant what I said."
"What?"
He didn't look at me. "I obviously didn't mean it when I said you looked good at the gala. It was just a spur of the moment thing. Maybe I was feeling a bit tipsy from that glass of champagne I'd drunk behind my parents' back. Whatever, I really don't give a damn about you, so..."
He trailed off. I struggled to swallow the hurt that was threatening to show in the form of wet, salty tears in my eyes.
I shouldn't have felt so hurt by what he said. His words shouldn't have affected me this much, but they did anyway.
"Wow," I laughed wrily, "glad to see you're still the arsehole I broke up with. You never disappoint, that's for sure Archer."
I looked at him, only to see him look back with what felt like a bit of remorse. But at that point, I really didn't care. He'd said enough and I wasn't willing to sit around and listen to more such insults.
The chair screeched as I got up.
"Where are you going?" He looked up at me.
"Why do you care?"
"I don't."
"Good."
I turned to leave the room. I was done staying with him and it was almost half past seven anyway so it wouldn't hurt if I left a little early.
Just as I was about to close the door behind me, I turned around and said, "Just to answer your question, I'm going anywhere away from you."
I pretended not to notice the hurt in his eyes as he watched me leave.
°
The next day, I felt strangely miserable. I woke up feeling groggy and depressed, and easily snapped at the slightest thing getting in my way. I couldn't believe I was letting my fight with Archer affect me this much.
But soon I discovered the real reason behind my mood swings.
My period had arrived, and boy, was it bad.
Not only was my flow heavy this month, but also I was getting severe pain in my abdomen and lower back. It was immensely difficult walking from class to class, and Angie or Kate had to help me in every step of the way. I even spent one lesson in the infirmary.
But I wasn't one to skip on my work just because of my period. I went to the study as usual and struggled to sit down. When I entered, Archer wasn't there and secretly I hoped he wouldn't come today at all, but that was just wishful thinking.
Suddenly, I saw a small post it stuck to my desk.
Vivian,
I've just gone to the common room to get some books. Will be back in five.
And I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. My mouth has no filter sometimes and I say stupid things I don't mean. But you knew that already.
Archer.
I didn't know what to think after reading his note. Was that last line a reference to how I used to know him before? I didn't know what he meant and what he didn't anymore. And I was too tired to try and figure out.
Besides, my stomach was killing me and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to continue without lying down.
Suddenly, the door opened and Archer came in. He looked at me hesitantly. "Hey."
I just nodded back.
"Did you get my note?"
"I did."
"And?"
Just at that moment, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen and I involuntarily let out a small cry, my hand clutching my tummy.
Archer frowned. "What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "Nothing."
He raised his eyebrows. "I can tell when you're lying, Vivian. You forget I've known you for quite some time now."
"It would be great if you didn't bring that up."
"And it would also be great if you told me what's wrong."
"It's... it's nothing. Just some cramps."
"Didn't look like just some cramps to me."
I glared at him in exasperation. "Would you stop talking! Why are you showing so much concern all of a sudden?"
I was probably overreacting. But Archer seemed unfazed.
"I would've said something back to you, but you're clearly PMS-ing. Would you at least let me help?"
I looked at him. "How would you help?"
He cracked a small smile at me. "Wait."
He got up and went out of the room. I stared after him in confusion, not sure what was going on.
A few minutes later, he came back, balancing several things in his hands.
First, he gave me a huge pillow and placed it against my stomach. "Just hold it there and it'll feel better, I promise."
Then he set a cup of tea and a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the desk. "Here, have this. I've heard chocolates and chamomile tea are good for period pains."
I stared at him in bewilderment. "Where did you get all this?"
He shrugged. "I got the pillow from my dorm, and I went down to the pantry and requested the cook, Anitta, to make some tea for you. I told her about your situation and she didn't waste a second. And I already had these cookies with me. My mum had sent them with me after the holidays."
I was speechless. I was absolutely speechless. Back when we were together, he'd done similar things for me when I'd suffered from severe cramps but I'd never imagined in a million years that he'd go out of his way to get all this for me now, at a time when we both resented each other and had no obligation to help one another.
I struggled to find words. "I--I--um, thank you. I don't know what to say. This really means a lot."
He gave me a soft smile. "It's okay, you don't need to say anything. Just drink the tea before it gets cold and you can even go back to your dorm and rest if you want. We don't have much work left anyway."
I shook my head. Somehow, I didn't want to leave. "No, I'm good. I can stay here. Besides, this pillow is already relaxing me so it's okay."
I smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks, Archer."
He shook his head. "Don't thank me. This is the least I could do."
I really wanted to hug him. But I figured that would be crossing some boundaries we'd set the moment we'd had that nasty breakup. So I stopped myself from doing anything that would just end up embarrassing the both of us.
But I did really want to hug him, hold him tight against me. Just like before.
I resorted to hugging the pillow instead, which smelled so typically of him. That same smell of the cologne he'd been using since forever, that same woody intoxicating smell I'd once loved.
I breathed it in. It felt good to know some things hadn't changed.
And as I looked up at him while drinking the tea and sharing the cookies with him, he looked back, and gave me a half smile.
It didn't take long for me to smile back.
a/n: so where are things heading now? interesting, very very interesting. at this point, the story is slowly gaining ground and I'd really like to know what you guys think of it so far. I'd LOVE to hear more feedback from you, whether it's positive or negative. so if you all can please take some time to answer some questions it would be great!
~ are you liking how the plot is unfolding?
~ what do you think of the dynamic between viv and archer?
~ do you like the language used in this book? as in my choice of words and sentence style?
~ anything you'd like me to improve?
~ which characters do you want to see more of?
~what do you think of the chemistry shown between viv and arch so far?
~ what are some emotions you've felt while reading this book?
I'd really appreciate it if y'all could take some time out and answer these questions. i can't promise I'll include all your suggestions since I've planned several parts of the story in a certain way and i can't make any changes last minute, but I'll try my best to make the most out of your feedback! lots of love xx