Chapter 45: The Rulebreaker

The Rulebreaker

a tale of Rules of a Rebel, from the other side of the couple

- () -

People call Archer a people person.

Hell, even Archer calls himself a people person. There are two things Archer Raine knows he's good at: people and art.

Art comes easily, at least to him. There are hundreds of ideas, thousands of inspirations, swirling around in his head and all he needs is a tool (whether it be a pencil, paintbrush or camera) to capture them.

People, on the other hand, aren't so simple.

So before the new neighbors arrive, Archer searches them up online.

He lies on on his bed, Buster napping at his feet, scrolling through social media. Julia told him that there were three Monroe siblings. He finds the oldest, James, the fastest. He's a football player, already in college. Not too bad. He seems friendly, athletic, mischievous. Melody is around Julia's age and he briefly wonders if they'll be friends.

The last sibling is nowhere to be found.

Archer looks a little bit longer. All that comes up when he searches her name, though, are inappropriate pictures and crude comments under a Twitter account by the name of Xavier. He figures that's not what he's searching for.

He gives up and goes down to eat dinner.

- () -

Archer checks his watch. He's late. He's so fucking late.

"Keep your eyes on the road," Sebastian warns.

Archer glances up briefly to check the road, swerving into the main neighborhood with a screech, nearly running over Mr. Finley's purple and yellow mailbox on the way. His first swim practice as captain - thanks to Derek - went way longer than expected and now he's late to his own fucking party.

Archer's phone chirps, alerting him for a text message. Even though it's probably from his mom, Archer brings out his phone to check. But it's not.

It's from Julia. The new neighbors just arrived!!

"Archer!"

Archer looks up just in time to see a silhouette jump in front of the car. Reflexively, he slams his foot down on the brakes, bringing the car to a jagged halt that shoves both Sebastian and him forwards. He sees a flash of pale skin and black hair before the girl falls to the ground with a thud.

For a second, both of them are silent.

Archer thinks: shit, I just killed somebody.

Archer thinks: this is not going to be good on the college applications.

"We're screwed," Archer says.

"You're screwed," Sebastian corrects.

Archer takes another second to get senses back together, then swings out of the car. To his relief, the girl isn't dead. He walks quicker when he realizes there's another girl, with blonde hair this time, crouched next to her.

"...don't have a concussion," The girl lying on the ground says, words slurred.

Archer crouches down next to her, tipping her chin up to check signs of injury. "Are you okay? Is anything broken or bruised?"

The girl gawks at him, dazed. Archer doesn't spot any signs of blood, but that doesn't mean she's not hurt. He moves his hand to her forehead just to check, then jerks in surprise when she slaps it away and grumbles something under her breath.

She falls when she gets up and Archer catches her automatically. Maybe if he treats her nicely, she won't sue him.

The girl's cheeks turn a faint rose then and he finally notices how beautiful she is. Almost everything about her is soft, from her smooth skin to her gentle voice. Her eyes, thick eyeliner coating the edges, are cold as ice when they focus on him. With her leather jacket and sharp words, Archer's both intimidated and amused.

Sebastian is neither. He snaps his fingers in front of the girl's face. "Hey, what the hell were you doing jumping in front of a car?"

Typical Sebastian. Insulting the girl they almost ran over.

"Don't do that, Sebastian. She might be injured." Archer's definitely going to get sued now.

"I'm fine," The girl says, still pale as chalk. "And I jumped in front of your damn car because you were about to run over a cat."

Great, now she's delusional.

Archer lets her know that there's no cat in the neighborhood - if there was even a sight of one, his mother would demand a searching party and set a dozen traps around the block - and her only reply is to scrunch up her nose.

"You live here?" The other girl speaks for the first time.

Archer takes a second to recognize her.

The blonde hair and bright smile are the same as they were from her online profile. Of course. This is Melody Monroe, the neighbors that were supposed to move in this week.

"I live in that house right there," Archer points to his backyard, where his party is running at full-speed. He hears his playlist booming from the speakers.  "Excuse me for not introducing myself. I'm Archer Raine. You two must be our next-door neighbors."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Melody," They shake hands. "This is my sister, Peyton."

Melody motions to the girl with black hair and fierce scowl.

So this is the mystery sibling? Archer glances between the two - sunshine versus stormy clouds - and supposes that if he squints hard enough, he can see the resemble between them.

He stretches out his hand, not expecting her to take it. "Pleased to meet you, Peyton Monroe."

And then she surprises him and shakes his end, admittedly with a sarcastic roll of her eyes. He hides a smile as Peyton wipes her hand on the back of her jeans before storming inside.

"What a bitch."

"Sebastian," Archer scolds. He agrees with him, but that's not a thing one should say when the bitch's sister is standing next to them.

Melody shrugs. "Nah, she is. Can I come to your party?"

The party. Right.

Archer's mood is slightly elevated at thought of seeing his friends again, especially Kya. After a messy few months, they've agreed to be good friends again. He agrees and brings Melody to the party in his backyard, complete with flashing lights and a roaring bonfire. Kya's sister, Raquel, takes over from there and takes Melody back to her group of friends.

Archer joins his usual crowd. He thinks he feels somebody looking at him, but when he turns around, there's nobody there.

- () -

Archer tolerates many types of people - the whiners, the pessimists, the cocky bastards - but if there's one type of person that he can't stand, it's mean people.

And Peyton Monroe is mean.

She got a dozen detention within the first few weeks of school. She stapled somebody's hand to the front desk. She broke Derek's nose with a baseball bat (although that was kind of satisfying to watch). Peyton doesn't make friends, just enemies, and intimidates the rest of the school population.

And now her hair is pink.

That's got to hurt her ego, Archer thinks to himself, taking a sip of his lemonade.

He watches her navigate through the 50s party from the porch. It isn't hard to follow her. Her hot pink curls are so bright that it could summon moths. Even with her usual angry scowl and glare, she's barely half as intimidating as she was before.

More cute than scary, to be honest.

Archer takes another sip of his lemonade. He's having a little bit too much fun watching Peyton stomp around his backyard. When she knocks over Mr. McDougal's grill, causing all his burgers to topple onto the sand, and walks away with a triumphant expression, he suppresses a grin.

What was that thing she said a couple of days ago?

I'm a vegetarian.

A full-formed smile forms on Archer's lips at the thought. Maybe Peyton Monroe isn't as terrifying as she wants everybody to think she is.

Just then, Archer's phone pings. He brings it out from the pocket of his leather jacket.

It's Kya. Be my homecoming date?

Archer finishes the rest of his drink before responding.

Archer: NO WAY. WE AGRD TO NVR B FRIENDS AGAIN.

Kya: O my god, are you still texting like that?

Kya: And as friends, I swear. Mom says she won't let me out unless she knows I'm going with somebody responsible.

Archer: WHAT AB0UT KIKI???

Kya: She got caught doing weed with two other boys last week.

Archer: J0HN?? JACKS0N??

Kya: They were the other two boys.

Archer shakes his head at his phone. He hasn't even thought of homecoming yet. Between his AP classes and college applications, he's hardly had time to eat. Or sleep.

Archer: SEBASTIAN??? ;D

Kya: If only. Mom doesn't know him. Trust me, I put a lot of thought into this.

A commotion from the other side of the yard distracts him. Archer slides his phone back into his pocket once he notices that it's Derek walking up to Peyton with his gang of assholes. Sure enough, they get into an argument within the first few seconds of conversation.

Archer supposes this is where he comes in.

He throws away his drink and walks up to them.

- () -

After swim practice is usually when his team members like to talk about girls. Usually Archer doesn't interrupt them, as long as nothing they say is harmful or demeaning. One day, the conversation turns to Peyton. Derek, obviously, is the first one to bring it up.

"She's cute, I'll admit that," TJ says, shaking the extra droplets of water from his hair. "But too much work. She nearly beats up anybody who approaches her."

"Nah man, that's not true," says Derek. "You just got to know how to get her to talk."

"And what's that?"

"Make her mad. Say some shit about her hair and you'll get her chatting in no time."

"More like shrieking," Jackson grumbles and the rest of the boys laugh.

Archer pulls his shirt over his head. Is there any truth to what his teammates are saying? Peyton does tend to talk more when she's annoyed or angry. Maybe that's why so many boys try to piss her off.

Not the best way to get a girl to like you.

Archer shoves the rest of his clothes back into the bag and waits until Sebastian is done changing. Sebastian, always the gentleman, doesn't say anything until they're out of the locker room.

"You should stop their conversations," He grumbles. "It's disgusting."

"They won't stop just because I tell them - and I'll just end up making them more annoyed with me. Derek thinks I shouldn't have been captain," Archer rubs the back of his neck. "Maybe I'll warn them tomorrow."

"Most of us think you deserve to be captain. The ones who don't are envious because they weren't popular enough to obtain the title."

Archer grins at that. "Thanks Sebastian."

"Anytime."

They walk into the main hallway, where Kya is waiting for them.

"Congratulations," She smiles at Archer and Sebastian as they walk up to her.

"For what?"

Kya nods to the poster that the Prom Committee tapes onto the wall. Sebastian and Archer's face are blown up next to each other, underneath large text that reads HOMECOMING KING NOMINATIONS.

"Congratulations to you too," Archer nods to the other poster, where Kya is under the Homecoming Queens section.

"Maybe we'll both win," She says. "And be the ultimate King and Queen."

"Maybe."

"Or maybe Sebastian and I will win and I'll have to kick your ass to the curb."

Sebastian nods solemnly. Archer snorts. Kya and Sebastian have a school project, so they leave to go to the library.

Meanwhile, Archer heads towards the Prom Committee members that are decorating the hallways for Spirit Week. Peyton is one of them, standing on a ladder as she strains to reach the top corner of one of the posters. Her shirt rides up a little bit, showing an inch of pale skin between her jeans and jacket.

"How's the view from up there?" Archer calls after watching for a few seconds.

Peyton jumps, then gives him an annoyed look. Archer's pleased to discover that her glare isn't as intimidating as it used to be.

"What do you want?" She shouts.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess. I just have to finish putting this up."

"Want me to hold the ladder?"

"No."

He didn't think so. Archer holds it anyways, because he doesn't want to be the source of another head injury. Peyton finishes taping the poster and they walk back to his car together.

Already exhausted from swim practice, Archer thinks of the pile of college applications when he gets home and wants to die.

He settles into the front seat, half-asleep, thinking of the list of chores he still has left to do: take Buster on a walk, feed the horses, finish three more college applications before the deadline, do homework, review swim practice with Coach Watson...

"Are you okay?" Peyton asks when he doesn't start the car.

"What?" Archer shakes his head. "Yeah, sorry."

"You look tired."

"Just a little bit," Archer starts the car and backs out with a quick, jerky motion that makes his backpack tip over. His textbooks and school supplies tumble out, falling all over their feet. He reaches down to pick them up, but Peyton's faster.

To his surprise, Peyton grabs his books, pencils and pens before piling them back into his backpack. She reaches for his sketchbook, which has flipped open to a random page, and pauses.

"Wow," Peyton says, inspecting the drawing. "This is a really good drawing of a Red Panda."

Archer glances over, a little surprised by the compliment. "Thanks, I based it upon the pictures we took from last week at the zoo. It was sleeping then, so I had to guess on some of its features, but..."

"You drew the nose and ears just like the real-life version. Your drawing is very accurate and also - sort of cute," Peyton scrunches up her nose at the last part, looking like she regrets saying it.

Archer hides his smile by turning away. "You know a lot about Red Pandas?"

"Of course," Peyton bites her bottom lip, hesitating. "I mean, their name gives off a very confusing impression, considering they don't look at all like the pandas most people know. In fact, some people think that a better name for it would be a bear-cat or a fire fox, but I personally think that the panda name is true to its original origin of..."

Archer turns the car into the main road, listening to Peyton tell him about Red Pandas.

Seems like pissing her off isn't the only way to make her talk. Just mentioning an animal causes her to go off into an entire tangent about them.

Archer thinks he's the only one who's figured that out so far.

He likes that.

- () -

"...missed the early deadline," His father scolds, face turning into a dangerous shade of red. "All because you were too busy focusing on those goddamn art projects of yours."

Archer slumps on the couch, arms crossed, bags under his eyes. "We didn't miss the actual deadline, just the early one. I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than it has to be."

"College is a big deal, Archer. It's not some fantasy world where you can major in art and become famous just by drawing silly cartoons all day," His dad takes a deep breath, as if attempting to calm himself down, then goes on in the same volume as before. "Give me your art supplies. Your mom and I have spoiled you too much."

"Excuse me?"

"Go upstairs, pick up all of those tools - the paintbrushes, the camera, everything - and bring it downstairs. You'll get them back during summer."

"But -"

"No buts."

"I -"

"Just do what your father says, Archer," His mom tells him. She sits at the dining table, in the same exhausted fashion as Archer.

Archer swallows. For a moment, he considers defying his father and leaving. But he won't. He can't. Archer gives his parents his art supplies, then storms into his room before they can take anything else away. He paces in his bedroom, pulling at the strands of his hair with his hands, wishing that he had enough courage to go aganist his parents.

Archer finally slumps against his bed. Buster trots up to him, sensing his anger, and lies his head down on Archer's lap. In response, Archer runs his fingers through Buster's silver fur and stares at the ceiling with a dull expression.

Footsteps sound from besides the door. It's Julia.  "Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Want me to try to convince dad?"

"No."

"He's probably just angry. I'm sure that once he calms down that he'll -"

"Just leave me alone, Julia."

"Okay." A pause. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The footsteps fade away.

- () -

When Archer finds out that Peyton has a concussion, he can't help but feel a little guilty. It was, after all, his car that did this to her.

And her imaginary cat.

But mostly his car.

So, with a pen equipped, he drives to the hospital to visit her. His mom views Peyton as a bad influence and that makes him feel even better.

Archer spots Mrs. Monroe in the hallway outside of Peyton's room. He expects her to yell at him for giving her daughter a concussion, but she doesn't.

"Archer," Mrs. Monroe smiles warmly. "It's nice to see you here. Are you here for Peyton?"

"It's what friends are for," Archer smiles back.

A perk about being Archer: all moms love him. He thinks it might be due the fact that he's incredibly friendly (Kya's words) or unnaturally charismatic (Peyton's words) or maybe it's just because he's so devastatingly handsome (his words). Yet Peyton's mom seems to love a little bit more.

"You're such a sweet boy," Mrs. Monroe sighs, practically heart eyes. "Why don't you go on in? I'm sure Peyton would be delighted to see you."

My mom wants us to hook up, Peyton had said.

Archer's grin just grows. "I'm sure she will. Later, Mrs. Monroe."

Melody leaves the room just before he enters, talking on the phone with her best friend. She winks at him before he enters.

Archer walks in the room. Peyton sulks on the bed, grumpy as ever, except this time her cheeks are a little flushed.

They have a quick conversation before Archer manages to squirm on her bed. At first, he just wanted to see if he could take a quick nap, but now he's a little excited at the prospect of drawing something on Peyton's arms. He's busy nodding his head to a hip hop track when Peyton hits his chest.

At first, he thinks she's trying to feel him up. But then Archer realizes there's a card falling down and catches it just in time, taking his earphones off.

"What is this?"

He opens the card. A bunch of badly-drawn cartoon animals smile at him with a intricate Thank You floating above them.

"It's only a thank-you card for saving my life," Peyton doesn't meet his eye, her cheeks steadily growing to the color of her hair. "Nothing important. I only spent two minutes on it, I swear."

Archer knows how long it takes for an amateur to draw something. And this doesn't look like a two-minute sketch. There's colors everywhere, intricate details on the animal bodies, and a full landscape in the background, complete with pine trees and fluffy clouds.

It's still ugly, of course, but heart-warming nonetheless.

"This is adorable, Peyton. But, what do you mean by saving your life? I don't think carrying you to the car counts as saving your life."

She finally turns her eyes to his. "You didn't save me from drowning?"

"Nope."

"Or rip off your shirt?"

"What?"

"I'll just take that as a no, then," Disappointment flashes through her face. Archer wishes he said that he had taken off his shirt. How pink would her cheeks become then? "Okay, good to know. Now give it back."

"Give what back?" Archer asks, although he already knows.

Typical Peyton. Running away from her problems now that she's embarrassed.

"My thank-you card. You didn't save my life, so it's pointless now," Peyton attempts to reach for the card so Archer holds it high above her head. She glares at him, but it's more of an angry pout. "Archer, come on, it's useless. What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to put it on my art wall."

"You can't put my art on your wall," She protests.

Archer tunes her out for a minute, looking at the happy little animals she's drawn for him.

Archer has given many people his artwork, for free.

He gave Kya a sketch imagined as a fairy in the sky, gave Sebastian a painting of him as the crab from the Little Mermaid (he threw it away soon after), gave almost all of his friends a candid photo he took of them as they laughed and smiled at his jokes. But he's barely taken any photos of Peyton. And he hasn't given her anything at all.

Yet, she's the only one out of all his friends to give him a piece of artwork in return.

This is definitely going on his wall.

- () -

After Archer's transferred to the hospital, he stays up all night calling his mom and finishing his homework for the next. It isn't so bad, since Peyton - sometimes delusional from the painkillers - visits him.

In the morning, he falls asleep just in time for Peyton to barge into his room and warn him about the arrival of his mother.

"Why are you crawling under my bed?" He asks, still a little drowsy from the painkillers.

"My  mom's here."

Archer almost smiles at that.

Just then, his mother enters the room, followed by Mrs. Monroe and Bettie. His mom crushes him into a hug and presses her lips to the top of his head, her familiar expensive perfume washing over him. Usually he finds the scent comforting, but now it's a little nauseating.

"Archer, darling! Are you alright? When that girl called and told us that a dog had mauled you, we nearly had a heart attack," She tilts his face back and forth even though the only injury he has is the bite on his leg. "I leave you with her for a couple of hours and you end up in a hospital!"

Archer pulls his head away.

"Speaking of which, where is Peyton?" Mrs. Monroe says, looking deeply uncomfortable with the situation. "I haven't seen her since she stormed off the other day."

"The doctors made her stay in another room."

"What? I wasn't aware of this. Did something happen to her too?"

"Just a couple of bruises. She was a little -" Archer thinks of the way Peyton tried to push Archer into the emergency room even though he didn't need to be there. "Shocked after the incident so the doctors gave her some painkillers and made us stay the night."

"Honestly," His mom mutters. "I don't know what that girl was thinking, making you follow her to an abandoned house with diseased mutts."

He doesn't respond.

"Peyton's obsession with animals stops her from thinking rationally," Bettie muses, worriedly playing with the end of her brown strands. "She nearly fell out of a tree trying to rescue this street cat."

Of course she did. "Peyton does seem to rescue cats often, doesn't she?"

"I don't want you talking to that girl anymore, Archer."

"It wasn't Peyton's fault, mom. I volunteered to come along." Archer tells her tiredly. As usual, she doesn't bother listening to him.

Instead, his mom shakes her head patronizingly and walks out with Mrs. Monroe to find Peyton - what would they do if they knew she was under his bed the whole time? Archer wishes he knew what Peyton was thinking.

"So," Bettie sits at the edge of his bed, careful not to disturb his foot. He finds it funny how she's acting so cautious around him. "How are you doing?"

"Fine. People are making this too big of a deal," Archer reclines back on his pillows now that he's safe from his mother's wrath. "The pain isn't too bad."

"Hmm. For what it's worth, I think you look pretty sexy in that cast."  Bettie blushes as she says the last part of sentence.

"Is that so?" Archer responds with his own grin.

"Yeah, you really make it work."

"Maybe I'll start a new fashion trend," Archer flexes his foot, feeling a little better already. "We'll call it Casting Archer or something less lame."

She laughs. "Can I draw something on it?"

"With what?"

Bettie brings out a casual black pen from the pocket of her jeans.

"Of course, I should have known you'd come prepared," Archer offers her his foot and she begins to draw something on it. The scratch of the tip as it moves across the cast relaxes him and Archer, helped by the painkillers, begins to doze off.

"Finished!"

He opens one eye to spot a picture of a cat around his ankle, with a caption of Hope you start feline better soon, and smiles. "Cute. Peyton would like that."

"What?"

"I said -"

"Did you know that Peyton used to be extremely popular in her old school?" Bettie blurts out.

Archer blinks slowly at this sudden change of topic, suddenly very uncomfortable. Even if it Peyton wasn't under his bed at this very moment, listening to every word he says, he doesn't feel right talking about her past.

"I did, actually," Archer closes his eyes to show that he's not interested in this topic of conversation. "Do you mind getting me a glass of water?"

"Listen, I realize talking about somebody else's personal life is a little uncomfortable, but I think this is something you should know about Peyton before you decide to be friends with her."

First Sebastian, then his mom, now Bettie.

What's so wrong with Peyton?

"It's too late," Archer doesn't intend to make his tone sharp, but it comes out that way. "We're already friends."

Bettie takes a deep, shaky breath. It's similar to the way that Peyton acts just before she's about to launch into another speech about animals.

"At the end of Freshman year, Peyton decided to apply to Varsity Swimming. Varsity Swimming has these initiation where the male team gets sent - uh, pictures of the girls team and they rank them based on their appearance. Xavier was one of the judges so Peyton sent him nudes because she thought she'd be able to get judged earlier."

It's impossible to process this information all at once. Peyton was hazed in order to be a part of Varsity Swimming? No wonder she acts so weird when he asks to take pictures of her.

"Somehow, they got leaked from his phone and spread through the school - Peyton? "

Archer opens his eyes to spot Peyton crawling out from under the bed. He had been wondering why she hadn't come out yet.

"It's rude to talk about somebody's personal life without their permission," Peyton says. Her voice is clear, but her hands are trembling. "Especially when you don't know the whole story. The photos weren't leaked. Xavier sent them to all his friends to prove a point."

Xavier.

Archer's heard that name a couple of times. Irene and Jake mentioned it when they face timed him a few weeks ago. And Andrew always refers to "that damned bastard Xavier" when he's texting Archer.

This is the first time Archer's disliked somebody before they even met.

Bettie storms out of the room with a huff, leaving Peyton behind. When Peyton doesn't say anything, Archer feels obliged to do so.

"So," He says. That's the story."

Peyton looks oddly vulnerable in her wrinkled clothes and smeared makeup. She can't look him in the eye as she says, "Parts of it. She exaggerated a lot. We weren't a power couple. And I wasn't smitten with him."

Another pause.

Knowing Peyton, this is part where she'd usually run away.

"I'm going to go under your bed again."

Or that. "Hiding?"

"...No, I'm just going to sleep."

"Sleep here," Archer shuffles over to the right and pats the space next to him. "It's more comfortable. And we can talk."

"I don't want to talk."

"Then we can sleep."

"Fine."

Peyton sits next to Archer and lies down. He feels her warmth even through the sheets separating them. It's a comforting feeling to fall asleep with.

- () -

Archer gets the text when Peyton's busy cutting of the circulation to his arm as the doctor pulls out a syringe. His phone buzzes two more times so he finally checks it. It's from Andrew. Why is he texting Archer now?

The doctor finishes with Peyton.

Archer flexes his palm, waiting for the feeling to come back in his fingers, and clicks on the messenger app with his other hand. Peyton collapses besides him, still trembling slightly.

"Excellent, I believe I'm fifty dollars richer." Archer says absentmindedly and skims the text message from Andrew.

Andrew: you'll never guess what Peyton said in the group chat today

Andrew: she has a HUGE crush on you

Andrew: wouldn't stop complaining and moaning about it to irene, jake and me.

Archer puts the phone into his pocket. Peyton, still shaking from the flu shot, doesn't seem to notice his curious expression.

"Peyton, hold my hand?"

"What?" She jerks out of her stupor and frowns. "Why?"

Because I'm afraid you might snap the rubber band again if you see the needle, Archer thinks, his eyes briefly fluttering to her blue and purple wrist. Instead, he says. "It's only fair. I want company."

Peyton allows Archer to hold her wrist. He purposely places his hand over her rubber band so she won't be able to snap it if she gets frightened again. The doctor rubs his bicep with a cotton ball and Archer watches with amusement as Peyton quickly shuts her eyes.

The doctor gets out a second syringe.

Archer examines Peyton's form curiously now that she can't see him watching her.

Peyton has a crush on him? Impossible. But Archer can't push the thought away. It sticks in his head even after the doctor gives him a bandage and they walk into the parking lot.

He wants to test out the theory.

"You can take that off now," Archer says, glancing at the rubber band at her wrist that she plays with anxiously. "You don't need it anymore."

She looks at him, looks away. "I don't?"

"Of course not. You were using it to distract yourself from the flu shot, right?"

"Right."

Here comes an opportunity.

Does Peyton truly have a crush on him?

Archer throws the rubber band away, then brings her wrist to his mouth and kisses it. He lets his lips linger there a second longer, relishing the way Peyton stops in her tracks to gawk at him.

Oh, she might.

"Something wrong?" Archer asks innocently.

Hair pink, lips pink, cheeks pink, Peyton shakes her head and walks away. Archer follows her, unable to fully suppress the smirk that threatens to overcome his lips.

- () -

Archer thinks about it.

It's hard to think of cool, hates-the-world-except-for-the-animals Peyton have a crush on anybody. But now that he's searching for the signs, they're all there. The way she smiles around him, laughs at his lame jokes, and listens to him when he asks her to do something all indicate that she might have a crush on him.

It's actually sort of flattering.

Archer admits that he likes the idea.

Archer likes the idea of Peyton having a crush on him.

He can't say any of this out loud, of course, because it would just scare her off. He'll just have to wait until she makes the first move.

Still, he can tease her until then, right?

- () -

You're welcome.

So this massive update is all about Archer and his life, including the parts with Peyton. I wanted to show an idea of Peyton does for Archer, since you guys usually see what Archer does for Peyton.

"..."

(0,0)

/)....)

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To everybody who decided to read Raphael's Castle after my comments last chapter, thank you so much! And to the dedications for this chapter: outofitall and NormalJustAintForMe, you all are amazing!

Thanks for reading!

QotC: What do you think of Archer's point of view? Were you surprised by anything?