In the next few days, Archer tried his level best.
He respected my choices, never once fought with me, gave me space when I needed, made me laugh a couple of times, and in general, he seemed a lot like the Archer I knew before we broke up.
He was doing everything he could to win me back.
Slowly, but steadily, we went back to almost being friends, to that stage we'd been in before the kiss at the hospital. Over the days, I realised I was naturally getting inclined to talk to him instead of ignoring him, smile with him instead of crying.
I was feeling lighter, as if a weight had been taken off my back. I didn't think about what he'd said to me about winning me back, or that we could never be just friends again. I just thought how good it felt to be back on semi-good terms with him, how easy it all was without all the complications.
He never once said or did anything romantic. He was just being his usual self, the self he'd been back when we were best friends.
At first, it was hard to accept or get used to. I mean, how can you get used to it if your best friend/boyfriend-turned enemy suddenly started acting like your good friend again?
It took me some time to realise, but I noticed how easy it was to be this way. Act like we were friends, on good terms, with no complications, no complexities, no tangled emotions and confusion.
I knew it wasn't realistic or true; just because we acted like life was simple didn't mean it was. But it felt nice to just forget about everything else and be in the moment with him.
This is what I shared with Angie and Kate as well.
"So," Angie began, "You're both now on good terms again? Like good friends?"
I shrugged. "You can say so. I mean, it's not like we've solved all our issues, but he's just behaving so well now, like the Archer who was my best friend and who I fell for. And not just that. Whenever I feel like I need some distance or some time with myself he's giving it to me. He's respecting my choices."
"Well," Katie said, "We'd both love it if you got back together, Viv, but just be careful alright? We don't want to see you getting hurt another time."
My eyes widened. "Woah, who said anything about getting back together? I'm not even thinking about all that yet. I've just pushed my feelings to the side, and I'm only focusing on the fact that Archer and I aren't bickering anymore. That's it."
°
The next day, I was sitting in my Spanish class with two or three other people in the room. I'd arrived a bit early.
Suddenly, the door opened and Archer entered the room. His eyes landed on me.
He strode up to me and looked down into my eyes. "Is this seat taken?" He motioned to the place beside mine.
I looked beside me, then back at him again. He wanted to sit beside me? Fine, I shouldn't be having a problem with that.
I said, "Not really."
He smiled. "Well, then it's taken now."
He placed his bag down on the desk and sat down beside me. A bit closer than what I'd imagined but whatever, I wasn't going to let his proximity affect me. I was just focusing on being on good terms with him, that's all, I repeatedly told myself.
Ms Ramos entered the room and our lesson began.
When about fifteen minutes were left for class to end, Ms Ramos came to the end of her lecture.
"Okay, everyone, let's do something fun to spend the remaining time. I don't want to let you be idle."
She thought for a few seconds, and then a bright smile overtook her features. "How about some of you perform any song or poem in Spanish, in front of the class?"
At first some people groaned, but then one of the boys, Will, stood up and walked over to the front of the class. He read out a Spanish poem he'd found online. Ms Ramos beamed.
"¡Grande, Will! Okay, who's next?"
Her eyes landed on me. "Vivian, why don't you sing something for us in Spanish? You'd told me you listen to a lot of Spanish music, don't you? Surely you must be knowing a few songs by now?"
I hesitated. "Uh--yes, ma'am, but I don't really think--"
"Nonsense, if you know any song, come up and sing! This is for all of us to enjoy, nobody's judging your singing skills here. Come up."
The rest of the class was also telling me to go up and sing, and I locked eyes with Archer. He grinned at me, motioning me to go ahead.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up even more. He raised his hand.
"Señora Ramos, I'd like to play the guitar with Vivian's song. I can get it from my dorm in a minute."
My eyes widened in shock, whereas Ms Ramos was more than willing to let Archer get his guitar.
Before I could stop him, he dashed out of the classroom, a happy grin on his face.
True to his word, he returned a minute later, holding his guitar case. He unzipped it and brought out his prized black acoustic guitar, looking at it with adoration. I smiled seeing him.
Ms Ramos asked the class to quiet down. Archer turned towards me. "What will you sing?"
I thought for some time. "I think I'll sing Ocean by Karol G."
He eyes lit up in recognition. Of course he knew this song. When this song had come out we were still dating, and I used to sing it all the time.
He gave me a soft, almost nostalgic smile. "Alright, let's do this then."
I nodded and took a deep breath. Then I began.
Sà algún dÃa te vas de casa,
Yo te llevo a la NASA,
pido un cohete, y voy directo por tÃ.
Y sà no estoy y algo de pasa,
Recuerda que todo en la vida cambiá,
Y no importa lo que pase,
te prometo no faltarte...
Me siento grande por tÃ,
Y aunque lo intentara no podrÃa sin tÃ,
Toda mi felicidad es gracias a tÃ,
y si yo me muero volverÃa por tÃ.
My voice came out better than I expected, not that hoarse or off-key. Archer strummed along perfectly with me. Whatever mistakes I made were effectively hidden by his playing.
Overall, we sounded good. Really good.
When we finished, Ms Ramos and the rest of the class were silent for a moment, and then they broke out in thundering applause. I laughed and ducked my head. God, they were acting like this was a concert!
"¡Qué fuerte, Vivian y Archer! I'm very impressed." Ms Ramos said.
Our classmates were looking at us with something akin to wonder, and some of them were hooting and cheering. I blushed. This was unexpected.
Just then the bell rang, bringing us out of our revelry. As Ms Ramos dismissed our class, I picked up my bag and headed out, but before that, Archer stopped me.
I smiled at him. "You played well."
He grinned. "Thanks. And you weren't half-bad either. Plus your pronunciation is amazing."
"Um, thanks."
He looked wistful. "We make a good team, don't we?"
I sighed and looked away. "Yes. Yes we do."
I couldn't bear to be alone with him, having this conversation now. God knew where it would lead to.
"I--I've got to go now, I have Art," I mumbled quickly, and left the room.
I could hear him calling my name, but I didn't turn back. Not right now, I couldn't.
a/n: so.... that's it for today, folks! how did you like this chapter? vote and comment below! xx