After the party on Saturday, one thing was clear.
My feelings were definitely resurfacing, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
Sometimes, life had a strange way of going about things, and even if you thought you didn't want something, your heart would tell you otherwise, and you'd end up conceding.
My situation was something like that. I didn't want to admit it, but how long could I go on lying to myself? I'd always prided myself on being honest, and that included being true to myself. So I couldn't keep on trying to deny it.
Archer was doing funny things to my heart, again.
When had he not?
I sighed. The problem was, I was afraid to let him in, since there was no guarantee he wouldn't hurt me again. And there was no way I'd be able to deal with the same heartbreak a second time over.
That was the hurdle which was stopping me from telling him anything. I was just too afraid he might repeat his mistake, however hard he tried not to.
I behaved normally with him, as if we hadn't been so close at the party, as if the dance had never even happened. Maybe he thought I wanted to ignore it, so he was respecting my silence and going along with it, but the truth was I wanted to address my feelings. I was just so scared of what might happen afterwards.
I gave my head a slight shake as I worked at the study with Archer, thinking about all this.
Archer looked over at me, eyebrow raised in that annoyingly perfect way. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Why?"
"You just shook your head like a weirdo all of a sudden."
I glared at him. "Shut up, I was just thinking about something."
He grinned, to my chagrin. "Sure, that wasn't weird at all."
"It wasn't!"
"Would you say the same thing if I'd shaken my head suddenly without any reason?"
I hesitated. He laughed. "See?"
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Now get back to work, you idiot."
"Oh, I'm the idiot."
This banter went on for a few more minutes before we both decided enough was enough and work was calling.
°
Our exams were fast approaching, and so was Funday. Archer and I were busy discussing our plans and taking a vote with the rest of the class. Finally we came to a decision.
Our fun activity for this year would be ice skating. There was a rink nearby which had ice throughout the year, and we'd never been there from school. So this year most of the students voted to visit the rink and book it for the day.
Archer and I had come up with several options after hours of arguing, like a pool party, paintball fight, etc. The ice skating idea was favoured over the pool party by the students, whereas the paintball idea, as fun as it sounded, was rejected by our Headmaster since he couldn't afford to have "more than a hundred messy students soaked in paint at the school." His words, not mine.
Finally, lots of arguments, voting and decision-making later, we settled on ice skating, which sounded quite fun to me since I knew how to skate, but hadn't done it in years, meaning I was really excited to try it out again.
The highly-anticipated Funday finally came, and boy, was everyone ready for it. Early in the morning all the students were up and about, not one person complaining or looking groggy. Everyone seemed wide awake.
After all, it was the one and only chance we were getting to unwind before the exams.
We all had a light breakfast and after another hour, we headed to the rink.
We were all given our own skates at the rink, and went to the locker rooms to deposit our shoes and change into the skates. The rink even had a few instructors to teach the basics of ice skating to those who didn't know.
We went out into the main rink and I walked onto the ice, the others doing the same. Everyone was laughing and talking excitedly, which made me so happy to watch. We were finally getting a much-needed break after working so hard.
I noticed Archer walking gingerly on the ice, trying to control his footing and sometimes clutching onto the railing on the side. I smirked as I realised something.
I skated over to where he stood. "Arch, you don't know how to skate, do you?"
He almost jumped on hearing my voice, and looked at me in a slightly panicked way. "What, no! Of course I know how to skate."
I shrugged. "Okay, then skate with me."
I began making my way across the ice, gliding smoothly over it. Even though I hadn't skated for a long time, it still seemed to come naturally for me.
Kate was happily skating in the distance with her boyfriend Dean (yes they finally started dating), while Angie was leaning against the railing and talking to some friends from one of her classes. Beth was skating with a girl I didn't know.
I turned back towards Archer, who was still frozen in place.
"What happened? I thought you could skate?"
He gulped visibly. "Of course. I'm coming."
He tried to glide over to where I was standing, but after just two seconds he slipped, lost his footing and landed on his arse on the cold ice.
I burst out laughing.
He glared at me. "Haha, very funny. Now can you please come here and help me up instead of laughing at me?"
I continued guffawing. "Wait, wait, this is a golden sight, you falling on your arse and making a fool of yourself. Just let me savour the moment."
If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under by now.
"You know," I said between laughs, "that glare has no effect on me when you're flopped on the ground like that."
"You're a devil," he grumbled. "Now come help me up."
I held out my hand and pulled him up. I peered up at him.
"You know, you can ask one of the instructors to help. There's nothing to be ashamed of, really. I mean I'll laugh"--he glared at me--"but it's not that big of a deal."
He looked at the instructors. "They're all busy teaching other people."
I nodded. "Okay, I'll teach you then. C'mere."
I held both his hands as he faced me. He was grasping mine tightly, and my heart, like a bloody traitor, sped up.
I faced him. "Now, just smoothly glide across the ice. I'm holding you so don't be afraid, okay? Just think you're walking, but don't put too much pressure on your feet. Be calm and keep looking at me. Don't look down."
He did as told, and we started moving slowly on the ice. I held eye contact with him as we glided, willing him to move.
His eyes widened as he grinned. "I'm doing it! I'm skating!"
I laughed. "Yes, yes you are. Congrats."
We continued holding hands and skating slowly, and his eyes never left mine as he smiled softly. "Thanks, Vi."
"Don't mention it."
For the next hour and a half, I kept on teaching him the basics of skating, and he was not a bad learner. He fell on the ice quite a few times but that was natural. He still picked up some of the basics quite fast, and by the next hour, he was very slowly being able to skate without my support.
It was soon time for lunch. There was an adjoining eatery with the rink, and the students had gone there for lunch. Archer and I had decided to stay back for a few minutes so that he could complete learning the basics.
As he skated with slow precision, I clapped, grinning proudly. "You're doing it so well! I'm a great teacher," I joked.
He skated over to me eventually and rested his hands on my shoulder.
"Yes you are," he breathed down, smiling at me.
Wait, he was close. Too close. Close enough to...
He was staring intensely at me with those hypnotic golden brown eyes. They had me trapped in their gaze, and I couldn't move an inch.
His eyes fluttered down to my lips, I could see it. I shivered, maybe because of the cold, maybe because of something else entirely, I'll never know.
My cheeks were flaming and I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. I could see it in his eyes, how badly he wanted to kiss me. Could he see it in my eyes too?
He ever-so-slowly leaned in until our noses touched. I could feel how cold they'd become due to the ice.
"Vi," he whispered, "Can I kiss you?"
I couldn't think anymore. I could only nod.
He kissed me with all the gentleness of a seabreeze, warm and calming. I closed my eyes as I kissed him back this time, linking my arms around his neck, while his held my waist in place.
His lips were warm and cold at the same time. How could that be? I didn't know, and I didn't care. All I could focus on was how utterly good he tasted.
I removed my arms from his neck and put them on his chest, feeling his heart beat like a jackhammer. Mine was doing that too. It was like we were in a bubble of our own, with no regard for the rest of the world; only him and I and our lips and our hearts.
He eventually pulled away and kissed my neck ever so softly. I would've savoured that feeling for a while longer if Arch had been a better ice skater.
Because the moment he angled his face to kiss my neck, he lost his balance and fell flat on the ice, pulling me down with him in a tangled mess of limbs.
"Ow!"
My arse hurt like hell, and no doubt his did too. But when we locked eyes, we both burst out laughing.
"Oh my god," he laughed. "Seems like we just can't catch a break, huh?"
I chuckled, my cheeks and ears red. "Tell me about it."
I got up and pulled him up with me. "Come on, let's head to the restaurant. I'm starving."
We got off the rink, removed our skates and went to the eatery, and all the while my heart was still beating so, so fast. I couldn't seem to think straight.
My god.
By now he surely knew my feelings had definitely come back. But we couldn't just jump back into a relationship without talking and sorting out our issues first, could we?
But as I headed towards Angie and Kate, my face flushed, hair messed, and eyes bright, all I could think about was how absolutely amazing the kiss had been, and how I couldn't wait to do it again, and again.
And again.
a/n: this was so fun to write! tell me how you liked this chapter, guys, i need all the feedback i can get! love you lots xx