Enemy Basis | ✓

42| who would've known?

After Lennox's disappearance, we all moved to the back of the garden where I had once stood with Grace.

As the sun began to set,  the sky being coloured by a palette of orangey hues, we all sat on the terrace.

I was perched near Dorran with his hand stroking my thigh absentmindedly with Maia on my right. Everyone else found their seat and little after, drinks were brought out, leaving us to enjoy the company with a slight buzz in our veins.

It felt oddly peaceful. I never thought it would end up like this but alas, here we all were.

The Grace thing was playing on my mind and it didn't feel complete without Lennox but I wasn't going to think about that. Hopefully, in time, she would come around and things would go back to normal. Until then, I was going to not fret on the bad and instead, enjoy every single moment.

It was only a little after eleven when Maia stood up to leave, announcing her departure, giving me a hug and then leaving.

Everyone said goodbye to her apart from Archer. He had a strange look on his face as he watched the girl leave but I dismissed it without a second thought.

As time passed and the bottles became emptier, everyone made moves to go inside, no longer pleased to be outside where the chill was now a threat.

One by one, everyone went inside until it was just me, Dorran and Archer.

They both were talking but my eyes strayed to Archer and a very random but important passed through my brain.

I knew nothing about the guy, nothing.

He had treated me poorly in the past, something I had overlooked because of all that he had done for me recently that had shown he had changed but even then, I hadn't known why he was like that or even anything about him for that matter.

I didn't know if it was the slight alcohol that ran rampage in my veins but I felt like I needed to talk to him and understand him a bit more. We were friends and yet I knew nothing about him and after all, there was no better moment than the present.

As Archer stood at the end of the terrace, facing away from us, looking over the garden, when Dorran turned to me, I motioned for him to go inside without me. When he glanced back at his friend, I knew he realised what I was going to do and he nodded, leaving me to go inside.

I walked up to Archer and stood by him in the darkness, the chills sending goose bumps all over my arms but I forced myself to stay outside despite the discomfort.

When Archer looked over at me, I felt obliged to speak up but before I could, he interrupted me.

"I think I know why you stayed out here," he said, surprising with me his words.

"And why is that?" I asked instantaneously, feeling cocky for some reason.

He glanced over at me and there was humour in his eyes.

He paused for a second before admitting the truth.

"Okay I don't really know the reason. Why are you out here?"

I smiled at the gentle banter in his words, this being the most he had said to me ever and enjoying it immensely. Who knew Archer could have this side to him?

When it was quiet once again, I decided to blurt out what I was thinking, needing to tell him.

"I know nothing about you. I was just wondering..." I let my words fade out into the atmosphere, not knowing how to phrase it.

I was wondering why he was so withdrawn, why he was so emotionally unattached, why he hated me so severely in the beginning but how could I just say those things? It felt wrong.