Unintended Consequences

Chapter 5 - Archer's POV

I thought it was about time we got to know Archer a bit? It was hard to give him much character development when Charlotte is supposed to be ignoring his presence.
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A blaring alarm beeped in my ear as I tried to shove my head further under the silk pillow. Silk? What the fuck, these were not my sheets. I looked at the other side of the bed and saw a lean body tucked under the light pink sheets. From what I could see she was a blonde. Makes sense... that was usually my type—especially after I've drunk whisky.

This time of year was always the hardest—well, on my liver. We're just about done pre-season training so every damn night the boys find some reason for us to bond as a team. Give me a break. That inevitably ends with some idiot coming up with a way for us to haze the rookies or find girls.

    Last night was clearly a night we decided to find girls. A hazy memory flashed of us stampeding up to a sorority house and demanding they let us in. Of course, they did because...well not be douchy but it's us. Girls saw football players and basically dropped their panties right then and there. I learned that in my freshman year and have been testing the theory for over two years now. Still works like a charm...

The girl next to me stirred so I grabbed my clothes and high-tailed it out of there before I had to deal with morning-after conversations. Did I have fun? Sure... Do I want to do it again sometime? Maybe... Do I want your number? Not at all.

Once I got outside on Greek Row I quickly jogged back to the football house. I had to shower and eat before my classes started at 10. Professors tended to not like it when I showed up late, especially on the first day. For a long time, I put the bare minimum of effort into my classes. I mean why bother? I'm already getting attention from NFL scouts so why do I need a business degree? But at the end of last year, my grades were at an all-time low, and my parents got a letter warning them that I was about to be put on academic probation.

My dad was pissed of course. But I can't remember the last time that man wasn't pissed. Besides he only cared that they could kick me off the team. My mom though... fuuuuck. She cried. I consider myself a pretty strong man but seeing my mom cry because I had disappointed her? That fucking stung. So I promised to try. Try being the operative word. I couldn't pull a miracle out of my ass but I'm naturally pretty smart—it shouldn't be that bad to get my grades up.

My morning passed uneventfully. I went to my two classes then headed to the cafeteria for lunch before my afternoon practise. I was walking down the path to the Caf building when I noticed a small figure sitting under an oak tree a few yards away.

    They tucked themselves almost completely out of sight of the path but the wispy black curls caught my eye. Charlotte? I walked over to take a peek and sure enough, it was Charlotte. She was sitting at the base of the tree with her knees up by her chest and her head tucked down. Now I'm no expert on female body language, but she definitely seemed upset. Or tired?

"Uuuhh Charlotte?" Her head snapped up to look at me and her eyes told me everything I needed to know. Yep... upset. Her large brown eyes were glassy and rimmed red. I instantly regretted walking over here. What the fuck was I supposed to do if she was upset? I'm not good at this shit and I'm probably the last person she wanted to talk to. She seemed to be wondering the same thing because instead of speaking she just stared up at me with a confused frown. Sighing, I decided to bite the bullet and try to be decent. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine thanks," She replied curtly, obviously expecting me to accept that and walk away. Which is what you should do dipshit... But then a flashback of Mrs. Avery sprung into my head.