The Rest Is History | ✓

16 | the care

Soon enough, our holidays were over and I had to bid goodbye to Mum and Dad and Pippa. I'd really miss them and couldn't wait to see them again during our half term break.

But I'd also missed Kate and Angie so much. When I saw them standing in front of the huge school door, a huge grin overtook my features and I rushed up to hug them. Even Beth came up to me and I gave her a hug.

"How have you girls been? I missed you all so much!"

Thus we chatted endlessly until the beginning of the assembly, when I had to go up on stage to deliver a speech after Mr Richards. Along with Archer.

Oh god, I'd forgotten about Archer.

He stood stiffly beside me, his lips pursed and eyes looking straight ahead as we waited for Mr Richards to finish his address. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and caught him looking fleetingly at me, but as soon as his eyes met mine, he looked away.

I sighed. Things would be awkward again.

We went up on stage after a few minutes and gave our respective speeches, informing the students of all the upcoming events and work and reminding them of the same old school rules. Standard protocol.

Later that day, when we were both in the study doing our work, I couldn't take the silence anymore. All this while we'd successfully ignored each other but there's only so long you can go without talking to the only other person in a small room.

I turned to Archer. "Hey."

He didn't even look at me.

I was getting increasingly pissed off by the second. He had no right to be mad at me. What I'd said to him back at the gala was fully justified and he didn't have to be pissed off or tense about it. We could just forget and move on.

I prod him further. "Is there a reason why you're ignoring me?"

Again, no response.

I poked him in the elbow. This time he turned to me with an irritated expression.

"Vivian, can't you see I'm busy? You may be jobless right now but I have tons of work to do so leave me alone."

I blinked back my hurt. So all I got for showing some concern was being called 'jobless'. Great.

"You know," I snapped, "It wouldn't kill you to be nice for a change. I was only trying to understand why you've suddenly become this stone wall, that's it. But apparently that makes me jobless, so fine. I won't bother anymore."

I was fed up with his attitude. I hated his guts anyway, and this was just fueling the fire even more.

I decided I would mind my own business and continued with my work, neither expecting nor getting any reply from the boy sitting beside me.

After around fifteen minutes, his voice suddenly spoke up.

"I wasn't being a stone wall."

I turned to him with a frown. "What?"

"Earlier, you said I was a stone wall. No, I'm not."

I stared at him. "Is that all you got from what I said? And how else would you describe how you're behaving right now?"

His eyes flashed. "Well, excuse me for keeping my distance after what you said at the gala!"

I flinched at his tone. "God, how touchy are you! I literally said the same thing you told me when I accidentally called you Arch! Why do you have to make such a big deal out of it? And what I said wasn't wrong so why are you mad about it?"