Beside Him

Chapter 4// Happy to sappy to happy again

I woke up the next day with a smile on my face.

Last night, Archie had insisted on driving me home once he'd gotten his money.

Just as I was about to leave his car (it was a BMW m5 in matte black...yes he got hotter in my eyes too) he had spoken over his shoulder so quietly that I barely heard. But I did, and that was the cause of my smile today.

"I didn't want to win for the money." He'd said and I swear to God it took everything in me not to jump his bones right then but I controlled myself, calmly getting out my pyjamas from the back seat, walking through the huge gate of my house, climbing up into the balcony and into my room. It was there that I had freaked the f*ck out.

And now, at 7 am in the morning, I'd awoken with a grin. I had had nice dreams, smiling as I recalled them. Then I cringed, thinking it was a bit early to start dreaming about our kids.

Yeah, I am that girl. Sue me.

I kissed Taco on his little fur filled nose, taking my time in the shower to ensure I smelled like watermelon for the day.

Then I got out, wrapping a towel around my chest and one in my hair. I walked into my huge master suite type room, where I went straight to my walk in closet with Taco behind me, probably waiting for his breakfast.

Bless him.

I picked out black dungarees and a white and black striped top with my white vans (say it and I'll chop you into pieces).

I walked over to my huge mirror drawer, where I settled on some simple mascara and baby pink lip gloss, the mascara bringing out my bland hazel eyes. I left my hair out to tumble down my shoulders to my chest in chocolate and honey coloured waves.

I'd gotten my back pack off the bedside, another thing that Taco loved me for.

Yes, that is snoopy. And no, I'm not mental.

I walked down the grand stair case with Taco right behind me.

I walked into the kitchen, first asking Jenivive, our main maid, to serve Taco breakfast.

She did as told with a kind smile, one that I returned gratefully as I dug into my waffles.

My dad came into the kitchen, patting Taco on his fluffy head before kissing my forehead. He gave Jenny a small smile and sat down with his cup of tea and omelette. I cringed.

My dad had an odd source of breakfasts.

"Do you need a lift to school or are you gonna take a car?" Dad asked, sipping his hot tea.

"I was actually gonna walk Taco over to Lolly's. I'll just walk to school from there." I said with a smile. He returned it before nodding thoughtfully.

"That's why you woke up so early." He muttered thoughtfully and I grinned with a nod. He looked at me for a long moment. "I love you, Rivi. I hope you know that, no matter what your mother says, I will always love you and you will always be my daughter. Got it?"

I blinked, sipping my apple juice. Then I smiled at him and nodded.

"I love you too, dad." I said and, finishing my breakfast, went around the counter where I sat on his lap, just like I used to as a kid.

He tucked me into him and enveloped me in a very fatherly, satisfying hug. I took in his scent of aftershave when I felt something wet on my head.

I pulled back to see my dad crying, a small smile on his face.

"Aww, I'll miss you, dad." I mumbled, tucking myself back into his suited jacket again.

He patted my back. "Forever." He muttered.

"Forever." I echoed.

After I said goodbye to every maid in the house and dad, I took Taco by his collar and walked out my house.

I plugged my headphones in, listening to 'sun comes up' by Rudimental and James Arthur. Humming along, I walked my dog.

Or more, in this case, my dog walked me.

We arrived at my grandma's mansion in about 15 minutes and I didn't knock as I entered.

"Lolly?" I called out and immediately I heard someone upstairs. "Lolly? You upstairs?"

Not getting an answer, I walked quickly up the stairs to...my room...where Lolly seemed to be. Why was Lolly in my room?

"Pops?" I called for my granddad and still got no answer.

"Lolly? Pops?" I semi opened the door to my room and saw...

Holy sh*t.

I let out a small screech and put my hands over my eyes.

"Why the f*ck are you in my room?" I screeched out and, behind me, I heard Taco bark.

"Why the f*ck does the bear have a leash on it?" He yelled back and I screamed again.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" I screamed, still with my eyes covered.

"Your house? What are you talking about? This is Emily Harrison's house--oh." He muttered and I moved my hands from my face, placing them on my hips instead.

"Spill. Now. Before I call the frikking police."I said to a now modest Archie.

"The owners are on holiday and told me to look after the house. I did. Now why the f*ck are you here?" He asked angrily and I frowned.

"b***h, don't talk to me like that in my own frikking home. And I'm here because I like to stay with my grandparents when there's nobody at my own house. Now please put on a shirt, it is very distracting." I said, my eyes glued to his six pack. I looked up into his eyes where I narrowed my own. "If you had s*x in my bed, I will castrate your balls and shove them down your f*****g throat. Got it?"

He looked at me in amusement, raising a perfect eyebrow.

"I thought I had a wild imagination." He mumbled and as he did, Taco jumped onto his--my--bed.

"Can somebody please remove the f*****g bear from my bed. It's probably shedding." He said angrily and I glared at him.

"Listen here you extra long baguette, if you call my dog a bear again I will force him to sit on you. Trust me, you do not want that."

He looked at me for a long second. Then he burst out laughing. I blinked and stared at him as his eyes became smaller, his beautiful white teeth on display.

God, what a sight.

I smiled slightly, tilting my head to the side.

I beckoned Taco over so he stood beside me, not once taking my eyes off of Archie as he-- he laughed. Archer King, the boy who never shows any emotion other than anger or boredom laughed.

He f*****g laughed.

God, I have it real bad.

"God-- you're so-- oh god... an extra long baguette? f**k-- oh my god." He breathed through laughs, tears falling down his face at how much he was laughing.

Once the initial beauty broke away, I stood with my hand on my hip, stroking Taco's fur.

"You done?" I asked once he'd managed to calm down.

"Yes. But don't say stupid sh*t like that again, you weirdo." He said, wiping his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "Why did you choose this room of all the 7 bedrooms in this entire mansion? Why did you just have to pick mine?" I asked in an exasperated tone. He simply smirked.

Oh, so we're back to the smirk.

"You have a really beautiful smile, you know that." I let out suddenly.

His smirk dropped and he cleared his throat, looking away from me.

He ran a hand through his hair and before I could open my dumb mouth more, we other heard a noise from downstairs.

All three of our heads (Taco too) turned to the staircase.

"Archer?" I heard a voice call out and I grinned when I realised it was Pops.

I ran down the stairs, flinging myself into his arms when I got there. He chuckled as he embraced me back.

"Adelaide? What are you doing here, love?" Lolly asked and I flinched at her usage of my middle name.

I heard Archie chuckle behind me as I hugged Lolly.

"Did your father already leave? He only got here yesterday when Archer called to tell us the 'bear' was taken." Pops said and chuckled at the bear bit. I turned and glared at Archie, and Taco bit his foot gently.

"Adelaide! Archenold! You will both be late for school!" Lolly yelled and I giggled in shock, turning to Archie.

"Archenold?" I giggled out and Archie glared at me. "I thought you didn't do nick names." And then I burst out laughing.

"Shut it, Adelaide." He snapped and I continued laughing.

"Archer, mind your tongue. You're talking to my beautiful grand daughter. Your future wife." That was enough to stop my laughter totally. I turned to Lolly with a raised eyebrow.

"Never, ever, ever say that again." I said in mock anger and she laughed.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said and I smiled, asking her to continue. "I met a boy on our trip."

I looked at her with a blank expression before taking Pops in my arms.

"Don't worry Pops. I'm sure I can hook you up with one of the bingo ladies." I said dramatically and everyone in the room chuckled at my antics. But I was only looking at Archie.

So. Gorgeous.

"Not for me, silly. For you." And again, she goes knocking the smile right off of my face.

"Lolly." I said with a warning tone but she gave me a hard stare that made me look away instantly.

"No. You need to get over what happened with your sister and Vincent, Adelaide. It hurt, you cried, now you need to move on." She snapped and I glared at her.

"She's not my sister." I said angrily and Lolly glared back at me.

"Stop being a child, Adelaide. She is your sister. Your family. You need a date for her wedding anyway and this guy is perfect." She said harshly and I locked my jaw, looking to the floor.

"Why does everyone expect me to go to their wedding? I'm not going. Simple as." I said but it came out angrier than I intended. My grandmother hardened her stare again, making me return my gaze to my shoes.

"You will go to that wedding and that is the last I want to hear of it. Sweetie, Vincent and Amanda hurt you. I get it. Trust me, I do. But you need to go to this wedding. We are your family, that's that. You are going to the wedding, Adelaide." She said firmly and I locked my jaw.

I turned away from both Lolly and Pop and patted Taco on the head as he tried to console me by stroking his fluffy head against my waste.

I gave everybody a purse lip smile, looking at Archie the longest as he held my gaze.

Then I turned away. "I'm going to school." I grumbled and made my way out.

"Wait, love." Pops said but I ignored him as I closed the heavy gate behind me.

I walked to school with my hands stuffed in my hoodie pockets, thinking about everything.

I knew that mother would despise me even more if I didn't show up to Amanda's wedding. Mother would never introduce me as her daughter, she would say 'Owen's daughter.' But never 'Clara's daughter.' My father was proud to have me, my mother...not so much.

She would introduce Amanda as 'Clara and Owen's daughter.' And God did it hurt to know that she was ashamed of me. I mean really, what's wrong with me?

I know my inability to be serious can be a little annoying at times but I only do that so that people don't try to plough down my walls and make me fall in love.

I believe in love, I do. I just don't want to get married. Ever. A couple is perfectly fine when together for the sake of love but as soon as they have to be together, as soon as they are bound by not love but a legal document, everything goes down the drain.

And I just don't want that.

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a car honking beside me and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I turned, seeing Archie with a frown on his face, staring straight ahead.

He horned again. "Get in the car, River." He said and I immediately obliged, not wanting to walk the rest of the 20 minutes.

Once I was sat, he started the car. He didn't so much as spare me one glance as he drove, keeping his eyes strictly on the road.

I bit my bottom lip, bringing my knees to my chest where I hugged them.

I hadn't even realise I'd been crying until my knees got wet.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my hoodie, not giving a rat's ass that my mascara had completely disappeared now.

It took me a few minutes to realise we were nowhere near the direction of the school.

I blinked, wiping my eyes one last time before sitting cross legged and turning to Archie.

"Where are we going?" I asked and then cleared my throat when my voice came out hoarse. I repeated my question once my throat was cleared.

"We're skipping school today. I wanna show you something." He replied simply, still not taking his eyes off the road.

I licked my lips. "Can I turn on the radio or something? The silence is too much for me to handle." I asked with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't touch my radio system with your grubby hands." He replied and I saw the signature smirk make its way to his beautiful face. I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the lack of his smile. I missed it already.

"Hey, my hands are beautiful. Just like the rest of me." I replied, flicking my hair over my shoulder.

"Pfft. Keep dreaming."

"So, Archenold. Are you gonna tell me where we're going?" I asked sweetly and his smirk dropped.

"Not are chance, Adelaide." He replied back snappily and I cringed.

"I'll stop if you stop." I bargained and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Tell a soul and I'll kill your bear." He said and I gasped dramatically before reaching over slapping his arm, hard.

"Ow. What the f*ck?" He muttered, rubbing his sore arm when we stopped at a red light.

"Aww...did the bad bwoy get an ouchy?" I asked in a baby voice and he gritted his teeth before smirking.

"Yes. But you can kiss it better." He said and I raised an eyebrow.

Did he think that I wouldn't do it? Did he even know me at all?

I leaned forward, softly pressing my lips to his bicep. His muscles went tight beneath my lips, as I kept them there for way longer than necessary.

To be honest, I was taking in his scent. Christ, how can a human be so hot? I thought only cartoons could be hot...

"You know who my first ever crush was?" I asked once I was sat back down. He shook his head, keeping his gaze strictly to the road. "It was Finn."

His head snapped to me so fast I thought I heard a crack. "Easy on the whiplash." I muttered and he glared at me.

"Why the f*ck did you come home with me yesterday? Why didn't you go with that b*stard? If you love him so f*****g much why did you act all scared when Luca said-" he was interrupted by my laughter.

I laughed and laughed, throwing my head back on the seat as the now happy tears flowed down my face.

After about 3 years and 3 months, I managed to calm down and once I did I explained to him why I was laughing, kind of scared that he'd crash the car with how roughly he was driving.

"I meant Finn from Adventure time. You know? The cartoon on cartoon network. Oh my god you thought I meant Sir-creep-a-lot. No way in Mars. " I said, still giggling and his grip on the wheel loosened. He stopped the car entirely and I frowned when I saw we were outside a Dan's- the best darn dessert place in the world. Yet not nearly acknowledged enough.

"How did you know I liked Dan's?"

"Why did you change to Sir-creep-a-lot?"

We both asked at the same time. (I asked the former, him the latter if you were wondering.)

"I like to switch between the two. Both count." I said with a shrug and I could tell he was fighting a laugh. It made me smile. "Your turn. How'd you know I liked Dan's and not Starbucks like every other human?"

His ghost of a smile returned and it made one automatically spring to my face too. "Because you're not human." He stated simply and got out of the car.

I frowned with a pout, following behind him with a trudge.

Once we were inside I simply asked Dan to give me the usual, which he did.

We were sat in a booth, me on the side near the door and him on the other. Once our orders arrived, Archie raised an eyebrow, looking at me as if I'd given birth to a fully grown jelly baby.

I looked down at my plate then nodded.

"I know, I like Dan's. Get over it." I muttered before returning to my food.

I'd ordered a large roasting hot chocolate, a 5x4 chocolate brownie with white chocolate chips, a slice of chocolate poke cake and an extra large triple chocolate cookie with jelly beans and popping Candy.

My. Life.

He had simply ordered a coffee.

I scrunched my nose up at him and he did the same to me, making me 'aww' in my mind.

"You eat so little.'

'You eat so much.'

We both said at the same time, him the latter, me the former.

I simply shrugged, licking my lips as I took a bite out of the brownie. I moaned out as customers looked at us, causing Archie to hide behind the menu.

"How the f*ck are you head cheerleader?" He asked in awe and I laughed, quickly covering my mouth.

"I actually don't wanna be. I mean, I like to dance not throw pompoms around. But hay ho. It helps with the image."

He frowned.

"What image?" He asked softly, as if knowing it was a sensitive subject.

And you know what I did? I told him.