A kiss doesn't lie." 

☆

The words spoken by Bay had cut him deep. For Archie turning his back on him was all he could think of to do. Hoping Bay would run after him. Stop him from leaving. He would pull him back around and then the truth behind the change of mood would surface. But it didn't happen.  

Lena pulls away from their kiss, resting back on the headboard of Archie's bed. "Where are you?" She questions as she navigates the expression of his face. 

"What do you mean? I'm right here." Archie looks at her, doing his best to convince her with a smile. He leans in to resume the kiss, but she pulls away. 

"No, where are you in there?" She puts her index finger to the centre of his forehead, making his head move back an inch. "It's like kissing a mannequin." 

"Wow Thanks." Archie frowns. 

Lena sighs. "I don't mean it like that. It's just like you're not into it. I can feel it.  A kiss doesn't lie." 

Archie exhales a sigh as he lets his head fall back onto the pillow. "Bay isn't speaking to me. We had a fall out yesterday. He is acting differently around me and hanging around with Mark." 

"Mark… Mark Lester?" Lena sits up a little with sudden interest. 

Archie rolls his head to one side. "Don't tell anyone. I promised him I wouldn't." 

"I won't. But that makes no sense. I've never seen them together around school." Lena furrows her brow. "What would they possibly have in common anyway?" 

"Maths." Archie chuckles to himself. "He was tutoring Mark."

"Are you jealous?" Lena tilts her head to one side in wonder.

"No. I just worry about him, that's all. It's only been us and now…"

Lena reaches forwards, she gently strokes Archie's cheek with the pad of her thumb. "You need to try and talk to him. Maybe the changes have gotten you both out of your confort zones. He's tying to fill the void of you not being around. "

"What do you mean?" 

"Think about it. If you weren't with me right now, where would you be?" 

Archie look to the ceiling. "Bay and I would be hanging out together. Probably at his house or maybe mine." He grins at the thought. 

"So there is your answer." She smiles back. "Just try to understand how he feels. Jojo is like it too sometimes when I am with you. Being friends with Mark Lester is probably his way of showing you he is ok. That's all."

"So I guess I should talk to him." Archie sighs. 

"Yes you should." She smiles, feeling a sense of accomplishment greater than Archie could possibly imagine.

***

So there he stood waiting outside the school gates, taking little notice of the others walking past him to get into school. His eyes were trained on one thing only, as he stared into the distance, waiting with a nervousness for the familiar school bus to appear.  He feels an extra beat to his heart as he soon sees the headlights of the vehicle coming into view. He takes a step towards the roadside, straightening his posture as he pulls at the bag strap on his shoulder. 

The bus pulls up to the curb. The passengers disembark and soon he is greated by Lena. "I'm going with Jojo. Good luck. " She says as she pulls on her friend's arm, with Jojo displaying a more cheeful disposition than her usual one of pained gloom. 

"Thank you." He looks back at the bus door, to see Bay, the last to get off. He steps forwards, perhaps a little too eagerly but the moment couldn't be missed. "Bay…. Can we talk …please?" 

Bay stops next to the bus doors, which make a 'ssss' sound as they close, with the acceleration of the engine becoming too loud to utter a response as that diesel smell hits the air and fills their senses. They are then left in a moment of quiet as Bay looks up at Archie. It pained him to see his face. All full of hope, warmth and positivity. All the things he was missing from his life and in that moment he was reminded why. He missed him and now more than ever, he needed him.  

The fallout at home was still hanging over him. His mother was filling her weekend with work like she always did and it left Bay with an open wound which needed to heal. He wondered if it couldn't be helped or if she was just avoiding him. But at least Archie was trying to make things right.  "What about?" He replies. Not wanting to sound over grateful for the olive branch which he himself should have been offering instead. 

"Let's get something to eat first. Come on." Archie reaches out and does his trademark hair ruffle. With Bay trying to overt it like he always did. 

"Get off." He grumbles, but in truth it was the best feeling in the world. He follows behind his friend into school, enjoying the moment of content.

There was a comfortable silence between the two of them as Archie tucked into his two rounds of toast, with Bay sipping at his orange juice. It seemed neither wanted to pick up the gauntlet, with both of them having so much to say, but neither of them wished to break the spell of contentment they were in. That was until Bay's phone sparked a message. 

Archie looks over at Bay, as he checks his device, he swallows down the food in his mouth. "I guess that's Mark right?" 

Bay looks up, placing his phone face down on the table as if being caught red handed doing something he shouldn't. "He wants to meet me in the library." He forces a grin. Bay looks down to the table, focusing on his juice. "Sorry I said what I said, back at the house."

"Hey it's fine. Like you said you can have more than just one friend." Archie leans over the table to make his words more private. "I only came over because I was worried and I guess I see you as more than just my best friend."

"What?" It was an understatement to say that Bay's soul left his body at that moment. Was this what he was thinking? He had been wrong before, but why now of all moments?  This was bad timing. "Does Lena know about this?" 

Archie laughs. "Of course she knows. She suggested I do it." 

"What are you trying to say?" Bay takes the carton straw to his lips, if for nothing else than to brace himself for what he felt like was either a bolt out of the blue or another big misunderstanding. 

"That I overreacted. You are more like family to me. Like my brother. It would make sense as we have known each other for most of our lives. I get it. I get you're a bit jealous that we aren't spending as much time together and I shouldn't be selfish and expect you to hang around and wait for me." 

The sense of achievement Archie felt with his words seemed to have a strange effect on Bay's ears. That feeling of his world crashing around him once again. "I have to go." Bay stands up, with the urge to leave overwhelming him. 

"Wait. Aren't we talking?" Archie questions, as he sits back in surprise at Bay's sudden departure. 

"You've talked, I've listened and it's all fine. We're good. I have to go." He repeats as he pulls his bag on his shoulder. He turns away, feeling the heat rising up his neck and leaving Archie feeling confused as he remains at the table. What did he do wrong? He watches him leave, wondering if he should pull him back. But then he remembered the message. Mark. The library. 

Archie's eyes draw back the final piece of toast. As he takes a bite, he notices the phone left on the table. He stands up and grabs it. Bay must have left it behind. He would have to return it. Just a quick drop at the library and go. No questions. No arguments. He makes his way out of the canteen and out into the still quiet corridor towards the library. 

Archie starts to walk down the book laiden isles, trying to find Bay somewhere. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He heads to a deserted corner in a last ditch attempt to find him. Suddenly, voices...low, just above a whisper catch his attention...

"Stop...not here. Someone might see."

Archie pauses and looks through the cracks in the shelves. His eyes just watch for a moment as he sees the backs of two students. One's face is nestled in the other's neck.

"Seriously stop. We'll get seen." The first male says with a giggle in his voice.

The second male pulls away. "No one can see us here Bay." Bay?... Archie looks closer, seeing better, now the males have pulled apart. And there, before him, was Bay and Mark.