I pull the white snowdrop out of my hair and stuff it into my bedside drawer, slamming it shut after. Penny eyes me suspiciously but I plaster a smile on my face to distract her.

"I start on Tuesday," I tell her. My voice comes out lower than expected causing me to clear my throat.

"Wait," she blurts out. I raise my eyebrows. "You're not working Friday, are you?" She nibbles on her lip as she waits for my answer.

"Do you really think I'd do that to you?"

She gives me an incredulous look and I stifle a laugh. I'm not that bad.

"Don't worry, I'm still going to the party," She sighs in relief. "If I was, I would have taken the day off anyway."

She can't keep the smile off her face as she pulls me into a tight embrace. "We're going to have so much fun." She squeals into my hair, almost crushing my ribs in the process. I try to appear eager by letting out a small yay, but my attempt fails miserably.

She lets me go and looks at me as if she were a proud parent before leaving my room and shutting the door behind her. I hear her footsteps as she pads along the hallway. The hum of her music tells me that she's back in her room.

I pull the drawer open again and cradle the little flower in my hands. Adrian told me his name despite not wanting me to write it down. Why would he do that? Why would I need to know his name? It's not like we're going to see each other again, right? Unless he wants to buy more flowers for his next boss which raises the odds.

Not to mention, he put a flower in my hair before he left! I've only ever seen people do that in movies as a sign of affection, not to a florist who has helped them buy flowers for their boss. It makes no sense.

I know I should be overjoyed by the idea of him doing that and treating me like the main star of a movie but I'm not. At this moment, I can't keep Archer from entering my mind. I try to wipe the thought of him away, but it's no use.

Archer's obnoxious and arrogant, not to mention ignorant and rude. I shouldn't be thinking about him, I should be thinking about Adrian. Adrian, from what I can tell, is successful and smart. He definitely has a sense of humour; you need one to buy your boss flowers when you're quitting.

But I'm not thinking of him. I'm thinking of the boy whose room is across the hall from mine.

*

Penny should have been down here five minutes ago. We usually both mope downstairs to the kitchen for our morning coffee at the same time. How else would we function during school? I made us one each but drank mine already because I couldn't wait.

Penny's is starting to go cold.

I hop off the stool and climb the stairs until I get to her room, knocking on the door gently but getting no answer. I try again slightly harder this time but still get no answer. Finally, I lift my foot to kick the door, but a groan lets me know that I don't need to do that.

I open it and peek my head through, my eyebrows raising once I see her. I'm met with a lifeless Penny who's wrapped in a mountain of blankets. Her hair is sprawled out on her pillow, her feet poking out the bottom of her duvet.

I push the door open fully so I can come inside. "Are you okay?" I question, inching closer towards her.

"Do I look okay?" She rolls over onto her stomach with a groan into her pillow. "I shouldn't have eaten that chicken." She states, wiping her hand across her face.

Penny and Brody went out to eat last night. They wanted me to go with them, but I chose to stay here to finish the endless amount of homework that's been piling up on my to-do list. Plus, I'd only eaten a few hours prior, so I wasn't that hungry.

"What am I going to do?" I lean my head back onto the door as I close my eyes.

She mumbles something incoherent, but I brush it off, choosing to continue moaning about my problems. "How am I going to get to school? If I walk, I'm going to be late, and I can't skip because I have a test." My eyes shoot open. "Oh my god, the test! It's first period, I can't miss it. They might send me back home for having bad attendance and-"

Penny, having had enough of my over-thinking, rips the duvet off of her form. Her eyes narrow in my direction causing me to purse my lips.

"If I let you take my car will you leave?" She cocks an eyebrow. My eyes widen at the irritated tone of her voice. Is she forgetting that I can't drive?

"Um, you do know-" I start but decide against bringing it up. "Actually, never mind. You should just go back to sleep." I advise. She mumbles something again that I can't work out before her eyes flutter closed.

I leave her room, shutting the door behind me so she isn't disturbed by anyone. Not that anyone would, Sophie and Henry are already at work and they'll be there until late. The only other person who could is Archer, but it would have to start raining skittles before the thought to check on her would even cross his mind.

Seen as she isn't in a good condition to drive, I have two options. Option number one is to walk to school. It's already pretty late so I doubt I'd make it there in time for my test. Option number two is to ask Archer if he'll take me.

Am I really that desperate?

Archer walks down the stairs at this moment and towards the door. My gaze bounces around the room in a panic.

I have less than ten seconds to decide. If I walk, I risk getting detention. I don't need to go through that again. But if I ask Archer, I risk dying on the back of the monstrosity that he likes to ride around.

Oh boy, I already know I'm going to regret this. I squeeze my eyes shut and pray that my dignity will stay intact once I do this.

Reluctantly, I call out to Archer. His hand rests on the door handle as he turns around. I freeze once his eyes meet mine. My train of thought erases from my mind. "I, um-" I start, my heart jumping in my chest.

He gives me a look that says 'I haven't got all day' and taps his foot against the floor. I pause for a moment. Detention wouldn't be that bad, would it? My inner voice tells me that it would so I ask him something I never thought I would have to ask.

"Can I ride with you to school?"

He scoffs and shakes his head in amusement before opening the door. "Where are you going?" I ask with furrowed eyebrows, stepping closer to him. "I'm being serious."

"So am I," he counters. "The answer's no."

I glare at his retreating form before grabbing his wrist, pulling him back before he leaves. His eyes snap to my hand. I avoid the urge to let go and gulp anxiously. "Come on, it'll only be for today," I beg, shooting him my best smile.

He seems to consider it for a second. "Why can't Penny take you?"

"She isn't feeling so good," I reveal. I swear I saw concern flash across his eyes only to vanish a fraction of a second later.

"And Brody?"

"He doesn't even have a car." Knowing Brody, he definitely won't walk to school. Because Penny isn't here to drive him, he'll probably just call in sick.

He rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything, instead, he just turns around and walks out the door. I assume that his silence is a yes so, I follow him out, making sure to grab Penny's car keys before we leave.

"Archer." I get his attention again. He turns around as I throw the keys at him. He catches them without hesitation.

"What do I need these for?" He asks, dangling them in the air.

"There's no way I'm getting on that thing again," I shudder as my eyes pass over his death mobile. "We can take Penny's car instead." She did tell me I could do that.

He seems reluctant but gets into the driver's side anyway. I climb in next to him and we drive to school in silence. My hand reaches for the radio a few times to try and drown out the tension between us, but he swats it away each time.

We finally get to school after what felt like forever.

"Thank you." I try to show my gratitude but he doesn't even spare me a glance. He acts like I was never even here and stalks away from me.

*

I burst out of the classroom and am glad that it's finally lunch. There's only so much learning that I can take in one day. Today, I've definitely passed my limit. I still have to survive another two classes!

I wish the ground would just open up and swallow me whole, and then preferably spit me out back in my bed.

I weave through the crowd of students towards our usual table until it dawns on me that no one is here except me. Penny's ill and Brody messaged me to tell me that he wasn't coming because he was too lazy to walk. I knew he would do that.

I guess it's the library for me then.

I leave the main building before heading towards the library. Spending my lunch around a ton of books in silence isn't what I had in mind for today, but it will have to do. I'm sure I can sneak a few bites of my sandwich here and there without anyone shushing me for chewing too loud.

I have to walk past the car park to get there. I barely make it halfway before my eyes zone in on someone. That someone is Archer, and he's getting into Penny's car. Where could he be going during lunch?

My curiosity gets the better of me. My legs start moving on their own accordance towards him. Once I regain control of them, it's already too late. I open the passenger side door and slip into the car.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

He clenches his jaw, turning towards me with his eyes narrowed. "Get out of the car." He orders.

I purse my lips into a straight line, choosing to stay quiet. He scoffs and, with a roll of his eyes, leans over me to open my door. I take a sharp intake of breath at our proximity. His face is only inches away from mine. The strong scent of his cologne makes my senses go crazy. I swallow hard.

Once he pulls away from me, I release a shaky breath. My mind becomes less foggy, and I jump into action. My hand grips the door as I pull it shut. I turn to see his reaction. His mouth is open in disbelief.

"I'm not leaving." I cross my arms over my chest.

"Are you kidding me?" His grip on the steering wheel tightens.

"I don't joke." I copy his usual grumpy words. He seems to notice my attempt at copying him as he rolls his eyes.

"Fine," he starts, and I can't keep the shock off my face. I wasn't expecting him to actually let me stay. If he told me to leave a couple more times I would have listened. "You'll just have to come with me then."