I throw open the door to the house and skip up the stairs. When I pass Penny's room, I give her a quick wave; she tilts her head in confusion. I don't stop to explain, there's something far more important I have to do.

Bursting into Archer's room, I can barely contain myself. "There's so much I need to tell you. I don't know where to start-" My thoughts rush around my head at one hundred miles per hour. My eyes dart open but, instead of seeing Archer, I'm met with an empty room. Oh. He's not here.

I ignore the disappointment that's clawing its way into my chest, instead, trying to stop the confident smile that has graced my features from wavering.

"Where's Archer?" I ask Penny as I leap into her room. I sit at the end of her bed and cross my legs, propping my head upon my hand.

"If I did the world would surely be ending," she jokes with a roll of her eyes. I can't help but giggle at the truth in her words. Something would have to be seriously wrong for him to tell anyone where he's going. "Maybe try Tyler's."

Why didn't I think of that? I pad across the carpet only to halt in the doorframe. "What's the address?"

She scribbles it down on a loose piece of paper before handing it to me. "Do you want me to drive you?"

"I'll just take a taxi. Thanks though," I chirp.

Waiting for the taxi seems like hours. I sit on the sofa, then move to the table, then onto the floor. I can't help but fidget with my hands, unable to keep them still. I'm not nervous about what I have to say to him, I'm nervous about how he'll react.

The taxi arrives not long later, and I practically throw myself into the passenger seat, barking orders to the driver. My voice comes out louder than expected and I cringe internally, giving him an apologetic smile. He gives me a slight nod of his head before driving to the destination.

Tyler's house is further away than I expected it to be. By the time we pull up outside, I've yawned six times in total and procrastinated every way that this could go. I know that somehow Archer will still surprise me.

I throw twenty dollars at the man and don't wait for the change. I'm afraid that if I do, I'll change my mind and go home. That's not an option. I suck it up and knock on his door. But, as soon as it opens my hand snaps over my eyes.

"Oh my god!" I exclaim horrified at what I've seen. "I'm sorry, I can come back later if you-"

"What is it?" He asks with a bored tone. I will myself to peel my fingers away from my eyes but make sure to only look at his face. The towel sitting dangerously low on his hips that I saw only seconds ego is enough to keep my gaze glued to his. Water droplets run down his face from his hair, but he doesn't wipe them away.

He peers over my shoulder causing my eyebrows to furrow. He appears to be looking for someone. The disappointment dancing in his eyes tells me that the person he seeks isn't there. I shake it off. He's probably just waiting for someone. I should make this quick.

"Um," I clear my throat, trying to remember why I came here. "I'm looking for Archer. You haven't seen him, have you?"

He leans against the doorframe, his lips pressed into a harsh line. "You're not the only one." He grumbles.

"What do you mean?" Concern is etched on my features. I don't bother to conceal it.

He rolls his eyes, tapping his foot on the floorboards. He can't like my presence here very much. I'm glad to know the feeling is mutual. "I haven't seen him since Friday." He shrugs nonchalantly.

My eyes widen, panic rising in my chest. "Do you have any idea where he could be?"

"How should I know?"

"You're his best friend." I deadpan. I hope Penny wouldn't be as lousy as he's being if I disappeared for days on end. If she or Brody left without an explanation, I'd be worried sick.

"So? He doesn't tell me shit." He replies.

I can't help but be worried for him. Disappearing without warning isn't unusual for Archer, Penny told me that he left for thirteen whole days before without talking to anyone beforehand. He came back and acted like nothing ever happened. Maybe that's what he's doing now. I can't help but think that his disappearance has something to do with our kiss.

"If you hear from him, get him to call me," is the last thing I say before he shuts the door in my face. I resist the urge to knock on it again and give him a piece of my mind. I'm trying to find Archer and what's he doing? That's right, nothing. I should be the one shutting him out.

I wait for another taxi on the path, still determined to find Archer. There's so much that we need to talk about, and it can't wait. I'm going to find him one way or another. I dial Penny's number to tell her the news, knowing that she should know too.

"He hasn't seen him since Friday."

All I get in return is silence. I pull the phone away from my ear to check that the call hasn't cut off. Once I see that it hasn't, I try talking again. "Hello?" Confusion is evident in my voice.

"He's done it again," she mutters, and I barely hear her. "I know where he is."

*

I peer through the window warily when I reach the place. The place that Penny told me to come to is a rundown apartment complex on the other side of town. There's smashed glass laying on the concrete floor next to the entrance from one of the windows. The door, instead of having a window, now has metal bars. Well, that doesn't look sketchy at all.

"Are you sure this is the place, miss?" The man looks back at me. I nod, giving him a quick thank you before stepping out of the car wearily. I falter slightly as I survey my surroundings, before taking a deep breath and shutting the door behind me.

I step on a pile of cigarettes and cringe, desperately trying to shake the ash off my shoe. This looks like the sort of place where you'd be mugged. I clutch onto the sleeve of my jacket nervously and make my way inside.

The scent of alcohol and smoke hits me like a wave. My eyes sting instantly. I find the room that Penny told me he'd be in after climbing three flights of stairs, making sure not to hold onto the bannister. There could be all sorts of germs on there.

My hand falters slightly when I knock on the door. Is she sure this is the place? I nearly pull my phone out of my pocket again to make sure but the door creaking open in front of me stops me. I take a sharp intake of breath.

"Madison?" My eyes widen at the familiar voice.

Not because he's actually here but because of the state he's in. His hair still has dried blood in it from his knuckles on Friday and his eyes are bloodshot. There's stubble growing along his jawline from not shaving in a few days. I notice the scuff on his shoulder and realise that he's still wearing the same clothes. My heart breaks.

"What are you doing here?" He questions. He looks behind me as if expecting someone to jump out. What is it with everyone expecting someone else? Am I not enough?

I shake the thought away. Pull yourself together, Madison. You need to tell him everything that you were planning. "Looking for you," I push past him. There are only two rooms. The door that's slightly ajar is hiding a bathroom behind it. The main room has everything else that an apartment would need. It has a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom, all in one.

There's a mound of dirty dishes piled up on the counters and random items of clothing scattered across the floor. Empty bottles of beer are everywhere. There's some on the table, next to the sofa, there's even some laying on the bare mattress.

"Whose place is this?" I refrain from turning my nose up in disdain.

"Just a friends." He doesn't force me to leave which is a good sign but the blank look on his face is anything but. It gives me no hint of what he's thinking.

"I went to see Tyler," I start, nearly sitting on one of the chairs around the table but change my mind when I notice one of the legs are missing. "He said he hasn't seen you since Friday. Why'd you disappear?"

I feel bad for not realising sooner. How did I not notice that he'd been gone for four days? I was too busy stuck in my own head to notice. "What's it to you?" The huskiness of his voice gives life to the butterflies in my stomach.

"Penny's worried about you."

"That's a first." He scoffs.

I ignore his sly comment. "We need to talk about what happened on Friday." His face remains blank. My eyes shift around the room, looking at everything but him. Melissa didn't tell me it was going to be this nerve-wracking.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"You're joking, right?" My eyes pour into his as I try to work out what he's thinking. His are dark and shielded, there's no way I'm finding out anything that way. Melissa was right, men are confusing. They're a whole other species entirely.

He grabs a half-empty bottle of beer and takes a swig from it. He then proceeds to wipe the back of his hand against his mouth after it's left his lips. The boy standing in front of me isn't the boy I've come to not mind.

"We kissed, that's it." He discards it as if it were nothing. He raises an eyebrow cockily, challenging me to disagree.

Anger bubbles inside of me and I glare at him, unable to contain it. If he wants me to disagree then so be it. He'll get exactly that. My eyes narrow in his direction. "That's it?" I practically pull my hair from my scalp. "You wanted to kiss me. You don't get to act like you didn't just because you're drunk at barely three in the afternoon." I spit, venom laced on every word.

He lets out a low chuckle that rumbles through me. "You're right, I did want to kiss you," my frustration subsides slightly, "I wanted to kiss you on Friday."

"So, what are you saying?" I choke.

I want to run out of the apartment and never come back. I don't want to hear what he has to say because I know it's not going to be good. You can prepare however much you want but when it comes to it, you'll never be ready.

"I'm saying it was a mistake." His words burn through me leaving a hole in my chest in their wake. "I've already forgotten about it and you should too." Hearing him call what happened a mistake shatters me. I can no longer hold myself together. Nausea creeps up on me, I'm too weak to fight it.

"You're cruel," I stumble back towards the door. Tears are pooling in my eyes, but I can't do anything to stop them. I have no control over what I'm doing or saying. The words fall out involuntarily. "You're so goddamn cruel." Tears spill onto my cheeks. I let them.

I see a flicker of something in his eyes, but it's gone before I can decipher what it was. He looks at the floor, not being able to meet my gaze. "How did I not see it before? You can stay in this dump for all I care, it would make life much easier for all of us."

I slam the door to the apartment behind me. Once I know that I'm out of his sight, that's when I finally let my emotions take over. I fall to the floor and pull my knees up to my chest, sobbing uncontrollably.