[ CHAPTER 5 ]
*edited*
((song to the side: Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey))
We walked to his car in silence. He had told me earlier that the host's house was about 20 minutes away.
Archer unlocked the car doors once we were close enough and I slipped into the passenger seat. Archer backed up his car that he had gotten for his birthday out of the parking lot. I leaned in and put the radio on so I could avoid any awkward silence.
"So, who's going to be at the party?" I asked with the music playing low in the background.
"I don't really know exactly who's going to be there, but I do know that Scott, Wren, Connor, Levi, and Courtney are going to the party," he listed as we waited at the red traffic light.
"I haven't seen them in a while," I whispered to myself. I realized how long they haven't seen me, and I started to doubt if they'd remember me at all. Plenty of horrifying situations started to play in my head. What if they now hated me for leaving them? I suddenly became confused. The first year I was gone, we talked to each other but as time went on, we grew apart. I still knew what was going on in their lives, but from an outside point of view. I just wasn't their best friends anymore. The music in the background faded from my hearing as I zoned out from reality, and traveled to a dark place in my mind. I thought of my friends hating me and ridiculing me in front of everybody, just because I left them for three years. I didn't think that they'd like me anymore, because I wasn't the same timid person that left Waterside three years ago. The things that happened in my absence are the ones that changed me into a different person, and it was terrifying.
I soon realized that I had lost control of myself. My breaths were uneven, and I felt like I wasn't breathing at all. Suddenly aware that I couldn't breathe, I quickened my breaths.
Archer, who was apprehensive after hearing me having trouble breathing, asked, "Everly are you okay?" He looked at me with sincere green eyes, but they were equally filled with fear.
As I tried to calm myself down, which only made things worse, Archer exited out of the road to an empty parking lot. Archer rolled down the windows and shut off the engine of the car. The summer breeze from the outside entered the vehicle and tickled my bare back.
My mind switch back to my friends, or my ex-friends. I knew that they didn't like me anymore. They only liked the Everly I left behind.
"Everly, you need to cal-," he stopped, remembering that it was the worst thing to say to a person who was having a panic attack.
I was about to say that I was fine, but I started to cough in a violent fight.
"Everly, listen to me," he tried again as he cupped my cheeks in his hands. "Tell me what's wrong, talk to me. Don't keep it bottled up."
"I'm listening," he whispered the last part, his eyes holding my gaze. He let go of my cheeks and rested his hands on his lap.
"I-I don't know what got into me." My vision got a little blurry as it was filled with tears.
"Take a deep breath," Archer said gingerly. I did as he ordered me to; I took a deep, and shaky, breath.
"I-I was thinking about the party and-and I don't know, I thought no one would remember me," I stammered. I sniffed and wiped my tears with the back of my hand.
Out of nowhere, Archer unbuckled my seat belt and pulled me over on his lap. I snuggled into his neck and he laid his arm around my shoulders. I stopped weeping because of his soothing words.
"There's no way they could have forgotten you. They're your friends, and real friends will stick with you no matter what. Think of the party as a little test. If they do remember you, which they will, and they still want to be your friends, then they passed. If not, then go find some new friends."
I stayed in his arms for a few more minutes until I calmed down completely. I retreated back to my seat and pouted. "Now I'm thirsty."
He chuckled and tossed me a bottle of water. "Here."
I drank half of the bottle quickly and Archer started the engine. Well now I have to pee. How wonderful!
"I'm bringing you back home," he said after a moment of silence, after I finished up the bottle of water.
"No, no! I'm fine now, don't worry about me," I tried to stop him before he pulled out of the parking space.
"Ev, we have to go back home," he pressed. He backed up his car out of the Target parking lot.
"But I want to go to the party," I whined like a child. When Archer looked at me, I sent him a look of pleading.
He studied my face before he answered my begging. "Fine, but at the party, you're staying near me."
"And don't drink a lot," he added. "Or you know what? Don't drink at all."
"Sure thing, mom," I rolled my eyes at him. Archer was like a brother to me, he was always there to protect me, as cliché as that sounded.
"Hey! I am not a female," he said pretending to sound hurt a moment after realizing I called him a girl. He chuckled as he playfully punched my arm. He's such a dork. I returned the playful punch and giggled.
"You aren't supposed to punch the driver," he pointed out. We stopped at a red light and pulled down the mirror above him.
The bastard was checking himself out. "You're so damn egoistical."
"Why can't I look at my beautiful self in the mirror in peace?" he said as he checked himself out even more. Sometimes, he was more narcissistic than Kanye West and Kim Kardashian combined.
When the light turned green, he put the mirror back up and started to drive again. I flicked through the radio stations, not finding a one I liked.
"Do you have any CDs I can put on? Or maybe Bluetooth?" I asked.
He shook his head, "My CDs are all at home, but here, let me put on the Bluetooth." He pressed a few buttons and instructed me to open the Bluetooth on my phone.
"There, now play whatever you want, but please, I beg you, don't put any Justin Bieber," he pleaded.
"Why would I have Bieber music on my phone?" I asked him. I scrolled through my playlists and I couldn't choose a song. Because I was so indecisive, I pressed on the shuffle button. 'Blue Jeans' by Lana Del Rey started to play.
We spent the rest of the drive talking about our music tastes. Archer was into different styles, while I liked artists that didn't really have a specific music genre.
When we arrived, Archer parked his car down the street of a rich neighborhood. These houses were bigger than Archie's... How was that even possible?
When we arrived at the front of his house, I could already hear the loud party music.
"Forgot to ask you, have you been to a party like this before?" he asked me as we made our way to the back door that led to the backyard.
"Nope," I answered. Archer and I walked side by side as we went through the brown fence doors.
When I stepped in, I saw some familiar faces. I looked around the backyard, curious to see who attended the party. Archer had started to talk to someone so I decided to find my way to the bathroom. I stopped in my tracks when I saw her.
What the hell happened to Courtney?
♡
Heylo :)
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I'd like to mention a few things:
- Everly has anxiety, during the chapter, she had a panic attack
- Archie knew about Everly's panick attacks (it wasn't her first time)
Also, what do you think is going to happen next?
Please tell me if you spot any mistakes :))
Them_Herondale
