There were few constants in your life, but if you had nothing, you knew you’d still have your friendship with Arch. 

The day you met him was arguably the most intimidating day of your 8-year-old life. You had just moved to New Orleans over winter break, and it was your first day of 3rd grade at your new school. As it turned out, private school was nothing like public school, and instead of being interested in who you were and where you came from, the kids in your class just stared at you like you were some kind of three-headed zoo animal. 

You went home that day and cried for hours. Your parents were so concerned with trying to calm you down, they didn’t even have time to make dinner.

Then came a knock at the front door. 

Arch’s parents sent him down the block to see if their new neighbor’s daughter wanted to play. Your dad actually worked with Cooper. When your mom called him at work to tell him about how upset you were, Cooper overheard. 

Your dad was pleasantly surprised when he opened the door to see his new coworker’s son, and your new classmate, asking if you wanted to walk to the park with him. Your dad smiled, and asked him to wait while he got you. 

You were still sniffling on the couch, head resting in your mother’s lap as you recounted the day over and over again. You had no intention of moving. You would stay in that very spot forever and beg to never have to go back to school again. 

Only your eyes followed your father’s movements as he knelt in front of you. 

“Your classmate, Arch, is asking if you want to play. Wanna take a walk to the park with him?” your dad gently asked, grabbing your hand as he spoke.

You stubbornly shook your head. 

“C’mon, honey,” your mother butted in, softly petting your head, “That might cheer you up. I’m sure he’s a very nice boy.”

“I don’t wanna.” 

Your parents shared a look and sighed. “How about this?” your father started, squeezing your hand, “You go play with Arch until sunset, and after we’ll go eat at that pizza place you’ve been wanting to try.” 

That made you perk up.

“We can even get ice cream after,” your mom chimed in, trying her best to change your mind.

You huffed and held your pinky out. “Promise?”

Your dad linked his pinky with yours and smiled, sharing a relieved look with your mom.

He walked you to the door with your hand in his. You were apprehensive, and still kind of upset. Your dad opened the door as you were tying your shoes, and your eyes landed on the kid who sat two tables away from you. He had a basketball tucked under his arm, which didn’t surprise you. Earlier that day he’d come back from recess sweating, though it was the middle of winter, because he spent the whole break playing football with his friends. You hoped he wasn’t expecting you to play basketball with him. If he noticed your puffy cheeks and bloodshot eyes, he didn’t mention it. 

Your dad practically shooed you out of the house as you were in the middle of sliding your coat on. Before you knew it, the front door shut and you were alone with Arch, and you couldn’t come up with anything to say.

“I’m Arch,” he introduced, breaking the heavy silence.

“I know,” you said quickly. You weren’t on board with this whole thing yet, you were still feeling kind of sensitive, but you really wanted to get pizza for dinner and ice cream for dessert, so you took off walking down your front porch. You didn’t need to tell him your name anyway. He already knew yours too.

Arch quickly fell into step with you, which you secretly appreciated, because you had no idea which direction the neighborhood park was in. He bounced the basketball the whole way, which made you grind your teeth in frustration. You were especially quick to annoy after the day you had.

Much to your dismay, Arch tried to make you play basketball with him.

“You just have to shoot it. Like this,” he shot the ball perfectly into the shorter net that was built for kids, “see?” 

You huffed as he passed you the ball. You tried to copy his motions when you shot the ball, but you missed completely, and that did nothing to help your mood. You grimaced as you went to get the ball, watching it roll farther and farther away from the court. When you turned to pass it back to Arch, he wasn’t laughing, nor did he look annoyed, he just held his hands out and waited for you to pass it. That slightly disarmed you. 

It became a cycle. Arch would expertly dribble and shoot the ball, making it in every time, and you continued to miss. 

“Try hard,” you muttered under your breath as he ran to retrieve the ball as it bounced away. You crossed your arms and looked away, scowling. 

“Heads up!” Arch called out as he passed the ball to you, but it was too late.

The basketball smacked you right in the nose as you turned your head. The shock of it made you lose your balance, and you fell right back onto the ground. You immediately burst into tears, bringing your hands up to cover your throbbing nose. 

“I’m so sorry!” Arch was quick to run over, kneeling down beside you as you bawled. “Are you okay?” 

You felt something trickling down your hands, and you pulled them back to take a look. You were bleeding. You let out a wail at the sight, crying even harder as you stared at your blood-covered hands. 

Arch’s eyes widened when he saw the blood, and he immediately jumped up. “I’ll walk you home. I’m so sorry,” he grabbed your arms and helped you up, feeling guilty and a little queasy seeing the blood gush out of your nose. 

He walked you home with a hand on your shoulder. He left the basketball behind, not even thinking about his favorite ball as his focus was now on getting you home. You cried the whole way. He felt terrible. 

Your parents weren’t surprised when the doorbell rang, as the sun had just started to set. They figured you were ready for a special dinner and dessert. Your father’s eyes widened and your mother gasped when they opened the door to see their daughter bleeding through her tears.

“I hit her in the face with the ball,” he explained before they could ask what could have possibly happened. He began to tear up himself, feeling extra guilty as he recounted the situation to your parents. “I was just trying to pass it but she wasn’t looking. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.” 

Your parents let both of you inside, your mother ushering you to the bathroom so she could grab the first aid kit. Your father stayed with Arch in the foyer, watching as Arch’s lip wobbled. 

“It’s okay, Arch. It was just an accident. She's gonna be fine,” your dad patted Arch on the back, “Thank you for walking her home. Let’s get you home now.” 

Your mom helped you clean up the blood as your dad walked Arch home. Arch cried the whole way. When your dad told Cooper what happened, why his son was now crying on his doorstep, they shared a short laugh and Cooper apologized on Arch’s behalf. Your dad insisted that there was no need, and left with a wave to return to tending to his own child.

Your mother insisted on taking you to a walk-in clinic. You turned out to be fine. No fracture or concussion, but your nose was embarrassingly swollen. You didn’t get any pizza that night, just a soggy drive-through cheeseburger. You were livid. 

Since both of your parents had work the next day, and they had no one to watch you, you were forced to go to school. Not only was your nose still swollen, but you had to wear an old coat that you’d outgrown about two years prior, since your favorite one was now covered in blood and ruined. Your new peers seemed to like wearing neutral colors that matched their uniforms, so you stuck out like a sore thumb in your bright pink coat.

You sat by yourself at lunch that day, solemnly chewing your sandwich as students at other tables laughed and whispered about your nose. Arch shut down any rumors and giggles he heard, taking full accountability for your injury. When he saw you looking over at a table of kids who failed to hide their laughter, he stood and went to sit with you. You looked surprised when he sat down across from you, and a little angry, but Arch didn’t care. He apologized again, and instead of forgiving him, you just nodded. He took it. You both ate your food in silence. 

That weekend, Arch walked over to your house with his dad. He got you a bag of your favorite candy, which he’d learned when Cooper asked your dad about it after Arch had expressed wanting to make a gesture. He also picked a small flower on his way.

Your dad opened the door with a knowing grin and gave Arch directions to the living room, where you were laid on the couch watching your favorite cartoon. Your eyebrows raised when Arch walked in.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry again,” Arch offered the candy and the flower to you. You sat up and took them. “I should’ve waited until you were looking to pass the ball to you. I’ll never do it again.” 

You looked down at the candy and the flower that just so happened to be your favorite color. “How did you know this was my favorite?” Your eyebrows furrowed. 

“I guessed,” he shrugged and lied. 

Your look of confusion eventually turned into a small smile. You knew he felt guilty, and you had really appreciated the way he’d been sticking up for you the past few days. 

“I forgive you,” you deduced, twirling the tiny flower between your fingers. 

“Thanks,” he gave you a relieved smile, “wanna go play on the swings?” 

You nodded excitedly and got up to find your brand new coat. Both of your parents grinned as you two bounded past them and made your way to the park. 

You two spent hours on the playground that day. You spent time competing on who could swing the highest, sharing the candy he’d brought you, and just talking. You told him about where you’d moved from, and he told you about what New Orleans was like. 

You two returned the next weekend, and the next, and then weekends turned into weekdays after school, until the swing set became a little bubble that belonged to only you two. 

Arch had become your best friend. 

When you two had reached the end of 8th grade, things were different. You two felt a lot older, certainly more mature than you really were, and the world around you felt like it was moving at a snail’s pace for the way you were growing. 

You two didn’t just hang out at the park anymore. It’d been different for a while. You two would spend hours at each other’s houses. Whether it was lounging by his pool, stargazing on your trampoline, or hanging out in his movie room, you two always seemed to be together. You practically accompanied each other wherever you went. 

One time you accidentally fell asleep at his house while you two were watching a movie. When you didn’t return home by one in the morning, your parents panicked, but the first place they thought to check was Arch’s house. Both yours and Arch’s parents found you two snoozing on the couch with your head on his shoulder. They decided not to wake you. In the morning, you woke up confused, and you ran back home once you realized you mistakenly slept over. You thought your parents were going to be furious, but when you walked in, they were both preparing breakfast in the kitchen as if it were any other morning. The teasing, almost knowing look they gave you made your stomach twist. 

You two sat atop the monkey bars today, which was something you’d recently started doing. You didn’t know why. Maybe because it felt a little rebellious. And different. You did kind of feel like you were on top of the world when you sat up there. 

“Can you believe we’re about to graduate 8th grade?” Arch asked as he languidly tossed a baseball up and caught it. 

You chuckled and shrugged, looking down at your swinging feet. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we’re going anywhere.” 

“But we’ll be older,” Arch scoffed when you gave him a sarcastically shocked look, “you know what I mean. High school’s different.” 

You hummed and shrugged again. “I guess.” 

You two fell into a comfortable silence after that. You felt yourself getting nervous. 

Your feelings for Arch hit you all at once. You hadn’t even realized you liked him at first. You only realized it a month ago when you were at a slumber party with all your girl friends. You all were sitting in a circle on Hannah’s bedroom floor talking about how her new boyfriend, Josh, finally asked her to be his girlfriend behind the gym. That got the rest of the girls to talk about their crushes. 

You weren’t sure how the room’s attention fell on you. 

“So,” Hannah asked teasingly, “when’s Arch gonna ask you out?” 

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. “Why would he ask me out?” 

Jordyn scoffed from her spot beside you. “Oh, please. You guys are always together. Just admit that you like him.” 

You thought about it for a second. You were afraid of how much sense it made. You realized that Arch occupies your mind more than most things. Maybe the times you’d dreamt about him asking you out, or the times you wished he’d reach over and grab your hand as you two sat on the swings meant something you’d been trying to ignore. 

“I think Arch is really cute,” Megan admitted from where she sat across from you. 

The ugly, jealous feeling in your chest cemented it. 

You never had to worry about any girls taking Arch from you. The ones that knew him knew that he was far too focused on sports to worry about relationships. The ones that didn’t know him just assumed you were his girlfriend. In a way, you considered him yours, and nothing had ever threatened that. But things were changing. And Megan was really pretty. 

The group laughed and Hannah turned to you. “You better tell him how you feel before Megan does.” 

That caused another round of laughter to erupt in the circle. She said it jokingly, and you knew that, but it created a sense of urgency in you. 

You liked Arch. It was time you stopped denying it. He was all you thought about. 

So there you were, on top of the monkey bars with him, urging yourself to just come out and say it. The words wouldn’t come out. You took a deep breath. 

“I need your advice about something,” Arch stopped tossing the baseball and turned to you. 

You immediately perked up and nodded. “Sure. What’s up?” 

He looked nervous for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking again. “So… there’s this girl.” 

Your heart dropped. 

“I think you know her pretty well,” he continued. 

Your heart dropped even further, if possible. That’s exactly what Josh told Hannah before he asked her to be his girlfriend. Could this be it? 

You nodded expectantly, urging him to continue. “Really?” You couldn’t help but smile, waiting for his next words. 

“I think she’s really pretty, and I want to ask her out, but I don’t know how,” Arch looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks. You thought it was the cutest thing you'd ever seen. 

“Just ask her,” your smile widened as you unconsciously leaned toward him. 

“I’m scared she doesn’t like me back though,” Arch looked back at you with a huff. You gave him a look. 

“She probably does.” 

“Would you help me out?” Arch asked hopefully. You instantly nodded, your smile softening as you waited for him to just tell you what you’d been waiting to hear. He let out a deep breath and smiled back at you. “Thank you so much. I know you and Megan are friends, I just don’t talk to her that often.” 

Your smile dropped.

“What?” You blurted out. You hadn’t expected this at all. You thought it was finally your time to prove everyone right. Everyone said you and Arch were clearly meant to be together. He went off script, and you didn’t appreciate it.

“What?” He furrowed his eyebrows at your surprised state, “Does she like someone else or something?”

You instantly pulled yourself together, your brain doing its best to pick up the pieces of your shattered heart. You were starting to feel the hurt now that you were processing what he said. 

“No, no,” you shook your head, sitting up straight and now unconsciously leaning away from him, “she just never really mentions you is all.” 

“Oh.”

You watched his face fall, and you suddenly felt guilty for lying to him like that. 

“But if you ask her, I’m sure she’ll say yes,” you tried to do damage control, “I think you’re her type.” 

He seemed to brighten up at that. You were at least glad to be the reason he had hope again. 

“Okay,” he took a deep breath and nodded, “does she like movies?”

“Who doesn’t like movies?” You narrowed your eyes at him. You were a bit snippy now. You were so sure that you were going to be the girl he wanted. You wanted so badly for everyone to be right. But they were wrong. And now you’re hurting. 

“Right, right,” he took the constructive criticism and nodded, clearly deep in thought, “I think maybe a movie and ice cream.” 

You nodded and pursed your lips. “That sounds nice,” you tried not to sound bitter. 

“So when should I do it?” Arch went back to tossing the baseball. You had to stare at your shoes so you wouldn’t cry. 

“Whenever you see her,” you shrugged. 

“Should I do it at school?” 

“Sure.”

“You’re not being helpful,” Arch huffed, gently nudging you with his elbow. 

You gave him a small, forced smile. “She’ll say yes wherever you ask her.” 

“I think I’ll ask her on Friday,” he turned his attention back to the baseball, “last day of school.” 

You pursed your lips and nodded. Your sadness was becoming increasingly difficult to conceal, and you needed to get away from Arch before you burst into tears. 

“Oh, I almost forgot. I have some homework to finish,” you lied, feigning a chuckle at your fake forgetfulness. 

“Really?” Arch looked over at you in confusion, “It’s the last week of school.” 

You immediately nodded. “Extra credit for Mr. Grove’s class. I’m trying to bump my A up to an A plus.” 

Arch seemed to accept your excuse without question. He nodded and started climbing back to the ground. 

“You okay?” Arch nudged you as you two made your way home. You were being unusually quiet.

 You gulped and nodded, “I’m good. Just thinking about my assignment.” 

Arch hummed, and it was silent the rest of the way. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Arch playfully shoved your shoulder. It felt like the most platonic gesture in the world. You could feel yourself die a little inside. “Would you mind putting in a good word for me? I don’t want to ask Megan out if she doesn’t like me. That’d be embarrassing.” 

You nodded again, not trusting your words. “I’ll let you know what she says,” you were finally able to push out. He was worried about his feelings being unrequited. The irony made you want to cry even more. He gave you a smile before turning around and heading home.

That night, you didn’t let yourself cry for long, as much as you wanted to. You felt dumb. And you wanted Arch. All you could do was hope that their date wouldn’t go well.

Much to your disappointment, the date went really well. So well that now, in early October of your freshman year of high school, they were still dating. Your friends no longer teased you about Arch, now it was all about him and Megan. You hated it, but you had to be happy for your friends. 

You were sitting in your history class, the last class of the day, when Hannah leaned over to you. 

“They’re announcing homecoming court at the end of the period,” she raised her eyebrows at you, “Megan’s been waiting all day to see if her and Arch made it.” 

You furrowed your eyebrows. You hadn’t seen Megan at all that day. You hadn’t seen her much at all lately. You would always meet up after your fourth period and walk to lunch, but you’d been walking by yourself for the past week. It was unusual, but you chalked it up to be nothing. Hearing that she’d been talking to Hannah confused you. “Megan came to school?” 

Hannah reflected your confused face, but she was confused as to why you were confused. “Yeah. She’s in my second period, remember?” 

You nodded slowly. “I just didn’t see her at lunch today.” 

“I wouldn’t know,” Hannah hummed and shrugged. She didn’t have the same lunch period as you and Megan.

You tried to turn your attention back to your textbook, but you couldn’t focus. You had no doubt that her and Arch would make it. You wouldn’t even be surprised if they won. And freshmen never win. What was troubling you was Megan’s strange behavior. You wondered if you did something to upset her. 

“Open the group chat. Megan’s freaking out,” Hannah tapped your shoulder as you were packing your things up at the end of the period. 

You placed your backpack in your lap and did as you were told. Megan was spamming the group chat with messages saying how nervous she was. Jordyn sent laughing emojis and tried to ease Megan’s mind. ‘You and Arch def made it,’ you sent.

The principal’s voice rang across the room through the speaker. The freshmen were going to be announced first. You stayed in the group chat, where all four of you were still active. 

When you heard Arch’s name, you looked at Hannah and shared a nod. You weren’t surprised. 

What you didn’t expect was to hear your name next. 

Your eyebrows shot up, looking at Hannah in shock. The rest of your classmates erupted with chatter, all looking at you. You looked down at your phone. Megan was silent, but you could see she was still active. Jordyn was the first to break the silence, trying to lighten the tension with humor. You were at a loss for words, still trying to process whether that really happened or you were trapped in a fever dream, when the senior class vice president walked in the room with a sash and a tiara for you. You awkwardly accepted them, but you didn’t put them on. Megan had yet to say anything, and was no longer active.

“That was crazy,” Hannah shook her head as you two walked out of the classroom and down the hallway.

“Tell me about it,” you gestured at the plastic tiara and sparkly sash in your hands, “this shouldn’t be for me.”

“Yeah, I mean, didn’t everyone get the update?” Hannah chuckled, rolling her eyes, “Arch is over you. He’s all about Meg now.”

That wasn’t supposed to sting, but it did. It was true, he had a girlfriend and absolutely should not be stuck on any other girls, but when it was rubbed in your face like that, it hurt. But that would be assuming Arch liked you at one point, and you doubted that was true. 

“Where’s Meg?” you asked nervously as you approached Jordyn down the hall. You and Hannah usually met up with her and Megan after your last class. 

Jordyn pursed her lips. “She went to find Arch.”

“Isn’t this insane, Jordyn?” Hannah butted in, “I thought by now everyone would’ve known that they’re together.”

“They do know,” you urged, wanting to crawl out of your skin from the way everyone was looking at you as they walked past, “this has to be a mistake. It’s not like we’re going to win anyway.” 

“Freshmen never win, but at least if Megan made it there would’ve been an actual couple on homecoming court,” Jordyn spoke as the three of you exited the building through the back entrance. You sighed.

The three of you stopped in your tracks when the football field came into view, and you could see Arch and Megan in the distance. They seemed to be having a heated conversation, but mostly on Megan’s behalf. You frowned, feeling guilty although you had no say in the situation. You couldn’t begin to explain why you were voted on instead of her. 

“I wonder what she’s saying,” Hannah winced. The three of you knew you shouldn’t be watching this, but none of you could look away.

“She’s probably just ranting,” you shook your head, trying to ignore the way your stomach twisted.

“Makes sense. I’d be mad too if I was her,” Jordyn chuckled.

“I just hope she’s not mad at me,” you voiced your concern, “or Arch.” 

Jordyn shook her head and nudged you with her elbow. “She’s definitely not mad at you. You and Arch had nothing to do with how people voted.” 

You sighed and nodded. You would still send Megan a text later in the day to make sure your friendship was okay.

Megan barely spoke to you for the rest of the week.

That Friday, almost exactly a week before homecoming, Arch was waiting for you outside the classroom as you exited your last class of the day. You and him hadn’t talked much about what happened, but he had told you that Megan was pretty upset with the results. You figured as much.

“I’ll see you later,” you waved to Hannah when you realized Arch had been waiting for you. She waved back and walked away to find Jordyn. 

“Hey,” Arch stepped forward now that your attention was on him. 

“Hey, what’s up?” you asked, since Arch usually waited for Megan instead of you. You noticed that he looked off. Like something was on his mind. You wondered what was troubling him.

“I kind of wanted to talk to you about something,” he said nervously as you two started down the hallway. He scratched the back of his neck. That had always been his tell. Something was up.

“What is it?” you looked at him with concern.

He looked around and sighed. “I don't really want to talk about it here. Wanna come over?”

You nodded instantly and you two made your way out of the school. Since he had a game later in the night, he didn’t have any practice and was able to walk home with you. 

What you didn’t know was that Arch and Megan broke up. They’d been getting into more arguments lately, with you being the subject, and Megan starting a majority of them. Arch always tried to reassure her that she was the one he wanted, but Megan didn’t believe it. She accused him of having feelings for you, and just using her to get over you. Arch denied that, of course, but after doing some self-reflection, he realized that Megan was right. 

Arch realized his feelings for you in sixth grade. It was at the Sweetheart Dance your school held for middle schoolers the day before Valentine’s Day. The older kids had made a request for the DJ to play “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and you and Arch slow danced to it. You were giggling through the song, finding humor in the overly-romantic situation, while Arch was feeling what it was like to get lost in your eyes for the first time. 

He was going to admit his feelings for you the next day. He wasn’t scared, and he thought the perfect way to tell you was by asking you to be his valentine. You two were sitting on the swings, as per usual, and he was about to bring it up. Then you started talking about how you saw Chase from your art class at the grocery store, and he complimented your hair, and how you thought you had a crush on him because it made you feel fuzzy inside. 

That’s when Arch decided it’d be best to protect your friendship.

After his last argument with Megan, he could no longer keep it up. He didn’t think it was hurting you, but it was certainly hurting Megan, and it was hurting him too. Megan was a great girl, and he did honestly like her, but he was just too hooked on you. He felt bad. 

He was going to tell you how he felt and ask you to be his date to homecoming. 

“How’s Megan?” you asked as you two descended the stairs. He was getting more nervous by the minute. But he couldn’t keep holding it in. He’d tell you as soon as you got to his house. 

“She’s alright,” he finally spoke after a long pause. 

“Is she mad at me?” You looked over at him with a slight frown. “She hasn’t been talking to me much. She’ll barely even text in the group chat. Is she okay?” 

Arch sighed and nodded. He felt guilty. He felt like he would be the sole reason your friendship with Megan crumbled, if it came to that. She was your friend before she was his girlfriend, and he didn’t want her to resent you for his actions. “I think she’s just taking the homecoming court thing really hard,” he lied. He’d hold onto the truth until you two were alone. 

“I get it,” you frowned, “I just hope we can talk it out soon.”

When you two pushed past the exit doors, you stopped in your tracks. 

Chase was standing there with a poster board in hand, asking you to go to homecoming with him. His friend was recording the whole thing and a small crowd had gathered to watch. You gasped. 

Arch’s heart dropped. His jaw clenched. The proposal looked like it had been made in fifteen minutes, at most, and was a lazy reference. The flowers Chase had gotten you were your least favorite color. Arch knew he could’ve done so much better himself. He looked over at you to see you covering your smile with your hands. You were going to say yes. Arch didn’t even know you and Chase were close enough to warrant a homecoming proposal. 

Arch watched in horror and disappointment as you nodded and went to hug Chase. You took the flowers, and Arch could tell you didn’t like them, but you were grateful anyway. 

You stood there talking to Chase for a little while. Arch waited for you. You kept glancing in his direction, and he could tell that Chase noticed. When Chase had to leave a few minutes later, he gave you another hug and left. You turned your attention back to Arch. 

“Sorry. I had no idea that was happening,” you chuckled through a shaky exhale. Arch was nearly drowning in jealousy and disappointment. The sight of you carrying another guy’s flowers and the poster board made him want to scream. “What did you want to talk about?” 

Arch gave you a forced smile and shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he looked away and started walking. You fell into step with him, “I just thought Megan was mad at me for a sec. She just texted though. We’re good.” 

If you detected the lie, you didn’t say anything. You just nodded and started talking about how excited you were for homecoming, and about how now you would have to make sure Chase matched his tie to your dress. Arch hated this feeling. He wanted to be the one to match his tie to your dress. 

Arch never told you how he felt. That night, he called Megan and asked to work things out with her. By morning, he and Megan had made up and gotten back together. She was going to be his homecoming date.

A week later, you and Arch lost the Homecoming King and Queen title to some seniors, which was to be expected. You were just ready to have a great time with your friends and Chase. Your friendship with Megan had been repaired now that her and Arch were back together, and you still had no idea that they even broke up.

He had to take pictures with you and Chase before the dance in Jordyn’s backyard. He wasn’t looking forward to the group photos he’d have of you and Chase forever. It hurt to see you smiling with another guy when the words had been right at the tip of his tongue. 

Arch did his best to focus on Megan and act like he was doing just fine without you.

Unfortunately, change is inevitable. That became clearer than ever to you in your senior year of high school. 

Arch just dropped the news on you that he would be graduating early to practice with his new team in the spring at Texas. While you were happy and always so proud of him, you thought you’d have a little more time before having to adjust to things like this.

You didn’t even know where you were going for college. 

If you and Arch went to school in different places, everything could change. That was the last thing you’d ever want.

You two sat on the swings in silence, his legs awkwardly bent from how tall he’d grown over the years. He tried to be patient and wait for you to process his words, but internally, he was begging you to say something. 

You pursed your lips and did your best to swallow the lump in your throat. “When do you leave?” you asked carefully. 

“January.”

You looked away and nodded.

“Hey,” Arch reached over and grabbed your arm, “look at me.” 

You listened. You watched him soften as he saw the tears in your eyes. 

“Will you be back for prom?” you asked hopefully with a shaky voice.

“I don’t know,” he spoke regretfully, hating that he had to let you down. 

“What about graduation?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there. I promise.”

You sniffled and nodded, looking down at your shoes where your feet were planted in the mulch. 

“But hey,” Arch gently nudged your shoulder as he tried to lighten the mood by teasing you, “all the more reason for you to choose Texas. You’ll miss me too much to go even longer without me.”

You frowned and shook your head, Arch’s efforts having the opposite effect on you. “Arch, I don’t even know if I got in yet.”

“You’ll get in,” Arch said with certainty, “you’re the smartest person I know.” 

Your gaze stayed fixed on your shoes, hands folded in your lap as you did your best not to cry. Arch hated seeing you like this, and he hated feeling like he was the reason. 

“Besides, you have to go to Texas because you owe me,” he nudged you again, giving another shot at lightening the mood.

You gave him a watery scoff and lifted your head. Arch took it as a victory because it got you to look at him. He smiled.

“For what?” you chuckled, a stray tear sliding down your cheek since you were no longer trying so hard to hold it back. 

“Your parents had to bribe you to hang out with me,” he brought up the first time you two ever went to the park together. The fond memory made his chest feel warm.

“And? I paid my dues when you threw a basketball at my face,” you smiled despite your sadness. You two shared a laugh before returning to silence. You were thinking about how much you hated change, and he was just thinking about you. 

He broke the silence by saying your name. You looked back up at him. 

“No matter where we go, you’re still gonna be my best friend,” Arch’s words didn’t have a trace of doubt in them, causing your heart to swell, “you could be in Texas, New York, or even Australia. You’ll always be my favorite person.” 

You sniffled and nodded, smiling through your tears. “You’ll always be mine too.” 

You two shared a long look, like you were memorizing each other's faces despite the countless hours you’d spent together. It was a hard pill to swallow, but you wanted Arch to be happy. All you could do was hope that you got in too. 

You two walked home in silence that night, but you were closer together than normal. You kept bumping shoulders with him. He walked you all the way to your door and gave you a big hug. You had to fight the urge to start bawling in his arms. 

“I’ll see you later, okay?” He brought his thumb up to wipe a few stray tears away from your cheeks once he pulled back. You sniffled and nodded. He gave you one last smile before letting you go and starting his walk to his own house. 

“I love you,” you whispered once he was out of earshot, just in case you never got the chance to tell him. At least you finally put those words out into the world. 

The following months came and went, and it was finally time for the final event before graduation. Prom. Arch told you he was going to make it back home in time for the weekend, and he kept that promise. 

The previous months without him had been tough. You’d gone over half of your life with the certainty of Arch being down the street, and now that he was gone, you missed him like crazy. Daily phone calls weren’t the same. 

Arch and Megan’s relationship fell apart within a month of him being in Texas. Decisions had come out mid-January, and Megan got rejected from UT. They had been on and off for the duration of high school, but this was the final nail in the coffin. She told the group that they didn’t want to do long distance, but refused to elaborate any further. Any topic relating to Arch was now banned in the friend group as Megan did her best to pick up the pieces, but nobody expected you to drop your friendship with him. 

You, however, got accepted and were on track to start at UT in the fall. You were over the moon. You’d visited Arch on campus over your spring break, and you were excited to start a new life in Austin with your best friend. 

Since Arch and Megan were no longer together, he decided to go with some of his football friends instead. You were going to prom with Chase as your date. After homecoming freshman year, you and Chase decided to just stay friends. You didn’t interact much for the rest of high school, until the second semester of senior year when you reconciled while working on a group project in your English class. You and Chase had been talking ever since. He asked you to prom with a proposal that was similar to the first, and of course you said yes. You’d been talking Arch’s ear off about how excited you were for at least a month. 

That’s why he found it concerning when you disappeared not even two hours into the event. 

Arch looked everywhere for you, but when you were nowhere to be seen, he pulled up your location. He stared at his phone in confusion when he saw you were outside and not moving. He didn’t give himself time to think before he was exiting the venue. 

It didn’t take long for him to find you sitting on the curb with your legs pulled up to your chest. You were upset. 

“Hey,” Arch said carefully as he approached you, stepping off the curb so he could sit beside you, “what’s going on? You disappeared.” 

You frowned and looked away. “Chase ditched me for his ex.” 

Arch scowled when you said that. “What?” 

You sighed and nodded, staring down at your heels as you dug them into the pavement. “Yeah. I don’t even know what happened. He just left with her.” 

“He’s an idiot,” Arch instantly soothed. It sounded like he was just trying to make you feel better, but he meant every word. “He doesn’t know how lucky he was to have you as a date.” 

Arch’s grimace turned into a frown when he noticed your lip begin to wobble. He never meant to, but he always had a way of making you cry harder when you were upset. 

“For once I just want to be chosen by the guy I like,” you covered your face with one of your hands, a few tears escaping your eyes. Arch wrapped an arm around you and pulled you into him. He hated seeing you cry, especially over a dumb guy who couldn’t see what was right in front of him. 

“Someone will choose you. Chase was never good enough for you,” Arch’s own jealousy seeped into his words. He always thought you were too good for that guy. 

You sniffled and nodded against his chest, where he was cradling your head. You hadn’t hugged Arch like this in a long time. It felt nice. “This sucks,” you frowned, feeling like your night had been ruined by your failed date. 

Arch pulled back and placed his thumb under your chin, making you look up at him. He gently wiped your tears away, careful not to smudge your makeup. Your heart fluttered in your chest at the tender gestures. Suddenly, Chase was no longer at the forefront of your mind. 

“Don’t let him ruin your night. You’ve been looking forward to this for so long,” his thumb lingered on your cheek, still rubbing at a tear streak that had already been wiped away, “And you look so pretty.” 

He watched as your expression changed. You were staring at him with an unreadable look on your face. You were trying to process his words and decipher whether there was any meaning to them. You hoped there was. Arch took your silence as a sign that he overstepped. He panicked and tried to do damage control.

“Your makeup looks really nice. And your dress too. Don’t wanna ruin them with tears, right?” He chuckled, trying to play off the way he almost just admitted every feeling he had for you to your face. 

Your face fell a bit, but you quickly pulled yourself together and nodded. “You’re right.”

You pulled away from him and you both stood. You two showed no intention of going back inside, so you were unsure of what to do with yourself. You awkwardly wiped your hands on your dress. 

The opening notes of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” began to play from inside the venue. 

You two shared a fond smile, knowing you were both thinking the same thing. The Sweetheart Dance. When Arch first realized he loved you. He outstretched his hand to you. You took it. He pulled you in and placed his hands on your waist, and you clasped your hands together behind his neck. 

“You were a lot shorter last time,” you chuckled as you two swayed to the music. 

“It’s been a long time,” Arch muttered under his breath, a small smile on his face as he looked down at you. True to the song’s lyrics, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. The way he was looking at you made your cheeks warm. You loved this feeling. You loved him. “I missed you.” 

That made you smile. “I missed you too. I hate it when you’re in Texas.” 

“You’ll be there soon,” he tightened his grip on your waist when the song picked up, “and then we’ll be back to hanging out everyday.” 

You two were silent for the rest of the song, just staring into each other’s eyes and moving the music. Arch felt like he was that 11-year-old again, who blushed as you laughed at how silly slow dancing was. You weren’t laughing this time. You were just looking up at him. 

The song eventually came to an end. Neither of you moved. 

Arch couldn’t take it anymore. Holding you in this moment felt like he had the whole world in his hands. He had to tell you. 

You were overwhelmed with emotion yourself. You could almost cry. Your emotions had taken a huge swing in the span of just ten minutes. You went from feeling sad and embarrassed about being ditched by Chase, to being flooded with all your love for Arch. 

Arch quietly said your name. “I… I have to tell you something.” 

You gulped and nodded, not moving or looking away. “I have to tell you something too.” 

Arch was quiet for a moment, mustering up the courage to spill what he’d been hiding from you for years. You waited for him to speak, watching as he internally struggled with whatever it was he was thinking about. 

“Arch,” you spoke softly, unclasping your hands and moving them to rest on his shoulders, “you can tell me.” 

The words were right on the tip of his tongue. You could’ve sworn you saw his gaze flicker down to your lips. 

“Yo, Manning!” 

The voice called out from down the sidewalk, near the entrance of the venue. You recognized the voice to belong to one of Arch’s closest friends. The group he came with was all standing there, watching the two of you. 

Arch clenched his jaw and huffed. This was supposed to be the moment where he’d finally tell you. He turned around, trying to mask his annoyance. “What’s up?” He asked as his friends approached. He kept a hand on your waist, but it wasn’t the same as being held by him. 

“We’re leaving. You coming or leaving with her?” His friend asked teasingly. The group was chuckling and looking at you two like they knew something they weren’t supposed to. Your cheeks warmed for what felt like the millionth time. 

You saw the same look on Arch’s face as before, like he was internally debating something. You grabbed his arm. “Go,” you gave him a soft smile. “I’ll see you later.” 

Arch sighed and nodded, gently squeezing your waist before letting you go. “I’ll see you at the after?” 

You nodded and softly sighed as he started to walk away. He looked back at you once before he disappeared. You took a moment to collect yourself before going back inside to find your friends. You were bummed out again, but Chase was hardly a thought in your mind. You were just waiting for the afterparty so you could see Arch. 

Graduation creeped up on you sooner than you thought it would. It was a long, but bittersweet ceremony. You were just excited for the road ahead of you, and you were ready to frame the picture you and Arch took on the football field afterward. 

You and your friends were about to enter a party in the biggest house you’d ever seen, thrown by one of the most popular guys on the lacrosse team. The whole senior class was going to be there, including Arch, but he would be attending with his boys. You were spending the night with your girls. 

You laughed as Jordyn and Hannah made a beeline for the kitchen, or wherever they could find a couple beers, as soon as the four of you walked in. It was now just you and Megan, and she was being quieter than usual. You could tell something was up. 

“You okay?” You asked with a small smile, nudging her shoulder. 

She was quick to nod, but you didn’t believe it. 

“We can talk about it if you want. Now or later,” you offered. After the homecoming incident during your freshman year, you did your best to prioritize communication in your friendship with Megan. She had a tendency to shut down around you when she and Arch were going through it, and you just assumed it was because you and him were so close. You understood that, but you didn’t want your friendship to suffer because of it. But her and Arch weren’t together anymore, so you really didn’t know why she was being so quiet. 

She gave you a small, almost forced smile and shook her head. “I’m okay. Really.” 

You softly sighed before accepting her answer. You mirrored her smile and squeezed her hand. You began to walk in the direction Hannah and Jordyn had disappeared in, but Megan stopped you with a call of your name. You looked at her. 

“I know we’re friends, and you’re such a good friend to me, but I won’t be mad if you and Arch get together.” 

That made you freeze. That truly came out of nowhere. But you couldn’t lie and say that didn’t feel relieving to hear. 

Megan softly chuckled. “When we were dating, it kind of felt like I stole him from you.” 

You opened your mouth to speak, but no words came out. You slowly shook your head, trying to form a proper sentence with the right words. 

“I’m just trying to tell you to not let our friendship hold you back. We’ll be friends no matter what.” 

You furrowed your eyebrows and shook your head. “Arch and I aren’t…” you trailed off. You didn’t even know what word to use. 

She softly sighed and nodded. “Just in case. It’s okay.” 

You stared at her, dumbfounded as you tried to piece together where this even came from. You managed to give her a small nod. You didn’t have much more time to dwell on it when Hannah and Jordyn returned with beers in hand. 

“What happened to you guys?” Hannah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, noticing the slightly awkward tension between you and Megan. 

Megan immediately plastered a smile on her face and shook her head. “Nothing. We were waiting for you,” she lied as she took a beer from Jordyn. Hannah and Jordyn didn’t pry any further, but they knew something had happened. 

Hannah held the beer out to you. “You need to loosen up. You look like you saw a ghost. You okay?” 

You let out a heavy sigh before nodding and trying to pull yourself together. “Thanks. I’m fine.”

Hannah gave you a look but didn’t press. “You need to have fun tonight. Just drink what I give you.” 

You listened to Hannah, and that’s how you ended up wasted. 

You and Hannah were in similar states. Jordyn and Megan were drunk too, but not nearly as much as you and Hannah were. The four of you had done a good job at sticking together for the most part, until you decided to venture to the kitchen for some water. Arch was in there talking with his friends, and you gasped when you spotted him. He turned around and smiled when he saw you. 

“Arch!” You practically ran up to him and threw your arms around his middle. He laughed and hugged you back. 

“Hey,” he spoke into your hair, melting into the hug despite his friends all laughing behind him. You could tell he was drunk too. “Missed you.” 

You saw him earlier in the day, but that felt like forever ago. “I missed you too,” your voice was muffled as you pressed your face into him. 

You didn’t let him go, losing track of time in your pleasantly dizzy state as you clung to your best friend. Arch didn’t mind. He gave his friends an awkward smile as they laughed at the sight. A few of them patted him on the back before leaving you two alone. 

“Let’s go outside,” you pulled away from the hug and grabbed his hand. He didn’t protest. He just let you drag him into the backyard and onto the dock.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Arch looked out into the darkness of the lake as you led him to the edge with your hand in his. 

“Just sit down before you fall in,” you giggled, pulling him down beside you as you sat on the little bench. 

Silence washed over you both as you stared out into the lake. Arch was itching to wrap an arm around you or grab your hand, but even in his drunk state, he held himself back. You threw your head back and huffed. 

“What?” Arch laughed. 

“I’m just so happy high school’s over,” you leaned into him, letting your head rest on his shoulder. Arch’s eyes widened, but he didn’t waste the opportunity to wrap an arm around you and pull you closer. “I’m so excited to go to Texas. And be with you.” 

Arch smiled, looking down at you as best he could. “We’re gonna hang out everyday.”

“That’s how it should be,” you looked up at him with a slight scowl, “don’t ever leave me again.” 

“I won’t,” he smiled down at you. Your faces were so close together, all he wanted to do was close the distance and kiss you. He decided he would need at least one more drink before gaining the courage to do that. “I need a drink,” he blurted. You pouted.

“Let’s just stay here for a sec,” you wrapped your arm around his middle, clinging to him so he wouldn’t get up. Arch didn’t protest, tightening his hold on you as you two fell into another silence. You suddenly let out a little laugh. “My friends are probably looking for me.”

“I’m sure they know you’re with me,” Arch chuckled.

The mention of your friends got you to start thinking, and you remembered what Megan said to you earlier in the night. “You know,” you lifted your head again, “Megan said the weirdest thing to me earlier.”

Arch furrowed his eyebrows. He knew he and Megan didn’t exactly have the smoothest relationship, but for the most part, they weren’t on bad terms. He hoped she didn’t tell you anything concerning. “What’d she say?”

“She said,” paused to think for a moment, debating whether you should actually say it, but you were drunk, so you said it anyway, “that if you and I ever got together, she wouldn’t be mad.” 

Arch’s expression softened. He hadn’t been expecting you to say that, and it made something inside him feel warm. He shook his head and tried to put a coherent sentence together. “Why would she say that?” 

You shrugged and rested your head back on his shoulder. “I don’t know. She never really tells me how she feels. Especially if it’s about you.” 

Arch thought back on all the times he and Megan argued about you. It was always unfair to Megan. He hated to say it, but if he could go back and redo high school, he would’ve made sure things went differently. Even if you didn’t like him back, he just wanted you to know. He softly said your name. 

“Let’s go get some more drinks,” you cut his thoughts off and sprung up. You held your hand out to him and he took it. You didn’t let him go, and you two walked back into the party with intertwined hands. Nobody was surprised to see it, but they whispered to each other, wondering how Megan would feel about it. Arch was too distracted by the feel of your hand in his to realize he’d just lost yet another chance to tell you how he felt. 

For the rest of the party, the two of you were attached at the hip. You and Arch were at the point where you’d have no memory in the morning. Jordyn and Megan decided to take Hannah home, as she was on the brink of vomiting, and asked if you wanted to leave with another one of their sober friends driving. You declined the offer, deciding to go home with Arch and his friend, using the excuse that you and him were neighbors so it’d be easier. Megan gave you a look before giving you a short hug. You and Arch drank some more before leaving. You two were not sobering up anytime soon. 

When you and Arch got dropped off in front of your house, you grabbed his hand and tried to pull him towards your front door. “Sleepover?” 

Arch smiled and allowed himself to be pulled by you. It was a team effort to get your keys out and unlock the door. The next obstacle was to move through the house without waking your parents. He was following you to your room when you suddenly stopped in your tracks, making him crash into you from behind. He quietly groaned, but was intrigued when he saw the look on your face. You looked like you just came up with the best idea ever and grabbed his arms. 

“Let’s go on the trampoline.”

“Okay,” Arch gave in instantly. He was sure he’d give you anything you asked for right now. 

“I’ll get a blanket,” you smiled up at him and gently pushed him away. 

Arch waited for you on the trampoline. He was splayed out on his back with his eyes closed. He felt like the world was spinning. He only opened his eyes when he heard the back door open and close. You were stumbling out with a blanket and pillows in your arms. Arch did his best to shuffle any leftover leaves off. You tossed the pillows at him and did your best to climb on, but Arch had to help you. You set up your pillows and laid beside each other. 

“Doesn’t it feel like it did when we were kids?” You mumbled with your eyes closed, feeling the world spin even though you were only laying down. You and Arch used to lay on this trampoline all the time. 

“Yeah, but now we’re really drunk,” he turned on his side to face you. He admired your face while he could. Your eyes were closed, so you couldn’t call him creepy. 

Arch suddenly felt overwhelmed with his feelings for you. He knew he shouldn’t, he was wasted, but he couldn’t stop himself any longer. 

“I have to tell you something,” he grabbed your hand. You opened your eyes and looked over at him. 

“What?” You mirrored his position, turning onto your side. 

“I’m in love with you.” 

Arch stared at you as you stayed silent. You were staring right back at him, like you were processing whether he actually said that or if you were so drunk you started hallucinating. “What’d you say?” You finally spoke after a long moment of silence. 

“I’m in love with you. Have been since the Sweetheart Dance in sixth grade. I love you so much. Can’t keep that in anymore,” Arch never really slurred his words when he was drunk, but he was very close to that point, and you weren’t much better. He grimaced when you suddenly burst into laughter. “What?” 

“I love you so much,” you reached out to cup his cheek, smiling from ear to ear. “I don’t even remember when I started loving you.” 

“What the hell have we been waiting for?” Arch groaned, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you close. 

“I don’t know,” you muttered, tracing gentle lines on his face, “every time I tried to tell you, something happened.” 

He frowned and nodded. “Me too.” 

“I’m so drunk right now. Like I’m spinning.”

“Me too,” Arch sighed, and you could still smell the traces of alcohol on his breath, “I hope I remember this in the morning.” 

You huffed and nodded in agreement. “I’m so drunk.” 

“Can I kiss you?” Arch suddenly asked, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. 

“No.” 

“What?” Arch frowned, “I thought we loved each other.” 

“I love you so much,” you pouted and leaned in closer. That made it even harder for him. “But I’ve imagined our first kiss a million times. And I want to actually remember it.” 

Arch let out a huff. “Fine. But I want to kiss you so bad.”

You leaned in and planted a kiss on his cheek. Arch’s face reddened, and you laughed. 

Arch rolled onto his back and pulled you nearly on top of him. You couldn’t stop smiling as you wrapped an arm around him and snuggled into his chest. You’d dreamed of being like this with him. It didn’t feel real. 

You and Arch just laid there, and you got so comfortable that you were starting to drift off until he suddenly shot up, rolling you off of him. Your eyes widened as you watched him move to the edge of the trampoline, lean over, and start gagging. You frowned and crawled over to him, splaying yourself over his back as he threw up onto the grass. 

“Maybe we drank a little too much,” you regretfully mumbled as you gently rubbed at his shoulder. Arch was done heaving now. You moved as he sat up. 

“Well now I definitely can’t kiss you,” he grimaced, grabbing your hand. 

“It’s okay. We’ve waited this long already,” you laughed. You pulled him back to where you had the pillows set up. You laid him down and pulled him onto his side, settling next to him. You weren’t quite as close as you were before. As much as you wanted to cling to him and never let go, you knew he would probably throw up again, so you opted to just lay really close instead. You watched as he drifted off, and you followed not long after. 

You woke up with a pounding headache and no memory of how you ended up outside. You looked down to see your arms and legs covered in mosquito bites, and you were still wearing the same outfit from the night before. You looked over and Arch was fast asleep, cheek pressed against the pillow as he snoozed. You reached over and woke him. 

“Arch,” you said as you shook his shoulder, “wake up.”

He let out a sharp inhale as he opened his eyes. You watched as he looked around in confusion. “What the hell?” 

“Do you remember how we got here?” 

Arch thought really hard, but eventually shook his head. “The last thing I remember was shotgunning with you in a bathroom.” 

You huffed and pressed a hand to your forehead. “Never again, Arch.” 

“You won’t be saying that in a few months. Didn’t you mention something about joining a sorority?” he chuckled. His voice was still gravelly from sleep, and you loved it, but it was hard to focus on anything but the headache and the nausea slowly creeping up on you. 

“Shut up,” you lightly smacked his shoulder. You turned to look at your house and saw your parents glaring at you through the window. You sighed. You knew you were in for a long talking to. You turned back to Arch. “You should go home.” 

“You’re kicking me out?” He jokingly asked as he rubbed his eyes. 

“I’m about to get lectured,” you pulled the blanket off of him, making him groan. You collected everything you’d brought out the night before, which you had zero memory of, and started to get off the trampoline. Arch huffed and followed suit. 

He winced when he spotted your parents through the window. He gave you a quick hug. “Text me after so I know you survived.” 

You nodded and pouted. “I will. See ya.” 

Arch nudged your shoulder before walking away. 

He walked home and you got lectured. Neither of you had any idea that you’d confessed your love for each other just hours prior. 

Your dynamic with Arch changed in your first year at UT. It was your first time ever experiencing true independence away from your parents, so you relied heavily on familiarity, and that was Arch. Things started to feel different with him. You two went on lunch dates that felt like actual dates, and you would have sleepovers a lot. He developed a habit of sleeping with an arm slung over your waist. No matter how tired he was after practice or between classes, he would always make time for you. If you weren’t in love with him before (you were), you were certainly head over heels now.

You’d mostly slept at his place since he had his own space, unlike you at the time, but one time he was so tired, and after gaining permission from your roommate, you let him sleep in your dorm. You two spent the whole night cuddling in your bed. When he left the next morning, your roommate asked if he was actually your boyfriend. It felt nice to have people making that assumption again, but you begrudgingly reassured her that he was just your best friend. Now that you and her had an apartment, he was able to stay with you much more often. 

It was the first gameday of his second season, and even though Arch wouldn’t be playing, you still showed your support for him by wearing a button with his face and number on it. You’d texted him a picture of it before the game, unintentionally showing off your outfit. He responded by saying, ‘You look beautiful,’ and didn’t even acknowledge the button. That made your cheeks warm, and suddenly you couldn’t wait for the game to end so you could see him.

After a long afternoon of tailgating at various frat houses, you attended the game. As per usual, you were more focused on spotting Arch on the sideline than the actual football. You took at least thirty blurry pictures of him. 

When the game was over, you waited for Arch to walk off the field. His expression immediately brightened when he spotted you. You mirrored his wide smile. 

“You did so good,” you laughed as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Arch didn’t play at all, but you were still so proud. 

“Only ‘cause you were watching,” he squeezed your waist. You could feel eyes on you as his teammates and whoever else was around walked past. Your cheeks warmed, and you tried to pull your hands away but he grabbed them before you could.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked as he ran his thumbs over the back of your hand.

“My roommate and I are going out. We met these really cool girls at the house today and they’re coming too,” you couldn’t wipe the smile off of your face as Arch gently touched your skin. 

“Damn, I was gonna say we should get some dinner.”

“We still can,” you leaned in hopefully, squeezing his hands, “or you could come out with us. Bring your friends too.”

“We’ll see. You heading home?” 

You nodded.

“Okay. I’ll text you when I leave. Maybe we can grab something really quick before you go out,” he laughed as you gave him a pout, “I’m not saying I won’t go with you, but you have to eat. You remember what happened last time.”

You shuddered at the unpleasant thought and shook your head. “Okay. Just text me.” 

You two parted with a quick hug. You went back to your apartment while Arch showered and changed in the locker room. 

One of Arch’s newer teammates, a transfer, approached him as he was pulling his shirt on. “Was that your girl out there?”

Arch froze. Part of him wanted to say yes, but that wouldn’t be right. He heard another one of his teammates snickering from nearby. “Nah, she’s just a friend. Why?” 

“She’s hot as hell. Could I get her Instagram?” 

Arch raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn’t know how to respond. He was not going to give your social media out to another guy, but he didn’t know how to get out of this situation. Arch’s other teammate answered for him, and the transfer immediately took his phone out and looked you up. 

“Damn,” he muttered as he looked through your posts, “I’m DMing her.” 

Arch clenched his jaw in jealousy and anger. He wanted to text you and tell you to stay off of Instagram and ignore your message requests. 

“Weren’t you talking to that Zeta girl?” His other teammate laughed. 

“I still am,” the transfer shrugged nonchalantly and chuckled, “a night with Manning’s friend won’t hurt nobody. I just DMed.” 

His two teammates walked away before he could say anything. His body was taut with anger. He was angry at the transfer for thinking he could disrespect you and that Zeta girl, but he was also angry at himself for not speaking up. 

Minutes later, he received a text from you. ‘Your teammate just texted me???’ it read. Arch let out an annoyed huff and texted back. 

‘Ignore him.’

‘He said he’s gonna be at the same bar as us. Might as well hang with him,’ you replied. 

Arch’s stomach twisted when he read your text. You were actually debating hanging out with this guy. He couldn’t let this happen. He had to protect you. He grabbed his stuff and booked it. He practically sped all the way to your apartment. 

You were confused when you heard a knock at your front door. You’d been freshening up to go out with your friends and meet up with Arch’s teammate. You knew it was Arch, but he didn’t text you to let you know he was coming. You went to open the door. 

“Hey,” you smiled as your eyes landed on him. You immediately clocked his distressed state. “What’s going on? You didn’t tell me you were on your way.” 

“You can’t go out with him,” Arch slid past you into your apartment. You furrowed your eyebrows and shut the door behind him. 

“Why not?” 

“He’s not good enough for you. He’s a player. I can’t let you get hurt,” he desperately pleaded his case, but he knew that wasn’t the main reason why he was stopping you. 

“Oh,” your face fell a bit. 

Arch stared at you for a moment. The girl he loved. The girl he should’ve confessed to the moment he realized it. He’s let so much time pass, so much time go to waste without telling you the truth. It was eating at him, and all he wanted to do was fall to his knees at your feet, cling to your legs, and beg you not to go. He wanted to beg you to love him back. 

He quietly said your name, and for some reason, your heart began to race. 

“You can’t go because… I love you.” 

Your eyes widened, and he could feel his heart beating out his chest as he watched you process his words. He had to continue before he ran out of courage.

“I’ve loved you since the Sweetheart Dance. Probably before that too. You’re my reason for everything. I love you so much it hurts.” 

Arch stepped closer to you, ignoring the way you stared at him like he just flipped your world upside down. He grabbed your hands and squeezed. 

“I never said anything because I didn’t want to lose you. I still don’t. If you don’t feel the same way… I can accept that. I just had to tell you.” 

Suddenly, your lip began to wobble and your eyes began to sting. Arch’s eyes widened, and he was prepared to apologize profusely when you finally spoke. 

“I love you too,” you replied shakily, “I always have.” 

Arch’s expression softened, and he waited for you to continue, his heart still racing.  

“I almost told you so many times, but I didn’t want to lose you either. Fuck, I love you so much,” a tear slipped out of your eye as you confessed your feelings. You couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Arch loved you back. 

Arch pulled you into a tight hug, and you wrapped your arms around him like he was going to disappear. He could feel your tears seeping into his shirt, but he’d determined that they weren’t bad ones. “Don’t go.” 

“I won’t,” you sniffled, pressing yourself closer. 

You pulled back to look up at him, and he looked down at you with unconditional love in his eyes. He brought a hand up to cup your cheek, his thumb running along your lower lip in silent question. You didn’t even have to think about it before nodding. He leaned in to connect your lips. 

Feeling his mouth on yours for the first time felt euphoric. You’d imagined this moment a million different times, in a million different ways, but nothing compared to the real thing. Your hands slid to the back of his neck to pull him closer as your lips slowly moved together. The kiss was deep and desperate, but still slow, like you both wanted to savor every second of it. When his tongue slid into your mouth, you felt like you could explode with love and happiness. He held you close as he desperately kissed you, as if you would slip away if he didn’t hold on tight enough.

He pressed his forehead against yours once he finally pulled away. You both closed your eyes as you caught your breath and absorbed what just happened. He was the first to speak.

“Can I take you out to dinner?” He smiled, looking down at you like you were his whole world. 

“I’ll let them know we can’t make it,” you moved to get your phone, but Arch’s hands pulled you back by your waist and kissed you again. You laughed into it, but eventually wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him back with matched fervor. 

Arch pulled away with one last soft kiss. “I have to make up for lost time.”

You hummed and kissed the corner of his mouth. “So do I. I’m all yours after I text them.”