Tutoring the Bad Boy [REWRITTEN]

22. surprises and confessions

"YOU LOOK GOOD," Archer complimented me as I hopped in his car. He was in some casual-formal clothing and drove me home to go get ready for whatever he wanted to show me. Some "surprise" he called it. It had my heart racing when I went into my house, but luckily nobody was home.

"Thanks," I murmured, turning my head to look out of the window to hide my blush. Not sure why I'm blushing now when he's said things like this before. Was it the atmosphere? The fact that he looked cleaner than usual? The thought lingered in my mind though I tried my best to not let it unnerve me from our time together.

"I lied," he told me and I turned my head to face him, the blush wiping off my face almost instantly. "You look so fucking beautiful."

"Shut up, Everton," I replied as a grin creeped up onto my face. "You're so dumb."

"Dumb in love with you," he shrugged.

I couldn't lie, this man looked hotter the more I looked at him. He wore a white shirt with a black blazer over it with a pair of black chino pants and his hair was less wild than it usually was. I wasn't sure if my collared sweater was formal enough but I tried.

We arrived to the city in less than thirty agonizing minutes. It was odd- we usually always had something to talk about or the silence wasn't uncomfortable. This felt like an entirely different atmosphere. The only thing I could think of was that he was still shook up about Ian and Claire, which made sense. I was just praying that it didn't go on like this for the rest of our time together tonight.

Our date? No, we aren't dating.

But he said he loved me? Probably just tossing that word around.

Probably. Hopefully?

Fuck, I didn't know.

"My lady," he bowed jokingly when he held the door open for me.

"Thank you, thank you," I responded with a curtsy, "I didn't know you were such a gentleman."

"Only when I want to be," he grinned, holding out his hand. I almost instantly took it with mind. He checked his phone for a second before putting it back in his pocket, "Hurry, we might be late. I wanted to get some hot chocolate or something but I'll be warm anyways when I'm next to you."

"I always radiate heat, that is true," I joked around. I walked beside him with my hand intertwined with his until we reached the top of a cliff. There were a few people here talking with one another, and I felt confused and a little dumb for not knowing what was going on.

"We made it just in time," he sighed in relief and leaned against the wooden fence that separated the cliff from your death.

I was about to ask what he meant until I heard a high pitched noise in the distance and a sudden pop. Fireworks. They flashed colorful colors and I turned to look at him. He was staring at me as the fireworks went off.

"The anual firework show," he explained. "It's kind of corny but, you k-"

I tugged on his shirt and pulled him into a kiss before he could finish his sentence. The world seemed to stop then and it was only him and I. All of the previous tension between us seemed to disappear in thin air as he leaned deeper into the kiss. When we pulled away, I squeezed my arms around him tightly with tears brimming my eyes.

It was the first time I've cried of joy.

"Thank you," I whispered, not sure if he could hear me over the sound of the fireworks. "Thank you for everything you've done."

"And thank you for tutoring me," he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around me. "I don't think you know how much you've helped me- tutoring and all. It's been a long while since I've been. . ."

He trailed off for a moment before continuing, "this much. . . wanting to be alive."

I pulled away and stared at his deep, brown eyes. His face glowed different colors from the ambience of the fireworks and the moonlight. I didn't think perfection could ever exist until I this moment. This was perfection. He was absolute perfection.

"Archer, will you be my boyfriend?"

"You stole my line," he smiled easily as we stared into each other's eyes. I knew it seemed stupid to think you could know what someone's feeling from their eyes only, but I swear they looked so deep with adoration. It was approaching February and though I was scared about what the future held for me, I knew that he was one of the only things I was sure about.

I recalled our first official meeting, walking into such an unfamiliar place. Shuddering from how empty yet clean it was. How luxurious it had been compared to my own home. I remember listening to the calming music that softly played in the background as I taught him what we had learned in math a few days prior. When he showed me to the garden. Our first kiss. The days full of sorrow from Oliver's memories and the days of my subconscious anticipation to see Archer. His full reassurance that he'd always stay beside me when I stood face to face with my mom and her new boyfriend.

Almost a month had passed since then. So little time yet I felt as if we had spent a lifetime together already. What was this feeling? It felt so strong, but I couldn't place it. Love. It sounded like absolute blasphemy to feel such a way when we haven't even been seeing each other for longer than a month. Infatuation. But it felt more than that.

"Yes, Irene Anderson, I would love to be your boyfriend," he replied with sincerity, "and I would burn everything to the ground just to see you happy."

-
so sorry this chapter is so short. and also i'm sorry for not updating for so long

qotd: what are some of your proudest accomplishments?

thank you for reading and staying with this book even though it's been months