by C.E. Wilson
Chapter Five
Archer disappeared into another hallway, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Orion was so caught up in his words that he almost ran smack into Devony who looked up at him with wide and happy eyes. It made his heart ache. If a girl who could look at him like that could cheat on him, he wasn’t sure about much in the world.
“Hey!” Devony said, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Surprised to see you here. We don’t usually run into each other until lunch and even that’s in passing.”
“Oh yeah, I must not have been paying attention.”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m sure it’s just stress,” Orion said, pulling away slightly. Devony’s eyes looked hurt and she released him but she kept smiling.
“You must be going out of your mind,” Devony said. “The news teams are already here to set up.” She reached into her purse and held out a bottle of a migraine pain-reliever. “Think this will help?”
“N-no,” he muttered, pushing her hand away. “You know I don’t take drugs.”
“It’s over-the-counter,” she said, but put the bottle away.
“Drugs are drugs,” Orion said. “I need to keep a straight head, even if it hurts.”
Devony was looking at him closely when suddenly, a large boy came sprinting down the hall, knocking into her and sending her purse and everything in it flying everywhere. “Hey!” Devony shouted to the guy but he had already turned a corner. She quickly started to gather up her things, surprised that Orion didn’t bend over to help her.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked, once everything she saw was picked up and packed again. “You’re acting weird. Can I at least get you a pop? Maybe the caffeine will help?”
She looked so innocent that Orion wasn’t able to resist her. Maybe Archer really was just being paranoid. He looped his arm around her waist which caused her to lean against him. “You don’t mind if I borrow her for a bit, do you, Ellie?”
“Not at all,” Ellie said, catching a glint of something on the floor next to her foot. “I’ll see you both at lunch.”
“See you,” Devony said, practically purring as they walked down the halls.
Once they were out of sight, Ellie bent over and picked up a tiny silver ring from the floor. It was a slim silver band with intricate engraving and a date on the inside. It wasn’t extremely valuable, but she knew how much it meant to Devony. It was a gift from Orion and she must have taken it off during her biology lab. Standing upright, she turned the ring around between her fingers, realizing that it wouldn’t fit anything but her left pinkie. “Heh,” she mumbled, holding it in her fist. “She’ll be glad that I found this.”
She began walking to her next class, when suddenly as she was passing a janitor closet, the door sprung open and a hand pulled her inside.
“Well, hello,” Archer growled in her ear, kissing her neck and cheeks. “I thought I saw you coming.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Ellie said, groaning from his attention.
“Why aren’t you with Devony?”
“Orion found her and they’re getting something to drink.”
“You didn’t go with them?”
“It was kind of a private moment,” Ellie said, raising her bent leg around his hip. He pushed her into the back of the door, pressing his body into hers. “But I don’t think you’ll mind when you see what I have for you.”
“You can have something with me right now,” he said, grinding her a bit.
“Not that,” Ellie said, opening her palm. “Is this worth anything to you?”
“Where’d you get that?” Archer asked, his gray eyes lighting up. He pulled his hips away and leaned against the door. “That’s Devony’s ring, isn’t it?’
“The very same.”
“How did you get it off her?”
“The same way I get things off you,” she joked lamely.
“Ugh,” Archer said, still looking at the ring. “Seriously though, what happened?”
“Some fatty frosh ran into her in the hall and her purse fell open. She missed it when she was picking up her things.”
“Give it to me,” he said shortly, holding out his hand.
“What do you need it for? I was planning on giving it back to her.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” he said, reaching for it. Ellie jerked her hand away from his. “Stop playing around. I told you I wanted it, and you got it. Why won’t you give it to me?”
“What are you going to do with it? You’re not going to pawn it, are you?”
“As if I need the money,” Archer said hotly. “God, give me some credit.”
“I am,” she said with a smirk. “So what are you going to do?”
“What’s it to you?”
“It’s important to her,” Ellie said.
Archer leaned in again, kissing her. “Come on,” he rumbled. “All you have to do is pretend you don’t know anything about it. Ellie, it’s her fault for dropping it and not even looking for it.”
“I…I g-guess,” she said slowly, feeling her reluctance wash away as he started to kiss her harder. She pressed her body back up against his and he pressed back, sliding his hand under her shirt and tickling her hipbone with his fingertips.
“Please, Ellie,” he said, sucking gently on her earlobe. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Promise?” she asked, feeling her fingers uncurl. Archer snatched the ring away from her and tucked it into his jeans pocket.
“Yes, baby,” he growled, continuing to trace his fingers further down her stomach. “Whatever you want.” The bell rang overhead. “Dammit, it’ll have to wait.”
“Fine,” Ellie said, blowing her now-messy hair out of her face as Archer pulled away. “You owe me.”
“I’ll see you later,” he said, opening the door and slipping out.
