Archer's POV

Something I should have learned from being with Len was to not ignore things and hope they would resolve themselves one day. With Len I'd ignored his hints that our relationship was over, hoping for a rational explanation of being stood up countless times when I should have realized he was trying to tell me he didn't want to be with me anymore. It was idiotic of me now that I thought of it, but I was still in the same situation. I didn't know where I stood with Felix.

Felix and I did things that acquaintances or even friends didn't do. Yet we never said anything about it. It was what made me make a decision. I liked talking to Felix, he was easy to tease and I liked doing that. I couldn't shut him out because I'd just miss him terribly. But the intimacy between us had to stop, for my sake.

He'd mentioned hookers and that morning when he kissed me I just wondered if he didn't see me as one. I let him kiss me whenever he wanted to. I gave him more than my lips. Yet there was nothing between us, much like a hooker and a client. I couldn't let him treat me like the many hookers he probably used.

I was glad he explained the message in his note, but I also realized he hadn't intended on doing so. If he could slip a note under my door he could knock and actually talk to me. He hadn't intended on doing that and had only been forced to when circumstances brought us together. It was a low blow, but it brought things into perspective. It was about time I established clear boundaries.

When I walked into my apartment building, I planned on going to my apartment and straight to bed. I wasn't in the mood to talk to people, but I got just that. Clark called before I even got into the apartment to ask if I was on my way back. I could hear Stella urging him in the background. I knew from that call that it had been Stella's idea. She was possibly still angry at me but she cared enough to want to know if I was okay.

I couldn't lie to Clark so I told him I had just gotten to the apartment. I got into the apartment before there was a knock on the door.

I went to open.

"Hey guys", I greeted Stella and Clark, who were already bickering at the door. They were pushing each other. "I seem to be interrupting something. Should I come back later?"

"No!" Stella shouted and pushed Clark out of the way for good measure. I hadn't seen her for quite some time and she looked beautiful with her blond hair styled in a messy side braid. She had added some red highlights, which mixed well with the blond.

"Um..." I started, not knowing what to say.

"I am still mad at you", she said putting emphasis on the 'mad' "...but I was worried. So where the hell have you been?!"

She really wouldn't be Stella without her bossiness. I felt like hugging her at that moment. Regardless of my attitude the past few days she still cared.

"Would you guys like to come in?" I asked opening the door wider.

"Don't dodge my question", she said sternly while walking in. Clark followed. I had a feeling she had dragged him there.

It wasn't surprising that the two of them were together even after the shoe incident. Clark had sworn not to talk to her after that painful incident but here they were - together. I was certain Stella hadn't apologized for almost taking his eye out. It was the usual. They couldn't stay away from each other even though they "detested" each other.

We sat in the living area. Alex wasn't there and I had no idea where he was.

"Start talking", Stella demanded.

"I...uh..." I started but she cut in.

"Seth saw you leave with some guy", she said. She wanted to tell me that; before I could even think of lying to her, she knew some of the story.

I breathed through my mouth. "Yeah, I left with him".

"And?" she said impatiently.

"And we went to his place, and that's where I've been", I said shrugging.

Her furrowed brows told me she wasn't impressed before her words came out. "You met some stranger at a nightclub and decided to spend the weekend at his place?!"

"Yes!" I said, my voice rising a little.

"Are you crazy?"

I sighed. "He was nice. I wanted to get away from here for a while and he offered".

"He randomly offered you a place to spend the weekend?" the disbelief in her voice was palpable.

"Yes. We were talking about my really stressing week. I wanted to get away from it all", I said.

She looked at Clark, who had been a passenger throughout that conversation. He was looking at his phone. "Tell me you think what Archer did was stupid".

He obviously looked surprised Stella was including him in the conversation. He hadn't intended on saying anything, no doubt. "Eh...I...um yeah, that was stupid", he stuttered.

"You don't think it was stupid?" Stella asked him in shock.

"I just said it was, didn't I?" he said. He looked at me. "You left without telling me. We had no idea where you were. We almost went to the police".

"Guys, I'm sorry. I was dumb. I just needed to be away. But I'm here now. And I'm fine", I said.

"We are at least getting somewhere. At least you know what a dumb... moron you were", she said. "Don't ever do that again. The last time you left without telling anyone where you were going, you were kidnapped. I don't mean to remind you, but you need to stop acting like a crazy idiot".

"I know", I said quietly.

"I may want to kick your ass right now, but I was worried about you. The last week..." she said and I cut in.

"I acted like a jerk, I know. I'm sorry Stella. College has been hectic and Konstantin has been getting on my nerves", I said.

"I heard you punched him!" she said excitedly. "I don't condone violence, but you did well".

"You don't condone violence? I must be living in a parallel universe", Clark said.

"Shut up giant! No one is talking to you", Stella warned.

"So um, you guys made out?" I said. I deliberately 'slipped' and I knew the guns would come out.

"What? Ew!" Stella said, her disgust written on her face.

"God No! Why on earth would we do that?" Clark said.

"Up, I meant did you make up", I said grinning.

"We realized we have one thing in common; we both love you. So we called a truce. Clark realized he was overreacting about that little incident", Stella said.

"Sure, I was overreacting", Clark said rolling his eyes. "I mean, how can I not overreact when a shoe deliberately lands on my face? Quite impossible", he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh...kay. I'm glad you guys are okay now", I said.

"Speaking of making up, Damian said you agreed to a makeup date", Stella said.

I shifted slightly on the couch. "Uh yeah".

"So the other guy, the one you were with over the whole weekend, is there a definition to your relationship?" she asked.

Good question. Nope. He's my kidnapper-turned-rescuer and I am his hostage-turned-guy he rescued. That is all.

"Friends", I said curtly.

"You mean to tell me a guy picked you at a club, you spent the weekend together and he's just your friend?"

"He didn't pick me. He's a nice guy. And yes, he's just a friend", I replied.

"Yeah, right", it was Clark's turn.

"I'm serious" I said.

"What did you guys do?" Stella asked.

"We talked, ate and slept", I said. In my mind's eye I could see the moments with Felix. We'd definitely done more than that.

"Damian said you were sick", Stella said.

"I...I was. I had mild gastritis. It's the reason I didn't come back yesterday. I was too sick to travel", I said. I had forgotten about the whole gastritis episode, too focused on Felix and the effect he had on me.

"Are you okay now?"

I nodded.

"I shouldn't tell you, but Damian is excited about your date", Stella said sheepishly.

"I am too", I lied. I didn't even know how I felt about the date. My mind had been preoccupied. One and a quarter conscious days with Felix and everything had been taken to the back of my mind. It was as if my life had stopped when I surfaced at the cabin. Even after Damian called I didn't think about him.

"You might not want to tell him you spent the weekend at some guy's place if you want to get shackled to him", Clark offered some advice, and I didn't miss the glare Stella shot him.

"Some people are just allergic to faithful relationships", she said shaking her head, taking a dig at Clarke.

"Some people are just destined to become hags with cats", Clark responded indirectly.

"I would get into a relationship if you didn't turn me off men!" Stella retorted.

"And how the hell do I do that?" Clark yelled, throwing his arms about.

"By whoring around!" Stella yelled back.

I wanted to stop their fight, but decided against it. If I let them yell long enough maybe one of them would finally say what they really felt.

"I whore around with my body, not our body. What's your problem?" Clark shouted. For once he looked serious.

"I'm meeting with Gabby", Stella said calmly to me. She kissed me on the cheek. "Stay good and don't disappear with strangers again".

She stood up and ran for the door. At the door she turned. "And don't hit people again. It's bad". She smiled and opened the door. After she went out, she closed the door harshly.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you how dumb you are", I said to Clark.

"Don't fucking say anything", he said. He seemed angry.

"You like her and she likes you!" I said.

"Did she tell you that?"

"No, I can see the signs", I said.

"That's pretty strange. The Archer I know is terrible at seeing signs. You are bloody naïve. So don't tell me about seeing signs", he said.

My heart lurched slightly. He was to an extent right. I'd been thinking about that. I did see things, I chose to ignore them. I was giving him advice about something I was terrible at.

"You are right", I said quietly.

"I'm not good enough for her", he said somberly, but then his volume picked up. "I'm not perfect! Stella deserves someone perfect. Hell, she's always hitting me. I'm not the guy she needs".

"You could be the guy she wants", I offered.

He gave a dark chuckle. "We both know I'm not the guy she wants".

"She has a problem with you changing girls at will. She's not your mom. Tell me why she would be so vocal about it", I said.

"Her not liking it doesn't mean she likes me! She is vocal about it because she's Stella. She wants perfection!" he said.

"The girl wears torn jeans, has messy hairstyles and converse sneakers with different colored shoelaces, that doesn't scream perfection!"

"She might not dress to perfection, but she's perfect in every way. She deserves someone perfect, and I'm not", he said.

"Gosh you are so dumb it's not even funny anymore", I said and for a second remembered Felix's comment about me using 'gosh'.

"I think I like being dumb than getting my heart broken", he said standing up. "I'm going to nap. Stella literally woke me up".

I had no doubt Clark more than liked Stella as I watched him exit the apartment. He'd talked about his heart. It was unfortunate that he was unwilling to tell her, but there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't force them to admit their feelings to each other. Hell, I couldn't even admit my own feelings to myself.

I knew I had feelings for Felix. They were there in my subconscious, tucked away. Some seeped to my consciousness, but I refused to analyze or even acknowledge them. Stockholm syndrome, transference...it was too much to deal with, so I chose not to. There was no point analyzing anything.

Now that I was alone I hated it. Sleep didn't come when I laid my head on my pillow. My mind wandered to the previous night and how nice it had felt sleeping next to Felix. My bed was suddenly not enough. I tossed and turned and ended up going to the kitchen, deciding to have some food.

Felix had told me to eat more bland food and less strong flavors, which meant no spicy wings even though I had a crazing for that. I opted for a peanut butter and jam sandwich and was about to go to my room when I heard the sound of a key being inserted.

The person realized there was another key in the hole before pushing the door open uncertainly. Alex looked like he was ready to have a death-match with Satan.

"It's just me", I said putting my plate on the kitchen counter and raising my hands in surrender.

"Dude you scared me!" he said.

"Actually you scared yourself. I live here", I said.

He walked into the living area.

"You haven't been here in a while", he said as he put his messenger bag on the couch and walked to the kitchen counter where I was.

"Two days - technically 1 and a half", I said. "How is that a while?"

He shrugged. "You never spend the night anywhere else but here".

"I probably should have told you. I spent the weekend at a friend's", I said.

"A friend that your friends don't know about? Stella thought you were kidnapped...again. We were thinking of going to the police before you called Clark", he said.

"I know; Stella and Clark were both here. It was a spur of the moment thing. Sorry to worry you", I said.

He seemed hesitant to say the next part. "Um...the kidnapping - Stella told me, she was worried. She said it happened over the summer? Is that why you've been acting strange?"

I crossed my arms. "I...no, it was just soccer stress. I'm fine", I said.

He smiled a little. "Stella said you are brave...and stubborn".

I shook my head, smiling back. "I'm honestly fine. I was kidnapped and I got out. Everyone wants to make a mountain out of it except me. I've dealt with it".

He nodded. "Okay. So seeing as you are making sandwiches, can you make for me too?"

"I'm not making anything. I'm done!" I said.

"I know', he said grinning.

I groaned and passed him my plate. "I do owe you a proper apology after all".

"Damn right you do. Pass the milk too", he said.

==

I was glad to be back among friends, but I missed Felix terribly. It could just be the vanilla scent I sprayed on myself every morning or my use of the word 'gosh' but Felix was constantly on my mind, so much so that I think I was more excited about seeing him on Saturday than being selected for the first game.

Soccer practice went well. Konstantin and I were civil with each other on the field. He passed me the ball and I returned the favor. Off the field we didn't talk. I probably wouldn't hit him again but he didn't grant me the opportunity to see what I would really do.

The week went by slower than I wanted. It felt as though the earth was suddenly rotating slower. The days were unbearably longer. I hung out with Stella, Clark and Alex. They all noticed that I was suddenly happier and anxious. So much for boundaries, if I was this happy to see Felix, how on earth was I supposed to stick to the boundaries?

I had to. Besides soccer and Felix, I was going on a date that Saturday. I didn't know what to expect but I knew Damian didn't expect me to be hung up on some guy who did hookers. I doubted he would care about the last part, but it seemed I did.

I needed to get my priorities straight. Felix was only in my life because he'd made a promise to me. For me to know he was upholding it, he had to be in my life. He was also the guy who made me roll my eyes in admittedly fake annoyance. He made me laugh...and I must at this point not be the only one who has realized I've gotten sidetracked. The guy bewitched me. He was dangerous even without kidnapping me and feeding me bread and beans!

The elusive weekend finally poked its nose. On Saturday morning I woke up with a start. I didn't have to be on the field until an hour before the game but I decided I would prepare for the match on my own. I ran a few blocks just to wake my body up and had a good breakfast.

I was excited about finally playing competitive soccer. I was going to wear jersey number 8, which was my lucky number. Playing soccer was thrilling to me. It was not something I saw myself doing professionally, but I liked my time on the field. I liked the chasing and the dribbling, the crossing and the shooting. I had scored some goals in my high school career but being a midfielder, it wasn't my job to score goals. It didn't bother me; I just liked getting the ball out of opponents reach.

As the clock hit 2:30 pm, I hoped Felix showed up. It wasn't about him seeing me play, which he probably had done at some point. I just wanted to see him.