ever so slightly, before I reigned in my shock and let a smile smooth over my surprised features.

"Hello, I'm Jolie," I said, hand held out. She stared at it, not making a move to reach for it. I let it fall to my side. "I've heard so much about you," I said, desperate to recover. "It's so lovely to meet you."

"I'm sure," she said, lips curling in distaste. "Strange, I haven't heard a whisper of you."

Autumn swooped in then, having only turned her back on her mother for a second and had watched in horror as she'd stepped up to me. "That's because Archer values his privacy, Mother. And besides, they're only friends."

Is that what he's told her?

"Friends?" Mrs Redwood asked, eyebrow raised as if unsure whether to trust this. I smiled, reassuringly. "I suppose that's alright then. Tell me, Jolie, are you at school with Autumn and Archer?"

"Yes," I said, breathing a sigh of relief as some of her hostility seemed to dissipate. "Autumn was actually one of the first friends I made." She looked to her daughter, who laughed and threw an arm around me.

"And now we're besties!" She sang, making me laugh and her mother crack a, despite only small, smile. However, the light hearted atmosphere was shredded to pieces when Archer came striding over, clearly not happy.

"Mother, you scaring children again?" He asked when he stopped beside me.

"Ha ha," she said, sarcastically. She pointed to me. "You never mentioned you were bringing a plus one."

"I didn't know I had to run everything past you," he said. I could practically feel his hard exterior hardening further still.

"It would have been nice to have been informed. That's all." She, too, seemed to have regained the tightness she had displayed when first coming up to me. Autumn also seemed aware of this, and made a move to direct her mother away.

"Mother, why don't we go get a drink?"

"Yes, alright, alright," she said irritatedly, batting her daughter's hands away. "What did you say your last name was, Jolie?"

Archer made a move to interrupt.

"I really don't th—" Autumn began.

The stare bestowed on me by Mrs Redwood was so startlingly intense, the blue an almost exact replica to her son's, that I found myself forced to comply. Her eyes bore into mine, unwavering.

I couldn't stop myself. "Dubois, Jolie Dubois," fell from my lips before I could stop it or wonder why both Redwood siblings had been so intent on avoiding it.

Almost immediately, all expression— including even her distaste— fled, leaving her frigid, overwhelmingly so. As quickly as she had gained the frown adorning her brow, my body harboured all-consuming dread, forcing each of my limbs to feel like lead. I was glad when she removed her gaze from me because every bare piece of skin of mine her eyes reached, stung like it had been bitten by the cold radiating from her.

A brittle silence settled.

"Please don't tell me you are that bloody stupid, Archer Redwood," his mother scolded, punctuating the air once again. I let a minute sense of admiration fill me when he didn't flinch at her tone. Not even being the recipient of such harsh words and I'd felt like I'd been slapped across the face, hard. It was brutal.

"And if I am?" He asked, equally as sharp and threatening. I imagined him being like this when he did business. A shiver crawled down my spine.

She stepped forward. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh," he smiled, crudely. "I would."

Noah was quick to come to Autumn's side, aiding in separating the pair. He was close to Archer now, whispering to him too quietly and quickly for me to catch what he was saying. He nudged him. Whatever he said seemed to do the trick, because Archer turned on his heel and was storming out of the back doors.

I hesitated for a moment, but pursued him hurriedly.

"Archer!" I called into the night.

He halted for a second, turning to look back at me. I stopped, too, completely unknowing of where the boundary lay. I'd probably not just crossed it, but bounded over it like a deranged dog.

"What did I tell you?" He said, struggling to keep his voice level. "What part of 'don't speak to anyone by yourself' don't you get?"

I glared at him with equal fury. "What would you have preferred? Me walk away from your mother? And what would people have said then? That I was as rude as you? Is that what you would have wanted?"

"You could have messed everything up," he growled.

He glared the cold back into the night, like a torch passing its flame.

"You know what? I don't need to put up with this!" I poked his chest with every following word. "You. Need. Me. Just as much as I need you, so don't you dare disrespect me like thi—"

Before I could react, his head bowed down, his face coming ever closer so that I could feel his breath on my skin, a stark contrast to the painful cold of the air. Whether it was the weather or him causing goosebumps to erupt across my skin, I was unsure.

Without a moment's hesitation, he connected his lips with my own. My shock was momentary, and I found myself reciprocating the kiss, much to my dismay.

His lips moved against mine, hands set firmly on my hips and pulling them to connect with his own. I sighed in bliss at this contact, at his warmth.

I reached my own hands to his neck, trailing them upwards until they reached his hair. It was softer than I'd expected, thick too, but I just couldn't resist tugging at it ever so slightly. He groaned into my mouth, encouraging a moan of my own to claw up my throat. I suppressed it, forcing it back down as I moved my lips against his. His hand lifted to rest on my face, pushing our faces ever closer so that his tongue could twirl around my own in the most satisfying of ways possible.

"Archer I—"

And that's when I heard it.

The shutter of a camera.

And to accompany it, a blinding flash.