Delirium

Chapter 21 - Arrival

a/n hiiii! ok i know i said i'd be back soon, but this update was wild and so hard to write. that being said... enjoy this triple update of 27k+ words. EEEEEEEEE

happy reading! i hope you all enjoy

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At nearly six, the prefects, other House students, and professors began to filter outside the castle doors. Jolie stepped aside, walking right past George to follow them.

Now was not the time to have any sort of talk with him.

There was too much happening at this moment. Too many responsibilities she needed to keep her head for.

Not to mention the bubbling anger low in her stomach. And, in turn, he had seemed irritated about something when he'd returned with her tie—likely just seeing her angry. He tended to do that; matching her indignation whenever she displayed it.

So, no. Now was not the time for them to talk at all.

Outside, getting all of the students where they needed to be was a faulty attempt at order. Instead, predictably, it was pure chaos.

The Heads of Houses snapped and hissed at their pupils, trying to get everyone to line up as they'd been told at dinner every day for the past week.

Jolie thought everyone likely could've used at least one chance to practise the formation as a school. But after a few minutes, it all began to fall together. Kind of.

Prefects were the furthest from the doors—the first to greet the incoming schools. Thankfully, each of them seemed to be finding their spots with ease. Then, leading up to the doors, there should've been four lines of students to represent the four Houses, starting from the seventh years and descending down to the first years.

There was such a struggle, however, to get the many students to categorise themselves in their Houses. And amidst the madness, the professors seemed to give up entirely.

As long as there were still four lines leading the way to the castle's doors, age and House didn't seem to matter.

Now standing in line with the rest of the prefects, Jolie glanced back to the doors. Glanced to where she had left George standing and frowning.

He now stood several yards outside the doors in the third row of students. His frown remained and his cheeks were pink from the cold—or frustration—as he spoke down to...

Jolie rose up on the tips of her toes, trying not to teeter over onto Eric Murley.

She blew out a breath of relief.

Daphne. He was speaking to Daphne.

Her friend was frowning too as she nodded, listening intently to him. It was a frown of sympathy, of understanding.

Jolie's heart squeezed in her chest as a small wave of guilt washed over her.

She was grateful to her friend for stepping in to talk with him. To hear him out—about whatever it was. Even if it was about her.

But it also slightly made Jolie wish she hadn't walked away.

She was responsible, disciplined. Her control normally remained on a tight leash.

She should have the ability to ask her boyfriend for some reassurance instead of just seething at him for spending time with his friends. With Alicia.

Still, the mere thought of him with Alicia, however innocent, had Jolie's guilt morphing into fury all over again.