Pining for Evergreen | Sebastian Sallow x MC |

10 - Library Limelight

The morning after Halloween, Anne met me at breakfast, and apologized for not going with me and Poppy to the festival. Turns out she and William Dale had started seeing each other. After running into each other outside of Hogsmeade Station -- when they had come to pick me up on the first day of term -- they started to rekindle some of the spark from third year.

He had invited her to go with him and Samantha before my party, and since they weren't official yet, she didn't want to bring all her friends along. She had however asked Sebastian to go with them to keep Samantha company. From there they turned the whole thing into a sort of double date.

I was happy for Anne, but didn't ask too many questions, not wanting to incidentally hear about how Sebastian and Samantha's date went. His arm around her yesterday told me everything I needed to know.

Over the next week I made myself scarce, avoiding Sebastian as much as possible. I knew Samantha felt threatened by me -- for some reason -- and if they were together, I didn't want to be responsible for any issues between them. Though, if I was being honest with myself, my reasons for avoiding them weren't purely altruistic.

I didn't want to see them together. I wasn't sure I could handle seeing him flirt with another girl, not when I so desperately wanted to be the object of his affections. The thought of them holding hands or snogging in the hallway made me feel sick, so I never let my imagination go much farther than that.

I had managed to be quite successful in dodging any direct contact with either of them over the next week. We had a few classes together, but I started taking alternate routes to get there, and ensured that I arrived and left the moment the bell rang.

Ominis and I started meeting in the library to study on Friday afternoons. Seeing as I'd never seen Samantha in the library in all my time at Hogwarts, I thought it would be safe. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

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I entered the Library for my usual study session with Ominis, and headed for the long table at the back of the library we routinely sat at. Feeling tired from the week, I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings as I approached. If I had, I might have had enough time to turn around before noticing the dark auburn curls sitting directly across from Ominis.

Sebastian's eyes flicked up at me from behind his book the second I passed the last row of stacks I could have possibly sought refuge behind. Unless I wanted it to be blatantly obvious that I was avoiding him, there was nothing for it now.

"Sorry I'm late." I whispered apologetically as I stood next to Ominis at the table. "Garreth and I got caught up with Professor Onai discussing our project."

"Not a problem." Ominis whispered back and patted the seat on the bench next to him, suggesting I sit down. "How are you coming along with that by the way?"

I opened my mouth to answer as I took a seat, but before I could speak Sebastian cut in. 

"You and Weasley seem to be rather chummy lately." He said curtly, not bothering to look up from his D.A.D.A textbook.

"Umm... if you say so." I supposed, shrugging off his implication as I pulled opened my book to start my own D.A.D.A homework. "We've been spending a lot of time working on our project for Divinations."

"Its worth quite a bit of your grade, isn't it?" Ominis asked trying to defuse the tension that was quickly forming in the room.

"You sure that's all you're working on?" Sebastian said as he chewed the inside of his cheek, a sullen look permeating through his freckled face. "Not working on any, extra curricular activities?"