Love At The Headington Hill

CHAPTER 13 - Truths and Schemes.

"Alright, I have listened to you lot but whatever you do, it's upto you and there's no way I'm getting the police involved" Valerie finally got the chance to speak.

Audrey frowned. This time, Julian spoke up, "This is serious Val, we want yo help you and you are in no position to manage things on your own. We have been hanging out with you for months, we atleast have an idea of the kind of person you are if not that much. Its not just about you, it's about FO and all those people who worked with you to write those papers for weeks." Valerie saw Sebastian flinch slightly at the words 'FO', but she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to inspect his expression.

Her mind was spinning with random thoughts. Where had her dreams gotten her?

Before she had prepared herself for another dose of shock that morning, her phone buzzed with a text. She lunged for it, glad for the distraction. A message from an unknown number said -

It is him, James Bryant. I have proof, but its too early for me to take action.

At that moment, Valerie decided she had enough. She was going to confront Brown. Screw her fears, if she doesn't take the risk now, she can never succeed at achieving what belongs to her.

"Alright, I'm up for this, I need to get to the end of it." Valerie finally said, then threw a random question, "By the way, who had actually proposed this plan?"

From one corner of the room, a pale hand rose only ever so slightly.

Sebastian was staring at her, smiling. He mouthed the words 'me' then lowered his hand. Valerie blinked. Sebastian hasn't once, spoken during their group conversation in her room, and there he was - the reason that had brought all of them here.

Valerie shifted her gaze to the floor. His vibrant eyes were ocean waters with a brownish tint. Damn, those eyes were hard to miss, and suddenly she could feel his presence more than she had felt before. She felt heat rise up to her cheeks.

She looked at Julian, his lips had broken into a smirk. She turned to Nova, her arms were crossed and she had the same expression plastered on her face. She could still feel Sebastian's eyes on her. The silence was deafening.

Then someone cleared their throat.

"Now, as we had discussed everything, why don't we all go out to have breakfast and prepare ourselves for Christmas?" Trevors voice said, invading the silence.

☆♤◇♡◇♧☆

The cold December wind howled through the trees as Sebastian made his way towards the highest point in the hill. The town looked magnificent.

He sat down on the snow covered ground below the giant red oak. His hands already felt numb.

Thoughts of the day before rushed into his mind. Everything seemed fine until he remembered the root of the reason the article got viral.

FO.

Who was he? The question echoed in his mind, even though the answer had been on the tip of his tongue since that day when Audrey told them about the incident, he could never dare to speak of it. He just couldn't digest the idea that he was wrong this whole time. But then again, he might have been right. You could call him egoistic, but he was never admitting his mistakes, even if those existed.

But now, he had no time for these inner conflicts.

Something bigger was on the line, and it was the future that awaited.

There was a knock on his train of thoughts as he heard low but rapid footsteps approaching. He turned around to check on the mysterious person. A small figure with crimson hair was walking, rather running towards the oak tree. She didn't seem to have noticed Sebastian sitting under the tree as her ebony eyes were focused on the phone in her hands.

He got up. Valerie was still unaware. Sebastian faced her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

She finally looked up, then her face lit with recognition.

"Oh, its you" She muttered. Her face looked ghastly, just the same as he had last seen her. There were bags under her eyes and she looked a lot paler than usual.

"You aren't sleeping well." Sebastian said, it was a statement.

Valerie nodded, then went ahead to sit under the tree. Sebastian followed her actions. She had finally turned off her phone.

After a moment of settling up, Valerie questioned him.

"Hey Seb, do you know this number?" Valerie looked at him, switching on her screen again. She had received a message from an unknown contact, saying that whoever they thought Brown was, they were absolutely correct. The number did look familiar to him, but he couldn't quite make out who it was. So he shook his head and said, "I think I had seen it before, but my subconscious might be wrong."

Valerie nodded understandingly.

More silence. It stretched between them like the Pacific Ocean.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Sebastian questioned after a while.

"Hm?" She turned to him.

"What's the one thing that scares you the most?"

"Leaving home," Valerie turned to him, their eyes just inches apart from one another. "Because it means facing problems, missing your loved ones, feeling like they're so out of reach when they're just one flight away. A flight that requires a lot of one's time, attention and planning, which they completely lack because they're alone.

Sebastian tried to make out a line. Make himself speak, just string a sentence together. But failed.

"What's yours?" Those ebony irises never left his hazel ones.

Watching those I love suffer. He revised those lines in his head, all while holding her gaze. Then admitted them. His voice slightly hoarse. He could feel her breath, her body heaving up and down due to the cold.

Then she looked up at the beautiful snow covered town ahead. He quietly followed her actions.

He did not realise when she had laid her head on his shoulder. Her scarlet hair made its way down his shoulder like a small blood fountain. He witnessed a single tear escape her cloudy eyes, when he looked back at her. Her eyes flutted closed and she let out a small, shaky breath.

Unknowingly, his hands, travelled up her hair.

It was not just an assurance. It was something more.

Something unconditional.

A/N :

Hiya! I hope you find this chapter intriguing.

Christmas is going to bring a lot of surprises!

Stay tuned to follow along Valerie and Sebastian's journey.

Don't forget to vote!

Bye! :)