KILL YOUR DARLINGS ✸ Saltburn

𝒙𝒗. green with envy

𖤐 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵:
╰┈➤ green with envy ༉‧₊˚.

WALKING INTO BREAKFAST THIS MORNING, Meredith didn't realize she was walking into a silent, weaponless gunfight between Felix and Oliver.

Felix, for the first time maybe ever, had been sitting at the dining table with a cigarette between his lips and brown eyes dark with pure rage.

He'd barely even paid Mere an ounce of attention, but was solely only focused on the cigarette in hand and the boy across from him.

The tension is thick and the silence is deafening.

Oliver, however, doesn't seem to mind because he's giving Venetia a love struck smile from the end of the table.

Between the animosity in the air and the guilt already piling up on top of Meredith, the feelings surrounding her were all-consuming. She was like a time bomb waiting to explode.

Elspeth continued her conversation with Sir James and Pamela but the children stayed silent.

Until Meredith was brave enough to break it.

The only logical explanation for the hostility at hand was that Felix somehow found out about Venetia and Ollie, or worse, her and Ollie.

She leaned over the table just a slight to notify Felix that she was talking to him. "How'd you sleep?"

He dropped the anger swarming in his eyes when he met Meredith's gaze and nodded, a silent answer.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong later, then?" She asked, voice soft and patient.

The boy nodded, but still, Meredith could tell emotions were high and weighing on his mind.

ONCE BREAKFAST HAD BEGUN TO come to a close and Oliver had been excused, Meredith then requested to be excused.

Granted, she wanted to talk to him about his intentions with Venetia, as she was fragile and often did get her heartbroken by Felix's toys each summer.

So, she followed him down the hall and just before he was about to go up the steps, she stopped him. "Ollie."

He turned back to face her, moving his foot from the third step back to the second, where she stood. He had this smug look on his face, like he knew what was coming.

"Hey," she smiled, voice light as a feather and soft like a whisper. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Curiosity spiked behind those blue eyes of his and he leaned in closer, eager to be told a secret. But he still had a sneaking suspicion that she'd want to continue what he started last night.

Meredith hummed. "What's going on with you and Vee?"

That wasn't what Oliver was expecting at all. In fact, the question caught him by surprise. "Er... nothing?"

Oliver wasn't sure what the right answer was and what wasn't so he settled for denial.

Meredith gave him a knowing look, head lowered. "You can cut the act." She said, her arms at her sides. "She already told me."

"Right." He nodded slowly, but didn't give much of a response at all.

"Well?" Meredith poked her head in further. "Do you like her then?"

Oliver analyzed her and soon realized she wasn't mad at him, she was just checking to see how much of a fuck-up she was in.

He nodded. "Yeah, she's nice."

Something sparked behind Meredith's eyes—jealousy? realization? hurt?

"She is." She said, almost as if an affirmation to herself.

"She is," the brunette agreed before leaning in closer, body nearly hovering over Meredith's as he put his arms lazily on either side of the railing behind the girl's back, caging her in and leaning down beside her ear. "But maybe I'd rather have you, though."

Meredith met his gaze, and there was devious, lustful intent implied for sure, and maybe Meredith would have acted on it. Her mind was fogged by the statement and she was caught by immense surprise. Oliver Quick was bold and not at all the shy boy she met that day on campus.

He leaned in closer to her and for a split second she wanted it, until she pulled away and didn't.

Footsteps sounded down the hall and Meredith quickly escaped past Oliver. She tried ignoring the ball of guilt swarming around in her belly as she smiled at Venetia, who was walking by but really only cared about Oliver. She bit her lip as she walked past and was looking at him like a hybrid dog in heat.

Meredith knew she was damned.