No Choice But You // Ominis Gaunt x Reader

Chapter 8

I couldn't say no, not when everyone else had already agreed to participate--even Ominis. Anne gave us each a few drops of the veritaserum, and then the game began. 

"I'll start," Anne said, crossing her legs on the sofa, which inadvertently caused Ominis to have to scoot closer to me. He was close enough that if he were to turn his head, I'd feel his breath on my face. My cheeks reddened as I fought to keep that thought to myself. The veritaserum was already worming its way inside me. "Garreth! Truth or dare?" Anne wiggled her eyebrows. 

"Dare, always," he stated. "Won't catch me wimping out and going for truth." 

"Okay," Anne giggled. "I dare you to drink that potion you've been concocting all night."

"Easy-peasy!" he said, immediately pulling the potion from his pocket. "Just finished it. This one is going to be glorious. You'll see." Garreth popped the cork on the bottle and downed its contents. 

We all sat in anticipation, waiting for the results. Knowing Garreth, it wouldn't be the intended outcome, and hopefully it wouldn't hurt him. He seemed confident, at least. 

Everyone erupted in laughter when Garreth's skin turned bright blue. "That's not--that's not right," he said, examining his hands. "Not at all. Meant to give me blue hair. What's my hair like?"

"It's the only part of you that isn't blue," I told him, hiding a smile behind my hand. I stifled another laugh. Garreth did not look pleased with the outcome. I was just glad it didn't kill him, whatever it was. 

"Moving on, then," Garreth stated. "Next one goes to Poppy, here." She lit up and her eyebrows shot to the ceiling. "Truth or dare, my friend?"

"I pick dare," she said without any hesitation. 

"I dare you to kiss Sebastian," he said after a few seconds of deliberation. Poppy turned bright red. "And it has to be good. Doesn't count if there's no tongue." 

"I don't know about that..." Poppy said, redder than a tomato. She covered her face with her hands. "I mean I'd love to--my gosh!" the veritaserum was already doing its job. "Only if you're okay with it, Sebastian."

"Lay one on me," he said with a lopsided grin.

"This is already starting to get interesting," Anne mused. 

 Poppy crossed the space between them, braced her hands on his thighs, and leaned in. Sebastian suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap and she squealed. He closed the gap between the two of them, cupping her face in his hands. She melted into him, and I wondered for a moment based on how she reacted whether she had a previous crush on him. 

"Okay guys," Anne laughed. Poppy pulled away with a reddened face and swollen lips. She tried to get up, but Sebastian pulled her back into him and seated her against himself. I let a smile slip. It was cute, whatever it was, and the smile that Poppy had on her face at that moment could light a forest fire. 

"My turn now, I suppose," Poppy said. "This one will be for Ominis." 

Ominis perked up beside me. "Truth," he said before Poppy could even ask. 

"Oh, come on, Ominis," Anne said. "I already know everything about you. This is no fun."

"Truth," he said again, with more emphasis. His face was straight as he awaited Poppy's question. 

"If you could snog anyone in this group, who would it be?" she asked

"Y/n," he said, without hesitation. My surprise couldn't have been more evident. My eyebrows shot up, and I covered my mouth with my hand. "I don't--I mean, I wouldn't--" Ominis did an awful job at a coverup with the veritaserum in his system. He couldn't change his answer if he wanted to, and I couldn't stop my heart when it started to race. "That doesn't change the fact that I hate you," he said to me. 

And there's that brutal honesty I wasn't ready for. 

"Why do you hate her?" Anne asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You just said you wanted to snog her, so what's to hate?" 

"I can't forgive you for what you did in our fifth year," he said directly to me. I sunk back into the sofa, wishing it could eat me up and remove me from this situation. 

"Ominis--" Anne started. 

"It's okay," I cut in. "His feelings aren't founded on nothing. Everyone here has the right to hate me, and I just need to be okay with that."

"No one hates you, y/n," Sebastian stated. He tightened his grip around Poppy's waist. "Ominis will come around eventually but don't think that any of us hate you. At least not me." 

"There is no coming around," Ominis scoffed. "There is no forgiving someone who did the things she did." 

"You forgave me, didn't you?" Sebastian frowned. "So why the grudge against her? You don't really hate her, do you?"

"I can't stand this," I said, feeling my stomach churn. It was one thing knowing it, but hearing him say it was another. I couldn't handle this. 

Emotional strain never helped the aches and pains I carried. If anything, it made them worse. Made me more aware of the battle I was constantly fighting underneath my skin. 

"But you would snog her," Anne stated. She was pushing him on purpose. I knew it. 

"Yes," Ominis said without restraint. He pushed his hand over his mouth, and his cheeks flushed. 

"Then you can't really hate her," Anne said. "Who are you really angry at? Tell us the truth, Ominis." 

"I am angry at y/n. Nothing you do or say can change that." His face turned even more red, and his words were strained. Anne was pushing him to say something, and I could tell he was fighting it with all his might. 

"No, Ominis," Anne pushed. "Who are you really angry at?" 

Our friends shifted uncomfortably around us, but Anne didn't relent. Ominis looked as if he were about to explode. 

"Are you mad at me?" Anne asked. 

"No--"

"How about Sebastian?"

"No!" 

"Then who are you--"

"I'm angry with myself!" Ominis shouted. The extra color from his face started to drain and his shoulders relaxed. My breath caught in my throat. Looking at the emotions strewn across his face, my heart hurt for him. "I'm done with this stupid game!" 

Ominis stood up and left. The mood in the group shifted, and the game was over. 

"Shit," Anne said. "This stuff's a cunt." She held the vial of veritaserum in her palm. 

"You shouldn't have done that," I told her. My chest was heaving, and I didn't like feeling everyone's eyes on me. Half of them didn't even know what this was about. I didn't want the follow-up questions, so I too, left the circle. Anne gave me a sorry look, but I ignored it and ascended the steps that led out of the commons.