The Improbable Clause of Missing You

Chapter Fifteen

[thank you to @KaliceAnd1807 for helping a brother out]

Chapter Fifteen

15: let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster

"Hey, I'm glad you came," I smiled as Sebastian dropped his bag on the table.

For a moment, he looked startled, then smirked. "Ah, miss me?"

"You wish," I grinned.

"I do," he said. My smile dropped.

What?

A blush found its way over my cheeks as I stared at him, gaping. There's a moment of silence before his seriousness dissipated, a smirk forming on his lips.

"You should've seen your face!" And with that, he burst out laughing.

Somewhere far away, the librarian shushed us. Yes, that's how loud his obnoxious laughter was. My face turned a darker shade of red.

"You scared me, what the he–" His laughter grew louder.

"Hayley." Both of our heads turned, and there he was. My embarrassment morphed into shock and mild horror.

Owen. Oh, shit.

"Hey, Owen," I greeted, recovering, though the beating of my heart was starting to speed up.

"Studying? Yea, right." He snorted, leaning down to leer at me.

"Owen, we're really just going to study," I replied quietly, not sure where this was headed.

"I'm sure," he deadpanned. "Williams, remember what I told you."

I turned to Sebastian, shocked. I hadn't known that they'd met any time other than the battlefield. Oops, I mean soccer field. Soccer. But what had Owen told him?

The laughter had died from his eyes now, a cool glaze settling instead, almost like a mask. He was calm, unlike Owen, who looked like he was going to start yelling any moment, but equally as deadly.

"I do, man. Besides, it's not like she's here unwillingly. Loosen that leash, will you?" He drawled, arrogance dripping from every word.

Oh. But, Owen had said he'd...

It hit me then. He hadn't.

He hadn't said that he'd work on his jealousy. He hadn't even apologised when I'd confronted him at lunch on the field. Come to think of it, he barely ever apologised.

He didn't think he'd done any wrong.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with keeping tabs on me.

I think I'm going to be sick.

"Owen... What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you, see where you were."

Lie. How had I not seen how extreme and obsessive this was getting?

"Owen, could I talk to you?" I glanced at Sebastian, but there was no glimpse of the Sebastian that laughed easily or teased me mercilessly. There was only the cold in his icy stare down at Owen.

Owen nodded sharply. "Outside."

The moment we stepped out, a blast of cold draft hit me in the face. Owen fell into step beside me as I marched, yes, marched, toward the nearest bench in sight. There, I sat him down, while I paced in front of him.

The sick, sinking feeling in my stomach did nothing but spur me on. I thought back to the last two months, of how we'd struggled through our relationship, or whatever was left of it, anyway, and of how neither of us had seemed to really try to confront our demons together.