Silver and Green with Envy: A Sebastian Sallow Story

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Over the next couple of weeks I regained a lot of my strength, and had enough of it to ditch the walking stick at the very least. My hip still gave me some trouble, but walking and just moving it in general helped a lot. Sometimes it would still catch or ache, but I at least felt mostly normal.

The hovering from everyone though, was suffocating. Sebastian, I was used to for the most part. But the rest of them? Less so. Even Ominis.

I knew they were worried. I knew Natty and Sebastian at the very least, expected me to sprint off to who knew where, looking for Harlow.

Poppy was actively trying to help me find him, but hadn't had any luck so far, and she was doing it partially to keep up appearances with everyone else.

It came to a bit of a head on a particularly nice start of spring day, when I left a class I didn't have with any of them, only to see the lot gathered around a little sitting area I needed to pass by. Half of them didn't even have a class anywhere near there that day.

I stepped behind a statue for a moment. "Illusont." I straightened myself and walked carefully, so I didn't bump into anyone. I went right past all of them and just went right down to the common room, made myself visible again, sighed, then went to put on some clothes that I could go to Hogsmeade in.

As I grabbed my coin purse and made to leave, I heard Sebastian's voice on the other side of the door. He was talking to Ominis. "Where the hell did she slip off to?"

"Probably trying to get away from all of us. We have been hovering pretty hard lately."

"But someone has to make sure she doesn't-"

"I know that, Sebastian. But everyone? All the time? She's overwhelmed enough, I'm sure. That can't be helping. Just leave her be."

I heard their door shut and thought I might be safe in leaving. Cracking my own room's door open, I peeked out and saw no one. So I slipped out and quietly made my way into the common room.

Once I hit the middle of the room I just hurried myself, heading up the stairs and out the door, thinking I had finally evaded them.

"Well hello there, little Grim. Sneaking off, are we?"

Sebastian was leaning against the wall, just outside the door, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Any other other time I would have taken a second to admire it, but I couldn't afford to get distracted right now. I huffed and just shook my head, starting to walk off anyway. "Don't call me that."

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Elena..."

He started to follow me, so I started walking faster. "Go back downstairs."

"No, I'm coming with you."

Faster. "No, you aren't."

"Yes I-Slow down, Elena!"

I'd made it outside by that point and was practically running to get away from him. Within short order my hip was screaming at me, needing me to stop, but I didn't out of sheer stubbornness. I knew Sebastian could catch up to me easily, and probably was, but that didn't stop me from trying.

I made it as far as getting over the little bridge on the way before I felt strong arms grab me around the waist and haul me off my feet. It was shocking there was no one else traveling the path on such a nice day, otherwise it would have been quite the scene.

"Put me down!"

He did, surprisingly, coming around to my front and glaring down at me. "You can't be doing that with your hip! It's no-"