In the Shadows - Sebastian Sallow x reader (English)

Chapter 13

"Y/N, would you do the honour of accompanying me to the celebration next week?" On one hand, I was excited that I was finally asked, on the other hand, I was disappointed that Sebastian didn't ask me to accompany him. After our snuggly weekend, I thought he might return my feelings, but he made no move to ask me. I could have asked him out too, but the thing between Cressida and Garreth had me cowardly tailing. I looked uncertainly at the redhead in front of me. He had approached me during a break on Wednesday after Sebastian's and my trip to Rookwood Manor in the Transfiguration Court and asked straight out. "Oh, Leander. That's kind of you. I really appreciate that." Fuck, how do I turn him down in the nicest way possible? Am I just pushing girls' night out? Or do I already have a date? But then I show up without one and that would be incredibly embarrassing. As if he had heard my silent cries for help, Sebastian suddenly stood next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Is there a problem, Prewett?", the Slytherin spat at the Gryffindor. "None of your business, Sallow", Leander replied in an equally venomous tone. The two exchanged deadly looks. "Well, unluckily for you, I overheard your little question for Y/N." "Are you eavesdropping on us?" I said indignantly, ducking under his arm. I crossed my arms in front of my chest in frustration. "Have you ever heard of privacy?" "I – no", the brunette stuttered in front of me. "Well, I did, but..." "But what?" I interrupted him. "What gives you the right to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, let alone interfere?" You could probably see steam rising from my ears by now. Who does he think he is? "We'll talk later, Y/N. You clarify that first with your guard dog." With that, Leander turned on his heel and was about to leave when I picked up a pebble and threw it at him. I hit him between the shoulders. "He's not my guard dog, Prewett." "Damn it, you're scary", the redhead said as he hurriedly made his escape. Grimacing, I turned back to Sebastian, who looked more than amused. "Don't grin like that!" The Slytherin laughed so that his body trembled. "Why not? We've successfully chased the Ginger away." I ground my jaw in annoyance, finally wiping the stupid grin off Sebastian's face. "What is? Don't tell me you wanted to go to the party with Prewett." No, I didn't want to. "Maybe yes. Why do you care?" Now I was getting really bitchy. Sebastian looked at me shyly and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, I was hoping that you... you know... well..." I lost what little patience I had left. "Now spit it out, Sallow." My counterpart sighed. "I was hoping that you would go to the celebration with me." Wait, what? "Then why don't you ask me like a normal person would? you had enough time. We spent a fucking whole weekend together! Shit, we slept and cuddled in the same bed and then you don't ask me?" He slumped his shoulders, caught. "I didn't dare", he admitted sheepishly. "Did it take another boy asking me to come with him for you to grow some balls? Or am I just your last straw?" "N-no! you are my first choice! I always wanted to ask you, but I was just scared of your answer. And to hear Leander asking you for a date... I couldn't bear that." I was getting fed up. My voice got louder than I intended. "Then ask me next time, Sebastian. And not just when someone else does. You've had enough opportunities. And my answer would have been yes. A more than happy yes. But now you've screwed that up. I will not accompany you to the party. Not if you ask me in such a rude way. If you can even call that a question." Without waiting for Sebastian's reaction, I trudged towards the Transfiguration classroom.

The next morning I was having breakfast with my friends when Nellie suddenly looked at me curiously. "What is it?" I asked confused and put a piece of toast with jam in my mouth. "What was that scene between Leander, Sebastian and you yesterday? That looked like drama." I sighed and tossed my toast onto my plate in frustration. "Oh, don't start. I was finally asked about a date for Halloween and then it's Leander who asks me. And just as I was about to decline his invitation, Sebastian intervened. Turns out he'd been wanting to ask me the whole time but never dared." My friends' mouths dropped. "And you said yes, of course", Cressida claimed. "I gave him more of a grievance and made him understand that under different circumstances I would have liked to have gone to the party with him. But not like this." "Wow," Natty said. "That was a good decision." "Although I would really like to be his date. But after his actions, I don't want to let him get away so easily." I sighed in frustration. "He could have just asked me. There were so many opportunities. He usually has such a big mouth!" "You could have asked him just as often", interjected Nellie. "That, well... I... Aaargh!" Angered and frustrated at the same time, I pushed my plate away from me, crossing my arms on the table and resting my head on them. "That sucks! What is this guy doing to me? I want to be mad at him, but I can't for long. I want to go to the party with him and then I don't because he's acting like a total arse. My head is a mess." Beside me, Poppy patted my shoulder. "It's called love, Y/N. Just listen to your heart." "You say that so simply. If it was up to me, I would have kissed him last year." "Who would be the lucky one?", a male voice chirped behind me. Great. I turned to the voice, my face flushed. Leander Prewett stood in front of me and looked at me with a mixture of hope and sorrow. "Please don't tell me it's Sallow. That guy doesn't deserve a girl like you." He said that too. "I, uh..." I played with my fingers nervously and avoided Leander's eyes. The redhead sighed in disappointment. "Understand. That was pretty obvious. I wanted to ask you again for your answer to my question from yesterday. But I think I know your answer. Maybe we could still enjoy a dance together. You and me." "I'm sorry, Leander." Smiling apologetically, I grabbed his arm. "But I promise you the dance." With a wry smile, the Gryffindor left the Great Hall.

During the late morning break, Natty, Poppy and I strolled leisurely to Professor Hecat's classroom. We were excited about the forthcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts class and speculated wildly as to what might be on the agenda this time. Suddenly, I was pulled around a corner and slammed into my captor's chest with force. I didn't even have to look up to know who was standing in front of me. "For fuck's sake, Sebastian! What was that supposed to mean?" Annoyed, I looked into his hazel eyes. "I wanted to talk to you", the Slytherin admitted with a shrug. "And a hey, Y/N, do you have a moment wouldn't do it?" I fixed my hair which had been messed up by the impact and crossed my arms over my chest. Sebastian scratched the back of his head nervously. "I didn't really think about it." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Tell me something new, would you? So what do you want?" The brunette cleared his throat, suddenly looking shy. "I wanted to ask you if you... wanogotocelebrationwime." "Sebastian, you have to speak clearly. Slowly and clearly and less mumbling, please." Sebastian took a deep breath and straightened up his posture. "Would you like to accompany me to the party?" There it was at last. The long-awaited question from the wizard I'd wanting to ask me out since the celebrations were announced. My heart was beating wildly. And yet I didn't want to let him get away so easily. He still hadn't apologized for his behaviour the day before. "No", I turned him down with a firm voice. "N-no?" I seemed to have alienated Sebastian with my answer. At least that's how he looked at me. "Yes! No. You asked me in a proper way, which is at least an improvement from yesterday, but you didn't apologize for being grossly misbehaving. So no. I will not accompany you. Now excuse me, I have other things to do." With that, I left him where he was and caught up with my friends who had been waiting patiently for me.

In the lessons on Thursday and Friday, I was literally bombarded with notes from Sebastian, on which he tried to apologize and repeatedly asked me to accompany him to the party. Each time he received the same answer: no. It was nice to see that he wasn't giving up and his apologies were progressing, but I wanted a personal apology from him.

I was on my way to the library on Saturday morning to do research for a Potions essay when I bumped into Sebastian again in the deserted Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower. This castle is huge. Why is he always where I am? "Y/N, do you have a moment for me?" Oh, we've learned. I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure." He led me to the string quartet and stopped in front of the painting of the burning witch. The Slytherin took a deep breath before speaking. "First of all, I want to apologize to you. I acted like a total arse. It was not okay to eavesdrop on your conversation with Leander and especially to interfere. I just can't stand this guy and hearing him ask you to come with him to the party... I wanted to smack his stupid mug. But it's still your choice who you go to the party with. And then I'm sorry that I didn't ask you right away, but only after Leander did. I just didn't have the courage. I hope you forgive me." The apology was sincere, you could tell. Sebastian looked at me steadily. I couldn't be mad at him any longer. "Apology accepted", I replied with a small smile, bringing a grin to Sebastian's face. "Well, I wanted to ask you something." He took a step closer to me and took my hands in his. He took a deep breath again. "Y/N, would you go to the party with me?"

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Alright, Guys. Place your bets here. What do you think, will Y/N's answer be?