Secrets of Mr. Sallow

31. Missing the past

Y/N
You had spent more time with Sebastian over the past 2 weeks than you had in the past 6 months. You couldn't lie. You missed this. You missed investigating curious topics with him. You missed his stupid jokes and the commentary. You missed the snarky comments that Ominis and Sebastian made at each other.

Your friendship with Sebastian and Ominis was something you really enjoyed in your 5th year. Without them, you probably wouldn't have survived.

———

You and Sebastian sat in the Undercroft, your head in your hands as you tried to calm down. Once again, you had witnessed a very...weird conversation between Garreth and Adelaide. This time, Adelaide had put her hand over Garreth's, and he either didn't notice, or noticed and didn't say anything. Her act threw you off and without hesitation, you walked toward the Undercroft. You didn't want to go to the Room of Requirement, knowing that if Garreth came looking for you, that would be the first place he looked. You wanted to go somewhere he didn't know about.

"Why do I have the urge to punch him?" You lifted your head from your hands, balling your hands into fists.

"That's called anger." Sebastian smiled.

"How can I be angry with him? He hasn't exactly cheated on me, and he hasn't exactly leaned into Adelaide's tricks." You shrugged your shoulders, confused.

"You've heard their conversations, you've seen how Adelaide acts around him. You have every right to feel angry. Just because he hasn't explicitly cheated, doesn't mean her actions aren't affecting him." Sebastian explained, making your nerves and confusion even worse.

"Have you ever witnessed her do anything like this before?" You questioned.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asked, confused.

"Have you ever seen Adelaide openly flirt with other girls boyfriends? I mean, I heard about Leander and his girlfriend, but Leander's a prick and is too narcissistic to actually care about someone other than himself." You crossed your arms, waiting for Sebastian's answer.

"You're right about Leander. He has no respect for anyone but himself. As for the open flirting, I've seen it a few times. She's broken up quite a few couples within Hogwarts. Been doing it for a while. Adelaide has quite the reputation for seeking out boys who aren't available over those who are. She'd prefer stealing another girl's boyfriend over finding someone who was single." Sebastian nodded.

"How egotistical does one have to be in order to gather such a reputation?" Sebastian asked, curious.

"Says the Slytherin who thought he could get away with lying about his past in order to keep his relationship." You eyed Sebastian, who rolled his eyes.

"Do not compare me to Adelaide Oakes. I have never been and will never be anything like her." Sebastian chuckled.

"Whatever you say, Sebastian." You smiled.

This was the first time in a while that you smiled in Sebastian's presence. That was another thing you missed; feeling happy around Sebastian.

"I've missed this, Y/N. Us hanging out. Us talking. I've missed us." Sebastian exhaled.

"I have to admit, I do miss us hanging out, us talking. But, Sebastian, there is no "us". There's possibly you, me and Ominis, but not "us". I'm not even close to being...there yet, but even if I was, I'm not sure if you and I could ever go back to that place." You exhaled, trying not to make this situation even more awkward than it had become.

"Yeah, yeah. I totally get that. I just- I meant that I've missed us...as friends." Sebastian cleared his throat, trying to cover up his feelings.

You mentally smiled. He did still love you, even if your hate was slowly disappearing. He really did still harbour some romantic feelings for you.

"Friends. I think I can handle that. I know that I'm supposed to hate you, but...I've missed hanging out with you too much to let the hate continue." You smiled

"I'm glad." Sebastian smiled, nodding.

"I think that Ominis will be glad." You chuckled.

"Yep. I agree. He really has missed hanging out with you as well." Sebastian admitted, exhaling.

"Really?" You asked, curious.

"Of course. He often berates me for getting in trouble - claiming that if we had remained friends, I wouldn't have spent as much time in the library with old Scribner." Sebastian laughed, leaning his head back against the couch.

"I appreciate Ominis' faith in me." You smiled.