The List

Chapter 10. The object of my desires.

The cold water dripped down her face, beading on the skin as she watched herself on the mirror for a few seconds.
Everleigh used some napkins carefully placed near the sink to wipe her cheeks, experiencing an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The night before she had agreed to come to Hogsmeade by Grant's invitation. He had been charming enough, and she had force herself out of her comfort zone, allowing him to get closer.
Casual sex was still on the back of her mind. When Natsai had suggested it, it hadn't seemed like a bad idea at the time.
But now...

It started to sound terrible now. Considering not only that Grant was giving her genuine attention and trying to spend time with her as a mean to know her.
But when he intentionally touched her... every muscle in her stiffened involuntarily and Everleigh wanted nothing more than to crawl out of her skin.

There was nothing wrong with him, of course. He had been... perfect. Too perfect, perhaps.
It was her.
The problem lied in her inability to enjoy physical contact and intimacy from someone she wasn't familiar with. The only boy she had dated — Phelan Noel — was someone from her own house, in her own Quidditch team, who she had spent an unnecessary amount of time and alas, felt comfortable to allow closer.
But Grant Page was brand new into her circle, and that was the only possible explanation as to why she wasn't enjoying herself like she should have.

Her reluctant thoughts traveled to Sallow. Everleigh didn't want to muse over him. But after what had happened the night before... very often her brain reminded her of how he had looked at her, with such raw intensity.
How Sebastian had barely touched her and her skin was left aflame wherever his fingertips brushed by. To how differently her own body had reacted to him as opposed to Grant.

I want to hear my name in your mouth when you beg.

Everleigh swallowed the lump in her throat, shaking her head. That superiority she felt the night before wasn't there anymore, for some reason.

The bathroom door opened and Adelaide Oakes walked inside, a somber expression on her face. She tried to hide it when she saw she wasn't alone anymore.

"Hi, Everleigh." The Hufflepuff girl took the sink next to her, letting the water run to wash her hands. "I feel like I never see you around here. Did you have the day off at the infirmary?"

"Not quite." She smiled at her through the mirror. "I stayed this morning, instead."

"When do you even sleep?"

"I don't. Sometimes Garreth makes a Wideye draught for me and I am up until the morning."

"A potion from Weasley?" Adelaide scrunched her nose. "Didn't he blow up a cauldron the other day?"

"Oh, yes. But the way I see it, if I'm torn to pieces, I won't have to worry about exams."

The other girl laughed. Roaringly. Which was exactly what Everleigh had intended considering how dejected she had looked when she made it into the bathroom. Her face softened slightly before her gaze met with Everleigh through the mirror. Adelaide shifted around to stare at her directly, something different gleaming in her eyes.
Uncertainty.
She wanted to say something and didn't know how to.

"Are you... with Grant Page?"

That made Everleigh blush softly, and she cleared her throat, trying to sound steady. "No, we are just hanging out together. He seems nice enough."

"He is not." Her voice lowered, almost whispering, like she was telling on a secret nobody else should know. "I'm friends with Evangeline, his ex-girlfriend. She says that he has gone around spreading rumors about her cheating on him, when in reality it was him who was caught snogging another girl from Ravenclaw."