The List

Chapter 20. Consequences.

Sebastian had anticipated Everleigh behaving like a petulant child. What he failed to see was how much she was going to get under his skin with her attitude.

He had been waiting for her outside the Quidditch's field, like he said he would. She appeared a lot later than the rest of her team, leaving the locker room with a different change of clothes and smelling like lavender and coconut. It was obvious that she had taken a shower, and she had made sure to do so for almost an hour.

If she hadn't looked so brattish as she made it out, Sebastian would've considered telling her that she smelled nice.
At that point, and after waiting for her for over sixty minutes, he much had rather taking those words to his grave.

She was wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt, an outfit not fitting to walk around Hogsmeade in the fall at evening time.

— Where is your jacket?

The boy didn't bother with niceties, staring at her through narrow eyes and furrowed eyebrows. She responded with a one shoulder shrug.

— I forgot it. — Everleigh was a lot of things, but a good liar was definitely not one of them. If she had truly forgotten her jacket, she had done so on purpose. — I suppose you are going to have to give me yours.

Ah. There it was.

Sebastian snorted at her resolve, shaking his head lightly.

— Absolutely not, it is cold out.

— Then I guess I'll have to go into the castle, all the way to the dungeons to get my own jacket. But who knows how long that is going to take me... The common room is so far away... I could be gone another ho...

— Shut up, Grayson. — He cut her off, already annoyed at how she had chose to conduct herself. Obviously Everleigh had planned to be as late as possible, enough to not being worth going into the village. And Sebastian wasn't letting that happen. — Just... shut up.

A second later, he was unzipping his own jacket and sliding it down his arms, practically shoving it against her chest. Her lips made a pout. And then her face turned into a faint expression of victory.
She put the jacket on, and it was quite amusing how the sleeves were so long, she had to roll them several times until they reached her wrists.

Still, the item looked more like a dress on her than anything else. Sebastian tried not to appear too humored by the visual, ignoring how the cold breeze struck him mercilessly. He was still wearing two layers underneath his jumper, but he reckoned that trip was going to feel eternal if he had to fare with no extra protection around the streets of Hogsmeade.

— Let's go. — Like he had done that same morning, Sebastian grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the path that surrounded the school and led into the village. — We are already late.

— Oh, pity.

Her mumble dripped sarcasm, and he glared at her over his shoulder. Everleigh looked positively smaller than normal with his jacket on her, almost like a little kid. Which was exactly how she had elected to behave that evening.

She refused to close her fingers around his palms, like she had done when he escorted her to the Astronomy tower hours prior. At least this time, she was walking beside him without throwing a tantrum.

Sebastian still pulled on her arm every time she fell behind. He wasn't a brute. Not completely.
The jerks weren't THAT vicious. Just enough to draw a scowl out of her each time, which he preferred to that expression of satisfaction she had before.

They walked in silence.

The trek to Hogsmeade wasn't long, but nighttime was approaching and couples tended to stroll around the path, seeking for hidden places to snog and watch the sunset over the towers of the castle. There were a lot of students lingering around, some in small groups.