The List

Chapter 21. You win. I lose.

Her victory tasted like ash in her mouth.

Four days had gone by after the visit to Hogsmeade, and Everleigh had yet to feel pride about what she had accomplished.
Certainly she had wanted to make Sebastian's ego crumble in front of her, but she had never intended for things to get so... out of hands.

Everleigh had never thought to actually kiss him, let alone behaved in such indecent way.
How she had conducted herself...

With blushed cheeks, her gaze remained on the notes she had spread out on the table, as if she was trying to memorize them.

The Head's office had slowly started to fill with the eighth year Prefects from all four houses, crowding the room and seeking positions in a semi-circle. Amit Thakkar was standing next to her, and she could see his incessant shifting, an obvious tell to the edginess that appeared to corrode him inside.
Amit had offered to take the lead and speak up in front of the little gathering but Everleigh knew he would need a lot of encouragement.

Grant Page and Zacharias Smith made it into the room, followed by Juliet Herrington, one of Ravenclaw Prefects.
The meeting also included the Captains of the Quidditch's teams, and she was dreading having to be in the same room as Sebastian.
Who had yet to make it in.

Everleigh had left The Three Broomsticks after that intense moment, excusing herself to the rest of the table before she was dashing towards the exit. It was too late and too cold to walk to the castle, but the fresh air did her some good and helped her with the heat that populated her body.

Only when she made it into her room, she realized she was still wearing Sebastian's jacket.  A jacket that still smelled like him hours later. The entire time they had been in Hogsmeade, Everleigh had found herself bringing the collar up to her nose and inhaling his scent, only when he wasn't looking.

She didn't get him.

He behaved like an absolute asshat at any given chance. And then tried to help her on their last Quidditch's game.
He humiliated her in front of people all the time.
Just to turn around and defend her from others, even if she didn't need him to.

He antagonized her, and flustered her, and put her in mortifying situations where she had to bend her own boundaries for him.
She wasn't sure how to feel anymore. Except that, maybe, this time it should be her who apologized.
Especially when he had ignored her for the last four days.

Well, ignoring her was a loose word in that context. Sebastian still made it to some of the classes that Slytherins and Gryffindors shared together. And he had taken a seat next to her in every single one.
His hand still rested on the backrest of her chair, and his eyes focused on the book he had in front.

He wasn't looking her, though. Or even attempting to. To the school, the two of them still appeared to be in a relationship but he couldn't be more detached every time they were in the same room. Guilt started to simmer in the pit of her stomach, and all Everleigh could think about was how he had looked at her when she had him against that wall.

And how he wasn't even tilting his head in her direction now.

It would've been easier if Sebastian wasn't proud enough to let the fake dating go, but he still seemed very much on board to keep pretending. Maybe he was truly doing this for whatever reputation he appeared to have, even if it didn't make sense to her.

Everleigh was going to apologize. After the meeting that day, she would talk to him and express how sorry she had been for acting like that, and maybe try to reach an understanding with him.

— Thank you all for coming.

Amit's voice brought her back to reality, and she realized that her gaze had been absent for several minutes. The office door had closed after everyone was there. There were only thirteen people in the room, and somehow it felt significantly smaller. Everleigh's eyes searched for Sebastian unconsciously. He wasn't there.
Her heart skipped a beat.