No Choice But You // Ominis Gaunt x Reader

Chapter 42

It was finally the day of The Yule Ball, and all the girls had decided to come to our dorm to get ready. Anne was finishing up the last touches on her makeup while Poppy was still fretting about her dress in front of the mirror. Even Imelda seemed a bit nervous about the dance. Natty was even in the room, still in the bathroom putting on her dress.

"So you and Garreth?" Anne asked Imelda. The quidditch captain only rolled her eyes as she adjusted her earrings in front of a mirror. I was finishing up my own makeup, but I paid attention to the conversation, feeling just as curious as Anne was. Anne still hadn't told us who she was going with. I'd let up a while ago on that one, but maybe we'd get some answers from Imelda. 

"Are you two, like, a thing?" Anne prodded. 

"What's it to you, anyway?" Imelda snapped. I looked over at her, and through the mirror, I saw a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. She set the handheld mirror down and sighed. "If you really want to know, this is a first date of sorts, I suppose." 

"So it is romantic interest then?" Anne asked. 

"I suppose you could say that. He was rather persistent about it, actually. Though I would have preferred a first date to be something other than The Ball, but I couldn't say no." 

Anne grinned, finally having the answer she was after. Natty popped out of the bathroom in her dress. It was a beautiful and shimmery red gown, which really accentuated her features. It made her glow, even. Everyone looked so beautiful--it was hard to believe the night would be anything but. 

"I knew it!" Natty said in reply to Imelda, a huge smile on her face. "I tried asking Garreth about it, but he was rather coy."

I chuckled and so did Poppy on the other side of the room. 

Poppy was wearing a cream-colored gown with a puffy skirt that had a sheer black tulle top layer, with black accents on the belt and the neckline. It wasn't something you'd normally see Poppy wearing, but it still looked lovely on her. It was a dress that her Grandmother had sent for her to wear, which was why Poppy wore it. I couldn't help but wonder if it was something she would have chosen for herself, given the way she fretted over the dress in the mirror. 

"Do you think Sebastian is going to like it?" Poppy asked, spinning around to face us. "It's- I don't know..."

"It looks gorgeous on you," Anne told her. "He'd be stupid to think anything else. If he says or does anything stupid, you can bet that I'll bet here to smack him for you."

Poppy chuckled and turned back around to face the mirror. "It does look good doesn't it?" She smoothed her hands across the bodice, going a few half spins in the mirror as she watched the skirt move. 

"It looks good on you, Poppy," I reassured her. "You'd look good in anything. I swear." And that was true. All of my friends were stunning. They'd look good in burlap sacks if that's what they were given to wear. 

My dress fit well--surprising, given the amount of weight I'd lost recently due to some of my 'issues'. I was still having problems eating properly, but Ominis had been trying to get me to eat more as of late. Thanks to that, I often had an upset stomach, but it was starting to get better the more I turned to a normal eating schedule. 

My stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies as I thought about Ominis. I knew he wouldn't see my dress, but I was still worried about how I was going to look. I wondered what he was going to wear, too. Of course, he'd look handsome in anything, though. I was just excited to get to spend the evening with him and the rest of my friends. 

It would be one of the first times that all of us were hanging out again with no bad air between any of us, and I was happy about that. Everything just felt so right at the moment. Thinking about how good everything was going, I couldn't help but wonder when it was all going to fall apart. 

Things always did. When it came to me, it was inevitable. That's why I couldn't help but despise the warm feelings inside my chest. All they told me was that things were going to take a turn for the worse soon. Whether that be in the form of an episode or something else, it was bound to happen. 

"What's with that sullen look?" Anne asked, pulling me from my thoughts. 

"I don't have a look," I defended. "Everything is perfect." And that was true. But that's what the problem was. Everything was too perfect. 

"You definitely have a look. Are you nervous? Because you look stunning, and everything is going to go perfectly."

"I am kind of nervous, I suppose," I admitted. "I just can't help but feel like something is going to go wrong. It's just my anxiety getting the better of me."

Anne crossed the room to where I stood and placed her hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring look. 

"Well, don't let it do that. Everything will be fine. You'll see." She gave me a small smile, and I returned it after taking a breath to try and calm myself. 

She was right. Everything was going to be fine. I looked fine, I felt fine, and everything was fine. 

Nothing could go wrong. 

* * * 

We all headed up toward the Great Hall, stopping before the doors. They were still closed, as the start time was still about fifteen minutes from now. I wiped my hands on the sides of my dress, trying to calm myself. 

Everything was fine. Everything would be fine. There was nothing to worry about. 

Natty separated from us when her date came down--it was some Ravenclaw boy that she promised to introduce us to later. Imelda left us when Garreth approached her with a huge grin on his face. I don't know how I never noticed it before--he was absolutely smitten. Imelda was harder to read, but even she had a smile playing at the edges of her lips. 

"Are you going to tell us who your date is now?" Poppy said, poking Anne in the ribs with her elbow. 

"You really wanna know?" Anne said with a mischievous grin. "Really really?" 

"Just spit it out!" Poppy exclaimed. 

"I, Anne Sallow, have decided to take myself to the dance."

"Wait--really?" I chimed in. 

"Yep. Boys suck. It's not for lack of being asked though, I can tell you that," she said with a sigh. "I just don't feel like putting up with a guy for that long."

"Understandable," I said with a chuckle. "But you had to wait to tell us that?"

"I thought it was funny to see you all pulling your hair out about it. So I let it go on."

"You're so mean!" Poppy said with a playful eye roll. "Leave it to you to run us around in circles!"

We laughed for a second, but then Ominis and Sebastian came up the stairs. Sebastian immediately came toward Poppy and wrapped his arms around her. "You look so beautiful," he told her. She grinned and hugged him back. 

Ominis, on the other hand, was still planted at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn't read his expression; it was some faraway look that didn't seem to have any place in the given moment. Shouldn't he be more happy? What was wrong? Maybe he just hadn't noticed me yet, even though he did have his wand held out in front of himself, the tip glowing red. I took a few steps forward and started to make my way over to him, but someone shoved past me right before I reached him. I stumbled but caught myself, and then turned to see who had pushed me. 

But the sight I saw made my heart drop all the way to the bottom of my gut. I was frozen. I didn't know what to do or say. Was there anything to say? I wasn't sure. 

Ominis opened his arms with a smile as a rather smug-looking Cressida Blume approached him and wrapped him in a hug. She turned and eyed me, giving me a malicious grin as Ominis continued to smile. 

I was gobsmacked. I wasn't sure what was happening.