The Keeper

Chapter 36

I listened to Good Grief by Bastille, D'You Know What I Mean by Oasis and To Wish Impossible Things by The Cure.

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*

"Because I love you, Y/N."

My jaw dropped and you stopped breathing for a moment. It took me a second to process what he was saying. He loved me. Oliver loved me.

"I love you too," I said, immediately throwing myself into a hug. Tears started to trickle down my face as I imagined the pain Gillian must've put him through.

I didn't want to think about him watching himself worship Gillian while it was clear he was breaking my heart. And he loved me the whole time.

I choked back a sob and squeezed Oliver tighter.

My mind wandered back to the day when I lost him. I'd been planning to tell him that I loved him. God, what if he'd been doing the same thing? What if he was going to tell me he loved me and then... 

And then Gillian took that and crushed it.

"I can't imagine what it was like for you," I said, my voice muffled by the fabric of his robe.

He replied without a second's thought. "Hell. Complete and utter hell, Y/N." He made a noise that made me wonder if he was on the brink of tears or not. The idea only made me cry harder. I'd never been happier to have Oliver with me.

After I'd calmed down and dried my eyes, I tried to stand up but Oliver pushed me back down again.

"Can we stay here until it's time for the next lesson?" he asked.

I melted inside. "Of course."

*

Oliver joined us at our table for lunch and dinner, to my delight. Gillian was nowhere to be seen - also to my delight. It meant that Oliver and I could go to the Ravenclaw common room without her glaring at us.

We chose to sit on the loveseat. The plush blue sofa came with many warm memories for me, particularly the lovely necklace he gave me. I kept it by my bedside and wore it if I was feeling down, but I hadn't touched it at all since I saw him with Gillian. Something told me I'd be wearing it a lot more often now.

Oliver lay down, his legs long enough to hand over the armrest. He held his arms open and beckoned me. Smiling, I lay on top of Oliver and let him hug me. My head was pressed against his chest, rising and falling with every breath he took.

This was the most intimate Oliver and I had ever been. And I was loving every second of it, despite the massive blush on my face.

I found myself sensitive to every tiny movement he was making. The gentle stroking of his hand up and down my back. His nose nuzzling the top of my head. The soft sound of his heartbeat.

"I really do love you," I said, but I was speaking into his shirt as opposed to speaking to him.

"Hmm?"

I lifted my head and looked Oliver in the eye. "I really do love you."

In a single sharp movement, he jerked forward and pecked me on the nose. "I really do love you too."

Unable to hold the eye contact for any longer without exploding (either from embarrassment or pure affection), I put my head back on his chest. 

Eventually, I made the decision to check my watch. The time made my eyes widen before I suddenly realised how tired I was. I tried to shift out of Oliver's grasp but he only held onto me tighter.

"Don't leave," he said.

"Oliver, we both have an early start tomorrow," I reminded him. "Maybe we can do this again on Friday night. Means we can stay up later, right?"

"But I don't want to let you go just yet," he grumbled. His arms snaked around my torso a little tighter.

Somehow, I managed to pry myself free. I began to run towards the stairs. But I was only moving for a second or two before Oliver's hand caught my wrist and pulled me back towards him.

"Well, you're up now," I said. "Might as well go to bed."

"I hate that you're always right."

Oliver pressed a long kiss to the top of my head and pressed his forehead on mine. I brushed my lips against his.

"Night, Y/N," he said, his breath tickling my skin.

"Night."

After kissing me one last time, Oliver finally managed to leave. I stood right where I was and didn't move until I saw him disappear.

As a reflex, I always smiled after a kiss. That's how Sasha knew exactly what had happened when I slipped into the dorm. She was the only one left awake.

"I hope you haven't been staying up for me," I joked, taking out my ponytail.

"Not intentionally," Sasha countered, kindly turning around so I could change into my pyjamas. "I suppose the anticipation kept me awake."

"What were you anticipating?"

Sasha chuckled to herself. "Let me run through the chain of events. You snag a boyfriend. You plan to tell said boyfriend you love him. The boyfriend gets poisoned by a fake friend, who I actually don't know the location of right now. Weeks pass but then suddenly the love potion wears off. The boyfriend comes to talk to you and I saw you last at dinner, where you were all over each other. So I'm a little interested to know what happened."

I fought to keep the blush off my face.

"Judging by the size of your smile, I'd say it was a rather successful night," Sasha said, grinning.

I didn't have to say anything for Sasha to understand my answer. Because yes - it was a very successful night.