The Keeper

Chapter 37

I listened to Lethargy by Bastille, Come Alive from The Greatest Showman and The Only Exception by Paramore.

Please vote and comment <3

*

I was smiling when I woke up, faint memories of a happy dream fading from my mind. Sasha was still asleep but Aleeza and Louise were getting dressed. They immediately turned to face me.

"Tell us everything!" they said together.

I told them to wait until Sasha woke up too because she didn't know the full details either. Albeit reluctantly, the pair agreed.

I noticed that Gillian must've woken up and left before any of us, as she wasn't around.

*

When all four of us had sat down, I started to recall the events from last night. They all listened excitedly. Aleeza squealed loudly when I mentioned the hug session on the loveseat. 

I told them about how

But Louise suddenly hushed us, because, "Oliver's coming over!"

The way all of us shut up the second he sat down was suspicious. Thankfully, he didn't comment on it, slinging a comforting arm around my shoulders instead.

"Morning, everyone." He smiled politely, but it didn't feel forced. It made me happy to know that Oliver genuinely liked my friends. Except for Gillian, although there was no way in hell I'd ever think of considering her a friend anymore.

Breakfast passed wonderfully. I was acutely aware of Oliver touching me almost the whole time and he made an effort to sit as close to me as possible during the lessons we had together, even if we were separated by our houses.

When we were told to pair up in Herbology, he looked directly at me, hope in his eyes. Part of me still hadn't adjusted to the disappearance of amortentia and was, therefore, expecting Oliver to run off to Gillian. Thankfully, she wasn't in the lesson for whatever reason and Oliver wanted to pair with me.

I felt a pang of guilt about leaving Sasha but she waved me off with a smile on her face. Felix then walked up to her and they became a pair.

The same thing happened in all following lessons, with the same feeling of joy when I saw Oliver look to me when the professor called for groups.

Astronomy was without a doubt the most eventful subject of the day, as was expected. Professor Sinistra had an eyebrow raised as she watched Oliver and I walk into her classroom talking happily to each other, and then proceed to sit together.

After she set our assignment, she came up to Oliver and asked him a question quietly.

"And where is that other girl you normally sit with?" she asked. "Miss Brabbing, I believe."

"I'm not sure, Miss," he replied with a shrug. "I haven't seen her today."

"Is that so?" Professor Sinistra's eyebrows rose further. "That's odd. Considering how..." It was clear she was giving her next word a lot of thought. "Considering how close you two seemed, I'd imagine you'd know the reason behind her absence."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, we had a large falling out."

Understatement.

"I see," the professor said. "Thank you, Wood."

As she strode back to her desk, Oliver turned to look at me, his eyes wide. I noticed his cheeks were slightly tinted pink.

But the interaction did leave me wondering where on earth Gillian was. She wasn't in the dorm last night or this morning, or at breakfast. She wasn't in any lessons either. The majority of me was indifferent, to be honest. I'd told myself to forget about Gillian after Oliver came to his senses. So far, I'd succeeded. However, no matter how hard I tried, there was still a part of me that couldn't help but wonder where Gillian was.

The thought was nagging my conscience for the rest of the day. I did try to suppress it, not wanting to bring up the topic of Gillian. Until I believed it was the right time to talk about it, which was in the evening when Sasha, Felix, Oliver and I were sitting in front of the fireplace.

Aleeza and Louise were supposedly studying in the dorm, but the rest of us weren't in the mood to work that night.

I trusted Felix enough to talk about Gillian; I knew that he was a very close friend of Sasha because of quidditch, which was another contributing factor. I always have trust in my teammates. There was a rivalry between Oliver and Felix, although it wasn't anything serious at all.

I relaxed my shoulders in an attempt to calm my nerves before speaking.

"Have any of you seen Gillian today?" I asked tentatively.

They shook their heads.

"I was beginning to wonder that too," Sasha said. "I mean, she wasn't in our dorm at all, any meals, lessons."

"I wonder why," said Felix.

I was fairly sure why. "If I was her, I'd find it difficult to show my face," I said. "I mean, she did get confronted semi-publicly about her amortentia use. And I wouldn't be surprised if the whole school knows by now. News travels fast."

"I was quite angry at her," Oliver mused.

"Which was completely justified," I said, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I honestly wish I told her how I felt at that moment."

The subject was quickly changed and my queries about Gillian's whereabouts were subdued until Felix and Oliver went to bed.

When we pushed the door open, we found that Aleeza and Louise were genuinely studying. They'd fallen asleep on Louise's bed with various textbooks sprawled around them.

Gillian wasn't there. Her bed was untouched, still perfectly made from whenever she was here last. She'd always been picky about keeping her things neat.

I pushed the thought aside to the best of my ability, however, and fell asleep.