The Keeper

Chapter 48

I listened to Blasphemous Rumours by Depeche Mode, Sunshine Riptide by Fall Out Boy and Kick Me by Sleeping With Sirens.

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After a long night of dancing, drinking and generally feeling great, the final toast happened and I clinked my glass against at least a dozen others, filled with something that would make the teachers scowl. Slightly tipsy, I had my arm around an also tipsy Oliver's waist and was pressing fervent kisses to his cheeks.

"Congratulations!" I slurred.

"We," Oliver stopped to suppress a burp and I grimaced, "don't even know our results, my lovely, beautiful, kind Y/N."

"I know that!" I insisted and prodded him directly in the centre of his chest. "But," I continued, elongating the word as long as my breath would allow, "I can still congratulate you for finishing your exams, right? You can't tell me I can't congratulate you, Ollie."

"Oliver."

"Ollie."

"Oliver."

"Okay, you two," Sasha said, Felix right behind her. Her voice was calmer and her breath didn't reek of alcohol. That wasn't at all how she was supposed to be at a post-exam party.

I let go of Oliver and stumbled towards my best friend, putting my glass down on a small table nearby. I placed my hands on both of her shoulders. I beamed and squeezed her shoulders tightly.

"Sasha. Drink more."

"Wow," she giggled, "straight to the point." She blocked my hand when I reached for my glass. Annoyed, I pouted childishly at her. "But no. I can't take much alcohol anyway and I don't want any of my friends to wake up with a sledgehammer in their skull. So no more drinks for me or you. Or Aleeza and Louise. Do you know where they are?"

Felix stepped out from behind Sasha and told her he'd take care of it. The look on her face as she thanked him made me squeal. When Felix was well out of earshot, Sasha shot some elaborate swear words at me.

She promptly stopped when Felix returned, shepherding Aleeza and Louise, who did not look very stable on their feet at all.

"I think it's time we sent everybody off to bed," he suggested, looking around at the dwindling crowd, "before somebody breaks an ankle."

"Good idea," Sasha agreed. She ignored my suggestive eyebrow wiggling and bent down to help Aleeza and Louise take off their shoes. Even without their heels on, the pair still looked like they could've collapsed at any moment. "It's an improvement, I guess," muttered Sasha. "Felix and I will take Aleeza and Louise back to the dorm if that's okay?"

Oliver and I nodded and let them go.

"We're aloooone now," I sang, leaning against his side. I paused for a second before realising, "But we're in public. I can't, like, make out with you or anything."

"I can do this," Oliver said. He swept in and pressed a long kiss to my lips, leaving me blushing.

"That's nice."

Scanning the room, I noticed that the sofa in front of the armchair was unoccupied. The very drunk couple who had previously been fondling each other and presumably relocated to the bedroom. I took Oliver's hand and led him over. He took a seat and I lay down, my head in his lap. I instinctively relaxed and let myself sink.

"I'm very, very, very happy that there aren't any more exams," I remarked. I looked up at Oliver to see a nasty grimace on his face. When I questioned it, he grumbled something about NEWTs. My expression suddenly mimicked his. "Ew. I don't wanna do NEWTs."

"Trust me," Oliver said, "I don't either."

"Ooh!" I said, raising my hand like I was trying to answer a question. "I know a way we can look on the bright side." Oliver raised an eyebrow so I moved onto my explanation, feeling immensely proud of myself. "Well there are the OWLs and the NEWTs, right? OWLs in fifth year and NEWTs in seventh. We've just finished our OWLs, yay! So that means we've completed 50% of all of our big, scary exams!"

Oliver seemed to ponder my thought process, biting his lip and narrowing his eyes. After a few seconds, his face returned to normal. "That... makes a lot of sense. Thank you, Y/N."

Pride filled my drunk chest. "You're very welcome."

I wasn't sure exactly how long Oliver and I spent together on the sofa, just sitting and chatting. The more time ticked on, the soberer I became. I was nowhere near complete sobriety but enough alcohol had left my system to start making me feel drowsy.

"Oliver," I yawned, "I'm really tired."

He chuckled and brushed some hair out of my face. "I can tell. You've been yawning almost constantly for the past ten minutes."

"I have to get back to my dorm," I realised, thinking about Sasha, Aleeza and Louise. "They'll worry about me."

"They know you're with me. They know you'll be okay."

"But where will I sleep?" I continued, trying to sit up. Oliver pushed me down again but I kept trying to get up. "I can't exactly use your bed."

"You can sleep here," he said. His tone of voice hinted that this was the end of the discussion, and to be honest, I was happy about that.

I snuggled in closer to Oliver. He was comfortable and I knew I would sleep well. The last thing I remember before I fell asleep was him kissing my forehead and saying he loved me.