Silver and Green with Envy: A Sebastian Sallow Story

Chapter Five

It was quite the long walk up to the sixth floor, especially in the silence. It didn't help Sebastian's fingers were dug into my arm still. His grip didn't let up until we walked into the hospital wing. "Madam Blainey?" 

There was no answer. Sebastian cursed under his breath before yanking me over behind a partition where there was a cabinet with various tinctures and whatnot to fix my injury. "Do you know what you're doing?" I asked as he opened the cabinet doors and started rummaging around. 

"Yes. Be quiet and give me your hand."

I didn't question him further, unwrapping my hand but keeping the towel underneath it, as it was still bleeding pretty badly. Whatever Sebastian was looking for, he found, uncorking a small bottle and tipping it onto the cuts from the Tentacula teeth. I hissed, the liquid stinging something fierce.

"I know, it's not pleasant. You're alright though."

"Gee, thanks." I rolled my eyes and just watched as my hand slowly started knitting itself back together. 

It was quiet again for a few moments. Too tense. I figured it'd be over soon and he'd just leave. But again I was thrown for a loop. "Your perfume is different."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Um, yes? It's new." 

"Ominis buy that for you, too?" 

I yanked my hand from his, and glared up at him. He was still refusing to look me in the face, but I didn't care. "No! But-"

Sebastian grabbed my hand again and pulled me toward him roughly. My bleeding hand was held up and off to the side, but his other arm had wrapped around my back as he pulled me into him tighter. I gasped in shock, unable to breathe as he lowered his face toward mine.

Shallow breaths crashed off the lobe of my ear and I could swear I felt his lips brush my jaw as he spoke.

"Stay away from him, Elena."

The fingers of my good hand flexed against his chest as my brain tried to process what he'd just said to me. The hand on my back, in a mimic of the previous night from Ominis, slid up between my shoulders, pressing my chest against him. I shuddered in his arms and just knew the reaction made him smile. 

Part of me no longer wanted to play into any of this, but I did. I wanted to push, I wanted to see what he did if I pushed. "Why? What's so wrong with Ominis?"

"There's nothing wrong with Ominis. He's my best friend, and he's a good man. But you need to back off."

I choked out my words, barely. "You're in no position to ask that of me."

"I'm not asking."

"You can't demand it either."

I started pulling away from him and surprisingly, he let me go, though hesitantly. There was so much I wanted to tell him, to ask, but his face was still turned away from mine and I just couldn't do it. I took a few steps back, and when he didn't move, I just turned and left. 

I was angry at him, angry at Ominis and angry at myself. How did things get to this point so quickly? 

~~~

I found Ominis in the halls before lunch and sided up to him. "This is out of hand already."

"Really? It's only been a day." There was a small smile on his face and his words carried an air of amusement to them. 

"Ominis, I don't know what you find so funny about any of this." I recounted to him quickly what had happened earlier that morning. He started chewing at the inside of his cheek. 

"I knew it. He's jealous."

I nervously laughed at that. "Absolutely not. He hates me, Ominis. I feel like the mouse being toyed with by the cat. Obviously he's doing this to scare me away from you so things can go back to how they were last year."

Ominis stopped and turned toward me, his mouth set into a line. He started to say something then stopped a couple of times before he got out his thought. "But he doesn't. Hate you, I mean. From your perspective it seems like that because of his silent treatment for so long. But what if that's not the case, really?"

"...You've lost me." 

"Look. Just keep this up a little longer. Just a little. I have to puzzle some things out, okay?"

"Ominis..."

"A week, maximum. I promise. Please, Elena. I watched my best friend change so much in the past couple of years, I need  to know he's started to come back from it. I can't live every day wondering if I made the right decision in not turning him in. I know he's been in contact with the last of Rookwood and Harlow's crew. He fell asleep with notes out on his desk last night. I have to know why. But I think now, maybe, there's another way to do it. Maybe my plan was too rash before."

"I really don't like where this is going, Ominis."

"I'm going to make him snap."

"You're going to make me snap here in a moment."

"Look. At first this was because I wanted to distract him enough that he'd pull back from whatever he was up to. Or at the very least get him wore down enough that he'd confide in me what was going on. I needed you around to help me keep a close watch on him like you used to, and you and I dating seemed to easiest way to do that since I couldn't get you back into our trio another way. But again...I think perhaps I was looking at this from the wrong angle." 

I simply stared at him as he babbled on and on. "Ominis, you aren't making any sense."

Ominis started walking away from me, lost in thought. I stood there with my mouth hanging open, confusion written so clearly on my face that before I could go back after him, I was intercepted by Professor Weasley to make sure I was quite alright. I'd lost sight of him before I could convince her I was.