Passionate Professors || Sebastian Sallow

Part 1 | Ch. 14 - Hushed Corridors

The Potions classroom felt like it had shrunk in size with Sebastian standing and towering over me. I continued to glare at him, waiting for his rebuttal to my comment. When did he become so cruel?

"You're not exactly my first choice." He finally responded, his eyes shifting around the room at the mess he made brewing potions.

Years ago, there would've been a flirty sarcastic tone to our banter, even if there were some soft jabs. Now, we actually meant what we said, hoping to hurt each others feelings in some way. I hated how I always felt on edge around him, needing to prepare myself for an onslaught of very real insults.

"If we're going to work together, can we at least be civil? We don't have to like each other but I really don't feel like being berated every time I'm forced to see you." I stood up, commandeering the conversation. His bad attitude had gotten out of control.

He stepped back, a smirk forming across his pursed lips, almost as if he was impressed with my tenacity.

"Fine but let's make these meetings as brief as possible, I have loads of more important work to do." He said shortly, returning clean to the many empty cauldrons that he had left in a frenzy. The cast iron vats were scattered about, each workstation housing part of the mess.

I took out a single piece of parchment, a feathered quill, and an ink bottle knowing that he wouldn't be organized enough to take notes for us. I had always been the one keeping track of his assignments in the classes we shared together as students. If it weren't for me, most of his notes would've been left incomplete and his homework lost around the castle.

"So remind me again what this is for?" He asked curtly, waving his wand around the room, nearly taking my head off with a rogue cauldron in the process.

I ducked nonchalantly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction he craved, knowing he probably did it on purpose. "We need to come up with ideas on how to bring our two classes together and help each other with issues we're having I guess," I summarized, continuing to watch as the messy room cleaned itself.

"What if my issue is you?" Sebastian glared my way.

"And what if mine is you?" It was all I could do not to strangle him with my bare hands.

"Good one," he quipped, shaking his head.

I clenched my teeth, feeling the bone grind together. Each vein in my body protruded as angry pressure built inside my core. Sebastian was trying his best to get a rise out of me and it was working.

"You piece of—"

"What about a dueling club?" He cut me off curtly, leaning up against a spotless workstation. He wiped the sweat that had beaded on his brows before undoing a button on his shirt, a light tuft of chest hair peeking out the top. I felt my face flush at the sight, betraying me.

"What like Crossed Wands?" I questioned with annoyance, remembering how we used to duel together as an unstoppable pair. A positive memory from our past that now made me sick to my stomach.

"Yeah, we could teach the students defensive spells and how to use certain potions in battle." He nodded along, clearly impressed with his own quick thinking as a cocky smirk took over.

"Would you look at that, you're not completely useless." I rolled my eyes scrawling notes down on the parchment, the scratch of the quill distracting me from his loosened buttons. Regardless of how mean he had been, there was no denying Sebastian Sallow had become even more handsome with age and I loathed him for it.

I pushed the thought of what else lay beyond the rest of his buttons into the deep depths of my mind. I wouldn't allow his good looks to trick me into thinking anything other than a foul git.