𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄 || 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Chapter Nine

Sebastian Sallow had a problem.

He could not stop thinking about Vienne Austen.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't possibly get her off of his mind. He tried to do so, desperately even, but she wouldn't leave. There were many things regarding her that plagued him, but one was his feelings about her.

Especially after she had almost kissed him. They were that close to it happening. And his mind had been ablaze ever since.

Ominis noticed something was off about him. He was acting a little differently, asking himself questions, getting dazed, and staring off for long periods of time. And it worried, to be honest. Sebastian had acted very strangely after he was released from Azkaban, similar to this, just much worse, but he was worried that something might have happened to trigger something.

He asked Sebastian several questions over the past couple of days, and Sebastian always answered, but his mind always seemed to be somewhere else.

"What is up with that man?" Ominis sighed to himself one day. He truly had no idea what was going on with his best friend.

But Sebastian could no longer deny that he was in love with her. He almost kissed her the other day for Merlin's sake! He loved her a lot. And he didn't know how to deal with that.

Did she love him back? Did she even like him? Did she just see him as a friend? Surely not after that almost kiss, right? She was the one who initiated it—or at least that's what it felt like. His mind was so clouded he couldn't even think straight about anything. It was the most confused he had felt since being released.

And that alone was another thing that was plaguing his mind. He felt guilty being so close to Vienne while she didn't know his past. When she didn't know what had happened and that he had been in Azkaban for ten years. It felt so unfair to her.

But he was scared, scared that she'd see him differently or want absolutely nothing to do with him after he'd tell her. Maybe word would get out, and he'd have to leave town and do things on his own. It terrified him, especially knowing that he could lose Vienne.

It didn't matter if they got into a relationship or not; Sebastian just desperately did not want to lose her in any way. But the truth could drive her away, and that kept him up at night.

But he knew that it was so unfair to her, giving him all this kindness while he wasn't telling the full truth. He thought long and hard about it but then just told himself that he was going to tell her. She deserved to know, and if he lost her, then he lost her. It was her choice, her decision. She was allowed to make whatever decision benefited her, even if that meant leaving.

So he sent her an owl, asking her to meet him that night. He was going to meet her and tell her everything; that was for sure.

Sebastian was filled with anxiety as he wrote the letter, but he knew it needed to be done. He sealed it and sent it off, taking a breath to calm himself.

***

Vienne was in her room, unable to sleep. She was reading a book to help pass the time, waiting for either something exciting to happen or for sleep to finally come her way. Ironically, moments later an owl appeared outside of her door.

She immediately stood up and opened her window as the owl dropped the letter. She had no idea who it was from, but this was interesting. Quickly, she grabbed open the letter and opened it up, slipping the note out.

"Vienne, I need to talk to you about something important. My apologies for the suddenness of this letter, but I can no longer keep this a secret from you. Please meet me in the woods so we can talk. Again, apologies for the suddenness of this letter. Best of wishes, Sebastian."