Side Effects |a Sebastian Sallow story|

Like We Used To

Isaac rolled over and planted a kiss to the bit of her forehead she left exposed. "Nope. Not joking. It's okay though, I might feel offended if I hadn't pictured the ever aloof best friend who was always plastered to his hip." he teased, eye's widening at a second realization. "Wait, were you speaking French?"

Letting out a gasp, Kathryn removed her hands, a deep blush still prominent on her cheeks. "Isaac Cooper, were you pretending I was Ominis Gaunt?!" she cried in exasperation, before remembering her own embarrassment. "Guess we both have a thing for snakes huh?" she teased back, a small smirk on her lips. "And oui. I was. I did grow up in France and my mother is French." 

Isaac looked shocked at the new information about the girl, but decided not to dwell too much on it. "I guess we do." he replied to her previous statement about their shared serpentine crushes, before getting up and redressing himself. 

                                                                                        ☼

It took Kathryn a bit to get over her own embarrassment enough to realize what her friend had confessed about himself that night, and Isaac had looked a bit nervous around her the following day thinking she would look at him differently. Amongst society it wasn't common for two people of the same sex to be involved romantically, especially not in public. Kathryn reassured him that she didn't see anything wrong with it and vowed to keep his secret. 

The two of them became more close after that and developed a deeper friendship, one built on a mutual understanding of one another. Now Isaac Cooper was more like the teasing brother she never had and loved him all the same. Some saw their relationship as a bit unconventional, whispers and rumors circulating around were to no surprise. 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Kathryn was packing away her books in the library when none other than a certain Hufflepuff boy sauntered over to the table she occupied, a small smile on his lips. 

"You look like hell." Isaac jested, pulling out a chair to take a seat across from her. 

Kathryn snorted, "I feel like I'm still there." she spoke a little too honestly, a small frown pulling at her lips. 

Furrowing his brows, Isaac sat up in his seat. "What's on your mind?" he questioned, grey eyes scanning the downturn angle of Kathryn's mouth and the stress lines between her brows. 

"Nothing, I just feel.." she started but trailed off, not knowing how much she should divulge. It's not like Kathryn couldn't trust him, and she adored her friend's advice. But she couldn't sort out her own feelings enough to even know where to begin. 

Isaac seemed to get the hint, immediately jumping up from his seat to round the table. Holding out his hand, he helped Kathryn up from her own seat. "Understood. Maybe we could get a nice bottle of elf wine from the kitchens, sit up in the clock tower window amongst the dusty rafters and take some stress away? What do you say?" he suggested, poking her frown until a grin spread across her face. 

Kathryn nodded. "I'd like that. Thank you." she paused before remembering something important. "Wait, I have prefect duty tonight in the greenhouses until two."

The boy put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side, "Then we'll just meet after." Kathryn leaned into him and he planted a kiss to the top of her head before escorting them both toward the library exit. 

                                                                                             ☼

 It was almost midnight during her rounds when Kathryn heard a small crash from the back of the greenhouses. There was a staircase behind a tall tree that led down to a small tunnel that mostly held old planting supplies, so she knew nothing should have caused the sound.