Chapter 35: Coping

                                    

                                          
Garreth- The guy that says goodbye to you is out of his mind by griffin house
————————-
Garreth lost track of Anne somewhere around the astronomy tower, huffing in frustration as he looked around for her. The look she'd given him... so full of fear, despair and pain... he needed to find her. He wasn't sure what Sebastian had been talking about when she'd gotten so angry at him, but he at least wanted to reassure her. 
He heard a soft sniff and turned around, following the sound to the underside of the astronomy tower where they stored the lenses and unused telescopes. He spotted a corner of green robes from behind a box and let out a soft sigh of relief that he'd found her. 
He crouched down into the tight space and made his way over to her, stopping a short distance away in front of her. She was huddled between two boxes, wiping her eyes before looking at him with an embarrassed expression.
"You followed me." She said accusingly. 
"Of course I did." Garreth said gently. 
There was a short silence between them as she tried to wipe her tears away, letting out a frustrated noise as more just seemed to come out. 
Garreth let out a soft sound, having never seen the normally tough and strong Anne cry like this. He crawled over toward her to sit next to her, remaining silent as he looked down to her. She was looking away from him, still trying to calm down. He cautiously raised an arm, moving slowly before setting it around her comfortingly. 
That seemed to break the dam, a soft sob tearing from her as she leaned against him, burying her face in his red vest. 
"Oh, Anne..." he said in worry, his arm tightening around her as he watched her cry against him, hating that he didn't know what this was about. He didn't want to ask though... she was so delicate right now. So different from how she normally acted. 
"I know he means well but he can be so callous!" Anne said in frustration, gripping his robes in frustration. 
"Probably why he needs two people to keep him in line." Garreth said softly. 
Anne let out a weak, shaky laugh at that, and Garreth breathed softly in relief. There was a smile. 
She scooted closer to him, her tears drying, but she still leaned against him gently as she breathed deeply. "Sorry I ran." She muttered. 
"It's fine." Garreth said, not wanting to say how he'd instantly run after her. He'd have to redo the thunder brew potions he'd been working on but he hardly cared. This was far more important. 
"You're really nice, you know that?" She sniffed softly. 
Garreth chuckled softly, leaning forward to try and look at her face. "Even though I want to punch your brother for making you cry?" 
"Maybe especially for that." She said a bit bitterly. 
He chuckled and squeezed his arm around her gently, looking off into the rest of the atrium. One of the lenses faced them, showing a reflection of them huddled together. He smiled at the sight, rather liking it. They looked good together. 
"I'm... scared what the curse did to me." Anne said quietly. 
Garreth looked down at her in surprise that she was opening up like this, but stayed silent for her to continue. 
"I know it did... something. I can feel it. But I don't know what the curse did, or what the poison did. I'm such a mess." She said sadly. 
"I'm assuming you went to St Mungo's and they checked you out?" He asked gently.