Figures Dancing Gracefully (Ranger!)

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Dom wasn't nervous. She didn't get nervous about things like this. All it was was a big gathering of people. Dressed formally. Dancing with one another. All right, she was nervous! Dominique wasn't big on the whole dressing-up thing. Sure, she knew how to look nice- her mother and Vic made sure of that- but she wasn't particularly good at staying that way. Nor did she want to, most of the time. She'd rather be out having fun with people (generally boys) than acting mature and doing things politely. It just wasn't her thing as a general rule. But she was doing it tonight. She never really expected anyone to ask her out to the Yule Ball, but Ranger had. That was part of the reason she was nervous. She liked him, had fun with him and he was a super great guy, but she knew that so many people coming to this dance with dates were seriously dating them and she didn't know if she was ready for that kind of a thing. Still, she had fun with Ranger on their last date and she was positive that this would be fun as well. 

She got ready, grinning at herself when she looked in the mirror. She looked good! If Vic were to attend- though Dom knew she wasn't going to- she would have been proud of her younger sister. Once she was ready, Dom walked quickly until she was out of the Ravenclaw Common Room. She was ready now and hurried quickly to the Entrance Hall, where she was supposed to meet Ranger. She looked all around, but couldn't see him anywhere. Slowly, she made her way down the stairs, pausing a short way from the bottom so her head was above everyone else's. How was she supposed to spot him in this crowd?

@ranger (sorry that took so long, I thought I already posted it!) <3

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@dominique

ranger wasn't sure how tonight was going to go. they had decided to go to the yule ball together but ranger was confused as to whether it was as friends or as something more than friends. he had had a great time with dom on their date but he didn't actually think it was going to go anywhere but friends. she was great but there was nothing really there, at least not for him. he didn't know how she felt about it. still he was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, keeping an eye out for the familiar red hair coming down the stairs. when he saw it he smiled a little and he walked toward the stairs, chuckling a little when it looked like she was trying to find him too. "dom" he said, over the hum of the students already down in the room. he walked to her and stopped before her, needing to ask the question to set his mind straight. "hey dom. sorry to ask this before the dance, but i need to know. this is just as friends right? cause our date was fun and all but .. that's all it was. fun. there was .. no chemistry if you get where i'm coming from .. and i just wanted to make sure that we were both on the same page. friends?" he said with a small smile and he hoped that she wasn't going to slap his face for it.

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When she finally saw him, Ranger was smiling and Dom smiled back. At least he was in a good mood. That settled her nerves a bit. He walked over to her and then got serious. He started talking and Dom listened carefully, trying not to let the relief show on her face. She didn't want him to think that she'd been worried about this, but she had been and his words were making everything all better. At the same time, he looked nervous to tell her that he wasn't really interested in a relationship with her and Dom couldn't resist the chance to tease him. "No chemistry?" she asked once he was done, raising her eyebrows as she looked at him imperiously. It only lasted about a second though before her expression broke and she grinned, "I'm just kidding, Range. I feel the exact same way." She threw her arms around him for a second and then pulled away, still smiling. "Definitely friends. We're going to have fun with this, right? Now that we've realized we're both on the same page?" She hoped he'd be up for that. Really, she was just excited to go with a friend and have fun playing with her. 

@ranger

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@dominique

"I'm just kidding, Range. I feel the exact same way. Definitely friends. We're going to have fun with this, right? Now that we've realized we're both on the same page?" he grinned and hugged her waist when she threw her arms around him. he got it, some people just weren't meant to be together and him and dom were two of those people. they were better as friends, like him and anna were. "friends. seven years pretty much cements that" he said as he kissed her cheek in a friendly manner and he made to step back, his hand reaching out to hers as he bowed slightly at the waist. "would you care to dance, friend?" he said, flashing her one of his grins as he moved to stand up and he waited for her reaction to his question.

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He hugged her back and Dom was glad. That meant that he was really sincere about wanting to stay friends with her and she was glad. Dom didn't want to lose his friendship. "I'm glad." She answered, smiling when he kissed her cheek lightly. Really, Ranger was a good friend to have and was a lot more understanding than most others would be. Then again, it didn't hurt that he felt the same way. He bowed to Dom and she giggled and curtsied a little in response. "Of course, Ranger. Even as friends, we did come together. It wouldn't be fair if we didn't dance with one another." She moved forward and linked her arm with his, pulling him towards the Great Hall. "But we do have to go into the Hall if we're going to dance with one another," she told him with a wink.

@ranger

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@dominique

"Of course, Ranger. Even as friends, we did come together. It wouldn't be fair if we didn't dance with one another." he smiled when their arms linked and he tucked his hand over hers lightly. that was true, they had come together so they should dance. "i'm glad you agree." he grinned as he walked side by side with her, looking around at everyone and everything. he had to admit the great hall looked good. "But we do have to go into the Hall if we're going to dance with one another," he laughed and shook his head slightly as he took hold of her hand. "well we are in the hall" he said, tugging her lightly onto the dance floor amid the couples dancing around them.

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He was sweet. Dom was glad that both of them were able to talk with one another and clear things up before the night started. That was going to make the dance that much more fun. "Of course I do!" They walked into the Great Hall and Dom lost track of what she planned on saying. It looked great in here! She could hardly believe it was the same room she came into every day to eat. This was fabulous. "Yeah, yeah," she said good-naturedly when Ranger teased her, saying they were already in the hall. Despite her not choosing to dance whenever she could get out of it, Dom was a good dancer and she was ready to have fun with Ranger. Even though there was nothing romantic there, she was allowed to have a blast with him, wasn't she? "So what do you think?" She asked in the middle of the dance, gesturing with her eyes to the room around them.

@ranger

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@dominique

"Yeah, yeah," he laughed as they started dancing. he wasn't the best dancer by any means but his mother had taught him enough so he wasn't making a fool of himself. he felt a pang as he thought of her. today was their first christmas without their parents, him and his brothers and while it had been a hard one at least they had been able to see each other. it had been hard but they would get through it, slowly. he smiled slightly as he moved around the dance floor with her, stepping to the music and keeping one hand on her waist. "So what do you think?" he chuckled and looked around at the room surrounding them. he didn't really know what to say about it. it was nice sure. "it's still the great hall." he said with a grin as he looked back at her. "but it looks okay?" he said as he moved to spin her carefully.

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Dom laughed at Ranger's response. Really, she should have expected it, but she didn't. She was admiring the room and the decorations and not even realizing that it wasn't too different than normal. "I like it," she answered, smiling and moving smoothly as he spun her. "You are quite the dancer, Ranger Lloyd," she complimented in typical Dom style once she was right in front of him once more. Dancing was one the things that she loved to do but rarely got to so Dom was definitely enjoying herself, probably more than she should, but she didn't care. "So how has your break been so far?" She saw a bit of Ranger before the break started, they made cookies and went on their date and such, but she hadn't seen much of him since so that seemed like a decent question to ask. After all, Dom wasn't really one to dance in silence ... or do anything in silence really, but that wasn't the point.

@ranger

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@dominique

"You are quite the dancer, Ranger Lloyd," he smiled and shrugged slightly. he didn't think he was anything decent but he knew enough to keep himself from making a foo in front of other people. "you're not too bad yourself." he said with a smile as he danced with her on the floor. "So how has your break been so far?" was quiet the right way to put it? he wasn't sure. he had caught up with his brothers a few times but most of his time had been spent around the castle, working on some extra work to try and catch up from from earlier in the year. he hadn't done anything exciting. "good? i haven't been up to much really." he said with a laugh as he moved to spin them both around quickly, shake things up a little. "how about you?"

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Dom laughed, "I hope so. Vic and my mom spent enough time forcing me to learn to dance when I was little," she confessed in a lower voice. In all actuality, Dom tried to fight it at the time, sure that she'd never really care about dancing. Needless to say, she was glad they made her learn when they did. She laughed when his first answer to her question seemed to be a question itself. "You don't seem too sure of that, Ranger," she teased softly. Then he asked about her break, spinning around with her and Dom giggled. "It's been great! I spend a lot of my time outside, to be honest. I mean, I did my classwork at the beginning so I could do whatever and it's been nice to have a little more freedom here." He'd understand what she was saying, right? "Are you ready for school to start or not?" Most people would say not, but she didn't want to assume that he would say the same thing. What if he liked the consistency of being in school? Either way, she wouldn't judge.

@ranger

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@dominique

"Are you ready for school to start or not?" he had become distracted. the ministry people who were here. he knew most of them. had seen them more than once when he had ventured into the ministry with his father on holidays or weekends at home. they had worked with his father, fellow aurors and such alike and he suddenly felt like he couldn't breath. he dropped his hands from dom and he shook his head slightly. "i'm .. i'm sorry. i need some air." he said as he took a step back from her. "have a fun night dom." he said as he stepped forward to kiss her cheek quickly before making his way out of the great hall and into the gardens, taking a seat on one of the stools and looking at the sky.


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