don't know when i'll be back again [dominique]

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It was fairly early in the morning when Shay awoke that day, though he couldn't explain why exactly he had gotten up so early. He had decided that he must have just had his fill of sleep and prepared for the day, though by the time he had taken the stairs up from the dungeons he was already yawning again. Séamus was considering turning and going back to bed, but now that he was dressed, and ready, it seemed like a waste to just fall back into bed. He'd just go to bed earlier that night to make up for any sleep that he might have lost. Shay hummed a song underneath his breath as he walked up to the Great Hall. He considered sitting down for breakfast, but he was rather worried that he was accidentally going to fall asleep on his food. He needed to wake up a little bit more first. Séamus decided to walk a circuit around the first floor of the castle before stopping for breakfast, bleary-eyed and once again considering going back to sleep.

@dominique

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It was the day. Today was the day that Vic was picking up Dom from school for a few days so they could talk about feelings and stuff. Honestly, that wasn't something Dom was keen to do, but once her sister got an idea, there wasn't anything Dom could do to change her mind. So she was leaving. She'd packed two small bags and was getting ready to leave, walking down the stairs to the entry way. She could have used magic to help her, but she didn't and as she hit the bottom step, she tripped and started to fall. She squealed a little, but was glad that on one else was around.

@seamus

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Just as Shay was rounding the corner to almost complete his circuit of the first floor, he heard a squealing noise. He hurried the last few steps around the corner, and was surprised to see Dominique Weasley there, beginning to fall. Without thinking, Séamus whipped out his wand. “Arresto Momentum!” He wasn’t sure if Dom was already too far in her fall for it to matter, but maybe it would save her bags from spilling out everywhere even if it couldn’t stop her from falling all the way. Shay was tempted to say something to Dom, but he didn’t want to embarrass her by pointing out her fall or something of the sort.

@dominique

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Dom froze when a couple inches off the floor, and not by her own choosing either. Then she felt herself be released and she fell on the floor, though not as hard as she would have before. She moved to her knees quickly, looking at her bags, which were- luckily- still packed. Then she looked up to see who helped her. It was Séamus. Dom smiled at him. "Hey, thanks for that. I probably would've gotten a bruise if you hadn't broken my fall," she said with a laugh. She wasn't excited about where she was going, but that didn't mean she had to be a grouch. Dom was pretty good at putting her feelings on pause when necessary. "What are you doing up and about so early?" She asked lightly as she rose to her feet.

@seamus

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Séamus heard a soft thud as Dominique fell the rest of the way to the floor, and he winced. Even if it wasn’t as fast or as hard of a fall as it could have been, it was a fall nonetheless. Dom looked up at him and smiled, and Shay smiled back, albeit a bit nervously. “It w-was n-nothing.” Shay said, brushing aside her thanks. “I’m g-glad you d-didn’t g-get a b-bruise, though.” Séamus said, in case Dom thought he was being a little too flippant about the entire conversation. When the Ravenclaw asked why he was up early, the Slytherin shrugged. “J-just c-couldn’t g-go b-back to s-sleep.” It was silly to think that the reason he hadn’t been able to go back to bed was so that he could talk to Dominique, wasn’t it? “Wh-where are you g-going?” Shay asked, gesturing to the packed bags.

@dominique

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He looked nervous and Dom wasn't really sure why, but she also wasn't dedicating all her attention to Séamus either. She was nervous about seeing Vic. Would she be able to keep her emotions under control or would she lose it right from the start? "No bruise! No foul, promise," she said lightheartedly, glancing past him and feeling relieved when her sister wasn't in view yet. She nodded when he mentioned that he couldn't get back to sleep. "Yeah, I can understand that," she commented softly. She watched Séamus, wondering if he would be surprised that she was so serious. Then he asked what she was doing. Dom smiled and shrugged, "Oh it's not a big deal. My sister wants to have a big conversation with me that we can't do here at school, so she'd making a trip out of it." She paused for a moment. "But if anyone asks, tell them I'm simply taking a short vacation." Not that she expected anyone to ask.

@seamus

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Dom said that there was no bruise on her, and there was therefore no foul, and Shay nodded. Dom seemed to be nervous about something as she glanced past him, and Séamus did his best not to turn around and let Dominique know that he had noticed her lapse in attention. When Dominique insisted that her trip wasn’t that big of a deal, Shay felt an odd twisting feeling in his stomach. Was she lying to him? “Is everything alright?” Séamus asked. The first thing that he noticed about his phrase was that he hadn’t stuttered at all, mostly due to the fact that none of the words had started with consonants. The more important thing that he noticed, though, was that Shay was definitely overstepping the bounds of a tutor-tutee relationship or an acquaintanceship, which had thus far been the only ways Shay had thought of himself and Dom. He still didn’t know what to call Dom, but Séamus was beginning to think that she might be a friend.

@dominique

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Dom paused and looked at Séamus, taken completely off guard when he didn't stutter at all, though she tried not to show it. Dom noticed little things like that, especially when it came to people she spent time with. She was good at noticing their quirks and changes when they happened, but she also knew when it was a good time to talk about it or not. This ... not a good time to talk about it, especially since she was leaving any second now. "I ... no," she admitted. Dom was normally pretty good at lying, but she didn't have the emotional strength to do it right now. She was too worried about what was about to happen over the next few days. She didn't mean to continue, but she did. "She wants to talk about ... things. Things that hurt, stuff from last year. I don't think I'm ready yet, but once my sister gets an idea, there's no stopping her." Dom knew that from experience, so she wasn't even trying. She looked behind Séamus again, then back to him. "Sorry," she gave a small, self-depreciating laugh. "I'll be better when I come back." Hopefully. But she wasn't going to tell him that. He probably didn't want to know all the stuff she just told him.

@seamus

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Shay frowned a little when Dominique admitted that everything was not alright. He didn’t want to push her, especially considering she seemed…sad. Séamus wished he was better at reading people, so that he knew when to push and when to hold back. Dominique said where she was going someplace with her sister. To talk about things. “I’m s-sorry th-that you h-hurt.” Shay said quietly. He didn’t know the issues Dom was dealing with or the pain she was holding on to, but if he couldn’t offer any comfort or consolation, at least Dominique would know what he was there. She didn’t want pity, but he didn’t know what else he could do, or what else he could say. “I’ll b-be w-waiting. Wh-when you c-come b-back.” Shay added, voice still below its normal level, which wasn’t that loud to begin with. “In the m-meantime, d-do you w-want h-help w-with your b-bags?” Shay asked, gesturing towards Dominique’s stuff, which was still on the floor. She probably didn’t need help, but after her fall, better safe than sorry.

@dominique

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Dom shrugged when Séamus apologized. None of it was his fault. "I'll be fine. I just ... after all that happened last year, my sister wants me to talk some of it out. She thinks that keeping my feelings to myself is a bad idea." Which wasn't something Dom could really disagree with, even though she didn't want to talk to Vic about Ethan. Then he said he'd be waiting when she came back. Waiting for what? Waiting to talk with her or see her or waiting for her to tutor him? Dom really wasn't sure what he was referring to. Then he asked if she wanted help and Dom looked down at her bags. She'd almost forgotten about them. "Uh, sure. Thanks Séamus." She started walking, not really sure what else to say. It seemed like the closer she got to leaving the more she was thinking of ... him. And she didn't want to, not right now, at least. Not until she'd left.

@seamus

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Dom explained that her sister wanted to talk to her about everything that had happened the year previous, something about not wanting Dominique to keep her feelings to herself. “Some p-people j-just aren’t as g-good at t-talking about th-those th-things.” Shay said quietly. He was one of those people, who didn’t quite understand others’ emotions, or his own. Being forced to sit down and describe them sounded like torture. Dom accepted his offer to take her bags, and Séamus picked them up with a smile. When Dom began walking again, Shay trotted behind her, feeling somewhat like an obedient puppy. He didn’t much care, though, because he liked to help people, especially people like Dominique. “W-well, I h-hope you h-have a g-good t-time…” Shay trailed off as they approached the entrance hall. That was probably the worst thing he could have said, especially considering she had just told him that the reason for the visit wasn’t a pleasant one, but Shay was trying.

@dominique

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Dom smiled at Séamus, relieved that at least somebody understood that she didn't want to talk about her feelings. Granted, him understanding wouldn't change Vic's determination, but it was nice to know that she wasn't the only one who felt this way. "Exactly. I'm glad someone understands that," she told him, wanting to make sure he knew that she appreciated him stating his point of view. He followed her to the entrance hall, saying that he hoped she would have a good time. Dom shrugged, "I'm sure I'll enjoy some of it, just not those conversations. Maybe I'll be able to distract my sister for a bit and we can do something fun. I'll let you know about that when I get back." They'd arrived and she turned to face the Slytherin boy. "Thanks again for your help. I'll see you when I get back." Dom waited for a second before leaving and then smiled before holding her hands out as a sign she could take the bags again.

@seamus

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Shay bobbed his head in a nod when Dominique said that she was glad that someone understood her inability to talk about emotional things. Maybe, Shay thought, it was a skill that you had to learn? He couldn’t understand how some people could be so open, about everything. Honestly, sometimes his emotions scared Séamus, which was more than he had ever told some of it. “Y-yeah. F-find m-me, I g-guess.” More likely, he would find her, or just be waiting for her when she got back. He didn’t want to be clingy, but sometimes, after doing something hard, you just wanted someone to distract you from what you just did, so you could move on from it. “N-no p-problem.” Shay responded, relinquishing Dom’s bags to her. If her hands hadn’t been full, Séamus would have hugged Dom, but as it was, he just raised his hand in an awkward farewell.

@dominique

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Dom nodded when he told her to just find him when she got back. "Sorry I'm bailing on you. I promise we can continue our sessions when I get back," she gave him a smile, despite her nerves. He gave her bags and Dom bit her lip before turning around. "Well I'll see you in a while then. Bye Séamus," she called as she turned to leave, taking deep breaths and telling herself over and over that she could do this. It would all work out and hopefully when she came back, she'd feel better.

---the end---

@seamus