Speak Now (Riley)

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Dom was kind of excited for today. Of course, she was sure that Riley wasn't looking forward to the big engagement party for him and Priscilla, but it was an excuse for her to see him and she was excited for that. Also, she'd asked Joe Fontaine to accompany her so she wouldn't get bored. Sorry, but a party designed by the high-society people was bound to be boring and her best friend would likely be busy greeting people and whatnot, so she wanted to have someone will her that could help break the monotony of the party. 

Even so, at the moment Dom was waiting at the Hogwarts gates. She couldn't go inside the school, but she could wait right here for Riley to come. If she knew her best friend at all, he'd want to go on a walk this morning. Why wouldn't he walk to Hogsmeade? So she stood by the gate, rubbing her hands together and whistling as she looked around. Hopefully she was right and Riley would come. She'd definitely be disappointed if he didn't. 

@riley

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Riley had all but made up his mind. Kinsey had asked him to pick her. He didn’t think that was possible. He still wasn’t sure that it was. But he started thinking, no matter what his parents would do to him, or even possibly the both of them, even if they had him killed, tortured him forever, or even just disowned him, it wouldn’t matter because he would be doing it all for the woman he loved. He did love her. He loved Kinsey Bainbridge. Sure, they had only dated for a few months, but in just a matter of days she had become his best friend, in just a matter of weeks they were dating, and then just weeks later they were in love. And that feeling had never left him, no matter how hard he tried to stop loving her. To forget about her. To ignore her and his feelings for her. It hadn’t stopped.

Riley saw the familiar head of red hair standing just past the Hogwarts gates. Dom. He should have expected that she would come looking for him. He was already late for his own engagement party, plus, she was his best friend. “Hey.” he said.

@dominique

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While she was waiting and hoping for Riley to show up, Dom found herself getting a little distracted. There wasn't too much to be distracted by, other than all the people walking by. Lots of them were dressed nicely for the party. Dom herself was dressed nicely, though she wasn't formally dressed. Yet. She had a dress to change into right before she met Joe. The fact was, she was planning on spending at least a little while walking around and talking with her best friend. She might not have time to do that during the party, so she'd take her chance now. 

She smiled when she heard his voice behind her and turned to face him. "Hey Riley. You look really nice." She looked at him a little closer. "Are you ready for this?" She knew he wasn't happy about his engagement, but she also knew he was determined to go through with it. Dom wasn't about to try and talk him out of it again. She didn't want to make Riley upset with her. Not again. There was enough of that over the past few months as they talked about Kinsey and Dom learned her lesson. She just wanted to make sure he knew she was there for him. 

@riley

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Dom said that he looked nice and Riley nodded his thanks. He didn’t really care whether he looked nice or not to do this, but he wasn’t going to let a perfectly good suit go to waste, he did like looking nicely. He never wore just jeans and a t-shirt, if he were going to dress casually, he’d pair a nice pair of jean with a clean looking sweater or a well pressed button down shirt. “You’re not exactly dressed for a party?” he noticed. She looked nice, she always looked pretty, but he had expected her to wear a dress or something. “Doesn’t matter, you don’t need to be.” he added. “I’m gonna make this quick.” he decided. He ignored her next questions. Was he ready for this? Not at all. Not even a little bit. But he was going to do it.

@dominique

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Riley actually seemed distracted and Dom frowned as she looked at him. He just nodded when she told him he looked nice. Then the first words out of his mouth were that she wasn't dressed for the party. Dom exhaled sharply, almost a disbelieving laugh as her eyebrows rose and she looked at him. "Well, I'm not at your party yet," she explained, her tone definitely defensive. "I brought nice clothes with me, but you know how I feel about dressing up." Dom didn't dress up unless she had to. Riley knew that. Why was he being so weird. He continued, saying she didn't need to be dressed nice and Dom froze for a second. Wait. He was going to make what quick. She reached forward and grabbed his arm. "Wait. Wait, Riley." She tried to pull him so she could looka t him better. "What is going on? You're being really weird ... and kind of rude." Which was weird because Riley was normally so careful about how he behaved. "Tell me?" Dom wasn't sure if he would. For the first time in her life, it seemed like he was keeping something from her. She didn't like the feeling. 

@riley

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Dom grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop before looking at him and asking him to tell her what was going on because he was acting weird and a little rude. He hadn’t meant to act rude, especially not to his best friend, not to the only person that was still going to be on his side after all of this. Besides Kinsey, if she would ever believe him or take him back. His heart pounded so hard he could not only feel it in his chest, but he could hear the blood flowing in his ears, he could hear the beats. He swallowed. “Kinsey begged me not to go through with this… and I’m going to listen to her.” he told Dom. He should have done this ages ago, months ago, but he couldn’t. He honestly wasn’t sure he could now, what stopped his family from just having him killed now on the spot and then going after Kinsey? Okay, maybe that was dramatic. There would be hundreds of people there, after all. “I’m going to go tell my parents now.” he decided.

@dominique

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Riley stopped when she grabbed him and Dom was definitely relieved by that. She was a little worried for her best friend; she honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him like this. He didn't answer her right away, but when he did Dom's jaw dropped and her tone was astonished. "She asked you not to go through with the wedding?" That was what it sounded like, but Dom was surprised by Riley's decision. The last time she talked to him, he insisted that he was going to marry Priscilla, that he wouldn't leave her for Kinsey. What changed his mind? He seemed too anxious to want to really talk about it though. She let go of his arm, "You're going to tell your parents right in the middle of your engagement party? Have you told Priscilla? Or Kinsey?" She assumed that Kinsey would be the first person Riley would tell, but Dom's head was reeling and she wasn't really thinking through the questions spilling from her. 

@riley

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Riley almost felt a little pang of regret when he heard the words come from Doms mouth. Maybe this was crazy. Maybe this would make things worse for him and for Kinsey and for them all. Maybe he was being semantic. Okay he was certainly being dramatic. But maybe he wasn’t thinking.

But this wasn’t about him anymore. This was about Kinsey. And Kinsey wanted him. She needed him. And he wanted her. Even if that meant never seeing his family again or possibly bringing harm to Kinsey and himself in the process. “I’m not going to go through with the wedding.” He confirmed when she asked. She let go of his arm as she asked if he had already told Priscilla and Kinsey. He shook his head. “No. I haven’t told anyone. I’m going to do that now. Wannah come?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows a little. For the first time, a smirk took its place back on his lips.

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Dom wasn't quite sure if she was understanding Riley correctly. He was determined, that was for sure, but Dom hadn't seen him behave like this in a long time. It seemed like he was finally coming back to himself, back to the realization that he was in charge of his future and that he could do what he wanted and what he felt was right. A smile crept onto her face when he told her that he wasn't going through with the wedding. Do wanted to whoop and cheer for him, but she wasn't quite sure if he'd appreciate that. Either way, she was proud of him for making his own decision and following his heart. "Good for you, Riley," she answered softly before he spoke again. 

Her eyes widened slightly at his admission. He hadn't told anyone yet? Not even Kinsey? She hadn't expected that, but Dom nodded her head when he asked if she wanted to come. "Of course! You know I'm always here for you. I'll come with you and then go off to find my date once you go looking for Kinsey," she commented casually. Joe wouldn't mind her being a little late, as long as she showed up, and she was fairly certain that once Riley told his parents, he'd start searching for Kinsey. She stepped up to him, taking his arm as the two of them started walking toward the tea shop. "Do you know what you're going to say?" she asked quietly as they walked. Hardly anyone was around, but she didn't want anyone to hear the conversation. 

@riley

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Dom was happy for him and he was glad he was done disappointing the people that he loved. And Dom was certainly at the top of that list. Then she said that of course she would come with him and that she would find her date after. “your date?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. Was she dating someone and hadn’t told him. He felt like a complete jerk for not knowing what was going on with her. He shook his head when she asked what he was going to say. “whatever comes to mind, I guess. The truth.” they couldn’t keep telling him how to live. He was going on his own.

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Dom grinned when Riley asked about her date. No, she hadn’t told him about asking someone to meet her here. She didn’t really have the chance. She shrugged, ”Yeah, my date. I figured you’d be busy doing who-knows-what, so I found someone I’d be able have some fun with and asked him to join me.” Joe was definitely good at keeping Dom entertained. They’d spent New Year’s Eve together, so she knew they’d be able to have fun here too. Then she realized she was being vague and chuckled. ”I asked Joe Fontaine. He took me to the New Year’s Party, so I thought I’d return the favor.” There wasn’t anything serious going on between her and Joe. They both just wanted to have fun and got along with one another fairly easily.

She nodded when Riley said he was just going to say the truth. ”Sounds good. I’ll be right on the sidelines, cheering you on,” Dom promised quietly. She would always be there for Riley when he needed her, especially on a day like today where everything was changing. She was proud of her best friend and walked quietly beside him as they made their way into the village.

—- the end —-

@riley