WAR | dom & joe

[Deleted]

PAST: JUNE

Joe had a long day of juggling culinary school during the day and working the night shift at the restaurant in the evenings, leaving him grumpy and exhausted all the time. Since the past weekend, where he had the public fight with Dom Weasley at the pub, he found himself in a horrible mood he couldn't seem to shake. Joe couldn't remember the last time he dissected a situation involving a girl. He knew he was overthinking it - she was just crazy jealous...right? 

Honestly, she had every right to feel jealous or neglected while keeping her waiting around as he chatted flirted with his old Ilvermorny friends. He still didn't feel guilty about the situation, but he felt like he had a good reason. Joe wasn't typically one to pay attention to media or trash such as 'Witch Weekly', but this week he couldn't help but notice the radiant redhead on the front page of the magazine, entangled in a studly quidditch players arms. Who the hell was that Freddie guy? Seeing her on the magazine disgusted him; he was pissed off and filled with betrayal. Joe wasn't sure what got into him, though he always battled with being a jealous person, which was kind of ironic considering they fought over him calling her 'jealous'. This week it only amplified, he was pissed off every day the entire week after the incident. It was pathetic. Even his siblings noticed the change of attitude and gave him shit for it.

After a stressful, understaffed night at the restaurant, Joe wanted anything but Italian food after work - only he wasn't in the mood to prepare it himself at home. He stopped by the deli down the street from his flat he shared with his siblings in London Muggle London, and picked up some food for everyone that was packaged up carefully before heading home. As Joe stepped out onto the sidewalk of Muggle London, he closed the door behind him and started steadily for the direction of home.

Unfortunately, as soon as he got into the groove of walking, he saw her. Joe's jaw clenched and he felt his body tense up like a board, instantly clenching the handle of the bags in his fingers, knuckles going instant white. The young man wasn't expecting to see her after thinking about her, just like magic. Since she was walking toward him, he knew that he couldn't just turn around and walk in the opposite direction, because he wasn't a coward. So Joe prepared himself for an altercation. Seeing Dom sent his stomach to the ground, but he was mostly battling the anger that filled him from what he saw on the front of the magazine. Panic filled him because he wasn't sure if he should say anything to her or not because he may explode.

@dominique

[Deleted]

The past week had not been a particularly pleasant one for Dominique Weasley. Honestly, she felt like everything she was doing was fake. She was still pissed about how Joe treated her that night, no matter how much she tried to make herself forget it. She'd left him there, which clearly hadn't upset him at all since he didn't bother to come after her. That just made things worse. 

So when Freddie, her long-time, long-lost, old bad-influence best friend, came to her promising a good time, Dom decided to go. She wanted a distraction from Joe and from her feelings. She wanted to go out and just have fun. And she had. Freddie definitely knew how to have a good time. However, it did end up with her on the front page of a few magazines. Of course, none of the rumors were true. Dom and Freddie didn't have a secret relationship and she wasn't planning to run away with him, but of course that's what everyone in the world wanted to believe. She just ignored it. 

Though through it all, part of Dom couldn't help but wonder if Joe saw the magazines. Not that he'd care if he did. He probably spent that night wrapping his arms around some other girl, so why should he care what she did. But she cared about what he did. As much as she hated it, Dom was starting to come to the realization that what she felt for "Fontaine" (as she'd started calling him in her head) wasn't what she normally felt after spending time with other people. It was annoying. 

Still, despite her realization of her feelings- at least, that she had different ones for him than anyone else- Dom was keeping her distance. She didn't want to bother him with her "uptightness" and "jealousy". Those words still bothered her, keeping her up at night even when she promised herself she wasn't going to think about him anymore. Apparently she couldn't help it. 

She was wandering the town when she saw him. Was she close to his work? His house? She wasn't sure. She actually hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. She'd been too busy not thinking about him. However, he was headed straight for her. She couldn't tell if he was approaching her on purpose or just walking, but Dom wasn't about to turn away. She saw his jaw clench and lifted an eyebrow. Was he feeling tense? As he drew near, she nodded, "Joe," she said calmly, not about to let him see how her stomach was writhing at his nearness. He didn't need to know how tense she was right now. Also, she was rather curious to see if he'd stop and talk to her or if he'd just keep on walking. Either would be telling. 

@joseph

[Deleted]

PAST: JUNE

As the redhead came toward him, he wasn't sure how he was going to react. Honestly, he had a feeling that she would continue to walk, pretending he didn't exist. But she didn't. Hell, he wished she had because he didn't have the emotional capacity for an altercation right now. He was mentally exhausted and hungry; he was so close to home that he could practically taste his sandwich. As she said his name and stopped, he stopped, jaw clenching as he forced a toothless smile. "Dom" he greeted. It was more of an acknowledgment than anything because he looked at her, his composure appearing confused or annoyed. Joe was so jealous about seeing Dom tangled up with that quidditch player he didn't know how to handle it.

The young man's fingers clutched the bags in his hands, shrugging apathetically at the gorgeous redhead with a vacant stare. A stare that conveyed none other than a scornful 'what do you want?'. Joe turned on his heel and continued to walk forward. As much as it hurt to be angry with Dom, Joe wasn't going to apologize for flirting with his friends when they weren't even a 'thing'....then why did he expect her to feel bad? Joe just wanted a reason to be pissed off at the world.

@dominique

[Deleted]

And there he was, fiery attitude obvious, despite the fact that he only said her name. What right did he have to be mad at her? After all, he was the one who ruined their date the other night, though it was clearly obvious to her that he hadn't really cared about the date in the first place. Surprisingly enough, however, she wanted to talk. She opened her mouth to say something before he turned and started walking away. 

Dom's jaw dropped. Really? He was just going to walk away and not say a thing. "Really? I don't even get a compulsory 'how are you?'" She scoffed, "Don't worry. Next time I see you, I won't even bother saying hi," she called after him, trying to make the sting in her heart go away. He obviously made some sort of a choice regarding her, and that choice made him not want to talk with her or associate with her. Fine. Dom could do her own thing. She turned around so she wasn't watching him anymore, trying to decide what she should do next. She didn't want to think about Joe anymore.

@joseph

[Deleted]

PAST: JUNE

Joe's scoffed when the redhead asked him about a compulsory 'how are you?'. The thought made him laugh. Joe wasn't typically a nice person to just anyone. His plan was to continue walking past Dom but her words hung in his mind. Now, the instigator part of him wanted to entertain the idea of what she wanted. What did Dom want? Did she want another public altercation, again? He wasn't against yelling back and forth, his sister Ashley, any many Hogwarts and Ilvermorny students were well aware of that. He just didn't want to destroy the food that was in the bags he was currently carrying. Well, if it happened, it happened.

He stopped a couple of feet away from the radiant redhead. Joe stepped toward her a couple of steps, his piercing green eyes narrowing on her, "I don't do 'compulsory' anything. Definitely not 'how are you's, when I don't give a fuck." he told her coldly. Joe didn't care. Or...he didn't think he did. Until he was standing in front of her. Joe felt himself getting weak in her presence. 

Joe's eyes matched hers, "What did you wanna talk about, that new quidditch bad boy you were macking all over in Witch Weekly?" he asked her with a scoff. He couldn't take his own medicine.

@dominique

[Deleted]

Dom rolled her eyes at Joe's scoff, ready to walk away from him and try to seriously forget about him, no matter what her stupid feelings were. He obviously didn't care about her, so anything she might feel for him was pointless. But, he stopped walking. He turned to face her, even moving toward her and Dom paused, mirroring his expression as he glared at her. Oh, so he wanted to fight? Fine. 

She smirked coldly, shaking her head at his childish answer. "Well, it's good to know that after one argument, months of friendship is ruined," she retorted. Why was he so angry with her? After all HE was the one who basically stood her up on their date. At least, he was all over some other girl when he was supposed to be meeting with her. What, was he angry she had the self-respect to walk away instead of waiting around for someone who clearly wanted to spend his time elsewhere? 

Her eyebrows lifted at his next comment. Oh, so that's why he was angry? She tilted her head at him, expression mocking. "Oh? So that's why you're so snappy? Because I decided to follow your lead and "have some fun?" Or are you too "uptight" and "jealous" to realize that you were the one who wanted to do things with some other girl instead of a planned date with me?" She glared, "What, so you wanted me to sit around my flat and pine after you when you were clearly more interested in spending your time elsewhere? Sorry, but if you expected that of me, you don't know me at all."

Dom turned away from him, then paused, her voice a little softer. "I didn't mean to end up on a magazine," she admitted, hesitating. She wasn't trying to rub anything in Joe's face. Making out with Freddie hadn't been payback of any kind. It was a distraction. "Apparently they follow him around, which I wasn't aware of. That's not the kind of publicity I want." So it wouldn't be happening again. She didn't say that because she didn't owe Joe anything, but she implied it. That was all he'd get out of her. 

@joseph

[Deleted]

PAST: JUNE

Joe wasn't sure where he was trying to go with this encounter. He didn't want to write Dom off completely because he knew that it was partially his fault that they were fighting to begin with. Okay, maybe it was all his fault - Joe had a hard time admitting those things. He still had a lot of growing up to do. When Dom questioned him about being snappy with her, Joe cocked his head to the side slightly, now listening to what she had to say. The young man gripped the bag's handle, unsure what else to do while she ranted off.

The redhead wasn't wrong about anything she said. She explained that it wasn't her intention to be on Witch Weekly, and she didn't expect to receive that sort of attention. He felt like she was being honest about the situation. It seemed as if this disagreement was bothering her as much as it was bothering him. Something about that made him feel better. Maybe Dom deserved an apology, Joe wasn't good at serving up apologies of any form. He was quiet for a moment after the redhead was finished talking, unsure of what to say now. After the long day at work and all of these emotions, he was feeling very overwhelmed.

A sigh passed his lips as he turned to set the bags of food down on a nearby bench so that he'd be handsfree. Joe didn't know what to say. His eyes attempted to meet hers in a truce. "Okay, I get it why you're pissed, Dom..." he finally told her. Not wanting to waste any more energy on hating the redhead. It took too much time. "I'm sorry, Dom." he finally caved in, hesitating before continuing. "I'm sorry for blatantly flirting with other girls when you were around and I'm sorry for allowing this stupid fight to go on for as long as it has." he finally told her, trying his best to sound genuine, but it was more awkward than anything.

@dominique

[Deleted]

Dom wasn't sure how she expected Joe to respond to any of this. If she'd had to guess, she would have assumed that he'd fight. After all, he was the one who started it today, wasn't he? She'd just responded in fabulous, thorough style. Dom's style. Still, she hadn't expected silence. When she stopped talking, she took a deep breath, waiting for him to go off on his own ranting argument, but he didn't. Instead, silence. Dom's brows furrowed and then she turned to face him, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind. Why wasn't he throwing clever retorts at her? She knew he was capable. He was just as good as she was at dishing out stuff. 

He slowly put his bags down. She hadn't even noticed he was carrying anything. Food? Her eyes lifted to meet his, but she left her question unspoken, waiting for his response. When he finally did speak, it was to tell her that he understood why she was upset. He ... understood? That's what he wanted to tell her? What? 

He continued, throwing her off even more as he apologized bluntly, then went into detail. Dom's eyes widened. That was, quite honestly, the last thing she ever would have expected from him. Still, a small smile curved the corners of her lips. "Apology accepted," she responded, just as her mother would have wanted her to. But she couldn't leave it at that. "Was that as difficult for you to say as it sounded?" she teased, moving forward to touch his arm softly. He knew she couldn't help but tease, right?

@joseph

[Deleted]

PAST: JUNE

Joe was relieved that once the words left his mouth, Dom's demeanor changed. Her wide eyed smile was a good indicator that she didn't seem to expect an apology from Joe, and was quick to accepting his apology. She asked him if apologizing was as hard as it looked for him and his piercing green eyes flickered with amusement, "Yes." he nodded his head fervently without taking a beat. "I don't apologize unless if I have to." he told her, not sugar-coating it because he knew Dom had a thick skin and could take it. 

The redhead grabbed his arm, which caused him to step toward her to reciprocate. Joe offered her a small smile, "Losing your friendship over a stupid fight isn't worth it. So, yeah...I'm going to hug you now." he told her, a slight awkwardness to his tone, only because he was pissed at her a couple of minutes prior. These were a lot of emotions to process in a short amount of time. Joe closed the distance between them to  pull the redhead in for a warm embrace, happy that they could do that again. He was attracted to the gorgeous quidditch player and enjoyed her company, he much preferred the times they got along so this was a good thing they could make up after several weeks of avoiding each other. Now he hoped he didn't smell like a giant glove of garlic from working at the restaurant.

@dominique

[Deleted]

Joe answered that it was hard to apologize. His expression was still mostly serious, but a slight softening in his eyes led Dom to infer that he wasn't still angry at her. Instead he seemed ... to be trying to be honest. He continued, saying that he didn't apologize unless he had to. Her eyebrows lifted at that. Was he annoyed at her for making him apologize? He didn't seem to be. "Well, I suppose I should be honored that you apologized to me then?" Still teasing, in true Dom fashion. She probably should be more serious, since this conversation did matter to her, but she couldn't help it. 

He stepped closer to her, finally smiling when he said that losing her friendship wasn't worth it, then announced he was going to hug her. Dom chuckled at the awkwardness of his voice and movements. She honestly couldn't remember a time he'd been this way around her ... except for possibly when they'd met and he tripped over that thing in the street. Still, she accepted his hug, wrapping her own arms around him so she could hug him back. Without meaning to, she relaxed in his arms. She missed this. Being with him, feeling close to him. "So ... now that we're not fighting anymore," she started, pulling away to smirk up at him, "When are we going to get together and do something fun?" Anything. Anytime. Dom just wanted to do something with Joe again, so she could figure out how he felt about her. 

@joseph

[Deleted]

It seemed that Dom wasn’t completely mad at him anymore. He could feel his stress slowly fade away as she smiled at him. That was a lot better than the cold expression she was holding for him before. Joe was relieved when she accepted the hug, suddenly as she melted into his arms, everything felt like it was going back to normal again. ”Yeah, you should.” he agreed with her, meant to be taken playfully. ”Also sorry I probably smell like a clove of garlic, I’ve been working all day.” he laughed awkwardly, already knowing there was no denying it working in the Italian restaurant.

The redhead asked when they were going to do something fun and he couldn’t help but shrug, more out of tiredness. ”Well, if you’re hungry I have plenty of food here, as long as you don’t mind being bothered by my younger brother and sister, you’re welcome to hang out.” he laughed. Joe didn’t think it was weird bringing a girl around his siblings because he always had friends that were girls and girlfriends. He was good at dodging accusations and changing the subject when it came to that topic.

@dominique

[Deleted]

Dom chuckled as Joe confirmed that she should feel honored by his apology. She hugged hm a little tighter, closing her eyes as she memorized how it felt. She’d missed him. More than she wanted to admit. At his second apology she laughed outright. “You smell fine! I probably wouldn’t have noticed if you didn’t say anything.” Okay, so that was a lie. Dom would have noticed, but she wouldn’t have said anything. “Your hugs are worth it,” she added after a moment, just in case he caught the lie.  

He suggested that they could hang out now if she didn’t mind doing something with his siblings and Dom smiled. “I don’t mind doing things with your family, as long as you don’t mind me being there,” She was used to doing things with family. The Weasleys got together often and whenever they did ... well there were a lot more than three of them. She wasn’t intimidated by Joe’s family. “You have two younger siblings, right?”

@joseph
(we can play her with his family or end this one for another one ... what do you prefer?)

[Deleted]

PAST: JUNE

Joe squeezed his arms around Dom's frame when her arms tightened around his waist. It was nice to feel her touch again. Something that was becoming familiar to him a few weeks ago. So, he marveled in the embrace. Suddenly, his bad day was starting to fade away. This was exactly what he needed after the horrible day he had. "I don't mind." he told her, truthfully. He remembered her telling him she had a large family so she knew what to expect for the most part. Also, he didn't fight with his siblings like he used to. "Hopefully you like Italian food..." he said with a smile, untangling from the embrace after a prolonged moment. "Yeah, I have a younger brother and sister, as well as an older brother back home." he told her, a sudden longing feeling to be back in New York again. He missed life back home.

The young man offered her a small smile, picking up the bags of food and swinging his arms. "Cool. Well, I live down the street here." he gestured, bumping into her playfully like good old times. He just wanted things to be normal between them again. 

(gonna start the new one we were talking about in discord!!)

@dominique