Year 5: Out of Sync

Chapter 43: November 2017

The war between Dominique and Summer raged on as October turned into November. Even Dominique knew that it was starting to get out of hand, but she didn't know how to stop it. Defeat wasn't an option, but Dominique also wasn't sure what victory looked like. Since sleeping with Dylan Becker, Dominique had slept with a few more guys, though she suspected she'd slept with less than Summer. But with each encounter, Dominique felt less and less satisfied. If victory was sleeping her way through more of the boys of Hogwarts than Summer, Dominique wasn't sure she wanted to win.

With a Hogsmeade weekend approaching, Dominique knew that she needed to acquire a date for herself. Summer would surely have one, and if Dominique didn't, Summer would never let her hear the end of it.

"Can't we all just go to Hogsmeade together as friends?" Brooke pleaded when Dominique asked her to help her select a boy to ask to join her in the village.

"Don't pretend you don't understand competition," Dominique shot back at her friend, irritated that none of her friends were supporting her the way she would have liked. "Especially with Summer Snow. The two of you have been enemies ever since third year when you both joined your house quidditch teams as seekers. And it's only escalated more this year now that you're both prefects."

"Yes, but we compete in healthy ways," Brooke insisted. "We compete on the pitch. We complete in classes. We compete in our perception by the teachers. We don't compete for how many guys we can sleep with, or who can win a guy's attention."

"If you don't want to help, then just stay out of it," Dominique huffed.

Dominique hated how judgmental Brooke could get sometimes. Sometimes Dominique felt like the dirty, slutty friend next to Brooke's picture-perfect façade. But Brooke wasn't as perfect as she made herself out to be, and Dominique wasn't as terrible as Brooke pretended she was.

After days of debating, Dominique finally selected someone to invite to Hogsmeade with her: William Stimpson, from Ravenclaw. He was a little on the nerdier side, but Dominique liked that about him. He was attractive in an unassuming way, and Dominique doubted that he would push her to do anything she didn't want to do. Over the past month, Dominique had learned that she preferred to be in control when she was with a guy, not the other way around. William struck her as someone who would let her take the lead, if anything were to transpire after the date.

She pulled him aside after charms class a week before the trip.

"Hey William, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked as he passed by with a group of his friends.

Dominique's reputation preceded her, as his friends began ooh-ing and waggling their eyebrows at him. William shoved them off and walked over to join Dominique where they had a little bit of a semblance of privacy.

"What's up?" he asked, hiking his shoulder bag further up on his shoulder.

Dominique didn't want to play games or beat around the bush in any way. There was no point, really. In her experience, it could only lead to a lack of clarity and increased uncertainty. She wasn't interested in either of those things.

"I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?" she asked bluntly.

William looked a little taken aback at the offer and his eyes darted around, checking to see if anyone was listening to the conversation.

"Are you asking me for…" he trailed off, and Dominique thought it was kind of cute that he couldn't finish the sentence.

"I'm asking you to spend the day with me down in the village," Dominique assured him. "Anything else would depend on how the day went."

Though her proposal didn't necessarily have to involve sex, Dominique also wanted it to be clear that it wasn't off the table either. It would be up to her whether she wanted to offer it once they returned to the castle.

William debated for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, yeah," he agreed.

"Great," Dominique said. "We can meet in the Entrance Hall at eleven."

With that said, Dominique walked off before William could say anything else. It was important to her that she have the last word. It was all about power. She wasn't about to give it away to anyone, including William Stimpson.

DdDdDdDdDdD

Saturday arrived, and much to the entire school's delight, it was a nice and relatively warm day. Dominique had been worried that it would have been cold and that she'd have had to wear a travelling cloak, but it was just warm enough that she could get away without wearing one.

She dressed herself very carefully that morning, in another outfit she'd stolen from her older sister's closet over the summer. Like the sweater she'd worn on the Hogwarts express, it was just a bit too small for her, enough that she was showing more skin than she should, but not enough that she didn't fit into the clothes.

"You're really wearing that?" Brooke asked, looking Dominique over as she fixed her hair and applied her makeup.

"You're really wearing that?" Dominique returned, gesturing to Brooke's outfit. Brooke was wearing an oversized sweater and had a travelling cloak draped over her arm for when she went outside. It was the least sexy outfit Dominique could imagine.

"My relationship with Tom is based on more than just my body," Brooke declared stiffly. "We actually have a connection, which means that I don't have to dress myself up like you to keep him interested."

"Whatever," Dominique muttered, already annoyed. She honestly didn't understand why Brooke had to be so condescending. Dominique was living her life, and as long as she wasn't getting in the way of Brooke living her life, why should Brooke care?

Dominique headed down to the Great Hall and grabbed a bit of breakfast before going to meet William. She sat with Miles, who was acting strangely mopey and despondent.

"What's the matter with you?" Dominique demanded as she cut into a sausage.

"Nothing," Miles muttered, staring into his plate of eggs, which he hadn't actually touched yet.

"Well cheer up," Dominique ordered. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend."

"I'm not going to go," Miles said, shaking his head.

"What?" Dominique frowned. "Of course you're going to go! You can't just sit up here in the castle and mope all day."

"Well I'm hardly going to go down into the village alone and watch a bunch of couples enjoy the day together," Miles muttered.

Dominique saw the problem. Miles was gloomy because Brooke and Tom were dating, and now Dominique had a date to Hogsmeade, which left him the odd man out. In fact, with how busy Dominique had been with all her guys and dates recently, Miles had probably been feeling left out for a while.

"How about I make you a deal?" Dominique suggested. "When I get back from Hogsmeade and say goodbye to William for the night, I'll come and find you in the common room and we can play a game of gobstones like old times."

"I don't know," Miles said hesitantly. "You're probably going to want to…"

"I promise I will make time for you," Dominique assured him. Whatever she and William decided to do after their trip to the village surely wouldn't take all night. There'd be time for a game of gobstones at some point."

Miles sighed. "Alright," he finally said, not seeming all that cheered at the prospect. "Whatever you say."

Though he wasn't jumping for joy now, Dominique was determined to lift his spirits later that evening by spending a bit of time with him. He was her friend and deserved some attention. And going forward, Dominique was determined to do what she could to improve Miles' situation. Perhaps what he needed was a girl of his own to spend time with, so that he wouldn't always be left to his own devices. Dominique could certainly help with that.

She met up with William in the Entrance Hall and together they began the walk down to the village. Dominique had been prepared to be mostly bored – most of the guys that she'd spent time with recently were terrible conversationalists with only one thing on their mind. But William was decent to talk to.

He asked about her friends and in turn described some of his. William told her stories about the antics that his dormmates would get up to. Not knowing her Ravenclaw classmates all that well, Dominique found herself intrigued and amused at this peek into their lives. It seemed that Ravenclaw was very different from Gryffindor, and yet also vey similar. While the Gryffindor common room often saw pranks being pulled and friendly fights being fought, the Ravenclaw common room was full of scholarly debates that could turn into heated arguments.

They arrived in the village and spent a few hours visiting the shops and seeing the sights. It was all things that Dominique had already seen, but it was still a nice change of scenery after being cooped up in the castle for so long.

Since she'd had a late breakfast, they skipped lunch, waiting until dinnertime to make their way to the Three Broomsticks. A dinner date was much more romantic than a lunch date after all.

Despite the hoards of Hogwarts students, Dominique and William were able to snag a table off to the side that was slightly removed from most of the activity of the pub. They placed their orders and got a couple of butterbeers while they waited for their food to be ready.

"I've had a lot of fun today," William confessed as they sipped their drinks.

"So have I," Dominique said, realizing as she said it that it was actually true. William was interesting, and funny, he was smart and could carry on a conversation with relative ease. He'd stared at Dominique's breasts rather sparingly, which had surprised and impressed Dominique. She hadn't realized it, but she appreciated that he looked in her face when he talked to her – something that most other guys couldn't do.

"Look, I know that you have a bit of a reputation…" William began. Dominique nodded. Her exploits weren't something she'd ever tried to hide. "But I want you to know that I'm not – expecting anything."

"Alright," Dominique nodded, unsure what to make of that. Was he saying that he wasn't interested in her? Or was he saying that he didn't want her to feel pressured if she wasn't interested.

"I really like you," William said then. "You're beautiful and you're smart and you're pleasant to be with. I don't want to do anything that could mess this up."

"Mess what up?" Dominique inquired curiously. This was a wholly unfamiliar interaction that she was having now, and she didn't entirely know what to make of it.

"This," William said, attempting to explain. "You and me, on this date. It's something that I'd like to do again sometime."

This caught Dominique a little off guard. Up until now, her interactions with guys had been one-time things. Once she'd been with one, both her interest and theirs would dissipate. But strangely, she realized that she actually wouldn't mind spending more time with William sometime in the future. In fact, the idea appealed to her.

Their food arrived, and Dominique busied herself with eating it to avoid having to admit her feelings out loud. It was kind of uncomfortable. Dominique had spent the year making sure that she never again found herself in the same position as last year. Last year she'd become so hung up on Adrian Carter that she'd ended up missing out. She'd gotten so lost in him that she hadn't been able to live her own life.

She'd been determined this year that that wouldn't happen again. She was going to live her life, screw what anyone else thought. But if she let herself like William – really like him – she risked losing herself again. She risked losing herself in him, and she wasn't sure she wanted that.

They finished their dinner and slowly began to head back up towards the castle. After the slightly intense pre-dinner conversation, William had switched back to lighter topics, like Trent Mitchell and his obsession with astronomy. But as they neared the castle, Dominique felt a strong pull to return to their conversation from before.

She waited until they were nearing the Entrance Courtyard and then pulled William aside, off the path and into the shadows where they wouldn't be interrupted by others returning from the village.

"Listen, before we go back inside," Dominique said. "I just wanted to say… I would also like to do this again sometime."

The nervous expression that had filled William's face when first pulled off the path turned into a grin.

"You mean that?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do," Dominique agreed. Living her life didn't have to mean never getting close to anyone. It meant doing what she wanted. And if she wanted to go out with William again, then she should do it. As much as she refused to admit it to anyone up until now, including herself, her encounters in abandoned classrooms with random guys were starting to get a bit old. She wanted more, and William was offering her that.

"Well there isn't another Hogsmeade weekend until December," William pointed out. "But maybe we could do something else? I don't want to wait a whole month."

"Neither do I," Dominique admitted, her breath catching as she let herself be a little vulnerable.

"There's a quidditch game next weekend," William offered. "I'm not the hugest quidditch fan, but maybe it would be fun if we went together?"

Strangely, Dominique found that she loved the idea. Not only would a quidditch game offer them some semblance of a date-like structure, but going with someone who wasn't really into the sport might actually make it more fun. They could talk during the boring parts, and it would seem like Dominique was supporting her friends, all of whom were on the team.

"It's a date," Dominique smiled.

William and Dominique walked together all the way up to the seventh floor until they reached the point where their paths back to their respective common rooms diverged.

"I can walk you back to your tower if you'd like," William offered.

But Dominique shook her head. Gryffindor Tower wasn't far. There was no need for that. Instead, Dominique pushed William into a small alcove nearby, keeping her hands on his chest and staring intently into his eyes. She knew what she wanted.

But William wrapped his hands around hers and lowered them to her sides, shaking his head.

Confused and embarrassed, Dominique turned around, not wanting William to see the humiliation in her face. She'd thought – well it didn't matter what she'd thought. Clearly, they hadn't been on the same page.

"Dominique – " William began, but Dominique cut him off.

"No, it's fine," she said. "I shouldn't have assumed – "

"I want to," William said, surprising Dominique. "But not tonight. We should get to know each other better first."

Dominique turned around, daring to look into William's eyes. She'd never felt this vulnerable before. Even including all the times she'd met up with guys in abandoned classrooms, broom cupboards, and alcoves like this one, she'd never felt this scared. She realized that it was because this time, she actually cared about the guy she was with. She wanted him to want to be with her, and not just for what her body could give him.

Cupping Dominique's face, William leaned forward and placed a soft, gentle kiss on her lips, pulling back after mere seconds. It was the sweetest kiss Dominique had ever had.

"I'm really looking forward to this weekend," William said, stepping away and out into the corridor.

Dominique followed him, the emotions running through her overwhelming.

"Okay," she said, unable to come up with anything better.

"Goodnight Dominique," William said.

"Goodnight William," Dominique returned.

William turned and walked away, disappearing around the corner in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower and Dominique slowly made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, trying to muddle through what she was feeling.

Up until now, every experience Dominique had had with a guy had been the same. They all wanted to sleep with her. Some were more dominant and tried to take control of the situation. Others were less so, allowing Dominique to control the encounter. But in the end, Dominique always knew every time that they were only there for one reason.

But William hadn't wanted that. Or he did, except that he wanted more along with it. He wanted to take Dominique to the quidditch game. He wanted to get to know her and talk to her and tell her stories about his dormmates and listen to stories about hers. And Dominique realized that she wanted that too.

Dominique had been trying to figure out what the point of all this was. She'd been trying to figure out what victory looked like. Maybe victory looked like William Stimpson. Maybe victory looked like finding a guy who liked her and wanted to spend more time with her. Maybe victory looked like finding someone who actually cared about her, like finding someone she liked that liked her back.

She'd wasted last year pining over a guy that never showed her the time of day. She'd wasted the beginning of this year spending time with guys who's interest in her was superficial at best. But what she'd been looking for was a deeper connection. She'd been looking for a relationship.

Dominique returned to Gryffindor Tower to find Miles waiting for her with his gobstones ready to go.

"So how was it?" he asked as he got the game set up.

"Really good," Dominique replied. "We're going out again next weekend."

"Oh," Miles said, looking surprised and a little put out. "Really?"

"Yeah," Dominique nodded. "I really like him. You should be happy. I'm finally over my meaningless sex phase."

"Right," Miles nodded, looking significantly less happy than Dominique would have liked. "Right. Good for you."

Dominique couldn't understand it. When she started seducing guys, Miles got mad at her. When he found out she was sleeping around, he was disappointed. And then when she admits that she's ready for a real relationship with someone, he's still glum? She couldn't figure it out. She wanted to pull Miles out of his slump, but he just seemed miserable all the time these days.

DdDdDdDdDdD

After a couple of games of gobstones, Miles almost forgot about everything that was going on with Dominique. In fact, it almost felt like the old days, when she didn't care about chasing after guys and the two could just spend time together without anything else getting in the way. But as the evening came to an end, and Dominique announced that it was time to head up to her dormitory, Miles felt himself growing sadder and sadder.

He wished Dominique would just open her eyes and see what was right in front of her. But she was distracted. Miles couldn't understand what she was looking for, and just hoped that William Stimpson wasn't it. And as much as Miles hated watching Dominique parade around with all these guys, and as much as he hated the idea that she was now interested in William, he also knew that he couldn't stay away from her. He couldn't look the other way and pretend she didn't exist.

Even if it killed him, he would remain her friend. He would listen to her talk about William and all the other guys that may come after him. He would stand by her, no matter how painful, no matter how much it made his heart ache. Because she was Dominique. And no matter what Miles did, he couldn't help but love her.