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His tongue danced around his sugar quill, teeth nibbling in small, brief edges to occupy his silence, to keep him from stuttering out dramatics and over theatrics. He lounged backwards with his spine pressed against the rough bark of the tree he was shadowed under. Adalaide narrowed her eyes, and Dominic only further proved her suspicions by deliberating averting his gaze away from her and out towards the lake and its glossy surface. She seemed to be in a debate with herself, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was on the verge to instigate him further, or harass his ego, the latter of which, was honestly what he was hoping for. Instead, she did him one better and completely avoided the topic by making an offhanded comment about the sweets. He sighed, relieved, maybe he shouldn’t have made it so obvious, but he couldn’t control that now.

When Adalaide had proposed her next question, Dominic…. He wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. He blinked and titled his head, almost as if assessing every reason why she might be trying to worm under his defenses. But he shook his head, she wasn’t a Slytherin, this wasn’t cunning trickery, or manipulation. His brows furrowed. Was he really that paranoid? Or had it really been that long since anyone actually cared to ask that question? ”Um, I dunno… I guess..?” He shrugged, an empty look in his eyes. Who was he to dump his thoughts on her? She had her own problems, probably more. Especially considering her best friend, that Slytherin girl was always getting into trouble! He wondered how Adalaide had, after all these years, not ended up in the middle of those crazy stories he’d heard through the grape vine. Or maybe she was, and he’d just never been privy to that information before (or, paid attention while the conversation was going on, of course.) She was one of the few that made it through the Circus unscathed, but she was still there. The river of blood couldn’t be forgotten, or those dead glossy eyes, no matter how hard they tried.

Thankfully, maybe Ada even began to notice his awkward shuffle, but she didn’t pursue the question, and they moved on. The talk of Chris had lulled him from his earlier thoughts of bitter decay, and led to a much more amiable train of thought. ”So, wait, you’ve only seen him, how many times? Three?” His lips tore into a smirk, which grew into a lopsided smile, and then exploded into a grin with dimples in his cheeks. ”Bullocks! Really? Ha! That just goes to show how over exaggerate—“ He blinked when he finally noticed how flustered she was. Tongue in her cheek, she froze, and then she glared at him. He reeled back, his eyes widened for a split second as the back of his head hit the tree, reminding him he was firmly backed into a corner. ”Okay, okay, I got you….

“I mean, I think if anyone. I would understand that, Ada.” He nodded, a knowing look in his eyes as he remained silent. He didn’t want to pursue it; she was nice enough not to do it to him, it was the least he could do to repay the favor. And besides, it wasn’t very often he actually had someone to talk to. He better not have just screwed this up!!

Her glare and instant act of defense had Dominic reeling backwards until his head hit the tree with a loud thud and his laughter echoed. "Haha-ow-hahaha." She smiled a reminiscent smile, he knew it well; Dominic found himself walking past reflections with that goofy smile painted on his lip and dimples detailed in his cheeks. It was nice to see that, to see smiling faces and glittery eyes. Hogwarts castle was becoming too accustomed to the grim and dreary, and the latest thread on the grape vine was that a student had been found murdered, somewhere in the depths of the dungeons. He didn’t know if it was true or not, a part of him refused to believe it. It was just—it was much easier pretending that nothing was really real. And, spending time with Adalaide had helped to cement that fantasy, that, everything might actually be okay.

For the next few moments, they sat in comfortable silence. The realization of their profound secret finally dawning on each of them and just exactly what this now meant. Dominic had always been a boy who cherished his secrets, and who lied often to keep them. Of course, as a boy, he was forgetful, and his brother caught him in the act more times than he could count. But he fought for those secrets, and Gabriel never forgot that. As he grew older with Damien, as they matured, their friendship was solidified with just one secret: their girlfriends. Now he had another, and while normally, he would have felt paranoid and defensive, he actually felt… relieved. She smiled, and he smiled too. ”Oh, really?” He smiled, bemused. ”Even? I don’t get it; her telling you a secret somehow equals out to you telling me a secret? Feels like I got the better end of the deal.” He smirked and lounged back, his arms crossed behind his head to cushion his heavy skull from the rough tree bark.

”Well, to be honest…” Dominic paused, crystal blue eyes darted to the left. ”I never really told him about Grace either, so… I understand... Well I mean, I never told him, but, I… Didn’t exactly deny it either, so—I mean—I think he knows, but, maybe he doesn’t?” He blinked and paused and sighed, arms dropping down into his lap as he slumped over forward. ”I don’t really know…”