Fate? Nah! (Dominic)

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Blue eyes snapped open as Katrina stared up at her ceiling in her room. Ears straining to hear if Ryan, her flatmate was still asleep or if he was up. It was quite so he must be asleep or at work. Throwing the covers off herself the blond stretched and peered out her window at the autumn world outside and grinned before hopping into the shower and changed into a pair of black slimy jeans. A cute blue turtleneck and black leather boots before heading out of her room.

She went through her routine of feeding her dogs, having breakfast and cleaning up. Today she had the day off so she planned on going to the park to enjoy the weather and allow her dogs some fun. She quickly caught her two dogs, Hatchet and Hannibal before clipping their leashes and after putting on her black fleece jacket he waded out.

The air was crisp in the morning an she breathed in the cold air with a smile. Her wet hair making her colder thanks to it still being wet from her shower though she don't mind. Hatchet, her black lab and German Shepard mix was eagerly pulling on his leash as he looked around while the ex-drug police force dog, Hannibal the older German Shepard staid dutifully at her side.

Katrina got a bright idea and grinned a she paused in her walking to grab her phone from her pocket. Clicking on Dominic's number she sent a quick text

'It's Kat! I'm heading to the park. You free?'

After it was sent she went in her way. Before she new it she was there and set down at a bench while she let her dogs loose and sniff around and play while she simply enjoyed the weather.

Tagged: @dominic

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Dominic started his day like any other. He woke up, enjoyed a quick and healthy breakfast, and then made his way down to the campus gym. His team mates were there with him, stifling any yawns they had and filling up their water bottles ready for a strict workout that they were all used to. It was routine, but it was still hard work. If any of them slacked off for even a minute then there would be consequences from the coach. For the scholarship kids like Dominic those consequences just weren’t worth it. Too many and there was a chance of being kicked off the team and then his whole college experience would be over. Basketball was the only way he had made it in to NYU and he wasn’t going to blow his chances just because someone wanted to tell a good joke. They could save that for the end, when their muscles ached with the sign of a satisfying work out. It was early enough that the machines were mostly empty, with only a few other athletes occupying the large state of the art facilities at that hour of the day. It had its perks, being one of the schools sportier kids, but Dominic had long since lost the ability to sleep in anyway. They had Sundays off from this, but he was still up at the same hour, usually getting a head start on the week’s laundry and other chores then.

When all was said and done, and he was fresh out of the shower, he took the chance to check his phone. There were messages from his brothers asking about Christmas presents, checking holiday plans, and other trivial bits that applied to the time of year. December was hectic with school and Christmas, but Dominic was eager to have a few weeks away from classes so that he could have a proper catch up with his family. The visits were fleeting these days, so he missed the good times when they could all hang out and share a beer in the early hours of the morning, watching bad TV and laughing about their memories. He was looking forward to making up for lost time with his dad and brothers. Dominic was just shoving his gym things back into his gym bag when his phone buzzed on the bench. This time the message was from Katrina. He read it over, taking a moment to double check the calendar on his phone to make sure he was actually free that day. Thankfully, a shift swap with a colleague meant that he was working the late shift, so his day was totally open. Dominic quickly replied, letting her know that he just needed to head home first to drop off his things and then he’d be more than happy to meet her at the park.

At his apartment, he tossed his not so nice gym clothes into his laundry basket and then took five minutes to grab another quick drink and scoff a banana down. Working out always left him feeling peckish. After that, Dominic sent Kat another text to let her know that he was on his way and then left again, only after checking that Connolly had food and water to see him through the day. Dominic would take him to the dog park a little later before his shift at the Sub Station. Heading out into the winter air, Dominic didn’t take long getting to the park. He was a fast walker, and didn’t live all that far away. After texting to find out where about Kat was, he headed in the direction, hands in pockets. His eyes finally landed on her and he made his way over. “Fancy meeting you here.” He joked, leaning against the bench, rather than sitting for the time being.

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TAGGED! @vortex
WORDS! 642!
OUTFIT! Dudey Dude!
LYRICS! Ink - - - Coldplay
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

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Kat was in a zone when her phone buzzed. Getting a reply from Dominic in confirmation to hanging out. She smiled. Good, she wanted to hang out! Her dog Hatchet was bounding over with a stick in his mouth. She chuckled and grabbed the stick before throwing it across into the grass. The mix went chasing after it.

Her blue eyes turned to her phone as it buzzed again and she replied before tucking it into her pocket. She stretched lazily and was about to get up to walk around and perhaps meet Dominic on the way but he beat her to it.

She beamed over at him and waved. "Small world!" She giggled. "Hi Dominic! Thanks for meeting me here!" She chirped happily with an endeering smile.

Tagged: @dominic
Song: In the End by BVB

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Dominic had more fun in the summer months, when the air was warmer and there was less of a need for layers. If he wasn’t such a sociable, outgoing kind of guy then he might have turned into something of a hermit when the colder weather swept in. He wouldn’t grumble or complain about it like some; everyone had their preferences after all. The basketball star just happened to prefer it when the sun was beating down on his skin and there was zero chance of slipping on the ice unless he was at the rink down at the Rockefeller Centre. However, there was no denying that Central Park looked magical at these time of year. There was just something about it in December that it lacked for the other eleven months. A shame really, but then he supposed it was what made it so special come Christmas when everyone flocked to the city for a multitude of reasons.

“New York can be like that sometimes.” He said with a lopsided, boyish smile. Dominic thought it might be true of many places in the world, but for a city as crowded as a wild as NYC, it was certainly full of coincidental run ins. This particular one might have been arranged, but Dominic would put his spare change on bumping into Kat sooner or later. Fate always seemed to work out that way in the city that never sleeps. At least that was what he had learnt since moving there three years earlier. Not many things could surprise him now, the city desensitising him to its gritty charm and neon wonders. “Nah, don’t mention it. I have the day off. I would have only hung about the apartment watching TV.” He was putting off the Christmas shopping he knew he ought to do, simply because the thought of queueing in some of the stores was the stuff of nightmares. It would be simpler to pick it all up back in Briarcliff Manor, where things were less of a panic situation amongst the shoppers. “So, how’ve you been?”

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TAGGED! @vortex
WORDS! 353!
OUTFIT! Dudey Dude!
LYRICS! Ink - - - Coldplay
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Deleted]

She took a deep breath of the frosty air and smiled as she looked across the park where her two dogs were exploring. Her attention snapped back to Dominic as he spoke.

"Regardless I'm glad you came!" She replied sincerely before patting the spot beside her. "And I've been good. Just enjoying the holiday atmosphere and such. Thought it was a good idea to come out here. I brought my two dogs with me for entertainment." She pointed out two of the dogs out.

"Hold on a sec." She requested before whistling sharply. Her two dogs instantly bounded over in reply. One was a German Shepard and the other one was a black lab and German Shepard mix. "This is Hannibal, she stroked the German shepard's head. "He's a retired police dog. He used to uh..." She cleared her throat. "He used to belong to my dad and was his partner in the police station." She said before quickly turning to the mix who was excitedly and curiously sniffing at Dominic.

"And that's Hatchet. I found him when I lived on the streets. He was a puppy then." She chuckled shaking her head. "Anyways how's everything with you? Work and practice going good?" She asked

Tagged: @dominic

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This time of year was so manic for so many people. Dominic had to worry about deadlines and exams as well as focusing on the usual stress of Christmas. He always found himself focusing even more on his studies because he needed to make decent grades to keep his scholarship and Dominic was not a natural academic like so many of the kids he went to school with. He actually had to spend hours studying, reading up on the assigned materials his professors handed out at the start of the semester. Attending the classes wasn’t enough for him to know it off by heart. It was made even harder when so many people were throwing Christmas parties, New Year parties, and parties just to blow off some steam because the kids at NYU just damn well needed it after slogging over their work for the last three months. He was an outgoing guy and loved every opportunity to hang out with his friends, drink some beers and party like most other college kids. Finding the balance between working and playing had not proved easy. Even after three years of college he still struggled to say no to a night out when he knew he needed to spend some time focusing on his weaker chapters. At least today he wouldn’t feel guilty about heading out to the park. The fresh air would do him some good, and he would probably be able to think better in the evening when he would find himself reading over a textbook when he was at work, and then probably staying up late to cram.

Nodding his head, Dominic watched at his breath formed in front of his face on the exhale. “Well there’s plenty of it to go around.” He commented nonchalantly. He was neither overly impressed with nor disinterested in the holidays. He loved the opportunity to spend time with his brothers since they were all becoming increasingly busy with their lives and had less time to hang out these days. However, he wasn’t the type to start jumping around and wearing gaudy Christmas sweaters while handing out candy canes either. “Aw, you should have said. My little guy is back at the apartment.” He smiled, crouching to greet the dogs when Kat called them over. “Then again, he’s not a fan of the cold weather and much prefers my bed.” Connolly seemed to only want to walk to far in the winter and then he would plonk his furry butt down on the sidewalk and refuse to walk any further unless it was back in the direction of their apartment. He was a fussy little pup, but he kept Dominic company.

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TAGGED! @vortex
WORDS! 454!
OUTFIT! Dudey Dude!
LYRICS! Ink - - - Coldplay
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

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She smiled as she watched her two dogs interacting with her friend. Dominic seemed to have a sweet spot for animals, dogs in particular it seemed. She chuckled and spoke up. "What's your dog's name? You Gould have brought the little one so that our dogs could have a play date!" She giggled at the idea.

She hummed thoughtfully before looking back up to Dominic with a grin. "Sooo. How has life been?" She questioned as she cocked her head cutely.

Not having many friend Kat didn't have the best social talent despite her down to earth personality. She was either awkward or tended to repeat questions that ha been asked and answered.

@dominic

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“Connolly. I got him from a family friend when he was just eight weeks old.” City life had been a bit lonelier than Dominic had expected. Then again, he had come from a home that was always full of noise and commotion. He couldn’t actually recall a silent moment in the Mirallas household, and so when he found himself with a place of his own the silence was simply deafening to him. He couldn’t stand it. At first he stayed out a lot, coming home only to sleep, but when his workload got heavier as junior year rolled around, he knew he needed to take another route. Then his father’s drinking buddy mentioned that they were expecting puppies; German shepherd-lab mix. Dominic was hooked on the idea, and when the puppies came and were old enough to be re-homed, he took the one that had a habit of sticking his nose into everything. He had figured that the adventurous one would keep things interesting. So far he was right, and the cost of replacing things was only worth it when he saw the adorable pup sitting on his couch, staring up at him with massive brown eyes and floppy ears that seemed too big for the rest of him.

Dominic shrugged his shoulders, feeling the ache of a good workout in them. “Same as always really. Basketball, school, work, parties on the weekend.” He grinned at the thought of the latter and then shook his head free of the memories. Being on the basketball team really did seem to be a great conversation starter at those college parties for people who didn’t already know the tall man. “Plus, with the holidays, I’m trying to avoid the madness. It had a habit of infecting this city.” He had boarded the train for the city with his brothers every December since he was fourteen, just for a day of Christmas fun, and it only seemed to grow more intense each year in New York City. He couldn’t understand it, but he did his best to avoid it and shopped in November while people still seemed to have some semblance of sanity left. “How about you? Dancing through life still?” He asked with a smirk.

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TAGGED! @vortex
WORDS! 380!
OUTFIT! Dudey Dude!
LYRICS! Ink - - - Coldplay
NOTES! <3 <3 <3