//------------------------------// // A Return Of Memories // Story: Blue Eyes and a Beat // by TheOriginalDash //------------------------------// I didn't know where Vinyl was taking me, but she seemed to be in kind of a hurry. As soon as my mom had shut the door behind us, she took off, sliding into late afternoon sidewalk traffic. I was a little curious, but the touch of her hand on mine was enough to silence any doubts. I was along for the ride. As we weaved, dodged, and ducked around the other pedestrians, I kept an eye on the blue-haired girl in front of me. She didn't show signs of stopping, but she didn't seem in a particular hurry to get anywhere either. I decided to ask her a question. "Hey, Vinyl, where are you going? Would you like to tell me?" I was getting a little frustrated after several minutes of being pulled along after her. "Give me a sec." She stopped, and pulled me over into the shade of a nearby tree. I never understood why cities thought it was a good idea to plant these things in the middle of a sidewalk. Then again, there were a lot of things I don't understand. "Okay, here we go," Vinyl said, pulling up a map of the city on her phone. "I was going to take you to back to my apartment, but I was a little turned around. I've never been to this part of the city before." She shook her bangs back out of her face, a look of concentration in her eyes. I was still a little confused; she didn't exactly tell me why we were going to her place, not that I was complaining. I leaned back against the tree and waited for her to finish, even though I knew where we were, and how to get to her place from here. I knew that she would want to figure it out herself. "So, we need to take the next right, and that should drop us on my street." She glanced up at me, and smiled. "Ready to go?" I smiled too, and reached for her hand again. We made our way more slowly this time, enjoying the feel of autumn around us. It was always one of my favorite seasons, even though I was always cold. It was just so pretty, and it was even more so this year, when I had a beautiful girl to share it with. I couldn't stop staring at her, amazed that it could be real. I inhaled a deep breath of the crisp air, glad to be alive. How could I have ever wanted it to end? We arrived at her door too soon, though, and she had to drop my hand in order to get her keys. She flipped through them for a second, the jingling of metal a familiar sound. She found the right one, and opened the door, stepping into the cool darkness. I followed, still running through the possible need she could have had for coming here. My question was soon answered. "Hey, I just realized, I forgot to tell you, I needed some cables for tonight. I'll just be a minute." Her voice floated from the back room, along with the sounds of boxes being moved around. "What kind of cables?" I grinned, even though she couldn't see me. "I never took you for one of those, Vinyl." Her only answer was a muffled laugh, and a teddy bear flying toward me from the doorway. She emerged from the room a few minutes later, carrying a pile of neatly wrapped audio cables and splicers. "Very funny, Dash, that was definitely the first time I've heard that one. Oh wait, it isn't." She smiled, and dumped the cables at my feet. "I know, but I never claimed to be creative. The hair is totally misleading." I smiled and raised my shoulders in a shrug. She laughed again, and playfully slapped me on the shoulder. "Pick those up, would you? I need some help getting these to my car." She turned abruptly, and headed back to get more equipment. I obliged, and scooped up the pile from the floor, turning to the door as I did so. A sudden thought hit me. "You have a car? Why have we been walking this whole time? You could have just driven to my mom's house!" I felt stupid for not thinking to ask her about it. I was a lazy person, and if I could have spared myself the walk, I would have. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I just thought it would be nice to walk together. Also, it's not entirely reliable, so I usually just use it when I have to." She came back out of the room carrying more cables and a small mixer. As she flipped the light off, I shook my head, lamenting the extra exercise. "Besides, you needed the exercise. We don't want you getting fat." She smiled and proceeded to run out the door while my mind tried to process the insult. Eventually my brain caught up, and I felt quite offended. I ran after her, pulling the door closed behind me. "For your information, I have not and will never be fat!" I ran after her, trying to catch up. She was gonna pay for that one. "Oh yeah? Then why can't you catch me? Slowpoke!" I could only see the tail end of her sneaker as it disappeared around the side of the building, presumably to the car. I picked up my speed, determined to win this war. I turned the corner, and found her placing the equipment in the trunk of a beaten up Charger. I seized the opportunity, and tackled her from the side, diving around the electric blue vehicle. I pinned her down, and straddled her with my legs. I then began tickling her, finding the most sensitive spots on her body with ease. I had always won our little contests like this, as she was very ticklish. She bucked and squirmed underneath me, but I held her easily; my more athletic lifestyle had trained my body to be stronger. Eventually I let up, and she rolled over, gasping for breath. She held her sides, tears streaming from the corner of her eyes. She was shaking with laughter, and wheezed as she tried to say something. Recovering her wind, and her balance, she flipped over and punched me in the arm. I rolled back on my heels, laughing at her feeble attempt to return my favor. I was just glad that she wasn't fully back, or that would have hurt. I was also thankful that I wasn't ticklish, or she would've attacked me with that. She glared at me from the ground, mock-angry at me for subjecting her to that torture. I stuck out my tongue, and her eyes narrowed even more. I held out my hand, and she took it, pulling on me to stand up. I picked up the cables that I had dropped in order to attack her, and dropped them in the trunk. I checked to make sure everything was situated right, and shut the trunk. I turned around, and Vinyl's face was mere inches from mine. I jumped back, my calves hitting the bumper. She leaned in closer, and I leaned back, afraid of what she was going to do. Odds are, she wasn't going to congratulate me with a kiss. Turns out, I was right. I regret being so smart sometimes. She pulled me by my shoulders, and brought me closer, our noses touching. I swallowed hard, unable to break free from her iron grip. She opened her mouth to speak, and I flinched. "Don't ever do that again," she said, knowing full well that I would. "I will hunt you down, and make you incredibly sorry." She looked me in the eye, scowling. I laughed, and she took a step back, confused. I wiggled an eyebrow at her. " Just how, exactly, are you going to make me sorry? Because if it involves you, I think I'll like it." She blushed, taken aback by my stupid joke. "You know that's not what I meant, cloud for brains." I laughed, and took her hand. "I thought we had to go somewhere. You needed these cables for tonight, right?" She nodded, pulling out her keys again. I thought that I had handled the situation well, effectively flirting with her and having a little fun at the same time. However, she surprised me again, turning around as she got to the driver's door. "Don't think I'll forget. I'm just gonna take a while to figure out how I'm gonna get you back." She smiled at me, and opened the door. I just stood there as she leaned over to unlock the passenger side. I didn't even think to appreciate her figure; instead I remembered all the times we had done this in our childhood. Maybe we had liked each other longer than we realized. Maybe I was just analyzing this too much. "Hey, you in there? You are coming, right?" She leaned on the car with her arms folded, looking at me with a little concern. I shook my head, clearing away the thoughts. I nodded, and ran to get in the other side. I opened the door, and slid inside, ducking a little to get inside the low opening. I hated shorter cars, seeing as I wasn't exactly short myself. Vinyl laughed as I tried to arrange my legs behind the dash, and had to push the seat back to fit in completely. I pulled the door shut, and reached for my seatbelt, admiring the leather interior. She had a nice car, and I was sure that I could tinker a bit and have it running pretty well. I leaned back in my seat, and breathed out a sigh. I glanced over at her, and smiled. She did, too, and grabbed my hand. I pulled her a little closer, and gave her a quick kiss, apologizing for the tickling earlier. She smiled, and reached for her keys. "Just like old times, huh? Only, your car is a bit better this time." I felt pretty happy, remembering all the times we had gone somewhere together when we had free time. She laughed, obviously remembering it, too. "I think it's a bit better than old times. I'm dating you now, and that's new. I think I like it a little better." She reached for the keys in the ignition, turning the engine over and starting the car. "Yeah, that's true. Still, it feels pretty good to do this again. It brings back good memories." I looked out the windshield, watching as she pulled out of the driveway. Something about riding in a car with her was always exciting, ever since she could first drive. She put the car back in drive, and pulled out into midday traffic.