Sunday
And on the seventh day, the Lord created phlegm... lots of it.
Nobody knew this better than Vinyl. She lay curled up on the living room couch, dressed in a bulky nightshirt, drowning in three or four wrinkled blankets washed over from several pastel years of forsaken childhood. A mound of used tissues lay on the coffee table, spilling over into a plastic wastebasket situated on the carpet floor.
Normally, she would have been listening to techno music. However, the lithium batteries in three separate music players had all died—such was the testament to her overnight restlessness. So she let the things lie dormant beside an empty vomit tray as she coughed and sputtered away with her bleary eyes plastered to a wide-screen t.v. She was into the second hour of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
How come I'm always watching this film when I'm sick as a dog? I pick the weirdest friggin' traditions...
Around this time, the doorbell rang... or perhaps she imagined it. Half of her head was clogged up like a defective pressure cooker. Every breath sent cactus needles up and down her throat. She felt like sobbing.
Eons later, she detected the tell-tale shuffle of her mother's feet entering the room.
"Vinyl? Hey there, Sparky. There's a friend of yours here to see you. From school."
Vinyl sniffled, then struggled to get up.
Who? Lauren?
"I do hope I'm not imposing," spoke a soft, velvety voice.
"No no no... she's actually doing much better today. I just advise keeping some distance. We've yet to take her to the doctor's, but there's no telling if what she's got is infectious."
Vinyl blinked and blinked. She craned her neck to look around... and her eyes widened.
Octavia stood demurely in the foyer, dressed delicately as ever in her blouse, skirt, and vest. She curtsied at Vinyl's mom... then turned to look at Vinyl herself. A smile blossomed, and Vinyl could almost smell the fragrance beyond all the snot. "Hello, love."
"...!!!" Vinyl shot up—blankets flying. She winced, yanking the comforters back over her dizzied figure.
Idiot! Friggin' idiot! You're not even wearing any pants right now!
Vinyl slumped back into the sofa, coughing breathily. Her crusty eyes teared as she produced a nervous grin.
"Awwww... you poor thing." Octavia preserved her delicate smile, quietly girl-stepping around the coffee table and the battle-strewn floor of water glasses and half-empty cough syrup bottles. "It's positively dreadful seeing you like this... most undeservedly so."
Holyyyyy crabshells. Am I imagining this? Is this another fever dream?
Grimacing, Vinyl threw a look across the room.
Standing behind Octavia, Vinyl's mother took one glance at the smokey-hair'd visitor, then back at her daughter. She raised an eyebrow, smirked, and slowly shuffled out of the room.
Vinyl gulped—this time flat-out ignoring the soreness.
"In truth... erhm..." Octavia cleared her throat, standing in front of John Rhys Davies as he punched a Nazi in the face. "...I feel terribly responsible for this mess. Really, I do." Sad eyes danced in between them—a subdued violet. It made Vinyl feel twice as nauseous. "None of this would have happened to you if you... erm... h-hadn't been so wonderfully chivalrous two days ago."
Vinyl blinked. She looked aside... and merely shrugged.
"You... don't talk much... do you?"
Vinyl opened her mouth—but fell into a coughing fit. She waved a hand while bringing a glass of water to her lips.
"Eheh..." Octavia brushed her bangs back, avoiding direct line of sight for some... reason. "It's quite alright. I'm certain your throat has seen better days. Please... don't stress yourself out on my account." Clearing her throat, she brought the other hand out from behind her back. "Anyways, I felt it was only right that I make true to my promises—well... one of them, at least."
Vinyl's eyes traveled down the musical bombshell's slender arms. She saw an umbrella being held out to her. With trembling fingers, she reached out and took it.
"I figured you... uhm... probably won't be showing up tomorrow morning for school." Octavia chewed on her bottom lip. "I... hope you don't mind if I keep the math notes to... study a little bit longer. I know it's asking for a lot."
Vinyl smiled tiredly... offering yet another shrug.
"Somehow... uh... I figured that you wouldn't mind at all..."
"...?" Vinyl blinked at that. Absent-mindedly, her eyes fell to the umbrella in her grasp. That's when her sickly skin paled all the more.
Inside the folds of the umbrella... there was a faded yellow sheet of paper. It was a receipt... stained with rainwater... nearly ripped to tatters—but very much still in the same place where she had left it.
No... not where I left it. Placed back where I had left it. Deliberately. Oh gods... did... did she...?
With trembling fingers, Vinyl reached in... then pulled the sheet out. Her unmistakable handwriting had run slightly from the moisture... but she could still make out the $20 price she had paid the other day.
"It... was a very... very nice gesture," Octavia breathed.
Vinyl's teeth clenched.
Is... is she talking about the umbrella...?
Nervously, Vinyl turned the note over, examining the other side. Soon, she found her answer. There was something new on the sheet—something that hadn't dissolved in the rain. It was a delicate "heart" surrounding the "From: Anonymous"... and it was drawn in a distinctive violet ink.
Velvety soft violet.
"We could... all use more nice things in our lives..." Somebody purred. A pair of cheeks turned rosy, and they weren't Vinyl's. "...even it it means... erm... making t-time in our schedule." Soft fingers brushed smoky bangs back. Then—and only then—did her eyes connect, and they were twinkling.
Vinyl held her breath, frozen to the couch cushions.
Don't snort. Don't vomit. Don't snort. Don't vomit.
"Your eyes," Octavia murmured, her voice adorably tender and dry. She tilted her head cutely to the side. "They are remarkably... astonishingly red."
Vinyl chewed on her bottom lip, nodding slightly.
Guilty as charged.
"That is... quite striking." Octavia braved another smile. "Such a shame that we don't see them more often. Almost... almost feels like they're hidden. Why would anyone ever want to keep such a beautiful thing obscured?"
Vinyl exhaled with a shudder. Her eyes were wet, but not because of the bug.
Yeah... beats the Hell out of me
.
Silence.
"You... erm... you like music?" Octavia grinned a bit more bravely. "That is... are you a musician?"
Vinyl waved her hand from side to side.
"Well... uhm... I think that's absolutely smashing!" She tipped back and forth on the toes of her Mary Janes. "I've been working on a fresh new instrumental of my own. I... uhm..." She suddenly rushed out of the room... then came stumbling back with a cello case that she had left in the foyer—unbeknownst to Vinyl. "I've been practicing around the clock... and I think I've almost got it perfected. I... have no earthly idea if it's even remotely akin to the genre you're used to absorbing yourself in... but perhaps I could have a go... and you'd tell me what you thought of it?"
Ohgoshhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Vinyl sneezed violently.
She sneezed again, just as hard.
Grimacing past the dizziness, she gave a shivering thumb's up.
"Oh! Oh g-good!" Octavia pumped the bowstring in her hand, emitting a breathy giggle. Like butterflies with bells on. She composed herself just in time... to compose. "This is called 'Melody Suite No. 5'... although... I'm contemplating a name change. What do you think of 'White Carnations?'"
Vinyl let loose a half-whimper... followed by a quarter-whimper.
I think I want to marry you.
"Hmmm..." Octavia closed her eyes, resting the bow-string to the cello. "...I suppose it would be good and proper to give it a listen first."
Vinyl wasn't about to argue. And as the delicious bass strings dripped through the room, she closed her eyes with a contented smile. At some point, a single nostril cleared, and she imagined flowers. The thought cuddled her to sleep—along with the music—so that she pondered if perhaps it was all a dream.
But when morning came, and Vinyl's mother could be heard calling in to the school administration's office in the other room, Vinyl reached across the table and gently lifted a faded yellow receipt to her tired eyes...
...and the violet heart was still there.
Next time... I'll just write a fic about Vinyl being pantless under blankets
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An episodic, daily romance.
Knowing your track record, this could be heartfelt and engaging, or mess with my brain in odd ways.
Either will probably be fun.
Don't normally like this pairing, but... fuck this was cute.
Skirts' Octavia is Best Octavia.
*glances at title*
It looks kinda like a Vinyltavia fluff doc but the weird don't gives me flashbacks to that "gotchya!" Fic, out of character. Hmm.
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
...
I am so sorry for not having faith in you.
This was amazing.
It's just another normal week of shortskirtsandexplosions publishing a rated teen mid-thousands word shipfic.
Welp, this was adorable. As always, your hopelessly crushing first-person protagonist is extremely compelling, and I really get a sense of why she likes this gal.
*swoons*
Everyone's commenting about how cute and generally lovely this all was, and I'm here being really impressed with how tight the storytelling is behind those famous flowery words of yours
But seriously, I think you've absolutely hit the nail on the head with the plot in this one. It progresses at just the right moments and shines through the rest of the prose clearly so the reader never feels lost. And the story itself? Fun, silly, and generally cuter than kittens in a basket, though not without a healthy dose of creepy thoughts and awkward moments. I mean, there's always a sense of creepiness and awkwardness to stories about crushes, and I think you toe the line on occasion... but then, don't the thoughts that people actually have when crushing on someone toe the line sometimes, too?
Vinyl's inner dialogue making freudian slips was lovely, and I liked how you committed fully to it. I admit, there were a few moments that just didn't quite hit the mark for me, but all-round a lovely little number that probably didn't need any of the serious thought I've just been giving it.
I'm trying to make a conscious effort to comment on things that I've read more often. I'm also trying to make an effort not to ramble on forever about tiny little details. I think it's going well?
That was sweet
Okay, so that specific paper wasn't the reciept, so I was... half-right, maybe a quarter. It was still really friggin adorable how it ended up, though. The parts during the weekdays were also really good; made me feel like I was in an actual high school again.
This is easily one of the better things I've read in recent memory. Thank you for sharing.
Beautifully done. Just the right blend of purple prose and precise pacing. Thank you very much for this piece.
T'was a sweet piece you made.
This totally needs a follow up :) You are an artisan with words, you truly are!
to cute
7488787 Ugh I know I'm legitimately terrible
7488679 Yes! Yes! We needs more!!!! Also who are the three tasteless fools who disliked!!!! I will take their fan fiction license away!
Hmmm. I see. Well then...
media1.giphy.com/media/10jRHyuxV1FsvC/200_s.gif
65.media.tumblr.com/d9bae49cf5fadf153fa12959053c0a7b/tumblr_nah3r8mNbG1txjly3o1_1280.png
SKIRTS YOU MAD GENIUS.
I was literally curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth on my chair and squeeeeeeing just about the entire way through.
I think my family actually thought I was having a heart attack or something, so that's fun.
It was hilarious, so touching, and just generally all round absolutely fantasbulotastic! (Totally a word)
Seeing (listening? reading?) Vinyl's train of thought separately was a particularly nice touch, and as always your writing was completely on point.
Now keep being the most awesome horse worder out there!
WHY IS THIS SO AWESOME!?!
7488814 That'll never stop Skeeter. He'll keep doing it, till the Earth decides to have world peace, which will not happen.
Sequel?
grin
Also: The pictures drewn by your writing style in this story are quite beautiful.
I just realized that I forgot what's it like to fall in love.
Then I read this story.
I feel 15 years old again. Alright, now onto my video games to unapologetically suppress them for the rest of my life again.
There's a little space in my heart where Tavi and Vinyl sleep and Skirts writes their lives for me! This so needs to be 100k+
7489594
Isn't that what you're doing?
7488814 cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/nbkv-1471479501-338516-full
Just gonna leave this here. Slowly backs away.
~ Chapter: 13
And yet another fic by shortskirtsandexplosions added to my Favorites list. :D I remember exactly how Vinyl felt with my first lady friend, ages and ages ago.
Dawwww.
HUEHUEHUE
7489594 You are correct in stating that a blind man can see the hypocrisy.
But hypocrisy is not a joke. Hypocrites are real. They are annoying. In many cases throughout history, they have been downright destructive. Hypocrisy is not appreciated. It is not treated as comedy. In any form of media or real life, the hypocrite is the villain.
Also, Poe's Law.
Also also, you're just generally being a massive smug asshole about this.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Uh, I mean. *cough, cough*
None of you fuckers heard that.
Well, I suppose this feeling is what they call "bittersweet".
Although I would certainly like to know how Octavia managed to figure out where Vinyl lives...perhaps some stalkception is at play?
7490218
7489594 awwww here comes the flame war
7490496
I dunno... Stalking a stalker when you're their target is tricky. But then again, maybe Octavia is just that good.
7490496 When I went to high school, they gave out a booklet of every student's home address and phone number Do they not do that anymore?
7490569 Nope. Basically, only your best friends know where you live, and even then usually only vaguely.
7490569 I remember a similar thing with just the phone numbers when I was in elementary school, but they definitely don't do that anymore--at least, where I live. I suppose privacy issues?
God that was cute.
7490576 I guess that makes sense. In hindsight, if some creeper offered me Yu-Gi-Oh cards in exchange for my fellow students' info, I would've said yes.
7490631 It's spelled douche.
7490659 You're welcome.
7490675 Why am I getting so much hate? Seriously? All I did was reply to a rather silly comment by Swan Song, and now I have people disliking the hell out of everything I do.
And, what really get me, is that someone went onto my channel and disliked all of my stories. I know it's one of you because everything now has one more dislike. Not cool.
Seriously? What the heck is going on?
7490218 I did get permission from the mods, so... what? I'm desperately confused.
So much hate...
~ Chapter: 13
It was amazing I do wish to see what is next to come next
This was stupidly adorable.
On the seventh day, God took a break and gave Vinyl one. Die happy, Vinyl Scratch.