It is Saturday, which should be a time to study for finals, but it is Octavia's day instead. It's been almost two weeks since I made the arrangement with her, Sunset and Sonata, and if there's one thing I'm already thankful for considering the weekend, it's that there are two days, meaning my exes each have one full day to spend time with me as opposed to the half days they get throughout the school week. Last night, Octavia texted me shortly after Sunset dropped me off from our latest date, telling me to make sure I wake up early in the morning today for our day in Crystal City with her parents before going to her and Alto's concert. She also wants me to make sure I have the tux I wore for the ball in Manhattan nice, clean, and ready to be worn.
My alarm clock wakes me up at 8:15, and I slam my fist on the snooze button, wishing my strike would smash the devilish contraption into a million pieces. Sadly, however, it just gave me five minutes of peace before it screams its noise from hell, and the process begins again. Before I had to deal with it a third time, however, my phone goes off, informing me that I have a text message, and I take it out of its charger in a tired manner and read the message.
Octavia: We're going to be at your front door in fifteen minutes. If you're not up yet, (and I know you're not), get up NOW!
My eyes widen, and I remember her previous message and jump out of my bed, racing towards my shower. By the time I got out and dressed into my regular clothes, I hear the doorbell ringing downstairs and so quickly grab my tux out of my closet, my phone from my bed stand and race downstairs to find Octavia waiting for me at my front door with her arms crossed.
"Please tell me you weren't up all night playing video games again just because it wasn't a school night," she says with her eyebrow raised.
"I swear I didn't," I say honestly. "I went straight to bed after my night with Sunset. Besides, we both know I suck at getting up properly whether I spend the night gaming or not."
Octavia keeps her suspicious frown for a few seconds before she rolls her eyes and smiles, walks over to me and pecks me on the lips.
"I do know that," she says, caressing my cheek slowly. "But it wouldn't be like how it was before if I didn't ridicule you in some way, now would it?"
I smile and wrap my free arm around her waist.
"No, I think the world would have collapsed if you didn't make fun of my less 'civil' life at least five times a day even if they are part of what you love about me," I say.
Octavia giggles as she wraps her arms around me.
"I don't know about the fate of the world, but regardless, you've never said a truer thing in your life, darling. All the odd things about you have always been a part of why I love you," she says before she leans into my ear. "And they always will be."
I smile as she leans back to look at me lovingly. We lean in for another kiss until...
"ROUGH DRAFT!!!!"
"Oh, blast it," Octavia mumbles.
We turn around to find Tempo racing toward us. Her eyes are watery and set dead on me as she charges at me with open arms. Octavia sighs and takes several steps away from me, looking at me with an apologetic stare. I stand in fear as Tempo rams right into me and pulls me into a bone-breaking hug. I drop my tux while Tempo's face touches mine as she cries.
"Oh, Rough Draft, I'm so, so sorry we didn't believe you!" Tempo sobs hysterically. "I'll take the blame for keeping my daughter away from you! I kept encouraging her with Vinyl to stay away from you long enough to date that other girl! Please forgive me!"
Octavia looks away, unable to bear the sight as I stare at Tempo both in horror and pain.
"It's okay, Tempo, it's okay!" I squeal. "It's in the past! Don't worry about it! PLEASE!!!!!"
Suddenly, Tempo stops crying as her face goes from sad to joyous in an instant. I whimper in fear as her hug tightens, and she lifts me off the ground screaming happily.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" she screams. "How can I ever make it up to you?"
"D-don't b-b-break m-me in h-h-h-half?" I gasp out.
"Deal," Tempo says as she instantly releases the hug, leaving me to fall to the ground. "Oh, I'm so glad we have that settled. I'll get the car ready."
"Thank you, mother," Octavia says politely while Tempo runs down my driveway back to her car, where Alto is sitting in the front seat.
Octavia turns to me and kneels next to me, sympathetically. She wraps her arm around me and gently moves my head to lean on her shoulder for comfort.
"Are you alright, darling?" She asks.
"Why in heaven's name are there so many girls and women capable of killing a man with hugs?!" I whine hysterically. "I swear if it's not magic or a bullet that takes me out, it's going to be Sonata, Pinkie, or your mom!"
Octavia tries to contain a giggle from my demeanor before she says, "I told her to wait for us at the car, hoping she would apologize there without doing that, but I guess she couldn't contain herself. Though in her defense, she did spend the first three months of our breakup wanting to put your head on a spike."
"I wonder if her planned method of removing my head from my shoulders would be less painful," I grumble, making Octavia giggle again. "By the way, if we get back together and eventually marry, have children, and somehow live far, far away from your parents -"
"You want us to have protective gear or something to stop my mom from killing our kids with her love every time she and my father visits us or vice versa?" Octavia interrupts with an amused smirk. "You'll be delighted to know I've been planning things like that in my mind since before I was dreaming of having Blueblood's children."
I shudder at the mention of Blueblood.
"Lord help the poor, foolish bimbo who does," I say.
"Amen," Octavia agrees. "Anyway, we've wasted enough time. We have a long day at Crystal City waiting for us."
"Yeah, I thought your concert isn't until later," I say as we get up, and I pick up my tux from the ground.
"It is, but my parents and I thought we could tour the city before then," Octavia explains. "Besides, I'm not waiting the whole day to be anywhere near you. It's my day, and I want you by my side as much as possible."
I smile and wrap my arm around her waist.
"Have I mentioned that your passion and determination is one of the things I love about you?" I ask.
"Many times," Octavia says. "And if I get you back, I'll expect you to say it many more times before we've breathed our last."
"As you wish," I say before we peck each other on the lips one more time and make our way to her parents' car.
**********************************************************************************************
After an hour's drive, Octavia and her family and I begin touring Crystal City. We look at a couple of museums, tour through a couple of buildings, and check out Crystal Prep Academy. Whoever was the architect for that place, went all out with putting giant crystals in the actual building. Later in the afternoon, we went to a buffet near Crystal City Square that Tempo recommended. It is full of different kinds of meat, vegetables, and fruit, and both Tempo and I filled our plates with food while Octavia and Alto filled their plates to a reasonable amount.
"Darling, are you sure you can eat everything on your plate?" Octavia asks, concerned. "You and mother are going to get stomach aches before you finish a quarter of your respective piles."
"Octavia, my love, I'll have you know that this is hardly the first buffet I've dined in," I say proudly. "My parents and I usually went to places like this whenever we were eating out for dinner back in Applelosa. Some places like the Braeburn Steakhouse and the Salty Tavern were some of my favorite places to go to. This food isn't too much, it's just practice."
"I'm with Rough Draft there, sweetie," Tempo says after swallowing a whole roll in one gulp. "Eating a little too much is part of the fun when eating at buffets. Why if we had any places like the good ol' Salty Tavern back in Manehattan, I would see to it that we would always go there after we made whatever appearance we had to make in some higher up event where the best they had were those stupid hors-d'oeuvres. Blegh, those were the one thing I hated about going to those fancy events."
Octavia rolls her eyes while Alto chuckles lightly before they go back to their meals. I, on the other hand, look at Tempo curiously.
"Wait, you've been to the Salty Tavern?" I ask.
"Oh dear me, the last time I was at that place was long before either you or Tavi were born," Tempo says. "It was one of my favorite places in Applelosa back in my -"
At that moment, Tempo's voice dies in her throat, and her enthusiastic face turns sad. I stare at her in confusion before Alto calmly puts his hand on top of his wife's. Octavia looks at her mother sadly before Tempo clears her throat.
"Back in my traveling days with my band," she finishes before she shakes her head and forces herself to smile. "Oh well, good memories are all that matters."
Octavia and Alto give Tempo small smiles before the three of them return to their meals. I reluctantly turn back to my meal, but I am still confused at what that was about. After another ten minutes, Octavia and Alto decide to grab second plates leaving Tempo and me alone. Tempo gives her husband and daughter a quick look to make sure they are far away before she turns to me.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that, Rough Draft," she says calmly. "No doubt you are confused?"
"A little bit," I answer, my eyes still focused on my food.
"Thought so," Tempo says. "You see, the time I was traveling with my old band was when Alto and I were...broken up."
I stop chewing on the fried chicken I have in my mouth and turn to her. I swallow and clear my throat.
"And that time is a touchy subject?" I ask carefully.
"You could say that," Tempo says sadly. "A friend was visiting Manehattan and asked that I join his band. Alto was spying on me a few tables down and heard his offer and angrily left before he could hear that I refused because I wanted to stay with him. We got into a big fight when I came home, and I angrily decided to leave and take the job anyway."
I stare at her, surprised and she gives me a sad smile.
"I may be the only person who has any idea of what you went through, Rough Draft," she states. "It is painful to have the person you love accuse you of wrongdoing out of paranoia and bad coincidence, isn't it?"
I sigh sadly.
"Yeah, it is," I say. "But at least Alto didn't completely move on with another person, putting salt into the wound."
"True," Tempo admits. "But even then, I am ashamed that you went through the same thing with my daughter, and I supported it."
"Is that why your hugging had a little more force than usual?" I ask, hoping to lighten the mood a little.
Tempo chuckles and says, "More or less, yes."
I smile at her for a moment before I bite my lip and frown.
"How did you two make up?" I ask.
"Oh, about the same way you two are on your way to," Tempo answers. "He eventually approached me and asked for forgiveness, and from there, we slowly repaired our relationship until I asked him to marry me."
I smirk as I say, "I remember Octavia mentioning that she figured you did. I bet you planned to give him the pout if he looked like he was going to say no."
Tempo laughed out loud at my comment.
"Funny enough, Octavia said the same thing when Alto told her I proposed," she giggles.
I chuckle back.
"Great minds think alike," I ask.
Tempo smiles at me for a moment before she frowns and turns her head to look at Octavia and Alto browsing through the food from afar.
"Tell me something, Rough Draft," she says, turning back to me. "What is so special about this Sunset Shimmer? Do you love her just because she can show you a real world of fantasy and magic or something?"
I frown at her question.
"Octavia told you about all the magic in our school?" I ask.
"She did," Tempo answers. "She hid it for a while, but after she didn't come home one night and it eventually turned out she and her friends went to save you from those girls with your blood stained on her vest, Alto and I couldn't buy whatever story Octavia and Vinyl made up anymore."
"And you two have accepted that they are fighting magic?" I ask.
"In a manner of speaking," Tempo replies. "It's a little far-fetched, but some of what they told us sounds believable to a point. However, I do not want to talk about magic. I want to talk about you and that Sunset girl."
I give a small smile acknowledging the determination in her voice before I answer with a sigh.
"No, I don't love Sunset just because she is from a magical world of talking ponies and sirens and demons and whatnot," I answer plainly and honestly. "Some experiences I've had since before we started dating have indeed been exciting, but the fact is I was afraid of real magic since before I even met Octavia. Sunset merely helped me not to be afraid of all of it. But even then, I grew to admire how she has become so kind and compassionate since the Fall Formal. She was there for me when I was still grieving over my break up with Octavia. She helped me, albeit in a small way, let go of one of my biggest regrets, and she was always there to make me smile however, she can just as I was for her. Magic has a part of our relationship, but it is not the sole foundation of why I fell in love with her any more than it's why Octavia and I fell in love."
Tempo looks at me seriously.
"You really feel that way about her even without all this magic?" She challenges.
"I love Sunset for who she is and not what she is or where she came from, just like Octavia," I say firmly. "And that's why I can't decide who to choose when both of them relentlessly want me back."
Tempo stares at me for a moment before she sighs sadly.
"You're playing a dangerous game, boy," she says. "You have to choose soon."
"I know that," I say. "But it's not a decision to take -"
"Doesn't matter," Tempo interrupts. "The three of you and your friends will be graduating soon, and it won't be long before my daughter and her rival grow persistent if they're as determined to get your heart as they appear to be. You're being unfair to not only them but to yourself just by dating them simultaneously."
"But what else can I do?" I ask.
"You can stop leaving them in the dark," Tempo says firmly. "Either come back to my daughter and love her to whatever end or let her down kindly, but stop living on borrowed time or so help me I, Tempo Philharmonia Duet-Melody will make you. Do I make myself clear?"
I gulp nervously before I answer, "Crystal."
"Good," Tempo says before she sees Alto and Octavia coming towards us and turns to me with her cheery attitude instantly back. "Now, let's have a good time with my daughter, yes?"
"Absolutely," I say as Octavia and Alto return to their seats.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, dear," Alto says. "We found out that they also have a salad bar, and we just couldn't decide what to choose."
"Oh, that's perfectly alright, Sweetiekins," Tempo says. "The important thing is that you made your decision, and you stuck to it. Isn't that right, Rough Draft?"
She gives me a half cheerful, half menacing glare as she waits for my answer. I gulp before I say, "Too right, you are, Tempo."
Tempo smiles brightly and finally returns to her food. I reluctantly return to mine, pretending everything is okay, but deep down, I'm afraid because of what she has said.
*************************************************************************************
After lunch ended, we go to an art museum for another couple of hours. We have a good, quiet time until it is 3:30, and Alto realizes he and Octavia need to get going. We make our way back to the car and drive to a parking lot near the Crystal Pavilion. As soon as Tempo parks, Alto and Octavia hop out and quickly grab their nice clothes, music books, Alto's violin, and Octavia's cello.
"Now here's your ticket, darling," Octavia says as she takes out my ticket from her purse and hands it to me. "You and mother are going to be in the front row where I can see you."
"Awesome," I say, enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see you perform from that clo -"
But as I am speaking, Octavia grabs me by the shirt, pulls me so that our faces are only inches apart and glares at me menacingly.
"Remember, I love you with all my heart, and you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, but that doesn't mean I don't want you in your best behavior," she growls. "Fall asleep again, and you'll find your face bashed anew just like Adagio. We clear, darling?"
I gulp nervously before I say claim, "You won't ever find me looking tired again, even if your life depended on it, my love. Besides, I've seen you play many times since your last concert again and have grown to love your passion as a cellist more and more every time. I'd bash my face anew for you if I missed seeing you perform on a night as big as this."
"How would you do that?" Octavia asks with a raised eyebrow.
"For you, I'll find a way," I answer plainly.
Octavia keeps her eyebrow raised before she rolled her eyes and smirked.
"You are such a dork," she says before wrapping her arms around my neck and leans in for a kiss. "And I love you endlessly for it."
I smile and lean in for another kiss before she and Alto leave. Tempo walks to me and gives me a warning glare reminding me of our discussion. I gulp and nod in acknowledgment before we find the nearest public restrooms to change into our nice clothes. When I come out of the men's room in my tux, I find Tempo waiting for me in a long aqua dress with a white ribbon tied around the waist, white, sparkling high heels, and large diamond earrings.
We walk from the parking lot to the Crystal Pavilion, where we show our tickets at the front gate and are given bulletins as one of the employees guides us to our seats in the front row. I check my phone to find that the show is going to start in a few minutes and look in my bulletin to see that Octavia's part in the concert is at the very end.
Suddenly, I turn to Tempo, who is choking out a sob.
"Uh, Tempo?" I ask awkwardly.
"Oh, sorry," Tempo says with a wave of her hand, trying to keep herself together. "It's just a little hard to believe that my daughter is going to perform with my husband. I knew this day was going to come, but now I'm realizing that this is finally happening."
I give her a small smile before I pat her on the back.
"Sounds like you've been waiting for this day for a while," I say.
"Oh, you have no idea," Tempo says. "I've been looking forward to this day since I first held her in my arms. I've had my doubts that it would happen, of course. I know she told you how she was struggling to find an instrument to play before she met Mr. Madrigal at her grandfather's funeral, but I still spent so much of my life raising that girl knowing she'll be performing with her father."
"Just her dad and not you too?" I ask curiously. "Octavia did tell me you are a pianist."
Tempo chuckles lightly before she answers.
"I'm afraid my career as a pianist is long gone," she answers with a sad smile. "I still like to play every now and then, but I could never make a living out of it like I used to. After Octavia was born, I knew in my heart that I just couldn't give my music the same passion with so much time devoted to raising a child, but at the same time, I was happy to give it up. I know Alto probably would have done the same if he was able to provide for us without having a job. It was just too much for us to keep going after having such a beautiful life created by our love. At the same time, though, that's why we never had any more children."
I look at her confused before she continues.
"Believe me, there were times where Octavia wanted a brother or sister to play with growing up, and Alto and I wanted to give her one," Tempo says. "But by the time we thought about it, Octavia was already starting to go to school, and we realized we couldn't give that child the same amount of love we gave her. We just poured so much of our hearts into her that we were afraid to find out what it would be like if we had another child. That's part of why we were so happy that she met Vinyl, Lyra, Bon Bon, Derpy, and Doc after the move. She didn't have any close friends back in Manehattan. The most social she was, was probably when she started to perform at her old school's orchestra and started to date that Blueblood brute."
I nod in understanding before something enters my mind.
"Speaking of Blueblood," I begin reluctantly. "I have heard that there are some girls who have made shrines over that guy. So..."
"Did Tavi have one?" Tempo finishes with a sympathetic smile. "Let's just say she had a bunch of magazine covers and pictures of the two of them when they were together."
I make a grim face that makes Tempo laugh.
"Don't take it personally, boy," she says. "Young people just tend to do crazy things when they think they're in love."
I sigh and reluctantly nod in agreement, remembering what I did for Sunset at the Spring Fling.
Before I say anything else, the curtain goes up to reveal the orchestra with Alto as one of the violinists. The audience claps politely as the conductor walks to his stand and faces the audience holding out a mic. The applause dies down and, just like Octavia's last concert; I don't bother to pay a lot of attention to what he says because he's just greeting everyone, reminding us to silence our cell phones and talking about the history of this annual concert here at the Crystal Pavilion, and advertising these big fancy charities. I do my best to try to look like I'm invested, knowing that Tempo is keeping an eye on me before he finishes his speech with a 'thank you.' The audience applauds again, and he turns around to face Alto and the rest of the orchestra, and they begin to play. Thankfully, the music isn't as dull as it was before because I've grown to admire the style of music thanks to my time with Octavia. With that said, however, I was getting a little restless after a while, knowing that I have to sit through all of this before Octavia has her big part.
Finally, after about an hour and a half of playing various classic songs, the conductor turns to us.
"And now we have something a little special for you to finish our concert tonight," He says calmly on the microphone. "One of our violinists, Alto Melody's daughter, Octavia Melody, will be performing for us a cello solo for our final piece. She has been playing the cello for two years and has performed in a few concerts before in the Manehattan High School orchestra and in Canterlot, and now she's going to perform for us today."
I try to restrain myself from immediately clapping louder than anyone else before Octavia enters the stage. The next thing I know, however, my mouth hangs open as I watch her carrying her cello, bow, and music book while wearing small diamond earrings and a glittering blue dress that matches her sapphire necklace hanging around her neck. I stare in mid-clap as Alto takes out a chair and places it next to the conductor and gives his daughter a loving smile before he returns to his seat. She takes her seat, extends the long stand at the bottom of her cello before placing it on the floor, puts her music book on the stand, and opens it. She turns to Tempo and me and gives me a loving smile before she blows a kiss to me. The conductor taps his stand with his stick and Octavia, Alto, and the rest of the orchestra prepares to play.
The orchestra starts with an upbeat melody that sounds like something from a fantasy. They continue playing for about half a minute or so before they stop playing, and Octavia begins her solo. She starts off low before she picks up with softer notes and then playing multiple notes rapidly, moving her left hand up and down on her cello's neck as she plays. Eventually, the orchestra begins to playing again, but Octavia's cello can be heard over all of them. Then it's just Octavia again starting to play rapidly again. My mouth hangs open again at how quickly she can do this as I've never seen her play like this before. I hear Tempo let out a quiet giggle, obviously aware of my amazement, but I don't care.
As the orchestra starts playing again, Tempo leans into my ear.
"Like what you're seeing?" she teases.
I snap out of my gaze and lightly nudge her with my elbow.
"Oh, shut it," I whisper.
Eventually, Octavia and the orchestra start playing the same melody for a while before she starts straying from the orchestra with her solo. The music begins to build up louder and louder before Octavia, and the orchestra begins to play slower and softer notes. I keep my eyes fixed on Octavia as the melody becomes upbeat again, but her cello still outshines Alto and the rest of the musicians. Eventually, the orchestra makes it to its climax, and Octavia starts playing rapidly again. I stay on the edge of my seat as the music builds up until they complete the piece with a big finish.
As soon as the last note ends, Tempo and I are quick to stand up and cheer as the audience applauds. Octavia, Alto, the conductor, and the rest of the orchestra stand up and take a bow. Then the conductor takes out his mic again and says a few words before he says, "thank you," again, and they bow as we applaud again and the curtain falls.
"So, was it everything you hoped for?" I ask Tempo.
"Everything and more," Tempo says, already wiping away a few tears. "My only regret is that we couldn't record it."
I smile as the crowd begins to disperse, and we eventually follow to the exit.
"So, are we just waiting for them at the entrance or something?" I ask as we walk through the crowd.
"Actually, we're going to be meeting them at the park," Tempo answers. "Octavia thought we could spend the rest of the night with some peace and quiet like you two did when you had your date here in the city."
"Sounds lovely," I say with a smile.
***********************************************************************************
Tempo and I walk from the pavilion to the Crystal Park, where I decide that we wait near the bench where Octavia and I sat at the end of our date. By now, the sky is pitch black and covered with clouds, and only the street lamps light the park. We wait for about twenty minutes before we see Alto and Octavia walking towards us and carrying their instruments in their cases.
By the time I take a step towards them, Tempo is already there, crushing Octavia in a hug and crying hysterically.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm so proud of you!" She shouts.
Octavia chuckles through the pain and says, "Thank you, mother."
Eventually, Tempo puts her down, turns to Alto, and starts smothering him with kisses much to his mellow amusement. Octavia turns to me and smiles as I walk over to her and pull her into a big embrace. She drops her cello case and hugs me tightly. I hear her sigh blissfully as she rests her head on my shoulder.
"Not. A. Wink," I boast.
Octavia pulls her head back to face me with a sweet smile.
"I knew you wouldn't," she says.
"And yet you threatened me anyway?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, what can I say, darling?" She answers. "Tonight is such a big night that I would be remiss if I didn't threaten you at least a little bit. It kind of runs in my mother's family, the Duets, to be a little eccentric."
"Well, that explains a lot," I say, glancing at Tempo, thinking of our earlier discussion at the buffet before turning back to my ex. "So, what do you feel like doing?"
Octavia scratches her chin before she turns to her parents.
"Mother, Father, Rough Draft and I are going to take a walk through the park," she announces.
"Alright, dear. Don't go too far," Tempo says as Octavia, and I already begin walking with her hugging my left arm with both arms.
For a few minutes, we walk down the path in silence, enjoying each other's company as we admire the quiet atmosphere.
"To think that it was over five months ago that we were doing this before I was reading some of our story to you," I say.
"It's probably up to six by now," Octavia says. "But I still remember it so well. All that's missing is the cold winter and the moon shining above us. It's a shame that it's a cloudy night tonight. I kind of wish we could fly up over the clouds just to see the moon."
I can't help but chuckle at her wish as it instantly makes me think of the night Sunset and I did fly above the clouds.
"That wasn't meant to be amusing, Mr. Draft," Octavia says with a frown.
"Sorry, love," I say, trying to collect myself. "That just made me think of, uh, an inside joke. In all seriousness, that would be pretty romantic."
But Octavia keeps her eyebrow raised and asks, "What inside joke?"
"Don't worry about it," I say. "Let's just say you had to be there."
Octavia keeps her suspicious stare for a moment before she appears to let it go as she rests her head on my shoulder. I bite my lip and try to think of something to bring back the mood until I notice that she is still wearing her dress.
"By the way, very subtle choice of a dress," I say teasingly. "I almost didn't realize it matched your necklace for a second."
Octavia rolls her eyes.
"Oh hush you, I know you love it," she says.
I smile and kiss her on her forehead.
"You look wonderful," I reply.
"That's better," Octavia says with a soft smile.
We continue our walk until something comes to my mind.
"You know, speaking of that heart around your neck," I begin as Octavia lifts her head to look at me. "I've been wondering for a while; when did you start falling in love with me? Was it during the ball or before that?"
Octavia looks at me surprised for a moment before she gives me a sweet smile.
"Before. Very much before," she answers. "I don't remember what day I realized it exactly, but it came to me when Vinyl, Derpy, and I were talking about you while we were hanging out together after class. It was probably one of those days where Soarin and Caramel wanted to 'borrow' you again. I remember we went to Sugarcube Corner, and while we were waiting for drinks, I noticed we were sitting next to the table where we had our first date. When I pointed it out, Derpy said I talk about you a little too much, and Vinyl agreed with her saying, and I quote, 'If you were any crazier about that guy, you'd have his face painted on your cello.'"
I snicker at the thought.
"Out of sudden curiosity, could you do that?" I ask jokingly.
"It sounds tempting, but I think it might affect the cello itself," Octavia says, smirking. "Anyway, I defended myself by explaining how wonderful you are, and after a while, that's when I realized I was falling for you."
I smile at this and say, "Funny, that's more or less how I realized I was falling for you."
"Really?" Octavia chuckles.
"Really," I answer. "When Caramel and Soarin and I were hanging out the day after Sonata's trial, they were also pointing out how I've been spending so much time with you, and that also led to me defending myself and realizing that I was falling for you. I didn't say anything back then because they both suggested that I wait to make sure."
"Ah, so that's why you took so long," Octavia says with a smirk.
"Pretty much," I admit. "In their defense, though, I didn't have the greatest track record of knowing for sure whether or not I love a girl what with the events of the Spring Fling and all."
"That's true," Octavia admits with a sigh. "Still, though, that would have meant a few extra weeks of saying that we love each other."
"Indeed, it would have," I agree. "But at least we would be together either way."
Octavia gives me a small smile and nods in response before she frowns sadly.
"What are we doing here, Rough Draft?" She asks.
I bite my lip and reply, "We're going on a romantic walk through -"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it," she says seriously.
We stop walking, and I sigh and say, "Yeah, I do, and the honest answer is I don't know. This trial thing is taking longer than I think you, me, Sunset, Sonata, or anyone else wanted it to. It's getting out of hand, and I think we all know it. But try as I might, I just can't decide even now. Maybe this whole opportunity to repair both relationships was a terrible idea because my heart is more torn apart than ever. I don't know what's in my heart because my heart can't choose my path."
"I understand," Octavia says sadly. "And I know it doesn't help, but know that I don't want to get in the way of your happiness no matter who you choose because I love you."
I turn to face her and caress her cheek.
"And I love you too, Octavia. I always have," I say. "Even when I hated you for dumping me and dating another guy, that didn't stop me from loving you."
She smiles sweetly and holds my hand that's caressing her cheek with both hands as we slowly lean in for a kiss. Suddenly, I feel something small and wet hitting the top of my head. I stop leaning in confusion before I see a drop of water falling on Octavia's nose. The next thing either of us knows, rain pours over us, drenching us in seconds. Octavia looks at me with an unamused look.
"Well, there went our big moment for tonight," she grumbles.
"Not necessarily," I suggest. "It's a normal romantic thing to kiss in the rain."
"Perhaps, but it's a little cliché," Octavia says.
"Well then," I say with a grin.
Without warning, I wrap my arms around her and dip her. She yelps in surprise until she sees my face protecting her from the rain with our noses touching.
"I guess we should do it our own special way, shouldn't we?" I finish.
Octavia smiles and laughs before she whispers, "Oh my darling," and leans in for a passionate kiss. She wraps her arms around my neck, and I hold on to her tightly as our lips move against each other passionately in the rain. When we part, Octavia looks at me with a pleased smile.
"You know, we're probably going to be pretty sick from all this rain," she says.
"Well, I think that's inevitable since we're ways away from proper shelter," I say with a grin. "Besides, I think you'd be okay with that as long as we have this moment to remember no matter what happens."
"Oh, you have no idea, my precious darling," she says flirtatiously before our lips connect again.
****************************************************************************************
The next day.
"ACHOO!"
Yep, I'm sick.
Tempo and Alto eventually found us and brought us to Tempo's car, but even as Octavia and I changed to our regular clothes at the nearest public restrooms, we knew we were doomed. Now here I am in bed, my head feeling like it's on fire, my body feels weak, and I'm practically sneezing every two minutes.
On the plus side, it's better that I'm sneezing rather than coughing. That would really hurt.
I hear a knock on my bedroom door, and before I can say come in, Sunset comes in with a mask covering her mouth and her eyes, giving me a displeased glare.
"Seriously?" She ridicules with her arms crossed. "I had another big, romantic day planned for us, and you just had to get sick?"
"Sorry, sunshine," I say, weakly. "I guess I just was not as lucky from getting too wet from the rain as we were on our first date."
Sunset keeps her glare for a second before she rolls her eyes and smirks through the mask.
"Well, fortunately for us, I'm prepared for this sort of thing," she says proudly. "I brought some soup for you and my laptop so we can watch some movies while we cuddle all day."
"Sounds great," I say with a weak smile. "It's a shame we won't get to make out, though."
Sunset walks to my bed and kneels next to me with a sweet smile through her mask.
"It's fine, babe," she says sincerely. "When I confessed my love for you on your birthday, I said that I would always be happy to just hold you even for one moment, and that's still the truth now. As long as you're in my arms, that's more than enough for me."
I smile as I take her hand and squeeze it to the best of my ability before she leaves to grab her laptop. I sigh before I hear my phone vibrating on my bedstand. I take it out of its charger and open the messages app to see that Octavia sent a picture of her lying in bed with her gray nose turned red, and an ice pack on top of her head while giving me a weak smile.
Octavia: Completely worth it.
I smile and take a selfie of myself and send it to her with my reply.
Me: So worth it!👍
I put my phone back in my changer just in time for Sunset to reenter my room. She hops onto my bed, opens her laptop, starts playing a movie, and cuddles next to me. I smile sweetly as she sighs blissfully while holding me so tightly. If I weren't sick, I would kiss her on the forehead like I usually do in this position, so I just rest my head on top of hers as I squeeze her back.
As we watch the movie, however, I frown thinking about my conversations with Tempo and Octavia. As much as I want to deny it, Tempo is right. I'm living in borrowed time with both of my exes, and it looks like what we're doing isn't working. I need to think of something fast before it's too late.
Before no one wins.