//------------------------------// // After the Show // Story: A Life of Music // by Zenaron //------------------------------// After the Show “Ahhh” Vinyl let out a very content sigh as the water pouring from the shower head cascaded down her body, washing away all of the strain from her muscles after the show. All things considered it had been a really great show. The crowed was great and happily went along with the flow that Vinyl went through great pains to orchestrate. And best of all Tavi was there and from what Vinyl had seen every time she took a quick second to glance over at the side stage where Tavi and Andy were standing, she had seemed to be enjoying the show. With a quick turn of her wrist the water ceased and she stepped out of the shower, grabbed a nearby towel, and started drying herself off. On the other hand Vinyl had to hand it owner of this place; he went all out. It wasn’t every day that the clubs she played at had a full bath and shower facility for the entertainers to use after they played. After taking some time to get dressed and looking herself over in the mirror to make sure she looked alright. She made her way out of the bathroom and down the long hallway toward the clubs green room. When she rounded the corner she caught a glimpse of the club owner smiling and laughing jovially; quickly making his way down the hall in the other direction that she was walking, and of her cousin chuckling to himself as the door to the green room closed behind him. Vinyl smiled and made her way over to the door and threw it open. “Hey sorry it took so long I had to take a quick shower, the sweat smell was getting to me.” She said as she made her way over to the empty seat on the nearby couch and plopped herself down. “Yes I’m sure it was.” Octavia said with a small smile on her face as she set down the paper that she had been reading while waiting for Vinyl. “Hey Tavi, so…did you enjoy the show?” Vinyl asked as she leaned in a bit closer, a small amount of nervousness in her voice. Octavia leaned back in her chair and put a delicate finger to her chin in thought and let out a pondering “hmm…it wasn’t exactly the kind of music I usually listen to.” Vinyl deflated slightly at the thought that Tavi might not have enjoyed herself. “But I thought it was rather fun, and yes I did enjoy myself very much, thank you Vinyl.” Octavia said with a genuine slightly mirthful smile. Vinyl’s smile brightened as Andy began to laugh loudly. “Wow Octavia that was a good one you actually had her going there for a minute.” Andy got out just as a fluffy projectile slammed into his face. Vinyl shot her cousin a dirty look while disparately trying to suppress the slight blush on her face. But her frown was quickly replaced by a large grin from the subtly sweet sound of Octavia’s laughter. Andy had a matching smile on his face after recovering from the unexpected projectile. “So Vinyl, you and Octavia planning on hitting up the waffle house a few blocks down the road?” “If Tavi is up for it.” Vinyl said as she gave Octavia a questioning glance. Octavia once again placed a finger on her chin to think it over before giving Vinyl a smile that made her heart throb faster. “Sure why not.” “Awesome, are you planning on joining us Andy?” Vinyl asked with a quick glance at her cousin. “No I have some things to take care of and then I think I’ll go get a drink before turning in.” Andy said giving a dismissive wave of his hand. “Well suit yourself; Come one Tavi lets go.” Vinyl said as she leapt up out of her seat and started making her way over to door. Octavia quickly gathered herself up and after offering a good night to Andy made her way through the door that Vinyl was holding open for her. Sometime later at a local waffle house “So Vinyl I was wondering something?” Octavia asked looking up from the menu in her hand. “Yeah what’s up Tavi?” Vinyl asked quirking an eyebrow. “Why a waffle house of all places? I kind of figured that you would want to go to a bar or something.” “Well yeah most people would think that, but after a concert I’m so jacked up on adrenalin that I just want to sit down in a peaceful place and unwind you know. So what better place than a 24 hour waffle house. They have good food; a relaxing atmosphere, and to top it all off no last call. So what’s not to love?” Vinyl said as she counted the reasons off on her raised hand. Octavia’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Well when she puts it like that it makes a certain amount of sense.” She thought to herself before looking back down at the menu. “Annddd,” Vinyl dragged out. “Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner?” Once again Octavia gave a small nod, having to concede to Vinyl’s seemingly flawless logic. At that point the waitress, a nice looking middle aged woman with blonde curly hair came up to their table to take their orders. After the waitress had jotted everything down on her notepad and started back towards the kitchen; Vinyl leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table. “Hey Tavi can I ask you something?” “Sure Vinyl what’s on your mind?” “Well I was just hoping that maybe we could get to know each other a little better you know?” Octavia blinked a few times in surprise. “Um… Of course, what do you want to know?” “Well what do you like to do for fun?” Vinyl asked resting her chin on top of her closed fists. “Oh, well I like writing music; reading cheesy romance novels, you know that kind of thing.” “Cheesy romance novels?” Vinyl asked with a devious grin. Octavia let out a sigh pretty sure she knew what was coming. “Yes I like to read novels where two people find each other and fall deeply in love with one another." “Ah, that’s really sweet.” Vinyl said with a big grin, resting her head on her right hand an almost dream like look in her eyes. Octavia raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You’re not going to make fun of me?” Vinyl let out a snort of laughter. “Why would I make fun of you for that? What’s wrong with liking a cute romance every once in a while?” Octavia blinked in surprise. “I must admit I wasn’t expecting that.” Vinyl simply shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “What can I say I’m a little quirky.” “So what about you Vinyl, what do you like to do for fun?” “I mostly like playing video games; watching stupid movies, dancing, and hanging out with friends whenever I can.” “Really what kind of Video games do you play?” “Mostly I like playing FPS’s and old school arcade games.” “FPS’s, what are those?” Octavia asked with a slight tilt of her head in confusion. “Ah not much of a gamer yourself I take it?” Octavia shook her head. “I did play a few board games with my family and an arcade game from time to time.” “Well it stands for first person shooters; most of the time you play as a solider running around and killing bad guys, and completing certain game objectives before your opponents do.” “Well that sounds…interesting.” Vinyl shrugged her shoulders. “It’s mostly just mindless fun to help kill time between stops.” She said with a smirk. Octavia returned the smirk right as the waitress made her way back over to their table with their food. As they began to eat, the two sat in a comfortable, companionable silence. Every once in a while they would steal small glances at each other but would quickly look away before they got caught. Witch inevitably would cause the other to notice the sudden movement and in return would give the other a small knowing look before returning to their meal. “Well I must say, this may not have been what I would have chosen, but it wasn’t half bad.” Octavia said with a genuine smile at Vinyl. “See what did I tell you? You simply can’t beat breakfast for dinner.” Vinyl said returning the smile with a confident smirk. The pair sat and talked about the show; how the tour was going and other smaller topics that came to mind, and before they knew it an hour had passed. “Well as wonderful as this night has been, it seems to be getting rather late.” Octavia said after she took a quick look at the clock hung over the front door to the waffle house. “Yeah you’re right, so can I walk the fine lady home?” Vinyl asked with a slight raise of her eyebrow adopting a gentlemanly sort of ascent. “My quite the gentlemen aren’t you.” Octavia joked with slight shake of her head. “I would be very grateful kind sir.” She said with a slight bow of her head. Vinyl let out a loud snicker of laughter, before quickly regaining her composure and rising from her seat and bowing before her lady extending a hand towards Octavia to help her out of the booth the two had been sitting in. Octavia blushed slightly before reaching out and taking the offered hand and sliding her way out of the booth. “May I walk you home tonight my lady?” Vinyl asked with her now familiar trademark smirk. Octavia simply nodded in agreement before Vinyl lead the way out of the restraint and in the direction of Octavia’s apartment. Several minutes later The two approached the front entrance to the large apartment building and stopped before awkwardly turning to face one another, neither being quite sure how best to say goodbye. “So I hope that you had a good time tonight?” Vinyl asked as she halfheartedly kicked at the ground, her eyes staring at the sidewalk. “Yes I had a wonderful time Vinyl, and thank you for listing to me about my parents.” “Hey what are friends for?” Vinyl asked with small shrug and her usual cocky grin. Octavia returned it with a smile and nodded her agreement. “So uh… I guess I’ll see you later?” Vinyl asked looking up through her bangs. “Yes oh course, I’ll see you later Vinyl.” The two continued to stand there for a few more seconds before an idea popped into Octavia’s head, and before she could think too hard about it she leaned in and gave Vinyl a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you again Vinyl.” Octavia said before she quickly ran into the apartment complex, a slight blush on her cheeks. Vinyl was taken aback by the sudden kiss and just stood there staring after the tall cellist long after she had disappeared from sight. Once her mind had finally processed what had happened, her blank expression was replaced by a slightly goofy grin. Once she got her bearings she turned on her heel and started the short walk back to where the tour bus was parked, smile on her face the entire walk back. Back at the tour bus a short walk later Vinyl was still smiling when she opened the door to the tour bus and made her way inside skipping up the few steps. She took a quick look around and noting that all the lights were turned off she guessed that Andy was probably already in bed. So as quietly as possible, she tiptoed her way to her room and slowly opened the door before slipping inside. Once inside she changed into her pajamas and fell over backwards into her bed. She let out a content sigh before drifting off into a deep, restful sleep.