Octavius

by Master Koschei

Chapter 6

Octavius sat in one of the back rooms that Dash had set him up with, his cello resting against him, his bow in hand. He slowly pulled it across the strings in an improvised fashion, making up the notes that he heard in his head. Vinyl and Dash had left shortly after they decided to try to be friends, so he thought this would be a good time to practice. He closed his eyes and swayed in time, losing himself to the melody at his fingertips, thoughts slowly going through his mind.

First, of course, was the memory of what had transpired the night before. He had no idea what had possessed him to do such a thing; he was sure Dash wasn’t what he was looking for in a woman. Perhaps the night had been a bit too stressful, and he was simply trying to get it out? Or maybe he did have feelings for her? He wasn’t sure, but he hoped it was merely the former.

Slowly, as his piece ended, he set his bow across his lap. “What am I doing?” He placed his hand to the bridge of his nose, as he often did while thinking. “I barely know these women, yet here I am buying them 300 dollar headphones, taking them to dinner, and hell, I even had sex with one of them. Why am I doing this?”

Because you want this. They make you happy and you want that.

Octavius shook his head, trying to block out the noise. “They do make me happy, but why? I shouldn’t be around people like them, partiers and slackers. I am a professional, one of the best, an elite. I shouldn’t even associate with them, let alone be their friend!”

You want this. You want to let loose and have fun. You want to be happy. You need to be happy. So be happy. Let go. Have a party and dance and laugh.

Octavius sat quietly, thinking. He did want to have fun. But, he couldn’t. What would become of his high reputation were it to come to light that he was out getting drunk and partying with a couple girls he’d just met?

He picked his bow up and started to play once more, a piece by some forgotten composer springing from the strings. He played quietly, and he played loudly. He played slow and fast. He played happily, and he played lamentingly. He played his cello to the best of his ability, his fingers dancing along the neck of the instrument easily. He played his music to his audience of none, and he smiled quietly, knowing he could do this.

As the music slowly died down and ended, he heard applause from the doorway, making him jump. There stood Vinyl and Dash, smiling at him. They quickly entered the room and sat by him.

“Damn, Octy,” Vinyl said with a grin. “When you said you were good at cello, I didn’t know you meant THAT good!”

“Yeah, man!” Dash smiled at him excitedly. “That was fuckin’ awesome! Will you play us another where you move around and close your eyes?”

“I like the ones where you smile,” Vinyl added.

Octavius stared at the two women. Of all the people to like his music, he’d figured these two would be the least likely. He smiled slightly and nodded to them, picking his bow up and pulling it slowly across the strings, playing another old melody. As he played, Vinyl and Dash sat quietly and attentively, paying close attention to his playing.

As his piece wrapped up, they heard a voice call from the front of the restaurant. “Hello!” The voice was masculine, though certainly not harsh or abrasive. It was very calm and smooth, as if the man were fairly young. Octavius guessed probably his mid to late twenties. Octavius and the girls stood and walked back into the dining room.

At the counter stood two people, a man and a woman. The man was tall, maybe about six feet tall, give or take, with dark brown hair and eyes. He wore a blue suit with a brown trench coat on top. He was smiling kindly at the trio. However, the man wasn’t the one who held Octavius’ attention. It was the woman.

She was about five foot four inches tall. She had bright yellow hair, as well as yellow eyes that seemed perpetually crossed. Around her neck she wore a digital camera, which she was holding in her hands, at the ready to take a picture. She smiled at Octavius and lifted her camera, taking a picture of him and lowering it. She smiled wider and stood quietly at the other man’s side.

“Hello there,” the man said to Octavius, extending a hand to him, which Octavius shook. “I’m David, but everyone calls me ‘Doctor’.”

“I’m Octavius,” replied the cellist. He looked at the woman. “And may I ask your name?”

The woman seemed surprised he wanted to talk to her. “M-my name is D-D-Ditzy,” she stuttered out, seeming to struggle over her words. Octavius looked to David questioningly, but he was simply smiling warmly at the blonde.

“Well,” said Octavius after a moment. “It’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Ditzy.”

“How’s it hangin’, Ditzy?” Dash grinned at the blonde and stepped out from behind the counter, giving her a big hug. As the two separated, Ditzy raised her camera and pointed it at Dash, who in turn stuck her tongue out playfully. Ditzy snapped the shot and lowered her camera, smiling.

“Hey, D-Dash,” Ditzy stammered, trying to focus on her words. “Who i-is he?” She pointed at Octavius. Octavius tilted his head curiously. He had introduced himself not two minutes prior, yet she seemed to have no idea who he was.

David smiled at Ditzy. “Ditzy,” he said, sounding like he was almost talking to a child. “This is Octavius. He introduced himself to you earlier. Do you remember?” Ditzy shook her head slowly. “Why don’t you look back at your pictures?”

Ditzy pulled up her camera, and David pushed a button, scrolling through the pictures she’d taken. There was Dash, and right after came her picture of Octavius. Her face lit up. “Oh, yeah!” She smiled at Octavius. “S-Sorry, O-Oc-Oc-“

“Just call him Tavi, hun,” Vinyl interrupted. “All the cool kids do it. Right, Dash?” The other woman nodded with a grin.

Ditzy nodded, smiling. “A-Alright, I’ll be c-cool, too, Tavi!”

Octavius was about to protest, but stopped himself at the cold look David gave him. Don’t say a word. Octavius bit his tongue and asked, “So, Ditzy, why do you have the camera?”

“Th-They’re my m-m-memories,” she stuttered, focusing rather hard on her speech.

David nodded. “When she gets home, we upload them to a computer, and she can view them whenever she likes. That way, she can ‘remember’ that day.”

Octavius was about to ask another question, but just then, the front door swung open. He looked past David and Ditzy, and saw two girls walk in, one with pink and white hair, the other with silver hair and glasses.

“Hey, Dash!” The one with pink and white hair was very abrupt and rude, no respect in her voice.

Dash grit her teeth, but forced a smile. “Yes, Dia, how may I help you?”

The one named Dia sneered coldly. “Daddy said I could have a free lunch. So make me and Sil lunch!”

“All right, Dia,” Dash said through her teeth. “How about a knuckle sandwich, you little…” Dash mumbled under her breath as she went into the back to start making the food. Octavius watched as Ditzy tried to hide behind David, who was trying to act like he didn’t notice the two girls.

“Hey, Derpy!” Dia and Sil walked up to the counter where David and Ditzy stood. “H-how are y-y-you?” Dia smirked cruelly at her impression of the blonde. Ditzy tried to ignore the child, which irritated Dia. “Hey, Derpy, I’m talking to you, you RETARD!”

Octavius had heard enough. He knew Ditzy certainly may have a mental issue, but pointing it out and making fun of her for it was too far for him. “Listen, you-“ he started, but was interrupted by Vinyl stomping rather hard on his foot. He looked over at her, and she shook her head.

“What was that?” Dia looked Octavius dead in the eyes. Octavius tried to come up with something to say, but his mind was abuzz in anger. Luckily, Dash re emerged at that point with the food for the kids. The two girls stared Octavius down, then turned. “I don’t want to be near that retard any longer than I have to,” Dia murmured under her breath as she left the counter.

Octavius looked at Ditzy. “Why didn’t you take their picture?”

Ditzy hung her head, on the verge of tears. “I don’t want to remember them,” she said clearly. “Th-they’re mean. They call m-me names. L-like Derpy and r-ret-tard.” Her stammers now were not coming from her impediment, but between sobs. Tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on her camera. David pulled her into a hug, and she buried her face in his chest, clutching his trench coat tight in her fingers.

Octavius watched on sadly as Ditzy cried, then turned to Vinyl. “Why did you stop me from telling off that brat?”

Vinyl sighed. “Her father is a man named Mr. Rich. He owns, like, half of the city here, so we can’t say anything to her. Otherwise she’ll go running to him, and we could lose the diner.”

“But I thought Dash owned this place,” Octavius said.

“She does,” Vinyl replied. “But Rich can still find a way to shut her down. Basically, Dia can do whatever she wants, and we can’t do a fuckin’ thing. Oh,” she quickly added, placing a hand over her mouth. “Sorry about the language, Ditzy.”

Ditzy pulled away from David, wiping at her eyes. “It’s o-ok,” she said quietly, trying to keep her tears contained. “I’m used t-to it.”

“You shouldn’t have to be,” Octavius muttered. Then an idea occurred to him. He smiled and said, “Excuse me, miss Ditzy, but may I ask you, are you busy this evening?”

Ditzy looked at him, slightly confused. She looked up at David. “A-am I busy, Doctor?”

“No, Ditzy,” he said. “You’re not busy. Why don’t you find out why he asked?”

“O-ok,” Ditzy turned her attention back to Octavius. “W-why do y-you ask?

“Well, I have a performance this evening,” Octavius explained. “And I think it would be fantastic if you and David here were to attend, as well as Vinyl and Dash.”

Ditzy’s face lit up, beaming. “I w-would love to co-come see y-you, Oc-o-oct,” she paused and closed her eyes, focusing hard. “Octavius.”

Octavius smiled, as did Vinyl and David. Dash spoke up from behind the group. “I think this calls for lunch on the house.” Everyone cheered except Octavius, who retained his composure. He checked his watch. It was going on 2 o’ clock. He had about three more hours before he had to head to the recital hall for rehearsal and warm up. He lifted his head and smiled at Ditzy, who smiled back at him.

“Thank you,” she mouthed to him. He replied with a small nod. He and the rest of the group walked over to a table, where Dash set down bowls of soup in front of them. Everyone thanked her, and dug in to their bowls. Octavius calmly sipped his soup from his spoon as he eyed David and Ditzy. David radiated class and finesse, carefully lifting his spoon to his lips and consuming the substance quietly. Ditzy, in contrast, seemed to having a bit of trouble with her spoon, her hand shaking a bit as she tried to eat her food. Usually, by the time it reached her mouth, there was nothing left on it, so she dipped her spoon in her soup once more and tried again.

Octavius admired her tenacity. Even when she kept failing, she never gave up, and every so often, she’d manage to get a full spoonful into her mouth. Octavius turned his attention to David once more. He cleared his throat to get the brown haired man’s attention. “Excuse me, David,” Octavius started politely. “But if I may be so bold as to ask, why are you called ‘the Doctor’?”

“Oh, that’s an easy one,” said David. “You see, I take care of miss Ditzy here. I’ve known her ever since we were kids, but all she’s known is doctors and tests and mockery. I’m a man in a coat who’s nice and takes care of her, so she calls me ‘Doctor’.” He smiled some. “The name kind of stuck.”

Ditzy smiled at him, a bit of soup on her chin. “My Doctor is s-so sweet t-t-to me,” she said as David grabbed a napkin and gently wiped off the blonde’s chin. “H-he helps m-m-me and doesn’t l-laugh at me.”

Octavius smiled at the pair. Here they were, two people who shouldn’t really be associated with one another, at least by appearance, yet they were the best of friends. He felt his gaze shift involuntarily to a certain blue haired woman at the table.

“So, Octavius,” David interrupted the cellist’s train of thought. “How long are you planning on staying in town?”

“Only tonight,” Octavius replied. “I’m trying to find somewhere where I can get a permanent booking. Somewhere that I can stick around longer than a couple days.”

“Maybe tonight will be your night, man,” Rainbow said with a wink and a nudge. Octavius ignored the comment and quietly sipped his soup.

Author's Note:

So here's the next part, and I hope you all enjoy it. Sadly, my uploads will be slowing down, as I'll be needing more time to write more on the story. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think, what you like and what you can't stand. This is my first story, so there's bound to be problems.

Comments

[Chrome Reader]

I feel bad already for ditzy,that poor beautiful crossed eyed lady

Good thing , there's the "Doctor" to help her

[Master Koschei]

5385441 she's going to be a bit of a focus for a couple more chapters, so we'll definitely learn more about her and David. I'm glad you like it