A one week stand

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 2: What could it hurt?

Vinyl sighed as she flipped the record off the DJ table and into its case, only to quickly toss another one on. The club was packed from end to end, with people dancing, drinking and generally going along with their lives. “Is everyone ready for this? We're going to be going all night!” she yelled into the microphone before starting the next beat. She had her glasses back, setting the world in its signature red haze. The air was hot and humid, all the bodies below the stage moving as hard as they could to keep up with the beats she threw down.

Yet she couldn't help being annoyed. It had been quite a few days since she'd last seen Octavia and while her new glasses had showed up the day after, the cellist was nowhere to be seen. She'd been so certain that the boy would have come within the next two nights. After all, she knew he knew where the club was, she made sure of that. He also knew when she'd be working. She didn't expect him to come up on the stage or anything, she imagined he was too shy for that. But she at least expected him to step into the club, awkwardly idle by the door for a few minutes, maybe get a drink before making his escape. That was when she was going to strike and make her move.

Instead, tonight was her last night and he hadn't even shown up outside, she was sure of that. She'd told the bouncer each night to keep an eye out. She was miffed about the whole thing, she was usually such a good judge of character, yet she'd read him all wrong. Maybe she'd been a bit too direct.

But she couldn't help it! He was just so shy and cute. He'd looked like a cornered animal when she first brought him into the club and they'd sat at one of the normal tables. Ready to dart at a moment's notice, his shoulders all tense and knotted up. Then when she'd got them a booth, he'd almost instantly relaxed and she could watch the tension disappear. She wondered how many times he'd actually been attacked due to his looks like that. Had they stayed much longer, she was pretty sure they'd have started getting drinks delivered to their table from special admirers.

Besides, he was only going to be in town for a few weeks. It would be a fun little fling and she'd dated guys and girls, but never someone so close to the middle. It would be a new experience and she hated saying no to new experiences. But she needed him to show some kind of interest, some sign that he actually wanted to see her. She couldn't just force him to come make out. She could probably try, but he had a mean right jab and she didn't want to risk it again. She certainly gave him enough signs that he should feel confident to at least show up. It's not like she expected him to ask her out, she'd more or less done that alre--

She had to resist face palming as she flipped to the next record. Of course, she hadn't asked him out. Just kissed him. Sure, most guys probably would have taken the hint, but he wasn't exactly the most forceful guy she'd met. It was too late now, anyway. She'd be off for a while after today and it was almost midnight. There was no way he'd--

He was here! She let out an internal squeal of glee when she saw him pop in through the front of the club. He seemed as awkward and nervous as ever, slowly moving through the crowd. He kept staring at the ground, too, as he made his way towards a table. “Okay, you all ready to get this party rocking?” she yelled before flipping through two of the records, her hands moving like blurs as the dancing began to get faster. For a moment she felt a surge of power as they moved to the beats she set. On more than a few occasions she'd considered dropping the beats, hard, before literally letting the beats drop completely, just to see how many people fell over.

Then she'd quickly shut those thoughts out because while it would be funny at the time, there was a good chance someone would get hurt and while she may have been evil, she wasn't that evil. Still, she moved through the beats quickly, her eyes occasionally flicking towards him. He was sitting off alone, near the back. He'd ordered a drink, but she had no idea what it was, other than red. It could have been any dozens of drinks.

However, the way the cellist was sitting, slightly hunched over the table, tense, nervous, his eyes scanning from left to right. He looked like a frightened fawn just waiting to get picked off by some predator. It wasn't long until such movements drew the attention of his first prospective suitor of the night and she couldn't help but smirk slightly as someone broke off from the bar and made their way over.

------

Octavia couldn't believe he'd actually come here. Why was he doing this? He didn't have time for any of this, he had to get back to practice. His livelihood depended on him being the best cellist possible, but instead he was wasting valuable time at a club like this. He should have stayed home. It was her last night, that's what she'd said. If he had just waited, he'd never see her again. No more temptation, no more distraction.

Yet here he was, sitting in this dimly lit locale while the music thumped loud and hard enough to try and throw off his own heart beat. The music itself wasn't bad, in fact it would have been quite good. If not for the fact it pounded so painfully. He was used to listening to much softer, gentler music. Hearing the notes and letting them carry him away. But these ones threatened to beat him over the head with a frying pan, toss him in a sack and then drive him off a cliff.

But still, it wasn't bad. He was just thankful they didn't have any of those nail on chalkboard sounds he'd heard in the past. The beats were mixed up a lot, but nothing jagged or too hurtful to one's ears or sensibilities. In fact, were he able to get a place further from the speakers, he could actually enjoy it far more. The way one song would smoothly glide into the next, as if they were one.

“Come here often?” a voice asked as someone sat across the table from him. Octavia didn't even look up, just rested his head in his hands.

“No. In fact, I am merely waiting to meet with someone. Alone.”

“Oh, no need to be like that, baby,” the person said. He refused to look up, he just shook his head.

“I am not your baby. Please, just leave. I am most definitely not the person you're looking for.”

“Trust me, you've been looking all your life for someone like me.”

Octavia opened her mouth to speak. However, before he could get the words out, he felt a hand on his legs. He took a slow, deep breath. “You do realize that I am, in fact, a guy, correct?” The hand pulled back so fast he was certain the appendage now had whiplash. There was a few seconds before he heard the clatter of a falling chair.

He glanced up and, sure enough, the table was now empty again. He sighed and took another sip of his drink. Why was he subjecting himself to this? Ten more minutes, that was it. That was all he was going to wait, then he'd leave. He couldn't endure this for long, no matter who the woman was. She probably didn't even notice him come in.

------

Vinyl grinned as she popped her hands and stretched, stepping out from the DJ booth. It had been almost an hour since Octavia had arrived, but she'd been watching the table since the man arrived and he hadn't left it. Even after that guy practically jumped from the table, the cellist hadn't moved. But now she was finally getting a small break, so she already knew how she'd spend it.

Most of the floor were already sitting down and resting. She always liked to up the beats right before her break, make sure they were nice and tired so the pre-mixed music wouldn't bore them. Not that it wasn't good, in fact she had a feeling most of her mixes were used during the weekdays, she'd heard them enough when she visited. But she liked to have a bit more control over the crowds. Still, it was hard to notice the music when you were already seeing stars. She slid into the chair across from him.

“Go away, I'm waiting for someone,” Octavia grumbled.

“Really? Who? Is she cute? Pretty? Sexy? Ohhhh, is she an awesome DJ who--”

“Are you going to toot your horn the whole time?” Octavia asked, finally looking up.

“Only if you won't,” Vinyl said with a smirk. “I hope you didn't mind waiting too much.”

“It was fine,” he said before sighing. “I uhhhh... I do hope you...” He brought his fist up and coughed into it. “Before we proceed, I think we should discuss--”

“Wanna go out sometime soon?”

He nearly fell out of his chair and now she was sure he was blushing. “W-what? But, but I was about to--”

“You were too slow. So, yes or no?”

He gulped. “Y-yes?” he offered, giving a weak smile. “But you know--”

“That you'll be leaving town soon because of work? Yeah, I figured that was kind of obvious. Really, if you were on such a short period of availability, why did you waste so much time coming down here? I was expecting you on friday.”

His face turned even redder. “I... I did come down. I just didn't... get in line or anything. It was... can we just... move on, please?”

“Okay. Soooo, since I know the area and asked you out, I think I should choose where to go.” She grinned wickedly. “Tomorrow, around noon. Dress nice and meet me at city square.”

“Nice?”

“Nice. As nice and fancy as you can.”

He gave a nod. “R-right. Of course. I'll uhhh... I'll be there.”

“Make sure to wear a nice dress, too.” She giggled at the glare he gave. “I'm kidding, I'm kidding! So, wanna hang for a bit? My break isn't for long, but after I'm off I--”

“No,” he said firmly. “While this has... most definitely been an experience, I cannot stay all night. If I am to be around with you tomorrow at noon, I'll need to make some calls first. But I will stay until your break is over.”

“Awesome,” she said before grinning at him even wider. “Are you always so uptight?”

“Yes. It is genetic. I was born with a stick magically inserted into my rectum.”

Vinyl grinned for a few moments before her eyes widened, thankfully hidden behind her glasses. She then stared at him and finally burst into laughter. “I... I can't believe you... you actually said that. I never thought... really? Isn't that a bit crude for you to say?”

“You seemed like the type who would appreciate such words,” he said before taking another sip of his drink.

“Well then, we only have a few days,” she said before reaching out and clasping his hand in hers. “How many, exactly?”

He sighed and lowered the glass. “On saturday we will be performing our final show. We will either be leaving that night or the following morning. Saturday will be spent primarily in preparation for the show.”

Vinyl nodded and then pulled her hand back. “Five days, huh? Sounds easy enough?”

“Easy enough for what?”

“To make you fall madly, deeply in love with me and make the rest of your trips absolutely suck.”

Octavia stared flatly for a few moments before lightly chuckling. “Charming.”