> Just Yanking Your Chain 3: A New Yank
>  by The Story Man
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Vinyl's very vapors vaporize vermin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You stand outside of Vinyl’s house with a dvd copy of “Blood Monsters 3: Beach Attack” and let out a sigh. Despite your previous closeness to Vinyl, things have taken a turn in the past month for you.

After Vinyl helped you get more confident, in her usual and overly ridiculous manner, you found that it actually worked. Perhaps it’s just a placebo, but you’ve not only gone to more parties lately, you’ve also had a better chance with women.

Every so often at these parties, you’ll see Vinyl at the DJ stand or she’ll just be mingling in the crowd. Somehow though, you’ve always found yourself pulled along in other conversations.

It hadn’t occurred to you until you saw this movie lying in discount bin recently that you haven’t talked to Vinyl in at least a month. So, you bought the movie and went over here on the day you guys used to hold your movie night.

Looking down at the case, you remember the movie night that started it all. Back when Vinyl gave you that handjob that set you off on this path. It’s odd to think about, but you do have Vinyl to thank for your newfound confidence.

Taking a step towards the apartment, you see the door open and Octavia steps out. She’s wearing her usually formal clothes as she close the door behind her. Taking notice of you, she gives you a smile and wave.

“Hi Octavia, what’re you doing?” you ask as you stop in front of the building with her.

“Just came to drop some things off with Vinyl and to visit. She’s been oddly moody lately and I can’t for the life of me figure out why,” she says, glancing back to the door and drifting off.

Ẅell, has she had any gigs or something that might be stressing her out?” you ask.

Öh you should know Vinyl doesn’t let things like that get to her, not like this in any case. Has she said anything to you?” Octavia asks, looking back at you.

“No, I actually haven’t spent much time with her lately,” you answer, awkwardly rubbing the back of your neck.

“Well, I hope you can cheer her up then. It was good seeing you,” she says with a small nod before walking past you.

“Same to you,” you quickly reply before turning back to the door.

Knowing that Vinyl is in a bad mood makes you anxious. In all the time you’ve spent with Vinyl, she’s never seemed very stressed, even in situations that would make you freak. 

You start to think about coming back another day, but look down at the DVD and realize a movie night might be the pickup she needs. Besides, it’ll  be nice for the both of you to spend time together like you used to. She’ll probably be expecting a thank you for the help getting your confidence in any case.

Taking a deep breath, you move up to the door and knock. After a few seconds of silence, you knock again, this time harder. You wait there a little longer before looking around in confusion.

Octavia leaving clearly meant Vinyl was in, and she normally opens the door whenever you come knocking. Then again, she’s no stranger to loud music and expensive headphones, so it’s possible she can’t hear you.

Turning the knob, you push the door open wide enough to peek inside. The hallway had a dim light to it bleeding in from the windows in its connected rooms. Pushing it further open, you step inside and quiet down.

Putting a hand to your ear, you listen to see if you could hear Vinyl performing her usual, odd dance to the music she listens too. Instead, you hear a subtle series of thuds, like someone moving equipment.

You reach the stairs at the end of the hallway and place your hand on the rail before calling up to the next floor.

“Vinyl, are you there?” you call out.

Getting no answer, you shake your head and continue upstairs. From the looks of things, Vinyl’s taken to listening to loud music while moving as well. It’s odd though, you figure she would have called you if she needs help moving equipment again.

Reaching the top of the stairs, you see Vinyl bobbing her head softly as she sorts through some records she still has. Finishing looking through it, she places the box off next to a few other boxes on a table.

Reaching the top, you watch her for a while before reaching over and knocking on the wall.

Vinyl snaps her head up from her work and looks side to side. She takes the headphones off before turning around.

“Hey Tavi, did you forget--” she starts to ask before noticing you.

“Hello Vinyl, long time no see,” you say with a smile.

“Oh, hi,” she replies cool voice before leaning against the table and looking to the side.

“So, how’ve things been with you? I’ve had a pretty hectic few weeks,” you say with a small laugh.

“Yeah, same here. Been busy with playing parties and the like,” she adds, still not sounding like you remember.

A moment of silence passes as you wait for Vinyl to go about her usual banter or at least try to tease you. When nothing happens except Vinyl watching the floor in front of her, you cough and speak again.

“So I know I’ve missed a few, but I brought a cheesy movie for us to watch. It’s a horror movie too, since you like those,” you finish, walking towards her and holding it out.

She looks up to the case in your hand before taking it out and reading the cover. A smile comes to her face and you feel relieved to see she’s cheering up.

“I thought you said you hated these things,” she says, waving the dvd around a bit.

“Yeah, but I figure I owe you one since you helped me out and all even when I didn’t believe you,” you say, returning her smile.

“Told you not to doubt me,” she says with a laugh.

She looks down at the dvd and her smile weakens slightly. She glances back up at you as you start to get a concerned look.

“Uh, right, let’s go watch this now. I can just pick this up anytime really,” she says gesturing to the records.

You start to nod, but she’s already turned around and heading for the door to her living room. Caught off guard by her curtness, you silently catch up to her and follow into the room. As Vinyl puts the dvd in, you take a seat on her couch.

Finishing putting it in, she stands up and moves over to the couch, taking a seat further away from you than usual. You watch her as she sets it up to watch the movie. Her face doesn’t seem angry, but it doesn’t seem very happy either.

You think back to what Octavia had said and wonder if this is what she’s referring to. Still, Vinyl isn’t the type to give someone the cold shoulder. At least, not the Vinyl you know.

The movie starts up and you surprise yourself with not flinching during the first scare scene. Admittedly, it is pretty cheesy as far as shock scenes come. The blood monster is obviously a dude in a rubber mask.

Both you and Vinyl laugh at it, but you seem to laugh harder. This is just another thing you notice Vinyl doing that’s not like her at all. For a moment you wonder if she’s in trouble with something, but try not to assume the worst.

The next funny scene comes and Vinyl does little more than blow air out of her nose. You look over at her with a smile, but find she’s looking down at the ground.

“Vinyl? Why aren’t you watching the movie?” you ask, leaning forward a bit.

“Because I don’t feel like it, I don’t know. Why do you care?” she replies defensively.

She falls back against the couch with a pout on her face as she crosses her arms. Despite her evident seriousness, you know Vinyl isn’t the type to stay mad. In the few times you’ve seen her get actually mad, she always turned around when you did something that made her laugh.

“Hey, would it make you feel better if I told you a funny story from a party?” you say, trying to keep a friendly smile.

“Probably not,” she replies without looking at you.

You look at her for a moment with a concern growing inside you. Vinyl isn’t the type to refuse a funny story, and she’s never given you the cold shoulder as hard as she is now. You may have given it to her once in a while, but she was always there to get you out of it.

Clearing your throat, you look back at the screen before pausing the movie. You’d hoped Vinyl would ask why you did it, but she seems content to sit in awkward silence. Scratching your head as you think of something to say, Vinyl turns back at you.

“Well?” she says with vague anger.

“Well what?” you respond, confused by the sudden question.

“You know what? Movie’s over, I’m going,” she says, standing up.

You stand up and follow her as she quickly walks to the tv and all but rips the dvd out and throws it at you before turning for the door.

“Vinyl, wait, just tell me what’s got you so mad. Was it something I said?” you ask as she stops in front of the door to her room.

She goes quiet before snapping back at you. Her eyes are filled with anger and you can practically feel the heat emanating from them. You’ve never seen Vinyl look at anyone, let alone you, with such pure resentment.

“Get out of my house,” she says before turning back around and throwing the door open.

“Vinyl--” you start to ask before she cuts you off.

“Don’t make me kick you out. Just. Leave.” she says fatalistically before slamming the door behind her.

You stand in shock for a moment while your brain figures out what happened. Without really paying attention, you do as vinyl said and start to leave in a slow walk. The whole time, your face shifts and changes as a storm of thought fly through your head.

Reaching the stairs, you look back in hopes that Vinyl might be there. When you only see the empty room and Vinyl’s half done record sorting, you continue on your way out of the building.

You look down at the DVD in your hand as you stand on the door step. The cover doesn’t even come to your mind as you look at it, images of Vinyl’s glaring face replacing it instead. Lowering it with a sigh, you walk towards your car.

Giving the window to her living room one last look, you hope to see Vinyl at least come to watch you go. All you can see is the dull grey color of her ceiling. Turning back to the car, you get in and start it up before driving back to your apartment.

After getting home, you sit in silence for a bit while you think over what you said. No matter how many times you look at it, you can’t figure out what you said that was wrong, or if it even was you at fault. And without knowing what went wrong, it doesn’t make much sense to apologize.

A few days go by and with them you return to a semi-normal schedule. You stop going to parties, fearing you might run into Vinyl at one of them. After almost a week you start to wonder if avoiding Vinyl is better than just facing the problem head on.

Knowing Vinyl however, you know that if she’s that pissed at you, no party is going to magically fix the problem. Still, you grow more restless with each day as you try and remember what happened and what went wrong.

While you’re watching a movie one afternoon, your phone rings. You look at it and notice that it’s from Octavia. Remembering Octavia knew something was wrong with Vinyl the day she flipped at you, you figure she might have some information about her.

Answering the phone, you lift it to your ear.

“Hey Octavia,” you say. While not knowing her extremely well, you find yourself relax into the greeting easily.

“Hello. Are you doing anything tomorrow at 2:00?” she asks in a strict manner.

“Uh, no? Are you asking me out on a date?” you reply, taken back by the sudden move.

“No, but we need to talk,” she says in the same somber tone.

“About what?” you ask, wondering what she could want.

“Vinyl. Since it’s a fairly serious conversation, I was hoping we could discuss it over tea somewhere rather than over the phone. Are you free or not?” she asks curtly.

“Yeah, I guess. There’s nothing wrong with Vinyl, is there?” you worriedly wonder.

“Meet me at Cups and Things, I’d prefer not to gossip over the phone. Oh, and be sure to dress well,” Octavia finishes.

“Right, see you there then,” you say before hanging up.

Placing the phone beside you on the couch, you lean back and stare up at the ceiling. For some reason, an odd chill over having to talk about Vinyl with someone else comes over you. You can’t think of a reason it should, so you resign to the mystery with a sigh.

After a few seconds of silence with your eyes closed, they shoot open again as your head turns towards your closet. 

“Aw crap, I forgot to ask what she meant by dress well,” you say to yourself. “Well, I’ll just go by how I assume she’ll dress...”

The rest of the day went by in a quick pace, in part because of your anticipation for what Octavia would be discussing with you. The rest of it might have been the somewhat lengthy binge of watching Netflix.

Regardless, the next day comes to you quickly and you find yourself scrambling to find the right outfit. You finally settle on a nice suit you don’t really remember buying.

Checking yourself in the mirror, you find yourself unable to choose whether or not you look pompous or reidiculous. 

Deciding it’s better to dress up than down, you get in your car and make your way to the shop. You’ve never gone into it, but have driven past it enough to where you can remember where it is.

Finding a surprisingly decent spot, you park and get out of your car. Straightening your tie in the mirror, it hits you that Octavia could have some dark secret about Vinyl to tell you. A frown comes over your face as you feel an odd sense of worry fill your gut.

Shaking off the nervous feeling, you head into the shop. After a brief look around, you see Octavia sitting by herself at a table by the back window. Contrary to what you thought, she’s wearing a light grey turtleneck and dark purple skirt.

She looks up and notices you, giving you a small smile and lifting her hand to signal you come over.

“You look unusually refined for a casual meeting,” she says before taking a drink.

“Well you said dress well, and with your... y’know, I kind of assumed--” you start to defend yourself before she lifts a hand to stop you.

“Relax, you’re not the first person. Besides, you do look nice in a suit,” she comments before placing the cup back down. “Now, before we discuss Vinyl I think you should get something,” she comments and waves a waiter over.

Not being very familiar with tea, you try and recollect something that might taste good from what you do know. “Tea, earl grey, hot,” you tell the waiter, who raises an eyebrow at the odd syntax.

Octavia notes the strange sentence as well and eyes you for a moment before clearing her throat to speak.

“Alright, about Vinyl. First, I’d like to hear how you got kicked from her apartment,” she asks in a straightforward manner.

“To be honest? I’m not really sure. I went to watch the movie with Vinyl and she just lost it,” you say, rubbing the back of your head as you recall the look on Vinyl’s face.

“Is that all? You’re sure there isn’t something more to it than that?” Octavia asks in a leading tone.

“Well, I guess I hadn’t seen her in a while so I might’ve brought something up that was touchy for her somehow. Even though I have no idea what I did, you seem to know her better than I do these days... did she say I did anything?”

“Well, I wouldn’t blame it entirely on you,” Octavia says before taking a drink of tea.

You watch her finish her oddly long sip while leaning forward. She ignores you for a moment while the waiter comes back and places your cup in front of you.

“Vinyl is a bitch after all,” she says finally.

The words hit you, but they have a delay on them, making your face go slack for a second. Sitting back up, you try to process the fact Octavia just cursed.

“E-excuse me?” you ask, wondering if you misheard her.

“Not to say you are entirely free of fault, you did act like a buffoon. Nevertheless, Vinyl has always been stubborn as a mule when it comes to how she feels,” she says, finishing off her cup and crossing her legs.

“How she feels? I mean, she’s always seemed kind flirty, but she’s like that with everyone as far as I can tell,” you drift off trying to find the right words.

“Un-Vinyl? Yes, well, she’s still a woman under all that party animal. I’m not going to pry too much into her personal life, but she seems to have some feelings towards you,” Octavia says before pausing and staring at you.

Her eyes are a deep shade of purple and seem almost mesmerising as she looks at you. After a brief, tense pause she sighs looks out the window to her side.

“I’ll admit, she has me worried,” she says before turning back to you. “She’s been in a sour mood ever since fighting with you. That’s why I called you for help.”

“Me? I thought you were going to give me advice or something!” you say, trying to keep your stressed voice down in the quiet environment.

“Oh hardly. Vinyl baffles me to be honest. Still, you seem to understand her and her lifestyle best. I already tried giving her a helpful speech, but she made rude gestures with her hands until I stopped,” she said, a frown coming over her face.

You stifle a small laugh at the thought of Vinyl flipping Octavia off while she was talking to her. Even when she was in a down mood, Vinyl seems to be a comedian.

“Well, I’m sorry Octavia, but I can’t help here. I thought the movie would cheer her up and all it did was make her angry, now she hates my guts,” you say, staring down into your small cup of tea.

“You know, I think I’ve changed my mind, I can give you some advice. Stop blaming yourself, the both of you are acting like children that got into a fight over some toys,” Octavia replies, leaning back against her chair.

“It’s more complicated than that, give us some credit,” you say, folding your arms.

“No, the two of you need to work things out already and stop pouting. I mean, honestly, have you never had relationship trouble before?” Octavia says with a roll of her eyes.

“Whoa, me and Vinyl aren’t dating,” you say raising a finger to emphasize your point.

“Oh dear, I knew Vinyl didn’t believe it but you too? Honestly, I can’t see how you’re so blind to something that obvious,” she says, holding a cup out as the waiter refills it.

“Obvious? We haven’t gone on any dates, how exactly is it obvious?” you say, leaning back against your chair.

“Haven’t you? Movie nights, helping her move her equipment, and I don’t think I need to mention the blowjobs,” Octavia explains in a lower voice.

“Those movie nights were just-- wait, you know about that?” you ask, the words sinking in.

“Of course I do. Did you really think Vinyl is good at keeping her mouth closed? She even talked to me on the phone while doing it, you don’t think I wondered what she was up to?” she asks, raising an eyebrow before drinking her tea.

You move off the back of the chair and take a drink of your tea. It’s only lukewarm now, but you hardly notice the difference. What’s important is it allows you time to think about what to say next. Setting it down, you cough a few times before speaking again.

“Alright, fine, I admit we did stuff but it wasn’t in a relationship kind of way. Besides, even if I wanted to talk about it with her what makes you think she’d be willing to?” you ask her.

“I already told you Vinyl has feelings for you. Trust me, she’s not a very open person in one-on-one situations. Have you tried talking to her?” Octavia asks, pushing the cup away from her for a moment.

“Not since the fight, no. I’ve tried to come up with something to say or ask, but nothing seemed right,” you say while rubbing the back of your head.

“Well there’s the obvious answer to your issue. You need to stop thinking about it, lord knows Vinyl doesn’t do that. Going in with too much fear and planning can only lead to more trouble,” Octavia says  before squinting down at her cup.

“So what? You want me to just wing it? I think that’d lead to a far worse case then planning,” you say, frowning at her.

Octavia continues to look down at her cup in silence for a moment. you look out the window for a moment to watch the cars go by before picking up your cup and finishing it off. As you set the drink back down, Octavia lifts her head again.

“Both of you seem to be caught into acting stubborn. Do you know of anything that makes Vinyl loosen up?” she asks, recrossing her legs.

“She’s already an easy going girl. Though, now that you mention it, I guess she did get a little more honest and talkative when drunk,” you say, remembering one party where she did nothing but gossip for half an hour before passing out.

“While I do fear what she might do to you while intoxicated and angry, it’s probably the safest solution. Unless you have any better ideas?” she asks, gesturing towards you.

You shrug, unable to think of anything else. While you don’t like the idea of having to get her drinking to talk either, it seems like the only viable option so far. Silently, you pray Vinyl isn’t a fighter. Seeing her lift most of her equipment, some of which can get pretty heavy, you imagine she must be pretty strong.

“Very well, I trust you’ll handle this job delicately then?” she says, placing some money down on the counter and calling over a waiter.

“Wait, you’re dumping this on me? What if she decides to work out her feelings by punching my face?” you ask, standing up as she does.

“Oh please, Vinyl isn’t a violent drunk. Even if she is to hit you, I’m confident you can handle a swing or two, and it’s a risk worth the reward,” she says, paying the cashier for the drinks.

“Well, I’m glad to know you’re willing to sacrifice my body for the cause. Can you at least make sure she hasn’t killed me?” you ask, following Octavia out of the building.

“Alright, text me when you get to Vinyl’s place, I’ll call you an hour after that. If it goes to voicemail, I’ll head over there myself. Happy?” she says, opening the door to her car.

“I’m still not sure about this,” you admit.

“If you were, I’d be suspicious of you. I have faith in you, just do your best. See you later, and good luck,” she says stepping into her car.

“Bye Octavia,” you say with a small wave and move towards your car as she pulls away.

You sit down in your car and rest your hands on the wheel for a moment while you think. Vinyl won’t follow you to a bar, so you’ll need to buy something and bring it to her. She doesn’t normally drink, usually being too busy with DJ’ing to get smashed.

Looking forward in thought, you try to figure out what to get her. Suddenly, the memory of a party from a year ago comes back. You remember Vinyl getting very drunk and going through a liquor selection  before exclaiming to you which one was her favorite.

Going through the liquor store line, you get some strange looks from the others, but you try to ignore it. Eventually, you put the bottle in a small bag to hide it and take a few breaths in your car again before setting off to Vinyl’s house.

It’s only been a few days since you’ve driven here, but it seems different to you. There’s some equipment blocking out a few of the windows, signaling she hasn’t moved them in a while. Other than that, there’s nothing else changed. Pulling into a parking spot, you send Octavia a text like she asked and get out.

Still, it feels alien as you walk up to the door and knock. For a second there’s no answer, than the sound of something falling with a loud sound makes you jump.

“Hang on a second, I’m coming!” you hear Vinyl call from inside.

You take a deep breath as you hear her come down the stairs in a rush. Shaking your head a bit to calm down, you flex your grip on the bottle.

“Hello?” Vinyl answers as she opens the door.

She smiles as the door starts to open, but upon seeing you, it quickly goes into a cold stare. There’s not even any anger anymore, just a sense of deep rejection emanating from her. As soon as her face finishes changing, she pauses her opening of the door.

“Hey Vinyl, I came to talk,” you say, giving her brief smile.

“What makes you think I want to?,” she says, crossing her arms.

From the partially open door, you can make out what she’s wearing. A loose fitting hoodie covers most of her body, with tight elastic cuffs making them stop at her wrists. She was wearing the same kind of tight jeans she usually wears. For shoes she’s wearing a pair of hightops.

“I know you’re mad, but I came to make amends. I brought alcohol,” you say, holding up the bottle for her to see.

“Holy hell, you remembered my favorite is Cointreau? How did you even know?” she asks, taking the bottle from your hands and letting the door open a little wider.

“You told me one time at a party, I think,” you say, leaving out the fact she was drunk at the time.

She eyes the bottle up and down for a moment before sighing and pushing the door open completely. As you pass by her, you can tell she’s still hesitant to let you in. Moving in she shuts the door behind you and follows you up the stairs.

Reaching the top, you can tell your judgement from the outside was right. Vinyl hasn’t moved her equipment far longer than she usually does. Not that her pieces looked unused or destitute, just stationary.

Turning around, you see Vinyl has opened up the bottle already and is heading for the table to the left of you. Placing it down, she moves into her kitchen and returns shortly with two small drinking glasses. Pulling up two chairs, she straddles one and offers you the other.

“So, Vinyl, I know--” you start to say as you approach the chair before Vinyl cuts you off.

“No talking till I’ve had a drink. Unless you want me to work out a weeks worth of frustration on your shoulder,” she says in a mix of serious and joking manner.

Not wanting to risk her just joking, you sit down and watch as she pours two glasses. She slides one over to you and picks the other up, drinking it in an oddly slow fashion. Last time she saw this stuff she didn’t even hesitate to drink it down, but now it’s like she doesn’t like the taste.

Finally, she puts the glass down and breathes out a small sigh. You take a drink as well, and find the odd taste just as off puttingly fancy as you remember. How Vinyl likes this stuff eludes you entirely.
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“Alright, you go first,” she says, refilling her glass.

“Well, uh, I didn’t really prepare anything. To be honest, I was kind of thinking you had something to say,” you admit with a small shrug and a drink.

“Oh I got something to say,” she says before taking a very slow drink. “You’re a dick,” she says after a silent pause.

“For doing what exactly?” you ask indignantly.

“Because you abandoned me? Seriously dude, we were best buds and then you just blew me off because you started to get some ass. Was I just your back up fro when you couldn’t get laid or some shit?” she questions, her voice rising with each sentence.

“What? No! I was just... y’know, busy. Look, I’m sorry for not hanging out as much, but I didn’t know it mattered so much to you,” you say, putting the glass down.

“Yeah, whatever,” she mumbles as she picks her drink up again and takes another long sip.

“No Vinyl, I came here to talk to you about this stuff. I’m not blaming you for anything, so if you’re blaming me for something you should just say it,” you say, wondering if the small amount of liquor was working.

She tilts the glass up as you talk until she finishes the entire drink. It’s pretty normal for her to do that with this stuff, but having been slow before makes it seem more dramatic. Vinyl slams the empty glass down on the table before wiping her mouth and looking at you with a furious glare.

“Fine. It’s because we were friends, because I thought you were my best friend and then you went and ran around on me like I was worthless. I mean, what the fuck were you thinking I would feel like?” she says in a pained voice.

“Vinyl, how could I know I was hurting you if you didn’t tell me?” you say as she pours another glass.

“Because it’s common sense. What, you’re saying it’s my fault now? Should I be apologizing to you for not getting on board with you telling me to screw off?” she says before taking another drink.

“No Vinyl, i’m not accusing you of anything. Look, I’m here to talk so let’s talk about it, okay?” you say diplomatically.

“Fine. What were you doing that was so important anyway?” she asks, looking down with a static look of anger.

“Going to parties and the like, I guess. I think the time just passed by before I noticed we drifted apart. Vinyl, I regret not hanging out with you, but was it really such a bad move that you had to kick me out when I came back?” you ask.

“I... guess that was a little dramatic. You were a total dick though, acting like nothing was different or wrong. Hell, you didn’t even apologize,” she says, glancing into your eyes before turning them back to the floor.

“Well I didn’t know you would be so hurt by it. I’m sorry, okay?” you say, taking a drink again.

“An apology doesn’t mean anything if you’re just saying it because I threw a bitch fit. I don’t need pity, especially not from you,” she says, tossing her head back as she finishes her glass.

“Vinyl, I mean it. I don’t know what else you want me to say, but it’s the truth. To be honest, I thought you were always hanging out with me because I clung to you, figured you were the type to be friends with everyone,” you admit, putting your glass down.

“Not the kind. Always been busy with my music or something else. You and Octavia are really the only ones able to bear me, apparently,” she comments, placing her glass down as well.

“Well that can’t be true. Maybe we’re just the only one you’re letting close?” you suggest.

“Are you saying it’s my fault?” Vinyl asks, crossing her arms.

“Not exactly, but then again, I went away for a few weeks and you threw me out of your house in a few minutes. Maybe you’re just...” you drift off, trying to find the right way to word it.

“A bitch?” she finishes for you.

“That isn’t what I was going to say,” you counter.

“Well it’s what Octavia says. I guess it’s a fair point and all, but why does everything have to be my fault?” she asks defensively.

“It doesn’t Vinyl, but you have to admit it’s not entirely my fault either. This is a crap situation, no denying that, but we should just move on,” you say, bringing your glass back in front of your for a moment.

“What is it you want me to say? You want me to say it’s fine and forget everything? That’s not going to happen and we both know it,” she says, her voice rising.

“Just tell me. Why did you feel so hurt that I wasn’t spending time with you?” you ask, pushing your glass aside again.

“Because I’m tired of just being your friend, dammit!” she shouts at you.

After the words come out of her mouth, her face goes pale. She closes her eyes and falls back against the chair, letting her head fall back as a hiss of regret slowly leaks out of her lips. Finishing with a sigh, she stares at the ceiling for a minute.

“Vinyl?” you ask cautiously.

“Just... just give me a sec,” she says to the light above her.

Bringing her head back down, she grabs the drink and finishes it off before coughing a few times and pounding her chest. She lets out a long sigh before shaking her head and putting her face in her hands. For a minute, she doesn’t say anything.

“Vinyl? You good?” you ask again, leaning forward a bit to try and see her face.

“Fuck if I know,” she says, pulling her face up again.

Both of you stay quiet for a while as she sighs. She goes to take another drink, but looks into it before mumbling something and pushing it away from her on the table. Taking one last drink, you do the same.

“Look Vinyl, I think you just need to say how you feel. You keep bottling this stuff up and it’s making you act different. So whatever you have to say, say it,” you say, putting both your hands in your lap.

“It’s not really complicated since I kind of blurted out the big reveal part. It’s not everyday I get guys to hang out with like you and I do. Tavi is usually too busy or uninterested, so it’s nice to kick back. So, how about you do yours,” she says, gesturing to you with one hand.

“My what?” you ask.

“Your confession, idiot. I thought that’s how these things work,” she says, pulling at her sweatshirt nonchalantly.

“My confession? Oh, I hadn’t really... I mean, I guess I knew you liked me because Octavia thought so, but I don’t know about--” you try to trail off but stop.

Vinyl looks towards some speakers behind her with squinting eyes as she tries to discern some fault in them. As she does however, you notice her hand unzip her hoodie. 

As the zipper goes down, you notice her lack of any other clothing underneath it. The skin under the hoodie is slightly damp, showing how hot it must be. Suddenly, Vinyl’s head turns back and your eyes snap back up to hers.

“So what’re you trying to say exactly?” she asks, frowning a little.

You try to hold eye contact while you think of something to say, but your eyes dart down to her chest before you cover them completely. After a slight pause, you hear Vinyl laugh quietly and cross her legs.

“Alright, it gets hot in my apartment alright? Was wearing the hoodie with nothing underneath it cause I wanted to be comfy and not hot. Kind of backfired, but whatever. Are you seriously going to sit there and say you’re not into me?” she asks sarcastically.

“Look, it’s a little more complicated than that,” you say, lifting your head and crossing your arms.

“Heh, you sound like me now. Wait, was that a burn on myself?” she wonders out loud.

“No, it’s different,” you say, looking down at the table in thought.

“Okay, so let’s put it into simple terms then. Do you like me? No little kid ‘like like’ crap, just straight forward do you like me?” she asks, leaning back on her chair.

“Well... yes, of course I do, but--” you start to continue.

“Nope, no blabbering dude. Why is liking me such a scary thing to you anyway?” she says, fluffing her sweatshirt to cool off again.

“Liking you isn’t the scary part. I’m more worried that you’ll, y’know, get bored of me,” you say, looking back to the bottle on the table.

“Bored of you?” she asks, her eyes going wide. “Are you serious? I thought I’ve made it pretty damn clear you’re fun to hang around. You need to stop being such an ass, dude,” she says with a small laugh.

“Right, but that was just as friends. Well, friends with benefits, but it’s still basically the same thing. I mean, are you thinking about the future of this situation at all?” you ask, a growing sense of distress growing around you.

“Nah, I was mostly going to wing it. It’s worked for me so far and led me to you, so it can’t be that bad,” she says, giving you a wink.

“Vinyl, this is--” you start to lecture her.

“Yeah, yeah, big important stuff right? Well, if it’s something based on how we feel it should just come naturally, even if it doesn’t feel like it will. It’s like music, you just gotta play a note and let the flow come from there,” she says before gazing up at the ceiling.

“Well, the music metaphor is certainly nice, but how can you be so calm? I mean, it’s only just now hitting me that a lot of our relationship is gonna change from this,” you say, rubbing your hands on your knees.

“You’re over thinking this. Remember that old phrase, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth? Let’s just let things go where they will, you know? No need getting stressed over something you’re supposed to enjoy,” she says, pulling back both glasses.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I have to ask Vinyl, how do you stay so calm in these situations? It feels like you’re being unnaturally cool with this stuff,” you ask, picking up your drink and looking into it.

“No clue. Not really something to brag about I guess since it can backfire and make the people around you even more awkward. Still, it can be funny to watch how people react sometimes,” she says with a lightness in her voice.

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re not mad at me anymore in any case. So, what do you want to do now?” you ask as you take a drink.

“Since you mention it, I could go for some sex,” she says, taking a drink herself as you nearly spit yours up.

“What?” you ask, putting the glass down and wiping your mouth with a sleeve.

“What do you mean what?” she says with a confused look.

“We were just having a sentimental thing, you know? Don’t you think it deserves a little bit of time to sink in first?” you say, pushing the glass away.

“Oh yeah, sure. Take your time, I’ll just be over here,” Vinyl says in a suspicious tone.

You rub your eyes and look up at Vinyl. She gives you a large grin before turning away, the glass still in her hand. Her hand swirls the glass around and you track it with your eyes for a moment. The sound of unzipping draws your attention.

Vinyl’s other hand slowly drag the zipper down the rest of the sweatshirt as Vinyl barely contains a grin. Her eyes go back to yours and you glare at her.

“What? It’s hot in here. Besides, you’re busy being sentimental and that’s cool. So, go ahead and soak in the moment,” she says with a smirk.

“I know what you’re doing. Look, is it really impossible for you to take this seriously?” you ask.

“No, not really. But then again, if I did act all somber I wouldn’t be me, would I? I don’t think I need to pretend to be someone else around you. Doesn’t that say more than some reflection on what’s happened? That I’m willing and comfortable being direct?” she asks, leaning forward and straightening her back.

“Well, yeah, but... alright, fine. Just seems a bit surreal, you know? Guess that’s fair game with you though. But the sentiment is welcome Vinyl,” you say, buckling under her persuasion.

“Great, cause you owe me some foreplay after those two times and I’ve been itching to cash that guilt card in,” she says, standout of the chair and stretching.

As she bends in each direction, her breasts become revealed and hidden again repeatedly. Looking down, you can also see her ass shake with some of the sudden flexes, even though the jeans she’s wearing hug her form tightly.

“And what exactly did you want?” you say, trying to focus on her head.

“Oh you’ll see. It’ll rock, come on, let’s hit the sack,” she says and waves for you to follow her as she moves to the bedroom.

You catch up to her, but try to peer ahead through the expanding crack as she opens the door. Even though you’ve been to her place multiple times, you’ve never seen the inside of Vinyl’s bedroom. Not that the question ate at you, but a mystery is a mystery nonetheless.

It’s a fairly dark room, with the one window to the left of the bed being covered and the only light being dimmed. The floor is a pale blue carpet and covered in various articles of clothing, mostly being tank tops and pants. Opposite of the door was a large queen size bed with a thick comforter covering it. 

Next to the bed is a mixing table covered in some vinyl records as well as a laptop. It’s smaller than the one Vinyl uses on stage, and seems to have a larger laptop focus. Fake records sit on either side of the laptop and a large rectangle of switches, dials and buttons cover the area above it.

Posters of various musicians and concerts Vinyl has worked for or with cover the walls in a variety of angles. The paint behind them is a deep grey color which makes the room look darker in a subtle way.

“Vinyl, your room is a mess,” you say, surveying the tornado wreck.

“Yeah well this is where I get creative,” she says, moving over to the bed and brushing off some clothes.

“And you get creative by throwing clothes everywhere?” you ask, looking to a pile of bras that look barely worn.

“Nah, I make music and sleep naked. Too busy to go around picking up clothes I’ll just put on anyway. Lived next to the heater in my house growing up, so I got used to being hot all the time,” she says as you walk over to the bed and sit down.

“So you’re not that suggestive on purpose and you’re telling me it’s just happenstance that you hate pants?” you say, raising an eyebrow as she moves in front of you.

“More like it’s fifty-fifty. I do like to take advantage in living alone sometimes, but it’s also fun to watch you and Tavi act all prudish when I go about o’ natural,” she says with a wink as she unzips her pants.

“It’s not really prudish when you-- forget it. So what is it you wanted to try anyway?” you ask, watching as she slides the pants down her legs.

She’s wearing a jet blue thong, the same color as the streaks in her hair. Placing one hand on her hip, she shifts to the side as you stare. Moving closer, your eyes drift up her body till you’re looking up at her face as she stands in front of you.

Vinyl places her hands on your shoulders and leans forward till her face is in front of yours. Her large grin encompasses your vision and you feel you would dread it a lot more if you weren’t so eager to see what she’s going to do.

With one movement, she presses you against the bed and leans over you. Her sweatshirt hangs completely open, letting her breasts hang free just above your chest. You try to get a better view of them, but Vinyl stands upright again.

You start to push yourself up on your elbows and watch as she bends down to take off her underwear. Looking up at you, she frowns in a comical way.

“Hey, no peeking,” she says, pushing the two sides of her sweatshirt together.

Rolling your eyes, you rest back down on the bed before Vinyl throws her thong to the wall on your right with a small thump. For a moment nothing else can be heard until you feel the bed near your knees sink heavily.

Lifting your head, you see Vinyl crawling towards you on the bed. While it initially looks like she plans to undo your pants, her hands continue up and your shirt and feel along your side. Her soft fingers tickle slightly as they move about you.

She continues up your body, her legs straddling you the whole time. Once at your chest, she presses her rear down and looks down at you with a sinister look. you watch her eyes for a moment before drifting down her body again. 

The sweatshirt covers the nipples of her breasts, but little else. Every so often, she moves a little and one of the sides threatens to reveal what little it’s hiding. Moving down further, you get a much better view of her pantless legs. Her legs are lighter than her stomach, likely due to them being shown off less.

Her bare pussy rests on your shirt, with her hips moving back and forth slowly in a taunting manner as you watch. Right above her slit, a bare patch of skin is visible above your chest. Vinyl’s knees keep you from moving your arms very much, but just as you start to ask her to move, she speaks.

“I’m not going to be all reserved and stuff like you were, so we’re going to get right to it. Try not to get too excited, but feel free to enjoy the ride. I know I will,” she finishes with a wink.

Before you can respond, she moves up your chest until her crotch is on your chin. She grabs your head by the hair and pulls your face between her legs as she picks herself up slightly. Your eyes go wide at first, but soon you settle down and the feeling of her pussy on your lips sinks in.

Vinyl adjusts her grip on your hair and while moving her hips over your chin a bit. You take the hint and open your mouth, sticking your tongue out cautiously. As soon as your tongue touches her slit, she lets out a small coo of satisfaction and relaxes her grip.

Your arms go the sides of her hips and squeeze as they hold you up. She moves further up your face to where you can barely see past the shadow she’s casting over you as she leans forward on the bed.

Dragging your tongue across her slit, Vinyl lets out a moan that morphs into long breaths. You lap at her in the same way for a while before you notice her breathing start to pick up. Finishing another lick, you bring your tongue towards her clit and swirl it around.

Her hips start to gyrate over your head, covering your nose a few times. Having your breath cut off makes you start to take in gulps of air every time she lifts her hips before shooting them out of your nose when she goes back down.

Your ears start to heat up from Vinyl’s thighs pressing against you. After a few minutes, you can see her skin start to moisten from sweat as she starts to sway with your licks. The squeeze of her legs isn’t very strong, but feels constricting from the heat.

Vinyl’s taste starts to cover your tongue and you have to pause for a few bit while you wipe your mouth off. She lifts her rear into the air, allowing one of your fingers to clean your lips. On the way out, you slide your fingers over her slit, making her shake from the shock.

The added sensation of air blowing over her clit makes Vinyl let out a soft coo, forcing her to stop as she bends over. Her breaths quickly turn back into rising moans and you feel her legs squeeze against the size of your head.

You have trouble breathing for a moment while she presses her body against your face. Vinyl’s voice rises in pitch as she gets closer to her climax, eventually reaching it just as you finish one last lick.

“F-fuck...” she lets out, straightening her back again and tossing her hair back.

Her right hand went to the top of your head and pressed down on you while the other went to her left breast and squeezed. The hand pulled at her breast as her head is tossed back. Her fingers almost slip off of it, only to turn into a pinch on her nipple.

Vinyl’s legs shake against your arms, struggling to keep her upright on the bed. Your hands hold her in place until she’s able to fall forward and catch herself. She pulls her crotch off of your face for a moment and catches her breath.

Just as you go to move out from under her, she presses her hips down, pinning you in place.

“Not so fast. As I seem to recall, I got you two times. Fair is fair, so I get two,” she says with a few heavy breaths and a large grin.

You would protest, but she is correct. Not to mention the fact you’re more than okay with getting to eat Vinyl out some more. Of course, you don’t let Vinyl know about your acceptance since she’d have a field day with that.

She settles her lips back over on top of yours, but leans back slightly to look down at you. While originally just staring at her crotch, you now look up at her. She smiles down at your warmly, running her fingers through your hair.

“Is this how I looked when going down on you? Because this is insanely hot, if I’m being honest,” she says her smile changing into a grin.

“Nice to know you’re enjoying yourself,” you reply sarcastically after pulling your lips away a moment.

“Oh shut it, I know you like it. Besides, you look good with me on your face,” she says, pressing herself down on your chin again.

Pausing for a moment to show your rebellious opinion, you eventually return to eating her out. Vinyl is far less reactive this time around, only biting her lip after a good few minutes. She lets out a sigh of pleasure later before placing a hand on your head.

“You know, you’re pretty good for someone that’s so inexperienced. Then again, you probably got some hints from somewhere else,” she says with a grin and grunt as you flick her clit.

A little while later and she’s back to how she was earlier. Her breathing started to get quicker, she starts to massage one of her breasts while her other hand combs through her hair. Her hips grind over your face as she squeezes your head with her legs.

“Fuck...” she moans under her breath.

She leans back and places one hand next to your hip. You run your hands along her thighs, adjusting your grip. Vinyl takes one hand and places it over one of yours, tracing down it past your forearm.

Her legs relax slightly for a second before flexing again against you as a curse word gets cut off by her gasping. You feel the muscles in her thighs twitch again as the orgasm passes over her body.

After a few seconds, she falls back on you. Her legs push your hands away as they spread wide. She catches her breath for a moment before rolling off of you. You sit up and turn to look at her as she stares up at the ceiling with a smile.

Wiping some of the juice off your chin, you glance down at her. One of her arms is draped over her stomach, while the other hangs off to her side. Her legs shift in a slow, restless manner as she recovers from the climaxes.

“Okay, we’re even,” she says with a single laugh.

“Yeah, but I’m still ready to go,” you say, looking over her body.

“Easy there tiger, I still need to catch my breath. Besides, if I give you another blowjob we’ll be trapped in this never ending cycle of oral. Granted it’d be a very sexy cycle, but not really one I feel like getting into,” she says with a shrug.

“Well, why don’t we just, y’know,” you say, tilting your head towards her.

“What? Fuck?” she asks, confused.

“I was trying to be more subtle about it, but yeah,” you say, rolling your eyes.

“Dude, we’re both naked on my bed and you were eating me out like one minute ago, we’re kind of past subtlety by now,” she says, pushing herself up on her elbows.

“Transitions are awkward when they revolve around sex, to most people anyway,” you say, leaning forward.

“I thought you were all confident now?” she says, tapping your side.

“Subtlety doesn’t mean lack of confidence. Just because I’m lacking the words I don’t have doesn’t mean I won’t say them,” you say, looking back to her.

“Huh?” she says, tilting her head.

“Let’s start over. Vinyl, do you want to fuck?” you say directly.

“Sure, sounds good to me,” she says, sitting up and stretching her arms.

As she lifts them up, you watch as her breasts raise up with them. She puts one hand on her right one and squeezes it a few times. Looking back to her face, Vinyl looks at you with a sly grin. She shuffles towards you on her knees till she’s right against you.

“Still going for subtly then?” she asks tauntingly.

You put a hand on her shoulder and spin her onto her back on the bed. Moving a leg over, you straddle her before looking down with a smug sense of satisfaction. She looks stunned for a second before smiling up at you.

“Glad to see you’ve gotten more confident. Can you back up the bravado?” she taunts.

“How about we find out?” you reply, trying your best to match wits with her.

Her hands go around your back, tugging against you lightly while you undo your pants zipper. She moves them back to your chest, where she starts to undo the buttons of your shirt. Sliding your pants down, you push yourself upright while you slide your underwear down.

“You know, I’ve seen it before. Don’t need any theatrics for your dick, man,” she says with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s not theatrics, I’m just taking off my underwear. Also, who are you to speak, missus ‘no peeking’?” you ask, leaning back over her.

“The difference was I’m good at it and you’re not,” she says, poking a finger in your chest.

“What, cause you were wearing a thong? I’m betting you were only wearing that cause you haven’t done laundry recently,” you counter, lining your shaft up with her entrance.

“That may or may not be true. How about we call it even and you just stick it in already? she says, tilting her head to the side.

“Good idea,” you reply, pressing into her.

She takes a slow inward breath as you advance in, biting her lip before letting it go in one long sigh as you start to pull out. Her fingers curl into fists, squeezing the comforter below her as she gets into it.

Repeating the slow pumping a few more times, you start to pick up the pace, letting your more animalistic drive slowly take over. Your arms remain firmly planted next to Vinyl for a couple minutes until you pick one up to grab Vinyl’s chest.

The breast not in your hand starts to bounce with each thrust of your hips. You can’t help but watch as it shakes and jiggles with your movements and mindlessly start squeezing along with the rhythm.

Vinyl’s head turns to the right as she starts to moan louder. Her blue hair spills over the pillow behind her and touches the headboard. As you start to go faster, the faint creaking of her bed starts to become audible over her voice.

She takes one hand off the bed and drapes it over your back, while grabbing your forearm with the other. Tilting her head back, she starts to breathe far heavier and finally gasps, squeezing your arm.

“Fuck me... looks like you’ve improved some. Not the best, but still good,” she critiques, while taking a few slow breaths.

“Oh I’m sorry, want me to stop while you give me notes?” you say, stopping mid thrust and starting to pull out.

“No! I mean... shut up. The fucking was good, let’s get back to that,” she says, her eyes darting down to her crotch.

“What’s the matter Vinyl? Thought you were supposed to be cool and collected?” you ask with a grin.

“Listen, we can either bicker like little kids or fuck. Which sounds more fun to you?” she asks with a frown as she adjusts her hips, sliding slightly up and down your shaft.

“You make a strong case,” you say and push into her again.

After a good minute of thrusting, she was moaning again. Her hands move through her hair and massage her left breast, as she kicks her legs over around your back. She pulls you close to her, restricting your hip movements slightly.

Her back arches as her moans reach another peak. Vinyl’s head pushing back against the pillow, her voice driving you to go even faster. Just as her moans pause, you can feel another orgasm go over her body.

She falls lazily back onto the bed and lets her head turn to one side. You slow down a bit as she recovers. Her chest rises and falls, giving the bouncing of her breasts an almost wave-like appearance.

It doesn’t take long before she’s returned to a normal breath rhythm and you feel her hand on your bicep.

“Hey, lay back, I’m beat and you don’t have a condom. Really only one solution here,” she says, her cheek pink from exhaustion.

You nod your head and give her a few more thrusts before pulling out and lowering yourself onto your back. Vinyl pushes herself into a sitting position before rolling onto her side and then towards your groin. Her legs have to bend so they don’t hit the headboard, but she manages to get into position.

Vinyl presses her cheek against your length, making it twitch in anticipation. Lifting her head up, she gives it a long, slow lick. The difference between the rapid thrusting before and slow touch now made your head spin for a moment.

Once at the top, she flicks her tongue off of it with a quick movement before sucking on the head. Shifting her body a bit, she’s able to get one hand on your sack and massages it while she lowers her head down your shaft.

She reaches a few inches down before starting her way back up again, swirling her tongue around you as it goes. Your hands flex at your sides as you hold yourself up on your elbows to get a better view of her.

A minute or so later and you feel a tell-tale pressure rise in your gut. Your breath starts to rise in pace as Vinyl starts to change up the speed of her bobbing. Reaching the head of your member as she moves up, she opens her mouth and gives you one broad lick.

“Vinyl, I’m close,” you say, barely managing the breath needed.

“Alright then, time for the big finish,” she says with a wink.

Swirling her tongue around the head of your shaft, she moves her body once again and starts to rapidly stroke your length with the other hand. The hand on your sack presses down slightly as the grip of the hand on your shaft tightens.

Scooting down the bed a little further, she angles your length downwards and aims into her mouth. She presses the tip against her tongue onto the head of your shaft. You can feel the breath coming from her nose, soft jets of warm air gliding over your length.

Finally, she looks up at you and locks eyes with you for a single moment just as you finish. She gives you one sly wink just as you shoot the first load into her mouth.

The first shot is followed by a few others that fly to the back of her mouth in quick succession. After that, the rest of them fall onto to her tongue, which she licks into her mouth. Finished shooting them out, she squeezes out the rest from your shaft with the hand that was stroking you.

She gives the head of your length one last suck before starting to move up the bed. You can feel her stick close to your body as she inches up, eventually coming to a stop when her head rests on your chest.

Once near your head, she swirls the loads around in her mouth before swallowing them.

“Glad you took my advice on the pineapple thing. Hey, don’t you think it’s weird I’ve already tasted your stuff three times? Like, we’re not even--” Vinyl starts to say before you cut her off as you put an arm around her shoulder.

“Vinyl, can we just have a moment of silence here? Not that your smartassness isn’t appreciated, but it’s really killing the mood,” you reply, staring up at the ceiling.

“Fine, not sure what the mood you’re going for is because I can’t think of one improved by my wit,” she replies, closing her eyes.

You roll your eyes but otherwise don’t say anything for a moment while the two of you rest. Just as you start to feel yourself relax, you hear your phone ring. Reaching into your pocket, albeit with some difficulty as they’re still pulled down, you pull out the phone.

“Oh crap, I forgot Octavia was going to call me,” you say, silently thankful she called after you finished.

“Well, answer it,” Vinyl says, readjusting her head on your chest.

For a second, you question if you should try and leave the room before talking to her so Vinyl doesn’t realize why you had Octavia call. The bed and Vinyl’s warm body pressing against you however, make you decide to risk it and answer the call.

“Hi Octavia,” you greet.

“Hello to you as well. From your voice I can tell she at least stayed away from your face. I assume things went nicely then?” she asks.

“Yeah, we patched things up. Still have some stuff to make up for, but I think we’re going to be fine,” you say, rubbing Vinyl’s shoulder.

“My, my, sounds like you worked a miracle. How did you pull off something like that?” Octavia asks in an impressed tone.

“Well, we shared a drink or two, talked and... uh...” you drift off, not wanting to tell Octavia the whole truth.

“Hi Tavi! We had sex!” Vinyl says in a loud enough voice for Octavia to hear.

You scowl down at her, to which she replies with a smile and a dorky thumbs up. When you put the phone back to your ear, all you hear is Octavia sigh.

“I couldn’t trust you to spend just one hour with her without something like this happening,” she says, disappointment clear in her voice.

“Hey, it’s not my fault this happened,” you counter.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you slip and fall into her vagina penis first?” she says in a mocking tone.

“Nah, it was more of me slipping and falling onto his face first,” Vinyl chimes in.

“Vinyl, you are not helping. Listen, Octavia, we talked about our problems and afterwards we had sex. We didn’t solve our emotional conflict with our genitals,” you explain.

“I suppose that’s alright now. So everything’s alright then?” she asks.

“I’m pretty sure,” you say before holding the phone away for a second. “Vinyl, we good?” you ask her.

Vinyl looks away in thought for a moment. You watch her for a few seconds before you realize her legs are rubbing against yours. Shaking hers, she refocuses and looks back up at you.

“Yeah, we’re cool. Though, to be fair, that might just be the afterglow talking,” she says, placing a hand on your stomach.

“We’re fine,” you tell Octavia, rolling your eyes at Vinyl.

“Very good. Best of luck then, I have to go,” she tells you.

“Bye Octavia,” you say before she hangs up.

Both you and Vinyl continue to lie in bed in each other’s arms for a few minutes. Neither of you say anything, but you both do occasionally lock eyes with each other.

“Are you trying not to fall asleep too?” Vinyl asks, picking her head off your chest.

“Yes, but your bed is really comfortable,” you answer, pressing down into the soft mattress with one hand.

“Let’s just sleep. First person to wake up has to get the other moving too,” she offers.

“Deal” you reply, closing your eyes and falling back.

Both of you fall asleep in a half-cuddle. In only about 20 minutes, Vinyl’s snoring made you roll her over to the side. After that however, the both of you slept peacefully.

Epilogue
You sit looking at Vinyl across a table in a small restaurant in town. Your hands hold your head up as you watch her in silence for a moment. Squinting your eyes, you try to discern if she’s being serious or not.

“Okay, so run this by me again,” you ask her, pushing yourself back up.

“It’s not that hard to get. We’re not dating,” she says with shrug.

Leaning back in your chair, you try to make sense of what she’s saying.

“But we’re on a date right now,” you say, tapping the table with your finger.

“I thought we were filling up after watching the movie,” she says, tilting her head.

“The hell do you think dates are Vinyl? Hang on, what is it you think we are then?” you ask as she takes a drink of water.

“Hanging out. I did think it was a bit weird how you took me to this fancy place, but I thought you just wanted to see me in a dress,” she says with a wink.

“You’re not wearing a dress Vinyl. In fact, isn’t that the t-shirt you wore yesterday?” you say, pointing to her chest.

“Nah, I just have three of these. Besides, if you really wanted to see me in a dress, you could’ve just--” she starts to go off topic.

“Vinyl that’s not-- Listen, I’m going to take this step by step. Tell me where I lose you,” you say, cutting her off. “If we’re two people that like each other, are exclusively seeing each other, go on dates, and have sex, that makes us...?” you ask, gesturing for her to finish.

“The coolest friendship ever. Up top,” she says, outstretching a hand for you to high-five.

“Vinyl, put your hand down, we’re in a nice restaurant. Okay, taking another approach, if you saw me ‘hanging out’ with another girl, would you be jealous?” you ask.

“Totally, I’d knock you upside the head,” she says, taking another drink.

“Right, and I would be upset if I saw you with some other guy. If we were just friends, why would we be upset?” you ask.

“Because you’d be leaving me out. I’m down for a threeway, you just gotta check with me on that stuff first, you know?” she says, putting on a poker face suddenly.

“Vinyl that’s not, wait, seriously? No, forget it, stay on topic. Look, what would you consider us dating to be?” you ask, momentarily distracted by the threesome offer.

Vinyl puts a hand on her chin and stares at the table in thought for a moment. She lifts her head up and starts to speak, but closes her mouth and shakes her head. After a few more failed attempts, she hits the table with her fist and grins as she finally figures something out.

“We’d have to be official about it, like, both of us being serious about it,” she says in a proud voice.

“Wait, you’re not serious about this?” you say, slightly hurt.

“No, no, it’s just... y’know. Feelings are gay,” she says, looking away.

“Hi folks, what can I--?” the waitress starts to ask as she shows up.

“Vinyl, you’re a girl how can it be gay?” you ask, irritated and failing to notice the server in time.

Both of you go quiet as you turn towards the woman holding the small notepad and blush. She coughs into her hand and holds back a small laugh before sliding the pencil back into its clip.

“Excuse me,” she says in a breaking tone.

She turns and stiffly walks away back into the kitchen. You turn back to Vinyl just as she bursts into very clear laughter behind the door and voices can be heard quickly gossiping the story already. Sighing, you shake your head and gesture for Vinyl to talk.

“Look, I’m not trying to hurt your feelings or anything, I just don’t like the idea of dating,” she says, looking down at the table.

“But why though? Are you scared I’m not going to stay with you or something?” you ask, leaning forward.

“No, it’s not that. I guess it’s that when you start dating someone you have to get all somber and crap, and I don’t want that to happen to either of us,” she explains, putting her hands into her lap.

“Vinyl, you don’t have to do that. I mean, it’s recommended for obvious reasons, but we don’t have to jump to anything right away. I mean, you didn’t even think this date was a date when I did. I’m pretty sure we could just wing it,” you reply.

“I don’t know, it still seems risky. Can’t we just be fuck buddies that go on dates and shit? I’d be way more cool with that then dating,”

“You do realize that that’s just... sure, that sounds fine Vinyl,” you say, rolling your eyes slightly.

“Awesome. So, after dinner you want to swing back to my place to seal the deal then?” she asks with a sly wink.

“We would have just ate. You really want to try and bang on a full stomach?” you ask sarcastically.

“Fine then, we can just leave now before we order and have sex,” she counters.

“Yeah, but I’m hungry,” you say, putting hand on your stomach.

“I got something for you to eat,” Vinyl says with a grin.

“Alright, fine, we’ll go have sex. You better really have something to eat at your place though,” you say, pushing away from the table.

Both of you leave the restaurant just as the waitress returns to your table, only to find an empty glass of water. She shrugs to herself, finding the story enough of a tip.