Octavia has been is absolutely love-sick. The cause of these feelings? Vinyl Scratch!
Octavia has been moping around in her room for quite awhile over Vinyl Scratch, an eccentric DJ at her school. Fearing rejection, she keeps her feelings a secret from her family and friends. However, bonding with the other girl might just get her to open up...
She was on a stage overlooking the crowd. Lasers were going off and on in time with the music. Vinyl Scratch banged her head in time with the beat as she heard the crowd chanting, “DJ Pon-3!” The disc jockey let the music build up and up with the crowd’s excitement, and then…the beat dropped. The crowd went wild, and the DJ jumped off of the stage to attempt crowd surfing. Just as she was about to land in the sea of admirers…
She fell off of her bed.
The bed sheets fell with her and the alarm clock went off right after, “Dammit, clock! That was the first time I’d slept this week!” She shouted. The alarm clock just kept beeping until she turned it off.
Vinyl Scratch put her face in her hands and sighed in laziness. After a minute or so, she got up and stumbled groggily to her bathroom. There, she washed her face, brushed her hair with three strokes, and turned on a bit of music from her wireless speaker. Aw yeah. This is the perfect song to wake up to!
Once she exited the bathroom, the girl stripped herself from her over-sized T-shirt and boy shorts. She stretched and got some ‘appropriate clothing’ out of her closet. She put on her short-sleeve shirt and skinny jeans and went down the hall to the kitchen. Vinyl put in two waffles in the toaster while she grabbed things she would later put in her bag: phone, keys, folders, books, pocketknife, and her purple-tinted shades.
Once returning to the kitchen after turning off the music, Vinyl heard a ding and jumped. She swivelled her head toward the source and found two delectable-looking waffles sticking out of the toaster’s slots. She sighed in relief and took them. Although they were extremely hot, the girl ate them quickly, burning her hands and tongue in the process.
She went to her bathroom once more to brush her teeth and admired her face. Lookin’ good, Scratch! The girl grabbed her bag and rushed out the door. It was six forty-three. If she hurried, Vinyl could get to school right when volunteering hours ended. She did this every morning for two reasons: her friend Neon Lights volunteered and there was this shy girl named Octavia that she just loved to pester.
Vinyl Scratch stood in front of the building, making sure she was the only one around. She put on her sunglasses and walked in. She wandered around the empty hallways, waving at teachers who passed by every now and then. Finally, Vinyl reached the music classroom and found her best friend dusting shelves in a delicate way.
“Hey there, Snow White. Where are your animal friends to help you out?” She said, walking in.
“Oh, ha ha, Vinyl. Real funny.” Neon Lights also wore shades, but they weren’t purple, “At least I actually come early for volunteer work. You just come here to bug me and your girlfriend.”
“Speaking of which, where is she? I didn’t see her in any other halls,” Vinyl said, ignoring her friend’s tease.
Neon pointed towards a door in the back of the music room, “In the closet. She’s organising some of the band equipment.”
Heehee. He said in the closet! She thought immaturely. “Perfect,” she said, and instantly started her own work, which was just waiting for the girl in the room to open the door. Vinyl hid right next to where the door would open, while Neon just continued dusting shelves after rolling his eyes behind his shades.
After two minutes, a beautiful young lady with long black hair, purple eyes, and a little pink bowtie around her neck came out. She struggled to contain a scream and almost fell back as Vinyl came out from behind her and yelled, “Ooga Booga!”
Vinyl dropped on the floor, laughing wildly, while an annoyed Octavia stood with her arms crossed, “Vinyl that was not funny!” she said angrily, “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“That’s what makes it funny!” she said, still laughing. “Ah, my side! It hurts!” she said. Octavia was still standing before her as Vinyl wiped away her tears of amusement. That’s when she looked up and realised she had a perfect view of what was under her classmate’s skirt, “Those pink panties look real good on you, Tavi,” she grinned crookedly at how the girl’s face reddened like a tomato.
Octavia squealed, pulling her skirt over where Vinyl was looking and took a few steps back, “D-don’t look up there! And what more, don’t announce the colour of my garments; there is a boy in the room!”
“Relax Octavia, I’m not interested in what secrets your panties hold. I’m not into girls,” he let Octavia gasp, “or guys.” She gasped again.
Vinyl stood up and hugged her friend, “Yup. That’s my little ace. While we’re on the topic of sexual orientations, what do you like, Tavi? Do you prefer guys or girls?”
The poor girl’s face reddened once more, “I don’t have to tell you that. And I especially won’t tell that to the girl that just peeked under my skirt.”
“Hey, you were right over me. You were practically inviting me to look there. And it’s not like it matters. No one, but Lightsy was here. Besides, underwear might as well be the same shit as a bikini,” the blue-haired girl said.
“No! It has never been appropriate to wear undergarments in public,” Octavia argued.
“You can’t tell the difference! Once, I went to the beach with undergarments and no one even paid attention,” she countered, “Neon was there. Right, Neon?”
“It’s true. She had a striped bra and panties,” he said, putting away the duster.
“Wait, you did what!?” Octavia’s eyes widened.
“What are you all talking about?” asked a boy with blue hair and green eyes, who was accompanied by a brunette girl.
“Nothing,” the black-haired girl said, as she ran over and clasped her hand over Vinyl’s mouth.
The brunette asked, “Are you sure? You’re blushing quite furiously.”
Neon jumped in, “Vinyl was asking Octavia some personal questions.”
Octavia made a note to thank Neon later, “Yes, that’s it. This…imbecile won’t keep her tongue where it belongs!” Vinyl responded by licking the palm of Octavia’s hand, “Bleh! I mean that figuratively and literally,” she said as she wiped her salivated hand on Vinyl’s arm, “I need to wash my hands.”
Octavia ran out of the room and the green-eyed boy asked another question, “Why do you love annoying her so much?”
“I don’t know, Harpo. It’s cute how her face turns into a tomato when she gets embarrassed,” she shrugged.
“Cute as in you like her?” Neon asked.
“Nah, just cute as in adorably funny. I guess her agony just pleases me,” the girl said maliciously.
Just then, the teacher walked in. He had white hair, and was dressed in formal purple attire, “Good morning students. Please begin choosing your seats. Surely, the rest of class will be here shortly.”
The morning went on with a few classes two of which, Vinyl fell asleep in and Octavia rolled her eyes at her. Without even comparing scores, Vinyl could tell that Octavia had gotten and A plus, unlike her own D minus on a few tests and assignments. Basically, they were opposites.
During their free period, Neon, Lyra, and Noteworthy asked Vinyl if she wanted to join them in the school garden. She declined just as Octavia declined Harpo, Frederic, and Beauty Brass’s offer to go to the same place.
No matter what, Octavia always went to the music room during her free period to play her cello in peace. It was always completely quiet on the way there, and not even the teacher Mister Staccato was in the music room during free period. It was always just Octavia and her cello. No one else would ever come between them In fact, Octavia’s best friend was probably her cello. She even told her instruments her secrets through songs.
Vinyl, on the other hand, always said that she snuck out of campus during free period. When someone asked if they could come with her, she would simply say that she’s running an errand and must go alone. Everyone found it pretty suspicious; they even asked her if the “errand” had anything to do with drugs. She would answer by saying that she was just meeting up with friends.
Once the final bell rang, the students packed their bags and went home together. Harpo and Beauty crossed the street together and went their own way. A little bit more and Neon, Frederic, and Noteworthy went another way. After Lyra left, it was just Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. They simply walked in silence. Octavia became very shy, more so than usual, around her friend/torturer when they were left alone. In turn, Vinyl left Octavia alone rather than torturing her again after a long day of teasing.
It was a peaceful silence, but Octavia really wanted to break it. It killed her to be right next to her and not be able to think of anything to say. Unfortunately, every day she had to go through this all the way home. Until Vinyl reached her home, adjacent to hers, Octavia had to be right next to her and say nothing. Once Vinyl split ways with her and opened her door, she opened a bottle of beer and browsed the Internet.
Octavia, at her own home, was greeted at the kitchen by her mother, “Hello, dear.”
“Hi, mother. How was your day?” Octavia asked.
“Wonderful. I trust yours went well, too?” her mother asked while focusing on her cooking.
“Yes…Perfect,” Octavia answered hesitantly.
“Good. Well, I won’t delay you any longer, go on up to your room and do your homework.”
With that Octavia went upstairs, closed her door, and took off her bag. She slid down the portal and sat on the floor with her knees at her chin. Why did I get so protective about Vinyl looking up my skirt? Sure, it was embarrassing when Beauty walked in on me changing, but I simply asked her to cover her eyes. I didn’t shout or anything. But then, Vinyl…is she even gay? I don’t want to ask her. What if she gets offended? I’d have to live the rest of high school being secretly in love with my straight classmate and neighbour. And the fact that she has to joke like that all the time makes it even harder to know…
Octavia felt her throat close up. I really, really want to tell her how I feel, but what if she avoids me afterward? No, she wouldn’t do that, but she’d be less playful with me. And then there are my parents, they would hate for me to be in love with another girl, especially a girl like her…but I can’t help it! She’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever met! I’ve never felt this way about any other person. “I love you, Vinyl Scratch.” She could see from her window the love of her life lying on her couch, smiling as she looked at her computer screen with a bottle in an aura of magic. “I’m in love with an idiot. She should spend her time doing something productive,” Octavia smiled.
Octavia was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud clap of thunder. Rain was beating on her window quite harshly. So harshly, in fact, that she could hardly even see the houses in her neighbourhood; all she could see were the distorted shapes. However, that didn’t stop her from noticing a small light coming from the house next to hers. Is Vinyl awake as well? If only I had her number…I could ask if she’s having trouble sleeping with all this rain.
Octavia lay back down on her pillow. Her eyelids slowly closed as she wondered if Vinyl would be okay. What if a lightning bolt strikes her house? The weather responded with a very loud roar and a flash of light. Oh no! She rose up quickly, her heart beating very loudly. Okay, her house isn’t on fire. I should relax. She’ll be fine.
But…what if she’s incredibly scared of thunder? She could be sobbing in horror at the thought of her house actually catching on fire.
Actually, she’s very brave. She certainly doesn’t seem scared when she agonises me with her constant sex jokes. Arg! I absolutely hate that.
Though, it is nice that I’m the only one she jokes with like that. I mean, she does tease a few other girls, even Neon, every now and then, but I’m her main victim. Besides, she has to say those jokes, because if not, she’d be too perfect! She’s very loyal and always honest and open about a lot of things. And the way she smiles…and that laugh of hers…
And to add on, she’s really beautiful. Her short two-toned blue hair that hovers right above her bare shoulders when she wears a sleeveless shirt is mesmerising. Plus, as ashamed as I am to admit it, she has an amazing body. I really wish I could see her eyes sometime; I’m sure they’re beautiful, I’m not sure why she hides them like that...
Relaxed with these thoughts, Octavia slowly laid back down and fell asleep.
A few hours later, the rain was still pouring, but not as violently. Octavia awoke, this time, with a text message:
Harpo: Are you okay? Why aren’t you at volunteering? I came early this morning but I can’t find you.
Octavia’s eyes widened. She had overslept! How?! She looked over at her clock. The time was off by several hours. The storm must have cut the power, restarting the time. She shot out of her bed and quickly got ready. She brushed her hair with various strokes, vigorously and quickly. She brushed her teeth, got dressed, and sprayed on a bit of perfume.
The cellist skipped breakfast and ran out the door. She was getting wet, and she then realised, Shit, I didn’t bring an umbrella with me! This is why I hate waking up late! It throws me off and I forget about something completely! I’m going to catch a cold with this rain…
“Yo, Tavi!” she heard behind her. Salvation had come for her! Vinyl Scratch was holding an umbrella with her magic and coming her way, “Wanna share it?” she offered as she was housed by her friend with the umbrella. The cellist noted the dark blue raincoat she was wearing, which adorably matched with her hair.
Octavia silently thanked Celestia, “Yes, please! Thank you so much!” Octavia got under the umbrella as much as she could when she realised how small it was. She could feel Vinyl’s shoulder digging into hers. The DJ provided her with warmth from her body, in contrast with the cold rain. Of course, I’m saved, but in the worst of ways. Now I need to distract myself from the proximity.
They awkwardly walked down the streets, occasionally stepping on each other’s feet. Octavia blushed with how close they were. If she listened closely, she could hear her friend breathing and her heart beating. Her breaths came in slow, rhythmic patterns like her pulse, and Octavia was tempted to rest her head on Vinyl’s shoulder. This is why being so close to her crush was a problem. She always wanted to get even closer, but she couldn’t.
“You know, Tavi, I’m kind of surprised someone like you overslept. It doesn’t suit your character too much,” Vinyl said after a while.
“Well, my alarm clock needs electricity, so it never went off with the storm from last night,” Octavia explained.
“Maybe you could use your cell. That’s what I do.” Octavia nodded. Vinyl wanted to keep the conversation going, “How come you never take your cello home except for the weekends? Aren’t you, like, obsessed with the thing?”
“My parents believe that the cello would take me away from my studies. They may be right, but I really wish I could take her home and play every night.“
"Her?" Vinyl raised a brow.
Octavia cleared her throat, "Oh, yes. Erm...I refer to my cello as a female. She even has a name. I know it's weird, but I just--"
“It’s not weird at all.” The other girl interjected with a smile, “I sometimes call my turntable a she. I haven’t thought of giving her a name though. I kind of just call her 'sexy'…” Vinyl turned to Octavia, “What’s her name? Your cello, I mean.”
“Oh…it’s, um…it’s pretty stupid. You don’t want to hear it.” Octavia dismissed.
“Oh, come on, Tavi. I’m all about stupid. Of course I want to hear it.”
“Fine. But you better not laugh!” Vinyl ‘Pinkie Pie Promised’ she wouldn’t, and Octavia continued, “Her name is Amour.”
“Amour, huh? Doesn’t that mean, like, flower or something?” Vinyl guessed.
“Love, actually. It’s French. It just seemed to…fit her, I guess.” Vinyl was quiet for a moment, “I told you it was stupid.”
“No! No, I get it!” Vinyl shouted over the rain, “You named it ‘love’ because you love your cello so much, right?” Vinyl seemed excited, like she had figured out the meaning of life.
“Yes, well, I love you more,” Octavia muttered subconsciously.
Vinyl jolted slightly, “What was that?”
The young cellist then realised what had come out, and quickly covered it up, “I-I said, ‘I love Amour,’ as in, I like how it sounds, you know?” she looked down so that her hair would fall in front of her face and hide her red face from Vinyl.
“Yeah. Yeah, I got it. I misheard you, I guess.” The blue-haired girl scratched her head. And badly, too…
“What did you hear?” Octavia asked with hopeful curiosity. Perhaps she had heard Octavia correctly and it would lead to something.
“Something…different,” Vinyl said, thinking of an excuse to not make her feel awkward.
“Different how?” the elegant girl asked slowly.
“Different as in dirty,” Vinyl shrugged, unable to resist the chance any longer, “I heard you say ‘I’d fuck you sore.’” She winked.
“D-damn you and your perverted thoughts,” Octavia said, blood rising to her cheeks.
“I wouldn’t really damn those thoughts, Tavi,” Vinyl countered, “They could make for some pretty hot dirty talk,” Vinyl laughed.
Octavia felt her face burn hotter, “Vinyl!” She smacked her tormenter on the shoulder.
“I’m guessing you like it rough? Funny, I figured you’d be the slow and romantic type,” Vinyl said seductively.
“Kn-knock it off!” Octavia commanded, trying to get as far away from the young DJ as possible, which was not much, considering the limited space.
“Oh, calm down. There’s no shame in being slow. I prefer fast, but anything to keep you happy, Bowtie,” Vinyl winked again.
“And…out of the umbrella I go,” Octavia said before running off.
“H-hey! Hold up! You’re wearing a white shirt!” Vinyl yelled.
The running cellist stopped and turned around in confusion, “What?”
“You’re wearing a white shirt,” Vinyl repeated, getting close to her friend again.
“Out of all things you could have said to convince me, why would that be a reason to not run in the rain?”
“The water makes your shirt see-through, dummy.”
“Oh, good point…thanks.” Octavia said, appreciatively, but embarrassed.
“No problem. But you owe me now.”
“Owe you? Why? I appreciate you being conscious of other seeing through my shirt, but I shouldn’t owe you more than a thanks,” Octavia said.
“Yeah, you do! I could’ve left you running and then look through your shirt the whole day. I could’ve even taken pictures; my phone has a pretty good camera,” Vinyl argued.
Octavia groaned, “What do you want? But it better not be-“
“Come to my house either without a bra or without a shirt or neither,” the pervert quickly said.
“-Dirty” Octavia finished, “I should really report you for sexual harassment. You just love to take everything I say and turn it into a sex joke, don’t you?”
“Pretty much.” Vinyl casually admitted, “Though, the school’s right there. Don’t worry, now you’ll have all your friends with you as I embarrass you.”
Upon reaching the school, Vinyl took off her coat and dried her umbrella with her magic and Octavia waited for her. While waiting, the young cellist looked at her friend’s outfit: she had black boots with blue lacing, a blue shirt, and slim jeans. Vinyl could feel her classmate looking at her, “Yes.”
Octavia drew her attention away from Vinyl’s clothes and focused on her words, “I beg your pardon?”
“The answer to your question is yes, you can smack my ass whenever you want. Just not when I’m using magic. I’ll get distracted.”
“I…wasn’t thinking that,” Octavia blushed. Though she might have not been wondering about any sort of physical and suggestive contact, she had let her eyes linger on Vinyl’s posterior.
“Sure, and I’m not dirty.”
“Let’s just get to class before I strangle you.”
Vinyl took that threat a bit seriously and followed the cellist to the music room. Harpo was the first one to notice their appearance, “There you are, Octavia. Did you oversleep?”
“Harpo, your message was the first thing to wake me up. My alarm clock didn’t work,” Octavia said.
Beauty joined in, “Oh, was it the storm?”
“I guess. Then Vinyl saw me and shared her umbrella with me, and now I’m here,” Octavia finished.
Beauty Brass puffed up her cheeks and blew, “Wow. Sharing an umbrella with Vinyl? That must’ve been tough, Octavia.”
“It was. I’m surprised I’m still alive. She just doesn’t believe in boundaries, does she?”
They all shook their heads 'no.'
Octavia looked over at Vinyl, who seemed to be explaining her side of the story to Neon. She was laughing and he just nodded and smiled.
After that, the spiked-hair boy walked over to Octavia and put his hand on her shoulder, “You okay? Just with Scratch explaining, it sounds like you could have exploded. I mean, you were all alone with her, having to squeeze next to her to not get wet, and she just teased you like that.”
The cellist sighed, “I-it was alright. I managed. I mean, I ran out into the rain in an attempt of escaping her, but we had already arrived at the school by the time I was at the brink of insanity. And now I owe her for the sharing her umbrella and all.”
“Damn, That’s gotta be tough,” he sympathised. Don’t worry, anything she asks for that’s completely out of line, she doesn’t mean it. Now, you need to go through the rest of the day with her and then you can rest, okay?” he patted her on the back of her shoulder, “Good luck.”
After a few minutes, the teacher came in and Vinyl and Octavia sat in the back of the classroom, with the cellist sitting behind the DJ. During class, the cellist felt like she did owe her something, not only for the shirt incident, but also for not laughing at her when she said her cello’s name, and just for sharing the umbrella in general.
Vinyl saw a piece of paper fall on the floor right next to her desk. She picked it up and read it:
I know that you said I owed you back in some way. Apart from all those inappropriate suggestions, how can I repay you? -Octavia
Vinyl Scratch smiled, turned the piece of paper over, and wrote back to Octavia:
I was just kidding about that. Don’t worry about it. It was just a favour. I wouldn’t want to see pervs looking at you like that. Only I can look at you that way.
She put her arm containing the note behind her chair. Octavia took it and after a while, she wrote back:
No, I mean for offering me your umbrella. I want to pay you back. Please just give me something.
Vinyl had an idea pop into her brain just then:
K. See me outside of the room after class.
She handed Octavia the note and continued on with class. Once it was over, she met Octavia outside of their math class, “So, what do you want?” she asked.
Don’tmakeadirtyjoke! Don’tmakeadirtyjoke! “Could we exchange numbers? I was looking through my contacts list and I figured I should have it in case you’re not around and I want to bother you.”
The cellist pulled out her phone as Vinyl did with hers and they exchanged contact information, “See that’s probably why I’ve never given it to you. However, I’m giving you this one chance, so no weird texts, got it?” Vinyl saluted Octavia mockingly.
“Yes, ma’am!” she said firmly, “Wait, what about hot pictures of my ass. Just for you?”
“N-no! None of that either!” she retorted with a blush kissing her cheeks.
“Fine, but can I at least text you winking faces?” Vinyl said.
“Fine. I’ll allow that and regular texts and calls, but no sultry antics.”
“Hmph, it kinda takes away from the compensation. I saved you from a bunch of people, and me, looking through your shirt! That’s gotta count for a bit more freedom!” Vinyl said, crossing her arms.
“Vinyl!” Octavia hissed, “Not so loudly. Everyone can hear you,” Octavia nervously combed her fingers through her hair as other students looked at the girls.
“Sorry.” Vinyl persisted, “But come on. Please, Tavi?”
“Vinyl,” Octavia said slowly, “If my mother were to check my phone, she would keep me away from you, and possibly remove me from the school.”
“…That sounds a bit dramatic, but, I guess I could go on with just casual texting.”
When free period came around, the large group of friends were laughing and enjoying their time together. Octavia then grabbed her cello and said, “Well, I’m off to play. I will talk to you all later.”
“Wait, how come we can’t all go and play together?” Lyra asked.
“I’m sorry, but this is the only time that I get the chance to play for myself. You know I’m not allowed to bring it home except for the weekends,” Octavia said to them.
“Ah, that reminds me,” Vinyl said as she got up, “I need to go the music shop down the streets and ask them about the vinyl records I ordered.”
“And you’re sure you don’t want me or anyone else there with you?” Neon asked.
“It’s cool. I know the guy who owns the shop. And it’s not like I’ll get into a fist fight,” she dismissed.
Everyone looked at each other and back at Vinyl, “You sure?” a few of the asked in unison.
“Hey! I’m not that violent! The owner and I are friends!”
By then, Octavia had already left to go to the music room. She travelled down the empty hallway and the vacant staircases and arrived in the silent room. She opened the door gently and went inside. The classical musician then proceeded to free Amour from her case. Unlocking the golden locks of the black case, she took out the cello and the bow. Once she was able to think of a song to play, the music began.
Now, Octavia seemed to always communicate with her precious cello through music. Right now, her notes were cheerful, but thoughtful. She began to internally talk to her cello, I’m so glad Vinyl and I exchanged numbers. Now she can phone me whenever she’s troubled or happy and wants to share her thoughts with me.
But then, Vinyl never really has any troubles, I think. And if she does, she must keep them a secret. As for any other thoughts, I doubt she’d share them with me unless it was a humorous tale. Still, it would be nice to have one decent talk with her. One in which she would tell me something about her music and offer to let me listen sometime. Then I would visit her house and she would show me all of her machines to make music.
Or maybe she could invite me to watch a movie sometime. Or what if we took a walk through the park together? I could make a nice picnic and we could camp out at night together. We would lie on the grass, watching the myriad of stars. Maybe she would turn to look at me without those shades and…
Octavia noticed her notes growing into a more romantic pattern.
And why does she even wear those damn sunglasses all the time? She asked her cello, the melody regaining its vigour and losing its romance. Neon wears them too…Do they think it’s cool or something? Because it isn’t really all that great. Why haven’t I asked her?
Fifteen minutes later, free period had ended and the day went on. In every class, the cellist tried to sit behind or adjacent to the girl she was besotted with. In many classes she fell asleep and the cellist decided that she could share all of her school notes with Vinyl later. Looking at her classmate sometimes distracted Octavia. She watched as Vinyl buried her face into her arms and how her body rose and fell with every breath.
Once the final class was dismissed, all their friends began to walk home. Just like every other time, their friends parted ways little by little.
“Well, this is where I gotta go,” Neon said, “See ya later, Scratch! Bye, Octavia.”
“Later, bro!” Vinyl shouted back.
Octavia, to avoid the awkwardness of other times and to slate her curiosity, asked her a question, “Vinyl, why do you and Neon wear shades even when it isn’t necessary?”
“Neon has photo-whatever-the-fuck. He’s sensitive to light,” she tried to explain.
“You mean ‘photophobia?’”
“Yeah, that thing,” Vinyl nodded.
“What about you?” Octavia pushed.
“Meh. It’s nothing really. I just don’t want Neon to be the only one wearing shades, I guess. It's a friend thing,” she explicated, “Plus, you can never tell where my eyes are looking,” she grinned mischievously.
At this, Octavia squeaked and covered her chest with her arms, “Please don’t. And what colour are your eyes?”
Vinyl moaned lazily, “I don’t feel like telling you. I’m too tired. How about we just acknowledge how cool the shades make me look?”
“Vinyl, when you wear them indoors, you make yourself look like a complete douche,” she admitted.
The shade-wearing girl gasped, “Tavi! Your words hurt me like a bullet!” she exclaimed dramatically.
“Oh here, let me make it socially acceptable,” Octavia cleared her throat, “Vinyl, when you wear those shades indoors, you make yourself look like a complete douche... No offense.”
Vinyl giggled a little at her friend’s joke, “Well played, Tavi. Well played.”
Once both girls arrived at their homes, Vinyl Scratch got her laptop and played a ten-hour long mix as she reluctantly worked on her studies. She got distracted, and sang along with a few songs that had lyrics. Once she had progressed a bit, Vinyl paused the music and went into her bathroom to turn on her shower.
While Vinyl felt the hot water cleanse her body, Octavia was eating dinner with her parents. They were eating quiche with a lovely tomato soup made by her mother. Usually, the table was quiet unless there was some very interesting news. And tonight, her parents discussed something that Octavia could not help but listen to.
Her mother had broached the topic, “You know what I heard in the news this morning?” she asked, waiting for her husband to look at her, “I heard that the Princesses are going to make homophobia a punishable crime! Isn’t that absurd? I mean protecting homosexuals is very strange for a princess to be doing.”
“I don’t see why it is so strange.” Octavia’s father said, “It seems to me that Celestia just wants everyone to be treated fairly.”
“Yes well, all people should be treated equally,” she agreed, “but not evil people.”
“Evil people?” Octavia asked, speaking out of turn.
“Octavia, don’t speak out like that, darling.” She chastened, “But yes, evil people. It isn’t like we treat killers and rapists with kindness. No, those people deserve to burn in hell, so why should we treat homosexuals like they’re…normal?”
Octavia’s father remained silent, and the cellist just played with her food. Her appetite seemed to have vanished.
Her mother continued, “I mean, it is a disease of the mind. Those people need medical attention. And if necessary, they should be put into an asylum. Somewhere where they can’t infect others with their…carnal desires. Ugh! It is disgusting! Did you know two of the men that were under my employment were dating? Yes, it was Bulk Biceps and…Sir Cotton Vines, I believe. I had to fire them. I wasn’t going to let them ruin the company’s reputation,” she said, sipping her wine.
Octavia took a deep breath, “excuse me,” she said standing up, “I’m not hungry anymore. I had a rather large lunch,” she cleaned up her plate and utensils and went upstairs into her bedroom. She sighed at the new knowledge that she had to keep her secret from her parents. Not that she had told anyone, but she would have to keep her mouth shut from the people she lived with for a few years until moving out.
She felt her eyes water, but blinked the tears back. She refused to cry out of her parent’s rejection to her sexual orientation. Instead, she decided to text Vinyl. Surely, she could make her feel better.
Octavia: Okay, so my parents are apparently-
She dropped her phone without noticing. When she looked out the window, Octavia saw quite the spectacle coming from her neighbour’s house. Vinyl seemed to be looking through her drawers to find clothes. She was completely naked, and her hair was wet. Vinyl’s breasts jiggled with every step she took, and she flipped her hair to dry it a little more. Octavia noticed all the curves of her body. Her skin was absolutely flawless.
The cellist gasped and put her hands over her mouth. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t look away. Octavia’s cheeks burned fiercely as she watched Vinyl bend over to grab an over-sized shirt. The shocked girl fell back onto her bed, her heart racing. D-did I just see V-Vinyl…? She was…Oh my! Oh wow! Oh dear! I can’t deal with this. H-her skin was exposed. Her flawless skin…and her wet hair…and-and why wouldn’t she close her blinds!? It’s as if she were inviting me to watch her…and why didn’t I look away?
She looked at her phone on the ground. She was going to text Vinyl Scratch, but after what had just happened, she wasn’t even sure if she could look at her the same way tomorrow. She deleted the text message she was going to send and took a very quick shower, in which she remained almost completely still, save for the cleansing and...yep, just cleansing. She quickly fell into her bed, but she was sleepless, as her thoughts always seemed to draw back to Vinyl.
And so, the next day came. Vinyl was heading out the door, kicking at random mushrooms that had grown from the heavy rain. She was glad she had decided to dress lightly; the day was very hot, unusual for the autumn season. The DJ skipped down the pavement, excited that tomorrow would be Friday. And since it was Thursday, she could pull an all-nighter and work on her music yet again.
Vinyl always stayed up later on Thursdays, because she couldn’t care less about effort on Fridays. However, she had been having insomnia since the school year began. The girl had been going without sleep for up to five days every week. The only reason she never seemed tired was because she was used to it by now, and her shades hid the bags under her eyes.
The girl arrived at her school and went into the music room. Octavia was sitting down at her desk, as she had, apparently, finished her work early. Neon and Lyra were in the closet, putting away some of the cleaning equipment. The young cellist saw her classmate and waved.
Vinyl ran up quickly to her and leaned across her desk. The sudden movement made the desk squeak slightly and the cellist push back against her seat. Their faces were centimetres apart, “Hey,” Vinyl greeted sultrily.
She pulled away, giving Octavia a chance to breathe and look her over: she wore a light blue top and white shorts that exposed much of her thighs. She wore revealing clothes so often to school that, eventually, the teachers stopped caring. Octavia then remembered what she had seen last night, and looked down, blushing, “H-hey…”
“You’re a bit shyer than usual. Did you have a naughty dream about me last night?” she asked in a joking tone.
“N-no, I didn’t… I simply found out that my parents don’t like homosexuals. I know it doesn’t concern me,” she lied, almost grimacing at her words, “but my mother was so rude about it.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. In time, they’ll probably come to their senses with that,” Vinyl reassured.
Lyra finished her work and asked Octavia, “So what the hell was with that poem you wrote for English? Beauty kept raving about it to me. Is it that good?”
“Ah, the poem! I’m so happy we get to present today!” Octavia grinned with excitement, as she remembered, “I’ve been working so hard on it, but I wouldn’t go so far as to be raving on it; I doubt it’s any good, really…”
“What’s it about, Tavi?” Vinyl asked.
“Oh, just an unrequited love poem. I was inspired by…a novel that I read,” the cellist lied once more.
“Well, that’s cool, I guess. Mine is about death and stuff. I kind of just pulled words out of my arse, but I tried to do well, at least. How about you, Lyra?” the DJ asked.
“I wrote mine about misery, and I helped Bon-Bon write about hatred.”
Octavia was impressed, “Goodness, why are you all such sad people?”
Vinyl shrugged, “Just a coincidence, probably. Besides, unrequited love is pretty sad, too.”
You’re telling me… ”Well, Lyra, I invite you to give me your opinion on my work later in class, okay?”
“Awesome, I bet it’s as good as Beauty Brass says. You know she’s never wrong on these things.”
Mister Staccato walked in and class began. Octavia could hardly contain her excitement. I completely forgot that we’re going to present today! I’ll read my poem and Vinyl will listen to it! And maybe she’ll fall in love with me through my words, and she’ll ask me out and damn it, there I go again! I have to stop fantasising about her and assuming that one thing will lead to another. I doubt she’s even the type to fall in love through poetry anyway.
Even with these thoughts, the black-haired girl still felt her heart beating loudly and quickly with excitement. Once she was off to English, she felt as though she could burst. Octavia struggled to contain herself, and with every passing second, she thought about Vinyl. Her classmates presented all types of poetry: limericks about nature, cinquains about hatred, haikus about death, and rispettos about misery.
Finally, Octavia was called to the front by her teacher. She placed her papers on the podium and cleared her throat before reciting her poem:
“I see you in the distance, But I don’t call your name. My thoughts have become repetitive And you’re the one to blame…”
Octavia continued to recite her poem. When she had finished, everyone was quiet, in awe of her work. Then, the teacher began to clap, and the students did as well. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Frederic all smiled at her. She smiled back, and looked toward Vinyl. She was rubbing her eyes behind her glasses and stretching groggily.
Was she…was she asleep the entire time!? Her smile faded in disappointment. I…I just poured out my heart for her, and she…didn’t even listen. How could she just fall asleep like that? How could she just pretend like this isn’t important? I wrote it for her! Octavia formed her mouth into a straight line. She bowed her head in appreciation of the applause and sat down.
After class, a girl with blue and pink curls walked up to her in the halls, “Octavia, that was amazing!”
“Thank you, Bon-Bon,” the angered Octavia responded bluntly.
“So, did you write that for someone, or-“
“I’m sorry,” Octavia interjected, “but can we talk about this later, I just—I really need to spend my free period alone.”
“Oh…okay.” Bon-Bon watched in confusion as the girl quickened her pace and darted down the hall leading to the music room.
When she was inside the music room, Octavia grabbed her cello without any respect for the instrument and began to play strong angry notes.
I can’t believe it! I technically just confessed my love to her and she just sleeps through it? ‘Oh, hey Tavi, don’t mind me; I’m just sleeping while you read your love poem you wrote for me!’ I worked so hard on it! I even cut time out of my studying for her, damn it! But no, apparently, I bored her to sleep with my emotions!
Octavia’s notes began to slow down in sadness.
Did I really bore her with my poem? Maybe she figured it wasn’t important and just fell asleep. I listened through her poem…I liked it, but maybe…maybe she would have been bored by mine. For all she knows, if she listened, she would have probably thought my poem was stupid. Vinyl would have never thought it was for her. She probably isn’t interested in love.
Then she completely stopped playing in a painful realisation. What if…she wasn’t meant to hear my poem? What if she had heard it? Would she have felt disgusted if she figured out that it was for her? Maybe she wouldn’t have fallen in love with me, and would hate me instead…Does this mean that…we can’t be together? Is it impossible?
Throughout the rest of the day, Octavia felt too many emotions to handle. She felt anger toward Vinyl, her foolishness, and destiny. She was disappointed in life and the DJ, and felt sad that she couldn’t tell anyone about her problem. The cellist knew she would eventually break, and it would not be pleasant. Everyone tried to ask her what was the matter, but she simply said that she was tired.
Once all the students were walking home, Octavia excluded herself from the conversations, letting herself fall behind. Before leaving, Lyra gave Vinyl a small nod, signalling to her that everyone was depending on her to make the troubled girl feel better.
Vinyl sighed, “Are you okay, Tavi? You’ve been quiet all day and when you were in the music roo-um, you seem like something’s bothering you.”
No. I can’t talk to her right now. “It’s nothing…” Octavia retorted. She walked faster to escape her friend.
“Tavi, I can tell you’re not-“
“Don’t call me that!” Octavia yelled, turning around. She could feel anger rising. She was breaking. And Vinyl would see her.
“Octavia, please,” she tried again, placing a hand on her shoulder, “tell me what’s wrong.”
“Get your hand off of me!” she demanded, smacking the DJ’s hand off, “It’s your fault! All of it!”
“Wh-what did I do?” Vinyl asked, rubbing her hurt hand.
Octavia scoffed, “Do you know how hard I worked!? I took time in all of that!” She stomped her foot, “And then you don’t fucking care? What the hell was all my effort for then?”
“Octavia, what are you talking about? I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did, but please, I’ll make it up to you in any way I-wah!” Vinyl was then pushed aggressively on the ground.
Octavia got down on the ground, straddling the terrified DJ. She positioned her left fist high in the air, preparing all her earthen strength to punch the cowering girl before her. She took one last glance at Vinyl’s terrified face.
Vinyl placed both arms in front of her visage, preparing for a strong hit. Instead, she felt a hand gripped firmly on her arm and a tear drip onto her cheek. The girl looked up to find Octavia crying. The DJ squirmed under her assailant and helped her sit up.
“I-I’m sorry, Vinyl,” she sobbed, “I…I don’t know what came over me.”
The girl gently pulled her crying friend into a warm hug, “It’s okay. Don’t cry. Here, let’s sit on that bench right there and you can tell me all you need to tell me, okay?”
Vinyl pulled Octavia up from the floor and led her to a nearby wooden bench, where she continued to cry into her chest. Vinyl gently stroked her hair. After a few minutes, the girl spoke again, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you.”
“It’s alright.”
Octavia pulled away from Vinyl, shaking her head, “No…it isn’t alright. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. It was immature of me, and I apologise.”
“Octavia, we’re cool, okay?” the girl smiled and ruffled her friend’s hair, “But, why were you so angry? What were you talking about?”
The cellist bit her bottom lip, coming up with a lie, “I’ve…been having problems at home. Nothing major, but it’s getting to me for some reason.”
The distressed girl felt Vinyl’s hand rubbing her back, “You wanna talk about it?”
“It-it’s nothing, really, my mother is just being…inconsiderate, but it isn’t her fault. I haven’t been completely honest with her, either…” Octavia said, closing her eyes and remembering last night’s arguments.
“Octavia, you can tell me. I won’t judge you or your parents or-“
The cellist cut her friend off as she remembered what else happened last night, “Well, I really have enjoyed this conversation,” she took Vinyl’s hand off of her back and held it with both of hers, “and I appreciate the support and all, but I simply must go. Mother will be cross with me if I’m late.”
Vinyl looked toward their hands and Octavia quickly gave it back to her, assuming that her friend felt uncomfortable. The girl adjusted her shades, “Are you sure you’re fine?”
The monochromatic clothed girl stood up and adjusted her bag, “Yes, absolutely peachy! Bye, now!” She ran to her home.
Vinyl stayed sitting on the bench for a while, confused. She then shrugged and left for her own home, once Octavia was out of sight. She was very tired, now that besides her insomnia, she had to figure out what was bothering Octavia. Of course, she wasn’t asked to know what was perturbing her, but as a friend, she felt the need to make her feel better. This drained her energy, but she still thought about what she could do.
The girl went into her bathroom and took off her purple-tinted shades. She stood in front of her mirror and looked at the bags under her eyes. She wanted desperately to take a nap, but she knew it would be to no avail. Instead, she went into her music room upstairs and began to work.
Her laptop pulled up several projects she could work on. Vinyl clicked on one she would use for a party coming up on Saturday. She had worked out which songs she would play, and which of her own compositions she would play.
While the DJ was working, she figured it would be nice to add a touch of classical music to her mix. And that idea led to another: What if I invited Octavia to the party? She’d have an awesome time! It would totally cheer her right up!
Vinyl grabbed her phone:
Vinyl: Hey
Octavia: Hello
Vinyl: I was wondering if u could come to Caramel’s party tomorrow
Octavia: Umm…I guess. Octavia: I’d have to ask my mum.
Vinyl: Awesome! Gonna be the dj there
Octavia: That’s nice. Octavia: Caramel hardly knows me, though
Vinyl: Its cool. Vinyl: You’ll be my +1 Vinyl: Besides, I want 2 cheer u upp
Octavia: Vinyl, I told you- I’m fine
Vinyl: Meh. I was gonna invite u anyway Vinyl: I just really want you to come
Octavia: Okay, I accept. But why do you want me to go?
Vinyl: cuz when u see my mad dj skillz, u will want 2 do me so badly ;)
Octavia: Vinyl!
Vinyl: You’ll want to ‘fuck me sore,’ remember? ;)))
Octavia: Vinyl, stop! What did I tell you about dirty messages!!!
Vinyl: You can just delete the messages. Vinyl: I’m gonna write you so many dirty things, u don even know
Octavia: Oh, Celestia.
Vinyl: I’m gonna give u a story. Here we go- Vinyl: at a party, a super hot girl named Octavia saw a dj on stage
Octavia: Vinyl
Vinyl: Octavia had known the dj for a while. But knowing she was in control of the music made her look so hot
Octavia: Vinyl!
Vinyl: the hot chick ran toward the other hot chick and they made out
Octavia: VINYL
Vinyl: stahp interrupting!!! I was getting to the good part
Octavia: Please don’t do that at the party
Vinyl: Hey! U kissed me! I cant control what my sexiness does to you
Octavia: Yes, because your sexiness is hypnotising. *Sarcasm*
Vinyl: exactly
Octavia: I even dream about it
Vinyl: hehe. Always pining over my hot arse, eh?
Octavia: actually, in my dreams, you were trying to kiss me. It was a nightmare Octavia: I vomited when I woke up from it.
Vinyl: Hey! Vinyl: not true! You probably vomited because there was a roach on your face while you slept and you kissed it instead of me
Octavia: How the did you come to that conclusion?
Vinyl: I watch u when u sleep O_O
Octavia: okay, I’m officially creeped out. I’ll go to the damn party, but don’t embarrass me too much, please?
Vinyl: I’ll be gentle.
Octavia: Good. I might actually go, then. :)
Vinyl: Cool. See u tomorrow. Gotta work on music
Octavia: Have fun with that.
Vinyl Scratch did as she was told. She worked a little bit on it, and then attended to her studies. She hoped that the party would work its magic and lighten the cellist up. The DJ decided the best way to make sure was to put in a bit of classical music into the mix.
By the end of the day, she had added all the music she needed, and was lying in her bed, hopeful that sleep would come to her. Fortunately, it did. Vinyl Scratch dreamt of what tomorrow would bring.
“Alright. Class dismissed. Don’t forget you have a test on Monday,” said Mister Pi.
The class sighed in relief and closed their math books. After a bit of evading the excited classmates, tripping over fallen books and jostling through groups of people who decided that no one is in too much of a rush to make it socially unacceptable to block the middle of the hallway, the group of friends made it out and were walking down the pavement to their homes.
Lyra spoke first, “So, who’s going to Caramel’s party?”
Neon, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Bon-Bon, and Frederic all stated that they would attend. Caramel’s parties were the best ways to let loose before exams. People never really talked about them, since they were pretty frequent, but many people went.
“Sorry guys,” Harpo said, “Beauty and I were going out tonight.”
Noteworthy nodded, “Yeah, and my mum needs me around the house on Friday night.”
“Well, alright then,” Lyra smiled, “Neon, Vinyl, since you two are going to help out at the party, I’ll be driving everyone else.”
“Thank you, Lyra,” the cellist said.
When Octavia got home, she carried her cello carefully upstairs. As soon as she reached her door, her bag fell, but as long as Amour was fine, she didn’t care about her schoolbooks.
The girl then heard a knock on her door, “Come in.”
Her father came in, “Hello, sweetheart. I just wanted to ask about the party tonight. At what time is it?”
“Seven. I won’t be home too terribly late.”
“Alright, well, will there be any boys?”
Octavia nodded, “Yes, but they wouldn’t try anything stupid.”
Her father asked more questions, “Will there be any alcohol? Drugs?”
“No.”
“And there won’t be any exotic dancers, right?”
She was quite shocked with that one, “Okay, Father, my school is not some wild den of sex-craving animals. I’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m going without any friends.”
“Oh, well, who is going with you?”
“Neon Lights, Bon-Bon, Vinyl Scratch, Lyra, and Frederic are going. Lyra should be picking me up to go there in a few hours,” Octavia said, going to her closet to choose what to wear.
“Ah, Vinyl’s a good neighbour…” he mused, “Well, I’ll leave you be, but bring your cell with you. I’ll be calling every hour to check on you,” he said before leaving the room.
Now that his little game of Twenty Questions is finished, why don’t I wear something nice? Hm…Maybe I should try red as an accent? Or should I stay with purple? The girl looked through her closet and found that she had hardly any sanguine clothing. Okay, then. Problem solved. I’ll retain my tradition of wearing purple.
The elegant girl knew that high school parties weren’t exactly the fanciest of soirees. The cellist decided she would put on black skinny jeans with a grey blouse that had a purple design on it. She got out a pair of short boots and, of course, her pink bowtie that she always wore.
The cellist went into her bathroom and turned on the cold water in the shower. She didn’t like the cold sting at first, but she found it to be more relaxing than hot water, except during winter, of course. She allowed herself to stay in for a luxurious half hour before stepping out and drying herself off. Octavia took ten minutes blow-drying her hair, and then put on the clothes she had chosen.
The girl then went back into the bathroom to do her make-up. She figured that she would allow herself to put on more than just foundation for the party. Octavia put a bit of blush on her face and put on red strawberry-kiwi lip-gloss. Vinyl had said that she only wore flavoured things on her lip because they tasted good and that her favourite was strawberry-kiwi. The cellist agreed it did taste nice, but she wore it more for the DJ than for herself.
Octavia never put anything around her eyes, though. She never tried mascara or eye shadow because she was afraid that it would bother her eyes. This wasn’t much of a problem though because she had naturally long eyelashes. Although she never believed it, Octavia was very beautiful, especially with her amethyst eyes. Only the most confident of boys, and sometimes girls, would ask her out. She would always say ‘no’ because she wanted no one else but Vinyl Scratch, but they always started their flirting with the comment, “You have beautiful eyes.”
Finally, she put on just a pinch of perfume. The cellist grabbed her cell and texted Lyra.
Octavia: Okay, so at what time are you going to be arriving?
Lyra: Probably 6:30. im picking you up right after I get Bon-Bon Lyra: How long do you think itll take you to get ready
Octavia: Oh, I’m ready. I’m waiting now.
Lyra: WHAAAAT?!?! :O Already? I need to hurry up then
Octavia: No, no. Take your time. I can get play my cello while I wait.
Lyra: Okay, see you in a bit
While Octavia was waiting, Vinyl and Neon were on their way to the party. The spiked-haired boy was behind the wheel, listening to his friend, “I mean, it’s not like it was the best song I’d ever heard, but I still think it deserved more publicity, you know?”
“Yeah, but you gotta remember that when people overrate songs, they just kind of lose the vibe you fell in love with, you know?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Vinyl crossed her arms and sat back in the passenger seat.
Neon turned right and asked, “So, how’d it go with Octavia? Did you figure out what was wrong?”
The girl grimaced and studied the folds on her white baggy trousers, “It went…okay, I guess. I never figured out what was wrong, though.”
The shade-wearing boy nodded, “You sound hesitant. What exactly happened? I won’t tell nobody, you know.”
“Well…she, um, kind of tried to beat me up. Nothing too bad, but she just kind of…snapped at me. That’s actually the main reason why I invited her to come. I didn’t want to see her so sad,” she admitted.
“Aww,” Neon teased, “Wittle Vi is such a softie!”
Vinyl rolled her eyes behind her shades as he laughed at her, “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, you fucking, chuckling chuckle-fuck.”
“Alright, we’re here,” said the boy, digging behind his shades to wipe a tear.
The driver parked the car and opened the trunk for his friend. Together, they took out the laptop and two bottles of Vodka. Neon locked the car and they knocked on the door.
Seconds later, a boy with bright blue eyes and three horseshoe tattoos on his neck opened the door. He grinned in excitement when he saw his two guest, “Vinyl! Neon! Hi, come in.”
“The sweet thing...” the brunette blushed, “he’s outside setting up the stage for you.”
Neon cleared his throat, “Hey yo, Car, I gotcha some vodka,” he said, holding up the bottles.
Caramel took them, “Oh thank you, we needed some. I forgot to get some while I was out.”
“No problem,” the spiked-haired boy shrugged, “Vinyl, why don’t we go set everything up? The guests should be arriving soon.”
In the interim, Octavia was opening the back door of Lyra’s car. She placed herself so that there would be an empty seat between her and Frederic. Bon-Bon sat in the passenger seat, telling Lyra the fastest route.
The ride was quiet, save for the music on the radio, until Frederic asked, “So, is there a special occasion for the party?”
“No,,” Bon-Bon answered, “He just likes to loosen up before exams, so he invites people to come over.”
“Huh. I’ve never been to a party that didn’t have some sort of occasion.” Octavia mused aloud, “What’s it like?”
“It’s not really that different,” the driver stated, “It’s pretty much the same thing except that it’s more casual and you don’t have to gather around a cake and sing to some kid you hardly even know, who’s awkwardly just looking around while everyone serenades him about the anniversary of the day he came out of a vagina.”
“Did that explanation have anything to do with you’re second cousin’s friend’s son? You get weird when you remember random things you didn’t like. Turn left.” the curly-haired girl directed.
Lyra did as she was told, “Possibly. That party kinda sucked. That Snips kid was pretty weird. Did you know that the majority of his presents were scissors? Scissors! I mean, what the hell?”
“Wait, they gave a child scissors for his birthday?” Frederic asked in shock.
“Uh-huh. Isn’t it crazy?”
Both passengers in the back nodded.
“Alright, keep going straight and we’ll get there,” Bon-Bon said.
The lyrist did as she was told and found the house. She parked her car in the driveway and the group got out of the car. There was no music or loud talking to be heard, for the group was very early.
Caramel had left the door open, so the four just walked in to be greeted by him inside, “Hey Lyra, Bon-Bon, Frederic, and…Octavia? Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here. You guys are a bit early, you know.”
“Yeah, well,” Lyra moved forward to kiss the boy on the cheek and hug him briefly, “It’s hard to stay away from our favourite little fairy for so long.”
“He-heh. Yeah, I’m pretty amazing.” he responded, as they broke apart. “Scratch, Neon, and Thunderlane are out in the back, by the way.”
“Cool. Thanks, Car,” Bon-Bon said before leading the others outside.
Out in the back, there was a small stage, just big enough to satisfy Vinyl. The DJ was bobbing her head in time with the music projecting from her headphones. Thunderlane tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the four guests.
Vinyl immediately put down her headphones, jumped over her turntables and then ran up to hug the most refined girl of the group, “Hey, Octavia,” she greeted.
The cellist hugged back awkwardly, “H-hi, Vinyl.”
The wild girl pulled away and greeted everyone else, “Sup, guys?”
Lyra and Frederic nodded in response, and Bon-Bon said, “Hey, Vinyl. Are you really going to DJ? I’ve never heard your music before. I bet it’s really good!”
The shade-wearing girl giggled, “Yeah, well, you know. I try.”
After the arrival of several guests, the party officially began. Vinyl Scratch, or DJ P0N-3, as she claimed her stage name to be, kept the music alive and the people dancing. Everyone was either dancing, talking, or drinking. Some people even managed to do all three at once.
After a few more minutes, DJ PON-3 gave the limelight up to Neon Lights. She hopped off of the stage, sweating, panting, and desperate for a drink. She walked inside toward the snack bar where she saw Bon-Bon, Lyra, and Octavia talking together, “Hey,” she panted.
“Vinyl, hey,” Bon-Bon smiled, “that show you put up was amazing!”
The musician grinned in a cocky manner, “Gotta keep the crowd happy, know what I mean?” the confectioner nodded, “Hey, can one of you get me the vodka and a glass of punch? I really need something to drink.”
Lyra set down her own drink on the table and poured punch into a glass, “This already has a bit of everything, though.”
“I know. Give me the vodka.”
The teal-haired girl shrugged and gave her the bottle. Vinyl mixed the liquids together, added a bit of soda, and grabbed a cherry from a bowl to go on top. She then took a swig and sighed, “Oh, thank Celestia. I was dying.”
Octavia watched as the DJ swiped the perspiration off of her brow. Her tight clothes wrapped tightly around her, revealing the curves of her perfectly shaped body. The cellist asked, “How about you take a little rest, Vinyl? You deserve it.”
The girl rubbed her eyes behind her glasses, “Nah. I was actually going to go dance. You wanna come?” she offered them all.
“Vinyl, I actually need to talk to you,” Octavia tried again, in a softer voice.
The sweating girl shrugged, “Okay, then. Let’s talk.”
“We have to go somewhere quieter, though. Follow me?” The DJ nodded. The cellist led her friend to the coat closet. She turned on the lights, and as soon as she closed the door, the elegant girl realised how close she was to the DJ. I didn’t know she was taller than me. “What’s wrong?”
Vinyl Scratch frowned, “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you haven’t been your usual self since…yesterday,” Octavia shuddered.
“Well, neither have you,” the disc jockey admitted, “You’ve been distant. Every time I ask you if you’re okay, you give me a strange look.”
“That might be because you never ask me if I’m okay. At least, you never used to do that. Now, every five minutes, you want to know how my emotional stability is,” she hissed.
“I’ve only been asking because I’m worried about you.”
The cellist groaned, “See? There you go again! I’m fine, Vinyl Scratch. I just snapped at you. It isn’t like I tried to murder someone, and forced you to watch.”
“I know you’re okay, but I just want to make sure, Octavia.”
“Ah, and another thing,” the bowtie-wearing girl said, holding up a finger, “You don’t call me any of those ridiculous nicknames anymore.”
“Wait, you actually miss those?” Vinyl asked, tilting her head in disbelief.
“Well, um, I don’t know. It just feels weird when I don’t have the urge to strangle you for avoiding the use of my actual name,” she cleared her throat, “And it’s…kind of nice to know that you took the time to give me those petnames.”
The DJ grinned and embraced her friend, “I didn’t know those meant so much to you…Octy.”
The cellist felt awkward being hugged, “Okay, this is really touching and all, but I would prefer it if you didn’t embrace me when you smell like dirty gym clothes.”
“Sorry,” she giggled pulling away slightly. She looked at Octavia’s face and breathed in the strong scent from her neck, “Are you wearing perfume?”
Octavia blushed, the close proximity tempting her to kiss Vinyl, wrap her arms around the girl’s neck, dare to tell her the truth. “Maybe a little… Do you like it? The perfume, I mean.” The cellist could feel her friend’s arms still wrapped tightly around her.
The DJ smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a certain spike-haired musician, “Hey, you jerk-face! It’s your turn to—What the hell?”
The shade-wearing girl perceived what Neon had just walked in on, “Oh hey, Lightsie. We were just about to fuck, you want in?” The simple question made Octavia gulp in nervousness. Her face turned completely sanguine, remembering what she had seen two nights ago. She squirmed under the DJ’s arms.
The boy deadpanned at her, “You know, sometimes I don’t know whether you’re kidding or actually hoping to get laid with the people you joke around with.”
The abashed girl finally managed to escape the blue-haired girl’s grasp, “N-Neon, I swear this was just banter. I had to talk to her, and-“
“It’s cool, Octavia,” the boy said, pulling them both out of the confined room, “though, I think I might have to give Vinyl a time-out.”
“Hey, now, I'm no rapist either!” Vinyl Scratch argued.
Neon Lights rolled his eyes, “Whatever, just get out there and play.”
“Sure. Hey, Tavi, I want you to watch me play,” the DJ requested.
The cellist, not having much else to do, followed her friend outside and watched her take the stage. The DJ pushed a few buttons and let the music flow. Instantly, there was a beat caressing the synths that played. Vinyl Scratch then added bass to the music. Gradually, the song began to evolve and wrap itself around the party.
Octavia stood still, the bass shaking the ground on which she stood. The girl never really liked dancing, so she resorted to sitting down in a chair and listening to the beautiful sounds. The cellist watched as Vinyl touched everything in front of her. She felt the music get more aggressive, while she saw the blue-haired girl bending the melody to her will.
The synths rose and rose and everyone on the dance floor was practically vibrating from excitement. The next thing that happened made Octavia jump a little; the speakers released some sort of distorted bass. The cellist grimaced at first, but as soon as she got used to it, the beautiful sound of machinery ceased.
Vinyl grinned as she let the music flow again. She glanced at Octavia, added in the small bits of classical, and looked at her again. The raven-haired girl’s eyes went wide with amazement.
The cellist couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The softness of the violins and the melody of the cello harmonised and filled her with warmth she thought she would never find in Vinyl’s music. Then she felt the drums come in. They weren’t as wild as before, and they matched Octavia’s heartbeat perfectly.
The girl looked toward the stage. The DJ seemed even more attractive than ever. The cellist watched her brush her hair to the side, work with the switches and keys, and focused on how the stage lights illuminated her hair and her skin.
After a few minutes, the song became upbeat again. Frederic sat down next to Octavia, “She’s good isn’t she?” he shouted into the cellist’s ear.
“She really is! I’m amazed that she put the strings in there,” the cellist yelled back.
“Here,” the pianist gave Octavia a drink, “It’s Scratch’s. She left it with Bon-Bon and Lyra. They asked us to go up there and give it to her.”
The black-haired girl grabbed the cold glass. She looked at the DJ and noticed how thirsty she seemed as she licked her lips. The girl nodded, “Okay, Frederic. Come on.”
The classical musicians went up to the DJ and up the stage. She noticed them and smiled, taking the glass. She took a quick sip, before handing it back and shouted near the cellist’s ear, “Could you finish that for me? I don’t want it to go to waste.”
Octavia nodded and the duo headed inside. They could still hear the music, but shouting was unnecessary now. The pair walked toward Lyra, who was sitting on the staircase with a dumbfounded expression on her face.
“Hello, my dear lyrist,” Frederic greeted.
“Hey,” she murmured.
“Are you alright?” the white-haired boy asked, “You seem like you’ve seen a ghost.”
The mint and white haired girl closed her eyes and chuckled, “I haven’t seen any ghosts, but I think Princess Cadence just casted a spell on me.”
Octavia furrowed her brow in confusion, “How could Cadence even cast a spell? She’s-“
“Octavia,” Frederic interjected, “She means that she’s in love.”
The girl gasped in excitement and asked, “Someone tugged at Heartstring’s heartstrings?” the golden-eyed girl nodded, making the cellist squeal, “Who is it?”
The lyrist shuddered and lifted her head a little, “You…promise not to judge me?”
“Judge you?” Frederic asked, “Why would we do that?”
“Because…It’s not someone you’d expect me to fall in love with, I guess.”
“Oh, so he’s the dark type? I honestly never thought you would be into them,” Octavia stated.
“N-no. She-it’s probably the alcohol talking anyway,” the lyrist stood up and attempted to walk away.
“Whoa there,” the green-eyed boy said as he pulled her back in realisation of Lyra’s feelings, “We won’t say anything against you. It’s alright.”
“Fine, but please, please, don’t tell anyone. You promise?” the lyrist’s eyes begged.
“Of course,” Octavia said, oblivious to why Lyra was so serious.
“I…I think I’m in love with Bon-Bon,” she said sheepishly. She looked around to make sure no one else had heard her.
“Wait, so you’re…” the cellist trailed off, shocked that she wasn’t the only lesbian.
Lyra nodded, “Oh, Octavia, please don’t hate me,” she almost whimpered.
“I don’t hate you. I actually don’t like when people judge homosexuals like that. It's unfair, yeah?”
The lyrist smiled, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m glad you see it that way. I don’t want you two telling anyone about anything though, you hear? I know Bonnie’s bi, but I doubt she’d go for someone like me.”
The cellist smiled sympathetically. She knew what it was like to feel worthless compared to the one you loved. Though, Lyra had one advantage that she didn’t, “As long as she’s into girls, you have as much of a chance as anyone else. You’re lucky that you’ve fallen for someone who isn’t straight.”
“Yeah…Yeah! You’re so right, Octavia! I can win her heart if I try. Of course, it’ll take a while since I’m still in the closet, but I can do it!”
Lyra’s words spoke to the cellist’s heart in a moment of hope and ecstasy. She smiled until reality chained her up and pulled her down from the clouds. Wait, I still don’t know if she’s into girls.
“Good luck Lyra,” Frederic smiled.
The three friends heard the music change after a few minutes of chatting. They were a bit confused as to why the music suddenly became rock, but smiled as they saw an excited DJ coming up to them with three drinks held in her red magic. Octavia noticed the colour of the aura, but chose to keep quiet.
“So, did you guys like it?” Vinyl Scratch asked as she levitated a drink to the lyrist and the pianist.
Octavia grinned, “Vinyl, that was amazing! The strings united perfectly with your music.”
“Thanks, Octy. That means a lot coming from you.”
“How about a toast?” Frederic offered. He raised his glass and everyone followed suite, “To our beloved DJ.”
Everyone clanged their classes and drank. Octavia slowly took a sip of Vinyl’s drink and swallowed with all the courage she could muster. It brought her bliss to feel the alcohol and juice stroke her throat as the liquid went down her throat.
A pair of golden eyes looked at her curiously, “Hey, that was your first time drinking alcohol, huh?”
The cellist nodded, and the blue-haired girl turned her head, “Wow, really? Did you like it?”
“It…was pretty good. It actually feels nice,” she responded.
“Makes sense. That’s one of my favourite drinks," the DJ said, holding up the same mix in her own glass.
Octavia drank the rest of the liquid carefully. She wanted to savour the alcohol, feel it refresh her from the inside. However, when Vinyl Scratch offered to get more drinks, she refused, chastening herself from getting drunk.
Although a very heavy inebriation was absolutely unacceptable for her, she did get a bit tipsy. By the end of the night, Bon-Bon, who only drank three sips of beer, was the sober driver who was able to take everyone home.
She announced her arrival before climbing up to her room and collapsing on the bed with an amused smile on her face. I wonder if Vinyl wanted to kiss me. No, I doubt it. Although it was a nice moment, I bet she would have appreciated my wearing strawberry-kiwi lip-gloss. Wait, no. I should just be glad that I had that moment.
The cellist stripped herself and washed her face thoroughly. She put on a nightgown and lied down on her bed. She grabbed her cell from her nightstand:
Octavia: Hello
Vinyl: Hey! U texted.
Octavia: Why are you surprised?
Vinyl: I figured u had died in the something or car
Octavia: Actually, I did. I’m texting you right now with my spectre-like cell phone.
Vinyl: REALLY!?!?!?! That sounds awesome
Octavia: Yes, well, enough about my ghostly form. Octavia: Is the party still alive?
Vinyl: Sort of. people are leaving. Vinyl: tight sleep. im going to ur home later
Octavia: What? Why?
Vinyl: I hide to from Neon’s giant butt
Octavia: …What?
Vinyl: His butt is so huge. it’s like he wants to sit on me
Octavia: Are you drunk? Really drunk?
Vinyl: lol gotta go. hes after me. i wuv u
Octavia: You what?
The cellist waited for a response; minutes passed by like centuries. She finally put her cell down and looked up at the ceiling. I know she was drunk, but…what if she means it?
It had been over a week after the party. Currently, the students were in math class. Vinyl Scratch’s hand was cupping her chin as she slept soundly. Her slumber went by unnoticed as her shades covered her tired eyes, and Octavia only heard the occasional soft snore from the desk next to her.
“And once we add three, what do we get?” The professor asked, looking among the mostly muzzy students. He then looked toward the corner, and pointed at his blue-haired student, “V-“
“Four point seven metres cubed.” Octavia answered, receiving a raised eyebrow from Mister Pi, “Oh, my apologies. I thought you were going to call on me,” she lied.
“Well, you’re correct. Worry not,” he winked before writing the final answer on the chalkboard.
The class continued on as usual, and luckily, Mister Pi had no longer called on Vinyl, much to Octavia’s relief. A half hour later, the final bell rang, and everyone, except for a certain shade-wearing girl and her secret admirer, got out of their seats and filed out of the classroom.
“Vinyl, get up,” the admirer commanded as she nudged Vinyl’s side.
The girl stretched and yawned before asking, “Yeah? Was I asleep?”
“Yes, again. Vinyl, that’s the third time in a row I’ve had to cover for you. You can’t keep this up. It isn’t good for you,” the classical musician admonished.
“I know, I know. I just…haven’t been sleeping well,” she admitted.
“What, really?” Octavia kneeled down to meet face to face with the insomniac, “Vinyl, for how long has this been going on?”
“Could we talk about this later? I just need to get home,” the DJ stood up, forcing Octavia to move, and went out into the wild halls to gather her belongings.
The cellist stood up as well and followed closely behind her friend. After acquiring her bag and her books, she walked out the door with all of her friends. She wasn’t paying too much attention except when people talked to her, or if there was any sort of interaction with Vinyl Scratch.
“Yeah, I’m not too sure,” Neon said, in response to something Octavia didn't hear before changing the subject, “So, Scratch, what are you going to do for the dance?”
“Umm, I don’t know,” she answered groggily, “I’m not sure I’m gonna perform there this year.”
“Huh. You sure?” he asked, a bit shocked at the girl’s intentions.
“Hey, Vinyl, are you okay?” Harpo asked, concerned, “You’ve been a bit quiet lately.”
“Yeah, I’ve just been having trouble sleeping. It’s not a big deal, though. I’ve gone through it before,” she shrugged off.
A few of them had left to go their own ways, leaving Lyra, who was on her way home, and Neon, who whispered in Octavia’s ear, “She just doesn’t want us to worry about her, but we have to help her, Octavia.”
She looked to see the lyrist and the DJ engaged in their own conversation. She turned back to the boy, “I know. I’m not really sure I believe her when she says that she has experienced insomnia before.”
“Well, she has, but not like this. Something’s up. I’m not sure what, but she’s hiding something from us,” the spike-haired rocker whispered.
“Do you think I could help?”
He smiled at the cellist’s enthusiasm, “Yes, actually. I need you to do me a solid, and take care of her just for today. I want her to get plenty of sleep, so I’m going to start monitoring her constantly for a few days, but I need you to do this just for today. I’ve got work to do.”
“Of course, Neon. I’ll call my parents and ask them if I could stay with Vinyl for a while,” she assured.
“Thanks, Octavia. I owe you big time.”
“I would have done it even if it wasn’t upon your request, so worry not,” she smiled before asking slowly, “Hey, I know you said she’s keeping this a secret and all, but do you have any idea at all why she would be having problems sleeping?”
“Well, all she does is spin records continuously from eleven to midnight on Thursdays. She had a problem with the manager, but…I don’t think that’s it. She solved it a while ago. You could find out with a bit of time. She opens up after a bit of probing. Like frog dissection.”
She frowned at the odd comparison, “Um, okay then...” She moved on, “I’ll see if I can find out, alright?”
“Awesome,” he celebrated, holding out his fist for the lavender-eyed girl to bump. Which she did, “Look, I gotta bounce. As soon as Lyra leaves, you’re in charge of Vi, okay?”
“Alright, until anon,” she waved.
“Bye, guys. See you later,” he said aloud.
“Later Neon,” the two girls said in unison.
The golden-eyed girl looked at the others, “My turn’s right over here, too. I've gotta go. Bye-bye,” she waved.
“Bye, Lyra,” Octavia said, while Vinyl simply waved.
The pair walked in silence for a few minutes until the Vinyl spoke, “Hey, um, do we have a lot of work to do? I didn’t really get everything because…you know, I fell asleep in half of my classes.”
“We do have a lot of work, but I can help you with it,” she offered before pulling out her cell phone and pressing numbers on the screen. She then held the device to her ear, awaiting an answer.
The DJ whispered curiously, “Who are you calling?”
“My father. Shh,” she commanded before receiving a greeting from her father, “Yes, Daddy? Hi, I’m going to be staying with a friend for today. She isn’t feeling well, and I’m going to take care of her. Is that alright? …Oh, no, she’s right next door. …Yes, that one. …Okay, thank you, Daddy. Could you tell Mother for me? Thank you. I’ll be back tonight, I promise. …Okay, bye. I love you.”
Vinyl Scratch looked at the girl next to her with a look of curiosity, which was strong enough to not get ruined by the shades, “What was that?”
“I’m going to take care of you for today. I just asked my father for permission and he said that it’s fine,” she explained simply.
“Why the hell would you have to take care of me? I’m fine.”
“No,” the cellist disagreed, “You are not fine. Vinyl, you haven't been sleeping, and I have to make sure you get rest because Neon can’t do it right now.”
“Okay, just go home. I’ll make sure to get some re-“
The two-toned-haired girl was cut off by a hand on her mouth, “Don’t argue. It’ll make it more difficult to deal with you.”
The DJ licked the girl’s palm in response.
“Ew. Vinyl, that’s unsanitary,” said the cellist as she wiped off the saliva on the other girl’s shirt.
“You're right. Tongues should be used for other things,” she said sultrily while Octavia kept wiping off the spit. “Huh, and you can’t keep your hands off me either.”
In response, the cellist jerked her hand away from the voyeur, “And to think, I have to spend the whole day taking care of you. You know, I’m going to do all of your homework for you, so you might as well play nice and quit the harassment.”
“Wait, what?” Vinyl Scratch asked in disbelief, “You’re going to do my homework?”
The classical musician held back a grin, “Oh, yes. And I was going to make you dinner, let you sleep while I do all the work for you, and do almost anything you asked for. But, you know, I wouldn’t want to bow down to a pervert like you. Besides, you said you don’t really need my help, so I guess I could just stay home while you do your homework, lose more sleep, and make your own dinner.”
“Wait, hold on! I can change, Tavi. Or-wait, you hate that name, right? Yeah, umm, just come over, and I swear I’ll behave, Octavia. Please?” she begged.
“Hmm…I’m not too sure I’m convinced. Maybe if you got down on your knees and begged me? Yes, that would surely convince me of how desperately you need me,” the girl said playfully.
Vinyl Scratch nodded slowly and got down on her knees. She folded her hands together and begged, “Octavia, pleeease, come to my house and take care of me? I’d be so grateful. I’d do anything.” The DJ proceeded to clear her throat use the cutest, softest voice she could and said, “I love you, Tavi.”
Those four words made Octavia’s heart burst from cuteness. She got down on her knees to match her friend’s position and pulled her into a tight embrace, “Aww, Vinyl. You know I’d do anything for you!”
“Damn, girl. You could kill a puppy with your hugs. I can hardly breathe,” the DJ said in a hoarse voice.
“My apologies,” the cellist said before letting her friend go, “I have a weakness for adorable things.”
“So…I’m adorable?” the shade-wearing girl asked with a grin.
“Sometimes. Other times, you are a demon.”
“An adorable demon... Whatever. You know you like me, Tavi,” she said while getting up, and helping her friend to her feet.
You don’t even know, Vinyl, thought the cellist.
“Come on, the sooner we get to my house, the sooner I sleep,” said the DJ before continuing to walk.
The cellist followed behind her. After about five minutes, the two girls finally reached Vinyl’s home. When the owner opened the door, she motioned for her friend to come inside.
Octavia was surprised; she had expected her friend’s home to be messier. Instead, it was very neat, save for the dust in a few places. She turned to her tired friend, “I’m impressed with how clean you’ve kept the house. And all by yourself, too.”
The girl yawned and grinned at the compliment, “Heh, thanks. I try. Come on, my room's down the hall.”
The cellist followed the DJ to the master bedroom. Without even changing, the insomniac took off her bag and collapsed on the bed.
“Are you really going to sleep in jeans and shades?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“Ah, it’s not like I give a damn,” she said softly, snuggling into her bed.
“Well, why not take of your shades at least?”
“Nah. You’re gonna see the bags under my eyes, and I don’t want that.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, “Oh, just keep your eyes covered while I take them off.”
Accepting the groan as an approval, the bowtie-wearing girl removed the shades, as Vinyl slid her hand over her eyes.
“There. Now these won’t bother you while you sleep,” the cellist said, smiling. “I’ll start on your homework, okay?”
“Wait, Octy,” she said, making sure to keep her eyes closed.
“Yes?”
“Could you sing me a lullaby?” the DJ requested.
“A lullaby? Really, Vinyl?” she asked sceptically.
“Hey! Don’t judge me. I can’t fall asleep unless I hear some someone’s voice before falling asleep,” she explained. “Please, just sing me something?”
The strings player sighed, “Alright, alright.” She sat on her friend’s bed and softly sang, “Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.”
The blue-haired girl let her lips form a small smile before falling asleep.
The cellist sensed the even breaths and ran her fingers down her friend’s unruly, yet soft hair, “Sweet dreams, my dear.” She then placed a small kiss on the sleeping DJ’s forehead.
Octavia exited the room with Vinyl’s bag and began to work on both of their assignments. Upon going through her messy folders in her search for her assignment papers, she found a few tests. Oh my…most of these are such low grades! I knew she wasn’t doing well but…hmm…maybe I could help her with her study habits once she wakes up.
After working on homework and studying for two hours, Octavia went into the kitchen to make dinner. Let’s see… she thought, opening up the fridge. Rotten. Spoiled. Chinese leftovers. I…don’t even want to know what that is. Oh! That avocado looks good. Cheese? …Ew! That is not cheese! Oh Luna, that’s disgusting!
Snapping out of shock, the cellist walked over to the pantry to find more food. Luckily, there were only a few expired things, but nothing too bad to disgust the girl. She took a can of tomato soup, a small container of rosemary, four pieces of bread, and a can of tuna.
Once she had the required ingredients, she opened the can of tomato soup, and heated it up on the stove. She seasoned the soup with some spices, and then put the bread in the toaster. While the bread was toasting, Octavia poured the tomato soup into two bowls. Once the bread popped out, she peeled and sliced the avocado and placed a few pieces on two slices. The cellist opened the can of tuna, drained it, and placed the contents on both sandwiches.
Once she had finished the meal, Octavia cut Vinyl’s sandwich into four triangular slices and found a tray to put the food on. She found a bottle of iced tea in the pantry, and two cups in the cupboard. Pleased with her work, she carried the tray upstairs.
The black-haired musician quietly entered Vinyl Scratch’s room. She set the tray down on the nightstand, and gently nudged her friend awake, “Vinyl, I brought you dinner.”
The girl groaned and rubbed her face, alarmed at the lack of shades covering her eyes. ”Octavia, hand me my shades, please.”
“Here,” said the cellist as she placed the sunglasses over her friend’s eyes.
“Thanks,” she smiled before stretching.
The classical musician gestured toward the tray, “I made you tomato soup and a sandwich. You didn’t have a lot of…edible material.”
“Aww, Tavi,” she smiled, “You didn’t have to make me anything. You could have heated up some ramen noodles, and saved yourself all the trouble.”
Well, I would have made ramen if I had known there was any! “No, it’s fine. I wanted to make you a high-qua—or…above satisfactory dinner.”
The electronic musician chuckled, “Well, thanks a bunch, I guess.” She then took a bite out of the sandwich. Octavia, as well, began to eat.
While they munched away at the food, Octavia asked, “Is it any good?”
Vinyl slowly nodded and swallowed, “Mm-hmm. 'Above satisfactory' doesn’t even begin to describe it. I think I should just have you take care of me instead of Neon all the time.”
“Speaking of which, I have a question, and I hope you won’t mind me asking.”
“Shoot,” she said, shrugging.
“How close are you with Neon Lights?” the cellist asked.
“We’ve been friends since we were kids, actually. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I figured maybe you two were…you know,” she trailed off.
“If you’re thinking I like him or something, get that out of your head right now. Drag the thought right out of your skull and gut it. Then stuff it with fireworks. And light it on fire. And let it rot in hell,” the DJ ordered, poking Octavia’s glabella, “I actually tried dating him at fourteen, but it just…didn’t feel right. I guess I was just too used to being his friend and…I don’t know.”
“Well, that’s good,” the amethyst-eyed cellist said without the intention.
“Why? Are you into him? Sorry to break it to you, but he's not into dating.” She said sympathetically.
The strings player chuckled, stirring her soup with the spoon, “No, of course not. He isn't my type.”
“Then…” Vinyl Scratch asked gently, “Are you into me?”
Octavia smiled at her friend’s sympathy, attempting to calm her beating heart, “No. It’s nothing like that. I’m just thinking that you two are good friends, and you really trust each other, so I was just asking.”
Vinyl shrugged, “Well, he’s my best friend, so yeah, I tell him everything.”
“Huh. I see. Did you ever tell him or anyone why you live alone?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s nothing, really. I’m from Ponyville, but my parents wanted to move me to a school in Canterlot. I got accepted, but they couldn’t just move to the capital, so they told me to stay with my grandmother for a while. She was getting old, and she wasn’t able to take care of me anymore right when the school year started. So, I asked my parents for a bit of money, worked a bit, and now I’m here,” the DJ said, finishing her explanation before drinking a spoonful of soup.
“I never knew that,” the cellist said, looking down. “Wasn’t it hard leaving your parents, and later, living on your own?”
“Not really,” the shade-wearing girl said nonchalantly. “I still write to my parents and visit my grandmother in a nursing home,” she simpered. “Besides, if I hadn’t moved here, you wouldn’t have been my neighbour. And if that had never happened, you wouldn’t have been forced to befriend me and make me this awesome sandwich!”
Octavia giggled as her friend ate the last piece of her sandwich humorously, “Well, it was a bit difficult to be your friend, especially when you kept being so dirty with me and everyone else. It took me a while to get used to you, and even now, you are a pain in the arse.”
Now it was Vinyl’s turn to giggle, “Sorry, it’s just fun to joke with people. You’re my favourite victim, too. The way you blush is absolutely adorable!”
After a bit of conversation, they finished their meal. Vinyl Scratch followed her friend to the kitchen, where they washed everything, and put them back in the cupboard.
“So, Vinyl,” Octavia began as they walked upstairs to the game lounge, “While I was looking for your homework, I found a few—actually, more than a few failed assessments.”
“Yeah, I’m not really good at studying,” the DJ admitted awkwardly.
“That’s okay, I just wanted to offer you a bit of…tutoring.”
The blue-haired musician sighed, but smiled, “Yeah. I guess it’d do me some good. When do you want to start?”
“We could start right now, if you don’t fall asleep?” she suggested.
“Yeah, we might as well get it over with.”
After going over social studies, math, and science, which were the three subjects Vinyl was failing the most, they got to her Spanish elective, “Okay, just repeat: La casa es grande,” Octavia said slowly and perfectly, making sure to articulate every word.
“La casa es grande,” Vinyl repeated. Unlike Octavia’s non-existent accent, the DJ sounded like she was making up words in English.
“Oh come on, you’re not even trying. Just pronounce it like this: La casa es grande,” she tried again.
“La casa es gr—agh! Maldita clase con su profesora de mierda!” she retorted without the slightest accent.
“Oh, but you can pronounce all that profanity so smoothly, huh?” the tutor questioned with her hand on her hips.
Vinyl Scratch lay down on the carpeted floor and groaned, exposing her abdomen to Octavia, “Why do I have to pronounce it perfectly anyway? She just hates me, and gives me bad grades, that butt.”
Octavia crawled over to see her friend’s visage, sitting with her knees in front of her, “Vinyl Scratch, while I don’t take her class, I know that Missus Idioma is an absolute sweetheart to all of her pupils, you included. Now, half of the tests are oral, so I’m sure she just gives you the grade you deserve for using long vowels in Spanish,” she assumed. “When you swore in Spanish, I heard you speak like a native, a very angry, vulgar one, but a native, nonetheless. I know you can pronounce it correctly, just try it.”
Vinyl Scratch placed her head on Octavia’s lap, sighed, and tried again, “La casa es grande,” she pronounced with perfection.
“See? With just a little bit of effort, you can speak perfectly,” she congratulated, awarding her classmate by ruffling her hair. “Now, how about I quiz you on history again? Let’s see…how much time do we have left?” she asked her watch. “Shit. I should have left an hour ago. I guess my parents didn’t mind too much. Do you think you could sleep tonight?”
The DJ got up from her friend’s lap and faced her. “Well, maybe. You think you could call me later? To say good night?” she asked in a meek voice, something Octavia had never heard from her.
“Of course. I’ll call you once I’m in bed, okay?”
“Thanks,” she said, hugging the cellist. “I’ll show you out.”
Once she had exited and said goodbye, Octavia pulled out her house keys and entered her own home. She could see her parent’s room lights on from down the hall. The cellist went upstairs, and went straight into the shower, smiling at how she was able to take care of the person she was completely enamoured for.
After twenty minutes, Vinyl was getting into bed. While awaiting a certain call, she began to text her friend:
Vinyl: Hey
Neon: Sup
Vinyl: Octavia took care of me
Neon: Cool. B) You didnt cause too much trouble did you?
Vinyl: I dont think so…she helped a lot
Neon: k thats good. Get some rest alright?
Vinyl: Wait Vinyl: I need to ask u something.
Neon: k go ahead.
Vinyl: Do u think i should come out?
Neon: Whoa. This is pretty sudden. Neon: Why do you want to come out of the closet now?
Vinyl: idk. Its just that i don’t want to keep it a secret anymore Vinyl: But im afraid of how this could change my friendships with others…
Neon: Look, I didnt really have problems saying I was ace. Neon: In fact, most people thought I was saying that I could reproduce without anyone. Neon: I dont know how it would go for you. People are okay with Bon-Bon being bi, and we know Lyras gay too. No one really seems to care.
Vinyl: Yeah i know but im always making dirty jokes with everyone so what if that freaks the girls out?
Neon: The guys didnt give a fuck when you flirted with them.
Vinyl: Yeah but guys are guys. Guys don’t give fucks when i play flirty with them. Theyre guys.
Neon: I guess youre right. Here, why don’t you just keep it low okay? Neon: you dont say anything but you dont deny it if someone asks.
Vinyl: I guess that could work. Thanks.
Neon: No prob. If thats all then good night, Vi.
Vinyl: Night
Almost right after, Vinyl’s cell vibrated with a call. She looked at the screen and saw “Octavia” displayed on the screen. She answered with a smile, “Hey, Tavi. You get in trouble?”
“No. My mother just came in to check on me once I was out of the shower.”
“Okay.”
“So, why did you want me to call?” Octavia asked curiously.
Vinyl took a deep breath, “I guess I just wanted to thank you. I really liked having you over. I hope I wasn’t too much trouble.”
Octavia giggled and blushed at the compliment, “Thanks. You were no trouble at all. In fact, I thought it was cute how you needed me.”
“Yeah, well…” Vinyl blushed. “You’re an awesome friend, and I think we should hang out more often because you’re so cool. Take that!” she countered.
The cellist giggled, “Are you honestly challenging me to some sort of compliment war?”
Vinyl nodded, “Sort of. I’m not kidding about hanging out, though. How about you sleep over on Saturday?” she then realised how odd that sounded, “I mean, with other girls too—I mean, you guys come to my house and we have fun—like dance and stuff, not…yeah.”
A laugh escaped Octavia’s lips before she could control herself, “I never thought I’d hear you get so prudish about something like that. Anyway, I know what you mean. And I think it would be wonderful to have a slumber party with our friends.”
“Awesome,” she sighed in relief. “Now, umm…could you sing for me again? You have a really nice voice for lullabies.”
“Fine. Here, have this one: Rock-a-bye baby on the treetop. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And down will come the baby, cradle and all.”
“Holy shit, Octavia. That is the creepiest lullaby I’ve ever heard.”
“Would you like another one, then?” she offered.
“Hell no. You’ll probably sing ‘Ring around the Rosie.’”
“Hey, at least I sang you something. Do you think you could go to sleep, now that I’ve serenaded you?”
“Hehe. You didn’t even have to sing anything for me to go to sleep. I could have put on some music. I just wanted to hear you sing.”
“Damn it, Vinyl!” she swore.
“Hey, I said your voice was pretty before, no? Calm down. Anyway, good night, and again, thanks for everything.”
“It was no problem. Sleep well, okay?”
“I’ll try, oh, and Octavia?” she asked, hoping to let out her secret.
“Yes, Vinyl?”
“Umm...you said you don’t like how you’re parents are against homos, right?”
“Yes. Why are we broaching this subject?”
“No reason. It’s just that, you know, we’ve got a few gay people at school, and I was just thinking about that. You don’t care about that stuff, right?”
“No, I actually support Celestia’s decision to make the law against discrimination. This is kind of random, you know,” she said.
“I know. I just wanted to tell you,” Vinyl suddenly felt her heart beat louder. The tension was too much for her liking, and she decided to get out of the situation, “that…you probably shouldn’t tell your parents that there are gay people at out school.”
“Okay…? Is that all?”
“Y-yeah, that’s it. Good night, Octy.”
“Good night, Vinyl. I’ll see you tomorrow. Now get some sleep.”
Vinyl hung up and snuggled under her covers. She thought about how Octavia had done so much for her, and how her concern was so adorable. And how she blushes when I tell her sex jokes. I should probably stop though. I don’t want her to remember me as a pervert and freak out if I tell her I’m into girls. I want her to keep talking to me afterward. Maybe I can tell her at the slumber party?