Octavia never slept in. Her regular mornings ran on a schedule, one which had been slowly deteriorating recently, but she still managed to wake up at 7:00 AM every day. She had been taught sleeping late was only for lazy, careless individuals... but waking up on her own, free of any alarm, was a great feeling.

According to a digital clock on Vinyl's dresser, it was a quarter until noon. Oddly enough Vinyl was already up, sitting crossed legging beside Octavia, wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts. She was typing something on her phone... wait, no.

“Vinyl... Is that my phone?”

“Good morning to you too, Tavi.”

Judging by the smirk she had, Vinyl was up to something. Even just woken up, Octavia could figure that out. “What are you doing with my phone?”

“I was changing my name in your contacts.” Octavia snatched the phone from her, “Hey, grabby!”

“The All Mighty... really, Vinyl?” Vinyl was trying not to laugh, but lost it when Octavia read the full edited contact. “The All Mighty Virginity Burglar. Real mature...”

Vinyl stopped laughing and watched as Octavia tried to change it back. “Why is it asking me for a password?”

“I dunno. Maybe it's a sign you should keep it.” Octavia groaned and started to roll over, but Vinyl grabbed her shoulder to keep her from turning away. “This fell out of your pocket when I took your phone.”

Vinyl held up her old purity ring, and Octavia turned away from her again, more successfully this time.

“I didn't mean to snoop, but it's sweet that you carry it around.” Vinyl had quickly transitioned from teasing to sentimental, which was rather unexpected and unlike her.

“Oh Vinyl, you're such a hopeless romantic.” Octavia sat up and turned back around to see Vinyl dramatically clutching her chest.

“Your sarcasm, it wounds me so!”

Vinyl was holding the ring in her other hand, and Octavia took it back from her as her brief little performance came to a close.

“Seriously, Vinyl... can you tell me the password for my phone?”

“Love waits.”

Vinyl hopped off the bed and started out of the room, though she stopped before reaching the door. “You should wear it. I mean, since you already carry it around... What?”

Octavia had been eying her, but once Vinyl called her on it she dropped her gaze and cracked a smile. Though that only seemed to bother her more.

“What? What was that look for?”

“You actually have a sensitive side... it's cute.”

“No, no I don't.” Vinyl folded her arms, “You're the one with the sensitive side. I was just saying...”

“Okay, okay.” Octavia stood and set her phone and the ring down on Vinyl's dresser. “Do you mind if I take a shower?”

“Yeah... sure.” Vinyl started down the hallway that led out of her room, still looking a bit unhappy about being called sensitive. Octavia followed after her, and Vinyl opened a door not far from her room, revealing her bathroom. “The shower head is kinda fucked up, so don't-”

Octavia had stepped into the bathroom, grabbing Vinyl by the wrist and tugging her in after her as she walked by.

She hadn't announced her presence, or even made any noise, but Octavia could tell Vinyl was right behind her. She had several sheets of staff paper in front of her, the one she was using now a little under half filled with notations. Vinyl had developed a habit of sneaking up behind her and reading over her shoulder if Octavia had a book, but apparently it now applied to anything she had in front of her..

“You're composing in pen?”

At first Vinyl creeping up on her would make her jump, but now she could easily tell when she entered the room... though how she knew was beyond her. Maybe it was some sort of sixth sense... her Vinyl detection sense. That was an amusing thought...

“Yes, why?”

“What do you do when you screw up?”

“I don't. I'm flawless.”

Vinyl scoffed, and Octavia spun around on her stool to face her. She was in Vinyl's kitchen, sitting at the island counter since Vinyl had been playing some video game earlier, and Octavia wanted some quiet. She could be at her own home... but the past five days she had spent most of her time here. Compared to Vinyl's apartment, her house felt... empty.

“Can I help you with something, or did you just want to insult me?”

Vinyl leaned in to kiss her, but Octavia pulled away. It was clearly playful, though Octavia had forgotten that playing with Vinyl seemed to always end badly for her.

“Rude... you should loosen up.” Vinyl took a step back and held up her hand, which began to glow, and Octavia's stool began rapidly spinning. She screamed and tried to grab on to the counter, but it didn't work.

“Vinyl! Stop it!” Vinyl simply snickered as Octavia continued to spin. “I swear I'm going to kill you if you don't-”

The stool came to an immediate stop, and Octavia nearly fell, but managed to grab the counter and save herself. Her hair was a mess from the spinning, and she looked dizzy enough to be sick.

“There we go, that looks loose enough.”

Octavia had gotten off the stool, worried that Vinyl might start spinning it again, though she wobbled a bit on her feet. She ended up nearly falling over, but Vinyl caught her and kept her standing.

“You know what you are, Vinyl?”

She was helping to keep Octavia steady, despite being the cause for her dizziness. “Hilarious?”

“No... You're that kid in school who teases the girl he has a crush on, because he doesn't know anything about love.”

Vinyl seemed to be taking that comparison into consideration. “Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate.”

As soon as Octavia felt stable enough to stand on her own, she shoved Vinyl away. “You're such a jerk.” She had gathered up her compositions and had started into the living room, with Vinyl following behind her.

“But hey, I'm your jerk!”

Octavia set her papers down and turned back to her. She took a few steps forward, until the two were right in front of each other, hardly any space between them.

“Are you now...?” Octavia had begun tracing a finger along Vinyl's jawline, then started down her neck, unaware of the abrupt change in Vinyl's mood.

“Yeah... I'm yours, as long as you want me.”

Octavia stopped her tracing once she realized what Vinyl was saying. It hadn't been said flirtatiously, there was no suggestive undertone paired with it, nor Vinyl's typical lighthearted smile.

“I'm not one to commit to anything, especially people. They're just... messy, you know? I try to block them out.” She took Octavia's hand off of her and looked it over, running a finger over the ring she wore. Octavia insisted the inscription was silly, but after some pestering Vinyl had convinced her to wear it.

“But it gets... I mean, you're different. I haven't known you long, but I know you are, and... I don't want to block you out. I guess, I'm trying to say, since we never really talked about it... I just wanted to make sure...”

Octavia had been patiently watching her struggle with her words, but finally decided to interject. “Are you trying to make us official, Vinyl?”

Vinyl Scratch normally resembled a fiery, uncontrollable animal... wild, unable to be tamed, and she was proud of it. Yet there were moments like these, where her façade would melt away and reveal the nervous, timid creature hiding underneath. Seeing her feeling so frightened and insecure, it somehow managed to break Octavia's heart.

Vinyl simply nodded in response to Octavia's question.

“Yes, of course. I want to be with you... I don't come over here because I enjoy your cooking, you know... I have feelings for you. I thought that was obvious... I'm crazy about you.”

It may have been obvious, but Vinyl seemed relieved just by hearing it out loud. Her moment of vulnerability was gone, Vinyl quickly regained her self-assured attitude.

“Crazy, huh? How crazy?”

She was confusing, but Octavia was slowly making sense of her. Part of deciphering her was going with the flow, and right now Vinyl's hands sliding up the back of Octavia's shirt were giving clear hint as to where things were going.

“As crazy as you like.”

Vinyl jumped slightly as her phone unexpectedly started ringing in her pocket. She removed one of her hands to retrieve it, and without even looking to see who was calling, she tossed it onto the floor. It continued to ring, but it went ignored, and quickly forgotten as the two engaged in a mouth to mouth battle for dominance.

That was how it always seemed to go. Vinyl inevitably would gain the upper hand, but Octavia would contend for control, at least for a few minutes. By the time Octavia had lost her fight, she was sitting on the arm of Vinyl's couch, lifting up her arms for a moment as Vinyl pulled off her top. No sooner had she tossed the garment aside, someone was knocking at her apartment door.

“Fuck's sake...” Vinyl waited for a moment, listening to hear if their visitor was leaving, but instead the knocking became loud pounding.

“I'll be right back.”

She left at a jog to go answer the door, and when she did she was met by the burly man sporting a fauxhawk and soul patch, though he was a bit too old to pull either of them off.

“Hey, Vinyl! How's your night? Going well, I hope?”

Vinyl recognized him, but her greeting wasn't nearly as enthusiastic, considering she was being interrupted. Vertigo ran a popular self-titled nightclub in town, and he was a genuinely nice guy, not exactly deserving of Vinyl's rudeness.

“It was, until just now.” Vinyl's frown was unwavering, as was his friendly grin. “I'm busy, what do you want?”

“You're busy? Cuz, I was hoping you'd do me a favor... I, uh, tried to call on my way up here...” Vinyl folded her arms and leaned against her doorway as he went on, “My DJ for tonight jumped off a roof and broke his arm, so I'm trying to get a quick replacement. I know it's short notice, but I'll pay you double for the inconvenience.”

“... Why did your DJ jump off a roof?”

“Because he's stupid... that's my guess. Put me in a tight spot too, we open in an hour...” Vertigo looked prepared to start begging if Vinyl wasn't going to accept.

“Fine, I'll help you out. You owe me though, dude.”

Vertigo lit up at that, “You're a life saver, Vinyl! I've got my van, so we can take your equipment over right now.”

“Wait here, I'll bring you what I need, and you can help me get it down to your van.”

Vertigo happily nodded and Vinyl went back into her apartment, stopping in her living room before going to get her equipment. Octavia had put her shirt back on and was sitting properly on a cushion rather than the armrest.

“A friend who runs this club downtown, his scheduled DJ for tonight broke his arm...” Vinyl had picked up her phone, then went to sit down beside Octavia. “He's pretty desperate for a replacement, so I'm gonna help him out.”

Octavia looked uneasy, and seemed about to say something, but Vinyl spoke first.

“You want to come with me, Tavi? Vertigo's a nice club, as far as clubs go. There's a high cover, so it's not trashy or anything...”

She had clearly caught on to what was making Octavia feel uncomfortable. The thought of Vinyl going to a nightclub brought back memories of her party, which honestly wasn't that long ago. Vinyl returning to that sort of scene didn't sit well with Octavia, but the offer made her feel better.

“No, that's okay. You're just going to play music, right?”

“Yeah, that's it. No dancing, drinking, whatever... I'm just gonna do my job.”

Octavia gave her a quick hug. “All right, I trust you.”

“Did you want to head home? I could call you a cab... or you can stay here.” Vinyl glanced at her phone to check the time, “It's only nine, but setting up takes a while... and they close at 2, so I'll be back kinda late.”

“I'll just go home.” Vinyl nodded and started dialing a number, though quickly stopped, as Octavia had suddenly kissed her. It was brief, but passionate, and when Octavia pulled away, she was donning a devious, suggestive smirk. “But, if you want, you can stop by once you're done. I don't care how late.”

Vinyl had covered the fair, so when the cab pulled up to Octavia's house, she could have just left immediately. There was a car she didn't recognize which they had pulled up behind, an expensive looking sports car that was parked right in front of her house. She was a bit hesitant to get out, unsure who it belonged to.

The driver's door opened, and Laureate stepped out. Octavia didn't know why he was here, but she was sure he didn't mean any harm, so she decided to get out and greet him.

“Good evening, Octavia! Pleasure to see you again.”

The cab pulled away as Laureate eagerly approached her. “Ah... Likewise, Laureate.”

It was odd that he was just waiting here at night, and he seemed to realize that.

“I'm terribly sorry for the lack of notice, it seems your phone goes straight to voice mail.” That was true, Octavia had been avoiding the dozens of calls she kept getting from her parents. “My apologies if this is an inconvenience, but I will be going out of town for a few days, and I wanted to catch you before I left. I was about to give up though, it's rather late, but I'm glad I didn't!”

“I see... why did you want to catch me?” Laureate began to give her an answer, but she quickly added, “I'm sorry, where are my manners... would you like to talk inside?”

“Certainly, certainly.”

Octavia didn't know what this was about, but she was guessing it was important, judging by how serious he seemed. She led Laureate up to her door, unlocked it, and held it open for him. He thanked her, and Octavia followed after him, turning on the lights as she took the lead again and showed him to her living room.

“Please, sit.” Octavia took the couch, across from the chair Laureate had taken. “Would you like something to drink...?”

“Oh, no need to trouble yourself, I really don't intend to keep you long. I just wanted to...” Laureate cleared his throat and hesitated a moment before continuing. “Well, some time ago, Vinyl Scratch paid me a visit to ask for your address. My understanding is that she had an apology gift of some sort she wanted delivered, and I had your address from when I sent the check for your performance at my home.”

Octavia wasn't sure where this was going, but regardless, it was making her nervous. Laureate seemed to feel equally awkward.

“I thought it was rather odd. Vinyl isn't known for giving gifts or apologies, you see. Additionally, she was acting out of sorts, clearly upset and being rather hard on herself. I assure you, I am not typically one to meddle in the affairs of others... but Vinyl, she... she certainly has a good heart, but her moral compass is, perhaps, not fully functional...”

Octavia was stunned and speechless for a moment. “You're assuming quite a lot, Laureate. And being rather forward about it.”

“I suppose I am assuming. Are you not involved with Vinyl Scratch?”

Again she withdrew, and was unsure how to respond. Laureate sighed.

“Million Bells, my wife, was very close with Vinyl when she was younger. She was the only person who could keep her in line, which was quite the accomplishment, Vinyl was always getting into trouble. Around Milli she was an angel, but when they were apart Vinyl would dive right back into lashing out. She would always tell me Vinyl was changing, making progress towards becoming a happy, well behaved child... but all she was doing was behaving when around someone she cared for. In the long run, nothing was changing.”

Octavia was still too taken off guard to retort, and he continued. “I just don't want to see any more people being let down by Vinyl Scratch. It truly hurt my wife. And Octavia, you have a lot going for you, being the young, gifted cellist that you are. You shouldn't throw that away... Vinyl is surely not going to throw away her lifestyle.”

“I think you should leave, Laureate.” The sudden venom in Octavia's tone surprised her, but she didn't make any apology, or even regret it.

“Very well...” Laureate didn't waste any time showing himself out, as he was asked, though before he left he added a somber, “Be careful, Octavia.”

At the sound of the door closing Octavia collapsed onto her couch, head against the armrest. That visit was the last thing she needed tonight, she was already so uncomfortable about Vinyl being at a club. There was no way her mind was going to let this go... not without some sort of reassurance.

Vinyl had originally invited her along, and now she really wished she had accepted. Though... maybe she could show up later, saying she changed her mind? That sounded like a good idea... she needed to, or else the uncertainty was going to drive her crazy.

Author's Note

Independence day chaos slowed down my work on this D:

I didn't want to stop this chapter here, but it was pretty long. The next chapter isn't far behind though.