Starting from Scratch

Chapters

Chapter 1: Here Forever
Chapter 3: Pick-Me-Ups
Chapter 4: Two of Us
Chapter 5: One Good Night
Chapter 6: Crushed Glass
Chapter 7: Goodbyes
Chapter 8: Last Chance
Chapter 9: High Note
Chapter 2: Broken Dreams

Chapter 1: Here Forever

The familiar cacophony of stray dogs, distant sirens, and the screams of junkie couples fill the air. You close your eyes and try to focus on the sound of some humorless sitcom playing on your TV, but it doesn't do much for you. Another long day at work just has left you exhausted. All to fight the growing stack of bills piled up on the coffee table where you have your feet up, a constant reminder that you're here forever. You take a drink of the off-brand light beer in your right hand, hoping to find that at the bottom of that bottle the edge of the day might finally get a little taken off of it--odds aren't good though. The meth addicts three doors down stay up until 4 A.M. at least, then the heroine addicts on the opposite side usually get out of their 15 hour trance soon after.

You lean forward and rub the dark circles under your eyes. It'd almost be easier to sleep in your car in the parking lot at work and take the risk of getting mugged--though if you're being honest it's probably about the same odds when you walk up the stairs to your apartment every day. If only your car actually had a decent heater.

A loud bang shakes the carpet under your feet, followed by another, then another. A few muffled expletives from a distant voice make it through the floorboards. Who knows what's going on down there. A few frustrated grunts and another set of bangs later you could pinpoint right where they were coming from: the apartment under you. You let out a groan and gulp down the last bit of your beer. You'd just gotten used to not being accosted by the old man that used to live there; seems cruel to add a new source of torment so soon.

A quick glance at the microwave on your right told you that it was already past eleven. Logic would dictate the banging underneath you at this hour was either someone getting violently robbed or someone had a really bad day and is currently taking it out on an empty apartment like a teenage garage band on PCP. Either way, you decided it might be a good idea to see what's happening just in case someone was being murdered or a fire was being started.

You set the empty beer down on the coffee table and let out a groan as you rise up to your feet. You're already exhausted from the ten hour shift at work and getting close to passing out, but you'd prefer to potentially prevent something and avoid giving another statement to the police at 3 A.M..

You walk out into the cold air onto the walkway of your run-down motel-turned apartment. Each breath you take is strained from the pollution of the city and the foul stench of spilled alcohol and refuse around the parking lot. With a quick glance down to the first floor, you see a faded red van with its back doors opened towards the apartment below. Robbery. A witness usually sends them running, since most burglars really aren't looking for a murder charge too. You lean over the railings waiting for a ski mask to pop something in the back so you can say hi.

Once you actually do see the perpetrator, you have to blink a few times to make sure your eyes were working right. Instead of a dirty, black mask, there's a girl's electric blue hair. Surprisingly well-kept too, even if it is spiking off of her head in a few different directions. The color isn't dull or running like you might see around here, and her pale arms flowing out of her tank top surprisingly show no signs of bruises of track marks, just a few neon bracelets adorning her wrists.

Accompanying the lack of the usual physical ailments, she's actually taking something out of the van instead of the other way around. She's doing her best to drag those musical gear cases you might see a roadie lug around at a rock show, though not nearly as elegantly. A few grunts and curses escape her mouth before she manages to drag it out of the van with a large clunk that'll surely leave a scuff. You glance around the parking lot to make sure nobody is scoping her out before you rush down the stairs to warn her about the imminent mugging.

She doesn't seem to notice the commotion as your feet pound the stairs on the way down. The girl jumps as you walk between her and her van. You have to blink a few more times in disbelief when you see her and her eyes catch you--she's the most beautiful girl you've seen on this side of town in years. She puts her hands up in a hasty defense. "Woah, look dude I don't have any weed, so just can--" The beautiful flow of purple hues in her eyes glance down over you before she raises an eyebrow. "A button-up and slacks? Probably not looking for weed or a blowie, huh? Am I behind on my taxes or something?"

"What? No," you say, after looking apprehensively down each walkway. "You know you're about to get mugged, right?"

Her expression quickly turns sour as she takes a step back and reaches for her back pocket. You put your hands up and shake your head. Really not looking to get maced tonight. "No! No... that's not what I meant. I mean if you don't hurry this up someone is definitely going to mug you."

Her posture relaxes and she lets off a quick chuckle. "Heh, yeah I kinda got that vibe from this place too. You looking to be my knight and shining armor or something? 'Cause I'm not giving out handies that easily."

It was your turn to raise an eyebrow with a smile and let out a quick chuckle. "Actually, I just didn't want to give another statement to the police at three in the morning."

She lets out another quick laugh before moving past you to grab another box. "How sweet. Well, if you want to play savior you can help me move in the rest of my stuff. How about it?" she says as she heaves out another massive case into the pavement. You glance back into the van to see an absolute mess of disorganized speakers, wires, and musical equipment, with only a few cardboard boxes in the tangled disaster. No actual furniture to speak of. She's definitely not about to have a good night without a trip to a hotel.

"The organized type, huh?" you say as you dig out a bundle of wires and put a cardboard box under your arm.

"You know it. I organized everything into this van and I even ended up being able to close one of the doors. Should hand out medals for this kinda shit, don't you think?" she says with a playful nudge as she passes you for another handful.

"Might give you a medal if you manage to untangle all this." You drop the mass of wires on a box in her apartment. There were at least ten different ends in the swarm of rubber and you definitely didn't envy her for having to work through all that. You take a wrong step to the left and barely manage to hold back a cringe as you look over the filthy mattress in the middle of the room. One of the good things about being a former hotel was that the rooms actually came with beds and occasionally some old furniture. The bad thing was that bed had seen more shit than a field medic in the Vietnam War. The dark stains and numerous rips told the story on the surface, but there was no telling what foul liquids had seeped into that thing over the years. The other bed that'd been in this room when it was a hotel was long gone, so it was going to be filth city sleeping on that. You do your best not to breath any of the toxic air in that general direction and go back to grab another box.

A half hour and a lot of grunting later, the girl's van is filled with nothing but cigarette butts, litter, and various bits of rubber and metal that used to be a part of something. Thankfully none of the usual thieves took notice as you finally close the van's doors and make your way inside with her. She wipes some sweat off her brow and goes to sit down on the bed, only to do a double take at some particularly hairy mold on a nearby corner. She quickly opts for a nearby box instead.

You do her a quick favor and lock her deadbolt and fasten the chain guard before turning back to face her.

"Uh... should I be worried? I think my mom might've mentioned something bad about strange men locking me into my own apartment," she says, a look of slight apprehension growing on her face.

You let out a breath and finally allow yourself to relax. A nearby wooden table would serve as a chair for now. "You're actually going to want to keep that locked as much as humanly possible. If not, someone will definitely walk straight into your apartment and I can promise they won't be trying to sell you cookies or something."

"Yeah... had six people ask me for weed after I drove up. When I told them no they asked how much for an hour," the girl said with an amused smile as she brought a foot up to sit on the box under her so she could cross her arms over her knee.

You raise an eyebrow. "For an hou--oh..."

"Yeah... I'm not that desperate just yet. I'd prefer they at least try to take me out to Taco Bell or something," she says before clearing her throat. "So, you got a name, Prince Charming? Gotta know what to tell police just in case."

"Still worried, huh? Guess I don't blame you." You tell her your name, the sound of it feeling weird on your tongue after everyone's ignored it for so long, then you return the favor and ask for hers.

"Vinyl Scratch. DJ extraordinaire and soon-to-be world-famous musician. Don't worry, I will do autographs... for a reasonable fee of course," she says with a confident smirk. You let out a sorrow-filled sigh and look away. This girl definitely didn't deserve to end up here, but here she is regardless. You aren't looking forward to watching her slowly lose hope before giving up her dreams altogether. A little piece of you dies as the thought of her ending up as some cashier or waitress living out the rest of her days from paycheck to paycheck just trying to keep her head above water. The curse of this place affected everyone, and it stung knowing it would probably claim someone else, especially a girl as pretty and confident as her.

You do your best to shake the unfortunate thoughts out of your mind and look back up to her. "Famous, huh? Do any big shows lately?" you ask, hoping you might actually hear something positive for once.

"Uhhh. I was the DJ at a high school dance a few weeks ago, if that counts." Vinyl offers you a sheepish smile. You look down to the floor and let out a silent sigh. "Look, it's not where we start, right? It's where we finish. A lot of my stuff is really experimental, but any day now I'm going to set the newest trend in the industry and be the girl everyone is begging to work with."

"I sure hope so," you say, trying to convince yourself that maybe she might actually do it. You know the truth though: No one ever leaves. You look around at all the expensive, unorganized mess of fancy equipment around the room. She's certainly serious about making music, if nothing else. Might as well give her a chance, right? "Well, you might want to get a dog or something, just to scare the creeps away from breaking in."

Vinyl taps one of her pale fingers tipped with electric blue nail polish against her thigh and looks around the room awkwardly. "Riiiight... Anyway, I'm gonna take a leap of faith and assume you're not an axe murderer or anything because you seem cool enough and I don't actually have any friends around here. But just to double check, no new plans of any rapes or murders on that schedule of yours, right?"

You give her a quick chuckle. "Nah. The only torture I put girls through are awkward first dates."

Vinyl gives you a coy smile. "Speaking of which... you wouldn't happen to have any beer or anything would you? You've got me a little freaked out about someone busting in and taking the edge off sounds pretty good right about now."

"I do, actually. I can go up to my apartment and grab it i--" Once you start thinking about your door, the realization hits you that you never actually locked it. You bolt up from the table and almost cut your finger trying to frantically unlock Vinyl's door.

"Woah, dude. You alright?" she asks. There was no time for an answer. You squeeze out of her door and run up the stairs as fast as your tired legs can take you. Just as you round the corner you spot the friendly, neighborhood homeless guy pushing in your front door.

"Stop! That one's occupied, Howard," you say as you attempt to edge yourself in between the raggedy vagrant and your apartment. He takes a few awkward steps back and gives you a blank stare, obviously stoned out of his gourd on whatever he found in the parking lot today.

"Damn, you weren't kidding," Vinyl says as she makes her way up the stairs.

You cough a few times at the intense odor coming off of the man in front of you. "209 still has the door kicked in. Just go down there, alright?"

"Cocaine?" he manages to slur out from under his mangy beard.

"No, no. Kicked in. I don't have cocaine, Howard. Just get some sleep, alright?"

"Is reasoning with the obviously very high homeless man the best move here?" Vinyl asks, timidly gripping the support beam, primed and ready to jump off the stairs and over the railing just in case.

"He's usually fine unless someone gives him bath salts."

Howard takes a lazy step forward. "Got salts?" he grumbles out.

You put a stern hand up and shake your head at him. "No, absolutely not. I will never get the image of what you did with those stray dogs out of my mind and I really don't want to see something like it again."

Vinyl leans forward to look at you with amused disbelief on her face. "Haha, what? I've gotta hear about this."

Howard turns his attention to your new friend, awkwardly sauntering over to her while reaching into his torn coat. Vinyl raises an eyebrow and slowly slinks down the stairs before the homeless man yanks out a rusty metal object and points it at her. "Money," he growls at her.

Vinyl gears up to jump over the railing, but glances down at the shiny object in his hand and laughs instead. "Is that...?"

"A rusty metal spoon, yeah. Howard, just get out of here. I'll give you some quarters in the morning if you leave, okay?" You say as you carefully nudge the junkie down the walkway. As soon as you touched him you felt something wet and sticky cling to your hand, almost making you gag at the feeling.

With some unintelligible grumbles and the brushing of old shoes on concrete, your ratty friend makes his way down the balcony, his eyes trailing down to another doorknob to turn like he forgot any of this just happened.

"I think I'm going to go lock my apartment real quick," Vinyl says, pointing down the stairs, her face a mix of confusion and fear over what just happened.

"Probably a good idea. I'll get you a beer."

Back to home sweet home. A wave of anxiety almost grips you as you realize you're about to have a girl over and your apartment still has dirty clothes and a few food wrappers strewn around it, but considering the deep, ugly brown stains that you'll never be able to get out, you figure there's not much you could do anyway. You open up the cabinet that houses your cheap mini-fridge and pull out a couple bottles of barely-cold off-brand beer. At least it's not hot, right?

"Hey, pisswater. My favorite!" Vinyl exclaims as she walks in. She's careful to follow your example, closing the door behind her and twisting the deadbolt. Once the two of you are mostly safe, she swipes one out your hand and uses the bottom of her tank top to pop off the cap.

"Well, hey, if I knew you were coming I'd have gotten the fancy beer."

She gives you a smirk as she invites herself onto your couch, the springs creaking and wood thumping as she falls into the mostly-clean cushions. "What, that hipster IPA stuff?"

"Oh no. What do you think I'm a CEO or something? I mean the kind with the cool little label that turns blue when you know it's cold enough," you say as you go back to the door and put the chain in place.

"Wow, can't believe you'd go to such lengths to spoil me like that."

You pop the cap off your own drink and get a satisfying fizzle for your efforts. With your couch taken, you slump into the cheap, wooden hotel chair on the other side of your coffee table. Your back already begins to ache, but might as well keep up a good spirit for your guest. "Me? I pull out all the stops."

Vinyl perks up and takes a quick look around the room. "Yeah... You know, this is actually the cleanest place I've seen since I got here, honestly. Well, besides the usual bachelor decorations. What's a working stiff like you doing in a place like this, anyway? An outfit like that belongs in a three-bedroom house in the suburbs," she says, motioning her bottle at your white button-up.

You let out a sigh. "The clothes are probably the most expensive thing in this apartment... Life just had other plans, you know? But hey, try to get the best out of a bad situation, right?" you say, a little surprised at your sudden burst of optimism. Really trying to impress this one. You clear your throat and let your arms relax. "There's only so much you can do, but there's only so much cleaning you can do to make a former crack den look presentable."

"Crack den, huh? Well maybe the good there is a secret stash of hundreds hidden under the floorboards or something," Vinyl says with an accompanying knock of her foot on the floor.

"I think the only thing under here is the piss and vomit I couldn't get out of the carpet. Would be nice, though."

"Yeah..." she swishes the liquid around in her beer for a moment, looking over the coffee table filled with bills, a few with some big, fat 'past due' stamps on them. "I mean, this is a good place to save some money, right? Rent is dirt cheap... though I guess you get what you pay for, homeless muggings and all."

You let out a sigh. Wasn't the first time you've heard that excuse. Won't be the last. "You should really get out of here, Vinyl. Don't you have friends to stay with? Parents? Relatives? You don't belong here."

Vinyl purses her lips and wraps herself up in her arms. "That's... that's not a happy topic, but I can handle things on my own, dude. I'm just staying here for a few months until I make my hit. It's all high-rise penthouses and fancy mansions from there," she says, leaning back into the couch with her arms behind her head, seemingly lost in the fantasy.

Aiming for the sky. You slump down further into your chair and look up at the ceiling. Memories of the hours you spent fantasizing about your own dream house, the high life of giving out autographs and being able to buy some badass sports car and turn every head in the neighbor hood filled your mind. Four years of "saving up" and all you had to show for it was a flip phone that can get on the internet and a TV from the 80's you got at a garage sale for five bucks. You do your best to not spew your misery all over her for now.

"Whatever you can do, seriously, just get out of here while you can. Stay too long and you'll never be able to leave."

"What? Somebody going to chain me to the radiator or something? It's just a cheap apartment, dude. No need to be such a downer. I'll be out of here in a few months, tops."

"I hope so. I've seen way too many people come here to save up chasing a dream. Vicodin usually gets to them first. That's a real popular one," you say, taking a swig out of your drink.

Vinyl rubs the back of her neck. "Come on, man, you're kinda bumming me out. Things can't be that bad around here, can they?"

You lean forward and look down at the carpet through the brown tint of your beer bottle. The stains don't look quite as bad through the alcohol. "Everyone comes here looking for a break. The cheapest apartment within a hundred miles is like a beacon of hope for those wanting to keep as much of that meager paycheck as possible, but every single person I've seen move into this place has gotten eaten up by it. Whether it's constantly having to replace stolen property, the mountain of repair costs, or whatever debt they dragged in with them, no one ever actually gets enough to leave. You either give up and start doing crack or you live the rest of your life..." you swing the bottle of your bottle towards the stack of letters on the wood. "...playing catch up." So much for not spewing misery.

You lean back into the stiff, uncomfortable seat and look out into the parking lot shimmering under the moonlight. Asphalt coated in broken glass like the shards of broken dreams the people here leave behind. You glanced back over to Vinyl who's looking down at the carpet too, lost in thought. Another broken bottle for the pile. You let out a frustrated breath and lean forward again. "Don't mean to be a downer... just make sure those plans of yours don't get lost to time, alright?"

She grimaces and shakes her head. "That won't be me. Everyone will see..." she says without looking up, more to herself than to you.

"Well, don't mean to crush your spirit so soon," you say as you rock yourself up out of the chair with another worrying creak. "I've got work in the morning, so I think I'm going to try to pass out before the meth-head next door get back to yelling at each other. So..."

Vinyl casts a worrying look at your door. "Right... so..."

You rub the back of your neck as you think. You do your best to resist the urge to do something really stupid, but on the other hand, cursing someone to sleep on that mattress you saw downstairs might as well be a death sentence. "Well, look, you can stay on the couch if you want... at least until you get a dog or something. Just don't rob me or anything, deal?"

"So, you trust me not to stab you in the middle of the night and steal all your fancy dad shirts?"

You furrow your brow at her. "...Dad shirts? I'll have you know I got this one from the mall."

"So... cheap, mall dad shirts then."

You laugh and shake your head. "Honestly, at this point if you're going to stab me just get it over with. I'll never be able to overcome the shame of being labeled a dad-shirt wearer."

She gives you a quick giggle, putting a smile back on that beautiful face, and one on yours finally as well. "Haha, yeah. Seriously though, thanks, dude. Hey, if nothing else, at least we've both got a friend now, right?"

You give her a weak smile. A friend. You don't remember the last time you called someone that. "Friends... Yeah. That'll be nice. Anyway, I'll get you an extra pillow and blanket. I've got like a solid two dozen channels on cable if you want to watch something. Sound like a plan?"

Relief washes over Vinyl's face as she finally takes her eyes away from the door. "Sounds awesome, dude. I'll be sure to keep it down," she says as she goes ahead and turns out the light as you fish around your closet. You toss her a clean blanket and a deflated pillow. "See you in the morning, I guess."

"Yeah... night, Vinyl." You flop into your bed and give her a smile. A friend. You feel just a little bit better with that word on your mind for once.

Chapter 3: Pick-Me-Ups

The annoying little jingle of your alarm stirs you out of dream land. The screaming and banging from the nearby rooms wasn't quite as bad as usual and that uncomfortable sting of fatigue in the bags under your eyes was hardly present at all. With an uncharacteristic smile on your face, you roll over and flick the alarm to off instead of snooze. The only sound in your apartment now is the soft rustling of your sheets as you move around, and the steady, rhythmic snoring of the adorable DJ resting on your couch. You twist yourself out of bed to get a look at her. Her ass is pointed straight into the air and her head and one arm are slowly drifting off the couch entirely. Her alarm is usually when her terrible sleeping posture lands her on the floor, and even then it's a toss-up. A warm fondness grows in your stomach as you watch her. You can't even remember the last time you were as happy as you are now--maybe as a kid when you didn't have to stress about anything, but even then it was different.

A grin grows wide on your face as you think about the little quips and jokes the two of you made over last night's cheesy, cable horror movie. If only every day could be like that. Your eyes reluctantly look back to your closet as your fingers sift through the bland assortment of dress shirts, but instead of dreading the day ahead as usual, your mind drifts towards the excitement after work. Like a kid waiting for Christmas, work days seemed to take forever to be over now, but you know stopping isn't an option. At least there's a few days off coming up soon.

You pass by Vinyl on your way out and glance over at her again. That warm fondness grows in your chest, and your front door suddenly seems like the like charge of a magnet repelling you away. Your mind drifts you into little memories of your time with her: the snarky little tennis match of words, her falling asleep on your shoulder in the middle of a movie, sharing a snow cone at the stand and poking fun at the assortment of characters roaming around your parking lot... The thoughts eventually drifted to where this might go: a sudden kiss in the middle a cheesy romcom, holding hands through the nicer parks in the city, talking about a real future together...

You shake your head, trying to loosen the thought out of your mind. Why would she ever want to be with a loser like you? She's supposed to be going places and this place is just a dead end. The smile on your face fades, and the warmness in your chest fades as well, leaving that familiar emptiness yet again. Vinyl's infectious optimism can only last so long, it seems.

You let out a solemn sigh. The unsuccessful conversation you had in front of the music store a few days ago stuck out in your mind. She doesn't deserve to be here. She shouldn't have a reason to stay either. All those optimistic declarations of fame and fortune meant nothing without a real path set up, and as far as you could tell she was entirely focused on making music and nothing else. With the a push in the right direction though...

You'd been around her long enough to know she's probably the heaviest sleeper on the planet--probably not a good sign about her upbringing, but it's useful for the plan you had in your head. You pick up her phone off the coffee table and unlock it. The wavy, scifi, neon blue background on it definitely suits her. Surely she had to keep a few files of her own work on her phone, right? The clock is ticking as she slowly slides further and further off the couch. You uncover a few dozen music files with names like 'agrtsd' and 'ddfsdgs' and let out a chuckle. Those are hers alright. You quickly email them to yourself from the phone and do your best to erase the evidence just in case.

With your eyes focused on her phone you don't even notice when her head slips off the couch completely and drags her body onto the stained floor like a bag of rocks being thrown into the ocean. You toss the cell phone back onto the table and wince when it hits a little harder they you'd have liked it to. At least it had a case.

The groggy girl on your floor does her best to twist herself around and rub her head for a moment.

"Ow... oh, hey, dude. What's up?" Vinyl asks, her voice weak and shaky as she rubs her eyes.

You stare at her for a moment as your mind gets dragged back into reality. "Oh, just about to leave for work."

A sly grin comes over her face. "Getting ready by sitting there and staring, huh? You know watching a girl sleep is only cute in teenage vampire movies, right?"

"I would argue it's still pretty creepy there too. I just got lost in thought for a moment, is all. I just woke up too early and didn't exactly have anywhere to sit," you say with a nod of your head towards your couch, trying to remain calm before you start looking suspicious.

Vinyl playfully rolls her eyes. "Riiight. Well..." she says before a drawn-out stretch. "Wanna do something interesting tonight?"

"Actually, why don't we wait until tomorrow? I've got the next two days off," you say as you get up out of your seat.

Vinyl's face turns sour for a moment and she looks away. "Yeah, sure," she says, disappointment in her tone. "Help the hell out of those old ladies, dude. I think I've got a musical breakthrough around the corner I need to be working on anyway." She gives you a weak smile and her voice is lacking in its usual optimism.

"Uh... well, good luck on that. See you tonight?" you say as you finally get up and walk towards the door.

She gives you a quick nod as you unlock the door with the usual loud clanks and head out. "Yeah..."

The constant robotic chirp of ringing telephones fill the air. Life in that little cubicle is nothing but dusty air and angry customers. You sit in anticipation of your own black, plastic, office phone lighting up with that irritating, monotonous buzz. Most of the time you could expect yelling right out of the gate, and if not, it'd usually start when you tried to fulfill your mandatory quota of extended warranties. You take in a deep breath, trying to calm the frustration growing with your gritted teeth. If you had to hear about the goddamn extended warranty from your boss one more time, you thought you might throw your stiff, uncomfortable chair out of the window.

You let a few seconds pass as you stare at the line on the phone. It's been a few minutes since the last call, so you know you're about to get transferred one before too long. Your eyes glance back towards your computer screen. The usual stack of reports and unanswered emails demand attention around the page, but you close all of them except the email and a browser with what had to be a few hundred tabs. The minimal amount of RAM in your company computer was chugging along at a lethargic pace as you clicked through all of them.

Talent scouts, local clubs, agents, internships, every one of them needing a new email with Vinyl's best work attached to it and a new, personalized plea as to why she'd be perfect for this new gig or opportunity. You must've sent out 300 or so by now, but after ten hours of your shift you had plenty of time between calls. A few rejection letters were already rolling in, enough to push you to start spamming emails outside of just the city. Whatever got her life going at this point would be better than staying around here. You click through a few more tabs and type out a few new emails with the attachments. There had to be something.

A voice cut through your thoughts from the entrance to your cubicle. You jump in your seat and knock your mouse off the desk in the fright, then 'accidentally' yank the cord for the monitor out of the wall to cover your tracks.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" That annoying, refined tone of your boss rattled out.

"I, uh, was just submitting the daily call reports. Accidentally clicked an ad or something, Ms. Cinch."

"Likely story. I need you to stay an extra three hours. Dirk failed to show up for his shift and we need to cover it."

"What? I've already been here for ten hours. I can't get home that late--"

Cinch gives you that stern glare she's famous for and crosses her arms. "You will be paid accordingly for your overtime, but this is not a request. If you'd like to keep your job you *will* work until we tell you your shift is over. Now get back to it," she says, turning her nose up and wandering off.

"Bitch..." you whisper under your breath. The other younger guys around the office that'd gone to high school in the city remember her from Crystal Prep too. Seems she only worsened with age. There was still a pot going for whoever guessed what got her fired, but nobody managed to have any answers yet. Your money was on forging grades to make the top spot in the country for that sweet public funding, but only time will tell.

You let out an exhausted sigh as you plug your monitor back in. At least you had time to send a few more emails now. Right as you open a new draft, the screech of that mechanical ringing fills your cubicle yet again.

The familiar cacophany of barking dogs, police sirens, and the late-night screaming of the local junkie couples fill the air like a tortorous orchestra from hell as you step out of your car. You never like coming home this late, since you can never tell who's lurking in the shadows ready to draw a knife on you for your cash. Your phone reads 10 p.m. when you check it, but the ache in your back and the bags under your eyes make it feel so much later. A sigh of relief slowly leaves your mouth as you think about the next two days off. Your heart flutters slightly and your lips slowly curl up as you think about the next potential adventure with Vinyl. Fantasies fill your head as you pick out interesting spots around Canterlot you could afford and maybe even a surpise from one of your emails that isn't another rejection.

Your hand slides along the rusted metal railing of the stairs as your feat rattle the concrete below. Your mind drifts back to that wonderful smile, her laugh, the feeling of her hair brushing up against you, the warmth of her skin, the way that pale skin peaks out from underneath her tank top, the little coos she might make as you kiss down her body...

Your hand shoots up to cover your mouth as you clear your throat. Blood rushes to your cheeks before you can shake away the lewd thoughts. A nervous twist forms in your stomach as your hand reaches for the chipped doorknob to your apartment. Is this... a crush? You let out a strained chuckle as the feeling grows. Feels like giving a girl flowers on the playground in second grade all over again. The smile fades as you twist the knob to head in. If she wanted that from you it'd probably be apparent already.

The apartment is surprisingly dark before you flip the lights on. Your heart skips a beat as you realize the door wasn't even locked when you tried it and you didn't see Vinyl on the couch when you walked in. Your body tenses up for a potential fight as you scan the room, but don't find anything out of place except for the lump covered up by the blankets on your bed. A suspicious mass of neon blue hair is poking out of the top accompanied by what looks like a clear bottle of cheap vodka with most of the liquid missing.

"Vinyl?" you ask cautiously.

The wad of white blankets suddenly spasms wildly, flipping them off into the floor and revealing a very drunk miss Scratch. Her cheeks are bright with the usual drunken blush, but her eyes are puffy, red, and scared as she notices you. The vodka bottle is clenched tightly to her chest as wipes her eyes and gives a quick sniff. "I... I, uh... I wa' just--" a quick burp rolls out of her mouth before she lets out a dejected sigh. She gives a disappointed shake of her head and grimaces, a short sob pouring out of her. "I, uhm... too drunk to lie," she says as tears start openly pouring down her face.

"Vinyl, please... just tell me what's wrong," you say as you make your way over to her side of the bed and instinctively wrap her up in a hug. She doesn't bother answering you with words as she collapses into your chest, letting loose a muffled series of whimpers and wails as she grips at your shirt. Your fingers run through her matted, unkempt hair and you give her a few soft shushes like she's your distraught child. It's all you really can do as she stains your shirt with tears and the occasional spill of vodka as she brings it back up to her mouth.

"You... you were right," she lets out in a soft, defeated tone.

You slip the bottle out of her fingers and set it on the nightstand. Not going to do her much good to drink anymore and it's almost empty anyway. "What do you mean?" you ask as you try to look down to those violet eyes. She looks away, almost intentionally.

"I'm *hic* never getting out. Stuck here for like... ever. My stuff it's major crap. Nobody wants to hear it," she says, curling up against your chest.

You stroke her hair again and meet her eyes this time. "Come on, Vinyl. That's not true. You're an amazing musician and I know you're going places."

Her eyes lethargically roll in her head. "Ya right, maan. You haven't even heard anything from me yet."

You clear your throat again. That one's not particularly true now, but might not be the best idea to tell her just yet. "Well, I mean... a girl as passionate and driven as you is always going to make amazing things. I can already tell you're going to make some of the best music I've ever heard."

Vinyl lets out a slow, drunken chuckle. "Come on, duuude. I might be drunk as hell but I... I'm not gonna--" another drunken burp leaves her lips, followed by a little sniff as she wipes her eye again. "Not gonna convince me that easy. Vinyl's in sad mode right now."

"Well, I tell you what. How about tomorrow we spend the day listening to all your awesome music and I can tell you what sucks and what doesn't. Then I can tell you for sure that you're going places."

Vinyl's head bobs with a little nod as she rests it on your arm. "Yeah... you'll hate it though..."

You give her your best reassuring smile. "Hey, only one way to find out, right?"

With another quick burp, Vinyl springs up out of your arms and onto her knees in the middle of the bed, giving the entire mattress a quick bounce. She has to hold out her arms to steady herself for a moment before they trace back up to you. "I... I kinda like you," she says, a soft smile forming on her cheeks.

You give her a grin at the sudden mood change before looking away. "Yeah, I like you too, Vinyl. Think you might need to go to bed?"

Her slender fingers grab you by the collar and urge you forward slightly as she leans in. You almost have to choke as the vodka on her breath floats towards you. "No... I like like you."

You have to blink a few times as Vinyl's puffy purple eyes quickly turn sultry. "H-huh? What are yo--"

Before you can even object, she grabs your collar with both hands and jerks you forward. Your body tenses in shock as both of your lips connect with a shower of emotional sparks flying up from inside you. The unfamiliar warmth of her mouth pressed against yours is a welcome sensation you haven't felt in years. The muscles locking throughout your body slowly release their tension as you fall further into the loving gesture. Vinyl's tongue is quick to caress yours without a second thought. Not exactly how you imagined it, as her tongue pokes around at yours in the clumsy makeout session, but as your arms raise to find her sides you can't find yourself caring too much.

The warmth of Vinyl's cheeks pressing up against yours is unfortunately short-lived once she pulls back and stares at you with those same sultry eyes. "I'm gonna suck your dick," she says matter-of-factly and reaches down at your pants. You grip her forearm before she makes contact.

"Wait, do you really think we should--"

"Shhhhh." Her other hand moves up to put a finger to your lips. "It's either this... or I start crying again. Your choice, bud," she lets out, her voice only slightly less slurred now.

"Well, I mean if you need to let it out you can--"

Vinyl rolls her eyes and leans forward again, pushing down those words with another jolt of euphoria as her lips meet yours. She breaks away only for a moment to whisper: "Just shut up and say yes already." Your grip loosens on her forearm and her pale fingers quickly find their way into your waistband. The feeling of her skin making contact against yours makes you exhale in a silent moan so hard you almost can't catch your breath.

"Yes..." you whisper back just as her wrist tugs against your belt so her fingers can finally find their target.

The feeling of her soft hands wrapping around your member quickly makes the worries of the day melt away. Blood rushes down to your dick to give Vinyl much more of a handful as she tugs at your belt with an awkward clumsiness until you just slip it out of the loop and unbutton your pants yourself. With a sly smile on her face, her fingers gently stroke up and down your cock, giving you plenty of reason to let out another satisfied sigh and lie back into the bed.

Vinyl bounces around on your mattress and goads you up onto it with her. All the potential hangups you had vanished as your cock stood at full mast, waiting to burst from your pants the first chance it got. As soon as you settled into the sheets, Vinyl uncerimoniously yanks your pants down to your shins, letting you do the rest of the work with your shoes and pants landing at the foot of the bed with a soft rustle.

The hot skin protruding from your groin twitches in the cold air, temporarily sucking you back into reality from the horny haze. Vinyl doesn't seem to want to keep it like that for long as she wastes no time taking the entire length into her mouth with one swift motion. You lurch forward with a soft groan and put your hand in that mat of soft hair as a little gagging sound resonates out of her. She doesn't seem too disrupted though. Her hands snake around the sheets to squeeze against your ass to pull herself even harder onto your crotch. Your vision goes blurry at the amazing feeling of being ungulfed in that warm, wet mouth of hers, every little movement gently caressing every part your dick as it sits comfortably in her throat. You do your best to catch your breath as that familiar pressure builds up inside you. The overwhelming feeling almost pushes you to cum right there, but Vinyl thankfully gives you a little breathing room by finally letting her head up.

She plants a soft kiss on the head and looks back up to you with a confident grin. "Not a *hic* bad start, huh?" she asks with a playful wink. You can only let off a weak nod and fall back into the pillows as her mouth gets to work yet again. Her tongue frantically plays around with the tip, sending jolts of pleasure through your hips that cause you to tense up your entire body as they become harder and harder to deal with. Your member twitches against her lips and Vinyl happily licks up any precum she entices out. Her soft fingers find their way around your waist and back down to your groin where they expertly wrap around the bottom of your cock and brush across your balls. Your hips involuntarily lift up, trying to get deeper onto Vinyl's loving tongue, but she's making her own pace.

The pressure in your groin builds up quickly under the onslaught of pleasure. Your hips buck into her mouth, trying to feel even more of that loving tongue brush up against your cock. You close your eyes and grit your teeth as you feel yourself about to cum, but the cold air in the absence of Vinyl's mouth force that feeling to fade away. You look down to see her clumsily fall forward, pressing her face up against your member as her hands poke around underneath her. The feeling over her soft cheeks brushing along your length isn't quite as exciting, but seeing her hands slip her jeans down her hips to reveal those beautiful, bare curves of her ass brought a new rush of blood to your groin. Your chest flutters once you breath in again--the aroma of her wetness immediately fills the air and activates something primal in you. You place your hand on the back of Vinyl's head to try to guide her back, but she's already back to work.

A satisfied sigh leaves your lips at the feeling of her taking your entire dick into her mouth again. You can feel yourself twitch inside her throat as she wiggles every last bit in. The sound of her fingers quickly rubbing her wet folds fills the air and she lets out a soft moan around your cock in response. With her one free hand, she snakes around your hips to place it on your ass, pulling on you to give you the go-ahead to use her mouth however you wanted. You happily oblige and place both of your hands on the back of her head. She lets out a little gag as you let your hips sway in and out of her mouth, but doesn't try to stop you. Her free hand rests up against your balls, letting her fingers caress against the sensitive skin as you pump into her mouth.

The two of you trade moans between the subtle squishes of her fingers against her clit and the sound of your cock entering her throat. The pressure quickly comes back as your seed threatens to spill on her tongue. You slow down and whisper down to her "Vinyl, I'm about to..." and her only response is to lean back slightly and caress your head with her tongue again. With an audible groan your head drifts backwards and you look up into the ceiling. You've lost control now and can only let your cock tense in Vinyl's gentle fingers and lips. Warmth spreads throughout your entire body at the heavenly feeling of cumming onto her tongue. She doesn't even flinch as you fill her mouth up completely, just continues rubbing her clit and occasionally letting out another soft moan around your length.

The last contraction spurts the final rope of cum into her and you finally, reluctantly let out the breath you'd been holding. Your vision is blurred from the intensity of pleasure you just went through, so much you barely notice as Vinyl lets out an audible gulp before letting your cock drop to your stomach out of her mouth. She gives the side one last, sweet kiss before laying her head down on you as well. Eternally grateful, you run your fingers through her electric blue hair. "You want to...?" you start before you look down and realized she already passed out. You gently caress her cheek and gaze down at her fondly. She's absolutely adorable, or at least, adorable as you can be with cum dripping out of your mouth and your pants around your knees, but lovable all the same.

All the energy drained out of you with those last few spurts, but you at least lean forward to throw a blanket around Vinyl before you collapse back into the sheets yourself. This might not be the best position to wake up in tomorrow, with Vinyl lying right next to your exposed junk, but you hardly cared anymore. You let your entire body relax into the pillows and slowly drifted away in a cradle of bliss. Maybe she actually did like you after all.

Chapter 4: Two of Us

It's a rare morning that your alarm doesn't violently drag you out of your dreams. Before your eyelids have a chance to open you can feel the sun peaking through your curtains. You take in a slow, easy, deep breath to savor the occasion of your day off as your senses slowly but surely return. Once your sense of touch fully wakes up, the feeling of your pants around your ankles and the brush of the sheets against your bare skin draws back memories to the previous night. Your heart sinks in your chest as your eyes shoot open to see where Vinyl ended up. Anxiety grips you as your mind goes through all the horrible possibilities of how she'll react now that she's sober. The thought of losing her sticks an icy spear of apprehension through your chest before you finally spot her on the other side of the bed, sitting upright and hunched over towards the rising sun.

You clear your throat, your stomach still twisting at the thought of what might happen. Seeing her up this early, especially after being drunk puts your nervousness into overdrive. "Vinyl?" you ask softly.

She perks up for a moment and glances at you before glancing back down to her twiddling thumbs in her lap. "Oh, hey."

You sit up straight, your eyes darting around the room for an awkward moment as the uncomfortable silence grows. You clear your throat again before it gets too unbearable. "So is everything... uh..."

She lets out a sigh and slouches over further. "Not really, dude..."

You grip the sheets and fidget around on the mattress. The thought of losing her caused a wave of sadness to wash over your body. "Look, I'm really sorry I didn't... I don't know... It was late and I--"

"Huh? What do you have to be sorry for?" She asks, an amused grin accompanying her raised eyebrow before it quickly fades into seriousness. "I'm the one who screwed up."

"Screwed up?"

"Yeah..." Vinyl gets up to her feet and runs her fingers through her hair. "Every time I think I might be finally getting somewhere with someone, I get scared and get drunk and do something stupid. Then they stop respecting me and there that goes. Right out the window," she says, with an accompanying wave and then dip of her hand to symbolize it.

"Why would I not respect you anymore?" you ask, confusion on your face this time.

She turns to you and gives you a sad smirk. "Come on, dude, really? I've barely known you for a week and we end up having sex when I'm drunk. If that doesn't scream 'absolute train wreck; avoid at all costs' I don't know what else would." Vinyl shakes her head and looks down to the floor. "Or, whatever we did last night anyway. You don't play checkers with both players pants pulled down, I know that for sure," she says with a little nod towards your crumpled up slacks underneath the sheets.

"Well, it was just a blowjob..." Vinyl crosses her arms and looks out the window. "...not that it makes much of a difference I guess..." You purse your lips as you search your brain for something encouraging to say. At least, you do while you fish around the sheets to get your pants back up to your hips. "Vinyl, if things went sour in the past because of things like this... well, I don't want you to have to worry about that anymore. Maybe this was a little fast, but I... it's not like I'd not want you around anymore."

She gives you a sad, little smile. "I appreciate the sentiment, but we both know nobody would ever come right out and say it."

You finally roll over out of the sheets and onto your stiff legs. "Maybe not. I don't want you to go anywhere though. In fact, I've got something I want to do today, that is if you're not too bummed out already."

"If you say so... so what is it?"

"Well, when's the last time you've been out of the city?"

"Uh, honestly? I'm not sure when the last time I've even seen a tree was."

You let out a little laugh of your own. "Exactly. I was thinking maybe a little fresh air outside of this urban hellscape, just you and me."

Her expression refuses to lift as you give her an excited smile. She lets herself fall backwards with a frustrated huff, throwing the loose sheets up at all the corners of the bed and sending a harsh creak through the unstable metal frame. "Do you really think this is going to go anywhere?"

"Well last time I checked there weren't any wheels on the bed, so barring a sudden break-in for my mattress I doubt it."

Vinyl lets out a strained chuckle in an odd cadence before slapping her hands onto her forehead and wiping them down. "God, I never thought I'd meet someone as sarcastic as me..."

"I do my best."

She rolls over onto her stomach and then looks up to you, a desperate worry in her eyes that wiped the smile from your fast. "I mean you and me. Do you really think we're going to do anything with our lives?"

"I thought you were the world's greatest DJ?" you ask her as you sit down beside her, in only a halfway sarcastic tone this time.

"Dude, the most cheers I've ever gotten from a crowd is when I played the Cha Cha Slide at a roller rink and an automated PA system could do that," she says, letting her head fall into the sheets in a groan of disappointment, letting her electric blue hair spill out across the creases.

"We've all got to start somewhere, Vinyl."

"I've been starting for like four years now," she says, not bothering to even lift her head up anymore, only barely twisting it to the side so her voice isn't a muffled mess. "Seems like the more I try the more I fall behind. I should probably just accept my fate and become a stripper or a secretary or something."

You raise an eyebrow and almost laugh. "That's a strange combination of choices, Vinyl." She doesn't seem to share your sense of humor for the moment. You purse your lips at your suddenly depressed friend and lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Look, don't ask me how but I have heard some of your music and honestly I really enjoyed it."

At that she perks up onto her elbows and gives you a puzzled stare. "What? How?"

"...I just said don't—nevermind. Look, you're not a bad musician, Vinyl, I think you might've just had a tough break for a while. If you want what I really think, I think you're going to end up rich and famous with millions of fans if you keep working at it. You know, kind of like you though a couple of days ago."

"And what about you?"

You take in a deep breath and look away for a moment, you expression quickly turning somber. "I doubt I've got anything that exciting in the wings."

"No, I mean... uh, you know... I don't want you to..." she stammers out, looking back down towards the sheets.

"What?"

Vinyl shakes her head for a moment, letting her wild hair cut through the air. "Eh, don't worry about it. I think the hangover is messing with my head and honestly it's kind of weird for a guy to actually want to talk about my feelings the morning after."

"Huh... now that you say it, this does seem kind of gay, doesn't it?"

Finally her lips curl up into a smile as she lets out a chuckle to accompany the rolling of her eyes. "I didn't realize you were 14."

You give her your best warm, compassionate grin in return. "So, how about a road trip then? Just me and you and a cheap tent. Sound like fun?"

"You know, it actually really does. It'd be nice to not suffocate on a mouthful of smog every time I walk outside."

You get up off the bed and stretch your back out for a moment. "Exactly what I was thinking. Now help me get some of these things packed so we can get out of here as soon as possible."

"Wow, that quick, huh? What was your plan if I said no?" she asks as she pushes herself up off of the bed as well.

You swing around and open the closet door, your eyes scanning around the mess at the bottom for the supplies you expect you'll need. "Honestly? I was probably going to pout until you said yes anyway."

"Well I'm glad we sorted things out before it came to that," she says as she slides up next to you, giving your hips a playful bump with hers.

"You and me both. Now help me take some of this stuff out to the car so we can get going." A torn heap of a tent bag emerges from the junk at the bottom of your closet—torn and tattered from being put back in the bag one too many times. You slide it over to Vinyl as you lean down to find a sleeping bag somewhere. Vinyl taps it with her foot before grabbing one arm with another as an awkward blush forms up on her face.

"You know... I actually got you a gift yesterday while you were out."

You perk your head up from the mess of clothes and papers. "Oh?"

The sun beats down on the long stretch of highway, the warped air from the city heat finally a thing of the past as you stare down the lonesome road. Trees surround you on either side and wash the memory of the dull grays of the city concrete with vibrant greens instead. A cooler in the back seat rumbles over a slight bump, the ice inside settling around your fresh drinks for the night. The dull hum of your tires is only drowned out by the music pouring out of your dismantled tape deck. Vinyl somehow managed to tear out some wires to be able to hook up her phone, though you were told not to touch any of them if you valued unburnt fingers.

A relaxing tune from the clear tone of a guitar fills the car, with the distinct singing style that tells you this song is straight out of the 70s; a feeling reminiscent of the kind of lackadaisical 80s movie that would have a road trip in the first place. You look over at Vinyl as she taps her foot and sings the words with a bright smile on her face.

You flip out your phone while she's not paying attention and sort through your emails. You let out a sigh at the continuous stream of rejections and put it back in the cup holder—not everyone had responded yet, so at least there's still a chance. You glance back over to Vinyl and smile. She didn't have a care in the world as she looked out the window and sang along. A warm, fuzziness grows in your stomach at the sight of her and you looked up to the sky and sent out a wish that someone would shoot you an actually positive email you could show her. Hopefully soon.

You lean over and nudge her with an elbow. "Certainly didn't expect you to like dad rock."

Your voice snaps her out of her vocal reverie and she looks at you with a raised eyebrow and a stern glare. "I'll have you know a good musician can appreciate all kinds of music."

"Well I'll make sure to pick you up some bell-bottom jeans and a tie-dye shirt as soon as I can so you can relive the glory days again."

Vinyl shakes her head. "Oh, don't act like I wouldn't look amazing in them. I think you're just jealous you can't pull off a plaid blazer."

You shake your fist in the air. "Dang, you figured me out."

Vinyl lets off a chuckle before going back to her phone to check what the next song is. An uncomfortable stillness fills the air without her voice and your mind can't help but think back to last night. You grip at the wheel as a nervousness forms in your gut.

"Did you mean what you said last night?" you manage to get out.

"Dude I don't even remember anything after like five," she says without looking up from her phone.

"You said you liked me."

Vinyl goes stiff and a soft blush forms up on her cheeks. She fidgets in her chair for a moment before finally taking in a deep breath to answer. "I mean... yeah I think you're pretty cool." The stillness quickly returns and Vinyl's eyes look around the car awkwardly. "Did you, uh... did you say you liked me too?"

"Yeah..."

She clears her throat and looks out the window, tapping her fingers against her chin and shooting the occasional glance over to you. "Was it... well, like like?"

"I think so. Do you..."

"Like like you?"

"Yeah..."

Vinyl fidgets in her seat again for a moment before finally looking down the floor. "Yeah, I guess so." An awkward moment hangs in the air as nothing but Fleetwood Mac resonates throughout the car. You both spare a few glances at each other, but can't keep eye contact for long. You want to hug her and express the relief and excitement of fireworks going off in your torso, but just let off a little, relieved grin instead. Vinyl puts a hand to her forehead and shakes her head, letting off a little laugh. "Man, we really are basically fourteen, aren't we?"

"Better than being 12, right? We get to be in high school."

Vinyl lets out a sigh. "Honestly I don't miss all the acne, the awkward braces, and being horny all the time."

"Well being horny can have its benefits," you say, trying to ignore the butterflies churning away at your stomach and the giddiness growing inside you.

Vinyl lets out another quick laugh. "Oh yeah, I'm sure you'd enjoy that..." she says before looking down at her lap, her blush growing darker by the minute. "So, this is kind of a date, huh?"

You take one of your hands off of the wheel to rub the back of your neck. "I mean yeah, if you want it to be."

"And that'd mean we're together now, huh?" she says, finally looking back over to you.

"Should we update our MyStable pages?"

Vinyl closes her eyes for a quick giggle and looks away. You hear the soft click of her seat belt unbuckling and her rustling around in her seat before the feeling of her hand timidly landing on your shoulder appears. "I guess we should," she whispers in your ear before wrapping both of her arms around your shoulders and giving you a warm embrace.

A lump forms in your throat at the feeling of her being so close. She lingers for just a moment, nuzzling her head against yours in an almost grateful gesture. Vinyl squeezes you tightly for another moment before leaning back and planting a soft kiss against your cheek. She slips back into her seat, the blush even brighter on her face. "So, uh... feel like a freshman again yet?" she asks, awkwardly twirling her hair between her fingers.

"Getting there... though we still need the silly note passing and giving each other handies underneath the bleachers," you say, rubbing your cheek with a gentle fondness.

Vinyl clears her throat again and shifts around in her seat. "You know, I'm pretty sure you get put on the sex offender list for things like that now. Besides, you need to buy me dinner before we get to that," she says, doing her best to keep up her playful tone through her blushing. Her arms are crossed over her chest and her legs are crossed as she faces out the window, her old converse fidgeting around at the end of her leg.

"It probably would be a good idea to stop and get something to eat before too long. Let's see what we can find before things get a little too awkward in here."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea."

The trees somehow grew much taller over the last hour of your trip, with great pine trees stretching into the sky all around you and poking up at the sun as it slowly slides towards the west. With the creak of your rusty door you step out onto a massive gravel pit sprawling out of the country truck stop in place of a parking lot. It's odd not seeing the ever-present sea of concrete of the city, but judging by the haphazard parking of the half-dozen other cars parked out here you don't imagine anyone around here cares much for those restrictions.

"We sure ain't in Kansas anymore," Vinyl mentions as she steps out of her side. She puts a hand on her brow, blocking the beating sun as she surveys the area.

"Ready to adopt your new cowgirl persona yet?" You say as you cross in front of the hood to walk side by side.

"I think I'll leave that to Applejack, wherever she ended up. Besides, I hate boots; my ankles get way too sweaty way too easily."

"You know, I'm not sure I was ready to know that much about you just yet."

She knocks your arm with a playful punch. "Well you agreed to go out with me so you better get ready for a lot more of that."

"So it's a war, then," you say as you push open the glass door to reveal the dusty inside of the truck stop.

Vinyl stops to take a look around the dilapidated wooden interior. "Don't know if I want to get into all that. So what do we need?"

You scratch your head as you look across the aisles of random junk. The place was one part antique store, one part gas station, and one part souvenir shop and none of it looks like it had been updated or even dusted since the seventies. "Well, we need some snacks and food for the night and tomorrow, something to start a fire with, some bug spray, and another sleeping bag if you can find it."

"I'm not really sure if I'm up for a scavenger hunt in all this," she says looking across the seemingly endless aisles of junk. She lets out a reluctant sigh and snags a plastic basket from beside the cashier's counter, the girl working it not even bothering to look up from her magazine to acknowledge the two of you. "How about some hide and seek? Whoever finds the other first has to cook the other's s'mores and hotdogs. Readysetgo." Vinyl's off before you can even utter a word.

You roll your eyes with a smile and pick out a basket of your own. You crane your neck up and around the endless shelves of knick-knacks and home-made candy to see if you can spot that electric blue mop of hers, but to no avail. It'd probably be easier to find loose change in the gravel pit outside at this point, so you resign to trying to cross off some of the items on your list.

You make your way down some of the aisles, scratching your head yet again and the unconventional item placement and the odd choice of stock; there are all kinds of random statues of aliens and eagles and anything else someone could think to make, decorative mugs, strange belt buckles, wind chimes, and even an assortment of taxidermy reptiles. In between all the junk you occasionally find an aisle of snacks or candy to drop in your cart.

In the deepest recesses of the store you run into a stand where you can scoop out your own candy, and beside the colorful bins is an aisle full of camping supplies. You let out a laugh to yourself as you scan the tents, tools, and sleeping bags, wondering which color you could tease Vinyl over the most.

Before you can make your final decision, something tiny bounces off the back of your head and lets off a soft pat as it lands to the ground. You look down to see a little piece of wrapped chocolate clattering around, then up and over to see the purple-eyed perpetrator grinning at you from behind the candy stand. Her eyes trail up to the ceiling with an innocent whistle, so you take the opportunity to grab an errant peppermint out of one of the bins and give it a generous lick while she's not paying attention. As her head is turned you flick the hard candy into her hair, this one refusing to clatter to the ground as it bounces against her blue locks.

Vinyl turns around and grabs the back of her head, wincing as she yanked at the peppermint. She gasped in a bit of faux outraged and narrowed her eyes at you. "Oh... it is on," she says letting her basket fall to the ground as she jumps back to the candy cart to grab some ammo. You duck behind the other side and do the same before you can fall victim to another attack.

You dip your hands into a bin of candy corn and grab something for your own self-defense as well. Before you can even properly contain it in your hands Vinyl begins her assault and pelts you with little bits of chocolate. You let out a grunt and send a spray of candy corn her way to repel her advances. Vinyl flinches, giving you enough time to find cover as she spits out chocolate like a machine gun at the shelf you managed to hide behind. Little clangs resound off of the metal shelf as she pelts it and you wait patiently for your chance. As soon as you sense the silence you take your chance and run out, flinging candy at her like there's no tomorrow.

Vinyl hops around, trying to avoid your assault as chocolate spills out of her hands; a satisfied smile crosses your face at the successful attrition tactics. Vinyl doesn't hesitate though, and hops back to the candy cart for more ammo before you get her to give in. You do the same, but before you realize what's happening a rain of gummy worms plummets down on you like artillery, getting all over your head and down your shirt. As you wiggle around trying to get away from the strange feeling, your hand shoots into the peppermints and pops a few of them in your mouth. You rear back for your final assault as you spit them out and find Vinyl on the other side weighing her options.

She doesn't stand a chance. You fling them at her with your best accuracy, landing sticky hits that leave their marks all over her skin and clothes.

"Ah! Okay, Okay! I give!" she shouts with a bright smile on her face as she brings her hands up for a defense. You pause with your arm raised, ready for another throw. "Chill with the secret weapon, dude."

"Hey, you started this war."

Vinyl shakes her head. "And now I admit defeat. You better lick these things off of me."

"I thought I had to buy you dinner first," you ask as you lower your arm and pop the remaining ammo into your mouth to actually eat.

Vinyl pulls one off of her tank top, a healthy amount of lint sticking to the other side."I think I'll make an exception this one time."

You stick a few fingers in your mouth to wet your hand and use the saliva to encourage the peppermints to leave Vinyl's hair and clothes. Your cheeks warm up as your hands brush past her skin—being this close to her is enough to make your stomach flutter. She clears her throat once or twice, the blush apparent on her face as well. Vinyl breaks the silence by reaching back to one of the shelves and placing a ridiculous-looking cowboy hat on top of your head.

"You ready to adopt your cowboy persona now that we're out here?" she asks with a cock of her hips, shooting your own line back at you.

You take the cap off and look at it for a moment. "I don't know if it'd be possible to look more ridiculous."

"Dude you didn't see all the weird hats and glasses I saw on the way over here. I'd bet I could be like twenty times more ridiculous than that."

"That I have to see. You're on. Let's see it," you say, ushering your now-girlfriend out with a wave of your hand.

She drags you over to the aisle in question; it was like some sort of weird hat convention—hundreds of weird colors, combinations, shapes, and sizes all culminated into the most unusual collection of hats, glasses, and accessories you've ever seen. You know instantly that you're about to lose that bet—thankfully you didn't actually bet on anything. Before you know what happened Vinyl is already a leopard-print hat with a fluffy purple scarf, spinning around to model the combination.

"How do I look?" she asks, putting out her lips in the traditional basic bitch selfie pose.

"I'd say you look at least... nineteen times as ridiculous."

She shoots a playful glare at you. "Well, I guess I'll just have to try harder. Come on, I want to see you in some of this too."

The sun creeps away from the center of the sky as you and Vinyl explore the strange world of off-brand clothing and custom knick-knacks. Your phone fills up with selfies of the two of you in every silly combination either of you could think of, creating a rainbow of photos in your gallery with all the weird options. You both create an intense racket and an even worse mess as you haphazardly throw the things back on the shelves, though judging by where you found them you probably aren't the first. You make your way through the store trying to one-up each other for what must've been a few hours, but the girl at the front counter couldn't care less as she flips through her magazine so you basically had free reign.

By the time you finally get what you need and head back to the counter with your baskets full, your sides and cheeks are thoroughly sore from smiling and laughing and both of your phones are filled to the brim with memories of your escapade. You set the baskets full of your snacks on the counter and watch as the girl reaches in to scan them without a word.

"Yeah, I'm going to need a nap after all that," Vinyl says, putting her hands behind her head and stretching out. "I'm just glad I've got a slave to cook my hotdogs for me." Her hips knock against yours with a playful smile.

"Huh?"

"I found you first, remember? The challenge of hide and seek is a binding oath punishable by death, so you're roasting everything tonight."

You roll your eyes. "Right, well..." you look around for something to get back at her and spot a pair of funky purple sunglasses on a rack. You swipe them off and push them up on her nose to properly fit. "Now you look like an alien."

"Oh, the horror," she says as she finishes her stretch. Vinyl peaks in the mirror to see how the thick black rims holding the slanted violet lenses looked on her. "Hey, I had a pair just like this in high school."

"Really?"

Vinyl tilts her head. "Yeah... always had them on when I was performing. Ended up breaking them at one point headbanging a little too hard."

"Well, put them in the basket. That entire rack is only five dollars."

A bright smile adorns her face. "Really?"

"Yeah. Gotta have your look back for when you get famous, right?"

Vinyl's smile turns from excited into a warm fondness as she places the glasses down and looks at you. "Yeah... thanks, dude."

"Will that be all?" the blonde cashier says in a flat tone without even bothering to look at either of you. Everything is stuffed into a few plastic bags all the sudden you can't help but feel like you forgot something.

"Yeah, that's everything. Just keep the change," you say, throwing down some cash onto the table for her.

"Oh, and here's for whoever cleans up," Vinyl says, putting down a ten dollar bill as well. Considering your candy catastrophe that's probably appropriate.

The two of you load up on the plastic bags and finally make your way out of the store. The sun had disappeared behind the trees and threatened to bring on the evening a little faster than you'd hoped.

"Damn, we spent plenty of time in there, huh?" she asks, craning her neck around the store to see where the sun is hiding

"The campsite isn't too far from here," you say while you slide your key into the backdoor to offload everything. "We should be able to watch the sunset if we break the law a little bit."

Vinyl lets out a quick laugh. "What kind of adventure would it be otherwise?"

"A boring one, probably."

Vinyl sets all of her bags next to the cooler in the backseat, then before you can get away she wraps her arms around your midsection and holds you tight. "This has been a pretty good first date," she whispers into your chest.

You stiffen up at the sudden gesture, but the wonderful feeling of her being so close is enough to make you want to put your arms around her and give her a gentle squeeze. "I do my best."

"Thank you," she says, looking up at you with a soft, loving gaze. She leans up on her toes and plants a quick kiss on your lips.

You have to blink a few times in confusion as she darts out of the hug and towards the passenger's seat. Your hand comes up to your lips to feel the sudden wetness against them. You could hardly feel anything it happened so quickly, but you can't help but grin like a madman, stretching out your already sore cheek muscles.

"Now come on already, dude. I want some s'mores and you can't open your gift until we get there," she says, closing the car door behind her before things could manage to get awkward.

"Sounds like a plan..." With a bright smile on your face and excitement gripping at your stomach, you walk around to your side, ready for your first wonderful night with your new girlfriend.

Chapter 5: One Good Night

The fire crackles behind you as you do your best to find a comfortable position on the log you rolled over. The sun is starting to finally inch over the horizon for the final light of the day, but you've got other things on your mind besides watching the sunset. Your phone lights up your face in a bright white, washing out the dull orange of the fire trying to illuminate everything. You wipe across your forehead, half in frustration and half to wipe some sweat off. Your eyes trace back across the clearing the two of you set up camp at the edge of. The view is absolutely beautiful at the top of this hill, looking down into the overgrown grass to see the sun creeping down behind the trees across the way. Dealing with all these emails is the last thing you want to do, but you wanted something nice to add to the evening for Vinyl. Your thumb scrolls through the seemingly never-ending list of emails, frustration quickly growing like a fire in your belly as you wait for the minuscule signal to load each one, only for it to read out the standard rejection phrases.

'We're sorry, but...'

'Thank you for your interest, but...'

'Unfortunately, we're not looking for anyone at this time...'

So many instances of 'but' and 'unfortunately' read out in each and every email you almost wish they'd just put a big fat 'NO' in the subject header just to save you some time. You grip your phone tighter and almost let out an irritated scream as you see that buffering icon show up again at the end of the list, but you do your best to suppress it—the last thing you need is for Vinyl to rush back and ask you what the deal is.

You tell yourself just another page before you give it up. You must've checked at least a hundred by now and the crackling fire and the unopened marshmallows and graham crackers sound better than this right about now. You flip through a few more, ready to throw it back in your car for the night when you finally see it: a message without a 'but' or 'unfortunately. Your eyes go wide with surprise as you read through it. They actually loved the samples you sent them and are asking if she'd be interested in working for them at their studio, offering an audio editing position where she can use the equipment to record. You have to blink a few times just to make sure you read everything right. You almost hop out of your seat and rush over to Vinyl to show her, that is until you spot the company banner at the bottom stating the address and contact information. Your heart drops as you realize the company is stationed clear across the country. You didn't realize you sent that many applications out that far.

The excitement quickly fades as you imagine all the ways you might try to make it work. Your beat-up car sure as hell wouldn't make it that far, and even then you don't have the money to get both of you set up that far away. You could buy one plane ticket with the savings you have now, but two would put you in the red and even then you run into the same problem of not having any money to get by once you're there. A sinking feeling grows in your stomach as you realize what has to happen. You let out a dejected sigh at the thought. At least you guys haven't been together that long.

The unceremonious rattling of sticks clattering to the ground breaks you out of your trance. Vinyl immediately breaks you out of your depressive state as she hops over the log to plant herself beside you.

"And just what do you think you're doing? We're supposed to be hanging out, not playing Angry Birds," she says with a nudge of her elbow against your arm.

You clear your throat for a moment, doing your best to hide the feelings bubbling up inside. "Oh, I was just checking some emails. Work can't give me a break, and all that."

"Well, they can stuff it. It can't be that important," she says as she grabs your phone out of your hands and chucks it onto the blankets in the tent. "This trip was supposed to be fun, remember?"

"Yeah... well, what should entertain ourselves with here in the great outdoors then?"

A sly smile grows on Vinyl's face. "Oh, I have a few ideas." She sets her chin on your shoulder and gives you that knowing expression before quickly jumping off the log with a sudden realization. "Oh! You need to open your present."

Before you can protest Vinyl is already off like a shot to the trunk of your car, popping it open and dragging out her massive, wrapped cardboard box. She sprints over with the gift in her hands and plops it onto your lap with an excited grin. "Come on, open it!" she says, her eyes darting between you and the present.

You can't help but let a grin cross your face as well with her giddy attitude right there. You pull at the wrapping and tear open the cardboard to find a black case inside the box. A strange mix of feelings fills your gut as you look down at the familiar shell. The box slips away from your lap and you click open the clasps on the instrument case.

The familiar scuffs and bumps of the stained wood revealed themselves to you in the soft fur of the case. It's the viola from the music store in all its beaten-up glory.

"Vinyl..." you say, remember the price tag on it.

"You love it, right? Now you've got something to do besides watch cable and jack off all day."

"This is too much. You're going to need that money."

Vinyl shakes her head. "I've still got money saved up, dude. I wanted to get you something for being such a good friend... well, boyfriend now. Plus you need something to cheer you up while I'm out."

"But this thing was like two hundred dollars. You're going to need that for..." your voice drops and you look away. "You'll just need it pretty soon."

"Oh, don't be a debbie downer, man. I know it wasn't cheap, but just think of it as an early anniversary present or something. Plus if you take it back and give me the money I'll get drunk and start crying again."

You let out a little laugh as you stare down at the instrument. "Well, it turned out pretty well last time, I think."

"Yeah, well next time I'm gonna get hella drunk and the blowjob is gonna have way too much teeth action."

"Okay, okay. It is a really nice gift. Thank you, Vinyl," you say, closing the clasps back and setting it on the ground before leaning over to give your girlfriend a loving hug.

Vinyl leans into the gesture and gives you a loving squeeze. "Life sucks a lot less with you in it," she whispers into your shoulder.

You want to smile and just enjoy the moment, but the sinking feeling in your stomach refuses to subside. The caring gesture quickly turns bittersweet in your mind as you try to count how many days you realistically have left with her. At least tonight won't be that bad.

Vinyl gives you a playful punch on the shoulder again. "What's with the frowns tonight? We've got the woods to ourselves, no neighbors, and enough snacks to make us sick. What's got you down?"

You take in a deep breath and do your best to put a smile back on for her. The last thing you wanted was to sour this memory before she left. "Just getting caught up in some bad thoughts without realizing it. You're right, I definitely just need to eat candy until I vomit."

Vinyl lets out a chuckle and gives you a few pats on the back. "Now that's the spirit. Why don't you break out your viola and play me some tunes? I could use some serenading to go with my hot dogs."

The smile on your face is a little more genuine now as you look at hers. "Sure, why not."

"Nice." Vinyl hops back over the log and drops herself by the pan full of freshly-cooked franks, crossing her legs and giving you an expecting look. You oblige her by clicking open the clasps again and pulling out the instrument and its bow, giving it a once-over as you spin around on the log to face her. Vinyl grabs the first of the hot dogs and shoves it into her mouth without any buns or condiments and you entice your crowd by plucking at the strings and making sure everything was properly tuned. You straighten up your posture and put the glossy wood up to your chin, the memories of playing it in high school flooding back into your memories. You look down to Vinyl before you start, spotting her fiddling around with her own phone for a moment.

"Do you want to be serenaded or do you want to play Angry Birds?" you ask her.

She rolls her eyes and sets her phone down in the dirt in front of her. "Oh, shush. Just give me that sweet music already."

You give her a playful smile before you look back up the strings. You do your best aristocratic musician impression and close your eyes to feel the notes pour out of the instrument. You let the long vibrations sing out with every note, your fingers running up and down the neck and twisting with the occasional vibrato. You go through the list of songs in your mind, trying to organize them from bombastic and grand to melancholic and slow as you try to be the best one-man symphony you can be. The rhythm slowly returns to you with each passing bar, your old instincts from practicing finally kicking in, allowing you to even improvise some of the parts you'd forgotten.

You only occasionally open your eyes between notes, seeing Vinyl on her belly with her feet in the air and her chin in her hands like she's watching Saturday morning cartoons or something. You smile back to her and play until your fingers hurt and the sun sinks lower in the sky until the only thing left in the world is you and Vinyl being absorbed in the music as the soft flicker of the fire illuminates you. Finally, you run out of material and draw the bow across the strings one final time, letting the final note sing out before you let the viola fall from the sore spot you'd just created on your neck.

You take in a deep breath, relieved to not have to hold that stiff pose any longer. Vinyl on the other hand starts clapping like a madman and giving you various cheers as you set the viola back into its case.

"Now that's what I call a serenade. I feel like one of those love interests on the Mexican soap operas now."

You smile down at her. "Well, I don't know if that's quite what I was going for, but I'm glad you liked it."

Vinyl spins her phone around and taps around on it real quick before looking back up to you. "I loved it, dude. You better practice all the time now so I can get this treatment more often."

"I'll be sure to try," you say, your heart sinking slightly as you wonder how many more times she'll actually be around to enjoy it. You purse your lips as your eyes flick over to the tent. Your heart starts beating faster in anticipation as you wonder what she might say. You take in a deep breath and decide nows a better time than ever.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asks as you get up off of your log and make your way over to your tent. "Oh come on, am I not more interesting than Angry Birds? I thought we were having a moment here?" she says with a playful smile as you grab your phone out of the tent.

"We are, Vinyl. I actually just wanted to show you something," you say as you push the power button and flip back over to the acceptance email. With a shaky hand, you offer it to her and sit down in the dirt beside her.

"What, an email? What could possibly be..." she starts as she squints at your screen with some apprehension. She brings it up closer to her face and her expression slowly brightens up with a huge smile like a firework going off in slow motion.

"Don't ask me how I got them, but I sent some of your songs out to a few companies and this one wants to hire you," you say, a smile forming on your face as you watch her world come alive.

"OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod." Vinyl bounces up and down in place with giddiness as she reads it over. "Is this for real? Someone really wants to give me a music job?"

"Yeah, it's for real. They want you to start as soon as you can."

She looks between you and the phone, her excited smile turning to a hint of curiosity. "But how did you find my music? Was it really mine? Oh man this is so cool."

"I just said don't..." you shake your head and roll your eyes. "I found some of it on your phone while you were sleeping. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Vinyl tosses the flip phone back into the tent and is on top of you before you can even react. She wraps her arms around your head and pulls you in tight for a long, slow kiss. You melt into the feeling and slowly bring your arms up to her side to hold her.

Vinyl finally breaks free and looks down at you with some sultry bedroom eyes that sparked an aroused warmth inside you, waking up a certain someone in your pants to start pitching its own tent. "Thank you," she says, leaning down to give you another peck on the lips.

"I'm glad I could make you happy somehow."

A sly smile crosses her face. "Oh, I am very happy right now. I want to make you happy too. You know..." Vinyl leans down to whisper in your ear, her tone suddenly turning sultry. "There's a reason I distracted you from buying a second sleeping bag."

You blink up at her a few times, realizing too late that's what you'd forgotten. "I guess we'll have to make do."

Vinyl snakes her hands down your shirt and underneath the trim, slowly raising it up to reveal your stomach to the warmth of the fire. "I guess so..."

You return the gesture and start sliding Vinyl's tank top up her body, revealing her soft, pale midriff to you as you both take turns trading kisses and working your clothes off each other. You both slide yourselves into the tent, not bothering to close the flap as you go at it. Before you know it you flip Vinyl's shirt and bra off of her body entirely, throwing them haphazardly in a corner as you finally get a look at her beautiful breasts, just barely visible in the soft flicker of the firelight. Vinyl rips your shirt off as well and leans down to steal another kiss, letting her tongue dance with yours as your bare bodies finally connect.

The feeling of her wonderfully soft skin sends jolts of pleasure through your body, making you squirm around under her just to feel the warm, tender touch of her breasts rubbing up against you. Your hands caress down Vinyl's sides, eliciting a soft coo into your mouth as she makes out with you. Your fingers finally find their target against the waistline of her jeans and you quickly snake them around to unbutton them. Vinyl breaks the kiss to look down at you with those sultry eyes, biting her lip as she slides off of you to give you a better position to slip her jeans down her thighs.

Sinful urges quickly take hold as you lean over her and slide the jeans down past her knees, revealing her smooth, wet pussy as it glistens in the orange light. You pull everything off of her, quick to get the shoes and socks out of the way as well. Vinyl curls up into the blanket, still biting her lip as she watches your eyes trace up and down her beautiful pale body.

"Like what you see?" she whispers up to you.

You lean down to plant a gentle kiss on her lips as your hands trace down her stomach and gently ease her into lying on her back. "You have no idea," you say as your fingers trace up her thigh to make sure she opens her legs in anticipation. Your lips sway down to Vinyl's neck and plant another soft kiss, leaving a little wet mark in the firelight as you move down her body. "I think I owe you one."

"O-oh... yeah?" she barely manages to get out between moans as your fingers find their way to her wet, eager clit. You can feel her pulse throb through the tender flesh as her entire body writhes at the sudden pleasure. Your kisses make their way down to her collar bone and eventually to her stiff nipples. Vinyl's soft coos quickly turn into ecstatic moans as you kiss around her breasts and even nibble the perky, red nipples. Both of her hands shoot to hold your head in place as her toes curl against the blankets.

"...fuck..." she whispers out as you leave behind her glistening tits in the night air. Vinyl can hardly take your absence and one of her hands slides up her sides to grope at her chest themself. The lovely, little whimpers and sighs at each kiss grow louder as you make your way past her belly button, leaving a trail of wet spots across her soft, pale skin.

You take your hand away from the wet folds for a moment as you duck under her bare leg to position yourself properly and Vinyl quickly protests with a soft whine as her body wiggles around without the contact. You can only smile in amusement at her once she eagerly wraps her legs around your shoulders and gently tugs at you towards her pussy. Another soft kiss on her mound right above her clit elicits a frustrated groan out of her while her hips lift up to try to chase the feeling.

"Please..." she whispers down her stomach to you. You let out a little laugh and then let your tongue lick around the already-soaked folds, just barely missing the yearning pink flesh that really wants the attention. Vinyl's hands lean down to stroke through your hair as her head arches back and she sings out a few notes of ecstasy at every touch.

The heat radiating off of her pussy is intense and the intoxicating smell of her essence fills your senses. Her entire groin is red and swollen and every time you look down you can see the skin twitching with anticipation. Finally, you decide to stop teasing her so relentlessly and let your tongue down to rest against her painfully-swollen clit. Vinyl's hands grip even tighter at your hair and her legs grip hard against your back. A veritable scream leaves Vinyl's lips at the onslaught of sudden release. Her wet folds convulse for a moment, making it seem like she might've already came, but they don't last nearly long enough for that.

She doesn't even know what she's in for now. Your fingers trace their way down from her thigh to find their way to her entrance and gladly find their way in. You look up to see Vinyl's torso thrashing around at the new mix of feelings, and even more so when those fingers curl up inside her to rub against the most sensitive area.

Vinyl's moans pierce at your eyes so loudly you can only be thankful that you camped so far away from the road. You can feel your loving touch quicken her heartbeat as your tongue draws circles into her clit and it doesn't seem like Vinyl is going to be able to handle it for much longer. The soaked slit quickly covers your entire hand in her excitement and with every lick you massage Vinyl's insides in rhythm to elicit another desperate coo out of her. Her moans quickly become strained and the grip of her legs even tighter as the moment approaches. With one last loving lick Vinyl slips over the edge and her pussy grips at your fingers in a long series of convulsions. her entire body twitches under your grasp as the orgasm takes control completely. Each wave squeezing out another strained breath with her entire body tensing up with each.

Finally, the onslaught is over and she slowly goes limp in the blankets at your touch. Every last lick gets a soft sigh and another twitch, but you've only just started. The soft, pale thighs that'd been wrapped so tightly around your head finally give way and you give them a few gentle kisses in return. You wipe Vinyl's wetness off of your chin and lean up to get a look at her beautiful naked body in the firelight. Her eyes are dazed and a content smile rests on her face from the blushing lips still glistening between her legs.

"That... that was pretty awesome," she barely manages to get out.

You smile down at her and begin working your pants off. Your member grew sore against the barrier of your pants and had already spilled a healthy amount of precum around them. Once your eager length is finally let out a new wave of arousal eggs you on at the sight of Vinyl's open legs. Your cock eagerly twitches as you kick off your pants and position yourself back around those very kissable thighs.

"Well we're not done yet," you say as you let your cock rest right above Vinyl's still-swollen clit. Her hips lean up and slide the wet folds across the bottom of your length and her soft hands lovingly caress down your bare chest. Those beautiful purple eyes turn to look up at you accompanied by that content little smirk.

"Yeah?"

You give her a confident nod and let yourself down until your bodies are touching to let her soft skin rub against yours. You give her another kiss before looking back into her eyes and letting your cock slip down so the top of the length is getting wet this time. "Yeah. I've still got to make you cum again."

Vinyl leans up to plant a quick kiss on your lips and slides her body up against yours to goad you inside her. "Better get to it then, huh?" she says through her coy smile and dark blush. You lean down to kiss her back as your hand snakes between her thighs to help you find your way. You can't help but smile as you look down at her tired smile to see it slowly morph into ecstasy once you find your mark. Her warm insides gladly welcome you inside with a few gentle clenches, each one accompanied by a cute, little gasp from Vinyl. You look down into those beautiful violet eyes as they look back up at you, begging for more.

With your hand finally free, your fingers trace up her soft, pale skin until one hand finds its place on her lower back and the other behind her head. You hold her close, her warmth radiating up into you and the pleasure from being inside her amplified with every little movement that makes you rub up against each other. Your hips find their rhythm on their own as the intoxicating sensations caress their way up and down your shaft with the embrace of Vinyl's lips. You squeeze her entire body up against you as the first moan comes out. Her voice is gentle and sweet again with each motion and you can feel her body writhing for more in your grasp. Vinyl's soft hands brush against your shoulders until they finally lock behind your head, her feet crossing behind your back to do the same.

An intense yearning fills your body as the euphoric sensations fill up all of your senses. Your hips smack into Vinyl's wet pussy a little harder with every thrust until the animalistic urge for the pleasure is finally at its high. Vinyl's soft coos quickly turn into much louder moans again to break up the wet smacks of your bodies meeting. The sweet feeling of her lips against yours is too much to resist, so you lean down to press them together and feel the intense vibration coming off of her as your tongues begin to dance together.

You can't help but melt into her grasp as your entire world gets absorbed in pleasure. Your cock twitches inside her to spill the first eager drops of precum as you grow harder and more driven by the second. The sweet embrace of her warm, wet, welcoming inner walls intoxicates your senses as you feel your tongue get enveloped in a similar sensation. Each little movement brings you closer together to feel her soft stomach and tender breasts rub up against your chest, and with every moan comes another gentle squeeze of her thighs around your body. The overwhelming swirl of feelings quickly pushes you to lose yourself in them.

You can already feel the pressure building up at the base of your length as it hilts inside her over and over. The warmth radiating off her overpowers your own as her wetness spreads across your groin, enticing you to stay as close to her as possible away from the cold air. You have to slow down and let your member rest inside of her for a moment before you accidentally spill without warning. Vinyl's intense moans slow down into a disappointed sigh as you give her one last kiss and back away.

"Why'd you stop?" she says up to you with a disappointed whisper.

You give her a loving smile and another quick peck on the lips. "You're gonna make me cum," you whisper back.

A satisfied smile spreads across her lips and she lifts her hips to move you around inside her, shooting that intoxicating arousal up through your chest again as the wonderful sensations return. "That's the idea, right?" she drags a few fingers across your cheek and gazes up at you with those loving, violet eyes. "Cum in me... please. I want to feel it," she coos up to you.

"You sure?"

Vinyl gives you an amused nod. "Took the pill this morning for a reason."

You can't help but smile back down to her and lean in to meet lips again. With your passion rested, you pull out of her to get back to the intense, wet smacks that brought those sweet moans across her tongue and into your mouth. Your body lights up with pleasure as your length runs in and out of her welcoming slit, feeling her heartbeat and every little clench of her eager flesh against you with every moan. You refuse to let up on her this time, blindly rushing through your pleasure to the end. Your cock stiffens in the bliss and can hardly hold back at the onslaught of pleasure.

Vinyl doesn't seem to be resisting the urge anymore either—she has to break away from the tender kiss to catch her breath as the pleasure absorbs her as well. Her soft thighs grip against you as tightly as they can manage to make sure you don't get away, and her fingernails dig into your back as her hips lean up to make sure you get as deep inside of her as possible. You make things even worse for her by leaning down and planting loving kisses along the warm, pale skin of her neck. Her moans become even louder and more strained as each thrust inside her makes her grip even tighter.

Finally even you can't hold back anymore. With one last wet smack you push yourself as deep as possible inside her and lose yourself in the waves of an orgasm. At the feeling of the first spurts of warm cum inside her, Vinyl arches her back as well and lets her pussy give you the little squeezes of her own orgasm to entice as much out as possible. You can't help but let out a soft groan of your own at the blissful feeling of letting loose inside someone as amazing as her. Each second brought another intense flex inside her, spilling even more to the point where you could feel it spreading across your length. You held Vinyl as close as possible to feel the tender caress of her soft skin against you, and she happily held you as tight as she could as well. The waves of your orgasms seemed to never end for a while as you felt all the little movements each of you made as you came together.

Finally, Vinyl went limp underneath you and let her limbs slip off of your back. You'd be forgiven for thinking she passed out on the spot, but her gentle panting told you she was still awake for now. You let out a strained breath of your own and reluctantly slip out of her blushing, worn pussy, taking a moment to appreciate the little drops of cum slipping out of her satisfied slit. The exhaustion hits you as well after a few moments and you can't help but slink into the blankets beside her.

Once the gentle panting finally stops, Vinyl does her best to crawl over to your tired form and rest her cheek against your shoulder. "Mmm, that was pretty great," she says with a slow wiggle of her bare hips.

"It was. We should do that more often." You look down to her beautiful eyes and across her bare body as it presses up against you. The intense warmth of sex is already starting to fade, so you grip a nearby blanket to pull over the both of you.

"No kidding," Vinyl says with a tired, satisfied grin as she watches her own finger lovingly caress your chest. "I'm really glad I met you."

You lean down to kiss her forehead. "Me too."

"I mean, you've gotten me a really great job, just gave me really great sex, and I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun with someone." Vinyl's eyes light up with a sudden, gleeful hope as she looks out to the stars. "For the first time in a really long time, it finally feels like things are going to work out okay."

Vinyl looks back and then wiggles up your body to plant a slow, loving kiss against your cheek. "You're a pretty rad boyfriend, you know that?"

You let out a somber sigh and let the smile slip off of your face as your pleasured mind finally allowed reality to sink back in. This might be the last night you ever have like this once she moves away. The thought of waving her away on the airport put an uncomfortable lump in your throat and you couldn't seem to return Vinyl's smile any longer. It doesn't take long before Vinyl notices your lack of affection and raises an eyebrow.

"Something wrong, dude?"

You shake your head, trying to brush away the uncomfortable truth to just enjoy the feeling of Vinyl's naked body resting against you for the moment. "Nah... I just... let's not worry about it right now."

"Uh... alright." She leans her head back down to rest on your shoulder for a suddenly awkward quiet moment. "So, could I see that email again?" she asks with some giddy excitement returning to her face.

"Sure, go for it," you say as you pat around for your phone and hand it over to her.

She flips the clamshell back open to the screen again, her excited smile almost infectious as her eyes dart through the words. You trace your hand gently across her bare back to comfort her and just to feel her warm skin again.

"Woah, wait a second," she says, her bright smile immediately turning to concern. "This is like six states away."

Party time's over. You adopt a somber expression and just look out to the stars instead. You both have to get through this eventually. "Yeah, I had to reach pretty far to find the best gigs. I know it's a journey, but I can pay for a plane ticket for you to get there."

"What about you?" she asks, her eyes filled with worry.

"I don't have enough money for that."

Vinyl's gaze slips away from fatigue to adopt a sudden, irritated determination as she leans up on her elbow to look down to you. "No, dude. That's not how this is going to play out. I'll sell my shit, I'll sell my van, I'll take up a dozen jobs until you find one there. We can sleep in the car, we can... we can do something, alright? I'm not leaving you behind."

You take in a long, deep breath and then look over at her with a sad smile. "Vinyl... I can't come with you. At least not right now. I can't afford two plane tickets, I can't afford to get an apartment for both of us, I can't afford to quit my job and run from my debt. Even if we both sold everything we owned, I'd just drag you down and ruin your dream."

Vinyl grits her teeth and narrows her eyes at you. "No, I'm not leaving then. I just found an awesome boyfriend and I'm not going to leave him behind over some stupid job."

"Vinyl... it's your ticket out of here. You get to follow your dreams. Don't throw that away over some guy you haven't even known for a month yet."

Her fist clenches against your chest. "You're talking about you, dude. You're not just some guy, alright? I'm going to figure out a way for both of us to get out there, or... or... I'm not going," she says with a determined, little pout.

You lift your hand up to the back of her head and run your fingers through her hair. Her harsh glare fades at the feeling, but she doesn't look any less upset about it. "Vinyl, this is your life, your career, your dream. Don't throw it away. I mean, we could try a long-distance relationship if it makes you feel better," you say, offering a weak smile and knowing exactly how that will play out.

With a defeated sigh, Vinyl slumps back down and lands her chin on your chest. "I... I guess so."

"This is a good thing, okay? Even if it isn't perfect. Things will work out, I promise. Let's just get some rest and we can figure out all the details tomorrow."

Vinyl lets out a frustrated huff before sinking back to your shoulder. "Alright, alright." A tense silence fills the air before she plants a quick kiss on your chest. "Thank you," she whispers as she settles into your arm.

You lean back onto a bundle of blankets and hold her close, gently caressing her side as she drifts off to sleep. You know how this will end, but at the very least you did have one good night together. That's something you know you'll always treasure.

Chapter 6: Crushed Glass

You tap a finger against the steering wheel, trying to chase the quiet beat emanating from your radio. The distraction isn't particularly effective as the air grows thicker by the second. You silently yearn for the jovial atmosphere that danced in your memory from the ride over, but you know there's something much more pressing on both of your minds now. Your eyes occasionally glance over to the clock on the dash, counting the time since the two of you last tangled up in a argument about what's to come. Fifteen minutes... maybe things have eased since then. You let out a long sigh at the growing pit of nervousness in your stomach with each glance over to Vinyl as she stares out the window, the fist on her thigh occasionally clenching in frustration. You let out a defeated sigh; she has to know this is her best option.

You open your mouth to try to let the thoughts flow, thinking it might be better to break the silence, but you stop yourself and settle your eyes back on the endless highway. Watching the thick forest slowly dissipating into the rural towns brought on another layer of despair as you knew you had to bring her back to that awful apartment. Deep in the back of your mind, a selfish part of you screamed to just throw your worries away and try to make it work with Vinyl on getting over there. Living in a car for a while wouldn't be so bad, right? You could probably dodge some debt collectors for a while until you got a steady income stream...

You shake your head and let out another sigh; you know better than that. The thought of ruining her dreams just to be with her made your stomach turn and you banished the thought from your mind. You roll the soreness out of your shoulders and do your best to keep your resolve. This is how it had to be. She is going to be happy and follow her dreams and you... well, you know things would always end up like this anyway. The uneasiness refused to settle at your conclusion as you drew ever closer to that awful apartment. Might as well be a coffin made of misery.

"I know I can figure this out, okay?" Vinyl finally says, clenching her fist again and jerking her head over with that frustrated, determined expression. "I can sell my gear, my van, we can sell your car and find you a job there too."

You shake your head. "Vinyl, even with all that you know it won't be enough to support both of us for more than a month or two at most. I'd have to buy two plane tickets and one is already going to eat through the majority of my savings. If you sell all that we could probably get two, but what then? What if I can't find a job over there? Your starting salary won't support both of us. If things go even slightly wrong we'll both end up homeless before we even get off the ground."

"That's not how it will happen!" she says, her tone raising and her inflection getting sharper. "We'll figure it out, okay?"

"How?"

Vinyl crosses her arms over her chest and clenches her eyes as tightly as she could, making sure reality couldn't seep in. "I don't know, alright? I can figure it out... I always have."

"Vinyl... this is your chance. You ending up at that apartment was going to be the end for your dreams but now it doesn't have to be." You let a few fingers slip off of the steering wheel and let them find a place on Vinyl's shoulder. You do your best to put on a reassuring smile as her eyes finally open to look down to your hand. "This is really great news. Don't let me drag you away from the one thing you've wanted all your life. Everything will get so much better if you just take this opportunity."

"But I might never see you again..." she says, her eyes slowly raising to meet yours, the frustration replaced with an intense sadness that sticks you like a spike of ice right through the heart.

You look away and swallow the lump in your throat, placing your hand back on the wheel. "Well... sometimes you've got to give up a few things chasing a dream," you say, letting your hand fall away as you silently mourn for your own future. "You'll still have my number, you know. We can still talk, and I mean, who knows? Maybe someday soon I'll be able to move out there with you." You have to swallow again as a pang of guilt hit you after that lie. If you couldn't escape before, it's not like it'll be different after this.

A frustrated huff leaves Vinyl's lips. "I guess... I just... ugh." Vinyl taps her finger against her elbow for a moment as her face hardens again. "I can't think about this right now. Can we stop and get some food or something?"

You give her a soft nod. Would probably raise both of your spirits and make sure this topic can finally fade... at least for now. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea."

You pop another fry in your mouth and smile over to Vinyl as she puts the final touches on her dissertation. "...I mean you saw that ending, right? Dude goes all black ops and uses mud to get the drop on him. Predator is by far the most badass Arnold movie and I will not hear any arguments to the contrary."

"I don't know... when it comes to peak eighties action I don't think I could put it anywhere other than Terminator."

Vinyl takes a sip out of her drink before giving you a playfully incredulous glare. "Are you kidding me? I mean the second movie was awesome, don't get me wrong, but peak eighties action? Arnold was the villain the whole time and John Connor wasn't nearly the kind of hero that would define the era."

"Okay, fair. What about Commando then? If we're going to talk about over-the-top action, I'm not sure if you could get any better than that."

Vinyl pursed her lips and looked up to the roof of your car. "I mean... Commando was really good but it didn't have the same kind of gripping, edge-of-your-seat plot that Predator had. I'll give it points for the action, but Predator was definitely the better movie."

You take in a long, deep breath and let out the fear and nervousness you'd been holding in since you left this morning. Even if you're turning down that familiar road to the apartment, you feel better finally getting have some of that banter with her again. "Yeah, I'll give you that one. But we'll see which one comes on cable tonight."

"Well if they're smart they'll play Predator. I haven't seen that one come on the guide in like five days. It's been way too long," she says, waving a fry in the air before chewing on it herself.

"Here's hoping." Your smile starts to fade as you turn down that all-to-familiar road to that horrible apartment. The air between both of you goes silent for a moment as you try to stave off the disappointment of having to go back to that disgusting complex and drive back to work tomorrow. Your mind takes you back to last night by the fire, being deep inside Vinyl and hearing those wonderful moans. The comfort only lasts so long though, once you remember how little time you actually have with her.

"Everything alright, dude?" she asks, breaking you out of your disappointed trance.

"Yeah... yeah. Just thinking about things, I guess."

Vinyl gives a playful nudge to your shoulder. "Sounds like some nerd stuff, dude. We can save the thinking for another day. Tonight lets just have some more fun before we have to do any worrying." Vinyl leans in to give you a sly smile and the jump of her eyebrows. "Gotta pay you back for that awesome oral, you know."

Warmth floods in to wash away the bittersweet feelings as you look back over to her and return the sultry gaze. "Got a few positions I need to try myself. Gotta break the record for how fast I can get you to cum after all."

Vinyl bites her lip and leans in even closer to your face. "Sounds like a good time to me. Good thing we're almost back." A gentle, teasing kiss lands on your cheek before Vinyl leans back to glance towards the apartment. You turn away from her gaze to make the light onto that bumpy road in front of the place, doing your best to push away the desapir that always crept into you at the sight of it.

"Oh my god..." Vinyl lets out as the rooms come into view. You have to blink a few times yourself to see comprehend what was going on. The familiar flash of red and blue filled your vision as you turn into the parking lot. The sight of cop cars swarming a room is an unfortunately common sight around here, but this time it's different.

Typically the cops surround the usual drug dens or doors of violent couples, but this time they're crowded around Vinyl's van, all standing around looking at something that made your heart sink and panic build up in your stomach when you finally see it. The door to Vinyl's apartment is laying in pieces on the concrete walkway, debris and torn wires scattered across the entrance to reveal a dark, barren apartment.

Before you even pull into a parking spot, Vinyl slings her seatbelt off and jumps out of your moving car to sprint over to the scene. The familiar click of the shifter slams into park as you watch her run right into one of the policeman as he wraps her up in a detaining hug before she can run into the room. You jump out of your car, leaving the door wide open as you rush over to see what's going on.

"Hey! Let me through! This is my apartment!" she yells as she struggles against the officer's grip. The man looks over to another officer who gives him a shrug and a nod until he finally releases Vinyl to scamper into the empty room.

"Hey, Bruce," you say in a defeated tone. The officer gives you a familiar greeting using your first name as well.

"Guess we don't need a statement from you this time," he says, slipping a notepad into his back pocket.

"Robbery?" You crane your neck over his shoulder to see Vinyl on her knees crying over little bits and pieces of what used to be her recording equipment. Your heart breaks seeing her crumble under that familiar feeling of this horrible place taking away everything.

"Yep. Looks like electronics and they weren't gentle," he says as he spares a glance back at the mess.

"Damn... damn." You run your fingers through your hair and silently curse the world. "Wouldn't happen to have any leads, would you? She had a bunch of recording and music equipment in there."

Brusce gives a sad shake of his head, but doesn't spare too much emotion. You see him around here way too often for him to care as much anymore. "We can check the music stores if she can give us the makes and models, but you're the only one around here we can get a statement from. If that's what they took you know how it goes," he says, flipping out his notebook and writing something down on it.

"Yeah... probably stripped for parts by now," you say, looking over at Vinyl's weeping form. Your heart sinks as she whimpers and pokes through the broken parts and wires that remained, whispering something you can't make out.

"New girlfriend?" he asks.

"Yeah. We just went out together this weekend," you say, not being able to conjure up much enthusiasm anymore.

"Not a great thing to end it on, but this neighborhood is a little too rough to keep a stash of electronics in. If you can calm her down, might make her feel better to give us some details so we can keep a better eye out for it."

You give him a nod, knowing it's an empty gesture to exchange that information anyway. You survey the carnage as you walk past the officers: little bits of plastic, bolts, screws, colorful wires, and bits of wood are scattered all across the concrete like feathers from an abused bird. Every step you took towards your weeping girlfriend your heart broke for her just a bit more; there was no telling how many years she spent building up her collection and how many tracks and memories she'd poured into her equipment. The dark room contained even more carnage with every piece of furniture flipped over or torn apart in search for more things. Even Vinyl's boxes of clothes, toiletries, and various knick knacks had been shredded and their contents thrown around the room in search of anything valuable. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking a tornado had caused the sheer destruction, but the truth is much more violating.

Vinyl tenses up at your comforting hand on your shoulder. Your heart sinks and you almost start crying with her when you see the fear and sadness on her face. She looks up at you like she just found a loved one dead and is begging whatever deity there might be why they'd done it. Her cheeks are completely tearstained and there are already wet spots on the floor and down her shirt to prove it.

"They... they took everything, man..." she managed to get out before barely holding back another sob.

"Vinyl..."

"I worked for so many years to get this stuff. I spent so much of my life at stupid, menial jobs just working for my dream and now... everything I'd ever earned... gone in one stupid weekend," she says through clenched teeth as another few drops fall off her face.

All you can do is run a comforting hand up and down her back to make sure she knows she's not alone. Guilt builds up in your system as you realize you could've caught it if you'd just stayed. "Vinyl... I'm really sorry. If we'd just—"

Vinyl shakes her head with an intense frustration building up behind her clenched eyelids. "No, dude. This isn't your fault. I should've just put it in a storage building or something when you warned me... God, I'm so stupid." Another round of sobs wrack her body.

You scoot in closer to her and let your other hand lift up her cheek so those beautiful violet eyes are looking up to you again. Your heart cracks again once you see the pain and sadness in her eyes. "Vinyl, this isn't your fault either. There are terrible people and we can't always predict what will happen."

"I could've done something... so many years of work..." she says before her face scrunches up in a grimace for another onslaught of tears.

"Hey, hey... look, it'll be okay. You've got a job lined up where you won't need any of this anymore, right? You said you were going to sell it anyway. Besides once they see how talented you are you'll move up in no time," you say, doing your best to offer a comforting smile, but somehow the pain on her face only worsens.

Vinyl lunges forward to bury herself in your shirt before letting out even louder sobs into your chest. All you can really do is wrap your arms around her and run your fingers through her hair to try to comfort her. You feel an emptiness inside you as you feel her spirit break. You want to scream in anger, to curse the world for doing this to someone else, especially the beautiful, confident girl you helped to move in that night. Vinyl has so much to offer the world and it seems so unnecessarily cruel to take away all her hard work just for not being able to afford a nicer apartment. You don't scream or curse though; your vision blurs and you let out a sigh as Vinyl cries into your shirt, damping the area around her face until you can feel it on your skin.

You knew this would happen eventually. It happens to everyone that moves in here. At least she has a chance to leave while she can now. "You'll be out of here before the week's over, Vinyl. You won't have to worry about this horrible place anymore," you whisper down to her as you stroke her electric blue hair again.

"I don't want to go," she says through her sobs like a frightened child, nuzzling her face even deeper into your chest.

You raise an eyebrow at her. "Vinyl, it's your dream. This is your chance. Maybe this was a sign that you needed to go."

Vinyl shakes her head against your shirt. "I don't want to leave you behind..."

You open your mouth to respond, but the sudden lump in your throat won't allow it. You take in a long, deep breath as you try to sort out your own sadness at letting her go forever. Your eyes scan across the filthy apartment riddled with scraps and realize you going too is even less of an option than it was before. You can only keep stroking her hair as your brain tries to come up with something to make her feel better. "You know... maybe after a couple months I could save up enough for another plane ticket and we could figure something out. I think after saving up enough I could figure something out," you say, trying to put on your best assuring smile through the lie.

Vinyl's sobbing finally slows once you finish. She leans back away from your shirt to catch her breath and wipe her face with her forearm. "You think so?" she asks with a fragile innocence you couldn't bear to crush.

"Yeah. I'll try to make sure it won't be forever. Now, the officers outside might still be able to help us. You just have to tell them the exact model of what was taken and we could still get it back," you say with your best hopeful grin, trying your hardest to find some optimism deep down under all of your own crushed dreams. "Do you think you could help them out with that."

With one last wipe of her face, Vinyl leans back away from you to give you a soft nod. "Yeah... I... I think I can do that."

You get up to your feet and lean down to pull Vinyl up out of the mess as well. She's shaky on her feet, but you grab her by the arms to steady her and give her another reassuring smile. You usher her out to the expecting officers so she can fill out the report. With a newfound fire of determination in your stomach you flip out your phone and start mashing a few buttons. She'll be happy soon—she has to be.

The air is still and awkward as you sat across from Vinyl on your couch. The sound of Lethal Weapon plays out to keep the room from falling to silence for too long, but it doesn't make much of a difference. Every time you glance over at Vinyl, she's got her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging them close to her chest as her eyes vacantly stare down at her feet. The usual rounds of jovial jokes and subtle teasing are completely absent, straining the nervousness building up in your gut. You let out a somber sigh at the emotional devastation playing out in front of you.

You open your mouth to try to say something, but the words get caught in your throat again—just like the last twenty times you've tried to think of something to console her with. Memories of the feeling you know she's going through flood back to you: the excitement at finding such a cheap apartment complex to save money in, the first robbery, the second, the third... mugging after mugging kept you from being able to save much for long and meant you could only keep things nobody else really wanted. Your eyes trace up around the off-white walls and around the various brown stains you've done your best to scrub out.

A hint of frustration builds up inside you at the thought of how many years you've wasted here. You push yourself up off of the couch and take a few steps towards the window, finally drawing Vinyl's eyes. You swipe away the plaid curtains to look out to the familiar parking lot with ire growing in your heart. You lost count of how many hopeless nights you spent looking out at the asphault glistening with broken glass and trash, illuminated by a single, flickering street light on the other side of the road. So many good people turned to drug addicts and criminals within these wall that you couldn't see it as anything other than prison anymore for souls to die in. No one who had moved into these disgusting rooms had ever left in anything other than a body bag and you know deep down that none of them ever will.

Except one.

You flip your phone out and wait for the uncomfortably-long load time to finish bringing up your bank's page. The last of your savings had been transferred to your checking account and it's ready for tomorrow. A stress grips at you as you compare the numbers to the plane ticket you'd picked out for Vinyl; a few more overdue bills probably wouldn't be that big of a deal and you could skip eating for a few days to avoid complete bankruptcy. You slam the clamshell back together and slip it into your pocket with a sullen determination overcoming you. She isn't going to get trapped here like you did—you're going to make sure of that.

The feeling of a hand on your back tears you out of your thoughts with a frightened jump. You look over to see Vinyl slipping her arms around you, her eyes still trained on the floor. She slumps into you and grips you tight as she buries her face into your shirt again. You open your mouth to say something yet again, but surrender to just placing your arms around her yet again.

"Just a few months, right?" she says in a quiet, scared tone like a child wondering when their parent would return.

"Yeah... I can probably figure it out by then," you say with a flat, monotone voice to try to hide your own disappointment. Your eyes glance back out to the parking lot and the thousands of little twinkles of broken glass like fallen stars on the dark pavement. "You just have to get set up over there first."

"We're going to have a good life, huh?" she asks, her voice devoid of hope. A pang of shock hits your heart at the uncomfortable tone. The words felt like the sweet lies of the last goodbye, like high school friends promising they'd see each other again.

"It's going to be great, Vinyl. A huge mansion within a year. Private jets, massive parties, and our own servants," you say, doing your best to inject some hope into your tone, but to no avail. Your fake smile quickly falls away as your mind drifts back to the truth. A few texts here and there on your terrible phone when you actually have the energy for it—which would be almost never—and maybe some calls when you had the minutes. If Vinyl is smart she'll make some new friends quickly at her job and forget about you entirely.

No sound leaves Vinyl's lips at that—all she can really muster is another squeeze with her arms and nuzzling her electric blue hair into your shirt. Your heart sinks when you hear a barely-suppressed whimper coming out of her. She knows the truth, even if neither of you want to say it. These are your last days together and she finally got a real taste of what she's leaving you to.

"You'll be happy you left in no time. I can promise it'll be leagues better than here."

"There's got to be a way..." she whispers, almost begging the world instead of talking to you. Her fingers grip at the back of your shirt to add to the sudden frustration in her voice. "If we sold the van and your car we could..."

"They'll be worth maybe two hundred for scrap, honestly. Even if we could scrape up enough for another plane ticket, you know that'd just make things worse when you get there," you say, running your hands through her hair to try to calm her down.

Vinyl lets out a frustrated groan before falling limp in your grasp. "So... a couple of months then."

You could feel her spirit slipping away in her tone and your heart sank even further at her defeated voice. "Yeah... just a few months."

You let your hands rise up off of her back and lean back to watch them turn her face towards you. Her empty, depressed expression fills you with a similar sadness before her eyes finally meet yours and you see the glisten of new tears at the edges of them. "I'm going to buy the ticket at work tomorrow then call in sick the next day so I can take you. You've got to get out of this place, Vinyl. Whatever's left, I'll take care of, just please promise me you'll do your best to make it work."

"I don't... it's so far away, I'm not sure..." she says, her eyes drifting away from your gaze.

You give her a quick shake to make her look back to you. "Vinyl. Please. For me."

Vinyl finally lets out a defeated sigh before looking back up to you with a gentle nod. "Alright. I... I can make it work."

"Thank you." You plant a quick kiss on the top of her head and hold her close, savoring the feeling of her nuzzled up to you. You let a comforting hand stroke down her back with the other one making its way through her hair, reveling in the feeling of her stiff, stressed body finally melting into your embrace. The wonderful feeling quickly turns bittersweet once you realize this may be the last time you ever get to feel it. "Why don't we go to bed? Some sleep would probably make you feel better."

Vinyl gives a weak smile. "I'm not still on the couch, am I?"

A fatigued chuckle leaves your lips and you lean down to kiss her. "Of course not," you say, slipping your hands around her back and squeezing her up against you again. Vinyl brings her hands back up to your body as well, letting her cheek rest against your shoulder. "Things will get better, Vinyl. I promise."

Chapter 7: Goodbyes

The familiar beige walls and the endless sea of cubicles around you reflect the unfocused sadness building in your soul. The familiar mechanical whir of the office's printer fills your ears as you watch it finally get to working and emanate the smell of freshly-inked paper. The frustration of spending half an hour trying to get this dumb thing to work finally washes out of you as you see the papers start falling out. The long series of black bars and numbers under the airline company logo doesn't do much to brighten your spirits though. You slip the plane ticket into a manila folder along with all the other documents Vinyl's going to need and it almost feels like hammering in the nails to your own coffin as each paper slides in.

Selfish impulses flash in your mind at the thought of driving her to the airport and saying that last goodbye. Your stomach twists as you turn to walk down the aisle back to your desk; with the papers in hand it's finally real... the realization hits that she's really going to be out of your life forever after tomorrow. Your mind tries to find a way to stop it, to just refund the ticket and tell her the company decided to rescind their job offer or something, but your face hardens in revulsion at the fleeting desire.

As you slip back into that uncomfortable, twenty-year-old office chair you think about the miserable years you've spent at this dead-end job in that rundown apartment: all the nights listening to drug addicts scream and police sirens blare, all the muggings and thefts and break-ins you've put up with, the lost hope and acceptance that this was going to be your life forever until you got miserable enough to... well, you know that's the last thing you ever want for Vinyl. The memory of that joyous smile on her face while you were both pelting each other with candy comes up and clashes with the empty, depressed look on her face when you left her this morning. You resolve that she deserves to be happy, even if you can't be. A pit forms in your stomach at the thought of never feeling the happiness in her presence again, but you know it's for the best.

You lean forward back into the cheap computer to try to get some work done—the last thing you need today is your boss yelling at you again—but you get pulled away again by the feeling of that instrument case against your shoe. You let out a somber sigh at the thought of that viola following you around. Just like Vinyl's gear it's only a matter of time before it ends up stolen as well, but the thought of selling it makes you sick. The thought of Vinyl's wide eyes and curious smile as she watched you play sat like a pristine treasure in your collection of memories and the thought of getting rid of her gift after that isn't a pleasant one. You purse your lips as you look down at the black case, wondering how long you could really carry it around with you before it ended up missing. No matter where you hide it, you know it'll get broken into and for now the only safe place was work, at least until they found out you kept it here or someone snuck by and decided to take it. Wouldn't be the first time. Carrying the viola around with you isn't an option either, since the next time you get mugged it'll be gone.

You lean forward onto your desk and grip both of your hands against your forehead, barely suppressing a frustrated groan. You silently wish for the world to stop turning so tomorrow never had to happen. Those precious moments on the couch watching 80's movies, playing around together in the music store, making an absolute mess in that truck stop, camping... they shine through like a ship of happiness sailing through dark, murky waters. The muddled memories of spending so many years miserable are nothing compared to the last two weeks with her and no matter how hard you try to convince yourself it's for the best your body spits horrible feelings back at you all the same.

The manila folder full of the documents sits there on your desk, taunting you. The hours are constantly ticking down to getting sling-shotted back into misery once her presence disappears forever. Nervousness builds in your stomach like it was your very first soccer game or something all over again. The thought of going back to how things were before you saw that bright smile and electric-blue hair sent a jolt of fear through your body and the selfish impulses rushed through stronger than ever.

You shake your head violently to try to send the thoughts flying. A new determination comes over your face as you scoot your chair up to the computer. There has to be something you can do to make your last night together memorable—something in the city both of you could enjoy and remember fondly before it's gone forever. You clench your eyes shut and try to ignore the painful reminder of one of your tabs. The number on your bank's website is already burned into your retinas: seven dollars and forty two cents across all your accounts. The plane ticket was more than you thought it'd be and now it seems like you'll barely be able to cover gas for a ten minute trip into the city.

You grit your teeth and close the bank's tab; you're going to find something to make this last night memorable even if you have to go into the red. She deserves at least one more happy night before you have to say goodbye for what most likely will be forever.

The cover of leaves stretching out above you is a far cry from the concrete hell you're used to. The evening sun just barely peaks through the canopy to present its soft orange glow, filling the car with a comfortable warmth as you pull in and find a parking spot. You instinctually look around to try to see any shady characters before you remember you're actually at the nicer end of the city where more of the rich people actually lived. Won't have to worry about getting mugged until you get back home.

"What is this place?" Vinyl asks, poking her head around and trying to look across the decorative metal fence in front of you to see over the grassy hill.

"A park. Nothing fancy, but I figured a walk in some actually fresh air might do us both some good." You do your best to put on a smile as you look over to her, but she doesn't seem to want to give you her usual mirror.

"Yeah, couldn't hurt," she says without much emotion.

You both unbuckle your seatbelts and climb out of your car, taking a moment to enjoy the smogless air as you pull in a long, deep breath and smell the vegetation around you. It's not often you get to smell something other than spilled beer and mildew, so it's a very welcome change.

Vinyl waits for you on the other side of the car and the forlorn look she gives you almost breaks your heart on the spot. You can see the deep melancholy in her eyes, an image you've had to see in the mirror more times than you'd ever care to admit. As you walk up onto the sidewalk you offer her a forced smile and an outstretched hand. She reaches forward to let her fingers intertwine with yours and the world gets a little less dreary for both of you as you embrace the feeling.

"You all packed up?" you ask as you lead her through the gate and into the sprawling green meadow.

Her expression hardens for a moment before she lets out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah... everything I have left anyway."

You can feel her fingers squeeze you a little harder as her face tries to decide which flavor of upset she'd prefer. You purse your lips, trying to find something that might be able to console her but your mind draws a blank. All you can do is lead her into the lush landscape of the high-end park, letting the finely-manicured scenery distract from the impending depression both of you are about to endure. You tenderly caress your thumb across the pale skin of her hand, savoring the moment while you still have it.

"There's happiness around the corner. This is just the first step," You say, giving her hand a light squeeze back. "I know things seem bad right now, but before too long it'll just be a distant memory and you can get on with your life."

Vinyl purses her lips as well as she slows to a stop to look out over a pond. A group of ducks dip their beaks into the water and flick it back over themselves before poking through their feathers. Vinyl's eyes lock in on them for a moment before she finally glances back over to you.

"Is that really what you want?" she asks as her eyes settle back on the animals.

"To be a duck? I mean, it'd be kind of rad but I don't think it'd be my first choice."

Vinyl lets out a quick chuckle before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "You know that's not what I mean. I was asking if you... being here... if all that you'd want to just be a distant memory as I moved on."

"It's for the best, don't you think?" It's your turn to look out to the pond with a forlorn sigh.

"Dude, you know that's not what I think. I want us to be together. To hell with some stupid job. There will be a million more in the future." You can see the frustration building up on her face again as she kicks at the sidewalk.

"Vinyl, this is your dream we're talking about. You may never get a chance like this again. Trust me when I say the longer you wait around at that apartment the worse things are going to get. You can't just give this up when it's your chance to finally chase after what you've always wanted."

Those violet eyes turn to you with a furrowed brow. "And what about us? How many more chances are we going to get at finding people we love... er...." An intense blush quickly forms on her face and she looks away into the woods.

Your breath catches in your throat at that word. "Love?"

A frustrated groan leaves her lips. "Yeah, alright? I think I love you... and I don't want to lose that over some stupid job."

Your lips turn up as the butterflies in your stomach fly around. "I, uh... I think I love you too." You shake your head to dispel the sweet feelings, trying to get back on topic. "But you know you can't just give this up. I mean, if it was meant to be we'll find a way eventually, right?"

Vinyl turns to face you gripping your hand and pressing it up against her body. "That's what I'm saying, dude. If these feelings are real then why should I throw them away over some stupid job? I know you don't think it'll last long distance and I'm scared it won't either. Why take the risk? We can figure something else out, I know we can."

"I've thought about it, believe me I have. I don't want to see you go, but I know exactly what's going to happen if you stay. You have to do this, Vinyl. I can't watch you lose everything by staying here with me."

"And what about you, huh?" she says, anger growing on her face. "You think it's just alright by me to watch you end up like that instead? That I'd be perfectly fine leaving you here knowing that you expect to just die never doing anything with your life? What about your dreams, huh? Why are mine so much more important?"

You open your mouth to answer her, but every answer you come up with is more depressing than the last. "I... I found you an opportunity, Vinyl. It isn't my dream but I know you can achieve it. No matter what happens to me, I'll be happy to see you succeed. Please, don't let some spark of passion keep you from the life you deserve."

Vinyl lets her hand slip out yours as she takes a step back. "No, I won't accept it. Either we both go or neither of us does," she says, putting on as stern a look as she can manage.

"I can't return the ticket, Vinyl. I can't afford another one, either. There isn't any backing out anymore unless I lose those few hundred bucks."

"I can sell..." Vinyl trails off, looking over to the side as the realization hits her.

"The flight leaves tomorrow. It's too late for all of that. Let's just enjoy the night, huh?"

Vinyl brings her hands up to her temples and lets out a harsh, frustrated growl. Her fingers tense against her head and you can see the anger building up inside her until it finally snaps and she has to set herself down on the grassy hill overlooking the pond in a huff. She crosses her arms over her knees and looks away from you and you have to keep yourself from laughing as she pouts like a toddler. The unfortunate situation helps a little too much with keeping your amusement at bay.

You slide into the welcoming grass beside her, slipping your hand across her back and pulling her close up to your side. Vinyl eases up at the embrace and lets out a defeated sigh before turning her head to rest her other temple on her forearms so she can look at you.

"Please just tell me there's some way that this can work out," she says, her tone growing more defeated by the second.

You purse your lips and look out over the water. A sweet lie lingers on your lips to soothe her worries, but the last thing you want to do is to drag out the disappointment. "Who knows how things will really end up. Maybe it will work out. I could ask my boss for a raise and try to apply for good jobs around yours. Maybe I'll have enough to move after a couple of months."

It's Vinyl's turn to look wistfully out over the water, her eyes lingering on the ducks as they slowly swim around each other. An uncomfortable silence grows between you and you look over to see what's going through her mind. She finally closes her eyes and takes in a long, deep breath before letting out a defeated sigh.

"We'll find some way. I know we will. This can't be it." Vinyl squeezes her knees tighter, frustration seizing her face.

"Would it really be so bad if it was? I mean, this has been really wonderful and we'll always have the memories, but it hasn't been that long since we've first met. It could've been worse, right?"

Vinyl flashes an irritated glare over at you, cracking your demeanor letting uncertainty grow on your face.

"Doesn't really help."

"Yeah... I... this is just the best option for you right now."

A tired smile crosses Vinyl's face and you have to study her for a moment to see where it's coming from. "You know, I'd been thinking a lot about the other night. You know, when you played your viola for me? I want to show you something."

You raise an eyebrow as Vinyl pulls her phone out of her pocket and taps it a few times. Before you can ask her, the sweet melody of your viola fills the air. You smile once you remember looking down and chastising Vinyl for being on her phone. Clever girl. You have to blink in surprise once you hear the beat behind it though. The melody changes and loops around with various samples that you'd given her, producing a smooth, relaxing hip-hop sound with Vinyl's touch and your mediocre playing.

"You... you made that?" you ask, an incredulous look plastered on your face.

Vinyl smiles a forlorn, somber kind of smile and looks out over the glistening water. "Yeah... I was going to make more, and it would've sounded better if I... well, you know. This is the best I could do with my phone."

You blink in surprise a few more times. "With... your phone? You can't be serious. That sounded, well, professional! Seriously, Vinyl, that was amazing."

Instead of beaming at the compliment, Vinyl doesn't take her eyes off of the horizon. "I had so many ideas for new songs like this. So many new sounds to try and new beats to mix. I could make a dozen albums with all the ideas I had, but..."

You can only raise any eyebrow. "What's stopping you from... oh, right." You look down at the grass and purse your lips. "Well, you can always find samples elsewhere or maybe someone else that could play for you. You don't need me to make that."

A short burst of air leaves Vinyl's nose. "I don't mean to be a dick, but... that's not how music—great music—works."

"What do you mean?"

"We all kind of know it deep down when we hear that lame, lifeless, mainstream crap. It's a product, for cash, not because those musicians are passionate about their stuff. They make it because it makes their company money, but real music? We both know it's different. It's passion given form. If you listen closely you can hear that person's soul on the other side of it. Music gives us a way to express ourselves that words never could and this?" she says, pointing to her phone as it continues to play. "This is us, dude. This could be our future. Everything we've gone through can finally have a voice. All the love, all the anger, all the sadness, everything we've got could make really awesome music."

It's your turn to adopt that wistful smile. "That's a nice thought, Vinyl... but you can't just throw your other opportunity away. It's the safer bet."

"And who has ever made their masterpiece banking on the safer bet? Who ever achieved their dreams doing what was safe and boring?" she says, turning to you with a passion and fury in her eye.

"Plenty of people, I'm sure." You let out a long, slow breath as you felt the intensity coming off of her. This had to end before it got too far. "Look, there's no point in arguing anymore. There is no way to refund the plane ticket. I've already sent an email to the company and they've even told me you could get an advance if you make it there on time. Everything is set up, Vinyl. You can't just back out now."

A harsh growl emanates from her as she plants her chin back on her knees. You let out a sigh as you watch her face melt from her hot fury to a sullen disappointment. You squeeze her up against you, leaning over to plant a loving kiss on the side of her head. "It'll be okay. Things will work out for you, Vinyl. Just give it a chance. Your dream is waiting."

Another somber breath leaves her mouth before she leans into you. "When I first heard those notes in the mix, I knew deep down this was it. This was what was going to get us both out of this hell and to a better life. I could feel it in my heart and just saying yes... it feels like abandoning that. I can't..."

"It might not be, you know. Maybe things will work out alright. For both of us."

Vinyl pulls up and away from you, planting her hands in the grass and looking you directly in the eye. "You have to promise me."

"Promise what?"

"Promise me you won't give up hope. That all that shit you told me about saving up again to move out there with me wasn't a lie. Promise me you'll do your best to make this dream, our dream a reality."

Your breath catches in your throat before you can answer. You don't want to lie to her and say you'll think it'll work out, but as you look at the passion and determination in her eye, you can't bear the idea of crushing her either. Finally you take in a deep breath and try to maintain eye contact. "I'll... I'll try. I can't promise it'll work out, but I guess it's not like I want to end up there forever either. I mean, if we can get you out then I might not be stuck there either, right?" you ask with a sheepish smile, knowing that thought pretty much was a lie.

Vinyl gives you a solemn nod before looking back over to you. "Alright. Guess that'll have to work."

She settles back next to you, letting her hand rest on top of yours until you turn it over to let your fingers interlock again. You both sit there for longer than you'd care to measure, both knowing there's a maelstrom going on in your minds. Worry and doubt fills the air over the uncertain future, but to her credit, Vinyl still manages to give her best confident smile for the situation.

"It will work out," she whispers to herself. "When we're both famous, we're coming back here and we're going to own this city. Bulldoze that stupid apartment and buy a condo right there," she says, pointing up to one of the skyscrapers on the horizon. You follow her finger and let out an amused laugh.

"That's a bank, Vinyl."

She shoots you a quick glare before adjusting her finger to the next building. "Okay, that one."

"That's filled with office space."

She lets out a quick, annoyed grunt before pointing to the next one. "Fine, there."

"Corporate headquarters."

Vinyl leans over and gives you a playful shove. "Would you stop crushing my fantasy? We're going to live in a skyscraper and that's the end of that." She says with an amused shake of her head. "Right next to a park, just like this."

You take in another deep breath of the fresh air, letting your mind dance in the fantasy with her for a moment. "It is a nice thought."

"Gonna be a nice reality."

You both sit there for another long, silent moment, this time without the stress of all the worry and doubt hanging over you. You know none of the positivity will last, but one last night, her hand in yours and watching the sunset? That sounded good enough to ignore the future for now.

Vinyl finally breaks the silence once the dim orange glow on the lake starts to disappear. "Well, I'm starved. Want to get something to eat?"

You can't help but cringe at the thought of having to pay for something. "I uh... I only have like seven bucks left in my account."

Another quick laugh erupts out of her. "Wow, dude. I was actually going to pay anyway. How about some Italian? I know a great place not too far from here."

You shake your head. "Vinyl, you don't have to spend that money on—"

"No. No fighting me on this one. We're going to eat and that's that. Besides, we still haven't had a real dinner date yet and we should probably cross that one off the list before I leave," she says as she pulls herself up out of the grass, wiping the dirt off of her ass before extending a hand down to you with an eager smile.

You return the grin and grab her hand. One last happy night sounded good to you. "Fine then. Let's do it."

The air is tense and silent as you turn into the main entrance for the airport. You look over at Vinyl to see her staring down at the dashboard, a mixture of anger and sadness on her face. You let out a sigh as you think back to the wonderful time you both had last night: an amazing dinner full of jokes and laughs where you couldn't care less about all the snooty people staring at you both, then some equally amazing sex that lasted well into the night. A smile grows on your face at the thought of you being the one to keep the neighbors up for once. That grin quickly fades as you consider it might've been a bad idea to give Vinyl such a great night to leave on. She was already hesitant to leave because of you and that probably didn't help.

You almost let out a grunt of frustration as the silence starts getting to you. You want to explain again how this is a good thing and how she's making the right choice, but you know all you'll get are arguments again. You shake your head, rationalizing that it won't matter as soon as she gets on that plane. She'll be happier, you know it.

A sinking feeling forms in your chest despite the logical thinking. You can see the main building of the airport coming into view and your heart speeds up as the moment you've been dreading all night inches closer. Your stomach twists with nervous anticipation and your feelings scream at you to turn the car around and tell Vinyl you're not going through with this. You can already see the elated smile on her face as you grip the wheel as tight as you can, but you shake your head; she has to do this.

Preemptive sadness starts washing over your entire form. You can't think of anything but her sweet smile from last night. Somehow, that smile was different than before. You'd seen her content smile while you were both cuddling naked under the sheets, but last night it was... wistful, thankful even. She wasn't huge on pillow talk, just judging by the few times you've already had, but last night was especially quiet as she cuddled up to your chest. You could tell she knew. As much as you'd like to live in the fantasy right now that you could somehow scrape up enough to make a life with her out there... she knew. Seems almost like she was doing her best to enjoy the last intimate moment.

You take in a deep breath to try to stem the tide of emotion slowly gripping you. You open your mouth again to say something, but can't manage to bring up anything helpful. You grind your teeth in the frustration and try to keep your eyes on the road. Just have to drop her off and it'll be done, you tell yourself. She'll be happy.

The terminal slowly inches closer and closer, like an obelisk looming over you that will surely curse you with misery. You look over at Vinyl one last time as she stares out the window. Your fists clench around the wheel as you realize this would probably be the last memory you ever leave her with. You shake your head; not like this.

In one swift motion, you lean over to grab her hand. She's cold and you can almost feel her shaking already. She looks over at you with surprise on her face for a moment before her expression softens and her fingers give you a light squeeze in return.

You look into those beautiful violet eyes and let another deep breath relax you. "Things will turn out okay, Vinyl. I know they will," you say with a comforting squeeze of your own.

You smile over to her, expecting a sarcastic quip or a word of doubt, but all she can give you is a weak smile. Her dejected spirit only makes your heart sink even more.

"It'll be just like you said, alright? We can talk every night if I'm not working overtime. I can work my phone plan around and we'll hardly skip a beat," you say, almost trying to convince yourself more than her.

You have to purse your lips and look away as Vinyl remains silent. Every second you don't get to hear her voice with its usual confident, joyous tone hurts and makes you want to call this whole thing off again, but you do your best to stay strong for her.

A disappointed sigh escapes your lips as you pull up to the curb. Last stop. This is it. You have to let go of Vinyl's hand to put your car in park, but breaking away that contact feels like severing something vital inside you, like ripping apart an emotional tendon. You have to pause for a moment with your other hand on the door handle. Your mind flashes back to yesterday, screaming at you to reconsider her words. Images of all those years you spent in that terrible apartment pop up in your mind and contrast with the last few weeks with her. You shake your head; you can't be selfish about this—you know how things will end up for her otherwise.

With a dull clunk you force the trunk open and get out of the car, getting Vinyl's meager luggage for her as she stares up at the massive glass building with uneasy eyes.

"Alright, I've got your keys. As soon as that buyer calls me back I can get the money for your van and send it to you."

She shoots you a sheepish grin. "Use it to buy another ticket?"

You can't bear to look at the pain in her eyes once she realized what was coming. You look down to the concrete while you hand her both of her duffel bags. "It won't be enough, Vinyl. Besides, you need some extra cash to get set up down there. After a few nights in the hotel you'll have to get an apartment and what are you going to pay the first month's rent with?"

"Right..." she says, her eyes tracing down to the concrete as well.

You have to hold yourself back from letting out a frustrated grunt at yourself. The words caught in your throat and you can't help but cast scorn onto everything right now. Her goodbye should at least be heartfelt instead of the long, awkward silence you're giving her now. With a shaky gulp, you pull your head back up and look her in the eye again.

"You have no idea how great these last few weeks have been... No matter what happens, I'll always love you, Vinyl," you say, giving her your best reassuring smile.

Before you know it, you hear both of her bags fall against the ground with a soft whoosh. Both of her arms wrap around you like vices and you can hear her biting back a sob as she buries herself in your chest. You have to blink a few times in surprise before you ease your arms around her as well.

A few fingers start stroking through their hair. Might help her. "Vinyl... Things will be... you'll be okay. No matter what happens, things are going to look up from here, I promise."

You can feel her squeeze you even tighter. "This is a really dumb idea," she says once she looks up from your jacket, tears streaming down her face.

Your expression turns stern again and you shake your head. "It's not a dumb idea. It's a bright future for you."

Your heart sinks as she clenches her eyes shut and shakes her head right back at you. You can tell she's biting back a passionate response, but finally looks back into your eyes with a sad, pleading expression that only makes you feel worse.

"Dude, just say the word right now. I'll find a way to get your money back and we can figure this out. Please, please just tell me you know this doesn't feel right too. Please tell me this isn't worth it."

Your mouth can't help but hang open again. With her here in your arms, giving you that face and desperately asking you to say, you almost automatically let out a yes. You have to let your gaze fall away and your expression turn deadpan. Better to be smart and miserable than a passionate fool.

"You have to do this, Vinyl."

Vinyl grimaces before taking in a few more deep breaths to try to hold back the tears. She gives you one last solemn nod before looking back up to you. "Right..." in a flash, her hands move up to your head and she pulls you down for a long, passionate kiss. The softness of her lips, the gentle, warm caress of her tongue, and the feeling of her body pressed up against you... it all feels... special now at least. The warmth she radiates into your heart has a tinge of bittersweet, knowing that this is going to be the last time.

She finally breaks away and reluctantly slips out of the hug to lean down and pick up her bags. "We will see each other again. That's a promise," she says, wiping her face with her sleeve and shooting you a determined glare.

With a weak nod and a tired smile, you can feel the life draining out of you as she inches closer to that glass door. "I hope so. Goodbye, Vinyl."

"This isn't goodbye... just..." With both bags in hand, she leans forward yet again to steal one last kiss. "Until next time."

Another tear traces its way down her cheek and she finally does you both a favor by turning and marching towards the entrance. As the sliding glass doors finally close behind her, you stop bothering to hold the lump in your stomach back. Tears form at the edges of your vision and you have to grit your teeth at the pain of that goodbye. Feels like stepping into a coffin as you shut the trunk and get back into your junker to drive away, but you do your best to hold on to that last little piece of solace you have as Vinyl's journey away from you begins.

She's going to have a good life now, at least.

There's a chill in the air. You lean over the railing in front of your apartment and ignore the bite of the cold metal under your forearms. Vinyl's dull red van rests beneath you, haunting you with memories of first hearing her struggle down there and doing your best to help her move in before you both got robbed. A somber smile crosses your face as you live in the memory for a few more moments, not caring about the potential mugging you'd run into just standing out here. You can't bring yourself to care anymore and it's not like you'd have anything to give them anyway.

You don't know how long you've just been sitting there, staring out at that decrepit parking lot, but you can't bring yourself to turn around and head into that apartment without her. You know you'll have to eventually, but it feels better just to sit there, doing your best to relive the past. The snow cone stand, the cheesy 80's movies, making fun of your landlord, and putting your bed to proper use with her... they all managed to put a smile back on your face, if even for a moment.

You clench your fists and grit your teeth as your mind whispers to you about the future. You try to remember that beautiful song Vinyl made to distract yourself, but it was inevitable. Things here... they seemed almost bearable with that beautiful laugh and those gorgeous violet eyes in your life. Now? You almost want tonight to be the night for a mugging gone wrong or a sudden meth lab explosion. You let out a sigh and look over the broken glass glistening on the asphalt in the afternoon sun. Everyone ended up throwing it all onto the blacktop eventually to let it shatter and you won't be any different. At the very least you could be content knowing that Vinyl wouldn't be another sad addition to the endless sea of broken dreams. You resign to holding onto that—that if you did nothing else in life, you could at least be proud to know you set her on her way.

As the last of your emotions drain out into that depressive emptiness, you decide it's finally time. You at least have the memories, you tell yourself as you put your hand on that rusty knob. Somehow, none of the justifications really help. You know exactly what you're walking back into, but it was always going to be your fate anyway. With one more twist of your wrist you reveal those familiar walls of your prison. That run-down one bedroom hole in the wall. All those years of trying to make the best of it, but now it'll always be lacking the one thing that would actually make it bearable. Now it'll always be a room without love or hope or happiness—without Vinyl.

Chapter 8: Last Chance

It's only been a few hours, but your apartment already feels like decades have worn away what little luster you could give it. Your mind draws your thoughts through the miserable years of neglect you might subject the dull walls of this place too. You already feel like there's no real point to caring--a dangerous position you've known you'd never come back from, but one that always felt like an inevitability. As much as you want your life to not suck, it seems like there's no way to avoid it now.

Yet still you force a smile onto your face. In the dim light through the closed curtains you try to find a ray of hope. There's happiness to be found in knowing how Vinyl will feel once her wheels have landed on the track of her dreams. Your smile turns almost smug at the thought of her lighting up a stage in front of thousands. One last, massive fuck you to this horrible place. If you aren't getting out, you manage to find some solace in the fact that this wretched beast of concrete, mildew, and misery was finally bested and its never-ending consumption of souls finally failed to claim another victim. Passion flares in your gut for a brief moment, but like the flicker of a candle in the endless abyss it soon wisps away in the reality of it all.

The old couch creaks as you lean forward to let your forehead rest in your hand. A pang of sorrow hits you when you get a hint of Vinyl’s cheap deodorant still clinging to the cushions. Your mind desperately searches for some reality, some possibility where this doesn't have to be the end. Numbers run through your head as you try to work out how long it would take to get another plane ticket and actually keep your promise to make the trip with you, but the more you try to add them up the more grim things become.

A sigh escapes your lips as you fall back into the cushion. What little hope you had left gets washed away by reality and you decide to start thinking about how to budget in more of your favorite ice cream and alcohol instead. Have to have something to bring a little joy to your life after all.

You don't know how long you sat there moping in the cushion. The light peeking through the curtain definitely got dimmer in all the time you refused to give in to your boredom and just turn on the TV or something. Your stomach grumbles at you for your neglect and you finally lethargically roll off the couch and stumble over to the window. Your fingers part the stiff fabric to reveal the evening sun slowly disappearing over a concrete horizon. The drab browns and grays don't inspire much compared to the array of warmth from the setting sun. Your eyes trail down to the pit of broken glass and faded plastics over scarred asphalt. If you look up you can almost pretend it's a glistening ocean out of your peripherals. As nice as that would be, it could be a wasteland for all you care; anywhere would be better than here.

You can feel the energy drain out of you as you watch the last rays of light leave the day. It felt symbolic, or something. The more you stare out that dirty window, the less you can bring yourself to care anymore. Your thoughts slowly slip away from the stinging sorrow from the pain of such a great loss to the familiar emptiness and apathy that was going to let you coast through life doing the bare minimum, just as you had for so many years before. You let the curtain fall and snuff out what little illumination that was left. With a few unenthusiastic pats around the table, you grab the bag of stale chips and settle into your chair to enjoy the lackluster dinner before you sleep off the misery yet again. You have another day of work tomorrow--might as well get some rest before you have to deal with fatigue on top of everything else.

The stiff wooden armrests aren't of much comfort as you down the junk food. Even with the sorrow weighing on your heart and the churning of the chips in your stomach your eyes decide to sag. Another defeated huff flows out of your nose and you slide down into the cushion and close your eyes, hoping that whatever dream you end up in can get your mind off of the world, even if just for a moment. Just as you manage to slip away into some much-needed rest, your entire apartment erupts with an intense series of knocks pounding against your door.

You almost trip over your table as the boom shakes the entire room. Your sorrow is quickly replaced by irritation as you wonder what exactly the issue is. Could be someone asking for money or just someone hoping to rob you. You tentatively lean into the peephole to see what the problem is and your heart immediately sinks at the sight.

A maelstrom of emotions overtakes you and you swing open your door with anger clearly on your face.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" you almost yell as your eyes take in Vinyl as she tries her best to catch her breath. You look her up and down with confusion, frustration, and fury all vying for dominance on your face.

She holds up a finger to tell you to give her a moment, but your anger refuses to subside. "Ah… okay, look… I… whew…"

"You were supposed to be on the other side of the country by now. What the hell are you thinking throwing everything away like this?" you say, your tone getting harsher by the second. "Do you even know how much went into this? What are you thinking?!"

Vinyl does her best to get out a few words, but still can't manage to get anything out between huffs. You can't help but clench your fists. You turn away from her for a moment as the rage builds up in you at the thought of her wasting her life in this apartment.

You turn back around, ready to unleash another round of questions, but Vinyl puts both hands out in front of you as she finally takes in one last deep breath. "Wait, wait. I can explain."

"What is there to explain? How could you go back on this?" you say, throwing your arms up in exasperation.

A smile crosses her face as she reaches into her back pocket. The anger immediately washes away as you see the thick wad of green bills barely held together by her fingers.

"Wha... where did you get that?" you ask, worry striking you as robbery becomes a distinct possibility.

"Okay, so check this out. I was at the airport, right? I was waiting at the terminal and this lady comes up to the dude checking the tickets begging to be let on the plane. Apparently she went on vacation with her family and something didn't work out with a relative or something and one of her kids was gonna be screwed without anyone to watch them, but the ticket dude wasn't having any of it. After that she went up to all of us asking if she could buy our tickets and man, it had to be a sign."

"Well that's... wait, like Home Alone?"

A bright smile lights up Vinyl's face. "Exactly like Home Alone!"

You can't help but let out a chuckle and share Vinyl's joy for a moment. She hands you the wad of cash with excitement on her face. "Here. I think she gave me more than you paid but I didn't have time to count it. I used some of it for the ride over here."

You flip through the bills, shock building on your face as the amount ends up at almost double the ticket. The various denominations were in differing levels of crumpled, with the bills at the bottom being almost pristine. You open your mouth to ask about it, but Vinyl beats you to the punch.

"So, I got excited and kind of and... uh, sold all your furniture," Vinyl says with a sheepish grin as she rubs the back of her neck.

"You... you what?" you have to blink a few times at that one.

With another deep breath Vinyl starts. This should be good. "Alright, I knew the money for the ticket probably wouldn't be enough, so I went by the landlord's office and basically sold him your apartment and all the furniture in it since it was the only unit that couldn't double as a landfill."

You narrow your eyes in confusion. "Why would he...?"

"Okay, so I may have let him grab my ass too."

Despite the confusion and frustration, you can't help but let out a laugh at that. Vinyl gives you a playful push in response. "Dude, come on. I got the money, didn't I?"

You manage to compose yourself and look back down at the wad of cash. "I'm not sure how comfortable I am holding prostitute money."

Vinyl rolls her eyes. "It was one hug that got a little spicy. I'm just glad my head was turned away. I don't think that dude had showered since the nineties."

You shake your head as a few more chuckles escape. You try to shift your mind away from all that, as difficult as it might be, back to the money in your hands. Your fingers sift through it again, totaling it all up in your mind.

Vinyl cuts through the sudden silence, her tone still filled with excitement. "And if we sell your car instead of the van, I know we can get even more for the trip."

You purse your lips for a moment as you double-check the amount. "Vinyl, this might get us to another plane ticket, but after that..."

That electric blue hair whips back and forth as she sternly shakes her head. "No, dude. Screw the job, screw the tickets. Look at all that. Imagine how far we could go if we use it right."

You can't help but shake your head in return. "Vinyl... this will last a couple months at most if we don't use it for another ticket. That job would've made you this much every month. That was stability." You take a deep breath and do your best to ignore the irritation growing on her face. "Look, maybe in a few months I'll be able to get my own ticket and meet you up there now, but we can't just—"

"No, dude!" she shouts in frustration, making you take a step back in surprise. "Do you really want to live a life of boring stability and mediocrity? Sure, the job might keep me from losing some second-rate apartment for a decade or something, but I know I want more out of life than some nine to five."

"Vinyl, it can start you on your way to your dreams. You can't just throw that away. What would you even do instead?"

Vinyl immediately shoots her hands into her pocket to fish out her phone. With a determined huff, she swipes and taps at the screen until that familiar symphony of your playing and her beats fill the room. "This! This is what I want to do."

Your mouth hangs open for a moment as you try to find something to say. The soothing melody washes away your own frustrations as you drift back to that moment out on the lake, holding hands with Vinyl and watching the sunset. Your temper eases and you grip onto the wad of cash a little tighter. A flash of hope lights up your heart as you look up to Vinyl.

"What would we even do? I mean it sounds great but how do we... get anywhere?"

Vinyl's excitement rushes back at your curiosity. Before you can stop her, she starts pacing around the room, her eyes flicking around various objects. "Alright, so I only had like twenty minutes to think about it, but I figure if we pack up everything and shove it all into my van we'll have enough money for like, five or six months out on the road. We can try to get gigs and sell music and actually enjoy life outside of this grimy apartment. The inspiration will flow like crazy and we'll be superstars before we ever even consider running out of cash," she says, the smile on her face growing even wider by the second.

"Or we could run out before we get anywhere and end up with nothing," you say, uncertainty gripping you again.

Vinyl lets out a frustrated huff. "Come on, man. Yeah, things could go wrong but what are you going to get here? A lifetime in a cubicle to be neighbors with crackheads? Maybe we'll fuck up spectacularly, but even we did, at least we lived for a little while before it happened..."

The feeling of Vinyl's soft, smooth fingers enveloping your hands snaps you out of your worry. Her beautiful violet eyes look up into yours, pleading at you to listen. "And whatever happens, we'll be doing it together. What else even matters as long as we have each other?"

Her eyes dart back and forth between yours, searching for the emotion brewing behind them. Your brain wants to roll your eyes, tell her that it's stupid and that this is likely to ruin both of your lives if you go along with it. Your heart on the other hand, it flashes all the emotions you went through even in the short time you had to be apart from the wonderful girl in front of you. As much as you want to play it safe, the fantasy of being on the road with her, getting to experience the world with the most wonderful person in your life, it seems more irresistible by the second.

You let out a laugh and shake your head. "You know how stupid this is, right?"

Vinyl can't help but grin up at you once she sees the change on your face. "Well, that smile tells me you might just want to do something stupid with me. Besides, if we don't go I just let a sweaty old man grab my ass for nothing."

Another chuckle escapes your lips. As you look down to her and share a laugh, the familiar feeling of your gut warming up with fondness and passion overtakes you. Happiness... that's what it is. In an instant, you cast your doubts away and move your hands up to Vinyl's cheeks. She lets out a surprised yelp when you lean down and kiss those wonderfully soft lips, but quickly melts into the kiss with you by throwing her arms around your neck and pulling you in even tighter.

Once you pull away, both of your smiles grow even wider. Your eyes trace up to the grim, filthy apartment walls around you and for once, they don't remind you of the everlasting torment you were probably doomed to. Your grin only widens as you look back to the beautiful face of the girl in your arms. It isn't even a choice anymore. With one last quick peck on her lips, you squeeze her tight before giving her an answer.

"Let's do it."

Chapter 9: High Note

Little patches of the colored concrete stretch out for miles. The view of the city is barely obstructed by the pristine glass in front of you. It looks like a painting from all the way up here—interconnected roads and buildings sprawling out across the horizon, slowly losing their density until it blends into the hazy sky. You've never been this high up to see it all before. All your old problems, struggles, and suffering seem so small and distant now. You look around to try to spot that ratty old motel-turned-apartment in the area you used to know, but you probably couldn't make it out without a telescope. To hell with it.

You breathe in a content breath and let the satisfied smile settle onto your lips. This new penthouse smells like floor polish and fancy ferns instead of mildew and alcohol. You still couldn't believe all you had to do was tell your accountant you wanted one and a week later you're standing here living in it. Your hand slides over your pocket to make sure the little box is still there, resting safely. From van, to bus, to jet, to now, all with her. Hard living to the lap of luxury, just like she always said. You pull the box out and pop it open to admire the shiny little note etched into the gemstone. It's time to make it official.

You hear the shower shut off behind you and quickly snap the box shut and shove it back in your pocket. You turn around to see Vinyl's beautiful pale skin contrast against the sleek modern paint. She pats herself down, leaving a trail of water out of the bathroom before wrapping her hair with it and leaving her body completely exposed.

"Man, you have got to try that shower. I didn't even know they had ones where it just comes straight out of the ceiling but I know I'm never going back," she says as she rubs her hair a little more and walks over to you.

"Wait until you see the TV," you shoot back. "Comes right out of the ceiling too."

"Wow. Went all out just for me?" she says as she leans against you for a quick kiss. You put an arm around her bare back to pull her in as your lips meet.

"When the accountant asked what our budget was I told her whatever the opposite of cheap was. Guess this was it."

Vinyl settles into you and her eyes trace off towards the view. "Find the old apartment yet?" she says, a mix of amusement and resentment in her voice.

"Tried. We're up too high to see it."

"Maybe they finally demolished it."

You let out a laugh. "Here's hoping. I don't think it was properly habitable even before I got there."

Vinyl leans up to steal another kiss. "And you really sat there and had to think about it before we left."

You wrap your other hand around her naked form, holding her tight in your loving embrace. "Deciding to live in that broken down van and sleeping on that uncomfortable metal for two years with you was definitely the best decision I ever made."

"I know exactly which junkyard that van ended up in. I can get us back in it any time," Vinyl says with a playful grin.

"You’d really trade all this for a blow-up mattress and truck stop sink showers again?”

Vinyl’s face adopts a reminiscent smile. “I had a good time.”

Your lips can’t help but curl up on their own too. “Yeah…” you say before leaning down and kissing her cheek, doing your best to not let your eyes trace down to her nude form.

“Really doesn’t feel like three years ago. It’s like a lifetime’s gone by since we were making music on that pawn shop laptop and a microphone that barely worked.”

Vinyl laughs and rests her head on your shoulder. “Man, I found that thing in a dumpster. I think it was for one of those plastic guitar games.”

“That would explain the USB port.”

Vinyl sighs. “Man, if I could just find that thing again. I haven’t been able to recreate that crackle effect we used in the first album to save my life.”

“How many of those CDs did we end up selling in the grocery store parking lots?” you say with a playful nudge.

“Bro, at least twenty. We hit the big time with that idea.”

“Probably a better deal than the record company that was just an obvious money laundering front.”

“I dunno, watching them have that shootout from across the street was pretty fun,” Vinyl says, nudging you back.

“You do realize if we hadn’t been over an hour late to that meeting we would’ve been in the middle of it right?”

Vinyl smiles and puts on a sultry expression. “Even more reason to have wild backseat sex before anything important.”

You smile back at her. “Got me there.”

Vinyl reaches her arm over you to grab your waist and pull you tight against her. The water still clinging to her body seeps through your clothes, but you figure you’ll be taking them off before long anyway. She lovingly rubs her hips against you, pressing the little box in your pocket between the two of you. Your breath catches in your throat, but you do your best to play it off as her eyes flick down.

“Is that the TV remote in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Your hands snake around her back to pull her in tight. They trace their way down to her ass to distract her with a squeeze. “I’m always happy to see you.”

You wince as you feel her hand sneak its way into your pocket. “Well let’s reward the little man with–”
A sigh leaves your lips as her hand wraps around the box. “Hmm, what’s this?” she says as she pulls it out with a curious glance.

“Well, uh, it’s supposed to be a surprise.”

Lacking any form of patience or grace about the situation, she flips the little box open to find your custom-made ring. Silver shines around the white padding, wrapping around the cut sapphires before embedding a diamond with a little engraved musical note on top of it.

Vinyl steps back, her eyes going wide with shock and her hand shooting over her mouth in surprise. “You… you…”

“Yes,” you let out with an amused laugh. “I was going to try to find a special time to ask. But uh…” you look her in those deep, beautiful, purple eyes with the most love you’ve ever felt for anything in the whole world. “Will you marry me?”

A smile spreads across her face wider than you’ve ever seen. “Yes! Yes yes yes yes!” she says with a few excited hops. “Oh my god, this is so awesome.” She starts pacing around, eyes flitting everywhere as her brain goes wild with ideas. “We’re gonna have the most badass wedding that has ever existed. Lights, pyrotechnics, lasers, our own music… Tigers! Can we get tigers?”

“I mean the act before us in that Vegas show had them so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

“Tigers! They’re gonna be telling the story of this party in the history books of awesome shit. Oh my god.” She grins so wide you fear her cheeks might split open. In a flash she jumps on you, almost sending you to the floor before you can step back to catch yourself and wrap your arms around her legs. Her wet breasts settle around your face as she relentlessly kisses the top of your head. “And I thought life couldn’t get any better.”

You try to say something, but it gets muffled between a pair of wonderful tits.

Vinyl lets off another giggle. “Right.” She leans back to allow you a breath. “And don’t worry, our next show you can totally propose like normal. I’ll make sure to cry and everything.”

“What’s a good proposal… without a few tears,” you say, struggling a little bit to contain her excited squirming.

“These’ll be the good kind, I promise.”

Vinyl hops off of you finally, a giddy expression still plastered on her face as she saunters over to the couch, grabbing a donut from the box you two had been working on this morning as you got used to the new apartment. She can’t take her eyes off the ring, staring at it like a kid who just found the biggest pile of candy in existence. “Man, we’re gonna have a whole ass unlimited ice cream bar, a cake bigger than the van, and a bunch of those weird little appetizers so people know we’re fancy as fuck now too. What are they called? Whore derz?”

You let off a laugh as you fall back into the cushion beside her on the couch. “Hors d’oeuvres?”

“Hmm. Maybe we shouldn’t call them that. Don’t want to seem snobby now that we’ve made it big.”

You look over to the beautiful, relentless, dream-driven girl who changed your life, hoping she’d never change. “You know, if we really wanted to make sure of that we could have a dress code of street clothes only. Imagine all the record label and industry snobs having to show up in jeans and hoodies.”

Vinyl belts out a quick, boisterous laugh. “Holy shit that’s such a good idea. And that’s why I’m marrying you,” she says, finally taking her eyes off the ring and back towards you.

Her giddy, excited expression softens into a tender, loving one. She scoots over to press herself right up against your hip and takes another long, affectionate look into your eyes before stealing a kiss for herself.

“You know, I really don’t know where I’d be right now if I hadn’t moved into that crappy apartment next to you,” Vinyl says wistfully, her eyes tracing up to the ceiling.

“There was a slightly nicer apartment ten blocks down. You easily could’ve been miserable there instead.”

“With the kind of money I was making I was lucky to be able to get our shithole. But no, I mean you. I was kinda losing inspiration when we met. Stuff felt generic and I didn’t really know where to take it. But then came you,” she says with an accompanying playful nudge.

“You would’ve figured it out and became famous either way, really.”

Her eyebrows furrow and she nudges you again, a little more forceful this time. “No way, dude. As corny as it sounds you were totally my missing piece. Your skills on the strings were the missing piece I needed to set myself apart and make something genuine. Something that hits straight at the soul, you know?”

You give her a soft, genuine smile. “It definitely turned out great. I mean I would’ve never made music again if you hadn’t shown up.”

“Would’ve been a shame, man. But hey, what’s the use in what ifs? We got a wedding to plan now,” she says, adopting her giddy smile again and looking back towards the ring.

“Yeah, was starting to worry I might get a naked philosophy session.”

Vinyl giggles before setting the ring on the coffee table. “Oh, you’re definitely about to get something.” Once her donut is finished and her hands are free, she swings her leg over to straddle you, reintroducing you to the girls she has had out wild and free this whole time. She kisses your forehead in an uncharacteristically gentle manner. “I’m so glad I met you…” she whispers.

You wrap your arms around her waist and pull her close, planting a kiss right over her heart. “Me too.” You give her a squeeze and nestle your head into her chest, and she wraps her arms around your head in return and settles her cheek on the top of your head. “I never want to let you go.”

“Mmm,” Vinyl hums. “You can’t now. You’re stuck with me forever no matter what.” She slowly leans back away from the embrace. “Let me just get dressed for the occasion real quick.” She grabs the ring out of the box and slips it over her finger, taking a moment to appreciate it in the light before slinging the towel off her hair and shaking any remaining water off like a dog. “There, fully dressed.”

“Ah, so this is how you’re going to dinner tonight?” You say with an amused smile.

“I’m in a partying kind of mood, so who knows?”

“What kind of partying would you like to do right now?”

“Well…” Vinyl’s fingers trace down to your waistline, slowly working their way up your chest along with your shirt. “I know a certain part of you I would like to never let go of.”

“We’ve got a meeting with a producer in like half an hour,” you say, an amused smile still on your face, already knowing how she was about to answer.

“Fuck him, he can wait,” she says as she tears the shirt off your back and leans down to start the make-out session.

Her nipples poke into your bare skin. The cold air after her shower perked them up quite a bit, but you can already feel them soften in your warm embrace. Vinyl grabs your face and lets her tongue dance with yours with reckless abandon like it’s the last time you’d ever get to. Her heavy sighs taste like a sweet sugar glaze and as your hands caress her sides you can already feel a passionate heat building inside her.

Before you know it she’s pulled out of the kiss and is frantically flicking at your belt to get past the obstacle. After so many backseat and backroom quickies she’s gotten surprisingly good at making sure your pants aren’t an issue. With one final tug, they’re around your thighs with your cock happily greeting her eager hand with a throb.

She looks down at your member and bites her lip but with a devious glance backward too. “I’ve got an idea. Fuck me against the window.”

You smile at her. “The big window that the entire city can see?”

“Hell yeah. Let them be jealous that my awesome husband gets to bang the hottest wife in existence,” she says as she gives your cock a gentle stroke.

You let out a soft groan. “You know we’re not technically married yet, right?”

“Mmm,” she coos as she rubs your dick against her wet, yearning folds. “Tell that to the ring. Now shut up and run me ragged.”

You happily oblige, grabbing her by the waist and lifting both of you off the couch. You tumble forward out of your pants until Vinyl’s back hits the glass and your length presses against her hole. She lets out a gentle sigh at the feeling and her eyes lose their edge in the pleasure.

A quick tug on her legs presses her into position between you and the glass, and you adjust to line up with her. Her eyes desperately flit between your dripping manhood and you, begging for a taste. You don’t hesitate to give it to her and with one long thrust you’re completely inside her.

A long, ragged moan fills the room. Vinyl’s head sinks back as she melts into your grasp. You let out a heavy breath yourself as you enjoy the feeling of her warm, wet entrance as it welcomes you with a gentle hug. As you settle into her, you can feel her heart beating in her chest and her inner walls clenching as she tries to enjoy every inch of you. You start off slow and methodical, giving her time to adjust and enjoy every detail, but you can’t wait forever. You go in for the kill by kissing her exposed neck just as you hilt inside her.

Her nails dig into your back and her legs squeeze around you as she lets out another moan. Your length hammers into her like no tomorrow and you can feel her wetness coating your hips and undoubtedly staining the glass. Wet plaps echo against the walls and a resounding thud thunders off the window you’re plowing against.

Vinyl’s nails cut into you as she screams in ecstatic bliss. “God, don’t you da-ah-re stop,” she says as her limbs start losing their grip.

You tighten your grip against her thighs and give her everything she ever wanted. Another kiss against her neck and along her chest, another thrust deep inside her, and another throb of precum as your cock finds every last detail of her insides. You can feel her feet twitching behind you and her grip on your shoulders melting off. Before she loses herself to the sensation entirely, she brings one hand to your cheek to look you in the eye. Those deep lavender pools look at you with a fondness you’d never seen before. The wild, untameable spirit inside of them softened if just for a moment, to fully embrace the love and affection towards you. You could tell just by one look how much she cares about you, how much she’d give just to never let you go. You can’t help but slow down the pace as warm happiness spreads through you at her gaze. You return the feeling by shooting forward to meet lips.

Her arms wrap back around your shoulders. This kiss, deep and tender, somehow feels different than before. You feel more than just her lips, you feel everything that she is, everything that she wants to be, and all of it that she’s giving over to you to be yours forever. You do your best to share the feeling, pecking and caressing her like she’s the most important thing you’ll ever know because she is. You can tell she can feel that part of you as she lovingly squeezes her limbs around you in a gentleness you’ve rarely seen from her.

Wordlessly, you let her down. You both could feel it, that you wanted more than just a flashy fuck against a window. You slip out of her as she rests on her feet and you both take each other's hands. Without a peep, you both head over to bed and fall backward on it. Another long look into each other's eyes settles into place. Her hair spreads out wildly against the soft sheets, framing the beautiful face you never want to go a day without seeing. You place your arms around her, your dick resting against her clit waiting for another round of action, but even with the animalistic yearning you’re content just to share her gaze.

Her hands wrap around your forearms and her legs rise up to find their way around your waist again. As you lean down to reconnect the ephemeral kiss, Vinyl adjusts her hips until you find her way inside her again.

Instead of the reckless, wild thrusts from before, you slow down and take your time, and savor every moment. You feel her inner walls spread to greet you and caress you on the way in, the way her clit feels against your groin, the soft coos she lets out every time you hit all her favorite spots, the softness of her thighs against your sides and the gentle grip of her fingers around your arms begging you to continue.

You both lean into another kiss to enjoy each other even more fully. Being so connected you can feel the loving warmth build to an orgasm inside you, and with the restlessness of Vinyl’s hips, you can tell she isn’t far off either. The loud, wet plaps from before are replaced by the sounds of the sheets rustling and both of your heavy breathing as you bring each other to the precipice of pleasure.

Your tongues lovingly lick at each other as your arms sink down around her back to fully embrace her. Your strokes become short and deep as your bodies press together in a symphony of warm ecstasy. Vinyl’s soft coos build with each motion until she has to break away from the kiss to let out a louder moan.

Her entire form pulses and her limbs squeeze you tight as she cums. At first, it’s just the twitch of her legs, but as you feel her inner walls begin to convulse she tightens her hug around you to make sure you’re not going anywhere. You let out a groan of your own as you sink into the feeling. A gentle kiss of the silky skin of her neck and another caress of your length by her insides and you’re already there with her. You let out a long breath and let go. Your cock convulses hard, spilling every drop of seed within her. Her long moan gets interrupted with a quick gasp and another squeeze as she enjoys the warm cum filling her up.

You both squirm and shudder at the waves of your shared orgasms, holding each other as tight as you can to enjoy every detail of the moment. Vinyl’s pussy finally relaxes around you, and the last of your cum drips out of you, and you both melt into each other in blinding bliss, desperately trying to pant your way back to lucidity.

You don’t know how much time passes as you rest there on top of her, both of you enjoying the little caresses of each other's bodies as you breathe. Eventually, you roll to the side, keeping your arm wrapped around her to stay connected.

Once her own panting slows down, Vinyl looks over to you with that same loving gaze that spreads the fuzzy fond warmth through your whole being.

“I love you so much,” she whispers.

You run your hand across her cheek. “I’ve never loved anything more than I love you, and I never will.”

You both lean in to share one last kiss, knowing it only gets better from here.

Chapter 2: Broken Dreams

You let out another frustrated groan as your car jumps with a worrying crack into yet another pothole. You'd think after four years of driving down these dilapidated city roads you would've memorized all of them by now. The sun is washing the abandoned buildings and boarded up houses around you in a soft orange light as the day draws to a close. You can only take another deep breath and try to lose yourself in the generic rock pouring out of your radio. At least you had something exciting to look forward to when you got back.

The thoughts of that playful banter and those beautiful violet eyes put a smile on your face. The smile feels almost foreign after so many years, but you're too focused on talking to her again to think about it. Her words from last night resonated in your mind: "A friend" she said. A warm feeling rose up in your gut at the thought. It felt good to think about actually having one of those around again, and this one hasn't even tried to rob you yet. Waking up this morning to the sight of her haphazardly sprawled across your couch and snoring like a warthog widen that smile a little more. It was nice to wake up with someone in your apartment that wasn't trying to rob you for a change.

You turn the corner on the broken asphalt back to that hellhole you called home, careful to swerve around the large piles of broken glass. You do your best to look away from the obvious drug deal going down in the center, and as your eyes glance away you take in a strange sight: the snow cone stand across the street actually has the window open. You raise an eyebrow at the strange sight; that thing hasn't so much as moved in like three years. Getting talked to about "keeping quiet" by the local junkies that watch you pull into the parking lot wasn't exactly an appealing prospect, so you opt to just pull up to the snow cone stand instead and see what's going on.

Your twenty year old car's suspension groans as you pull up to a stop and see the familiar splash of electric blue hair bobbing around inside. You're honestly a little surprised she's the first one to raid the snow cone stand, though once you spot the silly hat on the top of her head it seems like something else is up. "Vinyl?" you ask as stand up out of your car.

"The one and only. What's up, dude?" she asks as she shoots you a couple of finger guns and a smirk. She's still in her black tank top from last night, but this time in a little red and white hat with a dancing snow cone man on it.

"Just got back from work. Got a new job, huh? How many times have you been mugged so far?"

She gives a light shrug. "Eh, only twice. They were both high as hell and didn't even notice when I just gave them a handful of leaves from the bushes over there instead. Want a snow cone? I'm practically a professional cone girl now. Been messing with this stuff and trying out flavors all day."

"Heh, why not? Can't imagine you've actually got much business otherwise," you say as you lean up against the counter.

"You're my first customer of the day, at least when I've actually bothered to be in here."

"Huh? Not working a full shift?"

Vinyl shrugs again and puts on a smug grin. "Well, I'm getting paid for a full shift, but my boss over there doesn't seem to be paying attention," she says, nodding her head across the street and at the front office of the old motel. Through the glass you spot your grossly overweight landlord, his feet up in his usual spot as he snores the day away. "When I get bored enough I head back into the apartment and set up some of my stuff. Hasn't seemed to notice yet."

"Wow. I honestly thought that guy was dead. How does he make enough money from this thing to keep it up?" you say as you look the guy over. You've heard whispers about the dozens of failing businesses building up under his belt like the fat built up from his latest pizza, but never actually experienced any of them yourself until now.

"Beats me. When I first walked in and asked for a room I had to land an ice cube down his shirt before he woke up. 'I could use a purdy gurl lahk you in the office', he said, before inviting me into the backroom to share a bag of skittles."

Your lips curl up and let out a quick chuckle at the spot-on impression. "Well, did you go?"

"Hell no. The bag wasn't even king size. If I was going to get groped by some old, fat dude I'm going to need at least a chicken sandwich, a Gatorade, and some king-sized candy before I go anywhere."

"Well, good to know what your ideal date is. Though I have to ask how greasy you want his hands and how much wheezing you'd like to happen in your ear."

"None, preferably," she says as she pours a large amount of neon blue liquid over the snow cone she just put together. "Here, this one's called Polar Punch. On the house."

"Not looking for big profits today, huh?"

"Hey, man, I get paid either way," she says as she leans forward onto the counter. You looked her over for a moment as you tried her concoction. The lack of sunken and tired eyes adorned with dark circles, a lively smile that hadn't been beaten down by the world yet, and a positive attitude for the future... it's definitely something to envy. Going to be even worse to see the world take all of it from her.

"Well, it's definitely better than nothing. Should keep you out of drug dealing for a little longer."

Vinyl lets her head fall to the counter with a groan. "Ugh... I know you're joking but after all that last night about no one ever leaving you've got me kinda bummed out, dude."

You take another bight of the sugary, neon delight. "Sorry about that. Just hard to keep a positive attitude after being here so long, you know? You go through every day doing the same thing hoping to get somewhere, but you're only ever stuck in a loop."

"No way to live life if you ask me. A different party and a new experience every night, now that's the life."

You give her a weak smile. "Sure would be. That kind of living takes a lot of money I don't have though."

Vinyl grips the counter and rocks her entire body backwards with an annoyed groan. "God, you and me both." She slams back down onto her elbow, resting her chin in her hand as the look of boredom grows on her face. "Look, dude, if I have to spend another five minutes in this trailer I'm going to drown myself in the tiger blood syrup. How about you and me hit up the town and go do something?"

"Really? I mean, I don't really have the money to--"

Vinyl waves you off. "Nah, dude. You don't need money to have a good time. I promise, we'll have the time of your life for five dollars tops and I'll get you in bed by 9."

You shrug. Spending time with her sounded a lot better than sitting in front of the TV waiting for the yelling to stop so you could try to sleep. "Why not?"

Vinyl doesn't skip a beat as a bright smile comes over her face and she haphazardly tosses her hat into the bottles behind her. She shoves the window closed and bounces out the side door and towards your car. "Thank God. Now start her up and let's get rolling," she says with a little whip of her hand as she slides into the passenger seat.

You let out a light chuckle. She certainly has plenty of energy for five in the afternoon, and your tired feet and sagging eyelids didn't quite match it. "So, where to?" you ask as you sit back down and snap your seatbelt in with a click.

"Music store a few miles from here. Really want to bang on something."

"Wait, you're not buying a drum set, are you?" you ask, apprehensive of the rising noise levels below your apartment.

She lets out a quick chuckle as she puts her seatbelt on too. "Pfft? Seriously? Nah, that shit is way too expensive, dude. By this time a day the two guys that work there have blown through like 10 grams of weed so they don't give a shit about anything."

"I assume that's a lot," you ask as you pull out into the street.

"Not the stoner type, I take it?"

"What gave it away?"

"Turn right here and it'll just be like ten miles down this road," she says, with a lazy wave of her hand. "And the office clothes were a big part of it. Let me guess, sales associate?"

"I work at a call center, actually."

"Oooh, stock broker or something?"

You raise your eyebrow and look off the road and over to her. "If I was a stock broker I sure as hell wouldn't be living in that shithole."

Vinyl shifts around in her seat as you rumble around some of the rougher sides of the road. "Dang, and I was just thinking about getting into gold digging."

"Gonna have to keep looking. All I've got is tech support."

Vinyl raises an eyebrow. "I thought all that got outsourced to barely understandable indian dudes?"

You let out a sigh. "Yeah... any day now."

"Oh," Vinyl says, her expression suddenly turning somber. "Well, I'm sure you'll find something even better before too long. Stock broker is always on the table, if you're looking to be a sugar daddy for me."

"What, you couldn't manage to snag one by now?"

Her playful smile drops slightly. "I wish. People... people are kinda dicks."

"Sounds like there's a story behind that one."

Vinyl takes in a deep breath and looks down to the floorboards. "Yeah... lotta sleezy 'friends' and even more broken promises. Half the reason I'm here in the first place."

"You want to talk about what happened?" you ask, trying to give your best look of concern.

Vinyl rubs the back of her neck and looks out the car window. "I... hey, we're here!"

Vinyl throws her seatbelt off with newfound joy on her face. She barely even waits for you to stop as she opens the door and is already at the entrance to the music shop. You park your car at the quiet little strip mall. You instinctively glance around the parking lot for any potential dangers, but things get a little better on this side of town. The colorful sign above the shop says 'Melody Mania', and looks like a sign to a day care center. You follow Vinyl in to the wonderful world of music, watching as a giddy grin stretches across her face.

"Oh, man, they left the expensive stuff out," she says as she makes a b-line for a massive, flashy set of jet-black drums near the back. Sure enough, the two guys at the counter look like puffy-eyed zombies. One of them was completely passed out in a chair further down the counter and you'd be forgiven for thinking he was dead if you didn't see his chest lightly rising and falling. The other guy is slumped over the glass counter, his eyes closed and his mouth open, drooling all over the cash register in front of him. Vinyl sits down at the set and whacks the crash symbol as hard as her skinny arms can manage. You almost leap backwards out of the store at the bang, but the two guys at the counter don't even flinch.

A clunky but surprisingly stable beat pours out of the drums as Vinyl gets started. She sounds like she's definitely done this before, but cares more about the satisfying boom of hitting the drums instead of actually playing something recognizable. You do your best to avoid any hearing damage and look around the long displays of instruments and accessories. For being this close to the bad side of town, they certainly had a lot of expensive looking equipment--the iron bars bolted across all the windows usually help with that though.

The shiny, polished wood of the guitars were clean enough you could see your face in them as you walked by. The store was filled with all kinds of pedals, strings, straps, and electronics, half of which you can't even begin to guess what they're used for. A quick look back at Vinyl revealed a girl having the best time of her life as she cracked her drumsticks so hard against the expensive-looking drums you're sure they might just break. A wide smile was glued to her face and her eyes were closed as she continually rocked her electric blue hair back and forth to the beat. A tinge of regret nipped at your heart. Even if you didn't end up making it anywhere, really committing to an instrument and joining a band was a thrill that might make life just a little more bearable. You let out a forlorn sigh. Too little too late on that one. Not like you'd have the time anyway. The drive one your friend's face told you she might still have a chance though.

You strolled across the dirty carpet further into the store. Instruments slowly changed from the usual guitars and basses to pianos and eventually a more orchestral selection. The glimmering brass brought back a few fond memories of high school orchestra, actually feeling like you were a piece of something that actually mattered. An idea perked up in your head. Maybe they actually had one.

You leave the bombastic brass instruments behind and look through their selection of stringed instruments. The carefully polished wood and curved necks looked almost out of place in a store like this as an assortment of different sizes of them sprawled out in front of you on their stands. You drag your fingers across a few of them to let their sounds resonate around you. The deep grumble of the double bass, the low hum of the cello, the high-pitched ring of the violin, and...

You nod, a little impressed that they actually had one. A viola. Little more beat up and worse for wear than some of the other instruments, and it was the only one they even had, but it was here nonetheless. You pick up the familiar set of strings and a nearby bow to feel the weight of it in your hand. A violin bow rested in your other hand; not ideal but not like you had much of a choice.

You put your old orchestra friend up to your cheek and draw the bow across the strings. You can't help but cringe at the disgusting, flat notes that come out of it. This thing hasn't had its strings changed or been tuned in quite a while. Determined to experience a few moments of nostalgia, you methodically pluck at the strings and twist the tuning pegs until it sounds mostly right.

Another attempt with the instrument up to your check finally allows those signature somber notes to flow out of your hands. The little twinge of vibrato and a bit of speed across the neck tell you that you didn't forget all that much since high school. You go through a few old songs that still stuck around your memories, trying not to stop entirely once you run into the occasional clumsy mistake your rusty hands were bound to make. After a few minutes, a smile comes over your face as the old music at the right tempo finally comes together. It always sounded somewhat awkward without the usual accompanying orchestra, and the violins seemed to always get the flashier roles, but it managed to bring a smile to your face after all these years anyway.

You let off a chuckle as you try to remember some of the more popular songs you learned outside of school. None of them sounded all that good at the tips of your rusty fingers, but all you really needed was practice.

"Woah, dude. Is that Star Wars?" Vinyl asks, giving you another jump and a harsh whine as you slip the bow off. You'd gotten so into it you didn't even notice the banging stop from the other side of the store.

"Yeah, actually."

"Didn't know you played violin. That sounded awesome, man!" She says, giving you playful punch in the arm.

"It's a viola, actually. Little bit bigger, lower pitch, doesn't get nearly as much acclaim."

Vinyl nods her head. "Ah, right. Probably should've known that. Why didn't I see one at your apartment? Sounds like you've been practicing."

You set the viola back down on its stand with a warm fondness. "I actually haven't played one since high school. Guess I wasn't that rusty."

"You go to high school here in Canterlot?"

"Yeah, actually. CHS. Graduated about eight years ago now I think."

"Dang... just missed you. I just got out four years go. Anyway, you ever thought about doing something with it? Might be more exciting than sitting around helping old ladies find internet explorer."

You let out a quick laugh and run your hand across the neck of the viola. "Couldn't afford it. Even if I could it'd probably get stolen within a week. I'm sure my old orchestra teacher would be happy, but probably for the best to just leave it."

Vinyl crosses her arms over her chest. "Sometimes you gotta take risks to get into a better place in life, you know?"

You let out a somber sigh. It sounded good. Becoming a professional viola player. Your grandma would definitely be proud along with the old orchestra teacher back in high school. "No doubt. I just can't afford it now. Don't have the time either."

Vinyl raises an eyebrow and gives you a look for a moment. "Well we're gonna have to do something about this downer attitude. I'll talk you into it eventually. How about a CD for the road instead?"

"Oh, my car actually only has a tape deck."

Vinyl shakes her head in bewilderment for a moment. "What? Did I get transported to 1978 suddenly or something?"

"Hey, the guy at the dealership knocked off 50 bucks," you say, putting your hands up.

Vinyl shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Absolutely unacceptable. Fine, let's just get you a tape, dude," she says as she waves you over to the counter. Despite the commotion, the two disheveled stoners behind the counter haven't so much as moved an inch since the two of you walked in.

"You weren't lying about these guys. They actually gonna be able to sell us anything?"

Vinyl laughs and grabs a handful of guitar picks out of a nearby jar. "Maybe. Let's see... fifteen feet," she says as she lines herself up next to a rack of guitars a ways from the counter. "Twenty three shots," she says, poking through the picks in her hand. "Come on, Marky, keep that pie-hole open for me." Vinyl takes a pick out of her hand and cocks her arm by her side. She whips her hand around like she's throwing a Frisbee and pelts the poor cashier right in the cheek. He twitches, but doesn't even bother opening his eyes, if he even could.

"Dang." She throws a few more, hitting him at various points around his open mouth, even landing a few in his long, unkempt, greasy hair, until finally she lands the money shot. A guitar pick lands with an audible, wet pat on the man's tongue, and Vinyl shoots her hands up into the air and spins around. "Woo! Only eleven, that's a new record!"

You stare in amazement as the pick slowly slides off the unconscious guy's tongue. "I feel like something about this is illegal."

Vinyl puts the rest of her picks back in the jar and goes up to the counter. "Eh, only if you get caught. These guys are cool, anyway. At least when they're actually awake. After 3 P.M. this place is basically a free-for-all. Good thing for them nobody ever actually comes in here."

"Yeah... I'm surprised they haven't been robbed blind yet," you say as you walk up beside her.

"Oh, they have been once or twice. Most of the crooks around here only want money though and can't do much to flip a guitar or keyboard, and the cops usually find out pretty quick when they see a guy walking down the road randomly carrying a guitar."

Vinyl takes a quick peek at the line of cassette tapes in a bin under the glass until she perks up at a specific one. She nonchalantly vaults over the counter and slides the panel back to grab it. "Bonnie Tyler, Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. 1986. Seems appropriate for your dumb tape deck."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I learned like twenty words of Spanish from a tape I found under the seat."

Vinyl pops open the register and slides in three dollars from her pocket before printing herself out a receipt. "Well, now you can experience the magic of Bonnie Tyler and pretend like it actually is 1986," she says as she vaults back over the counter.

You smile and roll your eyes as you follow her out of the store. "You're a wild one, you know that?"

She playfully nudges you again as the the front door dings and lets you through. "I told you we wouldn't go over five bucks, didn't I? Also, seems like you could use a little wild in your life. Wouldn't want you to turn into a mindless wage slave or something."

"Or worse," you say as you slide the key into your car door. Kind of already there on the whole wage slave thing, you think as you unlock the other door from the inside.

"Yeah, could always get bored enough to get addicted to meth. That usually doesn't end well."

The two of you settle into your car, the last bits of sunlight slipping over the skyscrapers to your left. The absence of the warmth on your cheek caused a sudden cascade of thoughts to flow through your mind. Your smile slipped off your face as you traced through your potential future, and the future of the girl sitting next to you. Your hand froze in front of the the ignition and you let out a long, sad sigh.

"Vinyl... we're not going anywhere," you say, your eyes drawn to the window and the disappearing sunlight behind the city.

"Huh? Something wrong with the car? Didn't even try the ignition yet."

You shake your head. "No, I mean, you're not going to get anywhere with me. Living here. Don't get me wrong, you've been the closest thing to a friend I've had in years and I really enjoy spending time with you... but..."

Vinyl lets out a little chuckle. "What, you're breaking up with me already? You haven't even asked me out."

You lean back in your seat and let your hand drop. Looking over to her playful expression didn't make any of this easier. "No, not like that. Look, I've been here for four years. All that stuff about taking risks and following passions... it died in that stack of bills on my coffee table. All I have is a job that's about to be obsolete and a grimy apartment surrounded by junkies and criminals. I'm one bad day from ending up like the rest of them and you... you don't deserve to end up like that. Getting comfortable being around here, around me is just going to make things worse."

Vinyl offers you a reassuring smile. "Come on, dude. Give yourself a little credit. You've been there that long and you're still trying. I know you've got more in you than just tech support. No need to go complete downer yet, you know? You've still got places to go besides that dumb apartment."

You shake your head again and look away from her. "I wish it was that simple. Once you end up at that complex, you never leave... no one ever does. One bad thing after another keeps you there... stolen tires, robbed apartment, muggings, assaults, drugs... half the time I think it'd be better just to be homeless and freeze to death when the winter rolls around." You turn to look back at her, a stern expression on your face. "Look, you've got to have somewhere else to go. Stay with some friends, your parents, the women's shelter, that van, anything. You're a beautiful, talented girl and you can still get out. Don't let me or anyone keep you there, please."

Vinyl awkwardly looks down and rubs her neck again. "Jeez, Shakespeare; That was quite the monologue. Also, the 'talented' bit will mean more when you actually listen to my stuff, you know."

You don't answer. The silence becomes palpable after a few long seconds between the two of you. You desperately wish she'd just take your advice and disappear. The nagging feeling at the pit of your stomach that she's going to end up just as bad as everyone else there won't go away, and you can't bear the mental image of this awesome girl turning into another forgettable junkie. You open your mouth to try to urge her again, but she starts first.

"Look, man. I really... I really just don't have anywhere else to go. My old friends screwed me out of a ton of my equipment and my first real gig for 500 bucks and a couple beer tickets, so I'm we're not on speaking terms. I never knew my dad and my mom was a crack addict that cared more about her next hit than feeding me, so no parents to rely on. I'm on my own out here, and I just..." she lets out a sigh of her own and looks back towards the music store. "I just need... I just need a friend, you know? Someone who gives a shit about my existence and actually has my back. I know we've only known each other for a day, but you actually went out of your way to help me move and then you saved me from the nightmare of having to sleep on that disgusting mattress. Nobody has stuck their neck out for me like that in years, man. It means something to me that you'd do that, and even if I could go somewhere, seems like you might just need someone looking out for you too, huh?"

You give her a little nod. "That's an understatement... but still, Vinyl. You don't need to go down with me just because I helped you move. Just please, think about it, alright?"

"Sure, and you should really think about not being such a downer all the time. You're pretty cool, for a working stiff anyway," she says, nudging your arm again. "Now come on, I saw Lethal Weapon was coming on tonight on the channel guide and I want to down some popcorn and beer with my cop drama."

"Yeah, that sounds nice right about now." You put the key in the ignition and start up the car.

Vinyl leans back into her seat and snaps her seatbelt in. "We can worry about your cursed apartment built on an Indian burial ground or whatever and our impending heroin addictions later. For now, let's just watch Mel Gibson fight crime and complain about the lack of butter on your cheap popcorn, deal?"

A smile manages to creep its way back onto your face. "Deal, but I do have some extra butter we can melt onto it," you fire back.

As you pull out back onto the road, you roll your old car out of the way of a pothole, and the ride seems just a little bit smoother now. Despite the mountain of problems still weighing you down, a glimmer of hope dances to life like a candle in the dark. Vinyl's relentless optimism pierces your dense exoskeleton of gloom for just a moment as you silently wonder: every comeback story has to start somewhere, right?