Cure for Pain

Part 9: Run Right Back

“Walker?”

I looked from the comfortably warm glow of the computer screen to see Octavia in the hallway, eyes fogged with sleep and a perplexed look on her face. “What are you doing?”

“Well, I figured that I would spend a couple of minutes familiarizing myself with this software.” I said, shrugging. “We did finish recording that song tonight, after all.”

“Well, yeah…” My marefriend said, pointing to the clock above the computer. “but it’s three in the morning.”

I looked up. Where the hell did that time go?! The last thing I remembered was mixing the bass and drum tracks, before I…

“But, look at this thing I made!” I said, playing a 30 second electronic beat I apparently spent five hours making. It wasn’t even good, but I might as well have been Bono with how proud I was of it. “I mean, it’s all... wub and stuff.”

“It took you five hours to do that?” Octavia said with an incredulously amused look on her face. “Why don’t you come back with me and get a few hours of sleep before tomorrow comes?”

I sighed, and realized how tired I was. My eyes were struggling to stay open, and the computer screen was blinding from the amount of time I had spent looking at it. “Sounds good.”

“So…” Berry said to Octavia the next day. Octavia and Berry decided to meet up and eat lunch, and they were having a pleasant conversation over a couple of confectionaries. At least, it was pleasant. “How was last night?”

“Not bad, Berry.” Octavia said, avoiding the answer her friend wanted in the hope that she would just lose interest. “We recorded the rhythm for our first track, and we’re going to continue until we have them all. It’s simple, really.”

Berry gave a chuckle. “No, that wasn’t what I was talking about. “ Octavia sighed; her friend could really invade her business at times. “Berry, you know I don’t like talking about things of that nature.”

“I was simply asking!” Berry said defensively. “I mean… is he good in the sack?” Octavia felt her face redden. “Can we change the subject, please? This is uncomfortable, to say the least.”

“Well, he CAN’T be better than I wa-“ Berry started before her friend put a hoof over her mouth. “BERRY!” Octavia said, with a voice bordering on scolding. “That was in the past, okay? You’re a great friend, but I don’t think about you… in that way anymore.”

Berry simply shrugged and took another sip of her drink. “It’s okay, Tavi. It wasn’t a very good thing that I did, so I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Octavia said.

Berry then resumed her normal cheery demeanor as if the previous conversation had never taken place “But Walker seems like a cool guy! Maybe I’ll drop by your house sometime this week and meet him!”

Dear Celestia, Octavia thought. I hope Walker’s having a better time.

“DUDE!” Coleton yelled, covering his ears. “Just stop talking!” I tried to coax his hands off of his head. “C’mon, man.” I said. “It was pretty good.”

“Yeah, but what goes on with you and Tavi behind closed doors is NONE of my business.” Coleton said, going back to perusing among the guitars. We had decided to meet up at the music store. I wasn’t working that day, but the music store was my default if I had no idea where to go.

“I just don’t know what else to talk about, man.” I said defensively. “I mean, nothing much else is going on these days other than the recording.”

“Well, I’ve got one thing to say about all of this ‘sex with Octavia’ shit.” Coleton said, not looking away from the amp he was using. “When you have sex with Octavia, you’re having sex with every stallion… or mare… she’s ever fucked.”

“I don’t even think she would ever have sex with another mare.” I said, considering his words carefully. “I mean, she’s with me, right?”

“Yeah, and according to you, she’s very satisfied…” Coleton said as a red streak appeared above my nose. “But I mean, a lot of shit could have happened before she met you.”

“Whatever.” I said, not wanting to consider the possibility anymore. “How’s your band going?” Coleton looked up, pleased at the opportunity to talk about it. “Pretty good. I mean, we’ve been getting a lot more gigs around here ever since people saw us at the battle of the bands, so it’s making the bills a bit easier to pay every month. How about yours? How’s the recording?”

I smiled. “Recorded the rhythm part last night with Octavia for the first song. There’s more to come.”

“You know…” Coleton said, putting the guitar back on its stand. “When you phrase it like that, ‘recording the rhythm part’ sounds like another word for sex.”

“Considering the OTHER events that transpired that night, it might as well be.” I said, enjoying the disgusted yet amused look that washed over my friend’s face.

“Do you want to take a break?” Octavia asked her coltfriend that night. They had spent the better half of three hours recording the drum part for a certain song, and a last-minute written part in the song was screwing Walker up every time. He looked like he was about to burst from frustration.

“Sure.” Walker said, a smile rising on his face. “We’ve recorded two songs, we can wait until tomorrow to record the next one.”

Octavia smiled. “Can we just lay down and listen to that Food Fighters album you brought over?”

Walker gave a contented smile, and hugged his marefriend. “They’re the ‘Foo Fighters,’ Tavi.”

“Whatever.” Octavia said, chuckling. Nothing could be more perfect at that moment. She was there with the only person she wanted to be with, and they had no responsibilities to fulfill for the rest of the night. They could just sit down and talk, or listen to music, or just enjoy each other’s company. Things were pretty damn good for Octavia.

That is, until they heard a knock on Octavia’s front door.