"I'm cursed!" Davy shouted as he entered the pad.

"Cursed?" Peter said with confusion. "Did you visit Madam Rosita again?"

"Visit Oraculo?" Mike offered.

"Get a monkey's paw?" Micky added.

"No, no, no," Davy said irritably waving away the terrible guesses of his bandmates. "Dating cursed."

"What do you mean dating cursed?" Mike asked.

"I mean ever since I sat down with Cate and told her things weren't going to work out, I have been having horrible luck with dates."

It had been about two months since Davy had let Cate down easy. She had stopped coming to gigs and Davy had stopped trying to spot her out in the crowd. He was starting to relax and go about things in an ordinary manner. He felt a great sense of relief; and at the same time also felt a tinge of guilt. Davy knew he had broken a few hearts and had his broken as well, but Cate had been so invested in him that he was certain that she would be devastated. Not that he was conceited; it was just difficult to move on from infatuation.

"Well, I have been on a date a week since then, that's eight total," Davy started.

"That sounds average and not at all like a setback," Micky interrupted.

"No, it's not the amount it's what's been happening on the dates," Davy continued. "I haven't been going on second dates and trust me it's not by my choice. Suspicious things keep happening."

"Like what?" Mike asked.

"So on my first date, I seemed to misplace my wallet and she had to pay."

"I mean that kind of stuff happens," Mike offered.

"You see that's what I thought too. And even after the second date when the girl said she didn't go for short guys, which seemed reasonable. The third one didn't show up. It only got weirder when I noticed a pattern of bad dates."

"Those all don't sound out of the ordinary, even for you," Micky said.

"I haven't even begun to scratch the surface," Davy continued. "On the fourth date, I got a bloody nose and my date was squeamish about blood. She ended up passing out. My fifth date ran away with the busboy. The sixth was arrested for tax fraud. The seventh disappeared after I went to the bathroom. And nothing can top what happened tonight."

"What happened?" Peter asked with excitement as he shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"She was scooped up by a large bird and flown away," Davy said.

"A bird?" Micky said skeptically.

"Fellas, I'm not lying. Who could make this up? I'm cursed, by either the dating Gods or creepy Cate," Davy said with a shiver.

"Just sounds to me like you're in a slump. That stuff could have happened to anyone," Mike said.

"Anyone? A big bird?" Davy said sarcastically.

"Stranger things have happened. Plus have you heard about California condors?" Mike offered.

"I'm telling you something is not quite right here," Davy insisted.

"Why would anyone want to personally mess with your love life?" Micky asked. "I mean besides the three of us."

"I swear I don't know any girl snatching birds," Peter pleaded.

"I have a funny feeling about this," Davy replied.

"You have a funny feeling about everything," Mike admonished. "You're just edgy. Since Cate started leaving you alone you had to find something else to be tense about."

"I do not!"

"I'm siding with Mike on this one, you need to be content with a lack excitement," Micky chimed in.

"I agree with Micky and Mike, but also I know that things around here are always chaotic waiting for the next occurrence," Peter said offering support.

"You're all against me," Davy shouted as he headed towards his room.

"That's it be oversensitive with our behavior, that's a better use of your time," Micky joked as Davy slammed the door.

Davy decided to shake off his bad dating karma with a trip to the stables. Riding horses always relaxed him and it allowed him to be alone with his thoughts. He appreciated his roommates concern, but Davy didn't need three sets of opinions right now. Well, Mike's opinions, Micky's jokes, and Peter's nonsensical blather. Sometimes it was better to just sort things out for yourself.

Davy was riding along a forest trail on a black horse, Eris. He was trotting along and thinking about his dating misfortunes. Could it be coincidence? Was he that out of touch? Maybe a dating hiatus would do him good. Although, he knew how well trying to steer clear of girls had worked for him in the past.

Suddenly, there was a crack of lightning that startled him out of his thoughts and spooked the horse. Davy was thrown to the ground on his back and surprisingly just had the wind knocked out of him. He watched as the horse ran back in the direction from which they had come.

"Eris! Come back!" Davy shouted as he began to get up. "Great, I will be stuck out in the storm."

Davy started walking the mile and a half through the forest to the stables. At least there was a clear trail to follow and he wouldn't be lost in the thick brush. More thinking time.

He noticed rustling noises during the walk. Each time a noise was particularly loud or sounded close he stopped and glanced around. "Hello?" Silence. "Probably just an animal or something."

Davy was halfway to the stable when he heard the rushing sounds of footsteps coming in his direction. Before he could turn around and look at the source of the sound, he was tackled to the ground with great force. Dirt and leaves tangled in Davy's hair as he was pushed to the ground with one arm twisted behind his back. The assailant pressed a hand over his mouth and whispered, "Quiet, someone'll hear you."