𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒑𝒔𝒐 ( 𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒐)

⋆⭒XVI.⭒⋆

Whenever Calypso spends her summers with her Italian friends, time seems to simply fly by.
Weeks blur into days and she feels her heart grow heavy at the thought of boarding the train towards home again.

Summers in Italy have always been like a parallel universe for her, not knowing anyone besides her best friends and being able to do as she pleases without her parents worried gaze.

Picking up some of the things that are sprawled across her room and sorting them into piles, washing, packing and wearing, her eyes fall onto her copy of Song of Achilles still laying in the corner of her room, crumpled pages and bend spine.

Memories of her desperation that caused her to throw the book against her wall, flood her mind and she falls on her bed, book clutched in her hand.
She touches the delicate skin on her arm, where Ethan’s finger brushed over it when she told him about the tattoo she wants to get.

Maybe it’s the fact that her departure back to France is nearly in a week from today but suddenly she finds herself knocking on Ethan’s bedroom.
“Want to come take my tattoo virginity?”,she grins leaning against his doorframe watching him lounge on his bed.

“I am made of memories right?”, he asks with a smile and gets up. The fact that he remembered the quote means so much to Calypso that she forgets to respond, only when he cocks his head in confusion she nods quickly.

“Where are the others?”, he asks while pulling on a shoe, holding on to the wall next to Calypso’s head for support.
She shrugs “Let’s just go together”.

Sometimes her own boldness scares her, first she decides Ethan to go with her the one person that can make her knees grow week with just a simple touch to her arm and who she tried to keep out of her heart with the highest walls, secondly she just booked a last minute tattoo appointment for a real, permanent tattoo on her skin.

Not telling Victoria about getting her first tattoo makes her feel a little guilty but when she takes out her phone to text the group chat that her and Ethan left the house, she sees that Vic isn’t even home but out with Sara, on a date to the beach.

Ethan turns out to be quite the good tour guide.Of course Calypso has been to Rome before but Ethan manages to walk her through the smallest backstreets and show her the prettiest little fountains, flowers growing through the cracks of the uneven cobblestone and hidden cafes.

Once they made it to the tattoo shop, Calypso’s heart takes a big leap she is not afraid of the needle or the pain it is more the sheer excitement that makes her heart unable to beat normally.
The tattoo artist, that also worked his magic on Damiano’s body is happy to meet Calypso and immediately guides her to a chair in the back.

It is hot and the little fan next to the artist’s chair is trying its hardest to cool down the temperature of the room, to no luck the air is thick.
“Under my left breast”, Calypso had thought about the placement of her first tattoo for long and she knows that a tattoo on her arm is more likely to hurt less but she is set on her decision.

Ethans eyes widen when she moves to unbutton her blouse and he respectfully looks away, focusing his gaze on the walls covered with previous tattoo clients.
“You might want to hold his hand, can hurt like crazy”, with that advice Calypso clears her throat and waits for Ethan to react, suddenly a little embarrassed by her idea to bring him instead of Vic.

“I think I am good for now”, she mumbles when Ethan is still turned away from her, standing to far away from the chair for her to touch him.

Once the needle pierces through the first layers of her skin, leaving black ink on her tanned skin, she bites down on her tounge to distract herself from one pain with the other.

Soon giving up on smalltalk with her, the artist hums along to the songs that are quietly playing from the radio by the front desk.
Calypso lets out a muffled whimper when the needle goes over an especially sensitive part of her skin.
Closing her eyes to avoid the tears of pain from falling from her eyes, she can’t see Ethan slowly creeping closer and only realises when he tenderly clutches her right hand in his.

“All done”, gently, the artist wipes away any remnant of ink from the girls side and Ethan drops her hand, helping her sit up.
“It looks beautiful Caly”, he stares in awe and Calypso smiles softly still a little dazed from the pain.

Admiring herself in the floor length mirror she carefully pulls her blouse back on and then walks to the front desk to pay, thanking the artist a million times in the process.

“Thank you for coming with me Ethan”, she stops the boy on a narrow street after they’ve been walking in comfortable silence for a littlewhile.
He smiles at her and wraps his arm around her side, avoiding the tattoo carefully, walking them back to their bus stop.
It would be a beautiful thing to be held by him all the time she wants to, for him to belong to her and for her to be fully his.

In moments like this, she would like to build up her courage and press her lips on his for as long as their lungs would let them but then the nasty voice in her head chimes in before she can act.

Remember what you’ve got to lose, besides what if he’s not into you? Imagine being friends with him after you confessed your love to Ethan only for him to not like you back.

Maybe moments like this can be enough then, moments as friends not as lovers.

They don’t let go of each other, on the bus she leans her head on his shoulder and he rests his against the smudged window.

Peaceful she thinks with a smile, feeling that kind of ease she only ever feels when she's with Ethan.