Petal [h.s.]

Chapter 56 (*)

Harry.

"This really doesn't seem like a good idea." Violet piped up as she was holding the tattoo gun in her shaking hand.

I was laying down on the table, checking my own body to see where I wanted her to tattoo me, and she was having a mental breakdown next to me. She had gone completely white, her eyes wide as her breathing was ragged.

"Petal, I promise, it'll be fine. It's not a big deal if you mess it up, no one will notice. It'll just be another stupid one." I snickered, not feeling nervous at all.

I noticed a blank spot on my left bicep, in between the three screws and the ship that she liked so much. It was a small space, but I had a feeling she should start small.

"Harry! I've never done this before! I'm horrible at drawing and painting, I have no artistic bone in my body." She exclaimed and I laughed, shaking my head. "Just believe in yourself."

"Ah, thanks, that fixed it." She deadpanned sarcastically.

"So," I started, taking the machine out of her hands, "this is a tattoo gun. These are all small needles that we're going to dip into ink, which is then applied underneath the skin. We're going to put some new needles on and sterilize them, okay? You're going to put on rubber gloves and I'll get to sterilizing the needles." I spoke clearly, and I saw her nodding her head.

She looked like she was about to faint and it made me snicker how nervous she was. There was really no need to. 

I boiled the needle in hot water for a few minutes, taking it out with a spoon to let it cool down before carefully putting it on the gun. I then poured out some black ink in a small jar, and kept a glass of water next to it before bringing the tray over to a shaking Violet.

I plopped down on the table, laying my arm out and pointing to the area. "Just do something here."

"Do something? Like what?!" She asked in a panic. I shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Well, can I just do something simple?"

"Why don't you just do your name?"

She scrunched up her nose. "I'm not tattooing my name on your arm, Harry. That's literally the number one rule in tattoos, isn't it? Never get the name of a boyfriend or girlfriend on your body."

"You think we're going to break up?" I frowned and she quickly shook her head. "I didn't say that. But I'm not tattooing my name. You never call me 'Violet' anyway."

My eyes lit up. "Tattoo a petal!"

"One petal? Harry, I don't know how to do that!"

"Or a flower?"

"It'll literally look a five year-old drew a flower on your arm." She rolled her eyes and I nodded. "I know, it's cute."

She hesitantly took the tattoo machine in her hands, inspecting it closely as if to see what it looked like. "I'm going to fuck this up." She muttered under her breath, looking at the area I pointed to with squinted eyes.

She let out a sigh and pressed her other hand flat on my bicep, pushing it into the table tightly.

Her lip was tucked in between her teeth as she brought the gun to the skin. "So... Do I just... push it in?"

"Dip the needle in the ink first and then turn it on before you push it in. Hold it a bit diagonally when you're in the skin, so the tube can rest on me. Don't worry about going to deep, it's nearly impossible. The skin will tug a bit, that's normal. If it doesn't tug, you're not pushing in deep enough. And then just... draw." I instructed.