Piercing Hatred | ✔️

14

~Flora's POV~

I fiddled absentmindedly with my septum piercing as I sat in the breakroom during my lunch break on Monday, bouncing my leg beneath the table. I'd already eaten my food, but I still had about ten minutes before my break was over, so I was going to take those ten minutes and do nothing during them.

Knox came strolling in while I was staring off into space, his brows raising when he noticed me fiddling with my piercing. "Are you picking your nose right now? Where people eat, Flora? That's rather unsanitary." He said, causing my head to snap over to him. I blinked and dropped my hand onto the table with a roll of my eyes. "I wasn't picking my nose." I snipped, leaning into the table as I crossed my arms.

He chuckled and plopped himself down across from me, peering at my septum piercing curiously. "When did you get that, anyways? I don't remember you having it when we were in highschool." He wondered, pulling out a burger from his McDonald's bag before he took a large bite. I shrugged my shoulders and cocked my head in thought, trying to remember. "Not that long ago, actually." I hummed. "Maybe a year ago or so...?" I guessed, slightly unsure.

"Hm," He murmured, tongue flicking out across his lips after he swallowed the food he was chewing. "I like it. It looks good on you." He said, the compliment causing me to blink at him in surprise. A flush crept up my neck and I prayed it didn't show in my face. "Ah, thanks." I said weakly, a bit flustered. "I like yours, too." I returned, gesturing to my own ears. "Your ear piercings, I mean."

Surprise flashed across his eyes but I noticed the slight tug of his lips before he continued eating, and I was grateful that he didn't tease me about my compliment to him like I was almost positive he would.

My leg continued to bounce as I bit my cheek, picking at the polish chipping off my fingernails. For a minute or two we lapsed into a surprisingly comfortable silence while he ate, and I surprised myself by being the one to break it for once. "Do you still want to get tattoos, like when we were younger?" I asked, glancing up at him curiously. "You used to say you wanted full sleeves." I recalled, causing him to smile slightly.

"I'm surprised you remember that." He snorted. "But no, not to that extent. I like tattoos, but I think I got over the fascination of them that I used to have. I did get one, actually, about two years ago." He told me, my brows raising curiously at that.

"Really?" I wondered, unable to hide the interest within my voice as I blinked at him. "Can I see?" I asked. He chuckled and cocked his head slightly, the edges of his lips tugging up into a sly smirk. "Somehow I doubt you'd be asking if you knew where it is." He responded, making me frown slightly. I stretched a leg out beneath the table and leaned forward more, narrowing my eyes at him. "Well, where is it?" I asked, glancing over the exposed skin of his strong arms and his neck. No tattoos there.

Knox leaned back in his seat slightly and placed a hand on his ribcage, right beneath his left pec. "Right here. Sure you still want to see it, doll face?" He teased, causing me to hesitate. I stared at him for a second and could see in his face that he expected me to immediately turn him down now that I knew where his tattoo was, and that made me purse my lips at him.

I raised my chin challengingly at him. "I do believe I asked if I could see it, didn't I?" I huffed, watching as the amused spark in his eye flicked with surprise. Then, he stared at me for a second before shrugging.

And I knew I'd asked for it, but I couldn't help the widening of my eyes when he proceeded to grab the bottom of his shirt and lift it. I hadn't actually expected him to do it!

"Well?" He chuckled as I sat there, dumbfounded by how confident and nonchalant he was. "Are you going to just sit there and gape at me or actually look, like you wanted?" He teased, cocking his head at me. I actually hesitated before I reluctantly nodded, moving to sit over beside him to get a better look at the tattoo across his ribcage.

My butt plopped down into the chair and I blushed deeply at the sight of his abs, but I forced myself to not stare. God, the man had no fucking shame at all! I tilted my head slightly to look at the cursive words scrawled across his ribs, spelling out "Nothing is forever." I'd never pictured him the type for such a simple tattoo, but I thought it was pretty.

He lowered his shirt again and I found myself silently thankful, as it meant I didn't have to refrain from staring at him. "It's pretty. I like it." I told him honestly, my eyes rising up to meet his when he straightened in his seat to continue eating his food. "What made you get that tattoo?" I asked, curious. It seemed like that was the only tattoo that he had.

"My mom." He said hesitantly, sparing me a glance. "She passed away a little under two and a half months before I got this. She used to say it a lot, so..." He shrugged his shoulders and I just sat there, stunlocked. I remembered his mom rather vividly, even though it had been a long time since the last time I'd even seen her face. She was beautiful, inside and out, and was like a second mother to me at one point. My heart weighed heavy knowing now that she was gone, and that I hadn't known.

"I..." Words escaped me, and I didn't know what I could say. Even when Knox and I had been friends, his mom had been the most important person to him out of everyone. She was all he had, really. "I'm so sorry, Knox." I said, unable to offer him anything else. I doubted there was even a right thing to say.

However, he just smiled slightly. "You don't have to apologize, doll face." He chuckled and nudged me with his elbow. "She went peacefully, at least." He told me, only earning a weak smile from me. I stared at the side of his face as he ate, seemingly not bothered by talking about this with me. "I never...I mean, I never would've thought." I said softly, causing him to look my way and cock his head to the side. He just studied me for a second before he smiled, the sight making me bite on the inside of my cheek. "You don't have to look at me like that, Flora." He said.

A little startled, I blinked at him in confusion and furrowed my brows. "I'm not a fragile kid, idiot. I've had my time to grieve and accept it. I don't want you to pity me, or change how you see me just because you pity me." He told me, causing my lips to part. He shoved the last of his burger into his mouth and swallowed it after he chewed it, raising a brow at me. "You'd better still treat me like you hate me, yeah?" He teased, rising from his chair.

Still stunned, I just stared up at him, unsure what to think. He didn't want me to stop hating him? I didn't understand this man, what he was thinking.

Knox tossed his trash into the trashcan and I just watched him, frowning to myself. He glanced at me over his shoulder and caught my gaze, an amused smile tugging up on the edge of his lips. "I can see you still overthink things, it seems." He chuckled. "I'm not saying I want you to hate me. I'm saying I don't want you to treat me differently out of pity." He clarified, somehow able to see it on my face what I was thinking.

My cheeks warmed and I simply gave him a weak nod of my head as I rose from my chair, watching him stride out of the breakroom to continue working his shift.