The Grey- Noah Sebastian

nineteen

*Sutton's POV*

The week after Thanksgiving, I had my tattoo appointment with Nic, and I'm so excited! Not only because I've been wanting this tattoo for a long time, but because Nic is super talented.

The shop he works at opens at noon, so I got to Noah's by 11 for us to go grab a quick breakfast before. I think Noah decided to get a tattoo as well today. His legs are surprisingly still pretty bare, so maybe that's what he's planning. We just grabbed some biscuits and hashbrowns from McDonald's and called it good, not wanting to be late for Nic.

We went in as soon as we saw Nic unlock the doors and wave us in with a huge smile on his face. I can tell that his passion for tattoos is equal to the passion for music, and it makes my heart warm. He had us do all of the legal paperwork before bringing us to his station. It had a bunch of flash sheets around it, nothing too personal. 

"So Sutton, this is what I was imagining," he said as he flipped his iPad to me, showing a snake that had mostly just scales and shading, nothing over the top. "And with the way it's designed, it's easy for me to make it wrap around. Are you wanting it to wrap around like cuffs? Kinda like a snake actually being wrapped your entire forearm?"

"Yes! You've got it perfect," I mused.

"Awesome, give me a second," he said as he disappeared.

"A snake?" Noah teased. "Look out everyone, we got a tough girl over here."

"Oh, shut up, you also have a snake," I pointed out as I pointed to his neck.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he picked back. "Do you think you sit well for tattoos?"

"I have so far, but I haven't done this placement before."

"It's really not bad at all," he said seriously this time. "There's a nerve on the outer part of the arm that feels a little funky and the wrist isn't comfortable, but it's definitely a pretty easy location otherwise," he told me honestly, which I appreciated. Nic came back with the stencil and wrapped it around dry first to see if I liked the size, and I did, so he fully laid it on me and got everything situated before starting. "Babe, that's gonna be so sick," Noah mused.

"Awww, thanks, babe," Nic picked back at him, making us all laugh. I noticed that he threw on Pink Floyd, which isn't my favorite, but maybe it's just to keep the peace in the shop. "By the way, do you want any color in this or just shading?"

"Just shading," Noah looked at me judgmentally. "What? It's a lot of upkeep, I'm good." 

"I'm just fucking with you, I totally get it." I could tell it was killing him to not be close to me, but I don't mind torturing him. 

"Sutton, are you hating me yet?" Nic asked, referring to the tattoo.

"Would it be weird if I said I'm actually loving you more right now?" This made everyone laugh, Nic pulling away for a second. "No, but, it honestly doesn't hurt bad at all."

"Sweet, I didn't know if you had a low pain tolerance or anything," Nic responded before getting back to it. "I should have asked you what music you liked," he realized.

"My favorite band ever is Paramore," Noah feigned offense by putting his hand on his chest and gasping. "Honey, I love you, but to be abundantly clear, if I get a chance with Hayley Williams, I'm taking it."

He thought for a moment. "Honestly, fair enough. She is a queen," he mused. Nic stopped the tattoo and flipped the music over to a Paramore playlist. "My only request is that we skip 'Ain't It Fun,'" Noah said quickly.

"Why?" I asked him with my eyebrows knitted together. 

Noah sighed and looked at Nic. "Do you remember that one bus ride where Jolly played that song for 7 hours straight?" I laughed at the thought of it. "I really wish I was joking, but it ruined the song for the rest of time for me."