PULSE [H.S]

065

"Piercings are not just about the pain; they are about the empowerment that comes from taking control of your body." — Unknown

Pen, Clove, and I are getting piercings.

Not from that guy from the bar, but from another place that Danny recommended to us. Pen's driving us. The place is only about twenty minutes away.

"What are you guys getting?" Clove asks as she scrolls through Pinterest, looking at different piercings.

Pen says, "Kiz has always wanted her nipples pierced."

Clove looks at me, her jaw dropping. I shake my head, saying, "I'm not doing that. I don't know what I'm getting yet."

"Now I kind of want my nips pierced," Clove says as she searches it on Pinterest, resulting in a sensitive search warning that makes me laugh.

Pen says, "I'm thinking about an eyebrow piercing."

"That would look great, Pen," I say from the backseat of her car since Clove called shotgun.

I like hanging out with the two of them. They're actually pretty similar people. I didn't notice the similarities until I've been seeing them together more, but they both have that protective big sister vibe mixed with cool Aunt.

Clove says, "I'm doing the nipples. Fuck it."

"Oh my God," I say, smiling, "I'm so excited."

Pen locks eye contact with me in the rear view mirror, saying, "Kiz, do your belly button."

"Oooh," Clove gushes, "you have to do that. It would look so sick on you."

Clove shows me some inspiration from Pinterest, which Pen says is outdated and she needs to switch to Tiktok for inspiration photos. The belly button piercings look pretty cool, and I end up agreeing.

The piercing place is intimidating. It has one of those 'Everyone here is in a gang' type of vibe. There are skulls and scary posters everywhere, and the music is really loud. I kind of like it.

It turns out the person doing our piercings is a woman, which makes me even more excited. Her name is Kat, and she takes us into a back room together so we can all be there for each of the piercings.

Kat says, "Alright, who's going first, ladies?"

I shake my head, making it clear that I will not be the first one on that chair. I'm pretty nervous for some reason. I don't know what to expect or how painful belly piercings are.

Pen says, "I'll do it. Can we do an eyebrow ring?"

Kat shows her some different rings of varying colors and sizes. Pen picks a small black one, which I think is going to look sick with her dark hair. I watch as Kat marks the spots on her eyebrow with a blue marker, showing Pen in the mirror.

She picks up a needle, and that's when I realize this is way more intense than getting your earlobes pierced with a piercing gun at a booth in the middle of the mall. My palms start to sweat a little.

Pen isn't nervous, though. She seems excited. I don't think I've ever seen her nervous about anything, actually.

"Ready, babe?" Kat says when everything's ready to go.

Pen nods, "Most definitely."

Kat pushes the needle into her skin, and I have to look away as a bit of blood drips down into Pen's cheek. That looks so painful. Pen doesn't even move, and there's a smile on her face. She's fucking weird.

I look back again as Kat somehow slides the ring through the hole, and then she wipes the area, clearing it of blood. She says that it's all done, and I'm shocked at how quick that was.