Heart-Shaped Box

Part III

The constant buzzing of tattoo machines collectively creating art on canvases made of skin was what Choso looked forward to every day he stepped foot in the parlor. The calmness and therapy of it was what drew him in, in the first place. The different vibrations he would feel while steadily holding the paint brush of pain always relaxed him to no end. Knowing the customers mostly felt the same way, unless it was a first-time tattoo, was what was therapeutic for him. The pain therapy. To be able to give someone some form of outlet was all he needed. He felt at peace anytime he was in the shop, excluding today.

He had just started setting up for the day when a walk-in had came in. She was pretty tall with strong features and held a look that could kill. Her pink hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail, making her face become more prominent. A basically see-through tight, mesh top hung around her torso and was accompanied by a pair of baggy jeans.

Choso worked on setting his station up while he felt eyes bore holes in his head. The nagging feeling that someone was staring at him kept his anxiety on its toes. Ino had just finished doing a tattoo and made his way to Choso's station, letting the woman know he'd be with her in a minute.

"Can I request him?" She asked curtly, her eyes never left Choso with each word she spoke. Ino shrugged, not really understanding why she'd request him, seeing that he himself had just finished up with someone and Choso was still prepping his things. Nevertheless, Ino politely nodded, and continued to go to the other man's station. "Yes that's fine," he gave a warm smile and sat in Choso's extra swivel chair.

Choso's front was pressed against the back of the chair as he straddled it, his hand diligently worked at sorting sketches and templates he had drew the day prior. The feeling of unease filled his body as the woman was still prolonging her eyes to him. He cleared his throat and turned to Ino. "Does she need help with anything?"

Ino shrugged, spinning back and forth, childishly, with the chair. "I guess, but she requested you so," Ino trailed off, finding interest in the sketches that Choso was putting together. "You ever finished Yuki's piece?" He asked as he saw the beginning sketch of the tattoo. He knew it had been a few weeks since Ino had saw the woman, so just wondered if it was the same for his friend.

"Hmm," Choso sucked on his teeth, "not completely done but nearly. She hasn't had time to schedule recently." Which made him, in truth, a little disappointed. He hadn't seen the stunning woman since a few weeks ago and Choso missed her presence. He didn't know why he was so attached already, it only being a few months and them rarely seeing each other, but she had a certain charm to her that he couldn't get out of his head. Her wavy but almost straight, blonde hair, the way she carried herself like she was the most confident person on earth, and the little smirks that she had given Choso from their times hanging out. Choso felt dumbstruck and stupid for having these feelings when he had just recently met this woman.

He stood up to wash his hands and sat back down after he was through. Not surprisingly, the woman's eyes kept following him, making him a bit freaked out, but it was work so he didn't have time to be a wuss about some woman giving him googley eyes. He gave a polite smile to her. "What are you looking for today?"

The woman gave a creepy-ass grin, and straddled the tattoo bench. She attentively stuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Do you do chest tattoos?" She slipped her shirt off of her shoulder some to show her pale skin.

Choso cleared his throat and nodded, his face never dropping his polite smile. "Yeah, I do, however, depending on where at on your chest,
" he motioned to her. "I may not be able to do it today." The door chime went off as someone else walked into the shop. Since Choso was occupied with the customer and did not want to seem rude if he averted his attention, he kept his body towards her, his back faced the door.