ON HOLD Killing you (Danny Worsnop/Austin Carlile Love Triangle)

They Don't Call It The South For Nothing

I was in my office looking at applications for my replacement. It'd been a month since I signed the lease and construction began. J.D., Lolly and May were completely okay with me expanding and moving. I found one guy that I was okay with replacing me. He interviewed yesterday and was pretty damn perfect. I was about to call and break the news to him when May came back.

"Hey. You have a walk in."

"Give him to Lolly."

"He's pretty hell bent on you. Says Oli sent him." I rolled my eyes and got up. On my Pandora "The Depths" started playing.

"May! Turn that up will ya?" She did and I started head banging on the way to the reception desk.

"My body's failing,

I think I've hit the floor,

I cannot feel anything anymore!

My body's failing,

I think I've hit the floor,

I can't remember anything anymore!"

"You a fan?"

"Oooh yeah. Love me some Of Mice & Men."

"Does that mean I get a discount?" I looked up from the paperwork that I was going to give this dude.

"Oh my god."

"Hey." Standing before me was Austin Carlile, all 6 foot 4 inches of him.

"Uh, hi. Come to the back and we'll talk tattoos." He followed me to my office.

"Any ideas of what you want?"

"Well. Oli told me all he told you was he wanted a skull and you came up with the rest. So what can you come up with on a-. What's happening here?"

"Well. I'm branching out and starting another parlor off of this one. I was going to go over there today and look at the progress."

"Well don't let me stop you."

"Nah you're good."

"Here. Proposal. Let's go look at your parlor and you can spend the day with me afterwards."

"What's in it for me?"

"You get to spend a day with me." I laughed, "alright. That's an offer I can't refuse."

"May. I'm going to check on the new shop."

"Okay." Austin and I walked outside. "Hold up beanstalk. I'm not going to make you drive back to Austin."

"Actually I drove from Dallas. I'm there for a few days." I looked at him and he laughed. "Come on then." I had moved into a flat in Dallas a few days after I signed the lease. I planned on staying in Dallas as soon as I found a replacement for me.

"You just wanna follow me so you don't have to drive back up here?"

"Are you staying in Dallas tonight?"

"No. I'm coming back."

"Wanna just ride together?"

"But don't you have to drive back to Dallas?"

"Eh. I've got a friend up here who I was thinking about coming to see so. Your car or mine?"

"Do you feel like listening to your own voice?"

"If you plan on singing again, then yes." I blushed and we walked to my car. My iPod was already hooked up and paused on "YDG".

"Favorite song?"

"My Understandings. I am in love with it."

"Least favorite?"

"Uhh. O.G. Loko."

"I like your hair."

"I like your face."

"Why thank you. Yours is quite nice too."

"Thanks." We laughed and he started tapping on the dashboard.

"You know, when Oli told me about you I thought you were a dude. Really. Because I've seen a lot of great female tattoo artists, I have, but none to the level as yours. The tattoo on his palm, is the most detailed thing I have ever seen."

"Thank you. I put a lot of time and dedication in all of my tattoos, I want them to be something someone is proud to have. Even when they're old and the tattoo is stretched, I want them to be able to look at it and it still look as good as it did when they got it."

"That's some serious heart there."

"I was always bullied for everything about me. Everything. You have to have a rock in your life, otherwise you're on a downhill slide to suicide. And I'd spent too much time with white walls and straight jackets. So I focused. Plugged my headphones and drew. Sometimes I'd get so lost in a project I wouldn't come out of my room for days. It was me and my muse."

"So art saved your life?"

"Drawing and music."

"What was your favorite thing to listen to?"

"Well, for a long time it was Hispanic Pop. And then when I hit 13, I discovered the beautifulness that is A Day To Remember."

"Hispanic?"

"My adoptive parents are Hispanic " He nodded and "My Understandings" came on. I turned my stereo all the way up and shivered as the guitar filled my truck.

"I don't mind it,

I don't mind if you're overrated.

Or if you're staring at the edge of the world

But keep in mind that

I'm a sore eye with blurry vision.

But I can see that it has to be you love

that I've been dreaming of.

And if we climb this high,

I swear we'll never die."

"You have a great voice."

"Thanks."

"So I was wondering since when we get to Dallas it's gonna be 5ish if you maybe wanted to have dinner with me afterwards?"

I bit my lip, "I'd love to."