Inked

Protect You

Chapter 3:

Eleanor has once again dragged me out of my comfy pajamas to the outside world. I usually have no reason to leave the house other than to go to a few meetings with artists or music producers. My piano and guitar is at home, along with all my sound equipment. Eleanor does the shopping in our flat and I go on a run every morning anyway so really what else do I need?

Zayn.

"Come on, you're not going to finish that song by sitting there uninspired. You'll thank me when you're collecting your Grammy or whatever." She says as-a-matter-of-factly. I would argue but she has a point. I'm not going to get past my writer's block without making new experiences. And on top of that, it's been a week, my tattoo is mostly healed, and I need to figure out another one to get... I want something that shows what he means to me... Or something to show what I'd do for him. I mean, I'm getting tattoos to see him, but I can't exactly tell him that now can I?

Don't get me wrong, I like the tattoos and they look good. Even if we don't end up together, I don't think I'd regret them, but still... I got them for him and that will always mean something.

"Where am I going?" I ask, my annoyance long gone. Now I just want to know where I'm supposed to be driving us.

"IHOP." She smiles typing on her phone.

"Right..." I roll my eyes taking the next left to go in the exact opposite direction I was going.

"Sorry, 'Li'" she makes fun of the new nickname. "Maybe one day he'll call you 'Liyum'." She giggles with a lick of her lips to emphasize her point. "Mmm, Liiiiiiyummy!" she moans.

"Are you quite done?" I pout.

"Yeah yeah, I'm sorry." She laughs.

When we arrive at IHOP we're seated and Eleanor has been glued to her phone since we got in the car.

"El?" I ask, "what's going on?"

"Nothing, but Nicolette will be joining us, hope you don't mind." She whispers quickly before getting up to greet the blonde that suddenly appeared walking toward our table.

"Hey Nicolette!" I hug her after the girls pull apart. I love Nicolette to pieces, but I always feel like a third wheel when we all hang out.

"I'm sorry Liam! I don't mean to intrude!" Nicolette says quickly.

"What?" Ugh why can't I not say thing out loud? "No, not at all! I'm just jealous of how cute you both are..."

"Well how's it going with Zach?" Nicolette asks.

"It's Zayn." I correct annoyed

"Sure, whatever you say big guy." She laughs and takes a seat next to Eleanor just as the waitress comes. We give her our order and she gives us all drinks before leaving.

"Nothing has changed since the last time we've talked, Nicolette..." I sigh in frustration.

"And they won't if you just sit there." She snaps back. "Liam, I'm saying this as your friend: Eat your pancakes, and go get you some bad boy." Nicolette smiles into her cup of orange juice. Wait that's mine. Ugh. I don't even care.

"But I can't just show up randomly at his tattoo shop... I need to get a tattoo... So we can sit there together talking..." I smile at the thought.

"What do you even talk about?" Eleanor once again gets annoyed at the one detail I won't tell her.

"Just... Personal stuff... Stuff about his past, that he doesn't tell people...." I blush, accepting the food from the waitress that just came back to our table.