Clandestine (Pete Wentz / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 6 - Keep it a Secret

Pete Wentz

When we walked in, the parlor was empty. The faint sound of music playing from the back of the shop caught my attention, and I pulled Ariel with me towards the purple curtain that hung over the doorway. Ariel tugged back, suddenly very nervous. "Pete," she mumbled, "We can't just walk back there."

"Sure we can," I assured her, "Lauren's my artist. She knows I usually just walk back." I pulled her hand again, tightening my grip on her fingers, and pushed the curtain aside with my arm. In the back of the store, was what looked like a lounge; A big sectional took up nearly half the room, with a fireplace on the other side and flowers all over the place. It definitely had a feminine touch, but for the most part, it was calming. To the immediate right, was a small hallway leading back to two tattooing rooms. Normally, Lauren had another artist here with her, but from the quietude of the building, I could tell she was alone today. "Lauren!" I called, gently leading Ariel to the sectional. She sat down hesitantly, her fingers slipping from mine. I was a little regretful of that; I didn't want to let go of her hand just yet.

As I stood patiently beside her, a young blonde girl appeared in the hallway, coming from her office. She smiled when she saw me, and quickly came out to greet us. "Pete!" She gasped, immediately throwing her arms around my neck. "It's good to see you! It's been so long. Ready for something new?"

"Not today, Lauren," I laughed, "Actually, I brought a friend of mine with me." I glanced at Ariel, who smiled and waved nervously to Lauren. "This is Ariel," I introduced, "And Ariel, this is Lauren. She's been taking care of me since I was sixteen."

"Not that I knew he was only sixteen at the time," Lauren mumbled, moving to hug a very surprised Ariel as well. "Nice to meet you, sweetie! What can I do for you today?"

"Well, actually," I cut in, gently taking Lauren's arm and directing her away from Ariel, just out of ear shot. "You remember the bat you did for me?" I whispered.

"That one?" Lauren asked just as quietly, pointing awkwardly at my pants.

I nodded. "I want the same thing on her, but smaller, and on her ankle. She has a Panic! at the Disco one down there, you'll see it, just keep them close together."

"Does she know about this?" Lauren asked, glancing back at Ariel in concern. When Lauren looked back at me, I could see Ariel rolling her eyes dramatically at me.

"She agreed to it," I laughed, "She said I could pick anything."

Lauren looked at me like she didn't believe me. "So...what are you two?" She asked suddenly, leaning closer to me with a knowing smirk. "She's cute."

"We're just friends," I said, a little embarrassed. I felt my face flush as I glanced up at Ariel again. She was looking down at her lap, her bright red hair framing her face.

"For now," Lauren giggled, stepping away before I could refute her comment. "Okay!" She gushed, making Ariel stand up with a nervous smile. "Let's do this!"

***

Ariel was sitting in the chair, her foot propped up on a small, cushioned table so that Lauren could work on it. The Panic! tattoo was half-covered by the stencil that Lauren was applying to Ariel's leg, and she looked up at me just before she removed it. "Want to see, Pete?" I nodded, moving behind Ariel's chair to place my hands over her eyes. She gave a small noise of annoyance, but I ignored her as I looked down to watch Lauren remove the stencil. Above the Panic! tattoo, and just a little bit bigger, laid the Clandestine bat. It was simple, just blank ink like mine, and it looked damn good over that P!. I smiled and nodded at Lauren, refusing to give any inkling of a hint to Ariel. I was content to stand there with my hands over her eyes the entire time, but her hands moved up to tug at my fingers.