Once Upon A Dream • K.M.

(1.23) Tattoo

"No, no no no. Jana I told you no tattoos!" Eden whined as the two girls walked up to the same tattoo parlor that Jana brought the girls to two years before.

"And I told you that you needed to be more spontaneous Eden. Come on! Live a little!" Jana encouraged, dragging her into the shop.

Eden had only ever been inside a tattoo parlor one time in her life, and the first time she had gone in, it was exactly like she thought it would be. The walls were decorated in abstract colors as the employees spray painted things all over the walls in an effort to show off their art to potential clients. It was very uncomfortable to Eden and she'd sworn that she would never go there herself because of how unprofessional it looked. Apparently, whoever owned the shop seemed to think it had been too.

The walls were now painted a pristine white and the soft glow of the fluorescent lights gave it a more gentle look. The black chairs were lined up against the walls in a neat row and there were end tables pushed in the corner that held the design books of each artist. The reception desk sat in the middle, a mixture of black and white to match the design of the white walls and black tiled floor.

Situated at the large desk was a pretty red head, filing away at her nails lazily. She popped her gum loudly and Eden absently wondered how her red lipstick didn't rub off on it. She looked up when the door opened and when she saw Jana, she dropped the nail board and ran around the counter as the two embraced.

"Jana! Oh my god, where have you been?!" The redhead pulled Jana away and Jana smiled.

"I'm so sorry, I've been totally caught up in school and Mom is trying to give me the right connections, it's all been so hectic!" Jana said in one breath. The red head let Jana go and turned to Eden, noticing her for the first time since they had walked in the shop.

"Hey, you must be Eden." She stuck her hand out and Eden shook it.

"Yeah, and you are?" Eden asked. The red head laughed loudly, showing off a pair of perfect white teeth.

"Sorry! I forget that Jana doesn't talk about me much anymore." Jana rolled her eyes playfully.

"You've always been my favorite girl." Jana said fondly, going around the corner and picking up a book.

"I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Jupiter." Eden raised her eyebrows at the odd nickname but didn't question it, it wasn't like her name was really that common.

"It's nice to meet you Jupiter. Are you an artist here?" She asked, looking around the pristine shop.

"God no, my boyfriend owns the shop. I'm just the receptionist." Eden looked back at Jana, who was now flipping through the pages of one of the display books they have set out.

"Are you guys getting something done, or are you just stopping by?" Jana looked up, tossing the book to the side.

"We're getting some work done. I finally convinced Eden to get one and I wanted to get the neck tattoo I was telling you about." Eden's eyes widened and Jana caught her expression.

"It's going on the back of my neck Eden." Jana told her frightened cousin, and it settled her unease, but only slightly.

Jupiter turned to Eden, her red hair whipping around with her. "What did you want?"

"I don't know honestly, but nothing too big." Eden answered.

"Alright, well I can bring Levi out, and we can have him draw you something up while we do Jana's?" Jupiter suggested.

"That sounds great, I was just about to ask you if Ethan was open." Jana said, speaking before Eden could. Jupiter went back behind the reception desk and looked through a small black book.