The Tattooist & The Florist

Chapter 9:

Lauren's POV:

"What time is Javadd coming in?" Luis asked after I'd place my black rubber gloves on my hands and prepared the ink for my next customer.

"Um, his appointment is at 2.30." I set out black palettes of ink before turning on the needle to check its functioning.

Zayn and I went out last weekend and we got talking about tattoos. He told me he wanted a new one on his arm to add to his sleeve, so I told him I'd do it for him.

"Aloha!" Zayn announced as he made his way into the store. He looked rather trendy in his all black outfit. His mop of silver hair stood out in comparison to the rest of his attire; he wore a grey denim jacket accompanied by a plain black t-shirt and jeans. After greeting Luis, he made his way over to my side of the store and gave a bright smile. My senses were overcome by the smell of his cologne as he lifted me into a hug. I closed my eyes and put my head in the crook of his neck, feeling my cheeks take on a light shade of pink.

"Come on, fat head." I joked, gesturing towards the chair in front of me once he had put me down.

30 minutes past with laughter and jokes between the three of us and eventually the tat was done. "You're all finished." I smiled with satisfaction, wiping the dots of blood away with an antiseptic wipe.

"Knock, knock." I heard somebody coo as they tapped gently on the open door of the store.

My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach.

"Am I interrupting?" Camila continued with a slight laugh that was laced with anxiousness. I hadn't seen her in awhile – well, I saw her almost every day but I peeled my eyes away before I could take in the detail. She looked beautiful right now.

"Kind of." I replied lowly, but then Zayn sat up in his chair.

"Nah, I've just finished."

Camila seemed to gulp when she saw that Zayn was my customer; the look on her face made me smirk.

Zayn thanked me before leaving the store. Luis didn't know where to look, so he simply dismissed himself into the staff room.

"What do you want, Camila?" I sighed, tearing off my gloves and throwing them on the chair.

"To talk to you." She almost whispered, slowly walking towards me and fiddling with the sleeves of her cardigan that hid her petite hands.

"I don't wanna talk to you." I spat, trying to maneuver away from her as she now stood in front of me. I was trying not to fall at her feet once I smelt the familiar perfume that I'd missed so much.

"What happened to us?" The younger one sounded hurt as she pulled me back by my forearm.

I laughed bitterly and turned to face her.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" I too was hurt. Mainly at the words she had just said. How could she go about her everyday life lying to me and Ariana? Or even have the nerve to come and say to me: "what happened to us?"

Her eyes were glossy and her lips dry. This was the first time in weeks we'd been face to face and I was just now noticing the dark circles surrounding her eyes, which were never normally there. I wondered whether she had been sleeping, or what was stopping her from doing it.

I could tell her I knew about Ariana, or she could tell me. And I would love to see her try and tell me that.

"Hey, Camila? Are you single?" I tried to lace my voice with seductiveness. I knew exactly how I wanted to go about this. I nonchalantly moved closer to her and saw her start to back away, placing her hands on the chair behind her that she'd walked into. I too placed my hands on the chair so I was somewhat leaning over her.