Spencer Oliver is what, or whom, some would describe a 'rebel' but I happen to know that's not true because he's my best friend. Just because he has a couple of piercings, some tattoos, and generally stays quiet, people have dubbed him as a 'rebel', but when they talk about him as if he's a rebel, they always say he's so respectful, which never makes sense to me. Spencer has a total of four tattoos and four piercings. You may be wondering how he even has four tattoos if he's a junior in high school, and the answer is simple: his mom has signed for them. But the thing about his tattoos is they all have some sort of meaning, and his piercings--well, his mom wasn't too keen on them, but eventually, she agreed. Okay, so technically at this point in time, he only has three tattoos, but within four hours, he will have four.
Spencer recently lost his grandmother, and she was his best friend; he has an appointment later this afternoon to get the tattoo dedicated to her, which is "grow strong, my Spencer" written in her handwriting. It was the last thing she said to him when she was in the hospital, and Spencer searched through his house and hers for pieces of paper that said each word in her handwriting so that it would be her exact handwriting. At the time, obviously, he hadn't thought to have her write down what she had said.
"I want you to come with me," Spencer says suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Where?" I ask stupidly. "Tonight, the tattoo parlor. My mom said since it's Friday, you can also stay over," "Okay, but after school--" "I'll pick you up from your house," he says softly, interrupting me. "Are you nervous?" I ask him, meeting his gaze. "Honestly, not really...I've already gotten three tattoos, but I mean, now that I think about it...yes, I'm nervous. I'm worried I'll cry, not from pain but because, you know..." he trails off. "I know, Spence," I say, rubbing his arm. "I'll be there, and I've seen you cry before, so don't worry about it," He smiles at that.
That evening at 4:30, when he pulls in my driveway, I tell my Mom goodbye and run out to his car with my overnight bag; his appointment is at 5:15. I look over at him as I get in the car, and I can tell he's nervous. "Ready for this?" I ask him. "Not really, but we're gonna do it," he says, backing out of my driveway. I grab his free hand and squeeze. "You got this, bubba,"
We walk into the parlor, and I can visibly see Spencer shaking. "I have an appointment," he tells the girl at the front desk, her Ariel-red hair tied up in a messy ponytail. "Name and time?" she asks. "Spencer Oliver, five-fifteen," "We've got ya, we'll be right with you." Spencer smiles and thanks her, and we go to sit down. We've barely sat down when they call out his name. We get up, following a different girl to a room. "I'm Alanna, and I'll be assisting Sean today," she says, introducing herself as she wipes the chair off. "You can go ahead and lay down. You'll need to lay on your stomach, and we'll lay your arm on the little armrest here," Spencer lays down, and she puts his arm on the armrest. "Is this your first tattoo?" Alanna asks Spencer, sitting on one of the stools. "No, this is my fourth," he says, turning his head to look at me. "I'm nervous," he adds softly. "It's okay, Spence, I'll be right here the whole time, okay?" I say, looking him in the eye. "How bad is the pain scale for a tattoo on the back of the arm?" "It's about an eight or a nine," Alanna says. "But if you've had an upper arm tattoo, especially on the inner arm, it shouldn't be too much worse than that. You can sit down in that chair right there," I turn around and grab the chair, pulling it up to Spencer on his left side. He turns his face to look at me, his cheek slightly squished. He puts his left arm underneath his face, lifting it off of the chair. The door opens and the artist comes in. I hand him the paper with the design on it. "We want this vertical on the arm, correct?" Sean asks. "I only ask because I've had people come in and want it done horizontally," "Yes, I want it vertical," Spencer confirms. "Hold my hand," Spencer whispers panicked, turning his face to mine and withdrawing his arm from under his face as Sean barely touches his arm with a gloved hand. I laugh a little. "Relax, he's going to tell you everything that he is doing, okay?" I say. "He was just rolling up your sleeve," Spencer nods, and I can already tell that he's trying not to cry. "Okay, I'm just going to put the stencil on here, alright?" Sean says and Spencer nods, squeezing my hand and closing his eyes. I lean my head against his. "Hey, look at me, you've got this," I say quietly. He nods, but even as he nods, a tear slips down his cheek. I wipe it away with my thumb on my free hand. "You got this, pretty baby," I say softly, not knowing why I just called him 'pretty baby' but he either didn't notice it or doesn't care, and he nods again. "Okay, we're going to take the tattoo needle and begin, okay, if you need me to stop, just say so, but please try your best to not move," Sean says as Alanna grabs Spencer's arm to hold the sleeve back as well as to hold his arm down. Spencer nods, squeezing my hand tightly, and closing his eyes.
"Does it hurt?" I ask him as a few tears slip down his cheeks. He looks at me and nods. I wipe away the tears with my thumb, leaning my head against his once more. "You're doing amazing!" Alanna says, encouraging him. "We're almost done with the first round!" Sean adds. Spencer nods but still keeps his head bent against mine.
"We're done!" Sean says once he's finished. I grab my phone quickly to take a picture of it before Sean puts the tape on it. I help Spencer sit up. "Can we sit in here for a few minutes?" I ask Sean before I show Spencer the picture, knowing he'll break down once I do. "Of course," Sean says. He gestures to Alanna. "Let's give them some space," "It looks amazing!" Alanna says as she walks out, closing the door behind her and Shawn. "Are you ready?" I ask Spencer. "No?" he says, but it comes out as a question. "It really is beautiful, Spence," I pull the picture up and show it to him; his lip quivers as he looks up at me. "Ssh, it's okay," I whisper, pulling him into me and rocking back and forth. His head rests against my chest as he sobs. After about ten minutes, he pulls back and looks at me. I meet his gaze and wipe tears from his face with my thumbs. "I'm sorry, your shirt--" he begins. "Don't worry about it, bub," I say, cutting him off. "Come on, let's go home, okay?"
I drive Spencer's car back to his house. When we walk in, his mom and sisters are at the door. He shows them but also shows them the picture so they can see it better. Spencer and his mom both start crying; he hugs her tightly, but quickly, and turns to me, wrapping his arms around me, hugging me tightly. I rub his back and look at his mom and sisters over his shoulder. His mom, Eliza, smiles at me reassuringly. "Spence, why don't you and Ezra go upstairs, honey? You can rest," Eliza tells him. Spencer pulls out of my shoulder and nods. I follow him up the stairs and into his bedroom, where he collapses on the bed. I sit down beside him, looking at him. He's not really crying anymore, but he's leaning against his pillow, staring at me--until he's not. All at once, he's in front of me and then his lips are on top of mine. I grab his waist, pulling him close and onto my lap so that he's straddling me. His hands rest on my shoulders as he kisses me, and I kiss him back, softly and deeply. He pulls away softly and looks at me. "I heard the 'pretty baby' thing, by the way," he adds, a smile appearing on his face. I blush. "I did not think you heard that," I say. "It's okay, I'm your pretty baby, I mean if you'll have me, anyway," "Of course I will! I love you, Spence!" "I love you too, Ez," he whispers, leaning in and kissing me again.
He curls into me that night, pressing the front of his body against mine, his head resting on--or near-- my chest. I kiss his forehead softly, hearing his breathing starting to steady out into a rhythm. "Good night, sweet boy," I whisper, pressing my lips against his sleeping ones, then kissing his cheek, pulling him closer and falling asleep myself.
12/25/19 Merry Christmas!! It's currently 12:55 AM!! Also, I added Spencer's tattoos and pointed out his piercings! I also designed these tattoos!
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