Daniel stands next to me at the glass counter. My eyes are glazed over as I stare at the thousands of flash tattoos pasting the wall. "What about this one?"
"Um. Maybe." I look around anxiously, what am I doing? This is so dumb. What if I look stupid? The buzzer in my back pocket goes off and I jump letting out a small squeak.
Daniel looks at me concerned and wraps an arm on my shoulder, "You okay?"
I bite my bottom lip and nod my head, "Yep, just super stoked."
He laughs and rubs my back, "You don't have to go through with this, Michael... I won't think any less of you."
"What? Please it's just a gun full of hundreds of needles... Digging and scrapping into my skin..."
A girl with a lime green mohawk comes up to us and crosses her arms, "Which one of you is Michael Wolski?" she asks.
Daniel shoves me forward, "You got this, Turtleneck."
"Me. I am Michael." I say raising my hand and giving her the buzzer.
"Dope. Have you decided on a design?" She asks turning off the buzzer and setting it behind the cash register.
"Yeah um..." I stare up at the wall again and a simple rose catches my eye. "I think I'm gonna go with the rose."
"Alright, follow me back to the room on the left, your boyfriend can come back too." She points to Daniel without hesitation.
"Oh, he's not my..."
Daniel walks ahead with her, "Cool." Maybe he didn't hear her or maybe he's just ignoring it.
When we get to the back room, I sit down on a leather chair with paper over the seat like the doctor's office. Daniel sits his arm on the top of my head and rests his chin. "So, is he gonna bleed?" He asks, "Because I'm not really into blood."
The girl shrugs and pulls out freshly packaged tools, "Probably, the chest is a very sensitive area. He'll probably cry."
"Oh great." My phone starts to ring, and I check the screen, It's Ashton. I answer it quickly, "Hey, what's up?"
"Who is it?" Daniel asks.
"Ashton." I mouth. He wiggles his eyebrows and sit down on a chair behind me.
"Where you at? The group is going to get milkshakes at Gerald's." She says through a fit of laughter, which I can only guess was caused by Brain.
"I'm getting a tattoo."
"HA! You're funny. No, but really, where are you?" She doesn't believe me, I don't blame her I can't believe I'm doing this either.
"I'm not kidding, Ash." I sigh. The tattooist looks at me annoyed as she holds the stencil in her hand.
"But you're are deathly afraid of needles?!" She says bewildered.
"I gotta go, here talk to Daniel." I hand the phone behind me. Stripping off my shirt, the lady pushes the stencil on my right peck.
Daniel's conversation with Ash drowns out into the back ground as the tattooist peals back the stencil and picks up the tattoo gun. She loads it up with black ink and adjusts herself on the stool. "Are you ready?" She asks lifting the gun.
"Nope." I pop my lips but before I have a chance to run, she places the gun to my chest and steps on the pedal. The sound throws my mind into a different dimension. All I can see is my Mom sitting at the dining room table with her sewing machine, patching up her rose apron that I had torn... "Oh. My. God. Oh. My. God. Oh. My. God." I panic. Tears start to stream down my cheeks, this is the worst pain of my life. It feels like a feral cat just decided to attack me and piss into the cut.
I must have blacked out at some point, because I come to and the tattoo lady is standing up and pulling off her gloves. "And we're all done." She hands me a mirror and a tissue to wipe off the tears in my eyes.
I look at myself in the small hand held and I'm pleasantly surprised... It's fairly well done and if anything, it felt like it belonged there. Jesus I can't show this to Pop, he'll try to carve it off with his pocket knife. "Let me see." Daniel says from behind me, kicking the back of the chair.
I slide off and turn around for Daniel to get a look. His eyes widen only slightly, but then they settle. He doesn't say anything, and a small smile cracks the corner of his mouth, "You look good. I mean, the tattoo looks good... on you." He says softly.
The tattooist snorts as she watches us, "You guys are so cute... I wish my girlfriend looked at me like that." She shrugs and walks out of the room with the tattoo gun.
We ignore her and since I paid beforehand, we get out of there. The SF air is rigid when we get back out on the street. We both walk with our hands firmly planted in our jacket pockets. The wind pushes back Daniel's hair and his curls are forced straight, "Oh, Ash said for us to meet them at Gerald's... You wanna go?"
"Ah... Sure. Why not."
When we get to Gerald's everyone is in their spot, expect Daniel and Jolene switched seats since she wanted to sit by Ash. The girls and Brain complemented me on the tattoo, but Pickles, Hugh, and Rudy weren't as into it. "Did it bleed?" Hugh asks scrunching up his nose.
"Yeah a little." I shrugged, all four guys shivered... "What's up with you guys and blood? Daniel had the same reaction."
Rudy sighs and points to Pickles, "Last year, this idiot fell during soccer practice and tripped me. Long story short, one of his cleats got jammed in my eye and now I'm partially blind."
Pickles smiles awkwardly, "And I'm still sorry about it, hey but you did get that nurses number."
They high five, "Hell yeah I did."
"Ugh, Boys." Jolene rolls her eyes and nods at Daniel. "So, you went with him?"
"Yeah so?" Daniel says taking a sip of his iced tea.
"Yeah so, Jolene and I were waiting for you for like an hour." Geisha chimes in annoyed.
Daniel looks genuinely confused then realization slowly relaxes his features, "Oh shit... I forgot about your Yearbook thing. Can we do it on Monday?"
"What Yearbook thing?" I ask Geisha.
"Every year the Yearbook staff interviews the Soccer team captain, but this asshole flaked on us AGAIN!"
Jolene crosses her arms, "We can't do it Monday, why not tomorrow?"
Daniel looks over at me and sighs, "I have to drive Michael home and we're going to a concert."
"Michael can ride his bike, right Michael?" Jolene turns her medusa eyes on me.
"Yeah, no problem." I say raising my arms in defense.
Daniel narrows his eyes at Jolene, "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Wait. What concert?" Ashton asks leaning over Brain.
"Don't worry about it Ash." I whisper.
Daniel didn't get the memo, "Some band called Universal Horror, I don't know."
Ashton's eyes light up and I can tell she's already pissed, she slowly turns her head to look at me, "Michael. Can we talk for a minute?" She gets up and walks out of the restaurant as I stand.
Following her out on to the freezing side walk I ask her, "What's up?"
"What's up? You're taking Daniel to the concert I told you about and happens to be my favorite band?"
"Well, you couldn't go... So, I thought you wouldn't mind." I look down at my feet like a child being scolded by their mother.
She sighs and pinches her nose bridge. "First of all, I do mind. That's our thing and now you're off with Daniel doing crazy shit." She motions to my chest, "And second, I don't get your angle, Michael. What's going on with you? First you hate his guts, and now you want to be up in his guts. I don't understand you."
"What do you mean?" I clip.
"Okay... Let me try this again. In layman's terms, do you like Daniel or is all of this a buddy-buddy act so you can ruin his life?"
I'm taken back and between the throbbing pain on my chest and her invasive words, I have to stop myself from crying. "I like him, Ash... I... I don't know how or when it started, but I like Daniel."
She lets go of a deep breath and puts her hand on my shoulder, "Has he said he's gay? Yes or No?"
I pause, "No... But I still find myself going out of the way for his attention... I don't understand it."
"Michael... I just don't want you to think somethings gonna happen when it may not." Her tone changes from stern to worry and she looks tired with not only me but our situation.
"I know, Ash... But he's nothing like I expected and I'm feeling just as conflicted about this as you are." I look into the restaurant through the window and see everyone laughing, but Daniel who's leaning back in his chair staring blankly at my empty seat.
"Brain has told me a lot about Daniel... He isn't the type of guy to commit to anything. He jumps around from thing to thing on whims."
"And you're worried I'm one of those whims?" I run my hand back to smooth out my greased hair and realize I need a trim.
"I don't want some curious guy breaking your heart."
Am I really depraved enough to let some curious guy use me? The thought of Daniel kissing me and using his hands against my body sends a heat wave through my brain, frying the circuits. "After everything I've been through, for some reason, the idea of letting Daniel Sinner use me doesn't seem so bad."
She shakes her head, "Poor man... You've really got it bad." She pulls me into her arms and I wince as she hugs me, "Take him to the concert, but do yourself a favor and find out if he actually likes you please. There's no point in wasting your time."
"Yes, Ma'am... Let's head back in." We break off and go back into Gerald's. If Daniel is just some curious straight boy would that be so bad? He'd kiss me and realize it's not for him and I'd get to feel his lips on mine, which would tide me over until I graduated and met someone who is actually interested in me. I blame my low self-esteem, my Mom leaving, and my Pop's alcoholism.
I sat back down in my chair and Daniel right away asks, "What was that about?" He tries to play nonchalant and sips from his glass without looking at me directly.
"Ashton was just upset I was taking you to the concert." I copy his attitude. If he is just curious there really isn't a point in me trying so hard.
"How come?" He picked off the cherry on my milkshake and plopped into his mouth. My heart rate spiked as I watched him chew and lick whip cream from his lips.
"Ah... Oh, Universal Horror is her favorite band."
He pulls the cherry stem out of his mouth and it's tied in a perfect knot. "Why aren't you taking her then?"
Of course, he can tie a cherry stem... "You have to be 18 or older to get in."
"She's not 18?" He eyes Ashton up surprised.
"No, she's 16... Don't worry Brain knows." I grab the wrapper from my straw and start to pull it apart out of nervous habit. "Hey, Daniel?"
"Mhm?" He rests his head on the back of the chair.
"Are you g-."
"PICKLES! WHAT THE FUCK!" Geisha screams. All of our heads snap to see what happened, Geisha looks down at her shirt and it's covered in ketchup. Pickles awkwardly holds the ketchup bottle, the cap of which popped off and flew behind us.
"Shit... I'm so sorry, Geisha." He says setting down the bottle and rounding up as many napkins as possible.
"Ugh!" She growls and bursts up, "I'm tired of you assholes! I'm going home!" She tries to get out from the table, but I scoot back my seat and get up to help her out.
"Here." I pull off my jacket and walk her to the restroom. "You can wash your shirt in the sink and wear my jacket."
She takes it and kisses my cheek, "At least one of you are nice to me, thank you, Mikey." I wait for her outside the bathroom and when she comes out, I hand her a takeout bag to put her shirt in. She pushes up the sleeves of my jacket and gives me a twirl. "Oversized, but it'll do."
"You still gonna go home?" I ask leaning against the wall.
"Yeah, I've got a lot of editing to do... See you on Monday?" She walks backwards toward the door.
"Probably. See ya, G." I wave bye to her as she leaves. When I get back to the table I see that Daniel's spot is empty. "Where did Daniel go?"
Jolene pulls out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and a lighter, "He seemed annoyed then just got up and left."
"That's weird... Shit." I throw my head back and groan.
"What?" Jolene asks with a cigarette between her teeth.
"He was my ride..."
Ashton overhears and pulls out her car keys, "I'll give you a ride, dumbass."
"No, it's okay, I'll just walk."
"Nonsense, you don't have a coat and it's getting dark." She says downing her root beer.
"No seriously, I'd rather just walk. Plus, I'm gonna head out now and you're not done here..." I pick my phone up from the table and wave goodbye.
"Alright..." Ash says quietly.
"See ya, Mikey!" The guys holler.
The walk is farther than I expected, on my bike it wasn't so bad, but on foot it'll take me half an hour. My skin is covered in goose bumps and I huddle my arms to stay warm. Why did he leave? It makes no sense... I guess he was just tired of how rowdy the group can be. He could have just been tired too.
When I stop at a cross walk, a mustang pulls to the side of the road and Daniel gets out. He looks at me apologetically, "Come on, I'll drive you home."
"Where the hell did you go?" I ask walking toward him.
"I'm sorry..." He says getting into the car.
I get in after him and put on my seatbelt, "Do you just have a habit of ditching people or something?"
He tightens his grip on the steering wheel, "I came back for you, didn't I?"
"Whatever..." I keep my gaze out the window, so he can't see the angry expression on my face.
He turns on the radio to kill the silence between us... Some shitty pop was playing and just as quickly as he turned it on his switched it off. "I am sorry, Turtleneck..."
"Why do you even call me that?" I snap still refusing to look at him, when he doesn't say anything I finally cave and peek.
He seems dumbstruck and lost for words. "I... I don't know... I guess you just wear a lot of turtlenecks... I'll stop if you don't like it."
I sigh and reach from the radio controls, "I didn't say I didn't like it..." I turn on the radio and switch on a rock station.
"Good, because I wouldn't have stopped." His face stretches into a smug smile.
**
School couldn't have gone slower. I was counting down the seconds until I could get home, get ready, and go to the concert with Daniel. I only saw him when he drove me to school, he put my bike in his trunk, so I had a way to get home. It had been so long since I rode it I was afraid I would fall into the street.
Pop had already left for the Auto Shop, so I am happily alone. I look around at the apartment and realize just how big of a mess it is. What if Daniel comes over and see's this? He'll think I'm a slob. Picking up a trash bag and filling a bucket of hot soapy water, I set to work scrubbing down every inch of this infestation. I'm thankful that Daniel has soccer practice until 8:30 or I wouldn't have had enough time to do this.
Surprisingly it only took me three hours to clean up, scrub everything, vacuum, and burn all the used tissues in my bedroom... From you know, sneezing and stuff. My room is fairly clean, I just had to shove some things under my bed and spray air freshener to kill the smell of boy funk. That only left me with about two hours to get a shower, shave, and choose an outfit that didn't scream desperate. In my shower I spent most of the time staring blankly at the wall and coming up with conversation starters, seeing as this would be my first date. It's not a date, he's not into you.
After my shower I shove my head through an old torn up black turtle neck and some matching dress pants I found at Goodwill for a buck fifty. As I hop around on one leg, forcing my foot into a pair of women's boots, I fall and bust my head on the wall. Mom's old rosery falls off my desk and literally on to my lap. I slip it into my pocket as I get off the ground.
The front door opens, and slams shut, shaking my bedroom door. Popping my head into the hall I see Pop looking around confused as if he walked into the wrong apartment. "Michael!" He calls out obviously intoxicated. "Did someone break in and clean?"
I walk out into the living room as I brush my hair back with a comb, "Pop? What are you doing home?"
He looks at me startled, "Shit is it Halloween already?"
"It's January..." I roll my eyes, "Why aren't you at the Auto Yard?"
"Because I ran into my friend from Tennessee." He laughs lifting a bottle of Jack. He hiccups and plops down on his chair, turning on the TV simultaneously.
"You're a mess." I say under my breath. "I'm going out tonight, my friend is picking me up soon."
"I don't care." He turns up the TV to drown me out.
There's a knock on the door and I stand at attention, "Speak of the Devil." I rush out and practically yank the door off its hinges. "Hey, let's go- Wait what are you wearing?" I look down at Daniel's blue jeans and button up.
"What am I wearing? What are you wearing?" He looks at me sideways.
"It's a goth concert. You're going to stick out like a sore thumb..." I stand back and open the door wider, so he can come in, "Come on, I'll fix this."
"Seriously? I look fine, let's go." He grabs the front of my turtleneck, but I protest and yank him into the apartment.
I shut the door and lead him back to my room. With my hand on the back of his head, I push his face down and out of sight, "Who's that?" Pop asks looking over the top of his chair.
"Hi, Mr. Wolski." Daniel says pulling out of my grasp and giving me an annoyed look.
"You look familiar..." Pop squints his eyes as he tries to place Daniel, my heart drops and I shove Daniel down the hall out of view in fear of what Pop may do.
"He's no one, Pop." Once we get into my room, I open my closet and start shuffling around for something that could fit him, I'm thinner than Daniel, he at least has 20 pounds of muscle on me. I pull out a pair of 70s plaid punk pants and toss them to Daniel, "Here, these are too big on me." Then I pull out my worn Siouxsie and the Banshees t-shirt, I toss that to him as well.
He looks down at the clothes then back up at me, "You're kidding, right?"
"Just put it on, Daniel." I sit down on my bed and pull out my phone.
"Fine." He sets the clothes down on the end of my bed and drops his jeans. I look up like a deer in headlights. He takes off his button up and he's just standing there in his underwear. My chest feels tight and my face feels unbearably hot. He really is Achilles and I'm more than glad to be Patroclus... He's like the sun, I know I shouldn't stare, but I can't help myself. He looks at me through his lashes, "What?" His voice is breathy, and it catches me off guard.
I look away. "Nothing." I respond meekly. He slips on the pants and they fit like a glove, the t-shirt is a little tight, but I don't think anyone will complain.
I get up and try to adjust the t-shirt, but the hem is too short, so his lower stomach is exposed. I manage to roll the sleeves over his muscles, I swear this guy was purely born to scorn me. "Much better."
"I'm not wearing eyeliner." He says drawing the line.
"Why not? I think you need it." I offer picking up the black pencil.
"No." He clips. I walk toward him with the pencil nodding, "Michael, I'm warning you!" He says raising his hands to keep me back, "Michael! No, I'm not wearing eyeliner!" I nod again and beckon him to come to me. "I hate you." He gives up and walks toward me. I draw a thin line and smudge it out. Then I fill in his waterline, which he did not like and protested multiple times. Once I finished I let him look in the mirror. "Surprisingly I don't look that bad."
"Alright, we should head out. It's getting close to 9:30." I tuck my phone and wallet into my back pocket and we head out of my bedroom.
Pop watches us like a hawk and shakes his head disapprovingly, "You look like two fairies." He says disgusted.
"Pop-."
He turns to Daniel and gives him a yellow toothed smile, "Did you know my sons a queer?"
Daniel stands there awkwardly and doesn't know what to do, he looks at me and then back at Pop, "Ah..."
I open the front door, "Come on, Daniel..."
We get to Café Du Nord a little after 10 and the band has only been playing for a few minutes. But it was just a cover of Depeche Mode. Everyone is dressed like they are straight out of a bat cave from the 80s. Not to mention everyone managed to be drunk even though the bar's only been open an hour. Red lights flash everywhere, and the bar is crowded. Barely enough room to push your way through.
Suddenly Universal Horror started to play my favorite song, Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie. I grab Daniel by the collar and yank him into the mosh pit. Sweaty bodies collide, and the smell of beer and spirits rot our noses. We jump around and crash into people and they shove us back. "This is crazy!" Daniel yells over the music.
"This is awesome!" I yell back. The song ends, and everyone cheers and claps. Daniel leans into me and asks if I want a drink. I nod, and he disappears into the crowd. The next song starts, The Killing Moon. I sway with the crowd, moving back and forth with our heads artfully tilted to the side.
The lead singer of Universal Horror, Brando, looks at me as he sings "Under a blue moon I saw you, so soon you'll take me..." and winks as he pushes back his messy dyed black hair. He's known to be very free willed and promiscuous, I let myself fantasize for a moment and forget all about Daniel. I imagine Brando finishing the set and going back to his dressing room, there he'd ask his assistant to find me "The guy with the white blonde hair and tattoo", she'd take me back to him, because of course I wouldn't say no, and he'd give me a few drinks and tell me not to be scared. Then he'd bend me over his dressing table and take my virginity. He'd bite my shoulder as he came, then of course he'd light a cigarette and tell me I was beautiful. I'd never see him again, but I would always remember the mark he made on me... Of course, this was just a fantasy.
YOU ARE READING
That's Life
Romance"Where the hell did you go?" I ask walking toward him. "I'm sorry..." He says getting into the car. I get in after him and put on my seatbelt, "Do you just have a habit of ditching people or something?" He tighten...
