the bucket list - h.s. (on hiatus)

chapter v

O

32. Get a tattoo

Since Harry and I had agreed that completing the list in order wasn't necessarily logical, we went ahead and skipped to number thirty-two in the notebook.

"What do you think you want to get?" He questioned me for about the billionth time, and I rolled my eyes, nudging him with my elbow playfully. "Guess you'll have to wait and see." The smirk on my face slowly faded when we arrived at the little shop that Harry's friend worked at.

I'll admit; I was not fond of needles one bit. Having Harry walking inside the little building on the corner of the street somehow comforted me and pushed away the rest of my thoughts.

"Harry, my boy!" An older man smiled at us, pulling Harry in for a hug. They laughed together for a moment, until I waved at the man, shyly twisting my hair between my fingers.

"Now, what brings you two here today? Come for yet another random tattoo, Harry?" The dark individual cackled but I politely shook my head 'no' and Harry explained that I was the one who wanted a tattoo.

"Ah, and this must be your first time?" He raised a bushy eyebrow at me, and I nodded, the feeling of nervousness overwhelming me once again.

"I'll have one of my boys do the ink for you. Have a seat in one of the chairs." He motioned with a large, meaty hand towards the several seats with torn black leather and I shakily made my way over to the nearest one, Harry following close behind.

A tall, lean, blonde-haired boy emerged from the back room, smiling. "You must be Harry! And this is?" He spoke quickly, pulling a pair of white latex gloves over his large hands and taking a seat beside me. "Olivia." I felt a gentle, reassuring squeeze on my hand, which I discovered was intertwined with Harry's.

"So, let's get started, shall we?" The man nodded, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Sure," My voice was shaky and Harry chuckled quietly.

It was quite exciting, actually.

__________

After an hour and a half, I had finally settled on a mandala that would be inked onto my back, and Harry smiled proudly at my choice.

"So, how does it feel?" He smiled happily as we exited the shop, still holding hands. "Honestly," A small smile found its way onto my chapped lips. "It was fun." I shivered as the cold air tickled my soft skin.

Harry held the car door for me, again, and we drove back to his home.

After I kicked off my tan wedge heels, tossed my jacket onto the couch, and poured myself a glass of milk, Harry joined me in the living room, watching re-runs of my all-time favorite show; Friends.

I could tell Harry was simply putting up with it, because he didn't make much commentary the entire time. At one point he even left the room for a little while, and I grew worried, thoughts of upsetting him clouding my mind.

"I thought you'd want more comfortable clothes." He smiled sheepishly, handing me a black t-shirt and red flannel pajama pants. The gesture was sweet as could be, and I found myself blushing as the soft fabric fell into my hands.

"Thanks." He nodded curtly as I went to change in the bathroom. The large white bandage covering my newly permanent ink on my back was uncomfortable, but I chose to ignore it and slipped into Harry's clothing.

"You hungry? We could order take-out or something." He called from the other side of the door, just as I finished tying my brown hair into a bun and stumbled out of the bathroom. His pants were much too long for me, and I almost slipped and fell, but Harry caught me.