tattoos // lashton

two.

- Luke -

"So guess what." I said as I arrived into my apartment. My roommate, Calum, got home before I did since I was applying for a job, which I got.

"What?" He asked, not looking up from his laptop screen. I guess he thought my news wasn't interesting enough. He was wrong.

"I finally got a job!" I announced. He looked up from his laptop screen, then put his laptop aside and hugged me. We had money, but not enough. We already lived in a pretty shitty apartment that we could barely afford. We also had to get food. It wasn't easy.

"About time." He said, sitting back down and going on his laptop. I rolled my eyes, kicking my shoes off and walking to my room. It was a small room, but I could deal with it. I needed some peace and quiet. I flopped down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I put my hands over my eyes to stop myself from crying. I hated that I was growing up. It was too overwhelming. I got up to take a shower. That'll clear my mind.

I knew how to handle my anxiety. I didn't get too many panic attacks since I knew how to control them. If I was in public, I just sat down and put my hand on my pulse. My mum had taught me this when we first found out. She said to match my breathing with the beat. It helps me know I'm alive.

I put on a random playlist while I showered. I sang along to it. That's what I wanted to do. Why couldn't I get a career in singing? I mean, I didn't get the worse job in the world, but it's only temporary. What if I go on to get a business career? Will I have to spend the rest of my life with a job I hate? Who am I kidding? No professional job would hire someone covered in tattoos. I bit at the ring on my lip. What am I going to do with my life?

I got out of the shower and dried my hair. I'll just go play Fifa with Calum until dinnertime. That'll get me out of this daze. I put on some sweats and a random t-shirt.

"Calum, play Fifa with me." I said as I walked into the room. He didn't ask why. He just tossed me a controller and turned on the game system. 

"What are we doing for dinner?" Calum asked when the match was starting up. I shrugged. 

"Kinda in the mood for pizza." I replied, selecting my squad while Calum selected his. When we first got the game, we evenly divided the teams so that no fights occurred. 

"Let me order it before we start. We can go pick it up after the match." Calum said. I nodded, grabbing Calum's phone and tossing it to him. He dialed the number then put the phone against his ear. 

"Hey, I need a large pepperoni pizza." Calum spoke into the phone. There was some talk on the other side.

"Um, Hood. Okay. Bye. I love you." Calum said, pressing end call and tossing his phone on the couch. He stood there for a second, not realizing what he did. I stared at him, causing him to realize his mistake.

"It's just habitual now! The only people who call me are family members." He said, sitting down and crossing his arms.

"It's kinda expected. I mean, you work at a Starbucks in the middle of a book store, dude. I doubt you're going to run into anyone you know." I said, laughing and shaking my head. Calum hit my arm then started the match. 

"You know, I have a friend at work. Ashton, I think his name is. Yeah, that's his name. We're friends. Well, we say hi to each other then he sits behind the counter and reads. Never mind. We're not really friends. Acquaintances, you could say." Calum said, bringing his legs up to sit criss-cross. I didn't pay attention to what he said. All he did was admit that he doesn't have friends. Besides me, of course.

The game ended tragically for me with a score of 4-1. Calum said I had to drive since he won. He also said I had to open the car door for him since he won. I opened the car door and got inside. I put the keys in the ignition and backed out of the parking space.

"This is why I don't play Fifa with you that often. You make me a slave." I said as I started the circle around the building. The only way we could get out of the parking lot was to circle around the entire building. I wasn't lying when I said it was shitty. It's like they didn't plan it out at all.

"You are a peasant. Peasants must be slaves towards the king." Calum said, turning the radio on. Some terrible pop song was playing so he turned it to the CD that was inside, which was Nirvana. 

"Which place did you order from, anyway?" I asked as I finally exited the parking lot. We had quite a bit of pizza places and Calum could never pick the same one.

"Pizza Hut." Calum answered. I groaned.

"Calum! That's all the way on the other side of town! We have to go across the bridge." I said, pouting. I didn't like going across the bridge, though Calum loved it. I was afraid that it would collapse or we would fall off the edge. Typical things that I would worry about. We just got on the start of the bridge. Whenever we drove across it, I had to be the one driving. I wouldn't go on it any other way, and Calum knew that. Maybe that's why he had me drive, not just because I was a peasant.

"Luke, pull over." Calum said while we were on the bridge. What's he on about now?

"Okay, just let me pull over into the fucking water." I replied. 

"Just stop the car!" Calum shouted through gripped teeth. I did as he said, mainly because I was scared. No one else was driving across the bridge this late anyway. No one else was as insane as Calum. I watched as he opened the door of the car.

"Get your ass back into this car right now." I said, but he didn't listen. I looked past him to see a figure sitting on the edge of the bridge. I unbuckled my seat belt and exited through Calum's door. He held his hand back to stop me from coming any closer.

"Are you going to jump?" He asked. The person jumped when he asked that, but luckily kept his grip on the bars.

"Fuck off." They said, not even looking back. I couldn't see anything about them. It was too dark. 

"Ashton?" I heard Calum say. I guess he recognized his voice since I knew Calum couldn't see anything either, even if he was closer than I was.

"Yeah. Just...go away, whoever this is. I'm fine." The person, Ashton, said. I just stayed quiet.

"It's Calum. The guy who works at Starbucks." He said. He took another step closer. Ashton didn't say anything for a second.

"Go away, Calum. I'm fine. I'm just sitting here." Ashton said. Calum took another step closer. I don't think I've ever had a moment more intense than this.

"How about we just get you off this ledge, okay?" Calum said, walking towards Ashton. Ashton jumped over the bar with one quick motion.

"I've done this before, Calum. Calm the fuck down." Ashton said to Calum, walking a little closer. I could see him now that he was closer. He had a nose ring and snake bites. His brown hair was curly and he had a beanie on. He started walking away.

"Do you at least need a ride home?" Calum shouted after him. He held up a peace sign and kept walking.

"He's a little...different." I said. Calum sighed, leaning against the car.

"Yeah. I've always thought he was depressed. I tried to take a look at what his tattoo said one time and I saw a bunch of scars around it." Calum said, climbing back into the car. I crawled over him and into the driver's seat. I buckled up and began driving again.

"What'd it say?" I asked him. I was hoping it'd have something to do with mine. I hadn't found my soul mate yet, and I felt like I was the only one. Calum hadn't found his yet, too, so that proves I'm not the only one.

"Don't do it." Calum replied. I nodded. 

"Maybe that has something to do with mine." I said, holding mine up for Calum to see. He's seen it before, but just in case he forgot. My body was covered in tattoos, but there weren't any by the one I was born with. You weren't allowed to get them near it. I had a nice tattoo artist, though, who let me get a tiny heart by it.

"Yeah, maybe." Calum said. We got our pizza, went home, and put on a movie. My life isn't perfect, but this is as good as it gets.

~