Skins & Needles (COMPLETE)

Returning to Normal Part 4

Arsen

I headed back into Skins and Needles, somehow feeling better after our encounter, to find Charlotte already talking to Ethan and Adrian. She was motioning around excitedly, and I wondered if she felt the same. I wanted her so badly it hurt, and being that close to her, unable to act on what I was feeling was torture, but hearing her laugh made it seem like things might be all right. I couldn't have her with the way things were, but maybe we could be around each other and look back fondly on our brief connection and move on in our own lives.

I fucking knew it wouldn't be that easy, and seeing Ethan watch her the way he did made that abundantly clear, but today's meeting was much less painful than when I had told her goodbye.

While Charlotte set up her station to start tattooing my cousin, I began looking around for what I was actually in the shop for. I didn't spot any members of the Hayato circle at first, and went to sit and chat with my family and Charlotte while I waited, but it didn't take long for one to appear.

"Tora!" Charlotte called, and I glanced up to see the Hayato boss's daughter walking through the door, followed by the Llywelyn girl that broke into my house a week prior. "And Ryanne!"

They both approached the station and started talking to Charlotte as she worked on Ethan's firework tattoo. I listened to their conversations patiently, waiting for the right moment to step in. Ryanne scolded Charlotte briefly for being out of contact, before putting her number in Charlotte's new phone, and Tora discussed wanting her first tattoo.

"If you aren't wanting a flash tattoo," Charlotte told her as she worked, "you should definitely get some of our limited edition discount cards! Head to the desk over there and tell Jeremy that Charlotte sent you. You can get your first tattoo— if you want it from me— for like, half off. Don't tell anyone, though. I only offer a few of my personal discount cards."

"Oh my gosh, you're amazing," Tora said, glancing toward the counter. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, of course!" Charlotte chimed, shooting her a smile before returning to her shading. "You seem super cool, and if Ryanne thinks you're okay, then you're good by me."

"I'm going to do that right freaking now," Tora grinned, and headed toward the counter.

This was my chance.

I followed her halfway through the store before clearing my throat. She paused and looked at me sideways.

"What is it, dog?" she asked. Her tone wasn't hostile. Just cautious.

"Can we talk out back?" I asked. When she hesitated, I added, "It's about Lycan."

"Five minutes," was all she responded with, and slipped past the desk and through the back door. When I joined her, she spun toward me with her arms crossed. "Go."

"We're afraid the Nathairs might be housing Sorcerers, and if that's the case, we might need to involve the Draken circle, but we can't do that without proof."

"So, scout their territory?" she suggested.

"We can't without detection," I told her. "We need wings."

Tora looked shocked by what I was suggesting, and opened and closed her mouth a few times as she weighed her options.

"This isn't about us, Hayato," I said before she could shoot me down. "And this isn't about spying on the Nathairs for our own gain, or using you. This is about Lycan. We're always one step behind them. Once they've found their way through, that's it. Just think about it, okay? Talk to Raiden."

"I'll..." She paused and stared out into the rain, her almond eyes flicking around the wide alley rapidly. "I'll talk to him. I can't make any promises."

"I understand. Thank you. This is bigger than organized crime. There are only a few Passes left, and ours is at a disadvantage because of the system our founders created. This might be the only way we can protect Lycan."

"I know," she snapped. "Sorry. It's just, I've never even been to Lycan, and suddenly it's the make or break of shifters worldwide."

"You should go," I urged. "It's... Indescribable. If anything, visit it before things get really bad with the sorcerers. It took a century to recover after the last war, and with how things are looking..."

"I think I will." She turned to go back inside then, but glanced over her shoulder with a small smile. "Thanks, mutt. For caring about this shit. Not enough do."

I waited a minute to head back in, not wanting to arouse suspicion with other shifters in the shop. When I did, I realized I'd been missing out on the shop's holiday festivities. A snack bar was set up along the wall by the counter, and someone was going around handing out red, white, and blue jello shots.

"Alcohol and tattoos?" I asked when I reached Charlotte's station. She peered up curiously, glancing towards Tora, but didn't ask.

"There are non-alcoholic ones for the tattooers and people wanting to get inked," she explained. "Just me, Sam, Jeremy, and Logan are tattooing. Jess is on piercings, and Jackson is doing face paint." I looked across the shop to where a guy dressed as Uncle Sam was airbrushing, and chuckled.

"You guys really go all out," I noted, and Charlotte beamed.

We stayed for about another hour. Ethan's tattoo only took thirty minutes, and Adrian's took around forty-five. We chatted and snacked and teased, and it turned out to be a much less rattling day than I'd expected.

I could still smell Charlotte on my clothes when I left, and driving away from her again still felt fundamentally wrong, but it was a far lighter parting than our last.

When I got home, I began undressing, but froze when I saw the envelope sticking out of my jeans.

"It's... private."

I scooped it off the floor and shifted my fingers into claws to tear it cleanly open. I reached inside and pulled out a folded sheet of sketch paper. As I opened it, something else fell to the floor, but I was too focused on the sheet to pick it up immediately.

Covering the sketch paper corner to corner was a colored pencil landscape of the scenery behind my house.

So that's what she was doing all day.

I stared at it for far too long, amazed with the detail she worked into each tree, each cactus, each leaf, before setting it on the nightstand on the side of the bed Charlotte had slept. I wasn't sure why she had given it to me, but a crushing emotion filled my chest each time I lay eyes on it.

Before I let it completely drag me under, I decided to see what had fallen on the floor when I opened the drawing. I stooped down to scoop it up, and couldn't help but smile and roll my eyes when I flipped it over.

$200 shop credit when tattooed by Charlotte.

Book your appointment by call or email.

---

I gave up on header images for the past few chapters because I am on my other computer where they are not saved and I've been soooOOo busy editing His Unwavering for publishing. I'm going on vacation next week and I need it so badly I could scream. My poor eyeballs are so tired.

ANYWAY, what do ya think of Char's little gift? I love her so much.

Happy reading!

-Haybails