Louder than silence || Oliver Sykes

No need for introductions

I'm not a fan of interviews.

I'm truly not. The fake smiles, lights and cheesy questions. Mainly questions about being a woman in metal. "How'd you get here as a woman?" "Who's your metal-Crush?!" ... Well— that's what most interviews have been like to say the least.

Today however, I got asked for an interview by this tattoo brand, I was supposedly one of the most 'inked' artists playing at this festival. Which I guess says a lot as I've seen at least three people with dragon back pieces and countless blackout limbs.

Anyway.

The interview is along with Oliver Sykes. A highly tattooed man himself. So despite my dislike of interviews, how could I decline.

Oliver Sykes. God..

And yeah, I noticed he was already in the tent as I walked in.
Sitting with one ankle up on his knee, sunglasses on indoors like some kind of post-dip vampire, sipping what smelled like burned espresso. Covered head to toe in Ink. Exactly like the posters.
But real, sharper. Even better.

He looked at me once, just once. Then back at his coffee. Like we weren't supposed to tour together in a month.

It was fine, I wasn't there to he noticed.
Not that I'd complain.

"Alright!" The interviewer's voice was too excited for noon. "We've got Milena Marković from Aetherwake and Oliver Sykes from bring me the horizon, tattoo royalty today!"

Oliver raised an eyebrow, barely smiling.
I just leaned back and crossed my arms.

"Royalty?" I said. Jokingly saying "Sounds like pressure."

"Nervous?" I heard from beside me, I looked at the man on the chair next to me, and simply smiled a bit, raising a brow. "You think I'd be nervous showing up? Here?"

He smiled, shrugging a bit.

The interviewer eyed between us, before looking at a tablet in her hands. "Alrighty, so, first tattoo?"

"I had three hearts done on my stomach when I was about 17 or 18." Oliver started, his voice could draw anyone in, I caught myself listening intently. He chuckled "You don't quite see them anymore, but they were there."

The interviewer and Oliver's eyes landed on me, my que to tell something about my first.

I thought about it for a moment before turning my arm to show Cyrillic lettering inked on my tricep.

"It's very corny, so prepare." I warned with a chuckle.

I started "It means 'Freedom or nothing'. I was 16 and thought I was on top of the world simply for being in a band."

The next question followed after they both laughed. The interviewer asked a few more questions about what some other tattoos meant for us, so through conversations of angry parents, country symbols and drunken mistakes.. we finally landed on one of the last questions. It flew by, and I honestly had a laugh— and better yet, managed to steal a few laughs from Oliver.

"What's your worst tattoo mistake."

I sipped a bottle of water as I gave it a thought, before answering "I did one with my ex, by my ex, drunk."

The interviewer looked at me as if she was dying for more detail, so I continued on after a dramatic sigh "So, he was a tattoo artist. The shitty kind that draws in people who don't really care about tattoos as well as drunk tourists."

"Well," the interview's eyes lit up like she found a goldmine, "show us!"

I chuckled "It's uh—" I subconsciously glanced at Oliver "I don't know if the placing's allowed to be shown here."