Chapter song:
Foxglove by Boston Manor
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I hear a knock at my door at 10:15 am, looking through the peephole to see Cass standing there in a light purple sweater and blue jeans. I open the door and she pulls me into a hug. She insisted on driving me to work today. It's only a twenty minute walk from my apartment, but I think she wanted to help me out with it being my first day and all.
"Why aren't you dressed yet?" She says with slight annoyance in her voice, leaning back to stare at my pajamas.
"I don't know what to wear," I admit quietly. "I need your help."
She huffs and walks past me to my closet.
"I have a few things on the bed that I was thinking about wearing," I follow her, chewing on my lip anxiously. I laid out a soft yellow crop top, a black long sleeve that has the name of my favorite band on it, Boston Manor, and a pair of high-waisted, light wash boyfriend jeans. "What do you think?"
She stands there quietly, arms crossed, looking intently at the clothes in front of her and tapping her chin lightly with her right hand.
"I think you should wear the black shirt with those pants," she decides, breaking the silence between us. "With your luck, the yellow would probably get ink on it."
I chuckle softly. She's totally right, I have terrible luck, so I shouldn't risk it.
I change quickly, slipping on a pair of black Vans. I decided to straighten my hair, clipping in the pink extensions again and wearing just a tinted sunscreen and mascara.
We leave my apartment by 10:42, making the short drive to the shop.
"How are you feeling?" Cass asks, glancing at me briefly; she knows how anxious I get about stuff like this.
I was a wreck when I first started working at Genevieve's, and even though we'd only just met she talked me through several panic attacks. She really has been there for me since day one.
"I'm okay," I sigh. "Just nervous is all. What if they don't like me?"
She looks at me with a confused expression on her face, letting out a loud laugh.
"Are you crazy?" She judges. "They're gonna love you. Louis texted me last night thanking me for introducing you guys."
I take a deep breath and stare out the window, tapping my foot nervously. I've always been an insecure person, but ever since the accident it's gotten so much worse. Anyone can leave you in an instant, and although it's a little different, I'm constantly worried that people will decide they hate me and never want to speak to me again.
"Hey," she says softly, grabbing my hand. "I promise it'll be great. Most of the guys are really nice."
"Most of them?" I question.
"Yeah," she shrugs. "Harry is a little off but everyone else is great."
My head snaps in her direction, instantly remembering that weird feeling I had when I was looking at that picture last night.
"Off? Off how?" I press.
"I don't know," she furrows her brows, turning into the parking lot behind Blackhouse. "Just... off. I don't know how to explain it."
Great.
I just left a job because my boss was a scumbag, and now I possibly have to work with another creep. Like I said, unlucky.
She pulls into the same spot as yesterday and we get out of the car. I check my phone, the time being 10:55. We walk around to the front door, hearing the chime as we step inside.
Louis is standing next to one of the stations on his phone, looking up when he hears us. The door to the back room is open slightly, the sound of quiet talking and laughing coming from that direction.
"You made it!" That familiar British accent fills my ears as he walks over to us, pulling me into a hug and then Cass. "How are you ladies this morning?"
"So good," Cass answers for both of us, eyes flicking to the open door at the back when the sound of a loud laugh echoes through the space, making me giggle quietly. I bet that's Niall, she wouldn't even bat an eye if she didn't recognize the sound. "How are you?"
"I'm great," he grins, turning to look at me. "I'm excited to show you the ropes, Katie."
"I am too!" I tug on the hem of my shirt anxiously.
Cass grabs my hand, causing me to look at her. "You're gonna love it," she promises. "Text me later okay? I wanna hear all about it."
I agree and give her a hug before she leaves.
"Alright, let's get started." Louis rubs his hands together and starts walking towards the back. "I want to introduce you to the boys first."
I follow him to the door, and walk in to see four men at the counter along the wall, iPads in front of them. They look up at us when we enter the room.
"Katie, this is Harry, Elijah, Niall and Lucas," Louis introduces me to the four tattoo artists sitting in the back room. They're each working on different designs at their separate stations.
"Hi," I greet them, waving awkwardly.
Niall, Elijah, and Lucas smile at me warmly, each saying a quick hello. Harry looks me up and down, scoffing and rolling his eyes before glancing back down to whatever he was doing.
What the hell was that?
"Ignore him," Louis whispers. "He's like that with everyone."
I stand there nervously and chuckle, trying to brush off the strange reaction. A wave of uneasiness towards the tattooed man with curly hair comes over me.
Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?
"Be nice, Harry," Lucas scolds him with a laugh, running his fingers through his shaggy black hair. He has two full sleeves of what look like just flowers, water and clouds, as well as a throat tattoo, all of them black. "You're going to scare her away before she's even started."
"Fuck off," Harry says under his breath.
What is this guy's problem? He literally just met me and he's acting like I'm his worst enemy.
"You're Cassandra's friend, right?" Niall asks me with a strong Irish accent, furrowing his brows.
I notice he has his right eyebrow pierced, another thing I didn't think Cass would be into.
"Yeah, I am," I nod, trying not to sound as nervous as I feel.
Everyone except for Harry is watching me intently, seemingly interested in what I have to say.
"How long have you known each other?"
"About two years," I explain.
Niall seems like he has good vibes, which makes me feel better about both working here and Cass seeing him. It would be so awkward if he was a total asshole and I still had to work with him.
I might have a hard time standing up for myself, but I'm very protective over my friends and I would have no issue calling him out on it.
"That's cool," he smirks, turning back to his iPad. "Cassandra's bad ass."
I make a mental note to tell her what Niall said later tonight, she's going to flip.
"Have you worked in the industry before?" Elijah speaks up this time and I realize that he, Lucas and Harry are also British. That seems so weird how all of them have these rich accents.
How did they all end up here?
Elijah's wearing long sleeves so I can't see what kind of work he has on his arms; he has a rose on the back of his left hand and what looks like a smiley face on his right palm. His ears are stretched with large black plugs.
"This is my first time, but I've always been interested in it. It's actually really hard to find a job in a tattoo shop," I huff, everyone but Harry chuckling.
"We're very particular about who we hire." Louis crosses his arms with a smile on his face. I'm assuming he means shops in general, not just his. "We usually only go off of references, like Cass did for you."
That makes a lot of sense. The environment in a tattoo shop is so different compared to anywhere else, it seems more like a family. I'm sure they only allow the right kind of people in, which makes me feel pretty lucky to be here.
"Alright," Louis says again, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to take you up front and show you how everything works."
• • •
"What's Boston Manor?" I hear Niall ask behind me, referring to my shirt, making me jump.
I'm in the back, scrubbing the tubes that they use in their tattoo guns before I can sanitize them.
"Jesus," I gasp, almost dropping the tube in my hand.
"Sorry, sorry," Niall laughs, placing his hand on my shoulder.
"It's okay," I chuckle, still catching my breath. "It's my favorite band."
"What kind of music is it?" He leans against the white brick wall, facing me.
"It's like pop punk," I reply. "They're really good."
Niall hums in response and turns around, walking out the door that leads into the drawing room. I stand there confused, rinsing off the last tube before laying it out to dry.
"What's their best song?" Niall asks. I step out of the storage room and see him leaning over the laptop they use to play music and print their drawings, Spotify open in front of him.
"Probably Foxglove," I say after thinking for a second.
Niall types the song name into the search bar and presses play, the familiar sound of the electric guitar filling the shop.
Patience, that's all we need
A chemical dream all for you
My head case is spinning around
Just don't shoot it down like you do
Niall's head starts bobbing up and down to the beat, the music mixing with the sounds of Louis and Elijah's machines in the front. Lucas turns around in his chair to face us curiously, tapping his foot as well.
So bar the front door and don't let it in
I am the poster child, a sucker for original sin
"This is sick," Niall praises, tapping his tattooed fingers on his black jeans.
His response makes me smile. This band has gotten me through so much, and not a lot of people have heard of them, so it makes me happy when someone else appreciates their music.
I'm such a bore, wish I could wind my neck in
I don't deserve it but I savour every touch of your skin
The happiness ends quickly when Harry turns around from the stencil maker, glaring at me and Niall.
"They're shit, turn it off," he spits.
Lucas, Niall and I stop and stare at him, the music still going.
These fucking problems keep following me
"Chill out mate," Lucas defends, shaking his head. "What's your deal today?"
Harry scoffs and grabs his stencil before walking out of the back room to the front of the shop.
Maybe I'm the problem, maybe it's me
"She is," he says over his shoulder, making quick eye contact with me. My breath catches in my throat, caught completely off guard.
The last two lines that play before Niall shuts off the music feel painfully relatable right now.
~~~~~
I really hope you guys like this chapter! I can't wait for you all to read the next few. I suggest listening to the song I linked, you'll really get a feel for the chapter vibes! Please vote and comment to let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read <333