ruby
I pull Joe inside as he talks about needing to be somewhere else. "No, no, no. You said you'd get me anything I wanted." I say to him as we near the small dark counter.
The man that sits behind it is huge, with tattoos running from his neck down. He's got multiple face piercings, and I can actually feel Joe becoming uncomfortable by the minute. "I don't recommend getting couple's tattoos. I've got a few myself that I've covered up." The guy says, his voice extremely low and raspy.
"Actually, he's too scared to get a tattoo." I answer before Joe can protest. "It's just me today."
"I'll come get you in a second." He grunts before walking through a large open doorway behind him.
"Do not get anything that has to do with me tattooed anywhere on your body, alright?" Joe says. I've already chosen what I'm getting, and there's no way he is going to change my mind.
"Why not?" I ask him anyways, crossing my arms in front of me. Joe leans against the wall as he begins answering.
"I know that if you get my name or something tattooed on your body, something is going to happen to us. Your stupid paranoia rubbed off on me." He says. I did used to think that we would have issues when he told everyone. Sure enough, we had that fight, but it dissolved shortly in to nothing.
"Well, I mean, I could get 'R U Crazy' tattooed on me." I tease him. I love taunting him with Conor, only because he knows it's harmless.
"Feel free to get my face tattooed on you." He jokes before the guy waves me forward.
"I'll see you soon, unless you want to come back with me?" I offer, knowing that his answer will ultimately be no, because of his fear of needles.
"You know, I'm good out here." He says, nodding his head. He claps my shoulder gently before I turn to follow the large guy.
~
"So, what did you get?" Joe asks as we leave the small building. I grab his hands as we begin walking down the small strip of sidewalk.
"You'll see in a few hours." I respond. From my three tattoos, I have deduced that you have to leave a bandage on for about four hours, just to be certain. The first time they told me six hours. The next one was two hours, and then they told me four hours. I've never removed a bandage before four hours, even when they told me it was okay to.
"Where did you get it?" He questions as he texts someone on his phone with his free hand. He said that he texted Conor for a ride when I first got out.
I lift my shirt to show him the bandage taped to my hip bone. When I originally thought of the idea for the tattoo, it took me forever to decide where to get it. I've been thinking about a new tattoo for a while, but I didn't know when I was going to be able to get it.
I finger the pendant of my new necklace that hangs right below my bust. It's a small circle that has small wires twisting and winding around each other in the middle. In some places there is a small faux ruby twined in. The pendant hangs on a black leather string that slightly irritates the back of my neck, but there's no way I won't wear it since it's my gift from Regina.
For the eight birthdays that I've been around Regina, she has always given me something with rubies on it. Sometimes it wasn't like my actual present, and she would buy me something else, even though she didn't have to.
I see Conor's Mercedes-Benz down the road a bit and point it out to Joe. "I think Oli's with him." I say, spotting someone in the passenger seat who has the same build as Oli. I stop a few feet from the car and turn Joe around to look at me. "You didn't do anything, did you?" I ask him for at least the third time today.
"Ruby, quit worrying about it." He laughs. I haven't got a solid 'no' yet, and it makes me think that he had to do something. I don't really celebrate my birthday. Regina always tried to pull something, and I know Joe is going to have the same attitude as her.
"Happy belated birthday." Conor greets as I get in the car behind him.
"Yeah, okay, thanks." I mumble as Joe climbs in next to me. I try to not sound too rude about it, but it's become a generic thing for me to dislike it. I find that it is actually Oli in the front seat, but he shouts over the phone to someone before waving at me in the mirror.
"I guess, I wasn't supposed to buy you a birthday present." Conor says as he pulls out onto the road. I'm still not use to the whole right-side of the road driving. It always kind of scares me at first, and I almost miss Conor's statement completely.
"Wow, you just can not keep your mouth shut." I say sarcastically, looking at my boyfriend. He raises his hands up in defense while smirking. I just know that when we get back to the apartment there's going to be something waiting.
"Caspar, just shut up, alright? She's okay. She's in the car with me." I hear Oli say loudly. When we left earlier, Caspar was still sleeping, so there's no wonder why he is freaking out now since I didn't leave a note or anything. Even though he knows I'm with Joe, he still always worries about me. His fear of his cousin is kind of hilarious.
The car is left to silence until Prince's Purple Rain begins blasting through the speakers. I'm glad that at least Joe and Conor both like older music like I do. Oli, on the other hand, is sitting in the front seat, staring out the window while looking completely lost.
It's great to hear Joe singing loudly next to me. I still have yet to get him to sing specifically to me, but I'll get it one day. He still wants me to draw him, and he doesn't know about the two pages in my sketchbook full of different drawings I've done. I'll make him a deal one day.
Once we've all gotten out of Conor's car, he pitches something in my direction that I barely manage to catch. It's a small silver box laced in white ribbon. "You weren't supposed to get me anything." I protest, following behind the three boys as they enter the building.
"Technically, it's Jack and I's present together." He says, turning around to look at me for a short moment. I unlace the bow before popping the top of the box.
"I hate both of you. Oh, my God. I hate you." I mutter as I pull the small ring from the box. It's a small band that has a line of diamonds around it. I begin trying it on all my fingers and find that it fits perfectly on my left middle finger.
"We had to guess on the size, but I see that it fits." He says as we begin nearing the front door.
"Oh, yeah. Fantastic, right?" I say with sarcasm as I flip him off with the same finger.
"Babe, be nice." Joe laughs, wrapping an arm over my shoulders as Oli opens the door to the apartment. As soon as it's cracked, I immediately don't want to go in. I can hear party chatter and loud music, and I immediately cringe up. "Hey, it's okay." Joe mutters right next to my ear after both Oli and Conor have entered. "It's not that many people." I nod my head before stepping inside.
There's a large light spinning around the room, making the walls slur of blue, red, and green. The speakers are set up in the corner, probably turned as high as they can go without bothering the neighbors. The smell of alcohol floats through the air. I guess there's not too many people. I spot Jack, Josh, and Mikey first, before finding Alfie and Zoe. I see Caspar with his girlfriend, Maddie, leaning up against a wall while talking. Joe was right. There's not that many people here.
As soon as Jack spots me, he shrieks loudly before rushing over to where I stand in front of the door. Joe nods towards his sister, and I squeeze his hand quickly before letting him walk away. "You started the party without me!" I shout over the music as the blonde places a bottle in my hand. The look in his eyes tells me that he is still sober enough for a proper conversation.
"It's your fault! You took too bloody long to get that tattoo!" He retorts back sarcastically. "I see you got the present!"
"I'm mad at you about it, but yeah, I did!" I show him my hand more closely, so he can see the diamonds.
"Too fancy for you?"
"Too expensive!" I shout back, earning myself a laugh. But, honestly, why? Why did the Maynards spend so much money on me?
"It suits you!" He compliments before his brother shouts his name. He salutes me slightly before turning and walking away, leaving me alone once again. I check my phone as soon as he walks away and see a text from Regina.
Heard you got a new tattoo please share
I touch at my hip, knowing it has not been four hours, maybe like a maximum of two, I'm not quite sure. In London, I don't look at time as often. I don't have to worry about getting anywhere on time because I don't have a job, and no one else really worries about that over here. They just call up their friends and say that they'll be over some time during the day, and it doesn't matter when. That's how I always want my life. Not rushed or slowed down.
I almost jump at the sound of Zoe's voice as she approaches me. "Happy birthday, Ruby!" She shouts before hugging me tightly. It's not quite so weird now. After the failed attempt to actually hang out with her, we've texted more than we ever have before. A few nights ago, I woke up from a nightmare, and after telling Joe that I was fine, I retreated to the bathroom where I called Zoe.
I felt immediate regret. I'm supposed to call Regina about these problems. It was six o'clock in LA; I could've called her. But I chose to wake up Zoe in Brighton. She sat up with me for about an hour as I just cried into the phone, and I remember telling her over and over again, "Joe can't see me cry anymore. He can't." I had finally seen the broken look that fell over Joe's face when I would start tearing up. It's not something I enjoy watching. I don't ever want to see it again, to be honest.
"Joe told me I wasn't supposed to bring you a gift, but I did anyways!" The blonde begins pulling me over to the kitchen counter where I see multiple cases of beer and two boxes completely wrapped up. I expect Zoe to slide one over to me, but she drags me behind the counter where a bigger box sits on the floor. "Zoe, what did you do?" I scold jokingly, before crawling on to the ground to tear the paper away. Joe and Alfie pop up behind Zoe as I pull open one of the ends.
Pulling off the rest of the paper, I almost scream. I've been waiting for a long time for a new set of pastels, and I now have a new set. "I didn't know if you had a set, or if you even use color, I just thought that-" Zoe rambles over the loud music.
I interrupt her as I stand from the ground. "It's perfect." I answer, wrapping her in hug for the first time. She seems surprised at first, but she begins squeezing me tightly.
Alfie ruffles my hair as I pull away from Zoe. I smile up at him, leaning down to pick up my new present. I look around the floor for my bottle that Jack had given me and find it grasped in Joe's hand. I step up to him and pull the bottle from his hands.
"Okay birthday?" He asks, leaning his forehead on to my temple.
"More than an okay birthday." I respond, handing him back the beer. "More like a good-ish birthday." I tease, earning myself a quick kiss.