"We're doing this today. You've put it off long enough."
I shook my head as I kept walking, trying to ignore Kason. "We have another week, I think it can still wait."
Kason stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. "No. You have to at least get it over with, Rylee. You can't put it off forever."
I pointed at him. "Actually, I can."
"Fine. If you won't get a tattoo, I won't train hop."
My eyes narrowed. "Well played." I let out a groan. "Alright fine. I'm getting that tattoo today, meaning you will train hop tomorrow."
Kason grinned. "Deal. Come on, we can go to the parlor now."
My eyebrows went up. "Now? As in now now?"
"Yes, pay attention, genius." Kason turned and motioned for me to follow. "Let's go."
"But school just ended, I'm hungry." I whined, hoping he would get annoyed and leave me alone for now.
"We'll get food. After you get the tattoo."
"You're mean." I grumbled as I followed him.
Kason laughed. "Poor baby."
I smacked his arm. "Jerk."
"Brat."
We made it out to the parking lot and I spotted Rhonda standing by her car with a group of friends. She saw me too and gave me an 'are you stupid?' look. I remembered her warnings that day. She was right about Kason, I would give her that, but I didn't feel the need to run away from him like she suggested. I just shrugged at her.
Kason's hand suddenly stopped me and I glared up at him.
"What was that for?"
"You were about to run right smack into my car." He said, raising an eyebrow.
I looked down to see that I was barely an inch from it. "Oh. Oops. Hey, can I drive your car? It's something you've done that I haven't, it can count."
"No."
"Come on, please? Please, please, please?"
"No." Kason grabbed his keys. "Just get in the car. I'm not going to let you or anyone drive my car ever."
I snorted. "So you treat your car like a baby?"
"I just don't trust others with her."
"Her? Does she have a name?"
"No, why would I name a car?" Kason opened the passenger door and pushed my shoulders. "Get in."
I dropped onto the seat, disappointed that I couldn't drive this car. It would be awesome. "I could come up with a name for this car." I offered as Kason got behind the wheel.
"Please don't."
I laughed. "That means I will."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Rylee. I probably can't stop you."
"You're learning. Very good."
I watched the fall scenery go by as we drove and tried thinking up a ridiculous name. But for some reason, I was having a hard time. Which was disappointing. Annoying Kason was always so fun.
I then realized how much time I'd been spending with him lately. Sure, it was for a class, but I wasn't hating it like I expected I would. He was still an annoying jerk sometimes and he smoked too much, but he was surprisingly cool to be around.
Kason turned into a small parking lot and pulled around to the back of a small building that somehow made me think of a horror dentist office. My brain was random sometimes.
"This place is kind of creepy. Are you sure your plan isn't to just murder me?"
Kason shut off the car, giving me a confused look. "You're strange, you know that?"
I snorted. "I noticed."
"Come on, let's go. Dimitri is waiting for us."
I wasn't surprised he already knew this tattoo artist. It made sense. With no other options, I followed him into the dim interior of the tattoo parlor. It was definitely nicer on the inside. The grey, tiled floor was clean, the chairs near the wall looked pretty new, and the counter by the entrance was clean and organized. I looked at the interesting pictures covering the walls as Kason spoke with the woman behind the counter.
"Rylee, stop spacing off, come on." Kason pulled the hood of my jacket.
I yanked it out of his hold. "Alright, alright. Patience."
I followed him down a narrow hallway, passing several small rooms as we did. We walked into the room at the far end and I found myself sort of hiding behind Kason as I saw Dimitri. He was a giant wall of muscle, covered in tattoos head to toe. Literally. Tattoos covered his bald head. His left ear was so covered in piercings it looked painful.
"Kason! Good to see you, my friend." Dimitri greeted, surprising me with his heavy Russian accent.
Kason shook his hand. "Seems that trip back home was good for you."
"It vas, it vas! Now vhat can I do for you? You said your friend needs a tattoo?"
I stepped out from behind Kason. "Hi, I'm that friend." Wait, friend? Since when are Kason and I friends?
Dimitri's eyes lit up. "Oh, it's a girl! And a cute one at that!" He crushed my hand as he shook it. "Good to meet you, miss."
"You too. By the way, my name is Rylee."
"Rylee. Lovely name, my dear." Dimitri stepped to the side and gestured at a large, black chair. "Have a seat. Vhat do you think you vant?"
I awkwardly sat in the chair. "Um, I'm not quite sure, actually."
Kason grabbed a large binder and flipped it open. He found a page and smirked. "How about this?" He turned it to me.
"Butterflies? Ew, no. Just no."
He laughed. "Why not? It'd totally match you."
"Funny. Give me that." I grabbed the binder from him and began flipping through the options. There were hundreds of designs I could choose from, but I wanted something more simple. I noticed a tab labeled 'symbolic', and my interest sparked. I started looking through that section. My eyes caught onto a simple tattoo of an infinity symbol that broke into little birds. I pointed it out. "What's this symbolic of?"
Dimitri leaned over to look at it. "Oh. It means freedom. Vell, in general, anyvay. So it's the one you vant?"
I glanced at Kason. He just shrugged. I looked back to Dimitri. "Yes, I'll have this one."
"Excellent!" He took the book from me and set it aside. "Now vhere do you vant it?"
I hadn't thought of that either. "Oh, uh..." Where did I want it? I looked at myself, like I was looking for ideas. The meaning behind the tattoo meant a lot to me, so I wanted it mostly for myself rather than show. "How about my right side."
"Good choice." Dimitri began getting things ready and I was suddenly nervous.
I looked up at Kason. "How much does this hurt?"
"It's not comfortable, I'll tell you that."
"Real helpful."
Kason chuckled. "You'll be fine. I'm right here."
"That doesn't help me." I muttered.
Dimitri turned my chair so my right side was facing him. "Are you comfortable with taking your shirt off, or would you like me to get you a cover?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm comfortable." I wasn't shy, it was just like wearing a swim suit. I would just have my pants on. I pulled my jacket off and then took my shirt off, completely un-bothered.
Dimitri didn't seem bothered either. He merely got his things ready.
But I swear I saw Kason's cheeks reddened a bit. I decided to tease him. "Here, hold this." I tossed the shirt to him.
He caught it and gave me a look I couldn't quite read. "Rylee."
"What?" I asked innocently.
Kason recovered quickly. He smirked as he tucked my shirt into his back pocket. "You might not get it back. Thanks."
"Perv."
He wiggled his eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes, laughing a little.
Dimitri cleaned the area he'd pointed out a moment ago and then grabbed the tattoo pen, or whatever it was called. "Are you ready? It does kind of hurt."
I nodded. "Yeah, just get it over with."
"Lean back, try to relax. It von't take me long."
I did as instructed, releasing a nervous breath. "Okay, I've got this."
Dimitri counted down and then began sketching. The pain was still unexpected and I instinctively grabbed Kason's hand in a death grip.
"Shit." I hissed.
Kason laughed a little, but his hand wrapped around mine. "I know it hurts, but you're okay."
"Not helping." I growled.
The buzz of the tattoo pen was the only sound in the room and I tried focusing on that rather than the burning pain. But in doing that, I became aware of the fact that I was still holding Kason's hand. I blushed slightly, but didn't move. This is totally fine.
My side slowly became numb to the tattoo pen, and it wasn't quite so painful, and soon enough it was all done.
"All done, miss Rylee." Dimitri set the pen aside and moved his chair away. "Take a look."
I slowly, awkwardly, pulled my hand from Kason's and looked down at my side. The skin there was red and raw, but the tattoo looked good. I smiled. "Thanks, Dimitri, I love it."
He smiled back. "You're velcome."
I turned to Kason and held out my hand, which was still warm from holding his. "Shirt."
He stepped back. "Let me see first."
I rolled my eyes and got to my feet. "See? Now give my shirt back."
"It suits you, sweetheart." Kason tossed my shirt back. "Now I'm sure you're still hungry?"
"Very." I got dressed and put my jacket back on. I turned to Dimitri. "How much do I owe?"
"It's free. Kason gets tattoos free, his friend does too."
"Oh, are you sure?" I pulled out my wallet.
Kason pushed it down. "He said it's free, relax. Thanks, Dimitri, we'll get out of your hair."
"Vhat hair?" He said, laughing.
"See you around." Kason grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room and out of the parlor.
I pulled out of his hold as we got outside. "Is there a specific reason he gives you tattoos for free?"
Kason shrugged like it didn't matter. "He owes me, let's just say that. It's one of the way he pays me back."
"He owes you money?"
Kason looked at me, fully serious. "He just owes me. Leave it at that. You're bordering on getting involved."
That didn't make sense. But I understood what he meant and decided not to push the matter. Instead, I decided to annoy him about food.
Eventually, Kason drove to my favorite diner, The Red House, and I basically dragged him in. I was so hungry. I got the center table since it was the best spot.
Kason looked around the quaint diner, clearly judging it. "You said you come here all the time?"
"When I can, yeah." I shrugged my jacket off and stretched. "It might look dumb and cheesy, but the food is to die for. Trust me."
"Alright, I'm give it a chance." Kason grabbed his menu. "What do you think of your new tattoo?"
"I actually like it, believe it or not. But it's still kinda sore." I rubbed it gently.
"You seemed much more interested in getting it when you found out what it meant. Is there a reason?"
I glanced out the window, biting my lip in thought. "Yeah." My voice was barely above a whisper. "Freedom is something I didn't know before. And I still don't fully know what freedom is like. It's what I look forward to after high school. I'll finally be... free." My eyes caught Kason's again. He seemed to be genuinely listening and interested. I felt myself blush a bit. "Anyway..."
"Don't get all shy on me, Rylee." Kason teased. "It's a good thing to believe in. Freedom. I know what it's like to want it."
I nodded, remembering all about his situation. "I guess we'll both have a real taste of it soon enough."
He smiled a small, real smile. "I hope so."
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Another part. Hell yeah. Hope you enjoyed. This story is fun to write so I hope it's fun to read. Vote if you would like, I appreciate it tons :). Thanks for reading (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)