She was perched practically on the edge of the couch, her legs tucked into her chest and arms hugging her knees to her body. On the floor was her black book opened to two pages covered with small sketches. Her lips were pursed, brows furrowed deeply in thought as she stared at the images. She barely moved except for the slow rise and fall of her body with each breath.
There were three solid knocks that snapped her back to reality, her head twisting sharply to look at the door. It had to be Danny. He was the only other person who visited her besides Kazzy and she never knocked. There were two more knocks. She slid off the couch, scooping up her black book before she moved to open the door for him. He grinned down at her brightly and leaned in to give her a quick peck before he thumbed down the hall, "Ready to go?"
She stepped out into the hallway locking the door behind her. Then she smiled up at him with a nod, "Sure, we just got to scoop Kazzy on the way. I told her to be ready for us."
* * * * *
It was early enough in the evening that the sun was still out, but the neon sign out front of the building was on as if to draw in stray ruffians like flies to a bug zapper. VooDoo Ink, it boasted in bold red letters. The bell on the entrance rang loudly as the self-proclaimed Kesey Crew strolled inside. Danny had balked slightly at the name causing Kazzy and Lizzie to do what they do best, laugh loudly while they dragged him along after them.
Inside the lobby of the tattoo parlor stickers, band posters, signs with quirky sayings ("Beauty is skin deep. A tattoo goes all the way to the bone."), sharpie tags, and framed flash covered the walls from top to bottom. A radio was playing in the background, something fast with a lot of screaming. Across from them was a counter with a man settled behind it on a stool reading a magazine. He was large, his hair buzzed short, ears gauged close to an inch if not more, and he wore a threadbare sleeveless shirt proudly displaying his arms which were covered from shoulders to wrists in ink. A few pieces were even peeking out from beneath his collar. A hard stare was lifted towards the two blonde bombers and the man they finally released from their clutches. A brow rose, "Can I help you?"
Lizzie quickly stopped her laughter even though Kazzy kept going, no man or beast would silence The Stringbean. Lizzie shuffled her way towards the counter setting her black book down in front of her. A thumb was directed towards herself and the pair behind her. "We need two and a half tats between us."
"Two and... a half?" The man asked looking between her and the others.
"Well, he's not sure if he's getting one yet, but peer pressure is a hell of a thing." Lizzie laughed but the man behind the counter was obviously not amused. The chuckle died off though Kazzy could still be heard in the background practically rolling on the floor at the Geko's failed attempt at comedy. Danny was slowly inching away from Kaz in hopes that if the Tattoo Gods struck her down he wouldn't get hit as well.
The man behind the counter was motionless for a long while until finally he set down his magazine and rose to his feet. "Name's Loomus. We don't really get that much business until much later at night so I don't have another artist coming in for a half hour or so. I can get you set up in a room and you two-" Pointing between Kazzy and Danny. "can hang out while you wait, if that's alright."
"Sounds good!" Lizzie beamed as the man gestured for them to follow him into another smaller room.
The decor was very similar to the lobby but in the middle there was a padded chair with a rolling stool beside it. Against the far wall was a metal cabinet and beside that was a sink. Loomus gestured to the chair as he spoke. "Take a seat while I get some of the paperwork drawn up."
Lizzie nodded to the man before he left then she moved to the chair carefully seating herself on it. Kazzy was inspecting the various pieces on the walls. Danny stepped over to Lizzie's side leaning against the chair. "Did you figure out what you're going to get?" He craned his neck peering over her shoulder while she thumbed through her sketchbook looking over the various tattoo ideas she had drawn out over time.
"Well, I wasn't sure at first. For a while I was going to do a gecko for obvious reasons," She stopped on a page pointing to a stylized sketch of said gecko. It clung to the paper, its tail curling behind it. "I like the design and all, but then I decided on something else." She smirked up at him. "Though, you're not going to like it."
Danny lifted his hands. "Hey, it's your choice and you know I'll support whatever you pick." Though, he did offer a serious look. "As long as it's not on your butt. I'm pretty sure you were kidding about that last night, but I just want to make sure you're not planning on pulling down your pants and giving that guy a free show."
She laughed and shook her head, flipping through the pages of her black book once more. "No, I was totally joking about that! As far as the spot, I figure there are people who always say they're wearing their heart on their sleeve. Well, I decided I'm going to wear my heart on my hip."
He gave an approving nod even if he added an extra "Just.. not too low" practically under his breath. Lizzie stopped on another page and pressed her finger to a design holding it up for Danny to see. "I'm getting that." She braced herself for the taunting that would follow.
Instead Danny puckered his brows in a serious expression speaking carefully, "Really? A Yankees logo?" There was a moment of silence. "At least you're not getting 'I heart Jeter' with it."
This had caught Kazzy's attention. The Stringbean made her way over to the pair leaning over Lizzie's other shoulder to peer down at the page and interrupting Danny before he could finish, "What frickerfracking kinda tag is that?"
Lizzie blinked before realizing although she had represented the NY Yankees logo before on a hat and her jersey, she never really explained to Kazzy what it was. "Well," She gathered her thoughts, "it's the logo for a baseball team that I'm all about back in the city. But it also just sort of reminds me of home, you know? It's like, I can sport that and it reminds me where I'm from and where I grew up." Lizzie gave a shrug. "Today is a year to the day that I've been here. Don't get me wrong, it's been one hell of a year. Probably one of my best by a long shot because of you two... I just- sometimes home sounds good, too." She trailed off still staring down at her book.
The pair offered silence in reply. This had been the first time Lizzie really put it out on the table how homesick she was for the Big Apple. Before it could get drawn out any longer Loomus appeared in the doorway with a few pieces of paper and a pen in his hand. "Just need to get your signature on a few things and then we can get you taken of. Also," he added stabbing a pen in the air towards Danny and Kazzy. "I got another artist that came in earlier than I expected. They said they would be able to take whoever wanted to go next."
Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief that Loomus had interrupted as she ripped out the page with the logo on it for reference. The book was then held up to Danny. "Protect this with your life for me, okay?" He gave a nod and tucked it under his arm. Lizzie turned her head back to Loomus with a grin. "Alright, I'm ready."
There were three solid knocks that snapped her back to reality, her head twisting sharply to look at the door. It had to be Danny. He was the only other person who visited her besides Kazzy and she never knocked. There were two more knocks. She slid off the couch, scooping up her black book before she moved to open the door for him. He grinned down at her brightly and leaned in to give her a quick peck before he thumbed down the hall, "Ready to go?"
She stepped out into the hallway locking the door behind her. Then she smiled up at him with a nod, "Sure, we just got to scoop Kazzy on the way. I told her to be ready for us."
* * * * *
It was early enough in the evening that the sun was still out, but the neon sign out front of the building was on as if to draw in stray ruffians like flies to a bug zapper. VooDoo Ink, it boasted in bold red letters. The bell on the entrance rang loudly as the self-proclaimed Kesey Crew strolled inside. Danny had balked slightly at the name causing Kazzy and Lizzie to do what they do best, laugh loudly while they dragged him along after them.
Inside the lobby of the tattoo parlor stickers, band posters, signs with quirky sayings ("Beauty is skin deep. A tattoo goes all the way to the bone."), sharpie tags, and framed flash covered the walls from top to bottom. A radio was playing in the background, something fast with a lot of screaming. Across from them was a counter with a man settled behind it on a stool reading a magazine. He was large, his hair buzzed short, ears gauged close to an inch if not more, and he wore a threadbare sleeveless shirt proudly displaying his arms which were covered from shoulders to wrists in ink. A few pieces were even peeking out from beneath his collar. A hard stare was lifted towards the two blonde bombers and the man they finally released from their clutches. A brow rose, "Can I help you?"
Lizzie quickly stopped her laughter even though Kazzy kept going, no man or beast would silence The Stringbean. Lizzie shuffled her way towards the counter setting her black book down in front of her. A thumb was directed towards herself and the pair behind her. "We need two and a half tats between us."
"Two and... a half?" The man asked looking between her and the others.
"Well, he's not sure if he's getting one yet, but peer pressure is a hell of a thing." Lizzie laughed but the man behind the counter was obviously not amused. The chuckle died off though Kazzy could still be heard in the background practically rolling on the floor at the Geko's failed attempt at comedy. Danny was slowly inching away from Kaz in hopes that if the Tattoo Gods struck her down he wouldn't get hit as well.
The man behind the counter was motionless for a long while until finally he set down his magazine and rose to his feet. "Name's Loomus. We don't really get that much business until much later at night so I don't have another artist coming in for a half hour or so. I can get you set up in a room and you two-" Pointing between Kazzy and Danny. "can hang out while you wait, if that's alright."
"Sounds good!" Lizzie beamed as the man gestured for them to follow him into another smaller room.
The decor was very similar to the lobby but in the middle there was a padded chair with a rolling stool beside it. Against the far wall was a metal cabinet and beside that was a sink. Loomus gestured to the chair as he spoke. "Take a seat while I get some of the paperwork drawn up."
Lizzie nodded to the man before he left then she moved to the chair carefully seating herself on it. Kazzy was inspecting the various pieces on the walls. Danny stepped over to Lizzie's side leaning against the chair. "Did you figure out what you're going to get?" He craned his neck peering over her shoulder while she thumbed through her sketchbook looking over the various tattoo ideas she had drawn out over time.
"Well, I wasn't sure at first. For a while I was going to do a gecko for obvious reasons," She stopped on a page pointing to a stylized sketch of said gecko. It clung to the paper, its tail curling behind it. "I like the design and all, but then I decided on something else." She smirked up at him. "Though, you're not going to like it."
Danny lifted his hands. "Hey, it's your choice and you know I'll support whatever you pick." Though, he did offer a serious look. "As long as it's not on your butt. I'm pretty sure you were kidding about that last night, but I just want to make sure you're not planning on pulling down your pants and giving that guy a free show."
She laughed and shook her head, flipping through the pages of her black book once more. "No, I was totally joking about that! As far as the spot, I figure there are people who always say they're wearing their heart on their sleeve. Well, I decided I'm going to wear my heart on my hip."
He gave an approving nod even if he added an extra "Just.. not too low" practically under his breath. Lizzie stopped on another page and pressed her finger to a design holding it up for Danny to see. "I'm getting that." She braced herself for the taunting that would follow.
Instead Danny puckered his brows in a serious expression speaking carefully, "Really? A Yankees logo?" There was a moment of silence. "At least you're not getting 'I heart Jeter' with it."
This had caught Kazzy's attention. The Stringbean made her way over to the pair leaning over Lizzie's other shoulder to peer down at the page and interrupting Danny before he could finish, "What frickerfracking kinda tag is that?"
Lizzie blinked before realizing although she had represented the NY Yankees logo before on a hat and her jersey, she never really explained to Kazzy what it was. "Well," She gathered her thoughts, "it's the logo for a baseball team that I'm all about back in the city. But it also just sort of reminds me of home, you know? It's like, I can sport that and it reminds me where I'm from and where I grew up." Lizzie gave a shrug. "Today is a year to the day that I've been here. Don't get me wrong, it's been one hell of a year. Probably one of my best by a long shot because of you two... I just- sometimes home sounds good, too." She trailed off still staring down at her book.
The pair offered silence in reply. This had been the first time Lizzie really put it out on the table how homesick she was for the Big Apple. Before it could get drawn out any longer Loomus appeared in the doorway with a few pieces of paper and a pen in his hand. "Just need to get your signature on a few things and then we can get you taken of. Also," he added stabbing a pen in the air towards Danny and Kazzy. "I got another artist that came in earlier than I expected. They said they would be able to take whoever wanted to go next."
Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief that Loomus had interrupted as she ripped out the page with the logo on it for reference. The book was then held up to Danny. "Protect this with your life for me, okay?" He gave a nod and tucked it under his arm. Lizzie turned her head back to Loomus with a grin. "Alright, I'm ready."