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Colors danced on the bed and across the corners of the room. N and Uzi sat on her bed, watching some newly released, and pirated , anime. A shonen he thinks. He’s not exactly knowledgeable about this stuff but the fights are cool. Every so often, he’d find his gaze drifting away from the screen. Although he’d hate to admit it, they always landed back on the girl beside him.The flashing light of the TV rolled down her nose and cheeks, reflecting in her eyes.
Rolling up the contours of her face, N pursed his lips, noticing, or rather taking into account, the details of the numerous piercings dotted across her ears and skin.
They gleamed in the soft LED light. Black and grey steel, some were onyx. N studied the rings and studs intently as Uzi focused on the anime playing on the screen. Two on the lobe, several curving up the cartilage ending with a spiked bar. Some are just barely visible through her hair. The one in the center of the ear made him cringe a little. As those amethyst eyes eventually caught the golds in their peripherals.
Turning, putting a hand to her cheek, “See something you like?”
“Just your earrings, they’re pretty.”
Her face flushes, averting her eyes, “They're badass, bite me…”
“I always wondered… Where did you get them pierced? I never really noticed any shops around,”
“Me, myself and I.”
“What?”
“How’d you not know? I’m, like, the girl you go to for that stuff,”
“I didn’t know that!” a little louder than he meant.
She laughs, “Yeah, Emily’s double lobes. Me. Thad’s one ear. Me. Sam’s huge fricken lobes. Me me me. Hell, N, I did V’s brow!” she playfully punches him, “Also Doll and Lizzy but they have the nerve to call me ‘pincushion’ so I charge them extra, hehe.”
Rubbing his arm, “Oh, they look really good,”
“Thanks,” she rolls back onto her stomach, head dipping between her knuckles as the show continues.
N also returns to the regularly scheduled and probably illegal to view program. They continue watching in silence. The next couple episodes were filler. And by that, N means boring. Judging by the look on Uzi’s face, she thinks so too.
Turning on her side, “Say, since you seem sooo interested, you want a piercing?”
He pauses, “Sorry?”
“I’m offering to give you a piercing,”
“Oh, uh, I’mm… not adverse?” he shrugs.
She hops off the bed, “Neat, where do you want it?”
“Wait, right now?!”
“Why not? It’s not like we were doing anything.”
His vision fell out of focus, landing on the floor, thinking. Looking up, he locks with her brash, excitable expression.. That mischievous smile was already creeping up her cheeks.
Likewise, blush begins to creep up his cheeks too, “Yeah, okay, absolutely, let’s do it,”
A metal chair is kicked towards him. She opens a drawer and pulls out a pristine, semi-see through box and sets it on the stand next to the chair. Along with it is another similar looking box and some latex gloves laid in a package. A bottle of rubbing alcohol slides into place. Without taking his eyes off them, N takes a seat in the chair, sitting straight-armed with his hands in his lap.
Walking towards her blonde, “Kinda reminds me of when I painted your nails,”
This is exactly not what that was like, but regardless, she clicks the lid open. It’s filled with neat, almost surgical looking needles organized by size and shape. N gulps, he doesn’t even want to know where hollowed-curved ones go. Or the big peg ones, yeesh. The gloves make a snapping noise as she pulls them over her hands
His eyes go wide, “Uh, which one would be best for me? I don’t really know about this stuff.”
“No problem, what kind of vibe you want?’
“Are there any you like doing?”
The smile becomes a full grin, “I mean… there’s one piercing I haven't practiced yet,” her eyes flick down to his chest.
He follows her gaze, also flicking down.
His eyes go wide as he crosses his arms protectively over his pecs, “No!”
She laughs, “I’m joking, I’m joking. You should probably just get the basic lobes,”
A small case of rings and studs are shoved towards him.
“Pick the ones you want,”
A lot of these were a bit too edgy for his taste, not that he minded; just not his style. For now… Maybe the pink heart?
He gasps, “Is that a dog paw?”
Uzi nods, knowing full well it’s actually a cat paw. He points admittedly at it, tapping the lid. The baggy is plucked from the case and set next to the other equipment while the box is returned to the drawer. The gloves snap on before the girl tilts the bottle of alcohol onto the gauze back and forth a couple times. N can’t help the shiver when a cold wet gauze is pressed against his lobe. Nervousness hits him all over again.
Fingers tightening, “S-so how did you get into this-piercing people I mean?
“When I was, I dunno, ten? -I wanted my lobes pierced. My mom did them for me.”
She discards the gauze, dabbing another in alcohol, “When I was in middle school, I wanted a double lobe, so she just taught me how,” begins wiping the other ear, “Then helix. Then daith. Etcetera etcetera, not sure where she learned though. ”
“Did she have piercings like yours?”
“Of course she did, and they were badass.”
“She sounds cool,”
Popping the cap off the marker, she carefully lines up and presses a dot on both sides, “No shit,”
If N wasn’t terrified, he’d think it’s cute how she stuck her tongue out when she was focused.
Picking up the needle, she lines it up and- “-And how’d you learn from there?”
The sharp edge is immediately retracted as she gestures, “Mostly youtube,”
The needle is brought back- “-which one’s your favorite?!” he practically yells.
An eyebrow raises, but then she smirks, “Are you stalling? You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, I won’t be disappointed or whatever.”
“No,” sighing, “I do, I’m committed to the dog paw now,” he hangs his head.
A soft chuckle, “Okay dork, breathe in,”
He takes a deep breath, pinch.
“Agh! Hey, I thought it was going to be on out.” his palm goes to cup his ear.
“-don’t touch it. I usually go on in,” she fishes the second earring out of the bag, “ready for the second?”
Exhaling, “Yeah,”
“Alright, breathe in,”
He inhales. He keeps inhaling. As he’s forced to breathe out, pinch.
As irritated as a golden retriever could be, “What the heck!”
Grinning, “I thought you wanted to go on out,” she passes him a hand-held mirror.
His annoyance immediately fizzles as he sees the paws glimmer against the LED’s the same way Uzi’s did, “OooOoo,”
The back of her hand comes to her lips as she watches him move around his mirror and head from the side to side.
“...they’re nice…” she mumbles.
Shaking her head, “Leave em’ in for a month and a half,” she tosses a bottle in his lap, “Spray with saline before and after bed.”
He examines the bottle, “How much do I owe you?”
“Eh, don’t worry about it, you get the friend freebie.”
Uzi has to avert her eyes from the ray of sunshine, lest she be caught red in its adorable, weird, searing beams. She’d definitely go blind if she stared too long.
With a big goofy grin, “Thank you!”
With a dark, emo persona almost shattered, she could only stare at the corner with a crooked frown stretched across her already pinkening face. A palm coming up in a weak attempt to hide it,
“... yeah, no problem,”
The next words pull her out, “Can I do one on the outer ear?”
Her nose scrunches, “Mmmmmm, let’s wait on the lobes first.”
He bites his lip excitedly, tapping his foot and returning to the mirror. Uzi decides she’ll just focus on cleaning up rather than some weird cringe teenage hormones or whatever.
—------------------------
Several months pass, his lobes are healed and he thinks he’s ready for the next step. A helix.
The scene is familiar; Uzi’s room, late at night, anime is playing on the TV. On the other hand, he feels way more comfortable than last time.
Once again preparing the instruments, “I didn’t think you’d be so into this stuff.”
Kicking his feet, “Well it looks good on you.”
Uzi sighs, he’s gonna be the death of her. Taking a breath, she just marks the dots on his ear.
“Alright, you ready?” lining up the needle.
“Sur-”
Every nerve ending in his body fired. However, instead of jolting or jerking, they all caught in his throat instantaneously, culminating in a single little squeak. But then… she put the jewelry in. His soul escaped his body in one profane gasp.
The unmistakable sound of the bag crinkling, “Next ear…”
Before she could reach into the bag, a yelp stops her, “No no no, one is fine one is fine!”
“You sure?”
Nodding slowly, “Yeeess,"
“Yeah, having an ear to sleep on is a good idea.”
“T-totally,”
“Hmm… industrial,” Uzi plucks a wipe from the box.
Patting her ear, N was about to say something until she picked up another needle and walked to the mirror.
“Uzi?”
She grunts, stabbing it through both sides, she grabs the jewelry, “Yeah?”
The concern in his eyes turned to stars, So cool….