You'll Never Leave My Heart.

“Isn’t it sick?’ Damien asked, showing us his finished tattoo on his arm.

“Didn’t that hurt?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I have a high tolerance in pain,” he said. You could assume that just by looking at him. He had angel bites, snakebites and a tattoo on each wrist. He also had gauges; I couldn’t remember what size, but they had to be at least an inch.

“This makes me want a tattoo,” Cameron said, frowning.

“We can go get a tattoo together!” I told him.

Aarica shook her head. “You guys are all out of your mind. Needles scare the shit out of me; I almost passed out when I got my belly button pierced,” she said. “Anamae, you know your mom won’t let you get a tattoo.”

“And I was being completely serious about getting a tattoo,” Cameron said.

“If you guys do, go to the place next to the Wawa up here- that’s where I’ve gotten all my tattoos and piercings. They’re good,” Damien said.

“That’s where Aarica and I got our belly buttons pierced,” I told him, then turned to Cameron. “I know you were serious, so am I. Your dad wouldn’t mind signing for me too, right?”

“I mean, I don’t think he’d care,” he said.

“Okay, so you can ask your dad tonight and we can get it done tomorrow?” I suggested as I heard the bell ring.

“Alright, that works,” he said. I nodded, and then turned around in my seat.



“So what are you gonna get?” Aarica asked me as we stood in line for lunch.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I kind of a want an anchor somewhere, I just don’t know where.” I said.

“Google it,” she said, grabbing pizza.

I laughed. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to Google it,” I said as I grabbed a chicken sandwich.

“Let me guess; you want it to be ‘original’?” she guessed, paying for her food.

I laughed. “Exactly!” I said. I paid for my food then followed Aarica to our table. It was only Aarica, Cameron and me. Damien joined us when he wasn’t skipping and sometimes we had extra people. We weren’t popular, but at the same time we weren’t losers. It was weird actually; Westlake wasn’t your average cliché high school that was broken off into different cliques. Sure, people didn’t like each other and they preferred certain people over others, but all in all, most people got along.

As soon as we sat down, Cameron and I got into a conversation about tattoos. What kind we like, where we do and don’t like them. Aarica was pretty quiet- not really caring for tattoos- although she did give her opinion on some of them. “I don’t think you should get a sleeve,” Aarica said, scrunching her nose. “they look weird.”

“I think they look fine when they don’t come to like, an abrupt stop at your wrist, you know? I think that looks awkward and… not good,” I said.

“I’m obviously not going to get the entire thing tomorrow,” Cameron said, rolling his eyes. “I’d work up to it. I was just thinking about it. I think I might get a quote or something near my collarbones.”

“That’s where you could get it!” Aarica said, causing both me and Cameron to jump. A couple people looked at her weirdly too. “You could get it here,” she pulled down her shirt a little to show the area just under her collarbone.

“That would look cute,” Cameron agreed.

“I knew there was a reason you were my best friend,” I said, grinning at Aarica. She just smirked triumphantly. “I’m gonna go throw my trash away, I’ll be right back.” I picked up my styrofoam tray and throwing the whole thing away. As I turned around, I bumped into a tray. Luckily, nothing spilled or got on me.

“Sorry!” I heard a guy with an accent say. I brushed off the little bit of crumbs off of me.

“It’s fine,” I said as I looked up quickly, shooting him a smile before I walked off.

“Why didn’t you talk to him longer?!” Aarica asked me as I got to the table.

“Sorry…?” I told her, more like a question.

“Did you see him? He was hot. I forget his name, but still.” she said.

“I didn’t even pay attention,” I said, laughing.

She rolled her eyes. “You completely fail as a girl,” she said, which I just shrugged at before sitting back down.