Philly Ink

(Lauren's POV)

Opening day! It was opening day finally! My energy levels where through the roof and I just wanted to have a solid day of tattoos finally. It had been too long since I busted out a chuck of artwork at once. Instead I had been forced to do one tattoo every few days! I belonged in a shop, not random living rooms! Or balcony bar areas like the note!

Wanting to make an impression for the opening day crowd I could hear begin forming a line at about ten that morning, I went though my clothing. I nearly pushed every thing in the small closet onto the side. Coming up on the last shirt hanging there, I couldn't help but grin. Mean the graphic on it was probably how I would look after that day. Placing the zombie pin-up shirt on, or what was left of it after Kat attacked me the last time I wore it, I moved on to pants. Most of my wardrobe had still been LA attire, none that would be good for Philly in October. Spotting some ripped jeans, I tossed them on with a pair of Adios Bam made a point to give me. Looking in the mirror, I felt ready to go.

“You are about ten minutes late.” the producer complained. “You don't have anything a little more, you know … camera ready?” he motioned to my outfit which caused me to raise a brow. Glancing around, I noticed I was about equally covered as everyone else. Besides, I had worn much less in LA and had no problems. “Maybe something more … relieving?”

Babs laughing in the corner helped … not. “No … see, I am not a whore. This is a tattoo shop before it is a film studio. Got it?” I attempted to ignore LC how had joined Abbey and both seemed to be giving commentary to Tee. “I am going to take that as a yes, you make another comment about my wardrobe and your film crew can go to hell.” the kid seemed scared out of his mind as he nodded slowly. “Good, cause we have a tattoo shop to run.”

Yes naturally I was a rather easy going person, just not when in business mode. Tattooing was my business, not being a TV star and if they expected one thing from us, like the 'character descriptions' they had given us, then they were in for a rude awakening. And they probably should have used better terminology than 'Bam-like' for me. “You ready Laur?” LC hoped down from her set on the empty station and walked towards the door. “I am going to open the door.”

Hours passed in what seemed like … well … hours. After three clients, I was ready to keep going. But our store manager was MIA which apparently was enough drama to keep the producer from correcting us from slipping for character. Tee's piercing room seemed to have a revolving door with the massive line she had growing and the number of walk-ins scared me. If I didn't get someone to take over managing the floor so LC could start doing tattoos, then I had no idea what was going to happen with the patiently waiting people. “BABS!” Looking across the room, I caught her attention. “We might seriously be here til sometime tomorrow morning.”

The clients each of us had been working on started to laugh and I joined in for a brief moment. Babs didn't seem to like the idea too much. “You don't want people walking away from us today, huh?”

“I'll buy you a drink afterward.” finally smiling, she got back to work on the script she had been doing.

Giving the client's new ink a final wipe, I went back to my Cradle of Filth impersonation I had done throughout the session. “You are now in Cradle of Filth.” the poor guy almost fell off the table from crying. He was completely out of breath from laughing to hard. Least we were an entertaining crew. That was the best way to get more business though the door.

Breaking my station down only added to the time it took to get a new client done. It was going to be a loosing battle. I could sense it. As if she were an angel, LC appeared out of no where to take my machine to the autoclave. Instead I could focus on disinfecting my table and work area. “Missing Janne horribly right now.” Just as I had everything wiped down and good to go, LC had returned with my other set of machines. We were just that busy that I had to break out both sets and run them like crazy. Placing my old machine on the work tray, a gloved LC began setting up my liner. “Your next client is actually getting a heartagram with the eye behind it.” so many people had the tattoo that I couldn't see why they would want it also. “and a … the 69 eyes cross thing,” motioning for me to automatically know what she was talking about, LC rolled her eyes. “Anyways they want the other eye behind that.”

“So have you called him yet today?” Placing gloves on my workstation, I prepared to go out and meet the new owner of the 'custom' ink. “What city are they in today?” I attempted to hid my uneasiness of the subject, but LC could always pick up on my moods. Almost like it was her sixth sense. Standing up, I pulled my jeans back up. “Oh, what does this person look like?”

“Kinda like Novak but more like Novak than Novak.” processing what she had rushed out of her mouth, a hint of a Finnish accent making it confusing to me. God I needed to go back to Finland, I would have picked up on her sentence sooner.

The lobby was packed with people. Seeing Bam behind the desk in a 'Pins and Needles' shirt, I had to take a double take. Guess that's how LC was able to help me. What Bam knew how to work? That was scary. Well, until I noticed Missy next to him actually running the waiting list. “Bam, you working now?” his wife rolled her eyes as she yelled for Novak to 'get your ass up here'.

“Look, I answer the phone.” the already ringing phone was answered by the moron. Felt bad for whoever was calling. “The Pins and Needles connection. What the fuck do you want?” I couldn't help but slap my forehead. Who let him behind the counter? “We need a shitload of coffee. Like literal tons of it!”

He continued on the call with someone I assumed we knew. Who could tell with him. “Thank you for helping Missy. Sorry you married him.” She hid a smile before yelling for Novak again. “I got him.” Walking closer I grabbed the clipboard and walked outside where he was chatting and smoking with random people. Course it collided with the back of his head. “Let's go or you go back to the end of the list.” people in line began cheering.

With Novak prepped I watched LC check on Abbey and pass her some water with a straw so she could drink. It was after two and still had no break. “You really want this crappy tattoo?”

I had the heartagram drawn on in seconds, followed quickly by the Egyptian cross. Then I went in and created the eyes. Taking it on myself, I made the one in the heartagram a winking eye. “Can I look yet?”

“Sure. Whatever.” Pointing vaguely at the huge ass antique mirror, I sent him on his way. “LC can you help- why are you back here?” Bam rushed over to his 'life partner' acting as though he were a tattoo artist. Was less work for us.

Grabbing her own kit, LC had begun setting up her station. Maybe there was hope. “So this is the happiest I had seen Mr. Valo in the last three years. Gee, didn't you move to LA to help Kat out back then?” an evil grin was sent my way. “I should be ready to start knocking out tattoos now. Missy is on the desk and your brother volunteered to help run the floor. Isn't that sweet?”

“NO!” both Babs and I belted out at the same time.

Pouting Bam froze as Novak climbed back onto the table, loving his design. “I am a great tattoo helping person! Look how many I have!”

“You have GG on your leg.” pointing the tattoo out, I continued to make sure I had everything lined up. “It defeats your whole argument.” Dropping his head Bam headed to the bathroom to do whatever he was doing. I didn't exactly care.

Bringing a client back, LC quickly got to work. “So why didn't you and Ville ever get together again? Mean you always were together everywhere you went.” Babs looked at me in shock. Had never really told her about what happened in my Helsinki days. “And when you weren't … what is the CKY phrase … Attached at the hip? … Then you were always calling or texting.”

“Not always drama queen.” my phone buzzed on the counter. The name on the screen only proved LC right. “Speak a word of this Novak and I will rip the ink right back off of you.”

Shifting a bit, he turned his head “Um, think everyone has a clue after the party. Sorry baby sister.” Poor Novak made me dig the needle in a little bit more … opps.

Running from the bathroom, Bam stopped dead center of our huge mosaic heartagram and stared at me. “Has Deron seen the bathroom here yet?” Babs giggled on the other side as LC looked away focused on her work. “There is a mural of him pointing at a plaque with 'Hellions' Ink' on it!”

“Told you to put the plaque on the other wall!” Abbey managed “Now it doesn't look like he's pointing at the toilet anymore!”

“I'm just not that special of a person LC.” I mouthed to her as more people walked into our work area. “Jimmy?”

“Sorry I am late for work.” the man who had quit just a few nights before looked down at his feet before finally looking up “But I brought cupcakes and coffee!” Evil Jared behind him held up the Box-O-Joe. “I still work here right? Even though I quit and stormed out-”

“Like I take your threats of quitting serious.” refocusing on Novak's shoulderblade, I finished up the heartagram side completely. “But you are a few hours late, so you might want to pay for lunch too.”

Everyone had left for the night, and since I lived the closest, I had lock up duty. It was strange to go from a place of chaos to a place where you could hear a pin drop. A built up sigh from a day of non-stop work finally escaped from my mouth as I passed by LC's station. We all had drawing for the weeks' jobs laying around but this one caught my eye.

Lauren,
You are something special.
You just don't know it.
-Lacey

Flipping the paper over I instantly recognized Ville's handwriting. I could recognize it anywhere. Reading over the words in Finnish, I realized they were all lyrics I had watched him write. Parts of it hit home.

She's smiling like heaven is down on earth.

But with it written in Finnish, I knew something was weird. He use to tell me I looked like heaven on earth all the time. Was probably a fluke. Could only imagine how many people he had told that line to.

I hear you weep so far from here;
I taste your tears like you're next to me;
And I know.

“Don't cry Lauren, then I will always know how you cry.” it was one of the first days since I had moved to Finland. I didn't know anyone had followed after me, let alone that Ville had even remembered me from the one prior time we met at one of my brother's gatherings. I was just making this all up in my head. Making it more than it really was.

There was only two more set of words in his handwriting, and I didn't know what either was from. Mean I knew every HIM song by heart.

I've seen you breathe the life into the weakest of hearts;
And heard you scream out loud the sweetest poems;
Echoing across the ocean reminding me why I still try;
To hold onto whatever is left of you and I.

Had no idea about that one.

Like the couple from Pompeii;
Our drama is put out on display;
Along with a dove stuffed in a coffin of glass;
Entitled “Love lust and the holy ghost”

The paper fell from my hand after I noted that LC's handwriting had said 'Left ribs.' This wasn't all in my head. We had visited Pompeii and ended up just walking around talking about how it would have been to be two people walking around when the famous volcano erupted. How if they made a movie they would have added tons of drama to the storyline. The other part that scared me was the night of our coffee table waltz, we had came up with a crazy book title called 'Love lust and the Holy Ghost'. Could never remember what it would have been about, just how we laughed endlessly while talking about it.