Jade Eyed Boy

I spent the rest of the day in a near panic state. Had I really agreed to be 'rebellious'? What did he mean? What did he want me to do? I had spent all day biting my nails to stubs and nervously twisting my hair. Not to mention the fact that I was ditching detention with a boy I hardly knew. What would my parents say? What would Johnny say? Would he be happy that I had spent time with one of his good friends or would he be worried about me? As if I didn't have enough to worry about there I could only imagine how unpleasant Isaac's reaction was going to be. He hated guys like Zacky, Brian, and even my own brother. How would he feel about me being alone with one and being 'rebellious'?

I almost wished the day would have gone by longer but of course before I knew it the final bell had rang. I almost considered just ditching detention and going home, or just going and avoiding Zacky completely, but something in my gut told me that I needed to stick with my word and ditch with Zacky despite my many doubts and protest.

I had managed to sneak by Isaac undetected simply because I didn't want to explain to him what I was doing. I wasn't even sure of what I was doing I just knew that I wanted to do it. I wanted to try something new and live on the edge of things for once. I had always been the quite on compared to Johnny and I wanted to live for once. I, for the most part, loved my life. I loved my boyfriend, my family, my twin, but something always felt missing. I needed to go out and get a rush from something just so I could breathe for once. My entire life had been a pile of stress sense I came out of the womb. How many other kids have had their life like that? Not many I suppose. I don't even remember a stress free childhood memory.

After I was for sure no one could see me I slipped out the front door. I walked down to where my brother and his friends normally hang out in the courtyard to find one single boy there. His dark black hair neater than his friends, but that's not saying much. His lip piercings bringing out his natural pout. Oh and I could never forget his eyes in how they sparkle in the right lighting. He truly was adorable to look at.

He stood up to walk over to me. I could see he was finishing a cigarette and the thought kind of made me cringe. I hated the smell of people who smoke and I was spending an entire afternoon with him. I tried not to focus on it and decided to try and wrap my mind around what he may have planned. I hoped he didn't expect anything sexual or degrading from me cause I certainly wasn't that type of girl. I had only had sex with Isaac and even then I didn't overly enjoy it. He was a pig when it came to sex and never tried for me to enjoy it. It was one of the times I actually disliked him.

"So...” I said quietly after a few moments of Zacky just staring at me. It felt kind of awkward.

He gave me his oh so handsome smile ,"sorry Haley, just thinking about what we are going to do and I'm pretty sure I have an idea but you have to be open-minded about it. I'm actually really surprised you came. Little Johnny was terrified of us when we first asked him to hang out and avoided us for almost a month, but he came around".

I shrugged. "I'm just glad to see Johnny seems to fit in somewhere. I mean, we only hung out with each other up until I got together with Isaac and then we kind of spaced apart. I always blame myself you know, but I have to think of what's going to make me happy sometimes and not put Johnny over me all the time".

He blew a cloud of smoke out of his mouth from his cancer stick. "That's understandable. I don't have a twin but I do have a brother and sister. They drive me nuts but they are important most days".

The way he put it gave me a small laugh. The atmosphere wasn't a tense anymore. I started to think that maybe today wouldn't be as horrible as I thought. I waited a few minutes for him to completely put out the cigarette. When he finally did he just motioned for me to follow him. I'd try asking what we are doing but he'd quickly shush me or say 'it's a surprise'. What a man. As far as I knew he was leading me to get gang raped but a part of me trusted that he wouldn't put me in harm’s way. He didn't seem like the type of guy that would do that to a girl - even if he was a flirt. When we reached our destination I was surprised to see a typical tattoo shop.

"Zacky what are we doing here?" I asked quietly.

"Well you have a choice. You can either get a permanent hole plastered through a part of your body with a big needle and have a piece of jewelry put in its place, or you can have a design set in your body with permanent ink. I decided you should make the decision sense you are going to be the rebellious one today".

I suddenly felt uneasy about everything. "But, but, neither of us are eighteen yet. How can we get one without permission"?

He smiled his wicked smile. "Old Zed here is a good friend of mine. He's done everyone in the group's including your brother's. He knows what he's doing. You're not scared are you Miss Seward"?

"Oh I'm petrified". The words came out in almost a squeaky tone. But now there was a new feeling in my stomach. Could that be - excitement? Did I actually want to go through with and make a permanent body modification to myself in a spare of the moment idea brought on by some boy I hardly knew? Yes, yes I did.

"I want my belly button pierced", I said with excitement.

"Okay", he was smiling, "let's go in. He doesn't look too busy".

We entered the tiny tattoo shop and sure enough he wasn't really doing much. Zed, I assumed, was a big three hundred pound man with a bald head, sunglasses, and tattoos covering every inch of his body in eyesight. If this would have been in a different environment I would have been terrified of him.

"Zacky m'boy", he exclaimed when he saw us, "what can I do ya for today"? Zacky smiled. "Actually Zed, I have a new friend here who has never gotten any modifications done before and she wants her belly button pierced. Think you can fit us is"?

"Anything for my favorite customer", he said with a big toothy grin. He motioned for me to lie down on his table, chair type of thing. Once I was lying down he had me pull up my shirt so he could clean the area where the needle would go. My stomach was bursting with excitement but I didn't want to share it because I didn't want Zacky to know exactly how much of a bad thing this was to do for me.

Zed then motioned for me to sit up. "Okay lady, go pick out your ring".

"Zacky pick one for me. I don't care which". His face was as surprised as my words had been to me. I was right though, I didn't really care and I definitely liked the idea of him just picking it for me. It would save a ton of time.

He went from looking surprised to absolutely thrilled. "Okay fucking awesome", he said practically running over to grab a ring. He came back a few moments later carrying a ring he wouldn't let me see. "It's another surprise", he said with a smile. I was really beginning to enjoy his company. He acted like he had known me forever. It was nice to have that every once in a while.

Before I knew it Zed had me lying back on my back and I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt the needle come near. All’s I could think was that it hurt like a bee sting, not horrible, but not pleasant by any means. After I knew the needle was through and the ring was in I was forced up a little too quickly by Zed and Zacky.

"Isn't it fucking awesome", Zacky practically yelled in my ear. I could tell he really wanted me to like it. He had put thought into picking it out for me.

When I looked down and saw it I was shocked and amazed at the same time. It was gorgeous. It was a normal bellybutton ring that dangled down into a hoop and inside the hoop with the sign for Gemini, which meant twins, and the color of mine and Johnny's actual birthstone. I was so shocked that he picked the exact one I probably would have that I almost fell over.

"So do you like it?" he asked with hopeful eyes while biting down hard on his lip ring.

I simply said yes by basically jumping into his arms with a hug and then feeling a bit embarrassed pulled back and nodded. He had such a victorious smile I couldn't help but laugh. He certainly was proud of himself for picking one that I’d loved. In fact, it almost appeared as if he was blushing. He noticed me looking at him the quickly switched to his attractive wicked smile. "And to think we almost went to detention and missed all of this. What would your boyfriend think"?

I knew he meant it as a joke, but suddenly my heart sank. What would Isaac think? He hated piercings. Would he hate me for having it? He couldn't though, I kept telling myself. He loves me for me.

With all the thoughts racing through my mind I put on a fake smile for Zacky and let him walk me home. He was so sweet to me that afternoon. I was excited about seeing him again the next day. It was nice to have a friend.