Outcast
The first time I've seen love, and the last I'll ever need
The rest of that was spent on my side, lazily going from the couch to the window seat to take some photos and back to the couch again. At around 8pm, though, I had to get dressed and walk to the nearest fast food place I could find to buy myself some dinner. On the way home, I walked by a tattoo parlor with a "Hiring apprentice" sign on the glass door. Oh, how very handy this came.
I had take my mother's credit card before I fleed from our flat and, before I went to the airport, I made sure to find an ATM and take out as much money as I could - unfortunately, only 600 euros - and then threw the credit card away so no one could track it and changed the euros to dollars at the airport. So, as I had only brought a little sum -considering I'd be staying there a long time - of money, I knew I had to find a job, and this one at the tattoo parlor just appeared at the perfect time. I already had some experience with tattos and knew how to somewhat draw. It was the perfect job for me.
I decided to head home for the day and come back to the parlor early in the morning to apply for the job. For then, I went home, aste my unhealthy, yet delicious dinner, and called it a night.
Next morning, I luckily woke up early enough to get through my plan. I walked to the bathroom, washed my face and brushed my teeth before walking to the kitchen and hopelessly opening the fridge. Empty. I opened all the cabinets too, but they were all empty as well. "Well, what did you expect, for food to magically appear? You have to go buy it, girl." I thought to myself, mentally scoffing at how silly I sometimes was.
I left to my room to get dressed in my signature shorts, a tank top with the Jack Daniels logo, and a clean, grey, zip-up hoodie on top it. I slipped on my Vans, put on a bit of eye-liner, ruffled my hair and left the flat. I decided to head towards the place where Vic had taken me the morning before to eat pancakes - where Tony worked - because I really didn't kow any other place there where I could have a quick breakfast before going to the tattoo shop.
Once I got there, I walked inside and headed to the counter, because I was definitely NOT sitting alone on a table and look like the depressed, loner I actually was. I sat on a stool and looked at the breakfast menu. Too inmerse in my "reading", I didn't notice the dark haired boy nearing until he was standing in front of me behind the counter.
"Hey there, Thalia!" I looked up and met a smiley, yet a bit tired looking Tony. I mimicked his grin and gave him a cheery goodmorning. "You alone today? I thought Vic would be with you..."
"Um... I'm actually going on the hunt for a job at a tattoo parlor I saw last night." I told him, trying to change the subject from Vic to something completely different.
"Awesome! I'll have to swing by so you can add something to these!" He said, pointing at the tattoo that ran up and down his arms. I nodded and he grinned widely. "Let's get you some breakfast, girl."
Once I finished eating, I paid and said goodbye to Tony, who gave me good luck thumbs up, and left for the parlor. It took me 15 minutes to get there, and I walked straight inside without another thought. I spotted a tall guy behind the cash desk, and went to him quickly. He was quite intimidating, considering he was about 6ft tall and I was only 5ft 2', forcing me to look up to meet his eyes.
"Hello there, hun. What can I do for you?" He asked in a polite and nice tone that didn't match at all with his threatening appearance. Guess looks were misleading.
"Um... I saw the sign on the door that said you were looking for an aprentice and, well..." I started, my voice a bit unsteady. Fuck my social awkwardness and shyness.
"You don't need to say another word, girl. I'll just ask you a few questions and the job's yours." He chuckled, smiling kindly noticing how embarassed I was. I nodded and smiled shyly at him. "I'm Austin, Austin Carlile, by the way."
"Thalia." I answered, still grinning, more confidently this time. This guy looked really nice and I could feel myself relax more and more around him, and that was really unusual in me.
"Nice name, hun. Okay, so, age and any experience?"
"I'm, uh, twenty. And yeah, I've got soe experience. I got a job at a parlor back in Ireland when I turned 16 as a tattoo designer because I like to draw and, eventually, I started actually tattoeing and piercing." I explained to Austin. He looked pretty impressed by my job story and he chuckled, surprised.
"Well, it looks like an awesome job record for someone so young. I thought you were younger, though, no more than seventeen." He laughed and I smiled a fake smile, trying to hide my nervousness at his comment. No one must find out my real age, or they'd be... weirded out at best. "So, last test. Imagine I'm a customer and want a special tattoo, designed only for me that reflects something about my personality, but you don't know anything about me." He stood up and went to a shelf before coming back with a sketchpad and a few pencils. He winked at me."Do your best."
I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, searching for any clue about him or his past. He had his lips streched in a soft, relaxed smile, but I had enough personal experience to see through his facade. I finally spotted it, a glint of a sadness so big that he had to mask it so it wouldn't break him like a mere piece of paper. Once I caught a glimpse of that sadness in Austin's eyes, I started drawing. My "creative juices", as I liked to call them, were flowing freely as my hand flew around the paper, drawing and smudging until I was satisfied with the result, ten minutes later.
It was a dandelion, held by a man's hand, and the dandelion's white round seed head was on fire, symbolising how the sadness consumed you from the inside out and you end up being nothing but ashes and memories of who you once were. I handed it to Austin and he gazed at it in awe. I saw a tears well up in the corners of his eyes but he blinked them away before he stood up from his chair and hugged me without any kind of warning. Of course, I hugged him back and when he bulled back, he put his hand on my cheek.
"Your drawing is so powerfull and beautiful, your mind must be a horrible place, darling." Austin stated seriously, looking into my eyes. I guess someone kind of understood - although he didn't really realise - what I was feeling. I shrugged and blinked a few times to stop the waterworks that were sure to start if we continued like this. I gave him my best encouraging smile and gave the hand he had on my cheek a gentle squeeze. Austin smiled and suddenly, he went back to how he was before. "I'll have this inked on me, for your information. Oh, and you're in if you even doubted it. Can you start tomorrow?"
"Of course! Thank you very much, Austin. You won't regret it!" Austin laughed and waved at me as I left. Outside of the parlor, the sun was shiny and it was really warm. Apparently, it was my lucky day.
And it turned out to be much better when I heard a motorbike engine stopping near me and a familiar male voice calling me.
"Hey Thalia? Are you up for a date?"
I had take my mother's credit card before I fleed from our flat and, before I went to the airport, I made sure to find an ATM and take out as much money as I could - unfortunately, only 600 euros - and then threw the credit card away so no one could track it and changed the euros to dollars at the airport. So, as I had only brought a little sum -considering I'd be staying there a long time - of money, I knew I had to find a job, and this one at the tattoo parlor just appeared at the perfect time. I already had some experience with tattos and knew how to somewhat draw. It was the perfect job for me.
I decided to head home for the day and come back to the parlor early in the morning to apply for the job. For then, I went home, aste my unhealthy, yet delicious dinner, and called it a night.
Next morning, I luckily woke up early enough to get through my plan. I walked to the bathroom, washed my face and brushed my teeth before walking to the kitchen and hopelessly opening the fridge. Empty. I opened all the cabinets too, but they were all empty as well. "Well, what did you expect, for food to magically appear? You have to go buy it, girl." I thought to myself, mentally scoffing at how silly I sometimes was.
I left to my room to get dressed in my signature shorts, a tank top with the Jack Daniels logo, and a clean, grey, zip-up hoodie on top it. I slipped on my Vans, put on a bit of eye-liner, ruffled my hair and left the flat. I decided to head towards the place where Vic had taken me the morning before to eat pancakes - where Tony worked - because I really didn't kow any other place there where I could have a quick breakfast before going to the tattoo shop.
Once I got there, I walked inside and headed to the counter, because I was definitely NOT sitting alone on a table and look like the depressed, loner I actually was. I sat on a stool and looked at the breakfast menu. Too inmerse in my "reading", I didn't notice the dark haired boy nearing until he was standing in front of me behind the counter.
"Hey there, Thalia!" I looked up and met a smiley, yet a bit tired looking Tony. I mimicked his grin and gave him a cheery goodmorning. "You alone today? I thought Vic would be with you..."
"Um... I'm actually going on the hunt for a job at a tattoo parlor I saw last night." I told him, trying to change the subject from Vic to something completely different.
"Awesome! I'll have to swing by so you can add something to these!" He said, pointing at the tattoo that ran up and down his arms. I nodded and he grinned widely. "Let's get you some breakfast, girl."
Once I finished eating, I paid and said goodbye to Tony, who gave me good luck thumbs up, and left for the parlor. It took me 15 minutes to get there, and I walked straight inside without another thought. I spotted a tall guy behind the cash desk, and went to him quickly. He was quite intimidating, considering he was about 6ft tall and I was only 5ft 2', forcing me to look up to meet his eyes.
"Hello there, hun. What can I do for you?" He asked in a polite and nice tone that didn't match at all with his threatening appearance. Guess looks were misleading.
"Um... I saw the sign on the door that said you were looking for an aprentice and, well..." I started, my voice a bit unsteady. Fuck my social awkwardness and shyness.
"You don't need to say another word, girl. I'll just ask you a few questions and the job's yours." He chuckled, smiling kindly noticing how embarassed I was. I nodded and smiled shyly at him. "I'm Austin, Austin Carlile, by the way."
"Thalia." I answered, still grinning, more confidently this time. This guy looked really nice and I could feel myself relax more and more around him, and that was really unusual in me.
"Nice name, hun. Okay, so, age and any experience?"
"I'm, uh, twenty. And yeah, I've got soe experience. I got a job at a parlor back in Ireland when I turned 16 as a tattoo designer because I like to draw and, eventually, I started actually tattoeing and piercing." I explained to Austin. He looked pretty impressed by my job story and he chuckled, surprised.
"Well, it looks like an awesome job record for someone so young. I thought you were younger, though, no more than seventeen." He laughed and I smiled a fake smile, trying to hide my nervousness at his comment. No one must find out my real age, or they'd be... weirded out at best. "So, last test. Imagine I'm a customer and want a special tattoo, designed only for me that reflects something about my personality, but you don't know anything about me." He stood up and went to a shelf before coming back with a sketchpad and a few pencils. He winked at me."Do your best."
I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, searching for any clue about him or his past. He had his lips streched in a soft, relaxed smile, but I had enough personal experience to see through his facade. I finally spotted it, a glint of a sadness so big that he had to mask it so it wouldn't break him like a mere piece of paper. Once I caught a glimpse of that sadness in Austin's eyes, I started drawing. My "creative juices", as I liked to call them, were flowing freely as my hand flew around the paper, drawing and smudging until I was satisfied with the result, ten minutes later.
It was a dandelion, held by a man's hand, and the dandelion's white round seed head was on fire, symbolising how the sadness consumed you from the inside out and you end up being nothing but ashes and memories of who you once were. I handed it to Austin and he gazed at it in awe. I saw a tears well up in the corners of his eyes but he blinked them away before he stood up from his chair and hugged me without any kind of warning. Of course, I hugged him back and when he bulled back, he put his hand on my cheek.
"Your drawing is so powerfull and beautiful, your mind must be a horrible place, darling." Austin stated seriously, looking into my eyes. I guess someone kind of understood - although he didn't really realise - what I was feeling. I shrugged and blinked a few times to stop the waterworks that were sure to start if we continued like this. I gave him my best encouraging smile and gave the hand he had on my cheek a gentle squeeze. Austin smiled and suddenly, he went back to how he was before. "I'll have this inked on me, for your information. Oh, and you're in if you even doubted it. Can you start tomorrow?"
"Of course! Thank you very much, Austin. You won't regret it!" Austin laughed and waved at me as I left. Outside of the parlor, the sun was shiny and it was really warm. Apparently, it was my lucky day.
And it turned out to be much better when I heard a motorbike engine stopping near me and a familiar male voice calling me.
"Hey Thalia? Are you up for a date?"
@Turtle I've updated! Go read!! c;
2/5/14