Lithium, don't wanna lock me up inside
Lithium, don't wanna forget how it feels without
Lithium, I wanna stay in love with my sorrow
Oh, but God I wanna let it go

Come to bed, don't make me sleep alone
Couldn't hide the emptiness, you let it show
Never wanted it to be so cold
Just didn't drink enough to say you love me

I can't hold on to me
Wonder what's wrong with me?

Lithium, don't wanna lock me up inside
Lithium, don't wanna forget how it feels without
Lithium, I wanna stay in love with my sorrow

Don't wanna let it lay me down this time
Drown my will to fly
Here in the darkness I know myself
Can't break free until I let it go, let me go

Darling, I forgive you after all
Anything is better than to be alone
And in the end I guess I had to fall
Always find my place among the ashes

Lithium Evanescence

I had a bit less than a month before classes at my university, Fresno State, started up for the new year. It was my first year there and I was going to get a master's in English. My best friends, Alice and Rosalie, shared a small apartment with me in North Clovis, not far from the university. I had moved here from Forks, Washington, and they from Phoenix, Arizona. They were my best friends when I lived in Phoenix. When my father got a job in Forks, I had to relocate. We visited each other every single chance we got and remained best friends. There was never a rift in our relationship.

When you looked at my friends and me, you saw totally and completely different people. Rosalie was a blonde, voluptuous woman with a super hot body. Every day she dressed like a damn supermodel. Guys wanted her and girls wanted to be her. Alice was teeny tiny and had inky black, short, spiky hair. She was very hyper, but was the most normal looking between the three of us – she was always wearing fashionable clothing, yet it wasn't ostentatious. I, however, seemed like the type of person Rosalie and Alice wouldn't be caught dead with. I had tattoos – 9, actually – multiple piercings, and wore mainly black clothes.

While the girls were giving each other makeovers, I was in my room drawing or reading.

"Bella!" Alice's high-pitched voice rang, "Get up! We have an appointment at the tattoo parlor in 30 minutes. Give me your design so I can make a copy!"

I swear she treated me like a small child. Still, I complied with her requests. I climbed out of my comfy bed, only dressed in a tank top and boy shorts. I walked over to my desk and hastily grabbed my sketch. When I opened the door to give the sketch to Alice, she was tapping her foot impatiently and glaring.

"What did I do wrong this time, Alice?" I groaned.

"You need to look hot today, Bella. That means no combat boots." With that she walked off into the kitchen. I sighed after my midget friend and retreated into my room.

After my hair was straightened, I went to my makeup. I applied a generous amount of eyeliner, and then put a dab of mascara on my eyelashes. The look was completed with a little foundation. I then walked to my closet and pulled out my regular black low-rise skinny jeans. I dug through the drawers on my dresser until I found a decent top. It was red and tight at the bottom, the rest loose. After I was dressed, I looked under my bed for my red Converse. When I glanced in the mirror, I thought I looked decent. The shirt showed off a few tattoos. Satisfied, I went to the living room so Alice and I could take our leave.

She was sitting on the couch, looking at the drawing I had created. It was a cross with ivy running up it. It was symbolic to me. My father had recently passed away and I wanted something to remember him by at all times. He was always very religious. This tatt was going on my wrist.

"Bella, I think this is wonderful," she whispered.

"Thank you," I replied softly, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. You drive. I just want to stare at this a bit more."

The drive to the shop, Ink and Diamonds, was quiet. Alice was still looking at my drawing. I know she missed Charlie a lot. He was like a father to her, as she never had one. I saw a tear slide down her cheek. Just one.

When we got to Ink and Diamonds, I pulled the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car. I had a Dodge Charger I got for my 18th birthday.

The shop had a nice, comfortable feel to it. It was hard to find places like that - where you just walked in and felt at home.

There was a tall man with reddish-brown hair at the counter working on a sketch. He looked up and smiled when we came in the door.

He had soft green eyes, pale skin, perfect pink lips stretched into a crooked grin, and a strong jaw line. On both his arms were sleeves with intricate tattoos. His bottom lip was adorned with spider bites. I saw gauges in his ear lobes and an industrial piercing. He looked like a typical tattoo artist… just about 20 times hotter.

"Hi there. I'm Edward. You must be my 1:00?" His voice was smooth, yet deep and masculine.

"Yeah. Hey, I'm Bella, and this is my friend Alice."

"Hello, Bella… Alice. So you have your sketch with you, right?"

"Yes. I have my sketch right here." I handed him the paper with the cross on it. On his wrist was what looked like a family crest.

"Cool. Let me lead you to your room and I'll go ahead and put this on the stencil. Sound good?" I nodded, and he smiled. He turned to Alice. "Are you going in with her?"

Alice shook her head.

"I hate the noise of the tattoo machine. I won't really miss not seeing this one though; I've been there for all the other 9." Edward raised his eyebrows at me. I just smiled and shrugged.

He told Alice she could wait in the front room until I was done and offered her a beverage. After giving her the complimentary coffee, Edward led me down a short hallway and showed me into a room.

"Ok. Let me get this ready for you. I'll be right back." With that he turned around and briskly left the room.

This hour alone with Edward was going to be very interesting.

EPOV:

Fuck, was all I could think. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

I was dangerously attracted to my client.

I was attracted to her when she first called the shop, looking to get a tatt. When she walked through the door, I swear I was about to fall over and die.

Her tight jeans showed off her soft curves. Her shirt allowed me to see a snake on her forearm just before it disappeared under her sleeve. The shirt also showed a sliver of her skin on her stomach, where I alsosaw some ink. Did they seriously send her here just to kill me? Because if so, they have succeeded.

I finally took a good look at her face.

Her eyes had a certain warmth to them. They were a gorgeous brown, surrounded by black eyeliner. Most girls can't pull off the whole eyeliner-around-the-whole-eye-I'm-a-raccoon thing, but damn. All it did for her was accentuate. A tiny stud was on her upper lip. Her hair was brown and straight, going halfway down her back. She was thin, but not overly so.

Her skin was a creamy pale.

When I took a look at her sketch I was stunned – she had remarkable talent.

When I asked her friend if she was going into the private room, she declined... She had already gone to the Bella's previous tattoo sessions... 9 of them. When I heard the news I turned to Bella with my eyebrows raised. She merely shrugged and smirked at me.

I hurried to get her to a private room so I could permanently mark her. I left swiftly so I could get more time with Bella.

She wasn't a typical girl… there was much more behind the woman who falls upon your eyes.

A/N:

Hey you guys. So this is basically a new When All Else Fails, Get Ink. I noticed in the other one they moved kinda fast and I felt like I didn't write Edward in the way I wanted to...

So here you go. I have about 30 chapters written out, so if I take more than a week to update, PM the hell out of me.

Thank you so much for reading this.