Today was gonna be a long and patient wait ahead as I didn't even get chance to have a proper breakfast down me to build my strength up for it, I was bundled into the back of Tony's red Mustang when it arrived at my front door really early in the morning, my parents were still asleep in bed and none the wise of our plans so I guess it will have to be a surprise for them when we get back. I quietly sat in the back seat eating my peanut butter toast as we headed to our next stop….

I think I finally managed to figure out why I was seeing Hannah again everywhere I went, she only turns up when I'm feeling down and alone. It can't just be because of the memory box right? I still haven't figured out why she hasn't spoken to me yet since I started seeing her

Looking down at the passenger seat the memory box sat beside me as I placed my hand over it, everything seem to be a blur as the outside world drowned out from me like I was trapped in my own little bubble. I turned to my right and saw Hannah sat in the back of the Mustang with me, guess my theory must be right then

'Hannah' I whispered softly

She turned her head to face me when I called her; Hannah reached over with her left hand and placed it above mine over the memory box. My breath hitched in my throat at her invisible touch as it felt so real to the bone that it can't be true

'You ok Clay' Tony asked, glancing back at me through the courtesy mirror

I snapped out of my own little bubble and Hannah was still sat beside me, looking ahead in front of me I saw we were getting close to our next stop soon

'I'm good Tony' I replied robotically every time I'm asked how I'm doing

'You sure' he sighed deeply, raising a brow

I nodded my head at Tony's kind and caring nature, maybe he was seeing past my fake smiles and false bravado that I was ok with the world when I clearly wasn't. Maybe someday I won't feel like this anymore and get past this stage in my life

'I see that you brought the memory box with you' Tony commented, looking at the box through the mirror

'Yeah, kinda need Hannah's courage' I exclaimed. 'You don't mind do you?'

'Why would I mind?' he stated, raising both of his brows like I had asked the most stupid question in the whole world

'When we get there I'll leave the box in the car I don't want to embarrass you or Justin with it in the shop carrying it around'

'You can never embarrass us Clay. Bring the box if want too' Justin interjected, smiling weakly at me as he turned around

'I think it's sweet that you still want to remember Hannah in your own way when I'm sure most of Liberty have forgotten about her' Tony replied

'I can never forget her' I sighed deeply

I turned towards Hannah and saw her smile at my true feelings for her, Hannah's hand was still above mine and I wished so deeply that I could intertwine our fingers together like I did those many nights ago to the place we were heading now….

Tony pulled up the Mustang alongside the curb and in front of the building; I placed the memory box down on the floor of the car. the store had just opened up for business for the today and we were their first appointment. We climbed out of the vehicle and entered the store; Hannah had disappeared from my side as I followed Tony's lead into the store as he made the appointment

'Welcome to Karl's Tattoo Parlour, how may I help you' the woman behind the desk greeted warmly

'Hi, I got three appointments under the name Padilla'

The receptionist scrolled thought the appointment book on the computer and motioned for us to take a seat after finding the name. A few moments later the owner Karl appeared from out of the back and brought us through, I wonder if he'll remember me from a year ago standing outside his parlour.

Tony, Justin and I were all sat in our individual chairs after being shaven on where we wanted our tattoos done; we gave the artist our tattoo designs and templates and let them set to work with theirs guns on our bodies

'I still can't believe you're having Jessica's name tattooed on your forearm' Tony muttered

'What's wrong with that?' Justin exclaimed, sipping down his water

'That's so corny it's unreal' he stated. 'Want you gonna do if you guys break up in the future'

'Tony does have a point' I interjected, raising a brow at him

'Why are both ganging up on me for, for my tattoo choice' Justin protested. 'I'll tattoo over with a picture of a lion if we do split'

'Anyway, how are you feeling Clay? Getting your first tattoo done' Tony asked

'You holding up ok with the pain Clay, you can stop you know anytime you like' Justin added

I nodded my head as the pain of the needle kept jabbing into my forearm, I had gotten used to the pain when I'd got my semicolon tattoo not so long ago but I hadn't showed them both that either. Wondering if I should corrected them both on my first secret hidden tattoo on my ring finger on my left hand, moving my other fingers out of the way I looked down at the dried ink on the side of my finger

'This isn't the first tattoo I've got on me' I informed them both

'When did you get your first done Clay?' Tony asked

'In the summer before Hannah died, we both did together'

Tony and Justin's mouth dropped and gasped deeply by my hidden rebellious side, they both knew my mom would freak if she knew what I done to myself a year and half ago. Me and Justin coming home tonight with our new tattoos will go down a treat with her then when she sees us

'How come we never noticed it before?' Justin asked

'It's a small tattoo' I replied. 'You wouldn't have noticed if I didn't show you where it was on me'

I dropped my index and middle finger out of sight from my ring fingers and showed them both my small tattoo that was hidden in plain sight. Hannah came back into view and sat down on a stool besides my chair, I looked down at the newest tattoo being inked on me when I felt Hannah grabbed a hold of my hand and intertwining our fingers together for comfort and support. I guess it's only fair that Justin and Tony knew the true meaning behind my first tattoo…..

During the same shift Hannah and I shared at the Crestmont on one summer evening by some unfortunate circumstances there was a power blackout at the theater, all power was gone and the fuses had blown. Our manager Mr Brady had sent all employees home for the day and foreseeable future till the fuses were repaired

I waited outside the Crestmont for Hannah to appear while I unlocked my bike from the rake, she came out of the door a few minutes later, Hannah lifted up her long locks that got trapped underneath her backpack straps and let them fall over her shoulder. Hannah stopped in her tracks and smiled warmly when she noticed me stood anxiously by the side of the road

'You waiting for me Helmet' Hannah enquired

'Thought I'd walk home Hannah'

'It's not that dark out to need an escort home'

'Safety first I guess' I proclaimed

Sunset had just started and it was very still light out, we had a few hours left before we agreed to meet up tonight but I didn't want to spend another second away from her than I had done most of the summer.

'Safety' she repeated, mimicking my voice. 'Nice save Helmet'

Hannah walked up to me and linked her arm through mine as we walked down the street as I pushed my bike along back to her home. During our walk back we talked about our plans for tonight and the rest of summer vacation, I kept teasing her with ludicrous plans that weren't possible as I kept my card close to my chest while Hannah constantly asked about it….

My eyes caught the attention of the aluminous sign in the shop front of a black painted building; I motioned Hannah closer to the window to have a look. The window was littered with photos of incredible tattoo designs

'You thinking of getting a tattoo Helmet'

'I've always wanted to get one' I replied

'What kind of design did you have in mind?'

'I'm not really sure yet but I do want to get inked soon'

'My Helmet is changing too much' she exclaimed. 'What's brought this new enigma Clay Jensen on?'

'Well, we're entering junior year soon and I feel like changing'

'Changing?' Hannah stated, raising her brows

'Being someone new, someone different' I explained. 'I want to break out of this stereotype I have over me, that quiet nerd or that loner'

'What's wrong in being you?' she asked

'Nothing I guess. I think I just need that little push to come out of my shell and be someone else' I stated

Hannah curled her arm tighter around mine and rested her head against my shoulder, soon her warmth radiated over to my body as I could sense she was worried I would change into someone else. If I were to have a personality transplant and change my status at Liberty High somehow I would never abandon my best friend's side for sure

'I like you just the way you are Clay Jensen' she sighed contently. 'Please don't ever change'

'I won't' I assured her, resting my forehead on the top of her soft curly brown hair. 'Not ever to you Hannah'

Hannah still clutched to my arm on the walk back to her home, we continued to talk about anything and everything before settling on a game to play, who would you rather be. We gave each other the weirdest combinations and it came hard to pick the lesser of two evils to rather be….

A few hours later after getting changed into something more comfortable we hung out in Hannah's bedroom and ransacked the cupboards in the kitchen for snacks but nothing took our fancy, we decided to go to the store so we could really feast out tonight during our movie marathon

'You're parents really don't mind me staying over the night' I asked again for the hundredth time

'Why would they mind? We're best friends Helmet'

'Well we haven't really met yet and I don't want them to think what is some boy doing in the daughter's bedroom if they walk in'

'Well learn to roll quickly under my bed then Helmet' she teased, bumping into my side playfully

'Hannah' I groaned, shaking my head as a small laughter escaped from me. 'I'm serious'

'They do know of you Clay and I would love to introduce you to them someday hopefully'

'They know of me'

'My parents may not be around me much but I do speak of you to them, they know we work together at the Crestmont'

'Such high praise' I teased

'I'm serious Helmet; they know we hang out together all the time and you are my friend, my only friend to be exact' she exclaimed, a teary sheen glazing her eyes while she held them back. 'They just can't put a face to the name when it comes to you Clay'

'Come on that's not true, I'm not your only friend Hannah'

'But it is Helmet everyone else are just social acquaintances in my life' she explained. 'They just know me through my so called reputation which is pure bullshit and not like you do, you see past all the rumours and see me for me'

'That's what best friends are for Hannah, to pick you up when you're feeling down' I replied

'That you do so well' she added. 'I don't know what I would do without you'

I nodded my head casually when my attention was grabbed by the aluminous glow of some led lights of a shop sign, coming to a halt I looked up at the sign when I felt Hannah stand beside me and look up at the shop sign as well. We were back where we were during the day, stood outside the tattoo parlour

'Let's go in' Hannah suggested

'Are you crazy! We'll get thrown out'

'There's no harm in looking at designs' she protested, linking her arm through mine

Hannah had more strength then I would have given her credit for as she tugged on my arm to follow her, as usual I wasn't well balanced on my feet as I stumbled over myself while entering the shop, Hannah giggled silently at my awkwardness. The tattoo shop was quiet and empty tonight as we were the only customers in the building this late; a tattoo artist with a large bushy beard was sat behind the reception desk going over some stencil designs. He didn't bat an eyelash as we continued looking around the shop at the designs on the walls

'See anything you like Helmet' Hannah asked, her eyes scanning the walls slowly

'Not really'

There were so many designs to choose from a large tribal template to small meaningful tattoo, I was in two minds in what I really wanted but I had a couple of years left to decide my first ink job done on me. I wondered over to Hannah who was looking at moon tattoo designs

'Found something you like' I asked

'That's a cute one' Hannah pointed out

I followed her finger direction to one particular moon design; it had an eight worded message above the crescent of the moon. 'I love you to the moon and back'. The twinkle in Hannah's eyes I knew she had just chosen her first ink job

'Not as cute as me showing you the penumbral lunar eclipse'

'No not as cute as that night Helmet' she smiled happily; I knew she was replaying the memory of that night in her mind. 'I'd love to do something like that again'

'Well the next penumbral lunar eclipse aint until 2020 so….'

'I can wait that long to see it again with you Helmet'

'Cool'

We both turned our heads at the same time and our gaze locked, I stepped a little closer to her and Hannah didn't back away. My gaze dropped to her lips then back to her eyes, in that quick glance I caught Hannah doing the same. Now was the right time to say something to Hannah, admit my feelings for her when we were finally all alone

'Hannah' I spoke softly

'Clay'

'There's something I need to tell you' I gulped loudly. 'Hannah I…'

'You two find anything you like' the bearded artist asked

Hannah and I both stepped away from each other awkwardly when he approached us; I combed the back of my hair nervously with the side of my palm as Hannah scratched the top of her curly brown hair

'Just browsing' Hannah chimed

'Are you two even old enough to be even in here?' the man questioned

Hannah looked down to the ground sheepishly as I stood nervously next to her, any words that form inside of me dead on the tongue while nothing came out, I met the bushy guy's gaze as I licked my lips before I ran with the first words that came from me

'Not really but we're near enough eighteen'

'You do know I could lose my licence and face a hefty fine if I did a tattoo on you' he informed us. 'Let alone face misdemeanour offense or felony charges'

'We were only looking at something small' Hannah interjected nervously

'But still Miss….'

'Didn't you do something like this with your best friend when you knew you were underage Sir?' I exclaimed

The bearded artist sighed heavily while turning his forearm over and looking down on the covered arm filled with different designs everywhere over, his index and middle fingers swept over a black spider on his arm that his showed us both

'I got this done with my best friend when we turned seventeen; both of us were Spiderman fanatics so we knew we wanted a spider tattoo as our first' he admitted. 'Is she your best friend?'

'She's more than my best friend, she's my everything' I sighed happily

Hannah wrapped both of her arms around my right arm and lightly leaned her forehead against my shoulder; I could see her cheek blush red as she tried weakly to hide it from me as I gently rested my head against hers

'Alright if I tattoo you, you both can't say where you got it done or that I did it ok'

'Our lips are sealed' I informed him, Hannah and I mimicking to zip our lips closed

The tattoo artist went to the front door of the shop and locked it shut; next he went to the blinds of the shop front windows and pulled the chain down to block the view of passer-by. The bearded artist finally came back to us as we looked through some books at some small designs

'See anything you like in there' he inquired

'Not really Sir'

'Call me Karl' he introduced, shaking both of our hands. 'You'll know when you see it, what you want that is'

I nodded my head while turning my gaze towards Hannah; she smiled warmly at me before turning back her attention to the books as we continued looking through

'Do you trust me Helmet?'

'Wait'

'Do you trust me?' she repeated again

'Of course I do, with my life'

'Then I think I got an idea for your first tattoo'

'That is a lot of trust I'm giving you Hannah' I exclaimed. 'You could give me anything, I mean I have to live with whatever embarrassing design you give me for the rest of my life'

'Just trust me will you Helmet' she admitted, leaning over and kissing my cheek

'Ok'

I nodded my head while Hannah and Karl walked over to another table and started sketching down a design template, getting comfortable in the tattoo chair I waited anxiously for Karl and Hannah to come back. Karl placed on some black rubber gloves and started up his tattoo gun, Hannah showed me where my tattoo would go as I stretched out my ring finger on my left hand for Karl, he'd used a sharpie to trace out the design

'This may hurt a lot Clay but just say if you want to stop anytime for a break'

'Ok Karl'

Karl grabbed his gun and pressed the machine's pedal underneath the chair to operate the gun, he started off slow with a liner needle for the outlines of the design. The pain was killing me inside as I clenched my right hand tightly, this may have been a bad idea after all. Hannah grabbed my closed hand and gently untangled them; she placed her hand in mine and squeezed softly to distract me from the pain

'Just breathe Helmet' Hannah instructed

'We're almost done Clay with the outline'

Karl finished touching up the outlines of the design before switching over to a shader needle and coloured something in black, he washed the needle and grabbed some red American rose colour and shaded something else

'No looking Helmet, it's a surprise' she snapped as I averted my gaze from her

'Ok Hannah'

I couldn't help but peep again a few minutes later when Karl changed colour again to a deep indigo blue to what seems to be the final part of the design, I had no idea what Hannah had told him to put on me if I was having a small design that needed three colours….

'All done Clay you can look now' Karl informed me

On my ring finger were the initials of H and B and then a shape of heart coloured in red followed lastly by the infinity sign on the end. I looked up at Hannah as she bit her lips nervously for my reaction for her design; I smiled widely at her before looking back down at my first tattoo then my drew my gaze back to her

'Care to explain what it all means Miss Baker'

Hannah placed her hands down on the railing of the chair and leaned over towards me, she admired a closer look to the small art work done on me and hovered her index fingers of the beginning of the design

'Why gladly Helmet' she giggled lightly. 'The H and B are obviously are my initials'

'Obviously' I mimicked

Hannah rolled her eyes unapprovingly at my failed attempt to copy her but bit her bottom lip to stop a giggle escaping from her as a smirk grew on her face. I looked back down at the tattoo while Hannah moved her finger along

'The heart represents my love for you that you hold the key too Helmet, I love you so much as my best friend and so much more' she explained while hovering her index finger of the last shape.

'What does the infinity symbol mean Hannah?'

'Love' Hannah stated

'Love?'

'Remember that night at Jeff's basement'

'Kinda' I replied, most of that night was vague for me apart from being in the basement with Hannah

'Maybe love is how you understand infinity, when you love has no limits when it goes on forever maybe that feels like infinity' Hannah exclaimed

'Huh'

'You do a lot of things for me Clay. You talk, you listen to me and you're always there for me when I need you' she began. 'I just want you to know when you look at this tattoo everything I explained to you each of those meanings are true and my love for you will go on forever I adore you Clay'

I nodded my head while looking down at the tattoo before locking my gaze with Hannah again; reaching over from the chair I closed my eyes and softly placed a gentle kiss on Hannah's cheek. Sitting back in the padded chair I noticed the slight blush in her cheeks as I jumped up out of the chair and took a hold of Hannah's hand

'Now's it's your turn Hannah' I exclaimed

'What'

'If I've got one done you have too as well'

'Why'

'Simple, we're best friends' I smirked

'Ok what I'm I having then?'

'The exact same thing I got, your design with my initials'

Hannah giggled lightly as I called Karl back over and explained the tattoo design to ink onto her; he traced down the new template on some transfer paper and sharpied the outlines to Hannah's ring finger. Karl put in a new needle into the gun and switched it on, I moved closer to Hannah's side and grabbed her free hand, intertwining our fingers together

'Deep breathes Hannah because it hurts like hell' I proclaimed

'Thanks for your advice Helmet'

Karl pressed down on the pedal and started inking into her finger, starting on the outlines before changing settings and coloured some of the shapes in…..

After thirty minutes of getting Hannah's tattoo done we sat in the shop with saran wrap around our finger as we drank some coffee Karl had made along with some cereal bars he had given us from his secret cupboard he hid from other employees.

'Thought you might guys might want to keep something from tonight. A keep sake from your first time' he proclaimed

Karl reached over the coffee table and gave us a marked test tube each with a needle inside of the glass. I inspected the needle in my hand before placing it back inside the glass case.

'I got to say you don't seem to find many boy girl best friends like you guys nowadays' he proclaimed, taking a sip of his coffee

'It's a rare friendship to find without all the games involved nowadays, probably more so than a shiny Charizard card' I admitted

'Oh my god! You're such a nerd' Hannah exclaimed, putting her cup of coffee down on the table and then smacked my arm

'What'

'Using Pokémon cards to describe our friendship'

'Well how would you describe us then' I protested while raising a brow

'I would definitely wouldn't use Pokémon cards for a start but I would say we're a once in a lifetime friendship' she explained. 'Most people would give anything to have what we have Helmet'

'Hannah does have a point Clay' Karl interjected as we drew our attention to him. 'From what I've seen tonight you two have a pure love and affection for each other and wants what's best for the other. Most boy girl best friends one of them has a ulterior motive to turn their relationship into a friend with benefits not that I see anything wrong with that but it would be nice to be best friends with someone of the opposite sex without all of the bullshit games involved.

Hannah and I both nodded our heads as we picked up our coffee cups and munched on the cereal bars, Karl showed us more of his tattoos he'd done on himself as we talked about our generations compared to his even tho he was a couple years older than us. We waited till it was quiet outside on the streets before we left for the groceries store to buy our treats for tonight feast…..

Carrying a paper bag each of snacks back to Hannah's house who would have thought it could strain an arm so much, trying not to use our tattooed hand to support the other natural instincts were starting to kick in into our bodies to intervene and help the other hand but the ink on the finger would get smudged if we did.

Walking along the footpath a loud hooting noise from behind us made Hannah and I jump out of our skins, the beeping got louder as the car approached us still it stopped right besides us. The driver's window rolled down and a dark skin man turn to face us both

'Hey Clay, Hannah' Tony greeted warmly

'Hi Tony' we both replied in unison

'What you got there'

'Oh just some snacks for tonight movie marathon'

'You've come a bit far for some snacks? All the other side of town for it' Tony smirked

'We fancied a walk' I smiled weakly

'Right' he nodded his head, playing cool with us. 'What you guys planning on watching'

'Star Wars' I stated

'Jurassic Park' Hannah protested

'Star Wars'

'It's undecided yet' she smirked

'Would you guys like a lift back to yours?'

'Yes please' we replied in unison

Hannah and I climbed into his red Mustang as he drove us back to Hannah's house, I know Tony noticed the saran wrap around our fingers but he didn't bring it up, I'm guessing he knew what we have been up to tonight…..

Back in Hannah's bedroom we sat down close to each other on her bed admiring our new tattoos through the thick layers of plastic on our fingers, Hannah lifted a strand of hair that came loose and placed it back behind her ear, she caught be glancing and sighed gently as she smiled

'I still can't believe you made me get this Hannah' I stated

'What! You don't like it'

'No I do….I always thought my first tattoo would be a dragon or a lion but I do like this one, I'm so glad you made your own design instead of choosing a stencil'

'I like it too Helmet'

I nodded my head as we heard a key go into the latch of the front door, the muffled voices of Mr and Mrs Baker could be heard entering the house. I jump up from the bed and nervously looked at Hannah, she quickly pushed me into her wardrobe and kept the door ajar as Mrs Baker voice grew louder to the bedroom door while Hannah dashed towards her bed and laid across the duvet

'Hey Hannah' Mrs Baker greeted, sitting down opposite her on the bed

'Hi mum'

'No Clay tonight'

'What'

'His bike is outside against the fence I thought he might be here'

'He was here but he's gone to get some Mike and Ikes' Hannah smiled weakly

Mrs Baker got up from the bed and surveyed her daughter's bedroom before walking over to the cupboard and leaned against it

'Honestly Hannah when are we going to get to meet him' she exclaimed, holding her arms

'Never'

'Hannah'

'You and dad will only act weird in front of him and he'll never come back to this house ever again' Hannah exclaimed. 'I'm only protecting him from you guys'

'Your father and I don't act weird at all and it would be nice to finally meet a friend of yours. Promise me we'll meet him soon'

'I promise' she smiled widely, crossing an x above her heart

Mrs Baker nodded her head and walked over to her daughter; she cupped her cheek and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. The moment she left the room I gently stepped out of the cupboard and sprawled on her bed

'When are you gonna introduced me to your parents' I asked curiously

'Not you as well' she protested and grabbed a pillow from behind, smacking me playfully across my face

Hannah grabbed the tv remote from her nightstand and turned it on, she placed a dvd into the player and also sprawled on the bed besides me, we ripped open some candy boxes as the opening to Star Wars IV: A New Hope started. Hannah laid her head down my shoulder and I sighed contently, I could get used to a future like this…

The artist had just finished shading in certain part of my design on my forearm; it came out perfectly as I had hoped for as the previous times I've been here. It was a bunny that I drew for Hannah a million times when she was alive sat on the inside of a crescent looking up at the sky

'It's perfect thank you'

The tattoo artist left to go and get some saran wrap while I got up from my chair as I was the first one to be done; I showed my new tattoo to Justin and Tony who both nodded approvingly as I kept hidden the design from them for the past few weeks.

'You reckon mom will like it Justin' I asked

'When she stops freaking out after what we have done yeah' he replied. 'I'm sure she'll love the meaning behind it'

'You figured it out already' I questioned, raising a brow

'Kinda. The bunny represents you and the moon is something that you like to look at each night while the head of the bunny is looking up at the sky it means that it's looking for someone. All these thing connect to Hannah and this tat is all about her and you'

'Bingo' I replied, dragging out the o

Tony and Justin laughed lightly at the sound I made while I walked over and sat back down in my chair as Hannah was still sat in the stool besides me; smiling at my new piece of art I locked my gaze with Hannah

'Do you like it?'

Hannah nodded her head while I held out my hand to her to take, her invisible touch still felt real as she placed her in mine and intertwined out fingers together. I guess I'm still not ready to let her go just yet from my life…