I
Lisa
"I Told You Piercings Were Fun!"
The first time I met her, she was coming in to get her tongue done. Short, Latina, really cute. Really out of my league though, especially since she's a hetero. Yeah, she brought her boyfriend along too- a nice, tough, blonde guy. A musician. Girls are such suckers over musicians. Not that I'm one to talk- ask anyone who's seen me around the girl who plays bass in that band that's always at the club down the street.
Anyway, off topic, this isn't about my love life. I actually knew the musician, I've done a lot of piercings for the drummer in his band and sometimes he comes along. Name's Roger or something. She also brought along a skinny blonde guy with glasses and his hair sticking up. And he brought along his camera. He was kind of cute though- in a needy, desperate, innocent kind of way. If you're into that kind of thing. Oh, and guys. You'd probably have to be into guys. Just an idea.
Bringing the guy (who introduced himself as Mark) was her big mistake. (I got her name too- Mimi.) Not the tongue ring- that was sexy. But, yeah, it probably would have been better for Mark to wait outside with her other friends. But, hey, none of us knew that then.
Our place is really small; it's usually just Aaron and I working there. We have another girl working part-time but she generally flakes out on her shifts, leaving Aaron and I alone. Don't ask me why we still keep her, I've never really figured it out myself. Aaron is a little more into the whole tattoo thing and he's more artistic anyway, so he does most the tattoos and I do most the piercings. Which is probably why I ended up doing Mimi's tongue. That, and Aaron seemed just a *little* preoccupied with Mark.
Now, I can't stand it when people come in to get piercings looking like they're going to an execution. What's the point in getting a piercing if you're not going to enjoy it? I've never understood. Anyway, Mimi wasn't like that; she was definitely into getting this done. While I was getting my stuff ready she sat in the chair and held her boyfriend's hand, talking excitedly about the whole thing.
"I'm so excited! I mean, I've been thinking about getting this done for such a long time, but I only just got up the courage to. I'm such a wimp!" Mimi laughed lightly as her boyfriend leaned over to kiss her. Somehow I still doubt she was or is a wimp.
"Well, I'm just gonna warn you, it's not completely painless; it is going to hurt a little bit. And you're not going to be able to talk properly for a bit," I warned as I came over with the needle and a sterling silver bar. Lots of people don't splurge for that, but I guess she didn't want an infection. Always good.
"Nothing says I have to talk." Mimi leaned over and rubbed her nose against Roger's. I rolled my eyes, all this sappy sweet stuff was beginning to get to me. I got the clamp from Aaron to hold her tongue out; it was the closest thing I could get to dropped a bucket of cold water over her head at the time. I quickly stuck the needle through her tongue and slid the bar in. She looked a little shocked that I had done it so quickly and tears began to well up in her eyes but they disappeared as soon as I undid the clamp and Roger pulled her onto his lap, whispering something in her ear. I don't know what he said, but she laughed and stuck her tongue out, which relieved me. I hate it when people cry because their piercings hurt, it's kind of an insult, to me, almost. I know, I think too much but that wasn't the case then, so it doesn't matter anyway.
"Alright Mimi, you've got to keep this clean if you don't want to get infected. That means you need to brush your teeth almost religiously and use mouthwash every time you eat." I handed her a small plastic bag with mouthwash and such in it, we always do. Most of our customers don't use mouthwash normally, so it's a smart idea. "When you get home, suck on some ice. It might bring the swelling down a bit. Oh, and for the next two weeks, no…" I began to blush, I've always had a problem discussing this with heteros. Don't ask me why, it should be just the same, but its not. Honestly.
Mimi understood though, saving me from a potentially *interesting* moment. "No blowing Roger?" Or causing another one. "Gotcha, I think we can deal with that, don't you, Rog?"
"I dunno…" he replied, teasingly, as he held her a little bit more tightly and began to kiss her neck. Ugh, again with the sickeningly sweetness. If I ever start to act like that in a relationship please slap some sense into me. It's just too much.
I stood up and threw the needle I used away then went over to the sink and washed my hands. We run a clean place here, it was always my goal to be respectable. Besides that, AIDS is more common then ever among my friends and I didn't want to put anyone else in risk. "Alright, Mimi, that's $50. If you get an infection or just have any questions, don't hesitate to stop by or call." I handed Roger a business card as Mimi dug through her purse, looking for the money.
I've actually made a lot of friends that way, for some reason people trust the person who did their piercing. Probably because it didn't kill them or give their tongue gangrene. Or *ahem* other parts. Anyway, I've actually became pretty close with Eddy (the drummer) over the many times I've pierced him and, amazingly enough, we do hang out. We go looking for chicks. Pisses him off to no end when I come home with someone and he doesn't. Anyway, I figured it wouldn't hurt to get my foot in the door with Mimi. My current theory is that even though she's a hetero, maybe she has some dyke friends.
As Mimi continued digging through her purse and Roger reached around her to drop the card in there, I remembered something. "Hey, Roger, you guys are performing tomorrow night, right? I mean, I got my information from Eddy and we all know how reliable that boy is." I rolled my eyes and leaned across the counter.
"He's gotten better, we do have a gig tomorrow. You stopping by?" Roger asked, as Mimi handed me three twenties.
I busied myself trying to give Mimi her change. I hate cash registers, I swear, they're all in on a conspiracy to make a fool out of me. I sucked on my finger as the tray on the cashier register popped out and jammed it against my belt. "I could. Told Eddy I would. How much of a support group do you want me to bring? You know, so you guys can pretend you have some type of fans."
"Funny, Lisa. Why do I take abuse from the random girl at the piercing place?"
"Because otherwise you'd be taking abuse from someone else and I'm nicer then most people?" I let out a little squeak as I caught my finger on my tongue ring. This was just not my day. And no, I didn't pierce my own tongue; I'm not that stupid.
"I think someone needs to get laid." Roger smiled mockingly and held his hand out for the change. Maybe making friends with random crazy people isn't the smartest idea, especially when the random crazy people can talk like they know you. Roger has always been able to do that. Drives me insane.
"You set me up with someone and I'll be nice. We'll see what happens." My finger finally stopped yelling at me, so I handed Mimi the change. "Come back if you need anything else pierced." She smiled and shrugged apologetically as they started out the door, Mark following along behind them.
Right before they left, Roger turned around and raised an eyebrow at me. "Come to the club for our gig tomorrow. I'll find someone for you. Sadly, I'm not in the mood to be 'abused' every time I come here." He winked and then the door closed behind them.
I sighed and set my elbows on the counter. My mom always tells me 'Lisa, keep your big mouth shut.' And do I listen? NO! I glanced over at Aaron who had been talking to Mark this entire time about God knows what and was currently staring at the place where he had been standing. "Oh, please, don't tell me you like him."
Things would NOT be turning out well.
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Love it? Hate it? Trying to figure out what we're on? Hehe, it's all good, just tell us in that little box down there. And, by the way, this is just the introduction; things are going to get very bad for our little Marky. (They turn out pretty well for Lisa though.) And um... on, if anyone cares, I (Erin) will have more of 'How We Got Here' up soon, I just have to get rid of my writers block.
Disclaimer: Lisa, Aaron, Eddy and the girl that work at the piercing place are ours. Everyone else belongs to Jonathan Larson, etc etc.
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