Tia glanced down at her stomache and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Just looking at the old tattoo of the falcon on her stomache brought back horrible memories. She gently traced the X scar over it with her finger.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Dally said casually slouching in a chair close by.
"Yeah." Tia said looking up with a small smile.
A guy who looked to be in his late 20's came in soon afterwards and introduced himself as Nick.
"What would you like done today?" He said pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Once he turned around and looked at her a suspicious look crossed his face. "Do you have any ID on ya?"
"Sure." Tia said taking her wallet out of her back pocket, pulled out her fake ID and handed it to him.
"You sure don't look your age." He said handing it back but didn't say anything else about it. "So what would ya like done?"
"I wanna get a tattoo over this one?" She said rolling her shirt back up to show the falcon on her stomache.
Nick carefully looked at it and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, probably. What did you have in mind?" He asked.
"I'd like to get REBEL tattooed over it." Tia said slowly.
"It'd work as long as you don't mind it being in black." Nick pointed out.
"Oh yeah, that's fine." Tia said nodding.
She watched as he sat down on a rolling chair and proceeded to take out a new needle and some black ink.
"Need me to hold your hand?" Dally teased as Tia eyed the needle nervously, she had always hated needles.
Although deep down she would have liked to have accepted his offer, she knew he had said it as a joke.
"Ready?" Nick asked pulling his chair up to hers.
"Yeah." Tia said quietly and braced herself.
She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth waiting for it to be over. Although it felt like hours, about 20 minutes later she heard the humming sound of the needle stop.
"Done." Nick said as he taped some gauze down over it. "Just leave the gauze on it for a few days. It'll swell a bit, but just put a bit of ice on it when ya get home if its still hurting."
Tia thanked him and paid him before her and Dally left. They were about a 20 minute walk from home and it was getting dark. Normally they would be more cautious, staying off the main roads, checking behind them at this time of day. Ever since the rumble with the Socs two weeks ago, there hadn't been anymore trouble. The Socs had been lying low, they weren't jumping Greasers anymore, not causing any trouble what so ever. Everyone was suspicious, but they enjoyed the peace. They knew it wouldn't last long.
"When are you ever gonna get a tattoo, Dally?" Tia asked as they walked.
"I dunno, always wanted one. I could just never think of something worth getting." He said shrugging.
"I think you're just scared." Tia teased him playfully.
"Hey, I wasn't the one who turned white as a ghost when the guy took out the needle." Dally replied.
"I did not!" Tia replied.
"You did too, I never knew you were scared of needles." Dally remarked as they turned onto the street the house was on.
"I'm not." Tia replied stubbornly.
"Sure, whatever you say." Dally replied, his tone amused.
They opened the screen door and went into the kitchen to find Two-Bit, Pony and Johnny sitting around.
"Hey." Tia said before raiding the fridge, she hadn't had any supper.
"Where were you guys?" Two-Bit asked lazily.
"Tattoo shop." Tia replied through a mouthful of chocolate cake.
"Tattoo shop?!" Two-Bit yelled. "And you didn't take me?"
"You weren't around when we left." Dally pointed out, taking a seat on the kitchen counter.
"Oh...well, who got what?" Two-Bit asked.
"I'll show ya mine later, I can't take the gauze off for a while." Tia said.
"Bet ya got KJ's name tattooed on your-" Two-Bit said laughing but was cut off when Tia smacked him lightly over the head.
"Not quite." She replied taking some ice out of the freezer.
"Oh hey, Dallas, Tim stopped by a little while ago looking for ya." Pony said.
"What'd he want?" Dally asked confused, Tim barely ever came looking for him unless if it was something important.
"Dunno, left this for ya." Pony said standing up and getting an handing Dally a piece of paper from his pocket.
The piece of paper was small, but the words on it lit a fuse of anger in Dally.
"The Socs are back."