Lachlan

INK PALACE. "Nope." I looked at the parlor in front of us and shook my head. "Absolutely not. Kali, you're insane."

"Oh come on. Just come in with me. You don't need to get one, just keep me company." She opened the door and grabbed my hand, pulling me in before I could answer. "Hey Mikey! Do you have time to squeeze me in?"

Mikey looked me up and down, stopping at Kali's and I's hands which were still cupped together. My face got hot and I pulled away, shoving my hands in my pockets nervously. Mikey scowled at me and looked back at Kali. "Sorry, Kal, our piercers are done for the night."

"That's fine. I'm actually here for a tattoo! My first one actually," she bit her lip nervously. She looked at me and gave me a smile.

Mikey nodded. "I'll get my station set up. Come back whenever you're ready, sweetie." He walked behind the curtains and disappeared.

"That dude is brolic as hell!" I whisper-yelled to Kali. "He looked like he was ready to bite my head off. Do I not blend in here that much?"

Kali laughed. "Oh please, he's a teddy bear. And you blend in plenty. This is Orlando, the tourist capital of the world!" Kali sat on the front couch and pulled out her phone. She tapped around on her screen and patted the spot next to her. I sat next to her as she showed me her screen. It was a straight line connecting the words 'be happy' written in cursive. "What do you think?"

"Where would you put it?" I studied the picture more.

She bit her lip, a sight I realized was slowly driving me crazy. She held her right wrist for a second, her mind clearly running wild. She looked me in the eyes and pulled up her sleeves, exposing two, parallel scars running across her wrist. "Right between these."

Before I realized what I was doing, I touched them. They were healed, but you could still feel a slight rise. "Yea, it'd be perfect there." I felt like there was a lump in my throat. I swallowed hard, my fingers gently touching her skin. "It'll be beautiful."

She closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek. I quickly wiped it away with my other hand. I felt the need to protect her. I put my arm around her and pulled her close. Sh rested her head on my shoulder, watching my hand glide across her scars.

I don't know how long we were sitting there, but it didn't feel like long enough before hearing Mikey's voice ring from the back. I gave her left arm a reassuring squeeze and got up, extending my hand for her grab. She took it and we walked into the mystery that awaited us behind the curtains.

I watched her as she sat in the chair and explained what she was getting to Mikey. She extended her arm on the side padding and pulled her sleeve up to her elbow, exposing a series of smaller cuts, none as thick as the two at her wrist.

Mikey put the ink on the needle and the needle on her skin. She cringed, balling her left hand into a tight fist. "Distract me," she asked through clenched teeth, "please?"

"Why 'be happy'?" I asked, the question lingering from before.

"It's all I've ever wanted to be. Since before my accident, I just wanted to be happy. The accident was my way of reaching eternal happiness, but obviously that didn't go as planned. But ever since then, everytime someone asked me what I wanted to be when I got older, what I wanted to do, the only thing that I could think of was to be happy. You see, my life has taught me one thing and that's people don't make you happy, things don't make you happy, not even experiences make you happy. Sure, they'll add to it and complement the happiness you have, but happiness is something that you, yourself need to create. What a concept, right? Create your own happiness. Well, that's what I've been striving to do and this right here will just be a friendly reminder. " The determination was strong in her eyes. "How do you create your happiness?"

I stared at her in awe. I had never considered what she said. I was always told how happy I should be because I was blessed with success, a loving family, a home, yet I was still severely depressed. "You know, I've never thought about it. I'm always so focused on making other people happy that I assume they'll do the same for me, but it doesn't really work like that, does it?" I gave her arm a little squeeze and she gave me a small smile in return.

"You'll create your own happiness, Lachlan. You just need to give it time." I believed her. Maybe this new start is what I needed to create my own happiness. "Mikey! It looks great!" I saw her examining her wrist. She showed me excitedly, her face not able to hide her love for her new adornment.

"Wow, it looks great on you." The black ink popped against her tanned skin. It complemented the scars well, almost completing the story she had created on her arm representing her past and future.

"You getting anything, kid?" Mikey asked, sterilizing his station.

Kali looked at me expectantly. " Yea, you getting something, kid?" The mischief returned to her eyes and smirk. "You might as well make your first night here memorable, right?"

I looked between the two and laughed. "You're joking right?" Kali kept looking at me, the mischief never faltering. "Kali, I don't even know what I would get!"

"Lachlan, I'm kidding. You don't have to if you don't want to," she said getting up from the tattooing chair. "Just don't say I never gave you a chance to be spontaneous." She gathered her bag and started walking towards the curtains.

I bit my lip. "Fuck it, let's do it."

She turned and ran up to me and captured me in a hug. "I love being a bad influence."

I smiled down at her and sighed. "I do want to ask you something, though. Your reasoning kind of inspired me…" my voice began to trail off as my indecision started to settle in.

She let go of me and put enough distance between us for her to look me in the eye. I instantly missed the feel of her body against my own. "I'm glad it did," she said with a childlike smile.

"Well, I was hoping you'd allow me to get it among my own scars, making it part of my story to tell."

Her face softened and there was an emotion laced in her eyes that I couldn't quite read. "I'd love nothing more than for you to do what makes you happy." She put her bag down on the chair and motioned for me to take the seat that was formerly hers.

"Alright, kid. What's the deal? Where's it gonna be?" Mikey asked, adjusting his station.

I took a deep breath and really braced myself for what I was going to do. Very few people have seen my scars since I do everything I can to hide them, but in the moment, I didn't feel as scared. I pulled off my hoodie, exposing multiple tiny cuts and a single, long vertical on either arm. I extended my left arm to Mikey, "I'd like it right along this scar if you can."

Mikey nodded and adjusted his equipment on the left side of the chair. Kali looked at my arms and then looked me in the eyes, There was an overwhelming sadness in her eyes and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. I smiled at her reassuringly and sat in the chair, adjusting my arm on the padding for Mikey. I motioned Kali to my right side and reached out for her hand. I knew she understood what the scars meant, and with that alone she knew more about me than anyone else with the exception of my immediate family and some close friends. We were now connected by the scars of the past and these new symbols to represent our journey of the future towards happiness.

Kali

"You know I don't like surprises," Lachlan whined. "Can you please tell me where we're going?"

"You'll know when we get there," I sang. I started getting nervous as we approached the tattoo parlor. I hope he wouldn't freak out, I know I don't mind needles, but I know a lot of people don't react to it very well. I pulled into the adjacent parking lot, not wanting to give it away right away. "Ok, so I'm gonna cover your eyes and walk you there, ok?"

"Kali," he said hesitantly. He gave me this worried look and I could see doubt in his eyes. I gave him my best reassuring smile. He reluctantly sighed. "Fine, ok, let's go."

I happy danced and hopped out of the car. "Ok, I'm going to need to cover your eyes, but I'm way too short compared to you to use my hands. I looked around quickly and quickly grabbed my scarf off of my neck and held it towards him.

"You want to blindfold me? Are you fucking kidding me?" He began to look at me like I was crazy. He was no longer worried, just extremely confused and a little scared it seemed.

"Trust me? Please?" I begged.

"You do realize I hardly know you, right?"

"I get that, but you also have more muscle and mass compared to me, I'm sure you could take me even blindfolded." He wasn't buying it. "Ok, take out your phone. Have 911 ready to call in case you really do feel that in danger."

He laughed. "Ok, ok. I trust you enough to do this. But let's make it to the destination fast? I really hate not knowing what's around me." I squealed happily and handed him the scarf to place around his eyes and then tied it behind him.

"Ready?" I asked grasping his right arm.

"As I'll ever be, I'm sure," he said with a playful smile.

"Great! Let's go!" I guided him from one plaza into the next and steadied him in front of the tattoo parlor. "We're here. You ready?"

He nodded. I undid the blindfold and he stared at the huge INK PALACE sign front of us. "Nope." He shook his head. "Absolutely not. Kali, you're insane."

"Oh come on. Just come in with me. You don't need to get one, just keep me company," I said while grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. "Hey Mikey! Do you have time to squeeze me in?" I didn't realize I was stilling holding his hand until he awkwardly pulled away, not that I minded.

"Sorry, Kal, our piercers are done for the night."

"That's fine," I said as confidently as I could manage, "I'm actually here for a tattoo! My first on actually,"

Mikey mumbled something and made his way to the back of the parlor.

Lachlan stared ahead in awe, "That dude is brolic as hell!" He practically screamed. "He looked like he was ready to bite my head off. Do I not blend in here that much?" Lachlan seemed a little stressed at the thought. I'm sure this adjustment isn't easy for him, and Mikey didn't make it seem like it would be any easier.

I laughed trying to ease his discomfort. "Oh please, he's a teddy bear. And you blend in plenty. This is Orlando, the tourist capital of the world!" I sat on the couch and pulled up the image I had been considering for my tattoo. I invited Lachlan to sit next to me and he did. I showed him the image, nerves building in my core. "What do you think?"

He looked at the picture cautiously. "Where would you put it?"

In that moment, it had hit me that Lachlan and I were about to share a very intimate moment. I was about to expose to him something that only a handful of people have seen, and the thought made me uneasy. I toyed with my sleeve for a bit before biting the bullet and exposing the two scars I had given myself the day that I had attempted suicide. "Right in between these."

Suddenly, I felt a hand grazing my skins, playing with the slight rise of my scars as if he were mesmerized." Yea, it'd be perfect there. I could hear his breath hitch. "It'll be beautiful." I don't know how or why it happened, but tears rolled down my face, and he quickly wiped them away. He held me close and for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel so alone.

I can't believe Lachlan had changed his mind about a tattoo. Less than an hour ago, he had no interest in entering the building, and now he's standing before me asking if he could get the same symbol on his body that I had received. I watched him as he slowly took off his hoodie and exposed an array of cuts all over his arms and two very distinct scars that I couldn't pull my eyes away from. Those long vertical scars….

He tried to kill himself.

"I'd like it right along this scar if you can," he said, pointing to the long, vertical line on his left arm." I couldn't help but stare at his arms. I had never pictured his cutting being so bad and I had never imagined her would try to take his life. I felt so sad and even more guilty. How could I not have seen the signs? How could I not see that the boy in the screen was so similar to me? We looked at each other for a moment. I couldn't read his expression very well, but it almost seemed as if he felt a little less burdened, like some weight had been lifted off his chest. He smiled at me and signaled for me to come distract me. He held my hand and it felt so incredibly different than it had been before. We had learned more about each other in the past hour than I could have ever imagined, and I was left wanting to learn more.

"I guess it's my turn to distract you," I said with a half-hearted chuckle. He gave me a smile and nodded. "What's one of your biggest regrets?" He gave me a look, indicating he thought I was referring to his scars. "Like what is something you wished you would have done that you didn't?"

"Hmm," he hummed while gently stroking my hand in his. "This may seem weird, but I always regret never going to university. I started working during high school and just continued on into a career straight after graduation. I always knew my parents were disappointed that I didn't go even though they'll never admit it. I was kind of the failure in that way. My older sister is in graduate school for pharmacology, my brother is destined to be valedictorian of his class, and I barely graduated with Cs. I'm the family fuck up but no one really talks about it since I had a good job right out of high school, but we all know they wished I would have found a passion in my education and did something with it. Instead, here I am, in Florida, getting a tattoo by Mikey."

Mikey gave Lachlan a dirty look, rolled his eyes, and continued with his process, spending a little too much time on the letter H. Lachlan winced at the pain. Mikey smiled and moved on to the next letter.

"My parents are gonna freak when they see this thing."

I nodded and laughed. "So are mine, but my philosophy is if I'm old enough to pay my own bills, I can do what I want, you know?"

"I agree, but that doesn't mean they still won't kill me." We laughed for a moment, our eyes locked and a connection between us growing a little stronger. "What about you, Kali? What's your biggest regret?"

I sighed. "Don't laugh, ok?" Lachlan smiled and nodded, meaning I clearly sparked his interest. "I wish I had learned to speak Spanish when I was younger."

"Oh come on, that's it?" Lachlan said, disappointment clear on his face.

"Let me explain, ok? It's not easy being the Latina that doesn't know Spanish. Not only you are different from the majority of people you grow up around, you're different than the people in your culture. You start to believe you are less of a person and lose your sense of identity. Do you know how it feels to know that you won't be fully accepted by anyone because you'll always be the different kid in one way or another? It sucks, man. All the white kids would make fun of me because I was just some dumb Hispanic kid to them. All the other Latinos would sneer at me because I was too Americanized to remember my culture. Even my cousins would judge me, telling me I sounded white when I did try to speak Spanish, discouraging me further.

"But I feel like it didn't hit me just how much I regretted it until my grandmother died last October. She was my mom's mother, and I was never able to really communicate with her because she only spoke Spanish. This woman who had such a deep influence on everyone on my mother's side of my family, and I couldn't even speak to her. I wonder what would be different in my life had I learned to speak Spanish before learning English or even learning them simultaneously. Would my life be easier or harder? Anyway, yes, that's my biggest regret."

Lachlan held my hand tighter, biting his lip while he thought up a response. "I'm sorry for your loss. She's in a better place now, you know? She's reached her eternal happiness."

My heart ached at the memories that I had buried away deep. "I'm not really good at dealing with death."

Lachlan nodded. "Me either," he said in a near whisper.

"Well, looks like that's another thing you have in common," Mikey said, interrupting our brief moment. "You're all done. Take a look."

"Wow, that's sick," Lachlan said, standing up and getting a better look in the mirror. "It came out better than I expected."

I followed him to where he was standing, holding my new tattoo close to his and snapped a picture of the two together, being careful to make sure there would be no indications that it was him in the photo."I made sure you weren't in the photo fully. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable about it."

"It's fine, Kali. I promise. Do you mind sending that to me? It looks pretty cool when they're matched up like that, kind of like our stories are intertwining a bit, don't you think?"

I handed him my phone, letting him enter in his contact information and watched him send it to himself. "You know, I really like that our stories are intertwining."

He smiled at me, grabbing my hand in his once more. "Me too."

We both looked at the photo, our new tattoos, and then back at each other. "Here's to no regrets in our pursuit of creating our happiness."