"More for us, then," Olivia said with a shrug.
Nina watched wearily as Katerina plucked a few pills out of a baggy and popped them into her mouth, swallowing them dry. As much as she wasn't into what was going on, she was determined not to let it ruin her good time. After all, in a few days she would be back in Brooklyn and this would just be some wild story she would tell her grandchildren.
"I'm starving!" Olivia exclaimed, dramatically falling backwards and splaying herself out on the floor. Several more hours had gone by at this point, but Nina was pretty sure neither of them currently had a good concept of time. Speaking of Nina, she was finally drunk, and drunk Nina liked to eat.
"Lets go," Nina grabbed Olivia by the hands, both of them struggling to get up off the floor and giggling all the way. They tripped out of the room and then out of the building, Katerina following behind them, only occasionally stumbling.
Considering none of them were in any condition to drive and they weren't collected enough to call a cab or anything of the like, they walked. They got their sea legs quickly and ducked into the first open restaurant they came across, which happened to be a Chinese place. Olivia ordered their food in sloppy Mandarin, which would have been more impressive to the employees if the girls hadn't been so obnoxious. It was safe to say they had no idea how loud they were.
Luckily for everyone involved, Nina was considerate even while under the influence. She thanked the man who took their order and apologized. She even made sure their table was cleaned up when they left and called a cheerful "Good night!" Over her shoulder as they walked out the door.
"I just had the best idea," Olivia announced as they wandered through the streets. All three of them had their arms around each other, trying to stabilize themselves, when in reality it was probably making it harder to walk.
"We should get tattoos. Like friendship bracelets but permanent," Katerina shrugged at the idea. It was surprising she even heard. Whatever she'd taken seemed to be wearing off. Instead of looking like a paranoid runaway she looked like she'd taken a handful of tranquilizers. Her eyes were far away and her expression never changed. She hadn't said anything in a long time.
Nina thought about it. She thought tattoos were beautiful, but she'd never seriously considered getting one. Despite the fact she was drunk and didn't have any money, it sounded like a good idea.
"Are there even any shops open?" She finally asked. One factor she hadn't immediately considered was that it was easily three in the morning. Even the clubs were closed. The chances of finding a tattoo parlor open seemed pretty low.
"I know a place," Olivia insisted as she quickly changed their direction. As she hurried along, almost forgetting her friends, Nina found herself supporting almost all Katerina's body weight. She was starting to get a little nervous again. Brooklyn was far from void of drugs, but, as previously mentioned, Nina didn't usually associate herself with those kinds of people.
Olivia eventually turned down an alley, and at that point Nina wasn't surprised. Olivia wrenched open a rusty side door and the three of them walked into a dark, smoke filled room.
"Hi, everyone!" Olivia greeted, tripping over herself and being caught by a mountain of a man.
"You ladies need a ride?" He asked, looking over them skeptically. He sounded oddly responsible for someone hanging out in a drug din.
"No, we need tattoos. Where's Nolan?" Olivia asked, pushing herself away from the man. He gave them another once over before leading them through a maze of equally dark hallways. It was a wonder anyone could find their way.
The girls were eventually led to a blindingly lit room, silent aside from the sound of a tattoo machine buzzing. The man inside, presumably Nolan, greeted them cheerfully and told them to have a seat. While they waited for Nolan to finish working on a massive back piece, Nina started to sober up. The droning buzz made her tired and pretty soon she could barely keep her eyes open. She must have actually drifted off, because the next thing she knew, Olivia was nudging her and telling her it was her turn.