Disclaimer: Don't own Degrassi.
"We should get a tattoo now!" Clare suggested while waiting to pay. She barely noticed the spot where she got a piercing was bright red. While Eli, one step behind her, couldn't stop touching his new piercing. Every couple of seconds, he'd groan a little in pain. When Clare spoke about the tattoo, his head shot up in concern.
"No. God, no. We can barely handle getting our ears pierced!" Eli muttered and Clare gave him a look.
"I am handling it fine. You're the one who is practically crying." Clare sniffed playfully, and Eli narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not crying. And I'm not going to." He said finally, but then grimaced at the pain in his ear.
They stayed silent for a few moments. Clare looked at the wall displaying the tattoo designs and Eli was fiddling with his golden earring hoop. Suddenly, startling Eli, Clare gasped and reached in her bag to grab something. Eli looked at her in confusion, but Clare ignored his stare and flipped open her book.
"Okay. I'm going to flip open to a page and put my finger on a random word or phrase. And that word or phrase will be our future tattoo." Clare said, already flipping through her Chuck Palahniuk book that Eli had given her, "Alright, one. Two. Three." Throwing open a random page, Clare pressed her finger at a random spot on the page. Her eyes still closed, with her finger on a word or sentence, she heard Eli giggle.
"Well, Clare, I don't think that your parents will like if we have the word 'Fuck' on our bodies. But, I could be wrong. They could like it." Eli said, still snickering. Clare stuck her tongue out at him and tried again, her expression full of concentration. Going through the same process as before, Clare opened her eyes and looked at the phrase her finger had settled on.
"Poor Misty Marie." Clare muttered to herself and dog-eared the page.
"If we get that tattooed, I'll look like a womanizer and you'll look like...a lesbian." Eli said matter-of-factly. Clare shot him a death grip and he put up his hands defensively.
"Poor Misty Marie. Only people who have never read the book will not know that. And plus, didn't you say that this was your favorite Palahniuk book?" They moved forward in line and Eli shrugged.
"Did I say that?"
"Eli."
"Fine, Clare." He gave her a wide smile and passed the money for the piercings to the man, "Anything for you." And while the man was getting their change, Eli reached into Clare's bag and grabbed a pen. Crouching down, he carved 'Poor Misty Marie' into the desk's wood. Clare gave him a disapproving look, but he shrugged and muttered, "This is so we don't forget."
.
.
The tattoo parlor had lost its appeal to Clare. Partly, it was because Eli wasn't coming in with her. And, it was also because she didn't have the thrill of disobeying her parents. Now, the place seemed slightly scary. Men and women walked around, with their arms covered with tattoos. And with some, studs and hoops and spikes adorned their faces.
For the first time in her life, Clare Edwards felt like a Saint.
Squaring her shoulders, Clare walked into the shop and walked with her head up high. People glanced at her as if she were some kind of alien, but she just hurried to the front desk. The same guy from that night was there. He had his head buried into a cooking book, his mop of black hair falling in front of his eyes. When Clare cleared her throat, he dog-eared the book and looked up with a bright smile on his face.
"Clare Edwards?"
Clare opened her mouth in shock and made a sound of confirmation. The guy threw up his arms and yelled, "Success!"
Clare cocked her head to the side in confusion, but before she could talk, the man yelled to everyone in the shop, "Hey, it's Clare Edwards!" The reaction was surprising. Everyone clapped and cheered, leaving Clare to blush, her cheeks the color of a Red Delicious apple. One man stood up and grabbed Clare by the elbow and gently brought her over to one of the chairs. He pushed her into the chair and she sunk into it in shock.
"Your lover boy came by today." The man said, before Clare could get anything out. His back was facing her and he was fumbling around with something.
At first, she tried to speak but it came out as a squeak. Trying again, she said, "Lover boy?"
"Yeah. Eli. What a crazy little dude." The man muttered, shaking his head, "He's absolutely Gaga over you. I hope you know that." He turned around and gave Clare a small smile. She gave him one back, finally feeling comfortable in the shop.
"What am I doing here?" She said finally. Clare pressed her lips together and he glanced at her in amusement.
"You're getting your ear re-done." The man said simply, and before Clare could speak, he added, "It's common knowledge that after a break-up you try to erase everything from the other person. I did Eli's this morning. Now, he didn't ask me to do this, but I think that it would be ideal."
Grabbing a wheely chair from his desk, he rolled it over and put it next to Clare. Sitting in it, and getting ready to pierce her ear over again, he said, "Now, tell us the story of Eli and Clare." Everyone in the shop turned around at his words and dropped what they were doing to come by Clare.
With a gulp, Clare told their story.
.
.
"He crashed his car?" Someone called out and Clare nodded, her eyes swimming with tears.
"You left him?" Another screamed out. And Clare nodded once again, her head hanging low.
"You guys are crazy fuckers." Said one of the guys in the middle of the little crowd. Everyone nodded in agreement and Clare laughed quietly.
"So, what now? Where do you go now?" The man who had just pierced her ear asked. He leaned back in his wheely chair, almost making him look like Dr. Phil. Well, a Dr. with a goatee and tattoos.
"He didn't give you a piece of paper?" Clare asked, looking around. But everyone shook their head no.
"Well, I don't know where to go then." She looked at the clock. Thirty-five minutes left. She let out a loud groan and stood up suddenly. She walked around the store and looked at every corner and crevice. Nothing looked like Eli's messy penmanship. In aggravation, Clare walked by the desk and when she went a few feet further, she tripped over a box that had been peeking out from the desk.
Clare rubbed her knee while everyone in the shop cackled. She glanced up to see if anyone could spare her a band-aid. But instead, something caught her eye.
Poor Misty Marie. It was scratched on the wood.
And below it, someone and recently scratched a message.
"The Deflower-ization of Clare Edwards. Go there. Hurry."
Clare stood up quickly and looked at the curious eyes, everyone wondering why her eyes had brightened.
"Does anyone have a car?" She asked, and a few people raised their hands.
But the man who had pierced her ears spoke up, "I have a motorcycle." He stood up and grabbed the keys off his desk, testing Clare's reaction.
"Perfect."
Only 3 more chapters left? :)