May 15th, 2013
Finn couldn't remember how it happened. Nick and his twin sister Taylor had invited him to Nick's dorm for celebratory end of the semester drinks and one beer led to two shots of whiskey which led to three Irish car bombs which led to whatever else he had after that. Finn had never been so drunk in his life, not even at Puck's St. Patrick's Day party senior year when he had been a blubbering mess thinking Rachel was going to dump him. This was much worse.
He woke up with the most disgusting taste in his mouth and a headache that hurt his entire brain. Finn could hardly see through the slits his eyelids were forming and it hurt too much anyway as the sun was streaming through the window blinding him. His eyes closed completely and he grunted as he tried to move his body. Somehow he managed to sit up despite the dull ache that ran through his whole body.
Getting his sight under control Finn surveyed the room he was in. Thankfully he recognized it as his. He didn't need a Hangover 2 type situation where he woke up in some shitty hotel in a foreign city…or Chinatown. His head spun wildly as he stood up and he nearly vomited right there. Finn regained his composure and steadied his hulking body as well as he could and slowly shuffled over to his bathroom.
Quickly and quietly Finn searched for some Tylenol or something for his splitting headache. As he reached his arm out to grab the little bottle he found, he noticed there was tape on his right bicep. Finn stared at it for a moment wondering why the hell his arm was taped. He pulled his arm up to his eyes and they widened as they took in why he had tape on his arm. It was holding down saran wrap which was covering what appeared to be a fresh black tribal armband tattoo. Now Finn started freaking out.
Suddenly alert and pain free, he dropped the bottle of aspirin he found and rushed out of his dorm in only his boxers. He didn't even care that everyone was staring at him as he flew down three floors worth of stairs to get to Nick's room. When he got there he banged loudly on the door.
"Open the fucking door!" Finn bellowed as he pounded on the door again. After what seemed like an eternity it opened to reveal a worse-for-wear Nick.
"Dude, what the fuck is your problem?" he said wiping the sleep out of his eyes.
"What the fuck is my problem? I have a fucking tattoo!" Finn said as he picked up the smaller man by the shirt and slammed him against the wall just inside their room. Taylor bolted over when she realized what was going on.
"Finn, drop him! This isn't his fault! You wanted it!" Finn let go of Nick and stared at Taylor in confusion.
He didn't understand what the fuck was going on. "What do you mean I wanted it? I don't even remember going to a fucking tattoo place!"
Taylor sat Finn down on the closest chair and began explaining the previous evening to him. "Well, we did. I don't know at what point your night started getting fuzzy but you seemed pretty sloshed when we headed out. You said you wanted to go see Rachel to which I protested but you insisted. I didn't want you going by yourself because with how wobbly you were I was afraid you'd fall into an open sewer grate or a floor elevator or something so Nick and I helped you downstairs. But then you didn't head in Rachel's direction. You started walking off randomly and Nick thought it was fucking hilarious because you just kept going on and on about nonsense and trying to talk to every person you met on the street. We walked for quite a few blocks. Then you saw the tattoo place our cousin Jesse works at. Honestly, I'm not sure why he did it because he could lose his license for tattooing you while you were so drunk you couldn't even pronounce your own name but he did. You insisted that that," Taylor pointed at Finn's new tattoo, "was the one you wanted and there was no stopping you. But dude, the entire time he was working on it you didn't even move or say anything. You just stared at the wall blankly. Then when he was done taping you up you passed out in the chair."
Finn took the whole story in. He couldn't believe he got so drunk he couldn't even remember getting a fucking tattoo! Then another scarier thought came into his mind. "Rachel is going to kill me!"
"Yeah, probably. And by the way, you owe me a hundred bucks for the tattoo, cab fare to get back here and manual labor for lugging your heavy passed out ass back up to your room. You weigh more than a ton a bricks."
"You're telling me the truth right? I wasn't like drugged or something? And why would you guys just let me get a tattoo? Why wouldn't you try stopping me?" Finn was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around everything.
Nick answered. "Dude, if you were drugged it wasn't by either of us. I'm pretty sure it's just the tanker worth of beer you consumed last night. I've never seen someone throw back like you. And we were drunk too. Not as drunk as you but we weren't very concerned with whether you really wanted it or not."
Then the name of the tattoo artist hit Finn. "Wait, you have a cousin Jesse who is a tattoo artist? No wonder this fucking happened. Please tell me your cousin's last name isn't St. James."
Taylor and Nick looked at each other confused. "He's got the same last name as us, DiAngelo," Taylor said to Finn's relief. "Who the fuck is Jesse St. James?"
"Never mind, long story." Finn ran his hands over his face. "What am I supposed to do with this now?" he asked pointing at his tattoo.
Taylor stared at him like he was an idiot. "You're an idiot. Unless you want to pay a lot of money and go through a bunch of painful removal surgeries, you're basically stuck with it until you die or lose your arm. That's how tattoos work. For healing purposes, just rub A&D on it whenever it feels tight and don't pick or scratch at it," she stuck a finger in his face and scolded him like a mother. "You can remove the wrap now too and clean off the excess blood and ink."
Finn meandered into the bathroom and stared at the messy looking tattoo in the mirror. Slowly he peeled the tape off and removed the plastic. It looked gross and felt tight as he started running water over it to clean it. Once he had removed most of the excess, he really looked at it in the mirror. The longer he stared at it the more it grew on him. Sure, it wasn't all that original but at least it wasn't a butterfly tramp stamp or something. Thinking back on that episode of How I Met Your Mother, Finn searched his body in a panic for any signs of another more embarrassing tattoo. Thankfully he only had the one. He let out a sigh of relief before panic rose in him once more as the notion of explaining to Rachel what happened popped into his mind once more. What was she going to think of it? What was she going to think of him for getting so smashed he literally couldn't remember a needle digging into his skin painfully? He had a feeling she was going to be very disappointed in him.
Before leaving his room, Finn apologized to Nick for his rude behavior earlier then headed back upstairs. On his way, the girl who lived across the hall from him stared him up and down with interest when they ran into each other in the hallway. He had forgotten he was only in his boxers and he felt uncomfortable under her gaze. "Nice tattoo," she said before she walked into her own room.
"Let's hope Rachel thinks so," Finn mumbled to himself as he walked back into his room. Finn showered and got dressed for the day. He and Rachel were supposed to meet for lunch and since neither had exams that day they were going to see if they could get some cheap tickets for a show. Rachel was determined to see every show that was playing on and off Broadway that year even if it meant she'd be broke for the next four years.
As Finn made his way over to the vegan place they were meeting at, much to Finn's displeasure, he stopped at Duane Reade and picked up some A&D for his tattoo which was so uncomfortably tight he couldn't stand it. It stung as he ran the cool gel over the black ink but his skin loosened significantly. He was still mentally kicking himself for allowing this to happen.
When he walked into the restaurant he immediately spotted Rachel at a table along the wall. She was reading what looked like a history text book as he plopped down in the seat across from her. "Are you that bored?" he said pointing at her choice of reading.
"I have a history final tomorrow Finn. I was studying. Have you been studying?" Rachel asked with a tone. He had a strong feeling she knew he wasn't studying last night which made him wonder how she knew.
"Well, not last night but before then I was. I feel pretty confident though. I've been keeping up with my reading and stuff," he explained. The way Rachel was looking at him made him feel like he was back in elementary school and his mom was making sure he finished all his homework.
Rachel released a low sigh. "What happened last night exactly? I woke up to find some extremely weird texts and a voicemail I couldn't even decipher."
Finn couldn't remember calling or texting Rachel last night. He honestly had no idea what either could say. "Um, well, Nick and his sister invited me to his dorm to celebrate the end of the semester," Finn said with a cautious smile. Rachel stared at him judgmentally. "What texts did I send you?"
"How's your arm?" Rachel said pointing right where Finn's tattoo was. She already knew. Finn's eyes widened and the gassy infant look sprung on his face.
"I'm guessing I sent a text telling you I got a tattoo," Finn laughed without humor.
"A picture of it actually. Let me see it," she said reaching for his sleeve to push it up. To Finn's surprise she didn't seem all that upset. It was almost like she liked it. Finn pulled his sleeve up further and turned his arm so Rachel could look at it. She didn't touch it due to the A&D being all over it but it looked like she really wanted to. "If you wanted a tattoo why didn't you just get one? It would have been much safer if you had been sober."
Finn looked shocked. Rachel wasn't angry at him. "I, uh, well, I never really thought about getting one before. I don't really know why drunk me wanted one but now I'm stuck with it. It's not that bad I guess." He looked down at it again before dropping his sleeve.
"I like it. Tattoos are actually pretty neat. So many people at NYU have them. It's like they're trying to tell stories through them. Anjali actually has a large koi fish starting at her ribcage and going down to her hip," Rachel said to Finn's amazement.
"I didn't know Anjali had a tattoo. She doesn't seem like the type at all," Finn said of Rachel's closest friend at Tisch.
Rachel nodded in agreement. "I know! I couldn't believe it when she showed it to me a few weeks ago. She doesn't tell people about it very often because her mom would kill her if she found out she had it."
"Yeah, my mom probably won't be too happy with me either," Finn commented thinking about how his mom would react. At least he had time before he'd have to see her in person again.
"What if I got a tattoo?" Rachel asked Finn meditatively. He looked at her skeptically.
"You want a tattoo?" he asked incredulously.
She shook her head. "Why not? Obviously I wouldn't get a giant fish going down my side but maybe a few little music notes or gold stars. You got a tattoo, why can't I?"
"Rachel, tattoos aren't a joke. They're forever. If you don't like it, you're stuck with it."
Rachel huffed. "I realize that Finn, which is why I'd just get a small one. I think I'd like to."
"Then get one," Finn replied trying to call Rachel's bluff. He didn't think she'd really go through with it. This was Rachel Berry he was dealing with.
"I will." Rachel knew what he was doing. Finn didn't think she'd actually get one. Shouldn't he have known by now that when Rachel said she would do something that meant she would? "I'll go today." She texted Nick to find out the place Finn got his tattoo and once they were done eating lunch, headed in that direction.
They arrived at the place which had a very cool vibe. Music blared from speakers in the back and there were multiple stations lined up around the place. There was a small waiting area to the left with dozens of tattoo magazines. She walked up to the man behind the counter who was covered in tattoos. Both arms had color from his wrists up to his shoulders and Rachel assumed the pictures continued under his sleeveless t-shirt.
"Hello," Rachel said amiably to the man. "I'd like to get a tattoo."
The man looked down at her. "What did you have in mind?"
Rachel tapped her finger to her lips. On the way over she had been contemplating just what exactly she'd get. It was actually something she had thought about for a few months. Ever since moving to New York, Rachel found she was much more open to new experiences and was losing that high school mentality. She was still driven beyond comprehension and wasn't going to let anything keep her from her dream but she wasn't that goody-two-shoes little girl anymore who only wore dresses and owl sweaters and knee socks. Rachel was maturing.
"I'd like to get a gold star, right here on my wrist," Rachel said pointing to the left side of her left wrist.
"Rach, everyone will be able to see that. Are you sure that's where you want it?" Finn asked earnestly. He really didn't want Rachel to regret this if she did in fact go through with it.
"I'm positive Finn. I've given it a lot of thought and that's what I want and where I want it." She turned back to the tattooed man. "I'm ready if you can take me now."
The man moved from behind the counter and told Rachel to follow him. She gripped Finn's hand and pulled him along with her. They all stopped at one of the stations toward the back and the man told Rachel to sit down.
Finn looked at the man. He wondered if this was the guy who tattooed him. "Is your name Jesse?"
The guy cocked his brow at him. "No, he's not here today. Why?"
"He did my tattoo last night. I was really drunk though so I don't remember anything about getting it," Finn explained. The man looked pissed.
"Jesse tattooed you while you were drunk?" he growled at him. Finn was frightened. The guy was much shorter than him but he looked tough and scary with all his skull and flame tattoos.
"Y-yeah," Finn stuttered out.
"I knew I shouldn't have hired that guy. Thank you for telling me. He should not have done that. We could get into serious trouble if anyone found out. I apologize if you aren't happy with it and I'll refund you your money. Jesse will be taken care of immediately." The man seemed truly upset by this and really sorry for what happened but on the bright side, at least Finn could pay back Taylor now. "By the way, I'm Tim. Just thought you might want to know who was working on you," he said to Rachel as he stuck his hand out.
Rachel shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you Tim, I'm Rachel and this is Finn."
"So is this your first tattoo?" he asked Rachel as he pulled the supplies he'd need out of drawers.
"Yes and probably my only. I've never been too big on the idea of body art but lately I've found that maybe one would be nice. See, I have a thing for gold stars. I thought it would be nice to get one just to remind myself why I'm doing what I'm doing. Sometimes when life gets hard you need a positive reminder and gold stars are just the little things that do that for me."
Tim smiled at Rachel. "I know what you mean. That's why I got Ben here on my arm." He showed Rachel a tattoo of a little boy's face. "He's my son. I don't get to see him very often. But when I got this done, it was kind of like I got to keep him with me always, in some strange way." Rachel smiled at him before he got up to get some star stencils. She picked out a star that was about the size of a dime.
"How long will this take?" Rachel asked as Tim twisted her wrist to put the stencil on her skin.
He shrugged. "Not too long. It's just a little thing. Probably not even twenty minutes total." Rachel watched him open a clean needle and ready the ink. Gun in hand, Tim swiveled his chair around and over to Rachel. He angled her wrist so he could easily work on it and before she knew it he was done. It had been a dull stinging sensation but overall really didn't hurt as much as Rachel though it would. She didn't even flinch when he began tracing the outline.
When Tim finished, Rachel looked at her fresh little gold star. It looked perfect sitting on her wrist, a constant little reminder that she was a star in the making and that she'd be brighter than anyone else. "Thank you so much Tim. It's fantastic."
Rachel paid for her ink and Finn got a refund for his and they walked out of the tattoo parlor in the direction of Broadway. "I'm glad I got it. It's very me." Rachel stared up at Finn who was still shocked she had gone through with it. Rachel Berry and tattoo were not words that generally ended up in the same sentence.
"This is true. Gold stars and Rachel Berry are like peanut butter and jelly. And at least you won't regret yours in the morning," Finn said bitterly. He just felt stupid for his actions that he couldn't even remember.
"Finn, don't regret it. Worse things have happened. I think it's pretty sexy actually," Rachel said with a playful smirk on her face. "Now let's go see if we can get any decent tickets for Evita."
As Rachel put her hand in Finn's, he realized she was right. Worse things have happened than getting an unwanted tattoo. He wouldn't let it bother him. And if Rachel really did think it was as sexy as she said, then he really wouldn't ever regret getting it.