Chapter Seven: Trent-Knee?
It was a quiet day at the parlor. Duncan only had one client today, and his boss took the day off to spend time with his family. Lucky bastard.
He spent the morning cleaning up the shop and reorganizing his equipment for what felt like the hundredth time.
By the afternoon, he got a text from his client that they had to cancel their session today and he wanted to chuck his phone at the wall. Still, they were supposed to be open until five today, so he would have to babysit the shop in case any walk-ins dropped by.
Having nothing to do, he decided to call his friends to see if any of them could relieve his boredom.
Fortunately, DJ didn't work until later that night, so he could come down to the tattoo parlor.
"Wow, this place is a lot less decrepit than I thought," DJ said, admiring the shop's clean and sleek interior. The photos of tattoos on the walls varied from edgier punk skulls to kawaii bunny rabbits, and everything in between. He had expected something a little more… particular, considering Duncan was working there. He started to wonder if Duncan also did those cute, little animal tattoos like the ones on the wall.
"Well I did just clean up around here for the millionth time today before I called you," Duncan replied, while rolling his eyes. He was grateful that DJ was here, but there was no changing his sarcastic tone. "Anyway, since you're here, want a tat? On the house."
Duncan already knew DJ's response but still liked to mess with him anyway.
"Nuh-uh. My momma said that my skin is perfect and that I shouldn't do anything to mess with perfection-"
"Because my skin is as pure as milk chocolate," Duncan interrupted in a mocking tone. "I know, I know, I've heard it all before."
DJ huffed. "I didn't come here to be insulted. I can leave."
"Wait! No. Sorry. I'm just really bored," Duncan quickly apologized, not wanting to be stuck in the parlor alone for another couple of hours.
DJ gave him a strange look. "I'm surprised you seem so normal after the news that has been popping up everywhere," he said.
"What news?"
DJ covered his mouth, realizing he shouldn't have said anything. "Uh… nothing…"
"Tell me or I'll beat it out of you," Duncan half-threatened.
"If you do, you'll break your parole and go back to jail!" DJ returned.
"Fuck, just tell me already," Duncan was starting to get a little annoyed.
"Trentney is going viral."
"What the fuck is that? Trent-Knee? Something happened to Guitar Boy's knees?"
"Um… no… it's like a celebrity thing. Like celebrity couples or pairings put their names together… Uh… like you and Gwen were Gwuncan," DJ tried to explain, putting it as delicately as he could so he wouldn't cause Duncan to explode.
"Gwuncan? That is so stupid. So Trentney means what? Trent and…?"
DJ gave Duncan a moment to try to figure it out on his own.
"Trent and… Lindsey? No way, last I heard she was still with Tyler!"
"No, not Lindsey," DJ answered patiently.
"Trent and… Blaineley? Gross, whatever floats his boat I guess."
"No, not Blaineley." DJ was starting to wonder if Duncan was really this slow on the uptake or if this new development was just something that he couldn't even wrap his mind around.
"Just tell me already. It's not a big deal. Why would I care who Trent is… Oh." The puzzle pieces were finally starting to fall into place. "Oh…"
"Yeah, oh."
He just saw Courtney yesterday. What could have happened later that night that he didn't know about? This must have been some sort of fake news because Bridgette had told him that Courtney wasn't seeing anybody and she and Geoff would have told him if she was with their friend, Trent.
"I mean, those paparazzi will post anything nowadays," DJ added, trying to make Duncan feel better.
"So what are they saying about them?" Duncan asked, ignoring DJ's attempt to comfort him. Although it might hurt to see it, he needed to know.
"Why don't you check it out for yourself?"
Duncan began scrolling through social media on his phone, and DJ had not been exaggerating. Trentney was everywhere. There were pictures of Trent and Courtney, that looked a couple of years old, that had resurfaced with the caption, "Early Trentney?!" There were also a bunch of fan-made edits of the two, using clips from Total Drama and what appeared to be a more recent clip of them singing together.
However, most of it did seem fanmade and speculative, which gave Duncan some minor relief. The only real "news outlet" that posted something that confirmed anything was Heather's which said that they were performing together at a small concert on Saturday.
He was just about to put his phone down when he saw a post that caught his eye. "Why Trentney worked when Duncney didn't". He knew it was just some random fan posting and that it would probably suck to read, but his curiosity got the better of him.
Most of the things he read were what he had expected. "Trent is more mature than Duncan and can better provide Courtney with emotional security." But they don't know him now! He had matured plenty in prison and could probably be more emotionally secure for Courtney now.
Some stung a little bit more to read. "Trent and Courtney both got hurt on national television by Gwen and Duncan and deserve better." He wanted to argue that he was a dumb immature teenager and… well, the rest of the argument escaped him.
DJ snatched the phone while Duncan was still reading. "Hey!"
"Dude, you look like you're going to either pass out or pop a vein. I think you've seen enough," DJ said, turning off the phone before handing it back to Duncan.
"This is bullshit! Trent and Courtney? Makes zero sense. They never even talked during the show!" Duncan huffed indignantly.
"Yeah, but they got pretty close after the show. I know they hang out," DJ said thoughtfully.
Duncan gave him a glare, which prompted DJ to add, "As friends, of course. They've only ever been just friends."
Duncan slumped down into his chair. "But he is, annoyingly, a good guy. And Courtney does deserve a good guy for once," Duncan sulked.
"Yeah, but you're a good guy too, Duncan. Sure you had a rough patch, but you turned your life around. It's not too late to try to win her back."
"But how? She barely would let me talk to her. I probably won't even see her again until the wedding," Duncan lamented.
DJ sighed. He hated seeing his friend like this but also hated how he might have a way to help him that might be a little wrong. "I was supposed to go help the girls with their dress shopping tomorrow, but maybe you can take my place," DJ said, somewhat regrettably.
Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Why were you the one who had to go help them with dress shopping?"
"Because I have an eye for fashion. And they wanted me to make sure that whatever ties the groomsmen get match their dresses," DJ explained, matter-of-factly. "Besides, I can help carry their bags."
To DJ's annoyance, Duncan was still looking at DJ like he had grown an extra head. "Do you want to take my place or not?"
"Yeah sure, just tell me when and where," Duncan said with his usual shit-eating grin. That was the Duncan that DJ was more used to seeing. But he still wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing.
"Maybe I should at least ask Bridgette first and see if that's okay," DJ said nervously, already worried about what could go wrong. Bridgette was anything but a bridezilla. However, DJ didn't want to risk her wrath if Duncan showed up out of the blue and messed anything up.
"She'd probably be okay with it, but whatever floats your boat, man."
It only took a few minutes for Bridgette to text DJ back.
Bridgette: Fine, but only because this is for Courtney. Also Duncan you better be paying attention and getting the colors right or else I'm going to tell Geoff to kick your butt
Duncan rolled his eyes; as if Geoff could ever kick his butt. "See, told you it'll be fine," Duncan said, with a smirk. He took a moment to check the time. Only an hour had passed since DJ had come to visit him.
"You sure you don't want a tattoo? I can give you a temporary one and see if you like it?" Duncan got up and grabbed a book of tattoo designs to show DJ. "We can do a classic heart with 'Mom' in the middle or maybe a little bunny rabbit?"
DJ eyed the needles nervously. "Maybe… another time…" he stammered.
"Come on, girls like a guy with tattoos! It's badass!" Duncan pressed. "And I happen to know you-know-who especially digs tattoos."
DJ paused. "Just a temporary one?"
"You have my word," Duncan said, raising his right hand to promise.
For the next hour, DJ and Duncan look through tattoo designs to find something that DJ would like. After a bunch of back and forth between something cute to something metal, they compromised on a majestic wolf for DJ's bicep.
Once they were ready, Duncan took one small jab to DJ's skin, causing the bigger man to pass out. Duncan spent the rest of his shift, taking care of an unconscious DJ who now has a single black dot on his bicep. At least, it was temporary. And at least, Duncan managed to finish his shift without being too bored.