Page 56 of The List of Things

The tattoo gun buzzes, and I watch as the artist preps himself, and gets started. Bellamy doesn’t flinch at the touch of the tattoo gun on his skin even though the area is so sensitive.

“Nothing?” I ask.

“I thought my hand would be worse... Also, I should have known you’d choose a hand tattoo.”

I might punch him later for exposing me in front of two strangers. Let’s hope they don’t pick up what he just put down.

“It’s a cool place for a tattoo,” It starts to sink in that I might actually be crazy.

I’m getting a tattoo... With Bellamy Archer. My fake boyfriend. Someone I might not speak to in two weeks. The thought upsets me, it unsettles me slightly thinking of not talking to him at all. I shake it completely. We’ll still be friends after this… Right?

“Ready?” The tattoo artist has his eyes locked on me.

I nod and smile at the man, “As I’ll ever be.”

I hear the buzzing and I close my eyes. Bellamy chose my forearm. Right under the bend of my arm. I could feel the artist sterilizing my skin. I’m anxious to see what it is, to see what he decided for me. I tilt my head up to the ceiling, waiting for the pain. The second the needle touches my skin I’m thrown off. It doesn’t feel good, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s just… uncomfortable.

“You good?” The artist asks me.

“Fine.”

“It’s her first,” Bellamy exposes me once again, and the artist practically snorts he laughs so hard.

“No shit? It’s your first tattoo, and you didn’t even choose it?”

I don’t look at him, mostly because I don’t want to see the tattoo.

“Nope.”

“You must really trust your boyfriend.”

Despite the weird feeling I get at the word boyfriend I still laugh softly. Jade mentioned us dating, and it left me feeling unsettled mostly because I didn’t want Bellamy’s friends to think badly of me. I’m not one to care about opinions, but I seem to care about theirs. I like them, all of them a lot. But hearing the word boyfriend from a stranger, I don’t mind as much. Mostly because I know this person won’t remember me tomorrow, or the next day. I’m minuscule in this man’s life, this lie won’t mean a thing to him. To Bell’s friends? It does mean something to them. Even if they aren’t involved, this list means something to the whole group.

“You have no idea…”

“How does it feel?” The artist asks.

“Kinda like losing your virginity,” My mouth speaks before I have a second to even think about what I’m saying.

A chorus of laughs comes from the entire room.

“Never heard that one before,” Bellamy’s artist speaks out.

I look at Bellamy who has a bit of pink in his cheeks, and a smile on his face, “Are you going to elaborate on that one Ryn?”

“It hurts, but not like I thought it would. It’s more uncomfortable, and dull,” I tell all of them.

“I guess that’s better than the alternative,” The tattooer speaks out, and I lose focus on the way it feels, my eyes landing on Bellamy instead.

I watch the walls around me, my eyes drifting to anything that isn’t my arm, and then the buzzing on my side of the room stops.

“Alright, you’re all done. Do you want to look now before I wrap it up?” The guy asks me.

I didn’t think he’d be done so soon, but part of me is relieved that the tattoo is smaller considering it is my first. I look at Bellamy, wondering if we’re going to look together or once we’re each finished.

“Go ahead,” Bellamy agrees, and the artist then nods his head to the mirror in the room.

I stand up from the tattoo chair and go to the mirror, extending my arm. I look to see a simple tattoo. It’s four numbers. A year. 1995. The year my parents got married. My heart fills up so much that I feel like it might rupture in my chest as I look at the four little numbers. I stare at the tattoo, practically frozen in place, scanning the small patch of ink on my forearm. It’s perfect. It’s me. It’s meaningful…

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