Conflicted Ch. 08

"Oh, that's nice of you to come along," Gwen said, before pointing at the door she had emerged from earlier, "Why don't we head through and we can talk about what design you want."

The three of them entered a room that somewhat reminded Leslie of a dentist's practice, except for the various tattoo designs upon the wall. Gwen instructed Leslie to sit in the reclining chair in the middle of the room. She gave Stuart a stool, whilst wheeling another one over to beside the chair and sat on it herself.

"OK, Leslie," She began explaining, "I suggest we start with that tattoo, as that will take longer than your belly will. I just want to make sure you're happy to get both today? I would normally be warning you against two mods in one day, because sometimes that can lead to cross-infection, but you're getting them on completely different bits of your body, so provided you care for them well it shouldn't be a problem. That ok?"

Leslie, feeling anxious about the pain, nodded and managed a 'yeah'.

"I'm going to give you some forms to fill in," said Gwen as she handed Leslie some papers, "while I get my tools ready. Then we can have a discussion what design you want."

Stuart hovered over Leslie's shoulder as she filled in the health and safety forms, and Gwen was setting up some equipment. Gwen finished, took the signed forms from Leslie and then sat down next to her and asked about the design for her tattoo. Leslie had emailed her drawings and the pictures from the internet to the tattoo parlour earlier that week, as the person who took her appointment said it would give the artist time to prepare a drawing. Gwen produced a drawing that followed Leslie's visual and written descriptions of what she wanted really well. Gwen thanked Leslie for her praises of her artistry and then she explained she needed to create a stencil from the drawing.

After a few minutes, Gwen returned with the stencil and began explaining the process, "OK Leslie, I will wipe down your skin and make the area sterile. I'm using a new needle; I can show you that when I take it out of the packaging and I am going to follow the stencil that I just created. Is that ok?"

Gwen's words sounded routine and practiced, which, along with her melodic Welsh accent, calmed Leslie's nerves but she was still a little nervous in her reply, "How much does it hurt?"

"Well, I've had a few," replied Gwen, still in a friendly-yet-professional tone, and showed Leslie her left arm, which was covered in a sleeve tattoo, before continuing, "The ankle can be one of the more sensitive areas, as the skin is so close to the bone but it'll feel a bit nippy, maybe a bit like someone is scratching you. The vibrating of the needle as it is jabbing you can also be a little uncomfortable but I find that it's the anticipation that's worse. You ready?"

"I suppose so," she said, with a nervous laugh.

"You'll be fine," said Gwen, as she began wiping down Leslie's left ankle with an anti-septic wipe.

She watched as Gwen cleaned her skin, applied the transfer stencil and loaded the new needle into the tattoo gun. As the gun reached her skin she reached her right hand out to Stuart, who was still standing right next to her, and he quickly took it with his right. The buzzing of the gun started and Leslie felt a sharp pinch against her skin. She exhaled harshly and Stuart reacted instantly by stroking her hair with his left hand. She gripped his hand tighter, looked directly at his smile and did her best to ignore the pain.

***

Leslie gave a sigh of relief when the gun's buzzing ended and Gwen gave the 'all done'.

"OK, I'm just going to bandage this up with some cling film," explained Gwen, "Then I'll talk you through the aftercare for your tattoo, along with a little leaflet for you to take home, but key point I want you to take away is don't touch it and keep it clean for the next two weeks. Two weeks is the danger zone. Once I'm done with that, we can move onto your belly."

Gwen went across to some drawers to fetch some cling film, at which point Leslie looked round to Stuart, who had been holding her hand for most of the past hour and whispered, "Oh god, forgot I was getting pierced too."

Stuart leant in and whispered back, "If you're too sore... we could leave it today..."

She smiled, and used her free hand to stroke his forearm, she was touched by concern but she could hear the disappointment in his voice as he suggested getting it another day.

"I made a promise, Bull... baby," she replied, catching herself before calling him by his pet name, in case Gwen overheard.

"Thanks babe," he said, before going into his pocket and pulling out the belly jewellery she showed him earlier, "Shall we ask her if she can put this in now?"

"As soon as she's done with the tattoo," she replied and he stuffed it back in his pocket, with an eager look on his face.

Gwen finished up bandaging the tattoo and took Leslie through the aftercare routine. It was mostly familiar stuff, as Leslie had read up on tattoos a lot before coming. She told to use moisturiser and antiseptic cream to clean the tattoo; to avoid touching it at all with unwashed hands in the first two weeks; to not pick it when it scabs; to not go swimming for three weeks at least; as well as a number of other things that were highlighted on a 'How to care for your new tattoo' leaflet.

"OK, so, are you still ready for your piercing today, Leslie?"

"Oh yeah, Stuart," she beckoned, letting go of his hand and presenting her palm to him.

He dropped his gift onto her hand and she showed it to Gwen, "Could you perhaps put this in now?"

Gwen took the bag and looked at it the jewellery through the clear plastic before giving her answer, "It's not sterile, so I'd have to swap the bar for one I have here. I could drop the bead and the dangle into some sterilising liquid but I'll be honest, I don't recommend this sort of jewellery for a new piercing. If it gets caught or swings around you're risking migration and rejection. It's up to you but a plain bar is the best for the healing process."

"Is it dangerous?" asked Stuart.

"Dangerous," she shook her head, "No... just more likely to be rejected and you'll have to come back or remove it altogether. I mean it could get infected but that's always a risk if you're not careful with your cleaning."

"Gwen, that's fine, could you put it in and I'll be extra careful."

Gwen pulled the jewellery out of its bag and held it at the end without the dangle. The bar was silver with a pale pink jewel at the end Gwen was not holding. Descending from the jewel were three dangly chains, each about 3cm long, decorated with crystals along their length, and each ended with a pink crystal in the shape of a heart. It wasn't something Leslie would've picked, if she was truthful, but she wouldn't have gone for a belly piercing in the first place.

Gwen talked Leslie through the piercing process, and once Leslie gave the go ahead, she prepared her piercing needle by attaching it to the end of a curved barbell with similar dimensions to the one Stuart gave her. Gwen had to remind Leslie to relax because as soon as she touched the skin just about Leslie's belly button, every stomach muscle tensed to its maximum extent. She released the tension in her stomach, but squeezed Stuart's hand harder.

"Oh....crap...." she gasped as the needle pushed through her skin.

She took sharp short breaths until the bar was safely secured with the pink jewel and its dangles. She exhaled loudly and lay in the chair for a few seconds as Gwen cleaned the wound and tidied up all the unnecessary packaging. She gave Leslie another minute or so to recover before she started the her piercing aftercare talk. Clean it frequently; try not to move it too much for at least a month; don't change it for at least three months but waiting six months was ideal; and follow the dos and don'ts of the piercing leaflet Gwen had for her.

Gwen returned the recliner to an upright position and Leslie got to her feet, gingerly trying to avoid using her abdominals. Aided by Stuart, she put on her coat, and he offered to carry her bag.

"You two have a lovely day, and a Merry Christmas," wished Gwen, "Talk to Jenny out front she'll take your payment. Enjoy your new body mods!"

Both of them returned the festive wishes, and exited back into the lobby, where Leslie turned to Stuart and quietly, but elatedly, said, "She said 'you two', she's the first person we've introduced ourselves to as a couple."

"That's kinda cool," he said, nodding.

"Yeah, sounds nice doesn't it," she replied, but it reminded her of her other relationship and she took a mental note to put her rings back on.

Leslie took her bag from Stuart, pecked him on the cheek and said, "I'll pay up and meet you at the Starbucks down the road. If there aren't any tables see if you can find another coffee shop and text me, OK?"

"See you in a couple of minutes," he replied, kissing her back, "And thanks..."

***

Stuart had texted Leslie to say he had found them a table at the very back of Starbucks; the rest of the place was pretty packed with Christmas shoppers. She made her way over, very carefully avoiding a bump from anything to her ankle or stomach. She slowly sat down, wincing slightly as she did. Looking a little guilty, presumably at her slightly pained expression, Stuart slid over the coffee she had ordered by way of Whatsapp.

"Thanks Leslie."

"You earned it, you worked hard," she replied, giggling for a second but then yelped as her stomach twanged of pain for a second, "but I'm definitely glad your next exams are months away."

"Still, I appreciate it, and I get that my belly ring gift," he said, pointing at her stomach, "was more for me than you, so I did get you a couple of other things."

From his backpack, he retrieved a medium-sized package that looked like it could be clothes, and a card.

"Oh Stuart... thanks," she said, reaching out and caressing his nearest hand, "I got you some things too."

She pulled out two wrapped boxes; one was a cube just bigger than her palm and the other was a long, thin cuboid, which made enough space for her to just about fit the gift he gave her.

"Those are a bit functional, so I got you this too, that might be a little more 'fun'," she continued, handing him a card, "You can open that one now but promise me you won't do anything terrible. Use this sensibly."

"What is it?"

Still both holding the card, she insisted, "Promise, nothing outrageous."

"Promise," he said, and she released the card.

He opened the envelope and pulled out the card inside. He opened the card and read the message, 'To my dear Boyfriend, Merry Christmas! You make our time together so exciting and I hope you find some use for this gift. Love, your Baby xxx'.

Leslie pointed enthusiastically at the paper that had fallen out of the card without catching Stuart's attention. Stuart gave it a curious expression and picked it up. Leslie mimed sniffing it, and Stuart copied her, and told her it smelt nice. He unfolded it, his brows furrowing in confusion as he read it.

"Babe... is this what I think it is?" he asked, his mouth agape.

He slid it over to the middle of the table, turning it so the script faced her.

----

School network: K1ngst0nMMYYYY

FB: K8yP3rryisF1T

----

"What do you think it is?"

"Lewis's passwords."

She nodded, beaming enthusiastically at Stuart's adorable amazed expression. She told herself that with access to his school emails and Facebook account, Stuart could bully Lewis without physically hurting him or doing anything to malicious, so it was good for both of them. But she knew no matter how she justified it, it wouldn't end with something good for Lewis; she realised had just crossed another line. Each time it got easier and easier

She looked at Stuart, his mouth still agape, took both his in hers and said, "Merry Christmas, Bully Boy."