"Shit!" I hissed when Frankie accidentally poked my eye with the pencil.
"If you stopped moving, I wouldn't poke you," he replied.
"Why can't I just do it myself?"
"Because you'll end up looking like a clown unless I do it," he said simply. He pulled his hand away from my cheek and smiled. "All done. I was right, you look so much better with eyeliner." He leaned forward to kiss me and was smiling when he pulled away. My hand was on the right side of the neck, my thumb going over the patch of skin Frank was gonna get tattooed today. The day after the funeral, which was a week ago now, Pat brought over his bleach and we gave Frank a makeover. We cut his hair short, bleached the sides, and cut his bangs to a stupid-looking but still adorable fringe. I didn't realize I was staring at him until he cleared his throat and asked, "Like what you're seeing?"
"Of course I do." I craned my neck to kiss his nose. "Are you ready?"
"Well, yes and no. I've wanted tattoos so badly, but now that I'm gonna go get them, I'm nervous." He smiled weakly and looked at the floor.
"It's okay, I'll hold your hand," I joked. I took his hand and kissed the back of it.
"You're such a fucking dork," he told me before smashing our lips together, him pushing against me. It was a sudden kiss that caught me off guard, but after I second I melted into it. He pulled away after a minute, a string of saliva connecting our lips that he swatted away, smiling. "No makeouts right now. Austin should be here soon." He ran his hands through my hair and tugged a bit. "I liked your hair black."
"Yeah, I miss it. Let's dye it before school starts, mmk?" He smirked and nodded. There was a knock on the door and he shot up from my lap and walked over to the door. He swung it open and Austin was standing in the doorway. He was wearing jeans and a plain back t-shirt, quite a few steps down from the tux he was wearing a few days ago. His tattoos were more visible now, and I realized why Frank asked him to take him. He was obviously a bit experienced with tattoos.
"Hi, Gerard, Frank," he said smiling. "You guys ready?" We both nodded at the same time and he turned around. "Well, c'mon."
We followed him to his car, both of us climbing in the backseat. I grabbed Frank's slightly trembling hand and locked our fingers together. Rather than buckling up, he swung a leg over and sat in my lap. "This would be very dangerous if we were in a car crash," I said jokingly.
"Whatever," he muttered in response and stuffed his face into the crook of my neck. I chuckled and kissed his head. I looked up to see Austin looking at us through the rear view mirror, a slight smile on his face. He jammed the key in the ignition and started driving. Frank was shaking slightly, but that was understandable. He was getting a tattoo of a scorpion on his neck, and "Halloween" across his two knuckles, to commemorate his birthday.

On the drive to the tattoo parlor, I thought about school. It started in three weeks, and damn am I unprepared. Frank was the only friend I had at school other than Patrick or Mikey. Even then, Patrick was smarter than me, so all his classes were advanced, he took music at a different class, and his lunch was at a different time. I can only pray me and Frank get similar classes. Speaking of Frank, I need to figure out what's gonna happen with our relationship at school. He seems fine with all my public displays of affection, so there's that. But Jack is out for our heads. If he knew we were dating, oh, we would get the beating of a lifetime. But realizing that I kind of have about four months to live makes me realize I need to man the fuck up and take the beatings. I love Frank, and no amount of broken ribs and bruises will change that. I'll talk to him about it later, when he's not shaking in anxiousness and maybe fear. I squeeze his hand and feel him smile against my skin. "Love you," he murmurs.
"You too."

Soon enough, we arrive. The parlor is just a small business in an avenue of shops, a sign hanging above it that surely once read something a time ago but now is old and faded. I grabbed Frank's hand and led him out of the car, following Austin. He opens the door for us and smiles. He looks around at the other customers getting tattoos themselves and smiles slightly. "Austin! So nice to see you," a girl at a desk says. She has long black hair and stars tattooed onto her temples, along with more tattoos all over her arms and legs..
"Ah, Kat," Austin says, holding out his arms and walking over to her, "how are you?"
"I'm good, and you?" she says as she hugs him.
"I'm great."
"Now, are you here for a tattoo yourself, or these kids that I know for a fact are not your own?"
He laughs. "Frank, here," he points at Frankie, "wants his first few tattoos."
"More than one?" she asks, cocking an eyebrow. Frank nods. "Hm. How old are you, Frank...?"
"Iero. Frank Iero. Um, seventeen."
"Do your parents know Mr. Carlile is here as your guardian? Or that you're getting a tattoo at all?" She puts stress on the nick name, which makes Austin playfully punch her arm.
"No and no. I don't think they care."
"Well, we are supposed to have legal guardians or parents consent, and if they are not present a written note, and Austin is neither. But he's my friend, so I'll let this one slide." She's filling out a sheet as she talks, and once she finished whatever she's writing she looks up at us and smiles. Her gaze goes to me. "Anything for you?"
"What? Oh. No. I hate needles with a burning passion."
"Aw," she replies, pouting, "shame. Tattoos are so fun." She walks over to us and shakes our hand. "I'm Kat, by the way."
"Gerard, Frank's boyfriend."
"Would you like to join Frank when he gets his tattoo?" I nodded. "Okay then, follow me. Austin, just stay out here unless you hear someone screaming bloody murder," she calls as she leads us into a room. It's small, kind of like one in a doctor's office. In fact, a bed sits in the middle that looks like a hospital bed. She motions for Frank to sit, so he does, and I sit in a chair next to the door. "Okay, so whaddya want?"
Frank pulls out a slip of paper and unfolds it before handing it to her. "Scorpion on the right side of my neck. And 'Halloween' on my fingers." She looks over the paper and nods. I hear him ask her how it feels to get a tattoo, but my eyes are squeezed shut and I block out the noises before I heard her answer. Even just seeing the needles can scare me, regardless if they're coming for me or not. There's a whirring interrupting my thought and heavy breathing and I realize it's the machine and Frank calming himself. The breathing is cut off by a hiss, then a sigh. I barely open my eyes to see Kat has started on the scorpion, doing the outline by now. I see the glimmer of the needle and close my eyes again.

---

"And... done!" Kat says cheerfully. I open my eyes to see that she's already finished all of Frank's tattoos, the scorpion and each individual letter on his knuckles. His face is red and sweaty, and he's still shaking a bit, but he smiles. She grabs a hand mirror and gives it to him. He marvels at the letters on his hand before looking in the mirror, at his scorpion tattoo. He chuckles and hesitantly strokes the tattoo, hissing in pain upon contact. "Yeah, might wanna leave it alone for a while," she says.
"Thank you so much!" he cheers, putting the mirror next to him and reaching out his arms. She hugs him willingly and as she pulls away she slips a card out of the pockets of her shorts. It's obviously a business card.
"Call me if you feel the need to have something else permanently plastered on your skin," she tells him jokingly, putting her hand up to her ear and clicking her tongue. Even I laugh at this. She turns to me. "You sure you don't want anythin'?" I frantically shake my head no and she chuckles. "Well, I guess that's it then." She opens the door and me and Frankie follow her, my hand wrapped around his wrist. We walk up to the desk in front of the door, where Austin is standing.
"How was it, kiddo?"
"Painful. Totally fucking worth it," Frank replies.
"Language!"
"Austin, you know I couldn't give two goddamn shits about some kid fucking cussing," Kat butts in. We erupt into a fit of giggles as she types something on the register in front of her. "And that'll be 175."
Frank reaches into his back pocket, but suddenly Austin pulls out two hundred dollar bills and hands it to Kat, adding in a, "keep the change."
"Austin," Frank tells him, "you don't have to do that."
"I don't but I want to. No one wants to remember their first tattoo as spending their life's savings." Frank opens his mouth, but Austin apparently knows what he's going to say. "You're welcome."
"Have a nice day," Kat tells us as we walk out back to Austin's car, me and Frank hand-in-hand. He sits in my lap once again on the car ride home, murmuring incoherent things into my ear. He eventually falls asleep, and once we get home and I thank Austin on his behalf, I carry him upstairs and to my bed. I lay next to him, my arms wrapped around his small frame. My own eyelids begin to feel heavy after I while, but before I fall into a deep sleep, I hear Frank whisper.
"Best day ever."
"Indeed," I say, nuzzling my face into his hair, before falling asleep.

Notes

this is mostly dialogue
see why i'm going on hiatus?
well, now i guess it's a semi-hiatus
i just didn't have anything to do today so
yeah

xo