Chapter 2

Fresh off his Walmart shift, Messiah pulled into the shop parking lot. His shoulders was still tense from dealing with customers all day - some old lady had tried to argue with him about expired coupons for like 20 minutes. He checked his reflection in the rearview, running his hand over his dreads to make sure they was still neat. His phone kept lighting up with texts from Dom.

"Where you at?"

"Omw to get that tat"

"Oh bet what shop?"

"That one by campus"

"I might slide thru after"

"Ight"

Messiah grabbed his stuff and headed in, already knowing Dom was definitely gonna show up uninvited. The bell jingled when he opened the door, and he saw Javier looking down at his iPad, legs stretched out under his desk while he scrolled through something.

"What's good?" Javier looked up, sitting up straighter and putting his iPad down. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Messiah said, shifting his weight to pull his wallet out his back pocket. He wasn't trying to seem too eager but he'd actually been thinking about this tat all day at work. "How much?"

"Three fifty with the student discount."

Messiah pulled out his card and ID, leaning forward to hand them over. His dreads fell forward a bit and he pushed them back, noticing how Javier's station had mad art all over the walls, mostly his own work probably.

While Javier ran his card at the front, Messiah asked, "You need me to fill out anything else?" He was standing with one hand in his pocket, other one scrolling through his phone but not really looking at it.

"Nah you already did all that last time. You can head to my station, I'll be there in a sec."

Messiah walked over and dropped into the chair, looking around while he waited. The shop was clean as hell, some lowkey R&B playing in the background. He was fighting the urge to bounce his leg - not cause he was nervous about the tat, just cause he ain't like sitting still too long.

Javier came back with his card and receipt, rolling his chair over smooth like he'd done it a million times. "Here you go. You eat? This gonna take a minute."

"Yeah I'm good." Messiah tucked his stuff back in his wallet. His phone buzzed again - Dom asking for the address. "You need me to take the tank off?"

"Yeah, let me get the stencil ready real quick." Javier turned to his counter, gathering supplies with practiced movements.

Messiah pulled his tank over his head careful not to mess up his dreads, setting it in his lap. The AC was blowing right on him but he wasn't bout to complain. He texted Dom back "Coming thru later" while Javier got everything ready.

"Ight arms up," Javier said, cleaning his arm with some green soap. His movements was precise but gentle. "You play soccer right? What position?"

"Forward," Messiah said, watching Javier's hands as he placed the stencil. The paper felt weird and cold against his skin. "Been playing since I was little."

"Word? You must be good then, State's team don't play." Javier had him stand up and check the placement in the mirror.

Messiah turned his arm different angles, studying it. "It's ight. Little higher though." He was actually mad particular about where he wanted it but tried to play it cool.

Javier fixed it and had him look again, standing close but not too close while Messiah checked. "Better?"

"Yeah that's good." Messiah could feel the AC raising goosebumps on his skin but kept his face neutral.

"Bet, lay back and get comfortable. First time getting tatted?"

"Yeah." Messiah settled back, trying to find a position that wouldn't have his neck cramping after an hour.

"Some parts gonna hurt more than others but just let me know if you need a break. You can put your music in if you want."

Messiah put one airpod in but kept the other out, not trying to be completely antisocial even though that was his first instinct. He laid his head back as the machine started buzzing, keeping his arm relaxed like Javier told him.

For a while it was just quiet except for the buzz of the machine and the music. Messiah was actually getting kind of comfortable, almost zoning out, when Javier asked if he needed a break about an hour in.

"Nah I'm straight." The spot he was working on stung a little but Messiah wasn't bout to say nothing.

"You taking this better than most first-timers." Javier wiped the area, his other hand steady on Messiah's arm.

"It ain't that bad," Messiah shrugged his free shoulder slightly. After a minute he found himself asking, "How long you been tatting?"

"Few years. Started apprenticing when I was in high school." Javier shifted in his chair, switching angles as he moved to a different part of the design. His hand was warm where it rested steady against Messiah's skin.

They fell into this pattern where they'd talk for a bit then go quiet, neither one forcing conversation. Messiah found himself actually answering when Javier asked him stuff, probably cause dude wasn't doing too much - just working and talking normal.

The shop door opened and Messiah heard Jordan's voice. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah my boy getting tatted by Javier."

Javier paused the machine, sitting up straighter. "Who is that?" He wasn't playing about random people walking in his shop.

"That's just Dom," Messiah said, lifting his head slightly to look. "He cool."

Javier nodded at Jordan who stepped aside to let Dom through. Dom came walking back all loud like always, phone in one hand and a bag of chips in the other.

"This shit looking clean as hell," Dom said, leaning over to look but keeping enough distance to not mess up Javier's work. He dropped into the empty chair next to them, crunching on his chips.

"It would look even cleaner if you wasn't getting crumbs everywhere," Javier said, giving Dom a look. "Either put them away or take them outside."

"My bad," Dom laughed but he wrapped the chips up and stuck them in his pocket. "How much longer you got?"

"Like 20 minutes if y'all let me focus." Javier went back to working, wiping away excess ink with practiced movements.

Dom actually stayed quiet, just scrolling on his phone while Javier finished up. Messiah had his eyes closed again but he could feel Dom stealing glances every few minutes, probably dying to run his mouth about something.

Finally Javier sat back, turning off the machine. "We done. Go check it out."

Messiah pushed himself up slow, his arm feeling kind of tight and hot. When he looked in the mirror though, he couldn't help but nod. The design came out exactly how he wanted but somehow better.

"That's fire for real," he said, actually meaning it. He turned his arm different angles, taking it all in. "Appreciate you."

"No doubt. Come sit back down so I can put some ointment and wrap it up."

Messiah sat back in the chair, watching how careful Javier was with the tender skin. His hands was gentle but confident, like he knew exactly how much pressure to use.

"So the aftercare's important," Javier said while he worked. "Keep it wrapped for at least two hours. When you wash it, just let the soap run over it - don't scrub it. Pat it dry and put a thin layer of the ointment on." He handed Messiah a little packet of aftercare instructions. "Everything's written down here too."

"Bet." Messiah took the packet, actually planning to read it later unlike half the papers he got from his professors.

"Make sure you come back in two weeks so I can check how it's healing," Javier said, smoothing down the edges of the bandage one last time. His fingers lingered for a second making sure it was secure.

"Good looking out." Messiah carefully pulled his tank back on, trying not to mess up the bandage or brush it too hard against the fabric.

"Thanks for trusting me with your first one." Javier started cleaning up his station, throwing away used needles and wiping everything down.

"You did your thing." Messiah grabbed his phone and wallet, nodding at Javier before heading out. He could hear Dom behind him already starting to talk as soon as they got out the door.

Back in the shop, Javier was thinking about how different Messiah was when he wasn't trying so hard to keep people away. Dude actually had decent conversation when he felt like it. Plus he sat better than most people who been getting tatted for years - didn't even flinch when Javier was working on the sensitive spots.

He finished cleaning up, changed his gloves, and started setting up for his next client. But his mind kept drifting back to how Messiah's guard had dropped just a little bit during those quiet moments while he was working. Made him wonder what else was behind all them walls.