To Be Alone With You

32. tattoo

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

TATTOO

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"I wanna put my nose ring in again."

North looked at Kaspian incredulously. "Are you serious?"

Kaspian shrugged. "I mean... Yeah? Why not, right?"

"Wait, you had a nose ring?" Rowan questioned in disbelief. "That's hot as fuck."

Atreya glanced up from his phone, and showed Rowan a picture. An embarrassing one. "This was Kas two years ago. He had a nose piercing, ear piercings, and then he got the tattoos- he was like, the ultimate mix of punk, e-boy, and jock. With a hint of sophistication."

Kaspian rolled his eyes and got up from the floor of Rowan's house, sitting next to him on the bed instead.

They'd all initially gone to his house after school because Rowan was supposed to help them study, but they ended up abandoning their books and playing a board game. And then, they abandoned that too, because Atreya kept losing.

"Hey, hey. Rowan. Where's your piano?" North suddenly asked, as they rummaged through Rowan's collection of books.

"No." Rowan shook his head adamantly. "No fucking way am I playing for y'all."

Kaspian gasped. "Oh shit, I've never heard you play the piano. What the fuck?"

Rowan swallowed and gave them a small, forced smile. "It took me so much fucking balls to play in front of Atreya. Like, usually I can play in front of people if I don't give a shit about their opinions. But unfortunately, I do give a shit about your opinions. So, no."

Pouting, Kaspian looked at Rowan with pleading eyes. "Honestly, you probably shouldn't give that much of a shit. We're all so musically inept that we won't even be able to tell if you fuck up." He inched a little closer to Rowan, and put his legs on top of Rowan's own legs. And then, he turned around to face Rowan, before laying on his back again.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Atreya asked him, setting his phone aside.

Kaspian huffed in frustration. "I'm so uncomfortable. Don't know why though. Everything's like- itchy. Annoying. And my feet are tingling. Pins and needles. Ugh." He changed his position again, resting his hands behind his head.

Rowan immediately sat up straighter, and looked directly at Kaspian. Concern slipping into his voice, he said, "Are you anxious about anything?"

Am I? I don't think so. Kaspian thought to himself, wringing his hands together. But I'm so jittery. I feel fine, but I also feel so fucking uneasy. Oh, wait. I know why this is happening.

But he didn't say anything.

"Fuck it," Kaspian declared. "If it gets worse, I'll worry. I'm fine for now. Anyway. Play for us!" His eyes wandered around the room. "Wait, where is your piano?"

Shaking his head, Rowan handed Atreya a charger. "It's in the guest room, and no. Show me your tattoo first! I haven't looked at it properly."

Kaspian blushed. "Fuck no," he affirmed. "Also, I don't just have one. I have two."

North's eyes practically bugged out of their head. "What? What the fuck? When did you get a second tattoo? Where is it? Why didn't you tell us? This is such a fake fucking friendship."

Rolling his eyes at his friend's dramatics, Kaspian tapped his shoulder blade. He hadn't told anyone about his tattoo there- not because he didn't want to, but because it never came up in conversation.