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Alette's POV

I hummed to myself, fixing some chipped nail polish on my toenails, my tongue sticking out in concentration. I finished adding some baby pink polish my pinky toe and leaned back against my bed. Painting your toenails was a workout and I wasn't really the most fit cookie in the box that's for sure.

I heard voices downstairs and grinned because it meant that Tai was here. He was taking me to the tattoo parlour and I was beyond excited.

Standing up carefully so that I didn't smudge my hard work, I looked in my mirror to check my outfit one last time. I was wearing a full sleeved, pink flower print blouse with flowy sleeves that went to my forearms. I paired that with a pair of white mom jeans. I left my hair open and put on some lip balm.

Once my nails were dry, I put on some matching socks.

I ran downstairs and into the kitchen where my Grams, Uncle Syl and Tai all stood talking.

"Hi! I'm ready to go!" I grinned at Tai who smiled back at me and put his glass of water into the kitchen sink.

"Alright then Miss Bee, let's get out of here," he exclaimed, looking at my uncle and Grams for permission.

"Be safe. Take care," Uncle Syl gave Tai a look that I couldn't decipher and turned to me, "I love you Faye, have fun, listen to Tai, and don't wander."

"Oh hush Sylas, she'll be alright. Enjoy yourselves you two," Grams pinched my cheek, and reached up to pat Tai's cheek. The action was funny because Grams, like myself, was not the tallest, and Tai was very tall, so he had to bend down to meet her halfway.

"I love you both, I'll see you later," I gave them both a squish and put on some white sneakers.

Tai and I walked to his dark blue car and sat inside. I quickly buckled up my belt and turned towards Tai.

"Belt please mister," I whispered, and he flicked my forehead. Tai put on his seatbelt and we were off.

I could barely contain my excitement as we drove. I had loved looking at tattoos ever since I could remember. Uncle Syl had an impressive collection of tattoos, and as a kid, I loved looking at them. When I met Tai, I was obsessed with looking at his tattoos. With permission of course.

Also, the tattoo parlour just looked so cool. Everything from the people that went in there, the people that worked there, the exterior of the store, just all looked so intriguing. I couldn't ever gain the courage to go in there because I wasn't the best with new people, and when I asked Uncle Syl, he said it wasn't really a place worth going to and that I should just go to another place in town.

But now, I had finally convinced Tai to take me.

Before I knew it, we were parked in the lot by the tattoo parlour. Tai unbuckled his belt and looked over at me. "You ready to go Bee?" he asked, grabbing his phone and wallet. I nodded my head slowly. Now that I was finally here, my excitement was slowly turning into apprehension.

We left the car and began walking towards the entrance. I looked inside the store and my heartbeat increased.

"Um, there sure are a lot of people in there Bow Tie," I murmured anxiously.

Tai chuckled and bumped his side into mine lightly, "You'll be alright Bumblebee, just stick by my side. There will be lots of people in there, but there aren't any customers right now. I'll introduce you to my friends, my co-workers if you want, and I'll show you my station. You can look at my tattoo gun too," he pauses, "You can't touch it though," he gave me stern look.

I just swallowed and looking inside the shop.

"Look Bee, if you want to go home, we can leave now, you don't have to do this if you're not comfortable," he stated seriously.

This time, I bumped my shoulder into him, and grinned, "I think I'll be okay, and you'll be with me, so I know that I have someone to count on."

Tai smiled at me, and held the door open in front of us.

"After you my fair lady," he said in a fake accent.

I took a deep breath to calm my fluttering nerves, and took a small step forward.

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unedited