Ryan leaned against the pool table, watching Brendon get a tattoo worked on. Zack was shading in the keys of a piano on Brendon's arm. The piano had been done before Brendon revealed his bare arm, but Zack referred to it as 'light touch up' before setting to work on some flowers that decorated the space around the piano keys.

Spencer sat with criss crossed legs on the pool table. He rolled the eight ball back and forth. He opted out of getting any work done, insisting that his later engagement prevented him from it.

The buzzing of the tattoo machine droned itself through Ryan's ears and into his brain. It was near enough to reduce him to insanity. There was no talking: just a focused look on Zack's face, a zoned out look on Brendon's face, and Spencer was just intent on the eight ball.

Ryan wanted to speak, but he was afraid to speak out of turn here. This wasn't his world. He had never even imagined himself sitting with others he hardly knew while they got garage tattoos. He was used to sitting at home or occasionally going over to Patrick's house.

"Zack, got any booze?" Spencer suddenly pipped up, bringing with him a wave of conversation in the air.

"You're too young for booze..." Zack muttered, absently, as he traced along a predrawn line. "I've got creme soda and coke in the first fridge."

Spencer rolled his eyes, but slid himself to the edge of the pool table to drop his legs. He hopped to the ground and spun on his heels. He pointed to Ryan with a questioning look, "Want anything?"

"Creme soda, please." Ryan nodded with a soft smile.

Spencer gave him a thumbs up followed by a soft clicking sound. He then turned to Brendon and Zack. "Any requests?"

"Whatever he'll prefer and a coke." Zack replied as he sat upright. He sat his tattoo needle down on the table beside him and stretched. "Brendon," He called out rather loudly, making Brendon's head jerk up from whatever he had been thinking about. "drink choice?"

"Creme soda." He replied with a series of quick blinks. He still didn't seem to be fully back to reality. However, He looked down at his arm, grinning widely when he saw the work that was being done. "Dude, this looks sick!"

"I try my best." A triumphant, tight lipped, smile crossed over Zack's face. He looked over his work with satisfaction before nodding. "Let me go get the wrap for it real quick."

He stood up as Brendon nodded enthusiastically, looking at his tattoo. He disappeared into the door that lead into the house, leaving the three boys in the garage. Spencer whistled, catching Ryan's attention in order to toss a soda at him. Ryan hurried forward to catch it as Spencer walked the other one over to Brendon. The cold metal almost stung against Ryan's skin as he stepped over to the two other boys.

"I don't get the floral shit, man." Spencer shook his head, "I mean, it looks good on your arm but I don't get it."

"You don't have to. It's on my arm, not yours." Brendon teased with a smirk as he popped the tab on his soda can. He regarded Ryan with a quick glance and a nod. "What're you getting?" He asked as he brought his can to his lips.

There's no getting out of this Ryan thought immediately following Brendon's words. The idea of permanently inking his skin hadn't become any less terrifying over the time he had been sitting and watching Brendon get his...

"Gunna wimp out?" Spencer taunted.

"What, like you did?" Brendon taunted Spencer in response with the arch of his brow.

Spencer immediately shut his mouth, instead deciding to look over the soda in his hand. Brendon smirked before turning his attention back to Ryan.

"Spill, Ross. Answer the question."

The question was all Ryan had. He really loved the ink on Brendon's arm that had a slight shine to it, but he knew he couldn't get the same exact thing. Plus, it wouldn't have the same beauty off of Brendon's arm.

"It is a question." Ryan spoke his replaying thoughts out loud. He mentally kicked himself as a curious expression spread across both Brendon and Spencer's face. "I-ah... It's gunna be a Q on the back of one arm and a question mark on the back of the other." He added, nervously having thought up the well hidden spot on his body.

Ryan was surprised to see Brendon nod with a grin on his face. "That sounds awesome." He said just as Zack reentered the garage.

"What sounds sick?" Zack asked. He had a stick of clear wrapping that he was unwrapping.

Brendon nodded towards Ryan as Zack motioned for him to hold out his arm. "The tattoos Ryan wanted."

Zack raised an eyebrow as he wrapped Brendon's arm in the clear wrapping. "Am I inking him too?"

"Call it a favor." Brendon replied, "I'll hook you up next week." He added a wink at the end.

"What am I inking?"

Ryan gulped as the attention in the room was shifted to him. Fuck, this was happening. Hesitantly, Ryan relayed what he had told his school mates to Zack.

"I can do that." Zack replied with a thoughtful expression, "Get on the pool table."

Ryan's eyes widened for a second, "What?"

"You heard me." Zack replied, simply, as he tapped the wrapping on Brendon's arm.

"C'mon, question boy." Spencer smirked, patting Ryan a bit roughly on his back. "You heard the man."

Ryan's thoughts were full of swears as he turned to look at the pool table. He walked over to it before trying to figure out how he would hop up. Spencer took care of that problem, however, by dropping a small step stool next to Ryan as he walked past. Spencer seemed to be enjoying Ryan's nerves as he began to grab pool balls and shoot them into the table's pockets.

"Shirt off." Zack spoke nonchalantly as he meddled with his tattoo supplies, "Color or black?

"Black." Ryan responded with a surprisingly strong tone. How it didn't come out to reveal how terrified he felt, he had no idea. He climbed up onto the pool table before grabbing the bottom of his shirt to pull up over his head.

Self consciousness set in almost immediately after taking his shirt off. With his small flab of stomach exposed, he just felt more out of place. Brendon seemed relatively fit, and Spencer's body type still made him look good, despite not having the same slimness as the darker haired boy. Ryan was thin framed with a stomach that protruded out, placing him somewhere between fit and flabby. It was a big reason why you hardly caught him with his shirt off. It made him conscious of his shape.

Zack walked over with his tattoo gun. Ryan sat with his legs criss crossed as the machine was sat down on the edge of the pool table.

"So, the Q on your left and the question mark on your right?" Zack asked, tapping the backs of his own arms for reference.

Ryan nodded, earning a grunt from the bearded man. Zack went back to where most of his equipment was as Brendon stepped up to the pool table. His inked arm was wrapped for protection of the fresh work just done. It didn't seem to bother Brendon as he leaned against the pool table.

"So, goodie two shoes is really getting a tattoo?" Brendon asked with a grin.

Ryan felt a heated embarrassment fill him. He hoped that color wasn't consuming his cheeks as he wracked his brain for a reason the question had affected him in such a way. "Looks like."

Brendon let out an airy chuckle as Zack brought more of his inking equipment over to the pool table. "I really wasn't expecting you to go through with it." He admitted, "You didn't seem like the ordinary type for it."

Ryan let out a laugh of disbelief. Does that mean he could have gotten out of it!? He felt slight nausea knowing that he had really solidified his fate by assuming what others thought of him.

"Lay on your stomach for me." Zack said as he whipped a pair of rubber gloves back and forth before getting ready to apply them on his hands.

Ryan silently did as he was told. He crossed his arms in front of him to rest his chin on. Nerves were beginning to fill him, when Brendon slid into his view. The other boy was leaning on the pool table with his legs angled far enough back that he was eye level with Ryan.

"Are you gunna free hand or what?" Spencer asked from somewhere off to Ryan's side.

"Depends on what he wants." Zack replied, simply.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Brendon asked with an excited look in his eye. He was already pulling out his phone before Ryan could respond. Hardly any time went by at all before Brendon was holding his phone just inches away from Ryan's face. "This looks fitting to you."

Ryan squinted at the phone's brightness before distinguishing the details of the photo Brendon was showing him. It looked rather Tim Burton-esk in style; the shape of the lettering reminded him of the tree roots from a dark, but whimsical, story. For some reason, Ryan did find that he enjoyed the style.

"That is really cool." Ryan nodded. Brendon pulled his phone back with a look of triumph as Ryan's brow furrowed. "How'd you know I'd like that?"

"Lucky guess." Brendon shrugged, passing the phone to Zack. He turned back to Ryan, flashing his eyes down to Ryan's forearm before looking back at his face. "Plus, you have a character from a Tim Burton movie drawn on your arm."

Ryan extended his arm to look down at it. There was, in fact, a small doodle of a ghost dog with a red nose. He knew he hadn't drawn it himself, so his theory was that his friend from history, Jon, had doodled it out of boredom. It definitely wasn't the first time Ryan had found unknown drawings on his arm thanks to said friend.

"Alright, I need your arms back." Zack relayed.

Ryan frowned, but did as he was asked. He now felt like a sardine laying on the pool table. He looked up to see that Brendon was still leaning low to look at him. Ryan shifted his gaze away from the darker haired boy, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"You ever had a tattoo before?" Zack asked.

"No."

A laugh escaped Zack's lips. "So I'm taking your ink virginity. Won't be the first time."

Ryan didn't know what to think as, what felt like, a thin sheet of paper pressed against the back of his arm. Zack peeled the paper away slowly before doing the same thing to the back of his other arm.

"Is he really doing it?" Spencer asked from somewhere still out of Ryan's view.

Brendon rolled his eyes. "More than you did, Smith." He retorted as the tattoo needle began to buzz.

Ryan's heart beat in his throat as the buzzing got closer. He shut his eyes, anticipating horrible pain.

When the needle connected with his skin, however, it wasn't nearly as bad as he imagined. It definitely hurt, but it wasn't excruciating. He opened his eyes, being met by curious brown ones. His breath caught before he realized that it was Brendon.

Brendon had a strange curiosity in his eyes as he looked at Ryan. He smiled when he saw Ryan looking back at him. "You good?" He asked.

"Yea." Ryan grinned back.

---

By the time the inking was done, Ryan's arms were extremely sore. The initial lining of his tattoos wasn't bad, but the real pain came when Zack thickened the lines and went over spots multiple times.

Spencer had gone home earlier, while Brendon had stayed to watch. Once Zack had finished, Brendon had offered to take a photo to show Ryan.

"Oh, wow!" Ryan awed as he looked at the finished product.

"It might need touch up in a few weeks," Zack said as he began packing up his equipment, "in the meantime, just use some of this ointment and scentless lotion." He tossed a small tooth paste-like bottle on the pool table in front of Ryan.

"Okay." Ryan agreed, scooping the tube up with his shirt.

"I owe you, Zack." Brendon laughed. He proceeded to clasp their hands together and bro hug.

Ryan made his way carefully off the pool table as the two pulled apart. Brendon turned to him with a nod. "I'll take you home real quick. Where do you live?"

"Over off of Fremont." Ryan replied as Zack gestured him over to wrap his arms in the clear wrap.

"Cool." Brendon nodded.

Zack finished the wrapping fairly quickly, allowing Brendon and Ryan To leave in just a matter of minutes. The ride was quiet as Brendon drove. Conversation only picked up with occasional directions.

Ryan could feel self consciousness creeping in again. He had slid his shirt back on before getting into the truck, but the fact that Brendon had seen his bare torso just made him feel... Funny?

Not many people saw him without a shirt.

"Here we are, dude." Brendon announced as he pulled up in front of Ryan's dark house.

It was only then that Ryan realized the street lamps were lit and the sky was darkening. His gut wrenched as he thought about his mom being alone for all this time. How selfish was ditching detention and running off to get a garage tattoo when she needed him?

"Do you have detention tomorrow?" Brendon asked, stretching out in his seat.

"Do you?" Ryan asked in response.

Brendon laughed, "Always."

"I'm stuck there for awhile for the lunch punch." Ryan said, feeling a smile on his face despite the subject of the conversation.

Brendon nodded. "Feel like ditching again with yours truly?" Brendon asked, "No more garage tatts, I swear."

"For real?" Ryan asked with a small laugh. Brendon wanted to hang out with him again?

"Totally." Brendon nodded as Ryan slid himself out of the truck, "Let me know, yea?"

"Yea." Ryan nodded, "I'll let you know... See ya."

He shut the truck door and hurriedly made his way up to his door. He could hear Brendon's truck still resting behind them. Once he had his front door opened, however, it roared to life. Ryan turned around in just enough time to see Brendon pulling away from in front of his house.

Ryan bit his lip as he backed into his home. He wasn't sure what to feel about the events of the day, but he definitely felt like he wanted to hang out with Brendon again.