TAKE ME OUT OF MY HEAD

[LEAH ANNETTE BRINLEY]

[atrb=style,width: 300px; height: 450px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/W9lrtpj.jpg?1); border-left: 25px solid #000000; border-right: 25px solid #000000; text-align: center; padding: 25px;][atrb=border,0,true] * i long for that feeling to not feel at all - - - - - - - *       When Leah got the text that someone had a little bit of work for her, she was only slightly relieved. One would think that the young woman would be much more relieved since extra work meant that she didn't have to go down to the truck stop and ride on some overweight truck driver to get her fix this week but it was all the same to her. Getting her fix was what mattered. How she came about the money didn't mean quite as much. After all, she'd been a prostitute since she was eleven with a brief break between the ages of fifteen to eighteen when she went to live with her father and fell in love. Then her heart got broken and after that, all bets were off. Leah's wrists still supported the jagged scars where she'd attempted to take her life, back before Ozzy had introduced her to drugs, back when she'd been addicted to Ronan. After eighteen, she moved back to America and now Ozzy forked out just enough money to buy her this run down, one bedroom apartment because he knew if he didn't the girl would sleep on the streets for all she cared. Either way, Leah pulled a fold away chair out for her client, used a cardboard box to set her inks and her gun on and she waited with the patience of death for this unknown client to show. She didn't have air conditioning so Leah had the window open and the door to create a draft and keep the heat from becoming positively unbearable. She didn't shift or twiddle her thumbs as she waited, Leah merely sat on the couch, still as can be, lost in the confines of her mind.

blanket forts @ caution

[derek francisco everton]

derek had been needing work for quite some time, the owl over his stomach had started to fade - i suppose that happens when you don't spend the money you should on quality work. that, and derek had spent a particularly large amount of time in the sun since he moved to hawaii with his brother, and he knew before long the tattoo would need a touch up. so, that brought him to this place. an apartment building down town that seemed a little to shady to hold a legit tattooist. don't worry man. his friend had said i promise, shes legit. shes good. she did some stuff for me in the UK, you can rely on her. derek had resigned to calling to book an appointment after a while of consideration. there was something that just kept telling him to go to this place, and so that was why he was there.

ruffling his messy, long hair, he tucked some strands behind his ear, and away from his eyes. taking the stairs two at a time, his steps were almost bounds, and he completed the first step in mere seconds before he started his ascent up the second set. derek wasn't an overly athletic guy, a few hours here and there at the gym - mostly he just relied on his faithful metabolism that had been working in his favor since the boys first ever big mac. he was fortunate enough to have a lithe frame, muscular arms, he was tall at six three, but the giant man was most definitely more of a friendly giant than someone who was going to leave you intimidated - unless you manage to get his bad side, a rare occasion yes - but his temper is one that most do not want to meddle with.

he came to the wooden door, and stood staring at the grains a moment, before he finally built up the courage to knock. the sound was wooden and hollow, it echoed in the quiet hall. dereks eyes trailed around the hallway moment, taking in the dank and desolate space. it wasn't anything flash, but it was a home to those who needed one.

[LEAH ANNETTE BRINLEY]

[atrb=style,width: 300px; height: 450px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/W9lrtpj.jpg?1); border-left: 25px solid #000000; border-right: 25px solid #000000; text-align: center; padding: 25px;][atrb=border,0,true] * i long for that feeling to not feel at all - - - - - - - *       It was amusing the things that people were intimidated by. A tall man with tattoos was intimidating because he might randomly decide to overpower you and many in the building were intimidated by the average sized blonde woman that he was going to see. Why? Because she wasn't like everyone else. She didn't smile and way at people passing by, she didn't seek out peoples company and because the woman didn't really mind what was going on around her, she was different and as such, less appealing or something along those lines. Leah didn't care what the reasoning behind it was. As far as she figured, she was half monster through her relationship to Ozzy and people must have sensed it. That was okay, she didn't like people much anyway. With the knock on the door, Leah turned her head, standing up and moving to the entrance. Leah wasn't particularly short, nor was she on the tall side. In fact, she seemed to sit right in the range of average, just like everything else about her. She lifted her gaze and looked over him before turning and motioning him to follow her into the apartment. The only word that could describe it was shabby. The linoleum tiles on the floor were peeling up, the blinds in the kitchen were hanging half off, and there was a severe lack of furniture. Leah had a fridge with not food since the woman couldn't cook worth a damn. It held more alcohol than many of the bars in it's depths. There was a couch which looked severely used. There was no TV, no coffee table, a small desk lamp sitting on the floor and a couple other miscellaneous items. No, Leah didn't have much. "What are we doing today?" Leah asked, her voice barely audible merely from being soft spoken words. Everything she needed was lying on the box and Leah stayed standing, looking around a moment at her apartment as if searching for something before she remembered her manners, few though they were. "Would you like a beer or something?"

blanket forts @ caution

[derek francisco everton]

well, if it's not much of a hassle. as long as it's not to far out of your way, i wouldn't mind a beer, thankyou. formal introductions must have been left at the door when it was opened. derek wandered in, and glanced around the sparse apartment. it seemed rather unlived in, rather it was a place to survive without so much life. he knew what that was like, what it was like to survive without really living. life wasn't easy, by any means, he'd seen hardships and tasted the cold silver of a razorblade against his skin. he'd felt the warm blood trickle down his finger tips, and drip into the sink. he'd been hurt in his life, but he'd learned to deal with it. he had his brother to look after, and a band to care about after all.

i have a tattoo on my stomach, i'm afraid theres some... some fading, and i'd really just like it touched up. i don't really mind how long it takes, my tattoos are my pride and joy. he added the last bit quietly, with an awkward, half smile that left him feeling like a slight fool. you know, my brother is more the talker than i am. you'd probably rather anything but. he chuckled, a soft, melodic sound. his eyes fell on the small box set up with her tools, and the chair nearby that must have been set up for him. he nodded, although no questions were asked, and slowly but surely he peeled the shirt away from his body, and scrunched it up in his hand, eyeing her a moment. i'm derek, by the way... in case you were wondering.

[LEAH ANNETTE BRINLEY]

[atrb=style,width: 300px; height: 450px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/W9lrtpj.jpg?1); border-left: 25px solid #000000; border-right: 25px solid #000000; text-align: center; padding: 25px;][atrb=border,0,true] * i long for that feeling to not feel at all - - - - - - - *       Leah was in the process of setting up when he accepted her offer of a beer. She was about to take a step towards the refrigerator when his words sunk in and she paused, her feet still glued to the spot as she turned to look at him and then to the fridge and back. The fridge was right there. How was that far out of her way? Nothing in this apartment was far out of her way. It was too tiny for anything to be out of reach. Other than the confused look on her face, she did not convey her thoughts. Even if she wanted to, they would have likely died before leaving her lips. "Is there a particular brand you fancy?" She asked as she walked the seven steps that brought her facing the fridge. She blinked at the door momentarily, wondering in what universe that was considered out of her way and opened it, retrieving a bottle for him. "On your stomach?" She repeated quietly, eyeing him some and looking at her couch. "You should lay down then." She said. Rather than moving all her inks and her kit over to the couch, Leah knelt down and pushed one side of the couch so it swung into the space that was supposed to be her kitchen. Going behind it, she used her hips to push it forward just enough to make it easier for her to reach her things. Leah looked over the couch, nodded a bit as if confirming something and looked up at him, gesturing to it and licking her lips. After a second, she disappearing into the other only door in the apartment and returned with her pillow from her bed in her hands. Looking up from it, she stared at him a moment before hesitantly laying her pillow on the couch for him where his head would go. As he introduced himself, Leah looked up again and blinked. It took a minute for her words to form into sentences and make it out of her lips and this was a good thing because her first response to "in case you were wondering" was "I wasn't" plains and simple. It was true, she hadn't been curious as to what his name was only because it didn't register to her that she didn't know it. Such was the workings of Leah's mind. Licking her lips, Leah nodded a bit. " Leah." She said simply, leaning to look at the tattoo quietly, racking her brain for something more to say since he clearly wanted to talk. "Are you well?" she settled for, her brow furrowing, sure she somehow screwed that up.

blanket forts @ caution

[derek francisco everton]

no, just any beer is good. thankyou. as she rearranged the couch to make sure it was closer to her set up, and more comfortable for him to lay on, he took a long look around the small apartment. he was sure his brother would have made some mocking joke about not even having a television or game console. his eyes trained back on the petite girl, no she wasn't short, but she was certainly rather thin. probably thin enough to cause some sort of worry, if people truly took that much notice. but he didn't know her, and making a comment about her health didn't seem like such an appropriate topic to cover.

pretty name. he murmured. he took a seat on the couch, and drew his legs up onto it, leaning back some as she propped the pillow up for him. thankyou for this by the way he motioned to the pillow, and looked back towards her. he hadn't expected her to go and get him a pillow, he was used to tattoo shops, the recliner chairs that weren't exactly the most comfortable thing. he was used to being uncomfortable. im well, yes. he nodded, glancing around the room, before he slid his phone out of his pocked and unlocked it. and you, i take it you're well? he asked, with a crooked smile, while his hand once more slid its way through his hair.

[LEAH ANNETTE BRINLEY]

[atrb=style,width: 300px; height: 450px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/W9lrtpj.jpg?1); border-left: 25px solid #000000; border-right: 25px solid #000000; text-align: center; padding: 25px;][atrb=border,0,true] * i long for that feeling to not feel at all - - - - - - - *       Leah collected the beer from the fridge, popped the top off it and handed it to him. She'd gotten her own but probably wouldn't touch it till everything was said and done. "You're welcome." Leah murmured quietly, pushing some of her short blonde hair behind her ear and pulling the chair she'd originally set out for him to her and settling into it. Taking her index finger, Leah examined the work that had been done and traced the tattoo briefly. "Are you ticklish?" She asked, looking up at him again before gathering her gun and the appropriate ink to begin. She didn't want her reputation ruined because he decided to move. When he complimented her name, her eyes flicked up to him briefly and she nodded. "I didn't choose it." she said simply, licking her lip and biting it. "But thank you.. I think." She said quietly, swallowing hard and furrowing her brow in a mixture of social confusion and concentration as she worked. Again he thanked her and again she nodded. It only made sense to her to make him comfortable. If he was uncomfortable, he would shift to get comfy and possibly mess her up. "You're welcome." She replied almost mechanically as she worked carefully with a steady hand. There were people she couldn't work on, people whose presence affected her and left her hands shacking and sent her right on her way to a panic attack but this stranger was not one of them. Strangers were the problem. People who could hurt her heart were. "I am not unwell." Leah replied, glancing up to catch that crooked smile, pausing for a brief moment to sit back and wipe some of the blood away quietly.

blanket forts @ caution

[derek francisco everton]

i'm not, no. don't think i'd have so much ink if i was ticklish. things grew quiet from there for him. he figured the girl wasn't going to be much of a talker, while he was used to having some interesting, and intense conversations with his artists, she wasn't much like the rest of them. there seemed to be something almost always on her mind. her eyes were deep, and dark. she didn't seem to be all there in the room with him, he was sure she probably had a million other things that she wanted to do than sit there and tattoo a stranger on that day. it was warm, and sunny outside, the breeze was gorgeous and the beach on a day like this was heaven.

a small chuckle escaped his lips as a text flashed up on his screen from his brother, and he fell silent as he typed out a reply, and set his phone back on his chest. watching her work, his eyes following the gun as she filled in his tattoo. have you been doing this long? he asked, although he'd made sure she'd had more than enough practice and training before he let her work on him - all of the artists he worked with were well known, and had worked on some of the most famous people in the world. his career in music had given him the opportunity to see the world, and experience so many different cultures. it had left such an impact on him, that the only thing he knew he could do to express himself was through the ink on his skin.

[LEAH ANNETTE BRINLEY]

[atrb=style,width: 300px; height: 450px; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/W9lrtpj.jpg?1); border-left: 25px solid #000000; border-right: 25px solid #000000; text-align: center; padding: 25px;][atrb=border,0,true] * i long for that feeling to not feel at all - - - - - - - *       Again, Leah nodded, confirming that she heard Derek but making little effort in the conversation. Oh, if only he could see into her head and realize that she was responding to everything several times over. Leah was having conversations in her head, directing them, answering them but she was forgetting to have them outside as well. She did that a lot. After having spent so much of her life being taught to watch what she said, she forgot to remember to speak a lot of the time. Now that she was an adult, people didn't really tell her what she could and could not do like they use to. <b> "Some people would suffer the torture for the artwork."</b> She murmured quietly, dabbing at his stomach gently and letting her eyes wander over the other markings on his body before going back to work. <p> When he chuckled, she lifted the gun, waiting for his stomach to settle before returning to her work. She didn't look up to figure out why he was chuckling and the crease in her brow stayed there. <b> "You are laughing at me?"</b> She asked quietly, wondering what she had done now that was such a social faux pas to cause him to laugh at her. Leah could get flustered easily and what she needed now was to avoid that. Pausing, she popped the top on her beer and took a sip. If he was worried about her getting even buzzed on the weak beverage, she might just open his fridge up and show him what it was filled with. Leah's blood was made of alcohol. The woman couldn't remember the last time she's succeeded in getting drunk. <p> <b> "Nearly ten years."</b> She murmured quietly as she worked. <b> "My brother Forrest taught me how when I was fifteen."</b> Leah told him quietly, proud enough of this fact to share it without prodding.

blanket forts @ caution