InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i see stars! lots of them!"

Chris Morgan (sensing) wrote in haunted_roads,
@ 2008-02-16 17:50:00

Current mood:	okay
Entry tags:	chris, roxy

Week Two: Monday
Who: Chris and Roxy
Where: Crimson Needle Tattoos
When: early evening

It had taken Chris a while to summon up the nerve to actually walk into the tattoo parlor. It was nothing like the little shop in Cypremort where he'd gotten his first and only tattoo done; that shop had been an afterthought tacked onto the end of an anonymous strip mall, and the only service offered there had been ink. No piercings, no modifications, no bizarre jewelry, no bright colors, no loud music. He'd been reasonably comfortable there, and he had tolerated the small tattoo on the inside of his wrist fairly well. It had been an impulse, something he'd done just after Amity had left for the University of Washington.

He wasn't positive why he'd decided to visit the Crimson Needle, beyond the fact that he was killing time before he had to make his way to work for his 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift. There were plenty of bars around this neighborhood, but as a general rule, Chris disliked bars. He'd very rarely ever drank, and they were usually noisy and filled with boisterous people with lowered inhibitions. Not good when you didn't like for random strangers to touch you. He found it to be simpler to buy a six-pack of beer at the grocery and take it home on those occasions when he wanted something alcoholic. At any rate, he'd eaten dinner and now he was at loose ends. He didn't have enough time to go back to Old Town Towers, he didn't have his sketchpad with him and he couldn't see just sitting down and doing nothing until he was due at the hospital.

So here he was, pale and skittish with both hands tucked into the pockets of his cargo pants, hanging around the edges of the shop, cautiously looking at some of the tattoo art that hung on one wall. This place made him feel awkward with its red and black decor, the pulsing music from the sound system and the bright lights. He felt like an alien in here, particularly as his attention was caught by a tall man with an inordinate number of metal piercings in his face and ears. Chris frowned as he tried to figure out why the guy's earlobes looked so strange, and he finally realized that there were big holes in them, holes big enough to pass a candy cane through. He blinked and his cheeks colored as his scrutiny was noticed, and he quickly turned his head away. What would happen if that man ever had to go through the metal detector at the airport? he wondered.

If he ever did get another tattoo, he'd sketch it out himself, but looking at the pictures that had already been sketched gave him something to do besides just stand around and look out of place. He guessed he could wander over to the display case of body jewelry... Maybe he'd do that in a minute. Chris turned his head to one side, glancing out from beneath his lashes to see if anyone seemed to be watching him. Nothing, and he repeated the motion to look to the other side. The scary man with the holes in his lobes was on the other side of the shop, and the other three customers didn't seem to be paying him any attention.

One hand emerged from his pocket to push dark hair out of his eyes, and once he'd done that, Chris began walking along the wall toward one of the display cases, the hand finding its way back into his pocket as he went. It was a mannerism that he did not even think about, something that had become a habit years ago. The fewer things he touched, the better. It didn't occur to him that he looked as if he could possibly be hiding something in those pockets when he did that. He'd grown up in a small town, and the thought of random violence wasn't one that troubled him that much.

He stopped at the far end of the display case, his head canted to one side as he tried to figure out exactly what he was looking at. Earrings, nose rings, belly button rings? He had no idea, and he blinked down at the jewelry, one corner of his lower lip held thoughtfully between his teeth.

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pain_is_art
2008-02-17 07:29 am UTC (link)

Roxy had been stuck on the phone when Chris came in. It was frustrating as all hell to be in the middle of re-explaining to some sorority bimbo just how the shop's pricing system worked. Apparently the fact that it involved more than one thing to consider before a final tag was attached to a piece was just too much for her little brain to consider. "I'll tell you what, sweetie, just come in here and I'll explain it all in person with whatever tattoo you want. Ok, ok, bye bye." She leaned over to hang up before their conversation blathered on any further, sliding around her desk to head over to where Chris was stuck perusing the shop's cases without a greeting.

"Hey sug," she popped up out of nowhere it seemed, all purple-ish hair and turquoise dimples, the lime green of her square-framed glasses standing out against her skin, "welcome to the Needle." Roxy was bubbly enough that most people tended to like her off the bat, in spite of her crazy appearance. She was colorful and that randomness of her tattoos tended to make people laugh, so that was enough for her. "Anything I can help you with or just scoping things out?" she wasn't suspicious despite what others might think of as odd behavior. There wasn't really much to snatch out in the shop anyway, but he seemed more shy than...thefty.

Arms folded, she leaned forward to rest against the case that he'd been looking in. It was a veritable buffet of body jewelry, something for nearly ever piercing you could think of. Roxy had several herself, though Stump (her second in command) definitely had more. He could be intimidating if people weren't prepared for him, but the guy was really a puppy dog beneath all that metal.

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sensing
2008-02-18 07:44 pm UTC (link)

Chris had gotten lost in his pondering, which was fairly easy for him to do. Most of the time he lived in his own head, feeling more comfortable there than in the outside world. He'd never seen so many different types of jewelry, and some of the pieces he could figure out without much trouble, but some of them he had no clue what part of the body they might be worn on. Violette had had one piercing in each ear, and she'd been prone to wear either tiny pearls or the small purple stones he'd bought for her at the beginning of the previous summer. His fists clenched in his pockets as he tried to push the thoughts of her away. She'd made her choice very clear, after all, so there was no point.

His head jerked up when he was greeted by a breezy, irreverent voice, and his eyes widened when he saw her. Chris blinked, as if to make sure that he was seeing what he thought he was. Wow. "I was, um--. J-j-just looking," he stammered. Terrific. His occasional stutter was making its grand appearance. He closed his mouth and breathed in through his nose, his gaze skittering from her to the jewelry and then back again. He'd never seen anyone quite like her up close. She was scary in a different way than the guy he'd been looking at a few minutes ago: colorful, heavily pierced and tattooed and supremely confident. He could never imagine being that confident in himself.

When she leaned against the case, he sidled a step farther away, his shoulders held stiffly as he locked his eyes onto the multicolored jewelry again. He hated this, kept hoping that one day he'd catch on to the knack of talking to people without seeming as if he had a metal rod jammed firmly up his ass. So far, though, it hadn't worked out that way for him.

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pain_is_art
2008-02-18 07:58 pm UTC (link)

Roxy definitely wasn't a person easily missed. Between the vivid physical appearance and the often over-the-top nature of her personality, she tended to make a lasting impression. Of course all of this also meant that she was used to a reaction like the one Chris gave when his eyes raised to take her in. Hell, his was nothing compared to some people's. It tended to be her tongue that really got them - not many people were comfortable when they noticed it was split. Oh well, that was their baggage and it was her goddamn tongue.

"That's alright, 'swhy we keep 'em in the glass, so you can look." She was unaffected by both his nervous nature and his initial reaction and it showed in the warm smile she flashed, dimples popping into view.

The shop tended to be a frequent place for people to just come in and take a look around, unsure as to what exactly they were seeing most of the time. Some of them were actively seeking something, others just wanted to see what all the hype surrounding the whole tattoo/piercing world was.

"Just figured I'd come check on ya, see if I could offer any assistance." To show him she wasn't especially terrifying, she offered a hand over the counter, "I'm Roxy, by the way, shop owner." Surely that might eliminate some of the stigma, some of his fear. She knew how to diffuse the nervousness that came with meeting someone like her for the first time. Besides, he seemed like a nice enough kid - his vibes seemed good.

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sensing
2008-02-20 09:41 pm UTC (link)

Chris had just noticed her tongue, and he wasn't sure if he was more curious or horrified. He couldn't figure out why anyone would do that, and he could only imagine that it had hurt terribly. He blinked rapidly, his throat locking up as he tried to contain his impulse to bolt. Because that'd be mature.

When she smiled and made her comment about why they kept the jewelry in glass, Chris dropped his gaze to it again. There was nothing plain here, nothing simple at all unless you counted the little silver and gold balls in one corner, undoubtedly meant for pierced earlobes. He couldn't really break the awkward silence on his end by saying he wanted to buy something, since he didn't have any close friends here and his aunt, as far as he knew, didn't have anything pierced. The seconds ticked by, and he only got more nervous.

Chris glanced up when Roxy introduced herself and held out her hand. He stared at it, his blue eyes wide, not sure what he should do. He didn't like touching people, hated gathering random impressions from them... though he usually did not unless it was from a piece of jewelry they wore. His gift (or curse, if one wanted to view it that way) came from touching things, not people's skin. It had always been that way, and he couldn't see it suddenly changing.

After a too-long hesitation, he finally nerved himself up to reach for her hand in return once he saw that, despite the amount of piercings and tattoos she had, her fingers were bare. It was a quick touch on his end; he pulled away as soon as was possible and still remain moderately polite. "Hi," he said once he'd reclaimed his hand.

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pain_is_art
2008-02-21 02:24 am UTC (link)

Her tongue was what got the most questions, if Roxy had to pick a specific modification. There tended to be lots of 'why would you do that?' or 'what's the point of that?' She hadn't done it for anyone but herself, so those who seem disturbed by it would just have to get over it. There was no changing it anyway, what's done was done.

"I'm not going to bite you doll," she assured Chris once he reached out to shake her hand, darting away just as quickly as he could. Poor kid was like a scared little mouse, just waiting to get snatched up. "Well, not unless you're into that sort of thing and something tells me you aren't." She winked, to let him know she was teasing otherwise he might get the wrong idea and run screaming from the shop.

"So what did bring ya in here, sug?" she folded her arms against the glass case and leaned against it all casual like, making sure to keep the warmest of smiles on her lips at all times - this one was an easy spook. Surely something had drawn him in here, so what the hell was it? Roxy sure couldn't figure it out.

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sensing
2008-02-23 03:19 am UTC (link)

Chris was from a very small town, and his reactions to things like Roxy's tongue and actually, the overall ambiance of her shop made that fairly apparent. At least she didn't seem angry that he was staring while trying not to. He could picture somebody like the guy with the huge holes in his ears knocking him across the room for that.

Her comments about not biting him coaxed a deeper blush into his cheeks, and he mentally berated himself yet again for being the way he was. Inward-directed, skittish, awkward. He wondered if he'd be the same if he hadn't been born psychometric. It didn't matter, he supposed, because there was no way for him to know, just like there was no point regretting the past or counting up past losses to brood over.

Not that that necessarily stopped him from doing it.

"I w-was walking by, and--." Slow down. That usually helps the stammer thing. "--I had some time to kill before work." When he took the time to speak more slowly, his voice dropped into its lower register, the honeyed drawl of south Louisiana evident in his voice. He'd been here six months and he still had it. Probably always would.

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pain_is_art
2008-02-23 04:03 am UTC (link)

For some reason Chris' personality type tended to wander into her shop a lot more often than most people would think. Usually they were just curious, stopping in to see what all the talk was about. Sometimes they just wanted to catch a glimpse of Roxy or Stump in all their pierced and colorfully tattooed glory. Whatever their motivations for coming in were, Roxy was never offended.

"S'ok," she assured him, standing upright to give him a bit more space. Hopefully he'd feel more comfortable if she wasn't all up in his face leaning against the glass, "I don't mind you wandering around, just thought I'd better come make sure there was nothin' in here you needed help with."

The little trace of his accent didn't go completely unnoticed by the colorful vision before him. She caught the tail end of the slightly softened notes, tried to place where he might be from and failed miserably. "Where you from anyway, doll? Doesn't sound like a local accent you're sportin." She wasn't being nosy or anything, just genuinely curious about where it was that voice had come from.

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sensing
2008-02-24 11:39 pm UTC (link)

Chris had been in Seattle for six months, but he'd never heard of the Crimson Needle before. He had a tendency to lose track of where he was and wander into areas he hadn't yet visited, but that wasn't what he'd done this time. He'd simply been taking a circuitous route to work, killing time, and the place had looked interesting.

"I was just lookin'," he said again, though this time he managed not to stutter. Probably her slight move away from him helped with that. You are just a genius, the derisive little voice in his head told him. He'd said that already, and he had the feeling he was sounding like a robot, stiff and almost completely without animation. He lifted his lips in what would hopefully pass for a smile.

His accent almost never went unnoticed here in the extreme Northwest. It wasn't syrupy or thick enough to be a caricature, but it was definitely there. "Louisiana," Chris told her. He didn't mention the name of his town, because nobody had ever heard of it anyway. "I've lived here 'bout six months."

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pain_is_art
2008-02-25 11:54 pm UTC (link)

"There's a lot to look at in here," she assured him with a wink. There was no need to worry about being uneasy around her, Roxy was used to it. He seemed like a good kid, she could deal.

Backing off seemed to give him room to breathe. At least the kid looked like he wasn't absolutely terrified that she might bite his head off at any second. And he was talking! So that was always a good sign. Roxy's intent wasn't to scare the crap outta the kid, so this was progress.

"Louisiana, huh? Not bad. Never been there myself but I have a few friends who love the place." It was definitely on her list of places to check out, but work and...other things had eaten up much of her time in recent years. "I'm a Cali girl myself."

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sensing
2008-02-26 06:09 am UTC (link)

She was right about that, Chris thought. He could probably browse the glass cases and the sketches on the walls for two hours, at least, before he'd looked at everything. It was a fairly big shop, too.

Chris was definitely feeling a bit less twitchy, and it showed, though he still had his hands in his pockets, where he'd put them again after he'd shaken hands with her. He still found her tongue, especially, very strange to look at, so he was trying to focus elsewhere. On her eyes, which were really very pretty, or on one side of her face. It was a trick he often employed with people who made him nervous for whatever the reason. She was certainly nice enough, so it wasn't that.

"I've never been to California," he managed to say, miraculously without stammering. Maybe he'd go one day. The thought of a vacation didn't really compute; he was more occupied with living day by day, step by step. One thing at a time. He shifted his weight, figuring he should be going soon, since he had to get the rest of the way to the hospital in time to clock in.

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pain_is_art
2008-02-26 05:22 pm UTC (link)

Roxy had tried to ensure that there was plenty to look at inside the Needle. It tended to help when you had people waiting to get their work done or friends accompanying someone that needed to pass the time. In addition to the jewelry filled cases and the sketches that lined the walls, a set of artist portfolios were stacked off to one side and the table near the seating area was lined with the latest issues of Tattoo magazine.

Beneath all the 'flare' Roxy didn't consider herself half-bad looking, though all the work she'd done (in her opinion) enhanced any natural features. She rather liked her off-color appearance, but she was glad that Chris finally seemed a bit less unsettled by her. Scaring the shit out of people definitely wasn't her intention.

"Cali's a great place if you like the sun and the surf....or health food," she laughed, "otherwise it's pretty much like anywhere else." Chances were she'd never go home anyway - too many bad memories and connections that didn't need to be re-established - besides, she rather liked Seattle. It was a great town and hell, she was making pretty good money with the shop.

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sensing
2008-03-01 04:24 am UTC (link)

Chris wasn't sure if he'd visit here again, but it had been interesting to see. Definitely different from his usual days and nights: sleep, eat, maybe do errands, work, try to avoid the most asshole-ish of his co-workers who seemed to have it in for him. Go home and then repeat it all over again.

Chris still felt a bit shy talking to her, as he generally was around the majority of people, but he'd calmed down. Could actually pass for normal, if one didn't have a problem with a guy who kept his hands in his pockets 99 percent of the time. He smiled when Roxy laughed and made her comment about sun, surf and health food. "I burn," he said softly, with the merest lift of a shoulder that could be interpreted as a shrug, "and I don't swim real well."

He took one hand from his pocket and shoved up his sleeve to glance at his watch, hoping she wouldn't interpret the move as boredom. It was simply that he had no clue what time it was, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself by being late to work. "I g-gotta get goin'," he said. "Have to start work soon." He knew she wouldn't really need to know that, but it seemed rude to just turn and walk off.

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pain_is_art
2008-03-02 05:59 pm UTC (link)

She was surprisingly used to Chris' type - the shop seemed a magnet for kids looking into the possibilities of such an 'alternative lifestyle,' investigation the choices that awaited them once the law decided they were old enough to select for themselves. They tended to be shy, quiet little things that scampered in to look about, seemingly terrified that she or any of the staff might turn on them at any moment. Roxy was far from the type; as long as they weren't messing with her shop or annoying her clients, she didn't mind their presence.

"Well then I guess Cali shouldn't top your destination list," Rox quipped with a smile. She tried to keep things light, friendly. He seemed to be easing up a bit as they talked, though she sensed it was just in his nature to be a bit standoffish for one reason or another. There were a lot of people in this town, she wondered if perhaps there was something about Seattle that attracted them.

She nodded when he mentioned work and not wanting to be late. "Go on and go, sugar, don't want to make you late. Stop by anytime, we're almost always open," she assured him with a wink, moving to answer the phone that had started to ring again. Even if he'd only been stopping in to see what all the fuss was about, it'd been nice to have a little visitor.

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