(open) next time you come around I may not be here

[jon]

The air was warm and close as Jon walked with sneakers scuffing down the sidewalk, hands tucked into his pockets. The big man was head-bobbing to a tune that had grown worn and familiar to his ears. His fingertips tapped at his hips, following a beat, and his lips opened now and then with the occasionally mouthed lyric.

His body was gloriously sore, his muscles giving the creaks and complaints that were common after a workout. He's showered off the sweat that had formed and now felt purged and awake.

The shop he stopped in front of was decked in flamboyant colors. Pictures in the windows showed tribal designs and roses and rich tattoos on muscular arms and the small of women's backs. Jon had jogged by it the last two mornings and the thought continued to nag at the back of his mind. He had a couple tattoos from the older days that didn't suit him at all. He'd been considering having them blacked out. Anything that involved needles in the past was an activity he tended to skirt around, though, so the ink had gone untouched.

It had been a long time, though.

Jon's brows furrowed as he looked into the glass, eying his own reflection.

[LORELAI GRACE ANDREWS]

The city air was sweltering, but Lorelai found that she didn’t mind. She’d never been to Florida before- her family had once planned a trip down to Disney World, but Billy had come down with the flu the day before so they decided not to go. But part of her was thankful for that, because more than anything, she liked discovering new places on her own. Well, most new places. On occasion, the band would play a show in a location that she’d discussed visiting with Elliot, though she tried to ignore that. They had never really talked about Florida, though. Once, he said he’d been there and got stung by a jellyfish and refused to go back, and she’d made a mental note to just avoid going into the ocean (but she didn’t like deep water, anyways). So Florida was nice.

They had some down time, and while the rest of the band was out doing their own thing, she decided to go out on her own and find some thrift stores. She always loved looking around to see what kind of things she could find, especially since they always seemed to differ depending on what area of the country she was in. So she’d looked up some local ones and set off for a nice, calm afternoon (that would probably result in her returning with a ridiculous amount of cheap jewelry, as always- and maybe a couple of dresses). Honestly, she wasn’t that materialistic of a girl, but she had the money and thrift stores were always cheap. It wasn’t like she could resist or anything.

Playing awkwardly with the hem of her dress with her right hand, her left clutching her wallet, she walked absentmindedly down the sidewalk, gaze darting from side to side, trying to take in as much of the environment as she could manage. Her attention was drawn to a rather elaborate storefront, which she soon recognized as a tattoo parlor. She paused, taking in the artwork, before she glanced down and noticed a familiar face.

She liked familiar faces.

And she liked Jon, too. He was a really nice guy and a good friend, not to mention a really talented musician. A smile playing along her lips and a skip to her step, Lorelai closed the distance between them and greeted him with a gentle jab in the side with her elbow. “Thinkin’ of getting some sort of fancy tattoo?” she began, beaming up at him, “You could get something manly, like an anchor on your upper arm or something. I don’t know. Is that manly? I hear that guys do that and then when they flex their muscle, it moves. I’ve never seen anyone do that, though, so maybe I just heard wrong. That’s always a possibility. I hear things wrong a lot.” She paused, turning to face forward again, looking inside the glass window.

“Or you could get a flower, y’know.” A light, playful grin. “I’m sure that’s super manly, right? Right.”

[jon]

Jon's thoughts were interrupted by a gentle nudge to his ribs and a soft, friendly voice he'd grown familiar with. "Thinkin’ of getting some sort of fancy tattoo?" Jon's eyes dropped from the window to the face of the woman at his side. Lorelai. A slow smile broke across his lips. Lorelai was the banjo player for Attic Ghosts, the resident folk-band on tour. Jon had a soft spot for banjos in general, and he liked Lori a good deal as well. There were a lot of bad attitudes on tour and she was one of the people who just seemed to negate it.

“You could get something manly, like an anchor on your upper arm or something. I don’t know. Is that manly? I hear that guys do that and then when they flex their muscle, it moves. I’ve never seen anyone do that, though, so maybe I just heard wrong. That’s always a possibility. I hear things wrong a lot.” The girl could go for a while once she started talking. It was charming. Jon waited for her to run out of breath, tucking his thumbs into the loops of his jeans.

“Or you could get a flower, y’know.” She finished. “I’m sure that’s super manly, right? Right.”

Jon nodded, squinting a bit in the sunlight. He turned his eyes back onto the tat-shop window. "Yeah maybe. I'm actually thinking about getting a couple old ones covered. What brings you out on this fine Florida day?"

The prospect of an anchor was actually one he'd already been considering. His concerns, in the immediately future, was to try to cover the nude figure of a woman that had been inked onto his bicep when he was seventeen. It was cliched and embarrassing. On days when the temperature breached 95 degrees he would have liked to have been able to shuck his shirt while he was drumming. He didn't like his band-mates or fans seeing the tattoo, though.

[LORELAI GRACE ANDREWS]

As he spoke, Lorelai took it upon herself to wrap both of her arms around one of his, casually. She was comfortable enough around him to do so; actually, she did this to anyone she was comfortable around. She liked hugs and she liked cuddling but she mostly just liked being close to people- she had always been a very affectionate person. She didn’t think he minded, though. Or, rather, she hoped that he didn’t. But she didn’t see why he would.

”Yeah maybe. I’m actually thinking about getting a couple old ones covered. What brings you out on this fine Florida day?”

“Oh? You’ve got some tattoos, already? I didn’t know that. How scandalous.” She mock-gasped, poking his arm gently, then added, “I’ve always sort of wanted a tattoo. Nothing big. Just a small little Pacman thing on my arm. A friend I used to have, he and I used to talk about doing that. Like, one of us getting Pacman with the little dots and then the other getting the little dots with those ghosts after, so when we put our arms together, well… Yeah. It sounds a little silly, and… We both can’t really do that now, but… Maybe I’ll do it. I don’t know. I think it really hurts, though, and I’m not too good with pain.”

The corners of her lips quipped downward in thought, looking into the shop yet again. “But anyways. I was just seeing if I could find a thrift store or two, nothing big.” She fell silent for a few moments, before turning her head to rub her forehead against his shirt sleeve at random, effectively stopping an oncoming itch. She proceeded to pull back, then, her arms hanging limp at her sides. Lorelai then began to toy with the hem of her dress- as usual- and she piped up yet again. “How are you doing?”

[jon]

The woman wrapped herself lazily around him as the conversation continued. Jon didn't exactly respond. He liked a little more control when it came to contact, especially with woman. Jon wasn't much a snuggler with anyone except a few close lady friends, or kids, because kids didn't really know better than to lean all over you. It just made Jon uncomfortable. Lori was sweet, though. It was almost possible to consider the banjo-player a child herself.

She went on to describe a tattoo she had in mind; pacman themed, two parter. The idea put a trace of a smile on the man's face. It wasn't something he ever would have considered for his arm, but for some reason it didn't seem out of place for a girl like the one currently hanging off of him.

"I'm sure your fans would be all over a pacman tattoo."

She rubbed her head on his arm, satisfying an itch, and then released him. Jon rubbed an open palm over the back of his neck. "Oh I'm doing alright. Getting kind of pumped for the next leg of the tour. Florida's nice, but I'm kind of up for moving on. --And yes, I've got a couple tattoos. Nothing you show to a lady, though."

[LORELAI GRACE ANDREWS]

Lorelai scrunched her nose playfully at his suggestion that her fans would love to see her get a Pacman tattoo. In all honesty, she still found it so weird to think that she had fans- it was a strange concept. Probably because she grew up with just Elliot and a few friends by her side. She had no problem grasping the concept that the band in general had fans, and that her fellow band mates had fans, but as far as her personal following went? A small part of her was aware that there was one, but it was hard to comprehend. She wasn’t anything special. Actually, she wasn’t much of anything at all- she could play music well, sure, but she was pretty sure she didn’t have any other redeeming qualities, really. At least she didn’t think so. No, she probably didn’t really have enough fans for a tattoo to impact anything. So in response, she merely shrugged slightly and with a gentle grin, said, “I don’t really have fans, but… Everyone likes Pacman, right?” She paused, then added, “I think it would hurt too much, anyways. So I probably would never get one.”

Her attention returned to him as he spoke, shrugging a shoulder somewhat. "I'm just excited to be on the tour. I like Florida, but I'm also really psyched to see all of the other places we're going. Traveling is fun. Exploring new places is fun. So I don't mind how much time it takes to go from one place to another. That's just me, though." Lorelai cocked an eyebrow, then, the corners of her lips quipping upwards, taking the form of a teasing smirk. "Nothing to show a lady? That piques my interest, Mr. Clark- but at the same time, I'm not too sure that I want to know, so I won't ask." Absentmindedly, she reached up to scratch the side of her nose.

[jon]

"Nothing to show a lady?" His companion brightened, if growing any brighter were possible for a girl like Lore. "That piques my interest, Mr. Clark- but at the same time, I'm not too sure that I want to know, so I won't ask."

"Probably for the best," Jon nodded. His eyes finally left the shop window. "I'm thinking of getting a mermaid." The man nodded, as if that settled it. "Coming in with me?"

He was decided on the matter. Mermaid or not at all. Jon was usually regarded as decently level-headed individual, but these random acts outside of his character were what kept his temptations towards shadier acts at bay. "We could go back to tour with matching bandages."

[LORELAI GRACE ANDREWS]

Lorelai tilted her head curiously as he decided to get a mermaid. She giggled briefly, grinning. “You came here thinking about getting some tattoos covered up, and instead, you’re getting another one? Well, a mermaid sounds nice. I approve.” She paused, however, at the suggestion that she just jump in and get a tattoo with him. She visibly winced, thinking of how much it would inevitably hurt. She didn’t do well with pain. Not at all, actually- she would probably cry. Or at least have to fight not to do so. But it would be a nice sentiment to Elliot’s memory, on the other hand- she would always look at it and think of him. As though she had any fear of forgetting him, though. Because, hell, she loved him and missed him and she didn’t think that would ever change. It was her fault he was gone, anyways. She owed him a little pain. Actually, she owed him her life, but she’d never be able to bring herself to do something that extreme.

Did that make her a bad person? Maybe she should have summoned up the courage years ago.

But there was no point in dwelling now. She had too many responsibilities. So she took a deep breath and looked up at him, suspecting she looked pretty scared shitless. But Lore straightened up, glancing at the door then right back at Jon. “Okay. But only if you hold my hand when I get mine.” Nodding, somewhat determined, she moved and walked into the tattoo shop, nervously holding her arms over her stomach as she took in the environment. Oh shit.

[jon]

Jon pulled the door open to admit the two of them, stepping back so she could enter before him. Music poured out of the shop; it was some southern rock band; warm, twangy and with husky vocals. There was a banjo-line vaguely audible beneath the guitar rift. The air in that place smelled vaguely of reefer. Jon reconsidered for only a beat before entering the shop with her.

“You came here thinking about getting some tattoos covered up, and instead, you’re getting another one? Well, a mermaid sounds nice. I approve.”

Jon shook his head, taking his eyes off the walls of the interior briefly to look her in the face, and then returning his attention to the designs. "Oh no no. I'm covering an old tattoo with the mermaid."

[LORELAI GRACE ANDREWS]

Lorelai wasn't necessarily sure what tattoo shops were supposed to be like. She wasn't the best at telling whether something was shady or whether she should be able to trust that she'd return back to the tour site with her entire arm in tact. But she was inclined to trust everyone anyways, so it didn't matter. She was mostly just afraid of the pain- she didn't think there was any way around that. She didn't want to cry in front of Jon because, well... She never wanted to cry in front of anybody. It was sort of really embarrassing, and plus, she didn't like people having to deal with her.

She huffed a sigh, pretty obviously nervous, now, and threaded her arms around one of his again so she could be sort of comforted about the whole matter. "That makes sense," she agreed, "A mermaid is nice. Mermaids are nice. That's exciting and stuff, because your fans will love it! I think I'll just get Pacman. Yeah. Small, though. So it doesn't hurt as much."