ANDY'S POV




At the tattoo parlor, Des was anxiously waiting in line behind a big, punk biker. His colorful hair almost touched the ceiling and his piercings shone in the bright light of the parlor. Destiny was bouncing up and down like a little girl waiting to sit on Santa’s lap in the mall.

“Des, you okay?”

“I’m so excited Andy, I can’t believe I’m getting my first tattoo,” she said, and she started squealing and bouncing some more.

“What do you plan on getting?” We stepped forward, noticing that the big punk had moved forward as well. “Today is especially busy,” I thought to myself.

“Maybe a flower, for Acid, her favorites are Tiger Lilies, or maybe something for my grandma who died of breast cancer a couple years ago. I don’t know, I just know I want something that’s important to me.” I smiled at her brightened face and saw that the biker was gone and it was our turn.

“Andy! What can I do for ya, another tattoo?” Sam said from behind the counter. He was the best ‘out-of-state’ tattoo artist I knew and I always came here for another addition to my newly growing sleeve.

I smiled and said “Nah, this one’s for the little lady,” and I pointed to Des, who was beaming ear to ear.

“First tattoo?” He asked.

“Yes sir,” she replied, and pulled out her I.D., knowing you had to be 18 or older to get a tattoo in this state. Sam took the I.D., verified her age, handed it back, and smiled at her, asking her how big of a tattoo she wanted.

“It’s pretty undecided, I mean… Whatever looks good. I guess we’ll know when I get it,” she said. “Andy, can I maybe get a piercing too?”

“Ask Sam, he’s the one hooking you up, I’m here to pay,” I said, and I sat down in the room Sam had led us to, to get the ink done. She looked up at Sam and nervously asked, “Could I get a piercing after this?”

“Sure, sweetheart, where?”

“Snake bites.” I laughed at how confident she was about where she wanted her piercing and I remember my snake bites. I cringed when the needles went through my flesh and then realized that it wasn’t so bad. They hung in my lip for a while when the guy went to go get the actual piercing. I looked to my mom who was taking pictures and laughing at how I looked like a jacked-up walrus and I started laughing with her when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

I was jerked from my flashback when a big, meaty man walked in, covered in tattoos and appeared to not have a single hair on his head. I guess you could say his abundance in tattoos made up for his lack of hair. Some of his tattoos looked familiar, but I took a wild guess that they were just generic. I almost didn’t recognize him until-

“Andy, my man.” His deep voice hit me like a freight train and I instantly knew it was my favorite tattoo artist, Hercules. They called him Hercules because he was one of the strongest men out there, and he was tougher than over-cooked steak. His “job” was wrestling, like WWE and that sort of stuff, but this was one of his favorite hobbies.

I stood up and stuck my hand out, my cheeks almost hurt from smiling so much. I hadn’t seen him since I got my “The Mortician’s Daughter” tattoo. He gladly took my outstretched hand and sat in his chair as I did the same.

“What’s it gonna be Batman? Another tattoo? Piercing? You know I’m good at both.”

“Nah, man, this one is for my-“

“Girlfriend. Hi, my name is Blade,” Des said, sticking her hand out for Herc to take. He shook, and asked her what she wanted.

“A tattoo, on my back, and snake bites. Can we make it happen?”

“You know it. What kind of tattoo do you want?”

Des looked to me and said “Sorry BatmAndy, this one is a surprise. You can see it when it’s done.” She smirked and shooed me out the door. I raised my hands in defeat and told her that while she was getting her tattoo, I was going into town to look at some new buttons and boots to add to my collection. I fluffed my hair, said goodbye to Sam, and walked out, almost being trampled to death by a group of girls who were asking for autographs and pictures.

---

In the lobby of the tattoo parlor, I waited for what seemed like forever after a few hours of shopping and being stalked by crazy fangirls. I tapped my studded boots, played games on my phone, and I even read the magazines on the rectangular coffee table. I finally heard a tattoo gun stop, and I walked into the room where Hercules and Des were. I stopped dead in my tracks and put a hand over my mouth, seeing the artwork that laced Destiny’s back.

In between her shoulder blades was the Black Veil Brides logo, and, connected to the logo, stretching out towards her shoulders were wings, beautiful black wings, with falling feathers and the words “We are the Fallen Angels” underlined the piece of art. Tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered her words, “I want something that’s important to me.”

“Des…Des this…this is beautiful,” I said, the words barely being able to escape my lips.

“I thought you would like it,” She said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. She turned around and smiled, the one that I was just thinking about, and gave me a thumbs up.

Hercules also gave me a thumbs up and said, “She knows all the rules for this tattoo, and I bet you do too, Andy. Here, have some gel, put this on it for the next 3 or 4 days so it doesn’t get infected. I’ll go get the supplies for the snake bites.” He handed me a tube of protective gel and left the room through a curtain, almost disappearing just as quickly as Batman.

He came back with a pair of needles, a lighter, alcohol swabs, different types of jewelry, and a piece of paper for Des to sign. He cleared off his tattoo station and pulled out a new one, placing all of his items on the table.

“Alright Blade, you get all this jewelry, but I need you to pick out a set to go in your piercing today.”

She pointed to a set of silver rings, small enough to fit just over her lip without any space in between. They reminded me of the ones I got when I pierced my lip. Des held out her hand, indicating that she didn’t want to be alone when the piece of metal went through her soft flesh. I took her outstretched hand and she pulled me close, as Hercules began to clean her bottom lip with the alcohol swab.

“Ready?” He held out the needle, which he had sterilized with the lighter, and held it to her lip.

“As I’ll ever be.”

He started to go through her lip with the needle, and the grip on my hand went from scared to almost relieved. She eased up and looked at me through the corner of her eyes. I flashed her a big smile, and she laughed slightly, trying not to fuck up what Herc was doing.

Faster than it started, her piercings were done and her bottom lip was starting to swell and turn blush pink.

“How do they look?” She asked.

Hercules held up a mirror and she smiled. As he droned on and on about what to do to take care of her piercings, my eyes trailed off to her back, which held her new tattoo. I looked more into the details and I saw that the wings had many feathers, each with charred ends and the wings spread all the way to her shoulders, cascading down her arms, stopping just above her elbow. If she held her arms out to make a “T” shape, it would look like she was spreading her inked on wings. The words “We are the Fallen Angels” stood out the most to me, and I read it over and over again, looking at the beautiful cursive that lie beneath the wings. The BVB logo was black with lighter outlining and I stared at it, remembering how far BVB had gotten as musicians.

We started out as amateurs, playing small gigs here and there at bars and talent shows. Then, as more people knew our name, we signed on with StandBy Records, and produced our first EP, “Sex & Hollywood”. We got bigger gigs, with at least 200, even 300 people coming to see us play.

Then, we wanted to go further. With Sandra as our drummer, we produced our first official CD “We Stitch These Wounds”. By then, over half of America knew who we were, as well as many other countries. We started playing concerts, real concerts. We traveled in a van, big enough for about seven people. After shows we would meet with the fans and they would tell us how Black Veil Brides had helped them through their life problems, or even saved their life. Who knew? Writing songs and singing your heart out can result in amazing things.

As BVB got even bigger, we bought a tour bus for us to travel in. It holds all of our equipment, and it’s nice and roomy on the inside. Sandra decided to leave the band, having a better opportunity come along for her. We recruited CC, our most energetic drummer. We then produced our newest, and so far, biggest album, “Set The World On Fire”. We can go out in public and at least three or four people will recognize us. Here at Warped, we were well known, and of course, there will be haters, but, hey, that’s show-biz.

“Andy!” Des snapped. I was pulled from my day dream and realized that Des had asked me a question.

“I’m sorry, you said something?” I rubbed my head to emphasize that I was completely out of it.

“I asked you how they look,” she said, tilting her head to the side.

“They’re perfect.”

With our new merch girls, “Blade” and Acid, I knew this band would be making more money than ever. Which means, when the time comes, another album. And maybe a bigger bus.

I paid Hercules for the tattoo and piercing, a total of $45, which was a really good deal, seeing as how Destiny’s tattoo was huge. I was impressed that she got such a big tattoo for her very first one.

We walked outside to see Ashley’s motorcycle pulling up in a parking space right outside the door. He took his helmet off, resulting in messy helmet hair, and he stared at us.

“I was about to send out a search party, I’ve been calling both of you all night,” he said, sitting his bike up on its stand.

“Des got a BVB tattoo,” I blurted out, not even thinking about what I was saying. I guess I was still shocked that she would get our band permanently inked onto her back.

“Oh, dude, no way!” Ashley exclaimed, running over to see the artwork on her back. She turned around and lifted her shirt, exposing the fresh ink. He marveled at it for a minute while I checked my phone and saw that I had missed calls from everyone. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised to see if the President of the United States had called me.

“Well, come on dude, let’s show everyone this badass tattoo!” Ashley got on his bike and rode off with a loud roar of his engine.

“Andy? You okay?” I heard Des ask.

“Yeah…yeah, I’m cool, I was just thinking.” I smiled at her to convince her and she smiled back. I unlocked the car and I opened the door for her as she slid in, closing the door behind her. I got in the driver’s seat and started the car, placing my hands on the steering wheel. I didn’t move, my eyes stayed centered on the Mustang emblem on the middle of the wheel and Des waved a hand at me.

“You sure you’re okay BatmAndy? What are you thinking about?”

“Us.”

The word was short and clear and I looked at Destiny, who smiled and eased her back onto the car seat. I smiled to myself and put the Mustang in reverse, thinking about only one thing.

“What’s it gonna be Batman? Another tattoo? Piercing? You know I’m good at both.”

“Nah, man, this one is for my-“

“Girlfriend. Hi, my name is Blade.”

Notes

Hey there Pinjas(: Here's a nice long one for you. It would have been up sooner but my WiFi was down, because we're poor and couldn't pay the bill. Anyways, hope you like it! And yes, I thought of this tattoo design myself, and I want to get it inked on me one day. For now, I'll stay with my tiny breast cancer ribbon on my left wrist (the one I cut on) for my great grandma who battled and lost to breast cancer. RIP Grandma Mae. I miss you.

Love you guys! Thanks for staying tuned.

~Forever love,
Andy'sPanda38