Bad Girl. by E Z (classic novels to read .TXT) 📕

The drive was silent after that, until Libia noticed that they were no where near her home.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

He glanced at her, a big smile forming on his face. "Tell me, Libia, have you ever thought of getting a tattoo?"

"Wh-what?" She stuttered, tensing.

His smile grew bigger. "We're getting you a tattoo, maybe a piercing..." He listed, not noticing Libia's growing terror.

"D-doesn't it hurt?" She squeaked.

He looked at her again, and his smile softened. "I'll be right there, Libs. Tell you what, we'll get the piercing first, and then if you're up for it, we'll get the tattoo." He suggested.

"And...how's this supposed to help me?" She asked him with wide eyes.

"Libs, it seems to me like you've got more problems then just a messed up date. You can't do much for yourself. You won't even tell anyone about your dance class because you're afraid of what they'd say, right?" He asked her.

"Not true!" Very true. She was terrified of what her brother would think.

"Liar." He grinned at her. "Take a chance, Libia. Be free for a while."

"I-I don't think-"

"Haven't you ever seen a tattoo that you've wanted? That you've dreamed of having?" He asked her, serious now.

Libia closed her mouth. There was one that she had saved on her computer. She knew the design, the placement, everything. She was afraid of what her brother would think. She looked up to her brother like a father, and he had high standards for Libia. He always took care of Libia, and steered her away from reckless stuff like this.

But the tattoo...

"Ah! I see the look! You have got one!" Damon accused.

Libia's cheeks flamed. "There is one...but what if my brother sees it? What if he is ashamed of me?" Libia worried.

Damon looked over at her. "Then he wasn't a good brother in the first place."

Libia bit her lip. She couldn't never think of him as a bad brother, but Damon was right, if he shunned her, what did that say about their relationship?

Libia knew her brother. He'd be angry at her at first...very angry...but he'd accept it, because she was his sister, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"He might forbid me from seeing you again." Libia whispered.

Damon snorted. "Would that stop you?"

Yes. "No." She denied.

"Good. Then it won't stop me either."

Libia gulped.

"Okay, Babe. You ready?" He asked her, grinning from ear to ear.

Libia gulped as she peered out of the windsheild at the tattoo parlor. "I suppose...but what if-"

"No butts! You're going to go in there, and pierce that pretty skin of yours. And possibly decorate it with a tattoo," He added, pulling the door open.

Libia groaned, getting out of the car. She yelped as he grabbed her hand, as she didn't expect him to be there when she got out. He pulled her shaking form into the tattoo parlor.

"Damon I really think I should wait on the tattoo I've heard stories of people going into shock and passing out-" 

"It'll be fine. It'll be a little bit before the design is finished. Your body will be plenty ready to get the tattoo." Damon waved her off.

"I really don't think-"

"Libia, if it makes you feel better, I'll get a tattoo with you." Damon said.

This silenced her. Damon would do that for her?

"Really?" She asked after a few seconds.

He grinned back at her, but before he had time to answer, a woman came bounding out of a room in the back.

Her arms were covered in tattoos, and she had a cigarrette trapped between her fingers. Her hair was colorful, ranging from Blue, to red, to a sunset-orange, but she made it look good somehow. Her vibrant blue eyes brightened immensely when Damon entered.

"Damon, sweetie! I thought I heard your voice!" The woman exclaimed, jumping over the counter and wrapping him up in a bear hug.

He hugged the tall woman back, picking her up and swinging her like she weighed nothing. "Hey Cass. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Libia stood to the side, feeling as if she needed to give them their moment of reunion. It was clear that Damon had affection for the woman.

It surprised her that when he set her down, she smacked him on the head. 

"It's been a month! You don't leave your old Aunt hanging for a month!" She scolded.

Damon only grinned at the woman, and then he looked back at Libia, dragging her closer, and into his side. "Aunt Cassandra, this is my friend Libia." He cupped his hand over his mouth and leaned towards his Aunt, "I'm trying to get her to loosen up. She's as uptight as a newly fastened screw." He whispered loudly.

"Damon!" Libia exclaimed, pulling away from him in embarrassment.

Cassandra only let out a hearty laugh as she turned to Libia. "It's nice to meet you, Libia! You can call me Cass." She took her hand and shook it twice, her smile big and friendly.

Libia immediately took a liking to the woman. She reminded Libia of a more vibrant version of her mother. Always smiling, and always taking everyone in like family.

"Alright, so what'll it be, my boy?" She asked Damon, hopping back over the counter.

Damon pushed Libia up to the counter. "Tattoo design. I'm guessing you'll draw it out while Vinny pierces her?" Damon asked.

Cass nodded. "You got it, Dame. We talking bellybutton, ear, vampire bites, angel bites, rhinestones, tongue studs, nose, eyebrow, nipple-?"

"Whoa, whoa! Bellybutton, Aunt Cass, none of that...other stuff." Damon said, shivering in disgust.

"Alright. Bellybutton. Libia, why don't you tell me about your tattoo?" Cass asked, settling her gaze on a now timid Libia.

"I'd like it to be on the back of my right shoulder. It's a Koi fish. The back drop would be grey, and the fish would be sunset orange, but the tail would be yellow. I'd like it to have lotus flowers surrounding and overlapping one of the fins, if possible. Oh, and I'd like it to be splashing through the water." Libia finished.

Cass was taking down notes like a professional, nodding with every pause in Libia's words. "Alright. You got a picture I can go off of? Or do you want this freehand?" Cass asked her.

"Freehand is fine." Libia confirmed.

She did have a picture, and she knew it by heart. But she wanted to see how Cass could improve on it.

"Alright. Let me get Vinny. He's in the back playin' poker with his buddies. It's been a slow day," Cass chuckled.

When they were alone, Damon asked, "A Koi?"

Libia smiled, turning to him. "I was playing around on the internet once, out of lonely boredom. I came across the meaning of a Koi to the Japanese. A Koi means a lot of things, but one of the meanings stuck out to me. A Koi symbolizes courage. They said, "Humans swim through the ocean of suffering without fear. Like a fish swims through water." I've always dreamed of being brave. Of swimming through that ocean of suffering, if you will, without fear. Basically, what this tattoo would mean to me was that I no longer fear judgment, or am afraid to suffer the consequences. The lotuses are a symbol of rebirth. Basically it means that by gaining courage, I'm reborn into a new person," Libia looked shyly away as she explained, "I'm in no way a Buddha or anything, but the symbolism of it all just kind of...fit." Libia shrugged.

Damon was speechless. He stared at the tiny girl in front of him in awe. She was so beautiful, and deep. He began to wonder why such a beautiful, mature girl wasn't more confident. How could she be so shy?

Before he could say anything, though, Vinny and Cass came out of the back.

"Alright, Libia, Damon. If you'll just follow Vinny to the back, he'll pierce you. I'll draw out the design." Cass waved them off.

***

Libia was laughing like crazy as they ran from the ice cream shop, their plastic bowls piled high. the plastic on Libia's back crackled with each movement, and so did the plastic on Damon's bicep as he kept a hold of her hand, and they flat out ran to the car.

"Come on, he's gaining on us!" Damon laughed.

"Get back here!" The guy boomed, and Libia glanced back for a split second.

He had ice cream covering his head and shoulders, and Libia fell into a fit of laughter once again. They jumped into the Porsche, and the car purred to life. He threw it into drive just as the guy got to the car, and Damon sped off.

"You're crazy!" Libia exclaimed, still laughing.

"You're the one that poured his ice cream on him!" Damon accused.

"He called me a bitch! And anyway, you punched his friend first!"

"How was I to know that the short dude had a bodyguard waiting in the wings?" Damon asked.

Libia took scooped out a large bite of her ice cream. "At least we got rid of Johnson. I thought he'd never stop following us." Libia rolled her eyes.

"Did you see his face when I hit that guy?" Damon chortled.

"Yes! He looked like he'd just been given his death certificate!" Libia giggled, covering her mouth to keep from spitting her ice cream everywhere. 

They fell into silence as Damon parked in an empty lot so he could finish his ice cream. The moon was high, being the only thing you could see over the city lights accept the occasional star that shone bright enough. It was about eight at night, and Libia was still sore from the tattoo.

"This has to be one of the funnest nights I've had in...forever." She whispered, leaning her head back against the seat as she set her now empty bowl of ice cream down.

Damon chuckled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She confirmed.

Damon studied her face as she closed her eyes. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Even when we got the tattoos?" He asked her.

She opened her eyes and peered over at him, tilting her head against the seat. "Yeah. That was one of the funnest parts." She admitted.

He grinned at her.

"So are you ever going to show me what you got?" Libia asked him, giving him a teasing, but curious smile.

His grin turned lop sided. "When I take you home." He reminded her.

She checked her watch, eight O clock. "Ben is going to be furious with me. I haven't called him." She groaned.

"Do you always have to call him when you go out for long periods of time?" He asked her, starting the car.

Libia sighed. "Yes. He worries about me. He wants me to check in on him every once in a while. It doesn't help that I left my phone at home." Libia rolled her eyes.

Damon laughed. "Make sure you put your sweater back on. Your brother just might murder me." He reminded her.

"Oh. Right. Thanks." Libia smiled at him as she pulled her sweater back on over her tank top, careful not to pull the plastic off.

When they pulled up two houses down, Damon got out with her, and they met at the sidewalk. "Let me see it!" She exclaimed impatiently, tugging lightly on his hand.

Chuckling, with a slight nervous edge, he turned so his arm was facing her, and she looked through the plastic in the limited light of the post above. She gasped,