Chapter 11: Two new friends

Stephen P.O.V

After ending my shopping spree I got back home and spent time with my parents we played cards and watched a movie after dinner then hit the bed but I was so excited that I couldn't fall asleep tomorrow would be a big day for me, it was the day I would for the first time of my life do something behind my parent's back. After 2 hours of tossing and turning, I finally was able to sleep 6 hours later the alarm I had set on my phone went off even with little to no sleep time I was wide awake as soon as I opened my eyes.

I had planned to use my online friend and the fact that I just got my license as an excuse to ''sleep at his house'' after a short shower I packed my bag with a change of clothes took my wallet and my keys and then left a note for my parents '' Mom Dad I'm going out today since I got my license I can finally go to the LAN party my online friend is making and I was so excited that I volunteer myself to help him so I will be gone all day. I got my phone with me you can call me if you want to know more I don't know if I will be back for the night Love you guys -xxStephxx-''

With that done I stepped out of the house while making the least amount of noise possible, since I wanted to hit the road as fast as possible I hadn't had time to eat breakfast so I would stop somewhere to get myself something to eat looking on the internet I saw that Sun Diner had a good review and was close to were my friend was living so I choose this restaurant for my breakfast when I got there the place was already crowded ' food must be good ' I thought

Finding a spot to sit at I took the menu from the table and started looking through it I was also looking around me looking at other people's food to know if something was appetizing to me and it did help now I knew what I wanted to eat so put the menu back down on the table 3 minutes later I waitress stop beside me with a smile and a glass of water 

''Hello Sir have you made your choice'' she said putting the water in front of me

''Yes I did, I'll take Chicken N' Waffles with Avocado toast and your breakfast hash burger please'' I said with a smile

'' would you want something to drink?'' she asked me while putting down my order on her little pad

''Hmm I'll take a glass of orange juice please'' I said after thinking for a while

'' I will be back with your order in about 10 to 15 minutes Sir, thanks for your patience'' she said really professionally this girl was good at her job I thought while looking at my phone while waiting for my food. Exactly 15 minutes later the waitress came back with my order wished me a good appetite and then left to take care of other customers

For people looking at me eating with three plates in front of me, it must have looked weird but since I had started training I was eating twice as much as before, who am I kidding I was eating at least thrice as much as before and the weird thing was that I wasn't getting fatter no I was getting more muscular with each day I could see my muscle were starting to show up if I look at my father and compare myself to him ill be the muscular but lean type just like my father, thanks for the good genes Dad I thought bitting into the chicken and waffles

After having eaten more than my fill I paid for my lunch and left a generous tip for the waitress before getting back into my car. Once in the car, I logged myself to Discord opened The 'P' server, and searched for 'P'ink Master profile once I found it I sent a message saying I was on my way and I would be there in 10 without waiting for an answer I put the address he had given me before on the google map app and follow the road it was giving me 

I stumbled upon 'P'ink Master when I was playing Warzone one day and I got invited to their server this was a funny little server with no more than 25 persons but every one of us had a 'P' in our gamer tag, funny to think that even the most random things can make different people bond with each other. My gamer tag was Ace 'P' standing for Ace Pitcher while 'P'ink Master once said to me that his 'P' meant prodigy

13 minutes later I had parked my car on the side of the road and was standing in front of an apartment complex with my phone in my hand comparing the address on my phone with the one in front of me I knew I was at the right place so I strode inside and push the button on the left of the apartment number 19 Holding the button for three seconds before letting go I waited for my friend to 'buzz' me back so I could open the door leading to the apartments

I thought that 'P'ink Master would say something through the intercom but I just heard a buzz indicating that I could now open the door, which I hurriedly did since my friend was living at number 19 and there were only 2 apartments on each floor I realize I had to climb to the tenth floor I was about to take the elevator when I realize I hadn't exercised at all today and that taking the stirs would allow me to burn a little bit of my breakfast 

Climbing the stairs I took a look at my surroundings the place was neat and tidy with no unpleasant smell this place must not be cheap I thought even without seeing the apartment of my friend yet I could guess that this place was probably pretty high-end for an apartment complex. I finally reached the tenth floor and on my left, there was a door with the number 19 on it so I took a step and knocked on the door

5 or so seconds later the door opened I was about to say hi to my friend but then got stunned the person answering the door was clearly not my friend since I knew for sure that he was a man and a girl was now standing in front me she had a wild look with one side of her head shave and the other side her hair was long enough to reach her shoulder she had tattoos pretty much everywhere except her face she was pretty in her own right especially since she was a little shorter than Aria this made her look like a teenage Vikings girl I thought before coughing in my fist to hide the embarrassment I was feeling

''Sorry I think I may have made a mistake '' I said with the intention of turning back and looking at my phone again

'' Haha were you expecting a man to open the door Ace 'P' '' said the girl laughing but since she knew my Gamertag name I must be at the right place I thought 

'' Hehe yeah I didn't know that 'P'ink Master had a pretty girlfriend, I was sure he was a virgin with how much time he spent on gaming hahaha had he told me I wouldn't have been sure that I had knocked on the wrong door'' I said jokingly

'' Hihi thank you for the praise' you know I'm also a gaming girl in fact we game together before you know, anyway come in already I don't bite'' said the girl with a smile and taking a step to the side making space for me to come inside

'' Wait let me guess you are 'P' fairy?'' I said trying to guess who she was 

'' No, try again only two chances left hehe'' she said with a mischievous grin ... Aria and this girl would become best friends if they met each other I thought

'' Oh, I think I know who you are now, you are 'P' Valkyries, right? '' I said while she was closing the door behind me 

'' Ding ding ding congratulations Ace 'P' hahaha but if I may ask what gave me away?'' she asked with a playful smile

''The tattoo on your neck'' I said with a grin

'' hahaha nice observation skill you got there Ace 'P' Now the last question why would you think I was 'P' fairy?'' she asked with curiosity-filled eyes, now I must say I wasn't sure if I should answer this I didn't know why but I felt it was a trap question 

'' Well the first thing that came to my mind was that you were looking like a little Viking fairy if my second guess was wrong I would have said you were 'P' Freyja'' I said feeling like I was sitting on a bed of needles

'' Because I am short right?'' she asked me squinting her eyes

'' Y..yes sorry'' I said feeling bad to have assumed things like this

'' HAHAHA I like you, if you had tried to deny it I would have thought less of you I like honest people, I'm not mad at you I was just messing with you haha you do not need to be this tense Ace 'P' also it was a nice compliment thank you if I wasn't taken already I might have gone after you hehe '' said 'P' Valkyries sticking her tongue out

''P...please don't say things like that I don't want 'P'ink Master to hate me also you can call me Stephen that's my real name'' I said a little flustered by what she had just said

'' Hahaha you really are cute by the way Sean is taking his shower right now so follow me to the kitchen have you eaten already? Oh and my name is Aina'' said Aina while walking toward what I assume was the kitchen since from here I could see anything beside the living room

''Oh yes, I stopped at Sun Dinner before coming here, say are you also a tattoo artist like Sean?'' I asked her since my plans had changed a little bit at first when I talked with Sean I was planning on just getting my forearm tattooed but after looking through the internet I wanted a full sleeve on the side of my throwing arm (my left arm) that would continue on my chest and finish on my right shoulder I also wanted an abstract lotus flower on my right forearm

'' Yes why do you ask do you want to give me the job hahaha'' she said in a joking tone but she was far off from the truth

'' Well yes and no...'' I said not sure how to proceed from here

'' What do you mean?'' she asked now her full attention on me

''Sigh, I know that when I first talked with Sean the plan was just to get my forearm tattooed but something happened recently and it affected me greatly I became bolder and I don't shy away from my desire anymore. When I was looking at what I wanted for a tattoo my eyes kept falling on the full arm sleeve and chest piece that would end on my other shoulder I do not know what style you specialize in but I was thinking about getting an abstract Celtic-styled tattoo since I know Sean told me that abstract tattoo was what he was the best at. A piece like the one I want should take between 15 to 30 hours from what I could read on the internet so if you could also tattoo me at the same time I thought maybe it would be alright of course I'll pay the full price for this, if it's not possible than ill just get an abstract lotus flower on my right arm and leave the big project for another time.'' I said a little out of breath after talking for so long without a pause

''hehehe... HAHAHAHAHA you heard that Sean we finally found our human canvas'' said Aina looking behind me with pure joy before starting to dance on the spot which left me really puzzled why was she reacting that way I thought before I could think more about her reaction a voice came from behind me

'' Ace 'P' you don't know yet but you just gave me another reason to like you HAHAHA '' said Sean who had appeared behind me at some point while I was talking with Aina

'' Can you explain to me what made Aina and you so happy I am a little lost right now, to be honest'' I asked Sean since Aina was still dancing while laughing loudly

'' First of all, I'm glad to finally meet you in real life Ace 'P', let's sit I'll tell you why I and this girl are that excited right now'' said Sean while giving me a hug before leading me to the kitchen table

'' Aina stop jumping around a start making breakfast if you want us to do this we better hurry things up '' said Sean to his wife

'' Right right fuck that let's order something and we'll eat on the fly no time to waste here'' she said before she sat beside us and took her phone probably to order some take-out food

'' Good idea, well now Ace 'P'...'' started saying Sean before I interrupted him

''Stephen call me Stephen'' I said to him with a wry smile

'' That won't do we are friends, I'll call you Steph from now on, so let me explain why we are this excited now Steph, Aina and I have been together since high school we knew what we wanted to do growing up pretty soon in life so when we left high school we start working in different tattoo shop until we landed were we are working now. We've been working together for 13 years already but not once were we able to work on a piece together you don't know that but Friday was our fifth marriage anniversary and we talked about how great it would be to finally work in tandem on a project. So for you to propose something like this like a gift from fate and your tattoo idea is even more in line with what we wanted to do you know that my specialty is abstract tattoos but Aina's specialty is Norse Celtic Japanese and Tribal tattoos so I'm sure we can cook you something that would blow your mind, if you're ready to seat in the chair until late tonight I would be really thankful to you also I heard your tone when you talked about the abstract lotus I'm curious is there a meaning behind it?'' Sean said finishing with a question of his own I must say fate really is something special who would have thought that there was a story behind Aina and Sean joy's and that I was the perfect candidate for them 

'' Aina can probably explain better than me since she also specializes in Japanese tattoos'' I said looking toward Aina with a smile

''Hmm, Lotus flower tattoos represent resilience, rebirth, and beauty in the face of adversity. Lotuses symbolize purity, spiritual awakening, and the path to enlightenment, and they're sacred symbols in Buddhism and Hinduism. They can also represent open-heartedness and love, as well as transformation and rebirth. So which one is it Stephen?'' asked Aina who was also interested in my answer

'' Transformation and rebirth but also the path to enlightenment. Like I said earlier something recently happened to me and that woke me up big time since that day I feel like I've been getting a second chance at life so I started my transformation, you know that the 'P' in my gamer tag means pitcher right I love baseball to death and my dreams are to play in the Majors League but 2 weeks ago I didn't have the courage to play I never played on a baseball team before I was too scared to get laugh at or to never be as good as my Father was and that I would disappoint him so I just never tried this led me to be a shy guy with no friends'' I said laying my feelings bare for them to see I don't know why but I trusted these two and I found it easier to talk with people a barely knew than when I talked with my Grandfather or Mother

'' That's a good reason I won't ask you what happened 2 weeks ago but I'm glad you're alright, now if we want to get started we first need to draw babe...'' Before Sean could finish his sentence Aina had already jumped up from her chair and started running outside of the kitchen while yelling ''I GOT IT''

'' Well it's a little cliché, I was in love with a girl and wrote her a 'love letter' and she did me dirty by spreading it at school and saying I would never be good enough for her. After that, I heard her and her friends laughing about this and she said that she did that because she didn't want me to tell others we were close so she tried to ruin my reputation before I could tarnish her in her messed up head if I was saying anything about her after she humiliated me like this everything that would come out of my mouth would be just things I said in anger so nobody would believe me well she used me for an entire year for her homework and team project so maybe I would have told everyone how she was using people to get passing grades but after hearing that I just realize that if I where doing something like this the biggest winner would be her and I didn't wanted to give her this pleasure. This made me realize that even if I tried to not get laughed at or tried to please everyone around me there would always be people like her so there was no reason for me to be scared anymore I decided that I wouldn't care about what other peoples thought about me and just live my life the way I wanted to '' I said with a big smile on my face when I finished talking

'' Well your story does start with a cliché but the way you handle the situation and the growth you went through is not something a kid your age would do and gain, any...'' Before Sean could finish what he was saying my phone began to ring I looked at the ID and it was my Mom calling

'' Oh shit I forgot ... my Mom will surely want to talk with you, I lied to her saying you were doing a LAN party and I would maybe spend the night here, back me up'' I said before answering the call while Sean was chuckling