[GIAT] Paint me like a canvas (DJ)

„I’m not implying that I expect my parents to buy one for me,” Seth explained as he pushed the door of Quality Quidditch Supplies open, letting the warm summer air into the inside of the shop, where the atmospheric charm turned it cool in less than a heartbeat. He did not really want to leave the store quite so soon, but they did have plans already and he had dragged DJ in here for no apparent reason except that he wanted to look at all the nice brooms he couldn’t have. He cast back a wistful glance, past his friend and toward the latest model of the Firebolt, sleek and perfect as it was. “It is quite expensive, after all. But that doesn’t change the fact that I wish I had one. Can you imagine how much fun it would be to ride one of those?” He sighed softly as the stepped into the unusual heat of this August afternoon in London, pushing the sleeves of his long-sleeved cotton shirt up over his elbows and turning around to wait for his friend to exit the store as well.

For the tenth time that day he wished he had put on a short-sleeved shirt this morning, avoiding to get cooked by the heat. However, the dark purple shirt with its long sleeves did have a purpose – to hide his forearms once he would return home with DJ and avoid any kind of scene with his father that would surely occur once his father would find out what he and his friend actually were in Diagon Alley for.  “So you still wanna do this?” Seth asked his friend, glancing in the direction of the tattoo parlor down the street. He knew that he had been the one to suggest it, the idea having formed for more than a year now. But he always had known that his father would hate it if he marred his skin with a tattoo – with one exception he did not even want to think about. However, over the last few months in father had gotten worse and worse in his views and the way he wanted to push Seth toward a future he simply didn’t want for himself. So his desperate want to please his judgmental father had morphed into a deeply-rooted need to defy him – the once so forbidden idea of a tattoo now a welcome way to do just that.

The only problem was that now that it became such a very real possibility that he’d have his forearm decorated with an ever-lasting picture in the immediate future – it turned out that the thought was a bit frightening. “You’re not going to chicken out on me, are you?” He asked instead of admitting to his own nervousness, hiding it with false bravado and a cheeky smirk in the other boy’s direction.

"Mmm, nope, I can't imagine it," the tanned brunette behind Seth replied, stepping out of the shop with a polite wave behind him. DJ put a hand out intending to push Seth's back and get them away from the Quidditch store, but his classmate had turned around - to make sure DJ was following him, he supposed - and DJ ended up shoving him playfully in the chest. "I've told you a hundred times, I don't like trusting a broom to keep me up in the air, no matter how much anti-jinx varnish you put on it. But," he added cheekily, "if you want it so bad, we'll start a collection for you when we get back to Hogwarts. The Firebolt has been out long enough that the price has gone down. I'm sure we can scrape together 800 Galleons much more easily than 1000 Galleons."

As he watched Seth push his long sleeves up, he felt a twinge of sympathy for his partner-in-crime, despite knowing his reason for wearing the warm clothes; however, he also smugly looked over his own white A-shirt and dark green men's cargo capris, and whipped the black-and-lime cotton scarf (that he had worn just to get ridiculous looks) over his shoulder. "Also, just for the record, the Nimbus company is supposed to be coming out with a new model anyway, and since the 2001 only barely underperformed the Firebolt, you might want to just wait and see how the next one does," he told Seth a little more seriously as they began walking down toward 12 Diagon Alley.

Not more than a few steps down, however, Seth surprised DJ by asking a question. DJ blinked in dramatic bewilderment a few times at his counterpart, before saying simply, "Of course I do." Since Graffiti Is Art Too had re-opened after Voldemort's defeat two years ago, DJ had toyed with the idea of getting a tattoo every time he came to Diagon Alley. Now that he was going to be seventeen (and legally an adult wizard) in just a few months, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Seth, who always seemed to think the way he did (except when it came to flying), must have had the same notion, because he'd invited DJ down to his family's place to get their Diagon Alley shopping done "and maybe something else." The necessity of getting school supplies, especially with the start of his pending Animagus lessons with Professor Markham, was a sufficient excuse for his father and their social worker Mabel to let him go for an overnight trip - and it hadn't been necessary for him to explain any other plans.

What tattoo would he want? That question had taunted him as he had packed a small suitcase of overnight supplies before he traveled by Floo to the Averys' place. If it was going to be a permanent fixture, it had to be something meaningful. But DJ's biggest issue - the one that he had really been so reflective and thoughtful about for the last two years - was that he didn't know who he was, or at least who he was really supposed to be. The son of a lazy, useless, deadweight dad and a vindictive, opinionated, selfish mom, caught somewhere between Light and Dark... not even sure if he liked boys or girls more. He had a certain affection for Seth that was beyond normal friendship, a reasonable development from them both realising they were bi at about the same time, but he also had what one might call a "pining" for Kendall, one of the Slytherin girls in their year - and, he had realised over the summer, for Keela as well, despite the fact that she was a Gryffindor. Am I a ho? he had wondered idly a few times.

By the time Seth and DJ had re-Flooed to Diagon Alley - without Seth's parents, a welcome reprieve that made their plotting that much easier - DJ had decided that if nothing else, he would at least get a mark that represented his heritage. But here too there was a choice to be made. Was he going to get the Conway charge, his namesake and the family he lived with? Or the Chitileanu mark, a reminder of the old, foreign dynasty whose blood he shared? Or both? Or something completely different?

DJ was caught off-guard by another question from Seth, and realised that he had drifted back into the same musings that had captured his attention for the last few days. "Nnnnnno?" he replied with some confusion. "Not if you aren't. I thought that was the whole point - us both saying," and he made an inappropriate but discreet gesture, "to the rest of the world. And our parents," he added as an only partially sarcastic afterthought.

“Well, of course not. It was my suggestion, after all!” Seth exclaimed, letting out a chuckle that sounded almost right, even to his own ears as he playfully smacked DJ’s upper arm. “I’m going through with it, if you are.” So, he guessed that meant they would both go through with it. His father would be livid – and he might kill him. Maybe. Quite possibly, really, if he thought about it. His Nathaniel Avery was not the kind of man who looked kindly upon any kind of defiance. But then it would probably only be one of many actions in Seth’s immediate future that would prove to be just that, so he might as well get started with something small.

Therefore, the boy took a deep, calming breath, buried his hands inside the pockets of his dark gray cargo shorts and sped up his steps toward Graffiti Is Art Too, briefly leaving his friend behind a few steps. He could definitely do this. And it wouldn’t even hurt or be of any bother. The hardest thing about this whole adventure would be to pick out the design he’d want to have on his skin forever. He was not like one of those crazy, masochistic idiots who’d voluntarily choose to have their tattoos done the muggle way, even though he knew that the store actually offered that kind of service. How anyone could prefer such a barbaric method, however, was beyond him. From what his research had told him he knew that muggles used needles to push ink under a person’s skin and that it took hours, sometimes even several days to finish a tattoo – and then there would still be the risk of the whole thing getting infected. It was insane, really. The magical way was much more sophisticated – pain free and hygienic.

Now that he was thinking about it, though, he realized that he had no idea what DJ was planning for himself. Slowing down his steps to a moderate pace once more, he turned toward his friend, pulling one of his hands out of his pockets to gesture toward the store that they had almost reached. “So, have you chosen a technique, yet? Normal or muggle? I know they’re offering both.” He laughed softly, lightly punching the other boy’s shoulder. “Are you keen on some pain or will you choose the magical way?”

Seth's excitement at getting a tattoo must have gotten the better of him because he rushed forward at a faster pace than DJ had set, giving DJ time to drift back into his internal musings. He had enough money saved up to get two simple tattoos, so it would make sense to get both the Chitileanu and Conway crests. Now, where to put them? Since he hadn't actually told his father or Mabel what he was doing, they should probably be in a relatively private place, meaning not on his neck or arms, or even his shoulders. Nor his legs, since he preferred shorts so often. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't really put it on his chest or back either, because of his penchant for wearing A-shirts. That left the lower back, the stomach, or... his butt. DJ shook his head wildly to get rid of that image.

"Huh?" he was startled out of his thoughts and his walk by Seth asking him another question. His dear friend had stopped and turned around again, and DJ had almost walked into him. Well, not really; Seth had outstripped him by quite a bit. "Uh, ha, magical. I think between my family members I've put myself through enough pain already, thanks. Plus the Muggle method is more limiting. No animation."

Not that he planned to get any animated tattoos, but... as he had spoken, he realised that the pain his mother and father had put him through in the past was exactly why he was taking this moment of rebellion. And if he was going to be a rebel, why not flaunt it? DJ's tattoo idea came through in a flash of inspiration and he knew exactly how he was going to have it done. One over the centre of his chest, and one over the centre of his back. And in the interest of it being more likely his father would see his back before his front - the gryphon that represented the Conway Clan would be on his back, where he could justify it by saying how proud he was to be a Conway. (What was one more little lie?)

"And if you punch me one more time," DJ said teasingly to Seth, sticking out his tongue, "I'm gonna kick your ass right here in the middle of Diagon Alley. Come on, let's do this." With a newfound confidence and excitement of his own he pushed forward into the tattoo shop.

Once again it took his friend a moment to respond to him and he looked like he hadn’t even been listening to Seth. Didn’t DJ know that it was offensive to just drift off in the middle of a conversation? And Seth knew for a fact that he was not that boring. But maybe something was bothering the other boy. It was not completely impossible – and Seth was not an asshole. He did care for the well-being of his friends. He decided to simply ask his friend if there was some kind of problem with him, but DJ used the moment to step into the store and the sight of its interior silenced Seth effectively for a moment as he followed him inside.

The young Slytherin looked around eagerly, taking in the paintings and tattoo designs that were covering every inch of the store’s walls, drawing him in. He didn’t really want some tattoo that was exactly like what a hundred other people were having, but he had not made a final choice regarding the design he wanted for himself and the inspiration those pictures offered was incredibly welcome. “Wow, nice!” he exclaimed as he let the door fall closed behind him, forgetting his intentions of enquiring about his friend’s possible emotional turmoil in favor of stepping close to the nearest wall and letting his eyes roam over the designs. He had heard that the store’s owner was a talented artist and the displayed designs were truly pieces of art. “Looks like we definitely came to the right place,” he says conversationally without taking his eyes off the pictures. “These look all real nice. I think I’ll find something I want to have on my skin forever. How about you? Or do you already have a design in mind?”

There were plenty of things he could imagine for his own tattoo – and most of them were rather cliché, as he had to admit. He’d been thinking about some kind of serpent to honor his Slytherin pride – after all, being a part of Slytherin house had a long tradition of been an important part of one’s self-image in his family. Another possibility was a dragon, or maybe a phoenix, or just a phoenix feather… It would be difficult to choose, but Seth hoped for the help of his friend – and hopefully the tattoo artist – in making it.

After another brief moment of looking at the pictures, he then turned around toward DJ, giving him a genuine smile. “By the way, is anything the matter with you?” He asked as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts. “You seem a bit… absent-minded. Is anything wrong?”

The bell chimed as DJ and Seth entired the shop, and the complete difference between the scenery of Diagon Alley outside and the décor of the shop inside made them both react - Seth with an exclamation, DJ with silent awe. But Seth was absolutely right. This was the right place for getting their skin art done.

The walls were absolutely plastered in tattoo designs, some of them animated and some of them not. DJ even saw a gryphon design that would be perfect for his back piece, bar a few minor changes and a different colour scheme. Scattered in between all of these sample tattoo designs were just other pictures, ranging from modern classical paintings to photographs of graffiti spray-painted on highway walls and under bridges and over abandoned buildings in different places all over the world. Several of these latter were snapshots from London's own The Tunnel, and hidden in between all the wannabe-gangster sprays and logos and clichéd buzzwords he could see the tell-tale signs of real wizarding artists, subtle magic that Muggles could mistake for a trick of the light when they saw the artwork.

"I actually do have a design in mind," he answered Seth right away (finally), although they were both still mesmerized by the huge display of art. "I'm gonna get two pieces done, one on the front and one on the back." Seth's next question almost surprised DJ but, given his earlier state of distraction, it made sense. Seth was a really great guy, a loyal friend along with all his other attractive qualities.

"Yeah, sorry, about that. I'm just taking this whole tattoo thing way more seriously than I thought. I mean, if I'm going to do this, it has to mean something to me, right? Like, if I had a girlfriend or a boyfriend I wouldn't put her name - or his name - on me unless I was sure it was going to last forever. All these designs," DJ waved an arm across the wall, "look really cool, but if they aren't personal to me I don't want to regret getting it later on." He grimaced. "I'm probably just overthinking it. But that's how I decided on my designs. Things that represent my family. They may drive me CRAZY," he raised his voice and made a silly face, "but they still made me who I am. It's symbolic."

He shrugged. "That's all. I'm done soapboxing now, honest."