The ultramarine sign flickered “open”, shining on the asphalt pathway. Celeste yawned as the clock crept towards midnight, but for now, all she could do was wait. The swift pulse of demons could be felt all the way inside; anxiety strummed her heartstrings as the door cracked open. A rush of stale, smoky air entered the tattoo parlor as a man walked in – tall and brooding with rapidly moving eyes that swam with the color red.
“You’re here,” she said, nearly collapsing over the counter as she walked towards him.
The man, Samuel, smiled. “Would I ever let you down?” His hands grazed through her lustrous, sun-caressed hair.
Just as their lips were about to touch, Celeste’s eyes shot open. “Wait.” She ran behind the counter of the store with her ballpoint pen. Then, she traced a long line with three new lines attached on top; this was a rune that warded off evil. Below that, she drew a diamond with longer sides on the two bottom corners, which was a rune that expressed love. With these symbols etched on her skin, Celeste was allowed and able to kiss Samuel.
Their lips met, and a surge of iciness and incandescence clashed and created a thunderstorm inside their mouths. Celeste ran her fingers down Samuel’s back, arching down the valley where his spine dipped. A trail of gooseflesh erupted from her skin as his hands clutched her waist. Silence shattered upon them; it was just the two of them in the tattoo parlor.
By the end of the night, the sky was painted a rosy pink as the sun emerged from the horizon. Celeste said her goodbyes to Samuel with nothing but ink smudges left on her pale wrists and a demonic feeling tugging at her soul.