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“I can’t believe I let myself be talked into this…” Liam says to the artist working on his newest tattoo.
“Well, you trust him, don’t you?” Jade says, leaning in to do more shading on Liam’s rib.
“Yea, I do. But I’m scared of what he’s designed, especially because I know the tattoo that I made for him,” Liam says, clenching his jaw as she goes over a particularly sensitive bit of skin.
See, somehow Liam was talked into going on the MTV show “Just Tattoo of Us,” with his best friend Zayn. Earlier in the week, Liam met with Zayn’s artist and came up with the design Zayn would get, while Zayn met with Liam’s. Today is the day when they’ll get the tattoos and then finally see what they’ll have for the rest of their lives, all for television.
Liam had been watching the show with a group of friends, when Niall made the joke Liam and Zayn should apply, since they already had so many tattoos “what harm could one more do?” Of course, Louis, always the troublemaker, had run with the idea and wore Liam and Zayn down until they agreed.
So here Liam is, laying on a table with his lower half obscured behind a curtain as a tattoo artist permanently inks his skin with artwork he had no say in. Jade does her best to keep him calm, but isn’t allowed to give him any detail about the design so keeps as far away from the topic of this tattoo as she can.
What feels like hours later, she’s doing the final wipe down of the tattoo and getting out a bandage to cover it so he can’t peek until the producers allow it.
“Alright, Liam, you’re done.” Jade says, pulling off her rubber gloves and patting him on the knee to tell him it's time to get up.
Liam gets up, puts his shirt back on, and waits for the direction of the producers. They usher him into a room, where he waits to be brought back out to the soundstage to film the reveal. They’ve explained that he’s not allowed to peek at the tattoo or see Zayn until it’s being filmed so he just paces the green room until he’s called out.
What feels like hours later, Liam is finally told it’s time for the big reveal and he’s led out to the set. He finally gets a glimpse of Zayn, looking just as scared as Liam feels.
The producers instruct the pair that they’ve selected Zayn’s tattoo to be the first revealed, so Zayn stands in front of the body length mirror and pulls his shirt over his head, revealing the large black bandage covering his stomach.
“Sometimes we like to do the worst ones first. I feel your fear, all the best,” Josh, one of the hosts, tells Zayn, handing him a pair of opaque goggles. He looks at him, speechless, too scared to speak.
Zayn, shakingly puts on the “fear goggles,” which will act as a blindfold until he’s instructed to remove them to see the tattoo.
“How you feeling, Zayn?” Charlotte, the other host, asks.
“Terrified,” Zayn replies, voice quiet.
“It’s a horrible feeling, isn’t it?” Charlotte says, clearly getting enjoyment from the tension in the room.
“Yea...” Zayn mutters.
“It’s kinda funny how dramatic it is,” Liam says, knowing that at least the tattoo he designed Zayn will fit with the rest of his work, even if he might not care for the message.
“Liam, this is on me for the rest of my life,” Zayn says annoyed, voice shaking with nerves.
“Liam, wait until you’re up there. You will shit a brick,” Charlotte tells him, while Crosby stands by loving the dramatics.
“Jason! Can you come remove the bandages, please?” Josh yells, as Zayn’s artist emerges from the waiting area, a huge grin on his face.
He saunters over to Zayn, Liam suddenly feeling more nervous than he had all day, as Jason removes the wrapping from Zayn’s stomach.
“Let’s see...good luck,” Jason says, as he returns to his post backstage.
Liam’s heart is beating so hard, he’s surprised the sound isn’t being picked up by the surrounding microphones. He is moments away from Zayn seeing the tattoo he picked for him, and it could change their entire friendship.
“Liam, what have you done?” Zayn says, getting more and more worked up the longer he has to wait before seeing his newest ink.
“Liam, now that you’ve seen it on the skin, how does it make you feel?” Josh asks, as Liam stares at a practically shaking Zayn.
“I’m very worried,” Liam answers, honestly. He has no idea how Zayn will react, wondering if maybe he took too much of a gamble.
“How long did you say that you’ve been friends for?” Josh asks.
“Like, 11 months,” Zayn responds, letting out a nervous breath.
“So I think it's only fair that we count down from 11,” Josh announces.
Charlotte begins the count at 11, everyone taking turns with a number until finally the countdown reaches one. Each second, the tension in the room grows more and more, unbearably thick.
“You may remove your fear googles Zayn,” Charlotte says, as Zayn reaches up to remove the goggles and steps closer to the mirror.
Liam waits with bated breath, anxious to see how Zayn is going to react.
“I love it,” Zayn breathes. He’s staring, eyes shining while he takes in the tattoo. It’s a sternum piece that says You Are Everything surrounded by a beautiful mandala. When Liam met with the artist, he wanted to pick something that would belong with all of the other artwork Zayn had, and he wanted to give him a constant reminder of how important he is.
“Do ya?” Josh says, sounding excited.
“Yea,” Zayn replies, not taking his eyes off the new tattoo.
Liam stares, watching Zayn and how he’s reacting to the tattoo he designed, to the words he put there.
“That’s good that you like it,” Josh says, pulling Liam from his thoughts.
“I’m having really strange vibes at the minute I’m getting really confused. I obviously know Liam’s tattoo. I feel like we need to get Liam right in right now, to see his before we hear any more” Charlotte says, urging them to move onto the next reveal.
Charlotte pulls Zayn away from in front of the mirror, and then quickly grabs Liam. He hardly gets a chance to catch Zayn’s eye before they’re instructing him to pull his shirt off and throwing the fear goggles into his hands.
“Right Liam, put the fear goggles on...Oh, ya look sad,” Charlotte says, rubbing reassuringly on Liam’s arms.
“I’m so petrified,” Liam whispers, fixing that fear goggles on his face.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared,” Charlotte assures him, as she backs away.
Liam thought he was nervous while waiting for Zayn’s tattoo to be revealed but that’s nothing compared to how quickly his heart is beating now, as he waits to see what Zayn designed for him.
“Jade! Can you come help us with the bandages please?” Charlotte calls. “Come on Jade, come on Jade! We’ve got to get this done quick time! Just rip it off!”
Liam can hear Jade making her way over to him, before he feels her remove the bandage from his rib. Charlotte’s shouting making him even more nervous. He feels Jade move away from him, once she’s finished.
“I’m so scared,” Liam says, feeling his hands beginning to shake.
“How many words are in your tattoo, Zayn?” Charlotte asks.
“Three,” Liam hears Zayn respond.
“Let’s count down from three,” Charlotte declares.
“All together, all together,” Josh chants, adding to the already growing tension of the room.
Liam is seconds away from biting his fingernails down to nubs with his nerves, as they begin the countdown to his reveal.
“Liam, remove your fear goggles!” Charlotte yells, so quickly that Liam can hardly understand her.
“I don’t wanna take them off,” Liam says, holding the goggles on his face, too afraid to see what Zayn’s chosen for him.
Liam takes a deep breath, pulls the goggles off, and immediately walks closer to the mirror to see what Zayn’s chosen for him.
“I love you,” Liam reads, the words nestled amongst a pair of black and grey roses. He can’t believe what he’s seeing. The design of the tattoo is beautiful, it perfectly matches the tattoos that are littered up and down his arms, but he’s rendered speechless by the words Zayn has chosen to accompany the design. What could he possibly mean by this?
Liam turns around and looks at Zayn, staring in disbelief as Zayn looks at him with what appears to be hope in his eyes.
“Liam, I love you,” Zayn says, “a lot.”
“That’s why I got yours,” Liam says, giggling. “It’s how much you mean to me.”
Liam makes his way over to Zayn, closing up some of the distance that separates them. Liam is hardly aware of the cameras that are moving around them, trying to get the best shot for television.
“I don’t want us to be just friends anymore,” Zayn says, meeting Liam’s eyes.
Liam is looking at him, barely registering the cooing coming from the two hosts. Before Liam has the chance to answer, Charlotte interrupts.
“Zayn, have you technically just asked Liam to be your boyfriend?”
Zayn looks over to Charlotte and nods yes.
“Well, what’s the answer?” Charlotte shouts, urging Liam to respond before she vibrates out of her skin with anticipation.
“Yes!” Liam giggles, immediately reaching out for Zayn.
Zayn rushes forward, pulling Liam into a hug, the two boys giggling into each other’s necks. Liam can hear the muffled exclamations of the hosts, but all he cares about right now is this; Zayn held securely in his arms.
“Come on, give him a snog!” Josh shouts, breaking Liam out of his bubble. He pulls away from Zayn enough to catch his eye as they both laugh and share the quickest kiss.
Later that evening, when Liam and Zayn kiss again, he will consider that their first kiss. The kiss that’s for them, no audience, no cameras, just them showing each other their love.