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The early 2000’s were prime, most people exclaimed. It had the best music, the best shows, and most importantly the best fashion scene. A lot of people were tending to come into their own and become more expressive especially with goths, rivet heads, and punks. They used their clothes, hair, tattoos, and especially piercings to define themselves and show the world who they really were… It was especially popular amongst rebellious teenagers who were looking to separate themselves from the rest of their ‘boring’ peers. Such was the case for Glaz.
Annoyed by the ‘Y2K’ effect of glitz and glamor amongst his peers with their bright colored clothes and sparkled jewels he wanted to stand out differently. He wanted to be someone who would completely obliterate the idea that he had to be just like everyone else! And so he began to find a new sense of style in monochrome tight denim jeans, button down shirts with patterned ties, jackets way too small for him, and other accessories that were nothing like the norm of other people.
Around the world his fashion sense was known as ‘emo’ as well as his music taste which consisted of whiny vocals and lots of emotional lyrics, hence the name. Everyone who fit into this category all thought they were nothing like the rest of the world and didn’t want to fit into the natural conformity of what was trending, just like Glaz, so they all wanted to also go to their own extremes. In his head he felt like his clothing just wasn’t enough to cut it… he needed something far more noticeable to show he wasn’t like everyone else.
“Maxim… are you sure you got it?” Glaz asked, impatiently watching as his friend desperately rummaged through his large coat pockets. “Yes! Christ, you’re making me second guess myself from how paranoid you are!” Then within a few seconds Maxim pulled out a small box with the label ‘12G’. “Sick!”
‘What was more noticeable than putting metal in your face?’ he thought. “My father will probably rip this out of my face when I come home but it will be so worth it…” Glaz smiled and quickly snatched the box out of his friend’s hand so he could begin to open it, “just imagine how cool we’re gonna look!”
“Especially when we probably get an infection from how unsafe we’re doing this… these are hospital-grade needles yet we have no sanitation and no gloves… just some dirty jewelry and hopes and dreams.”
“Jesus Maxim, you’re so negative… to think that maybe you’d be more excited about this than me!”
“I’m eight years older than you! I could get this done professionally but I’m choosing to go the hard route just because you’re my colleague and sort of friend.”
Glaz couldn’t help but just roll his eyes and motion for Maxim to follow him into the bathroom at a nearby park. The two met actually because they shared a job at a local factory and Maxim wanted to pity the younger man for being so awkward and inexperienced as he pursued art rather than any other skills (especially socially)… thus began their borderline hate-neutral terms friendship. Once they stepped inside Glaz was starting to understand why the other man was so adamant on this being unsafe. The bathroom reeked of mildew and was covered in grime from floor to ceiling. But hell, he was already this far.
“Hand me the vodka, why don’t you?” Glaz asked, prying open the box and talking out a needle. Maxim sighed and reached inside his pocket yet again to pull out a tiny shot and watched as his colleague dumped it on the needle. “See, we do have SOME type of sanitation.”
“You’re an imbecile.” Maxim murmured. After inspecting the needle, Glaz put his hand on the bathroom sink, and leaned in to look into the mirror. God, he could barely make out his reflection. He grimaced but then took his hand and pulled his lip so he could carefully position the needle upon the inside of his mouth. As quick as he could he penetrated the flesh and watched as the needle came out the other side with minimal blood dripping down his chin. “Nice!”
He then rummaged through his pocket to pull out a small baggie of jewelry and took one of the bars out so he could insert it through the end hole of the needle screwing on the stud before standing back to observe himself. “Hurt… but it wasn't too bad… almost like getting a shot! Well— they both use needles so of course it did.”
Glaz chuckled and then reached for another needle so he could do the same for the other side of his lip. The process was quick and easy and by the end the young man stood there smiling as small bits of blood stained his lips as he looked at Maxim. “Cool, right? People are gonna look at me and think I’m so different! I can’t wait to see the look on everyone's faces!”
The older man just rolled his eyes and sat back on the toilet seat with his hands crossed. “Sure… whatever makes you happy. I guess it’s my turn then.”
With a hum Glaz nodded and grabbed another needle before walking towards Maxim. “Your nose, right? Like right below your eyebrows?”
“The bridge, yes.”
“Alright…” Glaz leaned in close and stuck out his tongue as he focused to try and get the needle placed as straight as possible between the skin. At first Glaz tried to be quick with his piercing process but quickly slowed down as he got scared about making the whole thing crooked. Within a matter of seconds the skin began to harden as blood rushed to the puncture area and Maxim hissed in pain.
“Fuck man! What are you doing!” He exclaimed, closing his eyes to avoid the stream of blood. “I’m sorry! I just- I didn’t want it to be crooked!” Glaz replied, desperately trying to wriggle the needle to the other side of the skin before finally getting it through. He then reached for the barbell and slid it through the needle before backing away with his hands up, “I’m done! I’m done!”
With a few curses in Russian Maxim wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket and opened his eyes back up. Wincing in pain as he furrowed his eyebrows, “I’m never letting you do this shit to me ever again! You suck at this!”
Glaz scoffed, “Hey! Whatever man! It’s easier to do it on my own as I know it’s a form of expression just for myself! You should’ve just gone to a professional if you didn’t trust me…”
“YOU BITCH! WHAT DID I SAY BEFORE WE CAME IN HERE!”
“Whatever!” Glaz dropped his hands at his side and went over to prop the door open, “let’s go! We have work in fifteen!”
Maxim grumbled and got up so he could quickly push past the younger man and storm off as fast as he possibly could. “Don’t even talk to me for the next week or ask me for any favors, you’re on your own! And if this gets infected I’m killing you!”
“Like I said! Whatever!” And in his mind Glaz prayed that the healing process would go smoothly so he could make Maxim cover his future shifts when he wanted to pierce his nose next… What could he say? He loved the art of expressing himself.