The sound of Everlast was blaring in my car as I drove down the town streets. I waved to several people before actually making the trek to my job. I wasn't late, but then again, I didn't have to be on time. My friend Jacob wouldn't fire me. Growing up since diapers had its advatages.

My name is Meadow Evelynn Keyser. I'm the oldest of nine kids, five of which were still alive. I'd rather not go into detail with the other four. I'd rather focus on the now. Since I was a kid, I could draw, I could paint, I could sing, I could play anything with just listening to someone else play it. My mother said I had many talented gifts, but the one 'gift' I absolutely could not stand was my 'gift' of sight. Now I'm not talking about actually just seeing. I'm talking about seeing spirits. Spirits that have yet to enter into the other world, or whatever shit they do when they die. I don't mean to sound hateful about it, but I'm supposed to be living a normal life, what with being a tattoo artist but day and a bartender at the club in the next town over. I had my responsiblities, seeing and helping ghosts should not be one of them. At first I thought it was cool. To be able to walk up to a person and tell them that their lost loved one says that they care and are doing much better. It warmed me to a cetain extent. But then, after losing my mother to cancer, I couldn't stand it. I was helping out everyone else, why couldn't my mother come to me to tell me she was alright? It just never seemed fair to me. So lately, if I see somthing unusual, I ignore it. I refuse to help anymore. Not after what I've gone through. I was to carry on with my daily routine. Wake up, get dressed, get my coffee from my favorite diner, and head to work. And that's what I continued to do after 7 years.

"Meadow, you're late!" Chimed Jacob, walking up to me with a new file in his hand.
"Yeah...and?" I asked, smirking at him as I hung my purse up behind the front desk.
"It's like you're taking me for granted. Be on time for once." He said, putting the file on the desk top.
"Fine, fine. Would you chill out now? Who's on my client list today?" I asked, crossing my legs as I looked up at him from the office chair, propping my elbow up on my knee with my fist under my chin.
"Let's see. You've got...three different clients. Two guys and a girl." He said, handing the file over to me.

I looked it over, chewing on my right lip ring, humming softly. "Alright then, I'll go get set up." I said, putting the file down and standing up from the chair. Seeing as my first client would be in at eleven o'clock, I had to get things set up in a hurry. I had few minutes to spare when I looked up at the clock. I had my gear out, ink cups lined up, along with all the steralized equipment. I walked out to the back, pulling a pack of cigarettes from my jean pocket. Right before lighting up, a gust of wind whipped at my face. I frowned, "The fuck?" I murmured around my cigarette. I lit up my light again, only to have another gust of wind kick up. I let out a growl of annoyance, turning to the opposite direction from which the wind was coming from. Successfully lighting the fag, I blew smoke out through my nostrils. The first hit of nicotine of the day was satisfying to say the least. Something to calm my nerves. "Meadow! Get your ass in here!" I heard Jacob yell. I looked down at my watch, seeing the time. Eleven already. I groaned, putting my smoke out and walking back into the shop.

"Bout time." He grumbled, making me shoot him a warning look.

I turned to the guy in front of me, brown eyes drilling into my own hazel ones. "Hey, I'm Meadow, I'll be doing your tat." I said, holding my hand out.
"I got that with Sir yells a lot called for you." He chuckled, taking my hand in his, shaking it firmly. "Brian." He said, nodding his head.
"Alright Brian, why don't you come back with me and let's get started." I said, grinning at him as I turned on my heal.
I was mentally kicking myself for the attire I chose to wear today. A pair of basketball shorts and a Vengeance Uni. tee. My hair hung loosely in a messy pony tail. Yeah, great way to make a first impression on a new client.

"Alright, so what's it gonna be?" I asked, motioning for him to sit in the cushioned bench I often used for other clients.
"I was hoping to get something along the lines of a this." He said, chuckling lightly as he dug a piece of paper from his pocket.
I took the piece of paper and unfolded it, looking over the drawing, chewing on my lip ring that I often did when I was deep in thought.
"Yeah, I can do this. Where do you want it?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Um, on my back, near my left shouder blade." He said, motioning with his hand.
I nodded my head, standing up from my seat. "Alright, let me go get this on some different paper and we'll get started." I said, giving him a soft smile. He returned a smile, a smile that was just simply dazzling to say the least.

I walked out of the room quickly, making my way towards the drawing station. I could not put my finger on it, but this Brian seemed awfully familiar, or maybe I'm just getting paranoid. After so many years of seeing different people, they all seemed to look alike.

After drawing the picture up, I came back, ready to work. "Alright, let's get your shirt off and get this done." I said, setting the drawing down to slip on some black, latex gloves.
He mumbled something that I couldn't make out, but I let it drop as soon as his shirt came off. The word 'FOREVER' written on his chest caught my eyes, making my breath hitch in my throat. That's why I thought I recognized him. It was fucking Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold. How the hell could I confuse him with another client. I felt a blush creep over my pale cheeks. Perfect. Now I was going to be a shaking mess in front of the man that I idolized growing up. I licked my now dry lips, clearing my throat. "A-alright, let's get this going." I said, trying to act casual. I could see the cockyness in his brown eyes, making me want to rush out of the room and crawl into a hole.

"You okay there, rosey?" He asked me, chuckling a little. I nodded my head, a chuckle coming past my lips, or something that resembled a chuckle. I stood up again, going behind him to put the piece of paper on his skin. God, my hands were shaking. "Alright, why don't you have a look and tell me if that's good." I said, dropping my hands to my sides, handing him a hand mirror for him to inspect the location of the drawing. He stepped to the wall length mirror, looking the drawing over. "Yeah looks good." He said, nodding his head and handing me the smaller mirror back. I bit my lip ring again, setting the mirror down. "Alright. Lay down then." I said, sliding over to my gun. He layed on his stomach on the bench, putting his head on his crossed arms, readying himself for the two hour or so session it would take to ink him up.

After making the finishing touches, I cleaned up the excess ink from his skin, proud of myself that I didn't make myself out to be another crazed fangirl. I slid back, nodding my head. "All done, dude." I said, beaming at my work. He got up carefully, smiling at me as he walked over to the large mirror, the hand mirror in his hand as he looked at the tattoo. "Well fuck, this is some good work, Meadow. Thanks." He said, winking over at him as he set the mirror down. "Anytime." I croaked out, standing up from my stool. I pulled my gloves off, walking over to the sink to wash up. "Just go the front desk to pay after I cover this up, kay?" I said, grabbing some tape and gauze. After applying some antibaterial cream to the taunt skin of his shoulder blade, I covered the fresh tattoo with gauze, taping it to his skin so there would be little to no friction from his shirt.

"Thanks again. I really like it." He said, smiling at me brightly, which cued my cheeks to blush another dark shade of red.
"Tell your friends about me then. I'm always up for new clients." I said, trying to busy myself with cleaning my station up so that everything was ready for the next two people that were coming in for tattoos. He nodded his head and walked out of the room. I wanted to watch him leave, or at least get a autograph, but I had to be professional instead of drooling over the man. I heard the jingle of the bell at the front door, giving me the notion that he had left, which in a sense made my stomach drop.
"Seems you had fun with that." I heard a voice say, causing me to frown. I looked around, seeing no one else in the room. I shook my head, going back to wiping down the bench to keep it clean for the next guy to come in. "Hey, I was talking to you. Helloooo." I heard the voice again. I groaned, picking my head up to see again, no one in the room. "Okay, seriously, whoever is there needs to go to the front desk and talk to Jake if you have an appointment." I said, peaking out of the room. Again, no one in sight. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I shook my head, "No. I'm not doing this today." I said, snapping myself back into reality.

The day dragged on, the last two clients came in, the guy getting your basic tribal arm band, and the girl getting a skimpy lower back piece. I was ready to go home and call it a night. I didn't have work tonight at the club, which was refreshing to say the least. I walked into the front area of the shop, grabbing my car keys and purse before Jacob came up to me. "Hey, be sure to come in tomorrow at nine. Got three guys coming in for tattoo's. They specifcally asked for you." He said, locking the front door. I nodded my head, flipping the lights off. "I'll see yah at nine then." I said, heading towards the back door. "Can I ride with you?" I turned around, it was that voice again. I frowned, thinking that Jacob had car troubles again. I walked back into the front area, peaking around the corner to see Jacob at his desk, cleaning papers up before leaving. "You call me?" I asked, frowning still. He looked up at me and shook his head. "Nope, have a good night." He said, going back to the task at hand. I bit my lip ring again, something I did whether I was thinking or nervous. I nodded my head and headed to the back door again. After walking out, that fucking gust of wind hit me again, making me curse under my breath as I walked to my car. I got in after unlocking it, slamming the door shut as I set my purse in the passenger seat. "Thanks." I heard the voice say. Okay, something was definitely wrong. I haven't heard voices since the day I gave up helping anyone, or any spirit that was. I looked in my back seat, nothing. I looked over beside me, again, nothing. I huffed, shaking my head. I was going crazy. I started the car up, System of A Down rolling through the cab of the car. Maybe I just needed sleep. A good nights rest and I would be back on my a game for the next day. I didn't waste any time getting to my house, driving up into the drive way in front of the attached garage to my home. I walked up to the front door after killing the engine and getting out of my car, unlocking the door before stepping into the house. I sighed heavily, dropping my keys into the bowl on the table next to the front door, my purse sitting on the other side of the bowl before I walked into the kitchen. I heard the pitter patter of feet coming towards me, followed by a swish of a tail hitting the backs of my legs. I looked down to see my pit bull Baby looking up at me, her tongue hanging out as her caramel brown eyes looking up at me. "You hungry, girl?" I asked, causing her to jump up and lick my face. I laughed, pushing her down before grabbing her bag of food, filling her bowl up. Immediately she started to eat, the loud crunch of food echoing through the kitchen. I took this opportunity to walk into the living room, dropping down into my couch so I could take off my converse. I ran a hand down my face, blinking my eyes a few times, sleeping threatening to take over. I don't know why I was so tired all of sudden, but I couldn't bring myself to get up to take my happy ass to bed. I fell asleep on the couch, my feet dangling over the edge as I snoozed.

That night I dreamed, which was very weird for me. I almost never dreamt, but tonight, something was different. Not right in a sense. I was walking down a long corridor of what looked like a hospital, something I wasn't familiar with until I came up to a room. The same room my mother died in. My heart pounded in my chest as I saw a tall lanky figure standing next to the empty bed my mother lied in before she took her final breaths of life. I tried to speak, but couldn't find my voice. The figure turned around, its eyes a piercing shade of blue, looking down at me as I stepped closer to it. I was scared, obviously too scared for words. I tried to stop myself, but I kept getting closer. The figures face became clearer instead of a dark hazy color with those perfect blue eyes. "Help. Me." its voice said. I then realized it was a man, asking for my help. I shook my head, trying to speak again, but he held his hand up, stopping me before I could. "You need to help this time. For me, you will, Meadow." He said, shaking his head. I started to feel my eyes go wide. This wasn't just any man. This was James Sullivan, or better recognized as The Reverand. The dead drummer for Avenged. But why was he asking for my help? I was no one, just a simple tattoo artist in a little town. "I need them to know." He spoke, brushing his hand down the side of my face. "I need them to know." He repeated. The room around us started to grow darker then, I could feel my feet dragging me out of the room. I wanted to ask why, but my voice was still taking from me. Everything went black, but those words "I need them to know." Kept echoing through my head.

I snapped up, groaning. I had slept a little too hard, my neck aching something fierce as I sat up. I snapped my head to the side when my TV turned on, loud static filled the room. My heart hammered against my chest. I looked around, the room was dark except the light from the TV. I bit my lip ring, getting up to my feet. I shut the TV off and made my way down the hall to my room. I had remembered the dream I just had, making me wonder exactly what all of it meant. I ran my hand through my black hair, breathing a sigh of aggravation. "I need them to know." I heard someone whisper in my ear. Fuck, I'm going crazy.

I left it at that. I was crazy and there was no help for me. I crawled into bed without the need to strip down to the basics. Covering myself, I fell back into a fitfull sleep, the words still running through my mind.