Ink Colored Roses

00 - Broken

Prologue – Broken

Chapter Song: Moments-One Direction [Thunderstorm Version]

March 5, 2011 –

        "Harry Styles?" Mrs. Williamson called as she read off the roll call.

Aside from the hushed whispers of a pair of girls in the back, the classroom was filled with silence. It was bluntly obvious the boy was not in attendance, but Mrs. Williamson continued to scan the room despite it. Once it became clear to her Harry was not going to respond she heaved a sigh, an irked expression etched into her aged face. The students absence was not a surprise to the teacher, in fact that happened to be the third time this week Harry was not in attendance. She heaved an exasperated sigh and jotted down a note next to the boy's name and went to call the next on the list.

All the while Harry was sitting in an old, ripped leather chair preparing to get his first tattoo. The lad wouldn't admit it, but he was utterly terrified. Thinking of how the needle would penetrate his flesh made his skin crawl, but he was forcing himself to go through with the whole ordeal. Harry knew he would never hear the end of it from Ben if he shyed away from the situation now. This was his friend's suggestion in the first place and Harry only decided to go along with the plan so not to be ridiculed for not joining in.

Ben, already done with his, admired the freshly painted ink colored flames on his right arm. Harry personally thought it to be a bit tacky but kept his musing internal and reminded himself that it was he, he should be concerned for, not Ben. He scanned through a book of designs trying to determine what to have permanently marked on his body. Nothing seemed to pop at him until he saw the words "Won't Stop Till We Surrender" and knew it was the one. In a way it actually related to his situation, perhaps that was one of the reasons why Harry was here. That, and his newfound craving for the slightest form of rebellion.

About six months ago his father lost his job and took to the bottle endeavoring to rid away all his stress. Alcohol left him with a terrible addiction and Harry's mum striving to make ends meet. She began working extra shifts at a local coffee shop and Harry even got a job at a nearby bakery to help out with the bills at the young age of fifteen. Even his older sister Gemma who resided in London was sending back money to help out. But, one day he became fed up with it all; his dad, working, everything, and decided he was done. Around that time he met Ben whom of which introduced him to the world of partying and tattoos which appealed to this new Harry. Before, he was a straight A student and hard worker, but he gave all that up for his new way of life.

He leaned back in the beat up, off-black chair content with his choice and prepared for the needle to dance across his upper arm. Its sharp tip pierced his left bicep; he struggled not to wince considering Ben was observing the process, but he had to admit it did leave a stinging sensation. The black ink looked good scrawled on his skin and he knew he had made a good choice.

        "How was it?" Ben questioned, flicking a piece of his blonde hair from his deep brown eyes.

        "Eh, not bad," Harry lied, trying to protect not only his reputation but his pride.

        "You gonna get another?" He smirked.

      "Why not?" Harry did his best to conceal his pain as he looked through the book yet again, despite the fact that he truly wasn't up for another tattoo at this point in time. However he went along with it yet again, desperate to fully take on his new persona. He took his place back in that worn out leather chair he would soon become oh so familiar with and resumed adding to his already growing collection of tattoos.