Leah glared through the window, demanding that the earth start rotating faster to end this wretched day. The library was generally her sanctuary, and her job as a librarian often allowed her time to sit and think. It was her place to truly find some form of relief, but today some demon child managed to knock over an entire bookcase of nonfiction, and Leah was the one that had to clean it up. She knew she shouldn't feel too angry -- it was just a child after all. However, three books had been damaged. Two were just minor blemishes on the cover, but one had been unfortunate enough to have its spine completely bent and twisted.

The last thing Leah needed was to be sitting in the passenger seat of a car that probably hadn't been cleaned out since the 90s with some annoying grunge band blasting through speakers didn't even have the decency to crackle consistently. Rachael loved her car, her mess, and her music. She would refer to the chips in the paint and the dents in the body as "love wear" and the mess as "personality." Normally, Leah wouldn't ride with Rachael, but her car was getting its regularly scheduled oil change.

"Oh, right, almost forgot -- thanks for setting my alarm for me." Rachael smiled brightly as she took her eyes off the road. The car started to swerve, but Leah quickly gripped the wheel as she felt a vein on her forehead start to heat up. Her day had been terrible, and even though Rachael had good intentions, she wasn't making it better.

Rachael just started laughing as she took control of the car. "You worry so much, I wouldn't have crashed."

"With my luck today some piece of your filth here would wind up under the break pedal." Leah snorted and turned her head to stare out the window. The constant whispering she had to do at work had carried over into her life, so she was pretty sure Rachael didn't even hear her. She never seemed to. Before Leah could start up her rant about how she couldn't believe anyone could drive in this trash pile, Rachael slammed on the breaks, and Leah had to throw her hands out to stop her head from hitting the dash.

"What are you doing!?" She turned and was ready to scream at Rachael, but she noticed Rachael was pointing out the window at a building. "What about it?"

Rachael smiled. "It's a tattoo parlor, and I remember what you said last week..."

Leah had to think for a few seconds, but it hit her like a semi. "No, no, no, no, no, absolutely not." The sound of the blinker alerted Leah that Rachael was ignoring her protest. "I was drunk when I said it!"

"You had one shot of tequila." Rachael laughed. "I remember you even promised yourself, I think your words were, 'I've thought about getting a tattoo for a while, but I've always been so afraid. I'm promising myself right here and now that I am going to get a tattoo next week.'"

"I..." Leah tried to find an excuse. She could already imagine the tiny needles going in and out of her skin, the burning, the pain.

Rachael had already parked and was out the door. Resigning herself to her fate, Leah followed after and sat down next to her in the lobby of the tattoo parlor. "Come on... you aren't really going to make me do this, are you?"

"You said you wanted a tattoo, didn't you?" Rachael wouldn't let Leah forget about the promise she had made to herself. "It won't hurt, I mean, look at her." Rachael motioned to the tattooist who was helping another costumer. Strange symbols painted her arms, and both of the girls were sure that the clothes hid many more.

Leah didn't find it very comforting. "She does it for a living..." Her soft voice trailed off. She really didn't want to get a tattoo, it just seemed so painful. "And besides, I don't even know what kind of tattoo I want to get."

Rachael smirked. "How about a tramp stamp? I think it'd look good on you. Plus, what's hotter than a librarian who looks like she may be a slut?!" Leah's face turned red and she glared at Rachael. Normally, Rachael's teasing wouldn't have aggravated her, but now everyone in the tattoo parlor was staring at her.

Perfectly straight brown hair, parted exactly at the center, flipped as Leah turned away from Rachael in a huff. Being a "hot librarian" wasn't something Leah really cared about; although, she did sometimes bend at the waist if it was obvious someone asked for a book on the bottom shelf just to look at her. "You wish you could look like a slut, but that'd probably require cleaning up your appearance too much."

"Ha!" Rachael laughed. It was obvious her clothes were thrown on and the few wrinkles on her shirt probably meant they had never gotten folded after coming out of the dryer. What stood out the most was her dirty blonde hair -- it was eternally stuck as if she had just had someone running their hands through it and pulling on it. She just called it her "sex hair" and said it was part of her charm. "You're so repressed."

"And you act like you've been regressed to a cave?"

"Girls, as much as I'm sure some of these bikers would love to see a cat fight, the chair is open and I don't like to wait." The tattooist Rachael pointed out earlier was smirking as the two girls bickered. Leah noticed instantly and half-blushed as she stood up. Rachael merely turned her head away.

"So, got an idea of what you want and where you want it?" The tattooist smiled as she led Leah into the back and onto a chair that resembled something one would find at a barber shop. Though Leah didn't expect Rachael to follow after their minor squabble, she seemed rather eager.

Leah was a bit nervous as she sat down and the tattooist played with a tattoo gun. "No... not really..." She looked around. The room was very personalized with many drawings and pictures of art the woman had done before.

"I think you should get one that reads 'neat freak' right across your forehead."Rachael butted in.

"I'm not a neat freak! You're just a slob!"

The tattooist chuckled. "That might be a bit much, but I have a book of designs you could look through. Tattoos with meaning seem to be all the rage these days." She got up and walked over to a closet. A vein on Leah's head almost popped as she watched the woman take book after book out of the closet and toss them aside. A few particularly abused books (that were probably missing pages by this point!) suffered a humiliating fate that should only be reserved for trash before the tattooist finally pulled out a plain white binder. To make matters worse, she stepped on one of the books on her way back. "Look in here, I think there are a few 'neat freak' tattoos." She handed the binder over to Leah, who didn't take her eyes off the tattooist.

Before Leah could even say a word, Rachael started to laugh a bit. "Don't even start. They're her books, this isn't your library. I used to leave mine scattered around in my room too?"

"Until I saved them." Leah glared up at Rachael. She was going to start talking about how important books were to the tattooist who was so keen to just toss them on the floor, but the woman had already started picking them back up.

"These have gone through a lot worse. They've survived fires and floods, but I know they won't last forever, it's why I copied down everything in them to that binder."

Leah sighed as she relaxed. She had a "book" in front of her, and reading was something Leah loved to do. She would often get in trouble with the pesky library management when they found her reading instead of working. The binder didn't have many words, but what it lacked in words it made up for with symbols. Beautifully designed, each symbol seemed to have a likeness to the meaning, and the symbols almost seemed to impart that meaning to her. She wanted to appreciate each and every design, but Rachael kept bugging her to turn the pages.

Finally, she stumbled upon the symbol for "neatness." It was perfect. The symbol looked like a square with a diamond inside of it. It was stark, orderly, and elegant, with just enough beauty to make it attractive.

"Oh wow, that one totally screams you, and look, it means 'neatness.' I called it." Leah grumbled to herself as Rachael continued to taunt her. "See, even the world thinks you're a neat freak."

The tattooist sneaked a peak at the symbol. "That one is a really good navel tattoo. Center it with the belly button and it'll look damn good. Especially on a girl as fit as you."

"Really, you should get it. I'm not just teasing you, I could tell you liked it anyways." Rachael smiled as she patted Leah's shoulder and stepped back.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Fine, but can I get your name before we start? I don't like the idea of someone drawing on my stomach without knowing at least that much about them." Leah squirmed in the chair from fear and anticipation. She really hoped it wouldn't hurt.

The tattooist laughed. "So you decided then? Right, my name is Stephanie." She smirked as she watched Leah move about uneasily. Normally if she suggested where someone should get a tattoo, they would decide against her that location simply because she suggested it "And don't worry, it won't hurt that much. Just relax a bit, I'll be tracing the tattoo first, and then you can decide if you still want it."

"Okay." Leah nodded, not entirely sure of how this was going to work. Stephanie didn't waste anytime grabbing a purple pen and lifting Leah's shirt. The first touches of the pen made her start laughing. "That tickles!" She exclaimed as Stephanie continued to trace.

"Well, if you think that tickles..." Stephanie let her voice trailed off as she finished the tracing. She got a mirror and let Leah look at it. "I think it looks good on you. It's a pretty simple design, but I think you can agree it adds just enough color to look sexy."

Leah was a bit nervous about it. The tattoo looked good, but it had to be perfect. If that perfectly organized design was disrupted even a tiniest bit it would be on her body for life, or at least until she could save up for an expensive procedure to get it removed. "Can we get started? This anticipation is killing me."

Stephanie's eyes sparkled a bit. "Tell me first, why are you getting a tattoo that means 'neatness?'" She tilted her head a bit, almost as if she were plotting something.

"Well, I'm kind of a neat freak, but my roommate is horrible about picking up after herself." Rachael huffed in protest, "She doesn't even fold her clothes anymore. Really, I'm not too much of a neatness freak, but compared to her I must look O.C.D." Leah rolled her eyes.

"Ah, I figured you were a cute couple, one of those opposites attracts kind of things?" Stephanie winked and gave a big, slightly cheesy, smile.

Leah and Rachael both responded, "We're not a couple!"

Stephanie couldn't help but tease. "Really? I figured how you acted you were... Well, you've at least, done... y'know, with each other, right?"

"Absolutely not!" Leah's eyes went wide. She knew she was being defensive, because they had come close this one time when they were drunk, but nothing actually happened. Stephanie and Rachael both laughed a little bit as Leah started to blush. “Don't even pretend, Rachael!”

Rachael exaggerated a sad tone, “That night was so wonderful, how could you be so cruel to my feelings?”

“Oh my...” Stephanie started to laugh harder.

“Rachael!” Leah was now completely flustered.

Rachael stifled her laughs. “Yeah, yeah, nothing happened because you started to feel like you were going to puke, and neither of us would've enjoyed it if you did.” Leah's flush finally started to fade.

Stephanie calmed down and finally moved away from Leah to prepare the tattoo gun. She couldn't hide the devious smile on her face. Rachael didn't waste any time getting as close as she could, without physically touching Leah, and staring at the tattoo. "Oh, wow, is that what it's going to look like when it's done? That's going to look so cute."

Leah groaned, but before she could speak, Stephanie cut her off. "Sorta, but that's just a marker. It'll look a bit different when it's done. We're all ready, aren't we?" She motioned to Leah, who nodded in response.

"Then what are you waiting for? Do it!" Rachael was much more excited than Leah, who looked at the tattoo gun and shivered.

Stephanie sat down while continuing to fiddle with the tattoo gun. "So, what color you want?"

"Black." Leah didn't hesitate. Black would contrast her skin better than any other color. There was no other choice. Purple was a nice and bright color, but it could clash if she ever got jewelry. Yellow, red, green, blue, or brown wouldn't stand out quite as much as black.

"Alright then." The tattooing wasn't nearly as painful as Leah thought it was going to be -- Stephanie somehow managed to make burning ink into flesh seem almost gentle. Rachael's constant staring didn't make it easier to bear, but, whenever it started to hurt, gripping her hand eased the pain.

When it was all done, Leah felt like her skin had been burned pretty badly. "Yeah, it's going to be pretty sensitive for a few days. I suggest you cover it so your shirt doesn't rub against it."

Leah looked up at Rachael, who was just staring at the tattoo. "Ok, anything else I should know?"

Stephanie scratched the back of her head while trying to think of something. "No, that's the gist of it. Don't get it wet or the ink might run, and you'll lose a bit of coloration. Let me go get something to cover it up with." Even as Stephanie left the room, Rachael just continued to stare at the tattoo.

"...Is something wrong with it?" Leah asked nervously.

Rachael snapped out of her staring and looked around. "No, no, it looks good. Very uh... neat." She paused for a second. "Like, neat as in organized and clean, not neat as in like... the 50s neat."

Footsteps sounded nearby as Stephanie entered the room with a bandage and some medical tape. She had a small smile on her face, as she looked between the tattoo and Rachael. "I do amazing work, don't I?" she bragged.

"Yeah, it's really kind of drawing." Stephanie covered the tattoo up with the bandage and smiled brightly. "Hey, if I come back for a tattoo, can I expect you to do it?" Rachael seemed more than a little eager.

"Oh, yeah, of course." Stephanie smiled. "But come on you two, there are other people who want to get inked." She laughed as she motioned to the door. Not wanting to burden her any longer, the two paid up and left the parlor.

That night, Rachael watched Leah play with her bandage. "This thing keeps falling off. It's so annoying!" It was hard not to laugh as she was stressed out about it. Rachael knew that Leah wouldn't stop worrying about it until the tattoo had completely dried and had no risk of being altered.

"Just take it off already, or, y'know, stop cleaning everything. You didn't have to do the dishes, mop the floor, polish the insides of the windows, and clean out the stove all today." Rachael rolled her eyes. Her roommate was absolutely crazy sometimes. For a while, Rachael thought she was obsessive compulsive, but it turned out she could leave a mess -- sometimes.

"This house will not look like your room." Leah lifted her shirt and removed the bandage to reposition it better. Out of the corner of her eye, Rachael caught a glance of it and felt suddenly strange. She couldn't look away for a few seconds. When Leah covered the tattoo back up, Rachael stood up.

"Right... whatever." Rachael walked to her room. Clean clothes were still in the laundry basket while dirty clothes were spread throughout the room. A newspaper from over a month ago was strewn about, and many documents from work that probably belonged in a file. To top it off, her bed sheets weren't even tucked in.

Then she did something she hadn't done for a long time. She started cleaning. Rachael was unsure as to what exactly inspired her to do this, but she couldn't help herself. After a few hours of cleaning that would shame Leah -- or a professional maid -- Rachael stopped and relaxed on her bed.

A knock sounded on her door. "Rachael?"

"Come in." Rachael took deep breaths; she felt incredibly exhausted. Who knew cleaning could be such hard work?

The doorknob turned, and as Leah entered the room her jaw dropped. "Y-you cleaned your room!?" She could hardly believe what she was seeing. "Oh my, you even made your bed? What's wrong, are you sick? Did someone do something to you? Rachael?"

Rachael sighed and rolled over on her bed. "Ugh... nothing is wrong, I just..." She didn't know why she had started cleaning. "...nah, it's nothing. I just felt like cleaning."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Really, I've known you for a few years now and you've never just felt like cleaning. What's up?"

"Nothing I told you!"Rachael was started to get irritated, but Leah just did her usual routine of rolling her eyes and slamming the door. Rachael sighed as she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

She eventually fell asleep, but it wasn't a restful sleep. The entire night in dreamworld was spent cleaning a giant slab of metal. After she was done, she looked down and noticed an engraving that looked just like Leah's tattoo.

A groan parted her lips as her alarm started going off. She didn't set it last night, Leah must have come in and done it. Rachael sighed as she stretched. "That tattoo," she thought, "Did it make me want to start cleaning? Is that even possible? No, no... That's silly. It was just an odd mood and a weird dream. Maybe something I ate."

The smell of pancakes permeated the air, and Rachael's stomach was in the mood for breakfast. She roused slowly, but as she stood up she felt rather refreshed. How long had it been since a good night's sleep? Rachael joined Leah in the kitchen, seeing her plate already made. "Busy night?" Leah inquired with a bit of a grin.

"No...?" Rachael eyed her roommate.

"Oh?" She smirked as she took ate a bite of her pancake. "Sure sounded like you were busy." They made eye contact over the table while Rachael tried to figure out what that was supposed to mean. Leah's smug expression didn't change as Rachael shifted her eyes.

Finally, Rachael had to ask. "What do you mean?"

It didn't take Rachael long to regret asking. "OOOOOOOH!" Leah faked a moan and started speaking very breathlessly. "Uuuuugh... it's so dirty! I'll have to clean all night!" She couldn't keep it up long before bursting out in laughter. "Y-you haven't even noticed how wet your panties are!"

Rachael turned very deeply red. Her panties were soaked, and she really hadn't noticed until it was pointed out. "I..." Words failed her. Maybe that was why she woke up so refreshed, but she didn't remember her dream being a sexy dream.

"You what? Had a naughty?" Leah continued to laugh, but slowly calmed down as she smiled. "I'm sorry, really, but you were so loud I had to tease you about it. Plus, you would do the same to me, right?"

"Yes, yes..." Rachael rolled her eyes and looked away. Her blush didn't fade even as she finished her breakfast, showered, and got ready for work. "I'll see you tonight, try not to show your ass off to too many people at work." Her blush faded as she grinned smugly.

Leah just raised her hand and waved Rachael off nonchalantly. "Try not to soak yourself at work."

Words failed Rachael the second time as she growled and walked out.