Author's pov:

A 24-year-old woman was walking along the streets of Chicago in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day and the Sun was shining brightly when she turned left and continued walking. She was carrying a cloth bag that had a huge logo on it. The Logo belonged to a Tattoo studio called Black Arrow. And this woman was the owner of that exact studio. 

"Hey! This is Ava speaking, how can I help you?" She answered brightly to the phone after hearing it ringing in her denim jacket's pocket. The Woman's name was actually Avaline, but everyone called her Ava since she didn't like her name at all. She had long chestnut colored hair to her shoulder blades and light green colored eyes which stole the attention from her tiny body. But even if she was short, she was stronger than anyone could guess because one of her hobbies when she had been younger, was different kinds of mortal combats.

And when she had been a preteen, she had had three specific heroes that were fictional. At least she had always thought so. But those three macho mice had affected her life so much that she wanted to become strong and badass like they had been in the series. She even had a small motorcycle tattoo on her right ankle as a memory for the show. That tattoo was the first she had done by herself, but she also had a couple other tattoos too. A Tiny bird tattoo on the back of her neck, which was one of the many meanings of her name. And also she had a huge wolf tattoo on her left shoulder.

"A New appointment? Yes, but can I call you back in five minutes? I'm actually on the way to the studio!" Ava said while smiling when she saw her new studio. She had been living in Chicago for a couple of months now, and had already got her company running nicely. She had got many customers already, even if it was just a few but it was a very fine amount for the start in a huge city.

She had put all of her savings to move to the city of Chicago. She had always dreamed about that and especially having her own tattoo studio there. Even if she was also studying to be a botanist. One of her hobbies nowadays was being a plant hoarder, but she also had many more hobbies too even if she had quite a few when she had moved from her home country which was located in Europe.

After she had walked in front of the door of her studio, some weird smell got caught in her nose. "Urgh.. Disgusting.. Where does that come from?!" She said while looking for the keys from her cloth bag. Even if she had got used to weird smells in that big industrial city, this smell was at a brand new level. "Garbage.. No.. A Dead body.. No.. Something worse.. What would be worse than the smell of a dead body? Or how could I even know that smell either? Anyhow this is bad!!" Ava said when she opened the door and stepped inside her studio.

"Ah.. What would be better than my own tattoo studio?" She said while smiling proudly. "Even if this place needs some cleaning and reorganizing, this is a paradise for me! And for my clients!" She smiled after closing the door. But when she walked to the window to open the curtains, she saw a purple limousine driving past.

"What a gorgeous car! Familiar from somewhere, huh.. But where?" She said while following where the limo drove, but then she remembered the caller. "Oh right! I needed to call her back! Where is my calendar?" She said while walking to her main desk. She pulled a drawer open and grabbed her calendar from there. Then she called the person again and planned an appointment with her.

After that she took her groceries she had bought from a local store, to the fridge. "Almost forgot my lunch in my bag again..!" She sighed and then started to prepare today's appointment. But when she was about to start, she heard knocking from the front door.

"Oh my God.. I forgot to unlock the door! This isn't the best day of mine, right.." Ava chuckled to herself and then walked to the door. "Hey! Welcome to the Black Arrow!" She smiled at a woman who was her customer today. "Hey! I'm Charley Davidson" Said a woman with long brown hair, just a few years older than herself. The Woman was wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue jeans with brown boots.

"Nice to meet you Charley! My name is Ava, but first I need to ask. Am I late badly or are you early?" Ava said while she walked to prepare the appointment. "I might be a bit early.. Is that okay?" A Woman who had introduced her as Charley Davidson, said.

"Yes, if you don't mind waiting a couple of minutes. And please make yourself comfortable!" Ava answered from the other room. "No rush, I have a couple of hours before I need to get back to my own place" Charley said while walking around the studio to look around the places. "What kind of place do you have?" Ava said curiously before she walked behind the curtains that separate a smaller room from the bigger one. In that smaller room, was the place she did tattoos and it also gave some privacy for the clients. And the bigger one was for the other parts that were needed to run the company, so called "the Main room".

"I have a garage, a workshop, you name it! It's the Last Change Garage a few blocks away from here" Charley said making Ava's jaw almost drop. "Are you Charlene? That Charlene?!" She said making the other laugh. "Yes! I thought when would you notice it! I recognized you immediately when you opened the door, Ava!" She laughed before Ava ran to hug her.

These two women got to know each other a couple of years ago from Postcrossing. And after that they had started to change letters and be pen pals. They had become close to each other, and had planned to meet someday, but that someday had come as a surprise for both of them. Ava had written to her that she is moving to Chicago, but neither of them knew that they would be just a few blocks away from each other.

"How dare you not say anything? But it's so nice to meet you finally!" Ava said when she handed the way for her to go to the smaller room. "Likewise! How are you? When did you move here? Is it just temporary or?" Charley said after walking past the curtains. "I like your style in this studio by the way.. So comfy" She continued making Ava laugh. "Like in the letters, you are so talkative! But thank you, this isn't ready yet, but it does the thing for clients and safely!" Ava said while sitting on her chair.

"I will answer you soon but where was the tattoo you wanted more color on to be fixed?" She asked, making Charley start to unbutton her shirt. "On my side, like I mentioned while making the appointment" She said making her almost facepalm. "Oh right! Sorry, I have had so many things to do, but I'm fine, I moved here a couple of months ago. And I'm not sure if I will stay here or go back to Europe someday.. At least I'll be here for the next few years because of my studies and if this studio yields good profit, then I have another reason to stay. So far I like the city! Even if I don't know it much properly, just things that I have found via Maps.." She explained and this time the mechanic laughed.

"And you told me a talkative, blabbermouth!" She laughed causing the other one to laugh too. It felt like for both of them that they had known each other their whole life. But both of them had their secrets that they hadn't told to the other one. But which one was bigger one? That couldn't be said properly because it depended on perspective.

"How gorgeous motorcycles you have here!" Ava admired while gently petting her tattoo on her right side. Charley had a red sporty motorcycle on her side along with a light blue, more feminine one. "Do you own these beauties or where are these from?" She wondered while starting to prepare her machine. "Please lay over there and take a comfortable position. Not much preparation needed but it's going to take awhile" Ava said while the mechanic obeyed.

"The Light blue one is mine, I built it by myself, but that other one.. It's my friend's.." She said while blushing. "A Friend? With a blush? How come I'm not buying that.." Ava said but then continued. "But how come you didn't get this fixed by the artist who made this?" She asked curiously. "They moved to another state.. And believe me, it was hard to a find new one since it costs a fortune to fly to the other side of America with my salary!" Charley chuckled but then added. "But luckily I found you, Ava! Get used to seeing me being here.." She smiled making the artist smile too.

"Regular customers are always welcome! You can be my human size guinea pig for tests" Ava laughed making the other one laugh too. "Right.. A Huge one.." She smirked to herself but then let out loud "Ouch!" when the tattoo machine hit a sensitive spot. "I told you tell me when you are going to start!" She said making her laugh. "It's just like tearing a plaster right?" She said causing the other one to roll her eyes.

"Have you got any tattoos yourself, huh Ava?" She wondered making her laugh. "You seriously thought I only have these beautiful piercings of mine? I have three tattoos, and I'm willing to have some more any time soon!" She said while fixing her tattoos. She had 15 piercings, but only 14 were properly showing since one was on her tongue. She had one on her left eyebrow, an industrial on her right ear, three helix on her left ear, 4 lobes for each ear and one microdermal on her right middle finger.

"Did they hurt? Or these? What was most painful?" Charley said after getting rid of the thought about a human size guinea pig, like Ava would know about her secret. "Nah.. Like I told you in the letters, I have good tolerance of pain, but if I had to be honest.. The Microdermal on my finger hurt most.. And from tattoos, my ankle was quite a juicy spot to do!" She laughed while remembering taking each of them during the years.

"Wait.. What? Did you do it to yourself? Ouch!" Charley asked and whined when the machine hit the sensitive spot again. "Of course! And also a few piercings myself too.. But I don't recommend that if you are not professional!! Seriously, do NOT try that at home!!" She said seriously making her nod.

"I can believe that.. And I'm not that kind of crazy!" She said and smiled, or actually just tried since the machine hit again. "Ouch! I didn't remember this hurt this much.." Charley said causing the artist to laugh. "Juicy spots, I see! Not even halfway done.. Try to stay comfy.. Alright?" She said making the other one roll her eyes. "Comfy.. Not the first word that comes into my mind right now!" She said and then they both laughed at that.

Timeskip: A Couple of hours later

"Do you have other appointments too today?" Charley said after Ava had treated the fresh ink properly and wrapped it nicely. "You can put your clothes back on now" Ava said while cleaning the places. "Did I come to gynecologist, to have a tattoo or something else suspicious?" Charley laughed and the reason for her mad sense of humor was again, her secret.

"You choose, but I'll have my money anyhow!" Ava laughed while Charley put her shirt back on carefully. After that they walked to the main room and she paid her for fixing her tattoo. "You did a wonderful job! I'm sure I'll be your regular customer and recommend to everyone possible!" Charley smiled after Ava gave her her business card.

"Thank you, I'm always happy to have happy customers that pay well. But no, you were the only one for today since I need to clean this place more and do some more decorating here!" Ava smiled while checking everything was okay. "These are the healing instructions, make sure you follow them right. And here are the products for it" Ava said and packed some stuff for her in a paper bag.

"Thank you so much! We need to see each other often since you live here now. Where do you actually live?" The Mechanic asked making her sigh deeply. "That's my main problem.. Since the rent is so high in this place, I spend my nights in AirBnB, but I have just a couple of days left before I need to find a new place.. Maybe I bunk in here on the couch.." Ava wondered out loud making Charley gasp.

"There's no way my friend lives like that! I'll help you with that.. I can lend you some money if needed?" She suggested but she just shook her head. "No way.. I'm not going to take your last money.. But maybe if I can sleep on your couch a couple of nights before I find another place?" Ava suggested but noticed right away that Charley started to hesitate.

"Is that a bad idea?" She asked making her sigh. "Yea.. I have a couple or a few friends staying over and they aren't.. How should I say.. Umm.. Locals.. And I'm the only one who they know here" Charley mumbled, making it even hard to hear.

"So.. It's the biker you have a tattoo about?" Ava smirked making the mechanic stutter and blush. "No!!" She flung her hands but Ava saw through her, but then thought her words more. "A couple or a few? How come you don't know their amount? Don't say you have some cockroaches over there! If you do, I can handle them for sure!!" Ava said causing the mechanic to burst into laughter.

"Cockroaches.. That's a good one!" She laughed but then continued after getting herself calm down, which was quite easy since her side was a bit sore. "Pests are easy to handle.. Even if they might be tough sometimes.." Ava said making Charley hard to resist her from laughing. "I hope the guys never hear that.." Charley thought to herself while walking to the door.

"Call me tomorrow and I'll have a solution to your problem, no need to worry!" Charley said making Ava smile at her. They hugged each other before Ava opened a door for her friend. "But I need to see how's your garage is like! You have talked so much about it" She said making her friend turn around. "Of course! But please do not do surprise visits, my friends don't like it.. And sometimes they have their family or friends over.. That's why the couples or a few.." Charley explained making her chuckle.

"That's fine. I'm happy you have such good friends like them" She smiled while leaning against the doorway. "They feel more like a family to me, but yea.. I'm happy about that too, but text or call me first, right?" Charley said while going through her bag that she had everything with her. She had eaten some snacks during the appointment while they talked about everything but their secrets.

"Alright, but don't wonder if it comes from a strange number, since you texted to my studio's number" Ava said, receiving a nod from her. "See ya!" They said to each other before Charley left by walking. Ava walked back to the studio to do the rest of the cleaning before she left too. She had to do some shopping today to get the place completely ready.

"Some personal stuff and umm.. Cleaning supplies.. Sounds boring as hell but necessary.." Ava thought out loud while walking the streets again. She didn't have any kind of vehicle since she was so used to public transportations and walking. One of her hobbies was actually running which she liked a lot.

"Woo Hoo!! Look out!!" Someone shouted behind her making her jump a bit while lifting her head up from the shopping list. She didn't care to look after who had shouted at her since she saw something more out of ordinary. Something that she had seen years ago, in a cartoon show.

"Limburger Plaza.. Why does that sound so familiar?" She thought to herself while she finally continued walking, and actually towards the thing she had just seen. A Huge tower had caught her attention but then she thought that maybe someone had just watched the same show and happened to have an interesting taste of humor. "Why does it look exactly like it in the show? How is that even possible?" She wondered while having her eyes caught to the tower.

Then, out of nowhere, she heard some heavy metal music playing behind her, just before she saw someone driving past so fast she couldn't see them properly, but something made the whole tower explode and collapse on the ground. "Vinnie, there's a citizen!! Get her safe before she gets hit by a piece of wall!" Someone shouted making her turn around.

Then a motorcyclist appeared from nowhere, wrapped a rope around her and the next thing she noticed was that she was sitting behind the driver who drove away from the collapsing building. "Let me go!! Who are you?!" Ava shouted while starting to hit the guys back with fists. "Ouch!! Is that how you thank me, girl?!" The Motorcyclist growled when they finally stopped and she had finally had a chance to jump off the bike.

"A Girl?! Who are you calling a girl?!" Ava growled back to her but then two other motorcyclists drove next to them. Why did their bikes look way too familiar too?! "Somebodies seem to be fans of cartoons.. And I thought I was a nerd.." She thought to herself but then the other one talked.

"Easy, easy! Vinnie, apologize to her.." He said making her turn to look at them. "Vinnie?" She mumbled but then her saver growled something that was meant to be an apology. "Sorry, lady.. Maybe you are a woman after all.." He said making her tight her hand into fist again. "I'm sorry, okay!!" He said and lifted his hands up in the air. Then she saw it, a hairy hand. Maybe a glove that reminded her of a white fur.

"No way.. It just couldn't be possible.." She thought but then sighed. "Thank you.. You saved me from the collapsing tower.." She said making the driver chuckle. "There are some manners.. You seem a tough one, don't you?" He said making her smile and nod. "Vinnie right?" She asked, making the driver nod and lift his hands on his helmet. "Vinnie, that might not be a good idea.." The Biggest one said but that just made Ava even more curious.

The Vinnie guy lifted his helmet off, causing Ava's jaw to drop on the ground and immediately after that, she fainted. She had just seen a giant mouse. Exactly the same one that had been one of her childhood heroes in that cartoon show.. But how was that possible?!