Okay, so this is only going to be my second story on here. I am so sorry if I don't create something beautiful to your standards, but I'll try. All of the characters in this story are based off my friends in real life. I'm using their personas to create personalities for the characters here. But the story line itself, is not real whatsoever…PS…
I don't own bleach or any of it's characters.
Cup 1: Unknown number
"Come on! This is going to be great!" The green haired girl hollered as she danced around while walking toward the doors of a booming night club. The place was lit up, and there were lights flashing through the door. A large man stood by the door with his arms crossed.
"Nel, I'm not usually into this kind of thing!" Ichigo told her as he tried to keep up with her. The two had been friends since the beginning of the year. She was in his Advanced Drawing class.
She was the best artist that he knew of, and he was the second best in the class. So it made sense that they became friends. But that's another story for a different time.
Nel trotted up to the large man who blocked the door as Ichigo had moved toward the line that was going half way down the block.
"Itsygo!" She hollered. Ichigo looked toward her, annoyed with how she preferred to pronounce his name. She waved him over to her, and he reluctantly went toward her. She waited for him to come up to her and the large man.
"Yammy, can we go in please?" She asked. Ichigo looked to her a little surprised. She knew the man's name, and was asking for entrance to the club ahead of the line of people that were obviously trying to glare them to death.
The orange haired boy looked back to Nel who stood next to him, she wore rather tight looking black leather shorts, and boots with a heel that went to mid-calf on her legs. Her green tank top under a black leather sleeveless jacket completed her look.
She looked like a regular girl that went to dance clubs. And she was. She had told Ichigo that she wanted to take him out to a really cool place. But he never thought that she'd want to take him dancing. And he also knew that she'd told him to wear something that would be likely to get someone's attention.
He wore a black dress jacket over a white button down shirt that was still unbuttoned at the top two buttons to show off his chest, which was only like that because Nel yanked them open earlier. He wore black jeans that were form fitting, but not too tight at all. With a completed look with high-top converse.
The large man named Yammy had removed the rope that blocked their path into the club that was apparently one of the best ones to go to, called Hueco Mundo. He sighed and followed Nel through the gate. He didn't look to the large man that was watching him as he walked passed.
The music was much louder now that they had entered the building. To the point that Nel had to move next to the strawberry's ear and almost yell at the top of her lungs for him to hear her.
"I'm gonna get a drink, you want one? I'm buying!" She told him. So he just nodded. Without a second thought, he walked toward a booth that was in the back. He sat down and waited, unaware of the eyes that were on him.
Given about ten minutes of sitting there uncomfortably, Nel had found him and sat next to him with four drinks. Ichigo looked at her with a raised brow. "I thought you were going to get two drinks!" He called for her to hear.
She moved next to his ear, "There's a hot guy up there that said he'd get the double drinks for me. So I really only paid for two." She said with a giggle. Ichigo shook his head and looked around the building. There were hundreds of people dancing around on the large dance floor.
He downed half of his drink, not even caring what it tasted like. He was in an environment that he was not used to, so he wasn't going to be here sober.
Sighing, he looked to Nel who was also looking around the room. She was obviously watching someone across the way. Ichigo followed her gaze, landing on a rather tall man. He couldn't see his face as his back was turned to him. But he saw long black hair that was obviously well kept. The man wore a white button down shirt and black pants. But that's all the berry could see.
"Go say something!" Ichigo told Nel as he leaned close to her. She looked back to him and shook her head quickly.
Ichigo was taken aback by this, she was the only person that he knew of who would go and hit on almost every hot guy that she'd seen. And he didn't understand why the sudden change in attitude toward the idea.
"Why not?" He asked.
She looked to him with her hand on her chin and her elbow on the table. He threw her eyes toward the guys that were over there again, as if to tell him to look over there. Sighing, he looked up and looked at all of the guys that were there.
He finally saw the man's face. He had a huge shit-eating grin on his face, and an eye patch over his left eye. He was obviously looking in Ichigo and Nel's direction. But he wasn't the only one. There were two more gentlemen there. One also tall, but not as much that showed off blue hair. He wore what looked like a black sleeveless jacket over a black tank top with a large blue six inscribed onto the front of the tank top. He also wore a dark colored jeans that seemed to have a few tears in the thighs.
The third boy was short, and pale. He had black hair and wore a white shirt under a red flannel. But then there was also a white jacket on top of that too. With neat deep colored blue jeans to boot.
The first two were looking in their direction, and Ichigo quickly looked back to his green haired friend. "Okay, so you're going to let him go after you?" He asked before downing the rest of his first drink.
Nel shook her head and leaned close. "That one with blue hair, he's kinda hot don't you think?" She asked. He sighed and shot another glance toward them, and had to agree. He was by far one of the most attractive guys that he'd seen.
"What's you're point?" He asked before looking away from the blue haired demon and to his friend again.
She just shook her head again, "I'm trying to have them come over here. I'll take the tall one, you can have big blue. His name is Grimmjow." She said to him as she looked away and grinned toward the boys. Ichigo looked to her again before looking up toward the two that she'd wanted that were now on their way over.
"I highly doubt that he's-" He was cut off by how close they were now. He was sure that they'd either be able to hear or read his lips. Though the second was more likely than the first option.
"Well hello there gorgeous. You seem new around here, want someone to show you around?" The tall man asked. He placed his hand on the table, and was leaning over with his one visible eye on Nel.
She tilted her head and smiled, "I'm not new, but I think I'll take you up on that offer anyway!" She said with a giggle and stood.
Ichigo shook his head and grabbed his second glass. He took a gulp and sighed as the three of them had moved off toward the dance floor. Leaving Ichigo there by himself in the booth to watch.
He had downed the drink that was in his hand, and stood. He didn't want to be here, so he headed toward the door. Without even a glance back, he walked out and started off toward the college where his dorm was. He sighed, with the few drinks that he had, he wasn't even buzzed. It was as though the drinks had no effect on him at all.
He pulled out his phone, unlocking it, he swiped his finger over the screen texting Nel.
'Tired, heading back. See you in class tomorrow.' He text before sliding it back in his pocket. Making it a few blocks, he felt his pocket vibrate. He pulled out his phone and looked it over.
'Alright, sorry that he didn't stick around with you. Turned out he has a girlfriend.' She text. He nodded, he figured that was the case. Not many guys like him were single after all. And it was even less likely that the man would be into guys anyway.
As Ichigo walked, he huffed, he didn't like walking along the darkened roads at night alone. He always felt someone would come and attack him, even though it really never happened. But there was always that feeling of someone having their eyes on him. The feeling was ever more so present whenever he was alone though and on the road at night.
He picked up his pace, but still felt that feeling lingering.
As he turned the corner, he saw his apartment building in view. Sighing with relief, he walked quickly toward it. It only took him a few more minutes to get on the property of the building, and another few good minutes to get to his apartment.
Once he had opened the door, he sighed with a smile and started to pull off the clothes that took him a good five minutes to pick out for the night. He let them fall on the floor as he headed toward the small kitchen that sat in the large two room studio apartment.
Opening his fridge, he pulled out the half-gallon of milk and went for a mug. Taking out a plain white one. He grabbed a small teapot and poured milk into it before putting it on the small electric stove that he had sitting there.
As he waited for it to warm up, he moved to the cabinet and grabbed a packet of powder hot chocolate. The kind that had the little white marshmallows already mixed in. He set the pack down next to the mug, and moved toward the large queen sized futon that sat on the opposite side of the room. He was about to grab his sketch book off the bed when he'd heard his phone ring.
Sighing, he left the book there before going to his pants that were still sitting on the floor, looking at the number, he'd slid the answer key across as he put it up to his ear.
"What now Nel?" He'd asked in a somewhat irritated tone.
"Can I come over tonight? My roommate just called and told me that she was bringing a guy to our dorm. So I don't want to bother them in their sexy fun time." She'd exclaimed. Ichigo sighed and looked over toward his sketchbook.
"Uh, sure I guess. I'm making hot chocolate right now, would you like some as well?" He'd asked.
Hearing a squeal on the other side of the phone, he groaned and hung up on her. Taking the noise as a yes, he went ahead and poured a little more milk into the teapot. It wasn't quite to the point that was ready to make the drinks, so he just went ahead and grabbed another cup and packet.
Going back to his bed finally, he grabbed the sketchbook and a mechanical pencil. He headed back toward the kitchen when he'd heard a key being jiggled into the door, and turned. The bolt was still unlocked from when he'd gotten home, but he didn't worry about letting Nel know that.
He went and sat on the small counter that was attached to the side of the stove. Pulling a foot up to rest on the counter with him, he opened the sketch book and pumped the back of his pencil to push the lead out.
"What'cha drawing?" Nel asked as she closed and locked the door behind her. She walked over and leaned over the book to see what he was sketching. Although she figured what he'd be drawing already. But he'd pulled the book away from her prying eyes and closed it.
Jumping off the counter, he grabbed the packets of the chocolate mix and poured them into the two mugs that were sitting on the counter. He then went to grab the teapot and poured the hot milk into the two mugs.
Handing Nel a cup and a spoon to mix the drinks, he stirred his own with a spoon. Tossing the spoon in the sink along with the green haired girl's. Looking up as he took a sip of his hot chocolate, he saw Nel looking him over.
Pulling the cup away from his lips, he looked down at himself. "What?" He asked as he looked up toward her again. "Did I spill some on me?" He asked before looking back down to himself.
"Oh, no no. I've just never seen you in only your underwear." She said as she spun on her heel and moved toward the little table that was sitting next to a large window that overlooked the city. She set her cup down on the table and looked out the window. "Hey, Nnoitra, the guy that I danced with tonight told me I should go to their garage tomorrow. Turns out that those boys go to Shin'o University too." She explained. Ichigo wasn't really surprised, Shin'o University was a school for the arts. Not just drawing and painting, but all forms of art. There was cooking, photography, clothing design, and yes even car design. If it was considered an art to anyone, there was a class for it.
He sat down across from her in the only other free chair. He was just listening to his friend, sipping on his hot drink. He wasn't really expecting to get much from her story. But who'd have guessed that he'd get the most out of it?
She went on to explain that they were all in the automotive program, all three of the boys. And they all worked in the same garage. She also went to explain that the boys wanted her to go to the garage the following day after class. But she'd said she couldn't because she was going to be with Ichigo.
To his surprise, she then proceeded to tell him that they said that he should come too. Of course, he wasn't expecting this because he figured they'd be the type of guys that would go against him, having been with the girl the night before. He didn't exactly look gay, so being with such an attractive girl usually meant that you were dating. So it came as a surprise that the guys there would want him to go too.
Without even thinking, Ichigo agreed that he'd go too. He shocked himself by agreeing, but now that it was said, Nel would never let him get out of it. He mentally slapped himself.
Finishing his drink, he went and put the mug in the sink, rinsing it out, he'd do the dishes later. He then moved across the room to the small dresser that stood next to his futon. It was big enough to hold all of his clothes; then again, he didn't have much clothes to begin with.
Fishing out a pair of shorts, he slid them on and fell onto his bed. He yanked the blankets over himself, and looked toward the wall that was covered in windows. He wasn't sure what the next day would bring, but he knew for sure that it'd be at least interesting. As the light was turned off, and he felt another body get into the bed next to him, he closed his eyes finally before drifting off to sleep quickly.
The next morning had come and gone quickly. The two had woken up early, dressed, and went for coffee at the Starbucks that was on the University's campus. It was a normal routine for them by this time. Afterward they'd said their goodbyes and proceeded to their individual classes. They only had one class together, but it wasn't on this day, a Wednesday. They only had two classes each today.
It was now the second class of the day for Ichigo, he sat in the computers graphics class. He didn't have many friends, but this class had one of the few that he'd had. Renji Abari. The man had red hair, and tattoos all over. He was one of the few people that Ichigo had actually liked from the beginning of the year. Not that he wanted to date the man, he just wasn't the berry's type.
"Hey Berry, how was Hueco Mundo last night?" He heard the tattooed man ask as the said man finally sat down in his seat finally, ten minutes late already.
"I thought I told you not to call me that you damned Pineapple." He shot back as he continued on his work. He was in the middle of creating a planetary piece. It held a boy sitting in the middle of the piece that was reading a book. He'd gone and made it look like space was flowing out of the book and around the boy. "And it was kind of boring, of course, Nel found some guy she was into." He'd told Abari.
"Damn that girl works quickly." He'd said without the actual sound of caring. The two had a fling in the past. But they said they both were over it. Renji was now dating a short girl with black hair. Her brother was the teacher for their current class.
"Was there a reason you were late, Abari?" Byakuya asked as he stood behind the two boys with his arms crossed over his chest.
Renji looked to him and chuckled half-heartedly. He was obviously a little afraid of the man, being his girlfriend's older brother. He had quite the say in the Pineapple's relationship. So he really couldn't think of a good enough excuse aside form that he'd woken up late. Which didn't seem believable considering it was midday by then.
Ichigo snickered before returning to his piece. It had to be done by the weekend, or he wouldn't be able to get it accepted into the up coming art show. So he was working as hard as he could to get it done.
If Renji had said something to him, Ichigo didn't hear it due to how much he was into the work he was doing. This is the major that he chose. Computer graphics. He wanted to not only make art on the computer though, he was trying to get into animation as well. But that wasn't till the next year that he could take it. So for now, he was doing the best he could with what he was given.
As he worked, he found his mind wondering to the events that would unfold later in the day. He'd agreed to go with Nel to the garage, to meet her newest fling. She never actually had many boyfriends, just a guy here or there that wanted the same thing she wanted, sex.
But that's not what he was thinking about. His mind had wondered off toward the tuff of blue hair that he'd seen the night before. Nel had told him that they all worked at the garage on campus. Picturing the blue male under the hood of a car, covered in the dark colored oil, and sweating. He smiled to himself, of course he would like someone like that. The mechanic was a guy, and he liked guys.
"Alright class, that is all for the day, I hope you all got at least most of the work done on your projects. We won't have class till Friday. So I'll see you all then." He heard Byakuya call out as the man started to shut down his own computer.
"Shit." Ichigo sighed as he saved his work, pulling out a flash drive, he saved it to the memory and started to shut off his own computer.
"What?" Renji asked as he looked over to Ichigo while also shutting down the machine.
"I got side tracked and didn't finish. Now I need to work over night on it before I can submit it. There's still so much I want to do to this piece." He explained as he grabbed his bag from under his computer and lifted it to his shoulders. Slipping the USB into his pocket, he pulled out his phone to check for texts from Nel. He had one.
'Let me know when you're out of class. I'm already out for the day.' It read. He text back, allowing her to know he was freed from the class. Renji was in toe behind him walking, and talking about whatever it was that he was going to be doing the rest of the day.
They had finally gotten to the small crossroads that sat in the middle of the campus; Ichigo looked back to the red haired male, "I need to go. I'm going to the other side of the campus. Maybe we'll hang out later?" He asked as he turned and started off toward the direction of the garages.
Abari watched as he knew where that sidewalk lead. He was a little surprised that Ichigo would be taking that way. And was wondering now why the boy had done such. But without any worry as to the boy's intentions, he knew that he'd be alright.
As he passed by the cooking building on his way, Ichigo felt something large and squishy on his back. He sighed as he already knew what was going on. Hands went around his eyes, "Guess who." A voice said in the most sexual of tones. Of course he knew who it was.
"Nel, don't play this stupid game and get off me." He said as he pried her hands off his face.
"Awe that was too easy for you, I even tried to make my voice sound different and everything!" She said with a pout face. Obviously acting rather childish.
Shaking his head, he looked to her obviously a little annoyed, "I thought we were going to see your new boy toy." He said with a sigh and turning toward the garages that were now in sight. Nel had to practically run to keep up with the boy.
"Alright, he said that they were in the garage that is the farthest back." She said as she was walking along the many large buildings. Each one was a good 500 square feet. As they walked, Nel danced around and turned to Ichigo with a flirty look in her eye as she winked at him and stuck her tongue out. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, I'm doing this so you can get closer to that hot guy." She said with a giggle. Turning back forward, they found the one that they were looking for.
As they got to the building, Nel knocked on a door that had a glass panel in it, which obviously lead to the office of this garage. The same black haired boy came up to the door and opened it for the two. "Oh, hello. I forgot that you'd be coming today. Nnoitra is in the garage, he's working on his car. I'll take you to him." He said as he lead the way. Ichigo felt so out of place in the building. But as they passed through the office, he noticed two doors that were closed, both of which had no glass in them this time. One labeled bathroom, the other labeled beds.
He thought it strange to see the second label on the door. Did the boys here all sleep here too? He asked himself as he continued to walk. As they made their way into the large garage, he looked around. There were cars everywhere, and even some motorcycles. Ichigo looked around at all of the cars, there was an Audi, a Volkswagen, a Mozda, a Tesla, and even a Nissan. There were many more, but those were just the ones that Ichigo recognized at first glance.
"Nnoitra. You have guests." The black haired boy said aloud.
A tall man poked his head out from under the hood of the Mozda, looking over at them, he grinned wildly. He stood upright, towering over the car as he walked in their direction, "I wasn't sure you'd show." He said as he wiped off the oil from his hands.
"I told you I would." Nel said with a giggle and a glance back to Ichigo. Nnoitra finally took notice of him, and shot a glare toward him.
"Who might this be?" He asked with a gaze that made the Berry wiggle with discomfort.
"Oh he's just my friend, I couldn't leave him all alone by himself today, he likes cars and everything. Though he's just quiet, he secretly wants to go get under the hood of one of these." She said with a giggle and a glance toward Ichigo. It was all a lie really. Sure he liked cars as much as the next guy, but he didn't want to have to get under a car and work on it.
"Oh, well if he wants then he can come over and help out whenever he wants!" Another boy spoke out from behind Ichigo. He had pink hair and glasses. He was obviously dressed for work that did not include oil or grease. What he was doing here, Ichigo wasn't sure. He seemed out of his element too. The boy looked more like a painter.
"Well hello there, my name is Szayelaporro Granz. But you can go ahead and just call me Szayel." He said as he walked toward Ichigo with the widest grin on his face. "And my what might your name be cutie?" He asked toward the Berry, obviously flirting.
"The name is Ichigo Kurosaki." He said, annoyed by the flamboyant voice of the man.
"Ohhhh. Well now can I have a taste of this Strawberry?" He asked with a giggle and a wink at him.
"Back off Szayel. You're obviously making him uncomfortable." Nnoitra said before turning away walking back toward the car that he was working on not moments before. Both Nel and Ichigo walked with him. When they finally arrived at the Mozda, Ichigo looked it over before noticing that it was a Mozda Speed 6. A fast car if taken care of properly.
"So Nnoitra, this is the car you were talking about last night? Your fast baby?" Nel asked as she ran her finger along the edge. "Care to take me for a ride?" She asked with a giggle.
Ichigo scuffed and turned to walk away. Heading around the others, he made it to the Audi, his favorite type of car. He never would tell people that though, he was sure that no one knew that he was actually into cars. Not into them enough to work on them for the rest of his life. He'd just prefer to collect them and drive them.
"Hey, grab that rag in my tool chest and bring it here!" He heard a voice under the hood of the Audi call out. He looked around before seeing the rag and grabbing it. Walking over, he saw the blue haired boy standing there with his hand in the engine of the car. His face had small oil marks all over it, and a few grease stains on his arms and clothes.
Holding out the rag, he almost jumped out of his skin when the boy had taken hold of his arm and dragged him over there. Pushing Ichigo's hand with the rag in it onto the car, he wasn't quite sure what was going on. "Hold that there while I fix the leak." He said without even looking at the boy. He quickly moved and slid under the engine of the car. "Oh, hand me that ratchet up there. I left it up there." He said waving his hand out from under the front of the car.
Ichigo grabbed it and tried his best to hand it to him, but he just couldn't reach. So instead he just dropped it into the man's hand, hoping that he'd catch it. "Thanks!" He said as he went to work on fixing a leak that was apparently in the car.
Within a minute or so, he finally pulled himself out from under the car. Standing, he wiped himself off of the dirt that made it's way onto him from the floor, "Thanks you helped a lo-" He stopped his talking once he laid eyes on Ichigo. Looking him over he raised a brow, "Wait who are you?" He asked.
"The name is Ichigo Kurosaki." He said with a slight tinge of pink in his face and reaching out his hand for a shake.
The man took it, his black oiled hands exchanging the grease with the other's. "Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Oh sorry." He said as he pulled his hand away realizing that he just got oil all over the kid's hand. "Anyway, thanks for the help. You helped a lot." He said as he turned to the car again. Pushing himself under the hood again, he started to tinker away at the vehicle again.
"Audi A4 Quattro." Ichigo announced as he moved to the side of the car where Grimmjow could see him. "2012?" He asked as he looked into the engine with the blue haired demon.
The grin that showed on the other's face showed that Ichigo was right on the dot. "Yeah man, she's a beauty alright, but this is just my street car." He said; if that smile could get any bigger, Ichigo was sure that it would rip his face in half.
"Are you boys having fun?" Ichigo heard as he turned to see his green haired friend finally walking up. She stopped next to Ichigo and lightly elbowed him in the ribs with a wink and a head nod toward Grimmjow.
"Umm, yeah. We were just talking about this car." The Berry said as he turned back to the engine with the pink tint coming back to his cheeks once again. His eyes were on the car, but his mind was elsewhere.
"Oh hey Nel, so did Nnoitra entertain you enough for now?" Grimmjow asked with a chuckle and a thumb hooked toward his tall friend that was still working on his own car.
"Yeah, I was just coming over to see if Ichigo needed any help with understanding cars." She said with a giggle and a nudge, "But since he's with you, I'm sure he'll learn all he can. You're a good teacher for that kind of thing aren't you?" She asked with a finger pressed to his chest.
"Grimmjow!" Another voice behind them all hollered. A blonde girl, tall and thin with the tannest skin that Ichigo has seen in a while came wondering up.
Before the girl even got close, the Berry heard an annoyed sigh come from his new friend. "Hey Halibel." He said while rubbing the back oh his head. If Ichigo didn't know better, he'd have said that the two weren't going to have the best conversation.
"Can I talk to you baby?" She asked politely and emphasizing on the 'baby' part.
He nodded and shoved his hands in his pocket. Walking with her toward the wall of the garage, they stopped. It was obvious that she was mad at him just by the body language that the Berry was able to read from her. When her arms started flying around, and then pointed toward him and Nel, he knew instantly what happened.
"She's jealous of you already Nel." Kurosaki explained as he turned toward the car again looking over the engine once more. Just looking at it made him actually want to dive in and start tinkering with it. But he knew that he'd only mess it up because in all honesty, he had no idea how to work with cars.
"Woah wait what? I'm not trying to get with him, I'm trying to hook you two up here." She said waving her hands as to show that she meant it to him. It made him laugh and nod.
"I know, but there's really no point in that. He's straight, and dating that chick over there." He said as he moved to look inside the car itself.
"Doesn't look like that's going to be true in a bit here." She said as she moved to sit in the driver's seat of the Audi while Ichigo sat in the passenger's. He was looking at the insides, looking over all the computer gadgets and gizmos. He didn't look toward the blue and blonde that were arguing behind them by the wall. "I could always go over there and interrupt them and get him back over here for you." She said as she adjusted the rearview mirror to look at them. She could see Halibel look over, foaming at the mouth practically just by seeing her eyes looking out to her.
Nel giggled and shook her head, "The girl's seriously got a problem. I can totally take her." She said while looking toward Ichigo who was still fidgeting with the equipment in the car.
"Maybe so, but you don't need to." He said with a sigh, "Maybe I should just go." He added as he got out of the car and headed toward the exit. He didn't want to get involved with whatever it was that was going on. So he took it upon himself to show himself out.
Getting about one garage down from the one he'd just been in, he heard a crash behind him. Turning, he saw the blonde girl, face as red as a tomato, walking toward a Jaguar. Ichigo watched as she got in and sped off toward the street and down it. As she passed, he was sure that she was crying, although he wasn't sure exactly. Finally though, he started off again toward home. It'd take him a while to get back.
Taking out his phone, he dialed a number then sent a text out. He wasn't sure why he was sending the text, but he didn't really think anything of it. As he walked, finally getting off campus, he heard the ding on his phone that allowed him to know he got a text back.
Looking at it, he chuckled at the text back from Renji. He'd sent a message to the male to see if he was busy and if he wanted to hang out. But in a response, he got, 'Aren't you supposed to work on your project? Yes, I'm with Rukia so I'm gonna be busy tonight. Finish your project.' He shook his head and slid his phone into his pocket. As he walked he looked toward the sky, he mostly just wanted to survive the year at this college, and go on to the next year and survive that one to finally get his degree in animation then move on to a good job, maybe even make a good anime. Then he'd just survive life and work with whatever he had till he died.
There was nothing else really on his mind other than surviving till the next day. He never really got into those relationship states of mind where he wanted one and he had to have one. It just wasn't who he was. So when everyone else was going on with whomever they were with, he didn't mind sitting alone in his apartment with a sketchbook in hand, and a nice cup of hot chocolate in the other.
As he finally made his way off the campus, he walked along the sidewalks, not really paying attention to the cars or the people that passed him by. He was just walking almost blindly. His mind was now on his work, trying to figure out what it was that he was going to do next. He already had the ideas of how he wanted it to turn out, but what were some ways to make the idea even better? He just wasn't sure.
He finally made it to his building, walking over to the elevator, he pressed the 13th floor. Walking blindly to the 15th apartment, he pushed his key into the lock he unlocked the door and walked in. Tossing his bag on the side table that was next to the door.
He moved across the room toward the small table that sat at the foot of his bed, picking up the Mac laptop, he took it over by the window where it's charger sat as well. Plugging it in, he turned the computer on and pushed the USB drive in it. As the computer started up, he started the photoshop program before opening his project and started working away.
It was a good hour before he finally got up and moved into the kitchen to get a cup of warm tea. He didn't have anymore hot chocolate mix, meaning he'd have to go to the store soon. But for now, Earl Grey was the second best. As he heated the water and waited for it to brew, he heard his phone ding again.
Sighing he yanked the phone from his pocket and looked at the message, Nel again. As he read it, he was a little surprised. 'So they broke up! Lucky break for you huh? Go get him my young Strawberry!'
Ichigo grumbled and messaged back for her not to call him that before he locked his phone again and went ahead to pour the hot tea into a mug. Adding a bit of sugar for a sweeter taste, he took the mug with him over to his computer and continued working. He heard another ding, but decided to ignore it because he figured Nel would tease with the Strawberry idea. He hated being called a Berry because of his name. And if he had to deal with people always calling him that, he was sure to get pissed off.
Working and sipping on his tea, he had finally gotten most of the work done. He got almost everything that he wanted into the picture. But not everything. Looking at the time, he groaned at the sound, he pulled his phone out of his pocket to see who was texting him. One was from a number that he didn't recognize, he decided to ignore the message as it just said, 'Hey bro' and nothing more.
Looking at the second one, he groaned to see that his father had texted him. He was already annoyed just by getting the message from the man. But having to reply would have just been too much. The man was paying for his college, and for his housing. But he didn't want to have to talk to the man.
His father was a doctor who started off with just a little clinic. But working with his late mother, the man had gotten a hospital and now was quite wealthy. Still a goofball idiot, but a wealthy goofball idiot nonetheless.
Ignoring the messages, he set his phone down and moved to grab some clothes out of the dresser again. Grabbing a pair of grey shorts, he then moved to grab a pair of underwear that were rather small, They seemed like boy shorts, but that didn't matter to him. They were comfortable and he liked them.
He then moved across the way and headed for the bathroom. Within a good amount of time, he had gotten into the shower, as well as taken care of the dishes that were still sitting in the sink from the night before, moving on to laundry, he then had to wait for them to wash, and dry. So in the mean time, he went ahead and made dinner for himself.
As he sat at the table with his freshly made chicken alfrado pasta, he looked at his phone on the table next to him. Sighing, he picked it back up and responded to his father finally. But before locking his phone again, he paused and went to the message from the unknown sender. Texting back, he questioned who it was, and where they got his number from.
Continuing to eat, he didn't expect the number to text back so quickly. But once the ding sounded about half a minute later, he opened it, 'Nel gave me your number, she said it'd be fine.' It read. Ichigo looked at it confused, who would Nel have given his number to? He didn't think that she told him that she gave it to anyone, so when he grumbled about them not telling him who it was, he asked again.
This time he waited for the response. But this time it took longer for a response. So he started to continue his dinner. Taking another sip of his now chilled Earl Grey tea, he grumbled slightly to himself about the cool temperature. Standing with the glass, he went to warm it up in the microwave, but heard his phone ding again.
Grabbing it and walking toward the microwave, he unlocked it and read the message. In one moment, in that exact moment, his knees felt slightly weaker, his grip was gone, and his legs stopped all movement. The cup that was in his hand shattered against the hardwood floors.
'It's Grimmjow.' It said. Grimmjow had text him. The hot mechanic from the garage that met with Nel the night before at Hueco Mundo. The same blue haired demon that Ichigo would never admit to anyone, even himself, that he wanted nothing more than to grab a hold of and kiss. That very same man text him right now, and Nel was the reason for his knowing the Berry's number.
He finally realized that he'd dropped the mug that he was holding, and was now standing in a puddle of tea and glass. Texting back he tried to play it off cool by asking what the other was up to. He was a little shaken by the sudden realization that he was talking to the only man that he'd found anything alluring about in a while.
Taking a step far from where the glass and tea was sitting on his floor, he grabbed a hand towel that hung on the front of the oven, and grabbed the broom that was sitting just on the side of the fridge. Wiping up the tea, and sweeping up the glass, he tossed the pieces out before hearing a ding again. This time he quickly unlocked his phone to read the message, anxious about the other's response.
'Just working on my Audi again.' Ichigo smiled to himself, remembering the car, he always wanted an Audi. But not the same model.
'Audi is my favorite, although I want an R8 hardtop, V-10 manual.' He replied ecstatically. Of course the text didn't relay the enthusiasm. He stood in his kitchen waiting on a reply. Although he knew the other was working on his car, he waited for a moment before realizing what it was that he was doing.
Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he huffed, "He's straight." He reminded himself aloud before moving into the kitchen and starting up another pot of tea. Hearing the ding, he pulled out his phone once more, 'Yeah an R8 would be nice. But you've gotta be one damn rich kid if you get that car! Hey, I'm gonna be working on this car for a while. We can talk more tomorrow if you wanna come by the garage again and help out.' He read. Almost jumping out of his skin, he grinned wildly to himself before replying.
'Yeah sure, sounds good.' He replied. Of course he was trying to pointlessly act cool for no reason other than to fool himself into thinking that the other wouldn't notice. Of course the blue boy wouldn't notice, he was on the other side of a text message.
Walking happily toward his bed, Ichigo stopped for a moment before thinking. "Gods I'm stupid." He said with a groan. The boy he'd just agreed to hang out with was straight, he was off limits. He just broke up with his girlfriend. He was attractive, and straight. Ichigo couldn't be friends without gaining feelings for him, and he already knew that. But there was something else that he knew, he would get hurt.
Through all of the times that he'd gained feelings toward someone, he always believed that he would get hurt. And only about three times out of the five did he actually get hurt. He sighed to himself and tossed his phone on the bed.
Taking care of the dishes that he'd dirtied earlier for dinner. Once he was done with those, he grabbed a mug and poured his now boiling tea into it with a few scoops of sugar for a sweeter taste. Taking a sip, he turned off the light to his kitchen and headed for his bed where his favorite sketchbook sat along side his most used mechanical pencil.
Flipping the book open, he set his tea on the floor next to the futon as he sat there and started to draw. Sharp eyes, messy hair, a few black smudges here, and there. Then a strong, firm jaw. A grin that said cocky. And finally the perfect nose.
It took the Strawberry a good twenty minutes to draw the picture of the man. He shook his head and closed the book before sliding it under the edge of his bed and finishing up his tea before taking the cup to the sink and rinsing it out to wash it tomorrow.
Looking at the time, it read almost midnight. So without even a thought to it, he turned off his lights, and walked toward his bed. He stopped in the middle of the room for a moment. Looking out toward the city that sat twelve floors below him. The full moon lit the room up through his large windows with ease, showing his shadows across the way behind him. Walking over to the window, he stood there looking out to the city, the lights flickered as cars drove around, and as buildings were turning off and on as people came home and went to bed.
As he watched, he smiled to himself. This is the place that he wanted to be. Right here at this very moment, he wanted to be no where but here. Looking down at the beautiful busy city, people were always awake here. Always moving around and always alive. It was a city that never truly slept.
Looking down toward the city streets that went just passed his building, he watched as cars sped around. He could see the red, yellow, and blue lights flashing behind them with their sirens wailing. Street racers by the look of it, and they've been caught racing, and were now trying to get away from the police. Of course, there were always those who lived at night for nothing more than the rush of adrenaline.
Shaking his head, he looked back up toward the sky, if not for that moment, if not for that thought of looking up, he'd have never seen the star shoot across the sky. It was barely noticeable with all the city lights shining below, but it was there. He was sure of it. If only for an instant. It was there.
He closed his eyes, and let his mind wonder. It wondered to his art, to the idea of getting the job he wanted, it wondered around here and there, looking for many things to wish for. But in the end, where he landed last, Grimmjow. His mind rushed and his lips parted softly to whisper.
"I wish for Grimmjow."