Thinking was one of Avery's downfalls. Whenever she thought, she did nothing else. She would walk around aimlessly, forget to eat, or just not move for hours on end. She was surprised once when she found out that she had sat for twenty-seven hours straight. She had a feeling that something would go wrong soon and was trying to figure it out. Gin had found her glaring so intently at a hole that even when he licked her cheek she hadn't responded. He had been quite worried till he had squatted in front of her and accidentally fell forward and landed on top of her. That was the day they disappeared. Two months ago to the day.
As her feet moved her forward, she thought of the next second time she had met Gin. Avery had been at the mall, her camera held up and ready to take a picture. The sixteen year old was giddy. Today, September 13th was her birthday. The cakes looked so good but she didn't have enough money. Rent was killing her. So she was doing the next best thing: taking pictures. A red velvet cake with German chocolate caught her eye. The roses were purple, the vines blue, and the thorns black. Flash! In red letters in the middle of the cake it said 'I Love You With All My Heart,' and the period was a tiny heart.
She looked at the picture in the camera screen and saw reflections on the glass case. She turned around and saw four boys way taller than her but not as tall as the men from three days ago. They were all about five foot seven, maybe eight. And she...was fucking tiny in comparison. Her four foot seven towered over no one but little children. Even then, some were taller than her.
One of the boys reached out and grabbed her camera. They told her to jump for it, not as nicely as that though. Avery got really pissed and full out kicked one of the boys in the groin. He just happened to be the one that had her camera. As he clutched his crotch, she grabbed her camera and tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, she did not make it. The boy to the left of the one she kicked grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back.
The stupid thing was people kept walking by, sparing a glance here and there. No one would stop the men from hitting the girl again and again. After some time, she blacked out. Her body wasn't able to cope with the damage it was taking. As the darkness took over, someone shouted.
Upon awakening the first thing she realized was that her camera was gone, then that she was in someone's bed under a large blanket, and finally she heard someone lightly snoring next to her. She stiffened. She slowed he breathing down. Closed her eyes and wait. Soon a voice made her wince in horror. Horror because she was caught.
"Ya know yer not foolin' anyone, right?" It was Gin's voice. Had he saved her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he put a hand over it. She started to panic. "Yer not goin' ta be hurt, but yer throat will be sore. That fight wasin' smart." Her panic slowly began to disappear. He removed his hand and talked to her. He just talked, his voice lulling her into sleep. She curled up closer to him, or he moved closer to her.
Next when Avery awoke, she was feeling better. She looked around and she saw a note from Gin on a pile of clothes. It said to change so she could get the blood out of hers. Once she finished changing, she found her camera on a table. She looked through the memory and saw several new pictures. The first was of the guys that beat her up. They were all beat up themselves. Second was a picture of Gin carrying her. The next was of her asleep in Gin's bed by herself. Last but not least, her and Gin cuddling their sleep.
She left the room blushing profusely. On the coffee table in front of the couch, there was a bowl of cereal with a note from Gin saying milk was in the fridge, but she didn't eat it. Soon they all entered. That was when she learned that Gin and Aizen were 'brothers'. After several minutes of her gaping like a goldfish out of water, Tousen walked in. Well, walked into Aizen, who gave her a curious look. Then Gin proceeded to explain how they were related. Quickly she pointed the camera at them and caught Aizen's amused look, Tousen's confused look, and Gin's normal look.