So I've had this story in Google docs for a while and decided to post it since I haven't posted chizz in a while. Blame FF because it wouldn't let me put anything in the Doc Manager! ;-; I wanted to give you guys stuff honestly I did, that being said enjoy this little mushy thing, okay? I'm gonna try and get another chapter for 'Not the Status Quo' and maybe some other little stuff in between, just be patient please~ v.v thank you, rant over~
You know I own nothing…
Grimmjow hummed as his finger prodded at his bottom lip, blue eyes roving over the many book titles that covered the shelves. So many decisions, so little time. The blue haired man smiled slightly as he stopped at a familiar author along the spine of a book, his fingers reaching out to slip the piece of parchment from its place. Rubbing a tender finger along the simple cover (a picture of the optical illusion of a prince and a queen with a splatter of pink paint covering the prince's mouth), Grimmjow flipped the book over to read the reviews on the back. The smile widened at them, wondering if these people were reading the same author- the reviews for his books were all the same, except for Fight Club.
Turning away from the shelf with his chosen book, Grimmjow moved towards the woman sitting behind the large desk in the front of the library, her blond hair pulled back into its usual triple pigtails. Glancing up at the approaching footsteps, the woman smiled at her friend, placing a bookmark in her own book before closing it.
"Hello, Grimmjow. You're back soon." The blue haired man smirked at her comment before placing his book on the counter, leaning against the polished wood as he blew a strand of hair out of his eye. Harribel grabbed the book before shaking her head at the author. Grimmjow was a fanatic of anything Palahniuk.
"Ya know how I get when I find a good book, besides I've been waitin' ta read this one fer a bit."
Harribel couldn't help but smile at her friend's way of speaking, one would easily question if he had ever picked up a novel in his life with that seemingly ignorant tone. It was a wonder he was one of the smartest people she knew. Life was funny like that.
"Well I think you'll enjoy this one, the reviews have been less than savory for this little piece. I even heard someone contemplated burning their copy." Grimmjow's smirk turned feral as Harribel stuck the little receipt into the back of the book, the blonde moving to hand it to him before pulling it back suddenly. Grimmjow pouted at the action before crossing his arms, turning away from the woman as she stared at him with a critical eye.
"Promise me you won't read while driving. We don't need Nel having a heart attack because you went to jail for reckless driving again."
Grimmjow grumbled under his breath as he nodded, Harribel sighing before holding the book out. Grimmjow grinned as he grabbed the novel, hugging it to his chest before flipping it to the first page, never taking his eyes off the book as he sent his friend a lazy goodbye and headed out the door.
Harribel shook her head as she watched her blue haired friend disappear beyond the glass, opening her book to the saved page before mumbling to herself.
"Idiot's going to get himself killed one day."
Grimmjow's fingers tapped restlessly against the steering wheel as he stopped at the red light, his eyes straying to the innocently sitting book beside him, a seat belt keeping it upright. Nothing wrong with keeping a precious book in a seat belt to keep it from getting bent or crinkled in any way. Nope, none at all.
Finally the light turned green, Grimmjow pressing a little too hard on the gas pedal as he sped down the road, taking the familiar turns that led to his home. He made the trip in a record five minutes, blinking in confusion as he pulled into his driveway. Maybe he shouldn't zone out so much when driving.
He realized why he zoned out when he noticed his unbuckled book held to the middle of chapter one in his right hand, eyes widening when he realized he had been reading while driving again. That was starting to become a dangerous obsession of his…
Shrugging, Grimmjow stood from his car and shut the door, tucking the book under his arm as he fumbled with his keys. Pushing the keys into his door, Grimmjow entered his home and tossed the metallic nuisances into the small bowl in the entrance way. He stopped to pet his cat once, Pantera purring at the attention, before he continued towards his bedroom. Kicking his door closed, Grimmjow toed off his shoes and flopped backwards on his bed, opening his book to the front page before smirking at the small name above his own.
"We meet again Ichigo Kurosaki. The only person in this shithole of a town with an impeccable taste in books."
Chuckling to himself, Grimmjow leaned against his headboard before turning to his saved page, a smile pulling at his features as the story began anew.
"Ichigo aren't you done, yet?" The redhead groaned as his friend only hummed in response, his head still buried in a thick book that took up most of his lap. How was that even comfortable?
"Dude, it's been two days, can't you j-"
"Done!"
Renji stared at his friend like he'd grown a second head, the orange haired man hugging the closed book to his chest as he wiggled in elation.
"Renji! This one is the best by far, just the characters and the plot was just so, ugh! Freaking love this guy!"
Renji rubbed the bridge of his nose as he watched Ichigo fangirl over the book, wondering how he managed to read the whole thing in just two days. The mysteries of the oranget he supposed. Renji was brought out of his thoughts by Ichigo standing from the couch, the blanket that was thrown over his shoulder falling to reveal a bare torso and low riding sweats. Smirking, Renji leaned against the wall as Ichigo did a few stretches.
"Ya know the girls would kill to see ya like that."
"And we both know I would break you if you ever let that happen."
Ichigo sighed as a specific joint in his back popped, rolling his neck before moving to his room to get dressed properly. Renji went to sit on the previously occupied couch, eyes straying to the book that put an impressive dent in the cushions. Feeling a smidge curious, Renji reached out to pick up the large book, cursing when it nearly fell from his unprepared fingers. This was a freaking weight not a book! Dropping the heavy thing into his lap, Renji sighed when it missed a very important part of his anatomy.
Curious fingers moved over the sleek cover, traced along the elegantly printed words and the illustration that seemed to wrap around each letter, incorporating it into it's picture without pulling away from it's attention grabbing title. Moving his fingers to the edge of the cover, Renji lifted the hard-covering until it flopped over along the cushions, eyes straying to the little, pale notecard glued on the page. Reaching for it, Renji pulled the little receipt from the pocket, brow's rising at the two names that were printed there.
By the time Ichigo had cleaned himself up and gotten dressed, Renji was still stuck on the couch, brows furrowing deeply as they stared at the other name on the receipt. Ichigo slowly creeped up behind the redhead before smirking at what he was looking at.
"It's Jaegerjaques, dumbass."
Renji jumped at the voice, the book sliding from his lap to land on his foot none too gently. The redhead cursed as he brought his throbbing foot onto the couch, rubbing at the pain before glaring at his chuckling friend.
"I'm not a dumbass, and what kinda name is that anyway? Ya know the guy?"
Ichigo sighed as he retrieved his book from the floor, dusting it off before setting it on the couch again.
"If I had to guess, I would say it's of German descent. And I don't know the guy, per se." Ichigo turned confused eyes to his ceiling as he fell into an empty spot on his couch. Truth be told, this Grimmjow guy seemed pretty cool. He was smart at least. Running a hand through his hair, Ichigo turned bored eyes to Renji. "It's kinda weird, but every book I've gotten from the library has been checked out by this one guy. Actually, it's really weird. But the books are amazing and now I guess I look for his name when checking stuff out."
Ichigo shrugged as he thought about it. It wasn't his fault somebody else in Karakura had a good taste in books, it also wasn't his fault that his friends avoided reading all together. He needed to convert them soon, so many great works they were missing.
"Yeah, that's kinda creepy, Ichi. So we goin' to the library or not? I think the girls already headed there."
Ichigo nodded excitedly at the prospect of getting a new book, quickly jumping from the couch before grabbing his book. Renji shook his head at his friend's antics before moving towards the door, walking towards his car as Ichigo locked his door.
The ride to the library was filled with the two being general idiots. Singing, dancing, joking, quickly composing themselves when a cop rolled by only to start the cycle again; the main reason Renji was always the one to get Ichigo. By the time they made it to the library, both were tired and smiling, pushing each other playfully as they entered the large building, Ichigo immediately heading to the main desk to return his book.
The familiar blonde behind the counter looked up before smiling at the man, marking her page in her book before pushing it away.
"Ichigo, you're back pretty early aren't you?" Harribel smiled knowingly as she took the proffered book and registered it back in the library, setting it on a nearby trolley of other returned books.
"You know how I get with good books, just can't keep 'em down." Ichigo rubbed the back of his head as he said a hasty 'see ya later!', rushing to catch up with his waiting friend. Harribel only smiled as he rushed off, pulling her book closer before shaking her head lightly.
"He and Grimmjow would be good friends."
Ichigo practically salivated at the new installments that were lining the shelves, eyes gleaming as he gazed at the many titles from his favorite author. So many choices, so little time. Biting his lips Ichigo refrained himself from grabbing every book within arms reach and instead chose one near the end of the line (the newest book, in fact), fingers just grazing the spine before they came into contact with another hand, both pulling back quickly.
Hazel eyes turned to the man beside him before widening. This man… couldn't be real. Not like Ichigo was crazy or anything, but he couldn't be in the right place. Blue hair spiked in an uncontrollable mess, a tight black shirt that did nothing to hide what the man had going on under that cloth, jeans that hugged his legs a little too tight (said no one ever), and an aura that excluded 'fuck with me and I bash your face in'. Ichigo gulped.
Grimmjow also took the time to observe the man that had also gone after Beautiful You, the newest book in the Palahniuk arsenal. Well he was something. Orange hair… now that was just plain weird. The blue haired man ignored his own cerulean locks as his eyes trailed over the man's face and down his body. Not bad, really, the face was kinda cute. Smirking, Grimmjow pulled the book from the shelf while the man was distracted and proceeded to walk away.
Ichigo finally blinked out of his stupor when he saw that guy walk away with his book. That was the newest and only one too!
"H-hey wait! Guy! Dude, seriously!"
Grimmjow raised a brow as he turned towards the slightly smaller male, cocking his hip as he waited for the guy to speak.
"I really need that book."
Grimmjow smirked at the excuse. He needed it, too, probably more than this guy ever thought he did. Crossing his arms, Grimmjow tapped the spine of the book against his lip as he pretending to think on it. He enjoyed the glimmer of hope in those hazel eyes, too bad he was about to kill it.
"Nah, I need it more." Moving to walk off again, Grimmjow was surprised when an insistent hand grabbed his wrist. Blue eyes hardened slightly at the touch, now he was just getting irritating.
"Dude, I sa-"
"Please, just give me a day and I can return it again. It's the newest one and I need it."
Ichigo hated himself for pleading, but he literally felt like he would die if he didn't read that book within the next 24 hours. And no he wasn't exaggerating, books were like drugs to him.
Grimmjow actually felt a sense of pity for the guy, also a bit of intrigue. It wasn't every day you found somebody that kept up with Chuck Palahniuk of all people, heck the guy was kind of a kook. A damn good writer though. Shit, he forgot what he was thinking about. Oh wait, right, orange haired dude that wanted his book.
"Not a chance, buddy. I've been waiting months for this shit." Ichigo felt his ire rise at the statement. He had been waiting months for that shit too! Not everything revolved around that blue haired bad boy's suffocating ass!
"You're not the only one, and the names Ichigo." Ichigo crossed his arms as he glared at the man, willing him with his eyes to hand over the book (or at least get over himself a bit. Seriously? He wasn't the only one that worshipped that mentally unstable writer with a thing for satire!).
Grimmjow had actually frozen at the name, easily remembering it from the many books he'd checked out over the years. A predatory smirk over took his features as he eyed the man with a new bit of respect. So this was the infamous Ichigo Kurosaki. Huh, looked weirder than he imagined, but really he wasn't one to talk. Before Grimmjow could rebuke the oranget any further, Ichigo raised a hand, the man rubbing it down his face before staring him in the eye.
"Well since you're not going to give me the book and I'm not going to leave you alone until I get it, why don't we… share." Ichigo felt a small blush rise on his cheeks at the suggestion, this was pitiful. He just wanted to read the damn book! He ignored the smirk from the blue haired man, but actually gaped when he nodded in agreement. "You're seriously cool with that?"
Grimmjow shrugged before uncrossing his arms, book hanging from his fingers. "No problem with me as long as you read fast. I'm not gonna wait for ya, Ichigo."
Ichigo shivered at the way the blue haired man said his name before nodding. Right before the blue haired man could walk to a nearby sitting area, Ichigo stopped him by grabbing his wrist again. Grimmjow turned and gave Ichigo an irritated look, the oranget smiling nervously as he threw a look over his shoulder.
"Um, can I go tell my friends? They kinda came with me and it won't take long."
Grimmjow would've groaned had he not caught the pure desperation in those hazel orbs, his mind practically begging to give in. Dammit.
"Fine. Don't take too long."
Ichigo smiled lightly at the man before nodding and rushing (as much as one could do in a library) towards his friends. Grimmjow watched them exchange words for a moment before walking towards his chosen couch and flopping onto it lazily. Reclining comfortably against the plush leather cushions, Grimmjow threw an arm over the back of the couch, the book resting innocently in his lap. His fingers itched to open the novel and burn through the words like the violent flame he was, his eyes practically gleaming as they stared at the simple cover. Where was that orange haired weirdo?
"Sorry, my friends kinda got the wrong idea… "
Ichigo blushed as he rubbed at the back of his head, falling onto the couch with a dignified slump.
Grimmjow almost chuckled at the statement. Almost.
Ichigo fidgeted on the couch as he turned nervous eyes to the man next to him, attention then turning to the unopened book that sat in his lap. Scooting a little closer, Ichigo reached for the small bundle of papers before pouting as it was pulled just out of reach, the blue haired man smirking at the look before flipping it open. Ichigo smiled as the acknowledgements were seen, a short little paragraph before the page was flipped to the first chapter, both men soaking up every little detail in the span of a few seconds before they moved on.
Grimmjow mentally praised the berry- a name he had decided to bestow upon the orange headed man- for his quick reading skills, smirk never leaving his lips as his own eyes practically tore through the pages.
The two didn't know how long they sat there, but by the time they had shut the book, twin expressions of shock and joy on their faces, the sun had left its place in the sky and the library was practically deserted.
"That was…" Grimmjow turned foggy eyes to his reading partner, his mind still lost within the world of his book. He was going to have to buy this one, it was that great. "Amazing."
Smirking, the blue haired man nodded before standing, his back popping as he stretched his sore muscles. Ichigo copied the man's movements, sighing happily as a stiff joint in his neck popped. Sagging slightly, Ichigo smiled at the man that was rereading the short summary on the back of the book.
"So, thanks for bein' cool with reading together. I owe ya one…"
Ichigo paused as he realized he didn't know this guy's name. Not like he was worried about that earlier, but it did seem strange that he gave the man his own without any knowledge of his. Ichigo fought down the blush that threatened to rise on his face as he thought of his previous actions, not exactly smart considering he didn't know this guy at all.
Grimmjow seemed to guess the man's predicament as he moved to replace the book in it's previous place on the shelf, fingers running lovingly down the spine before he pulled away. Turning to the questioning man, Grimmjow grinned before moving towards the exit, beckoning Ichigo to follow and smirking as he fell easily into step.
Ichigo was wondering what the strange man was getting at, but his attention was momentarily diverted when they exited the library, the first few stars shining in the sky. Blinking blankly at the sight, Ichigo couldn't help but think he needed to keep up with time better- this reading until the sky was black or blue was getting kinda sad. But books…
"Same time tomorrow." Ichigo turned to his smirking companion with a raised brow, an intelligent 'huh' passing through his lips. Grimmjow chuckled at the expression before clarifying.
"Here, same time tomorrow. Cashin' in that I.O.U." Grimmjow smirked before moving to walk towards his car, leaving a stunned Ichigo standing at the entrance to the library. Right before Grimmjow got too far, he turned and gave Ichigo one last teasing smile.
"By the way, my names Grimmjow."
And there goes all of Ichigo's brain cells, fizzling up into little carbon bubbles and dissipating into the atmosphere.
Poor Ichigo, he didn't even know that was Grimmjow's version of asking him out on a date.
As you can see I have murdered the ending, that little line right there is the chalk outline of broken promises of a better future for this fic. I had a good idea and the ending just never came so hopefully this bs'd piece of crap can cut it~ -.- anyway enjoy the chizz~ goodnight! 3