Here's chapter two! I want to thank everyone who commented on the last chap, it was great getting some feedback. I tried to change a few things this time, like the pace (which I've tried to slow a bit and even out) and the dialogue. I didn't really have a ton of dialogue in the last chapter, so I tried to add a little more in this one. Hopefully you'll find that it flows a little better. So without further ado, let us continue!
Fuck. What the fuck.
My hands are shaking and I can feel my heart thundering in my ears. My eyes are wide as I stare down at the picture. In it, I'm walking across the parking lot, headed into the building where I work. It's taken from my right, and I'm obviously unaware that I'm being documented.
I don't understand. I can't imagine why something like this is happening. Suddenly I can't help but feel like I'm being watched. I twist around, scanning the parking lot for someone suspicious looking. But I only succeed in frightening the older couple parked across from me, walking to their own car from the restaurant.
Ignoring them, I stuff a hand in my pocket and pull my phone out. I dial Grimmjow's number but pause with my thumb over the 'call' button. My breathing is finally returning to normal and I feel a bit more calm. I look between my phone and the photo before sliding the phone back into my pocket.
I take a few more steadying breaths. This means nothing. It's probably just Renji or someone, playing a kind of sick prank on me. Renji is another mangaka who works in my building. He's done stuff like this before, just before deadlines. Like when he covered the floor of my workshop with bouncy balls. Yeah, I decide, it's probably just Renji.
I crush the picture in my fist and get in the car. I toss the crumpled photo onto the passenger seat, next to the two roses. My mind is a whirling mess as I drive home, and I don't even realize that I'm speeding until I arrive home in seven minutes.
When I park, I lean my forehead on the steering wheel. What if it's not harmless? What if someone is following me? My mind has spun so many what-if scenarios that I've given myself a headache. I leave the car and head into the apartment complex.
My apartment is just as I left it. I go around checking every room after I've locked the front door behind me. I don't really know what I'm looking for, but I flip the lights on in every room as I search until the entire flat is lit up. When I'm satisfied, I take another long, hot shower before changing into a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt.
I notice that despite my best efforts to put myself at ease, my hands are still slightly shaking and my shoulders feel tense. I make myself a cup of tea and curl up on the couch to watch reruns of my favorite childhood TV show.
After a few episodes, I'm nodding off. It's a bit sad, really, how often I sleep on the couch. And I always wake in such discomfort, with knots in my neck and a crick in my wrist from leaning on it weird. I always kick myself for not having the foresight to just go to bed when I feel myself starting to fall asleep.
When I wake up, I'm in just as much pain as I'd expect. It's nothing that a hot shower and a few aspirin can't fix, though. I dress casually again, but today I wear my contacts. As I'm getting ready, I realize that I left most of the lights on last night, so I travel around the flat and switch them all off.
When I get to the office, Rukia is waiting for me with a lecture on my tardiness. I glance at my watch. Couchsurfing also has a tendency to make me late. I sigh and apologize, but try to gain some slack by reminding her of my success with the latest chapter last night.
She agrees that I did good, but tells me to do better and not cut it so close to the wire next time. I admit defeat and sit down to start working.
Half and hour in to my work, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and answer it without checking to see who it is. I'm really into this chapter.
"Hello?" I ask. It's my personal cell, so only friends and family have the number. And Rukia of course. She insisted.
The other end of the line stays silent, so I pull the phone away from my ear to see if I've been disconnected. When it shows that I'm still on the call, I frown.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" When no one answers, I hang up. The number is one I don't recognize, but I dismiss it as a pocket dial.
I don't think about it for a few more minutes, but then my phone rings again. Just like last time, there's no one on the other end. It makes me angry, the fact that someone's disturbing me like this while I'm working. Then I realize that it's probably the same person who left the flowers on my car. Before I even really think about it, I'm standing and storming upstairs to Renji's workroom.
He looks up when I burst in and smiles widely. Before he even says anything, I'm in his face telling him to leave me alone. To back off and cool it with the pranks. He looks confused, but I keep going. I tell him that I'll start retaliating if he doesn't stop.
He finally starts defending himself. He says he doesn't know what I'm talking about, that he hasn't played any tricks on me. I tell him about the roses and the picture, but he denies its him. Starting to calm down now, I frown.
"What about the phone calls?" I ask.
"What calls?"
"The ones just now, before I came up here."
He looks at me like I'm crazy. "I didn't call you." Just as he says this, my phone rings again. It's so cliché and stupid but Renji and I stare at each other for a moment before I answer it. I raise it to my ear and my hand's trembling a bit.
"Hello?" There's no answer so I hang up almost immediately. Renji gives me a hard look. He asks if Grimmjow knows that I'm being stalked.
My head jerks up and I look at him. I tell him I'm not being stalked. I refuse to believe it, but he only shakes his head. "I don't know, man." He gives me a look, that knowing kind of look, like he's got all the answers in the entire flippin' galaxy.
But before I can really think about it, Rukia storms in and demands that I get back to work. She drags me back downstairs but I can't really concentrate anymore. Am I being stalked?
I guess it makes more sense than some kind of joke. But why would someone stalk me? I'm not that interesting. I'm not that famous. I think about what Renji said. Should I tell Grimmjow? Like last night, I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial his number.
But I can't bring myself to press 'call.' I set device on the table and rest my head on my arms, staring at it. I've totally forgotten my work but even if I hadn't I would ignore it. I stare at the phone so hard I'm sure I'm melting holes into the side of it, but I still can't place the call. A silent war is raging in my head.
Grimmjow's been so busy at work lately and I really don't want to disturb him. But he's also not had a lot of time for me recently, and it would be kind of nice to see him worry over me. On the other hand, he's also the jealous type, and I don't want to argue over something this stupid. But I know that he would want me to tell him what was going on. Honestly, though, it's probably harmless. It's likely just a secret admirer who lacks the courage to confess their feelings to me up front. But Grimmjow would be hurt if he found out about it and thought I was hiding things or having an affair. But shouldn't he trust me enough to know that I wouldn't jeopardize our relationship over some passing fling?
Fuck. Why does this have to be so complicated? Why can't my life just run smoothly for a change? I bang my fist on the table loudly, startling the assistants before I reach out and rest my hand over my phone. I run my fingertips over the smooth surface of the screen before putting it away. Sitting up slowly, I decide to tell him if things keep escalating. Flowers and phone calls are manageable. I'll just start taking a taxi and screening my calls. That should give whoever it is the message to leave me alone.
I return to my work and the rest of the day passes uneventfully. Except for a few more phone calls, nothing else is out of the ordinary. There isn't even anything left for me on my car when I leave. I stay late, though, and try to get as far as a can. I don't get vacation days unless I'm ahead of schedule on the manga, and well, with me and Grimmjow's anniversary coming up... I just think I'd like a couple of days off around that time.
When I get home, I make myself instant ramen again before collapsing on the couch. It's nearly eleven and my eyes start sliding shut. Remembering the night before, however, I push myself up and walk my lazy ass to bed.
I sleep fitfully, waking up several times during the night. I don't have any dreams that I remember, but I finally give up just after four. Throwing my legs over the side, I rub my palms over my tired eyes and try to figure out what to do with myself for five hours.
I remember that it's been almost a week since I did anything physical, well, besides my frequent exploits with Grimmjow. Sighing, I stand and shuffle to my dresser. I pull out a pair of shorts and a loose tee shirt before digging my trainers out of the closet and lacing them up.
It's freezing outside, making my skin immediately erupt in goose bumps. I wish I'd brought a sweatshirt, but I don't feel like going back inside. It's early spring, and there's still wispy fog swirling around the streets. It's still relatively dark outside and the streetlamps are all still on. There aren't any cars out yet, but why would there be? I suck in a deep breath and try to ignore the chill as I start out at an easy jog.
I go a few blocks before picking my pace up a bit. The air is cold rushing over my skin, but I can feel my body temperature slowly rising as I run. It feels good to be out and active again, better than I thought it'd be.
I've always been fairly active. When I was in high school and college I ran track, which kept me in shape, but I also used to lift weights with the rest of the team. Regardless of how much I'd lift, though, I would only really build lean muscle. Since then, I've lost some of the muscle tone, though I'm still in really good shape. Grimmjow works out religiously, and it shows in his physique. He lives in a condo that has a full gym on the ground floor. Sometimes I use it, when I feel like trying to rebuild some of the muscle that I've lost, but normally I just stick to running and eating (sorta) healthy.
I make it to the bakery that marks a mile from my place. The bakery has it's lights on, getting ready for breakfast and commuters, but it isn't open yet. Glancing at my watch, I notice that it's only four twenty. Not many places are open at this hour.
I hang a left at the bakery and head to the park. The park is another half mile and has a huge pond that I like jogging around. The place is empty when I get there, but I didn't really expect any different. My body is warm now, and as I jog I can feel sweat starting to accumulate on my skin.
The water is calm as I jog next to it, and only the occasional breeze disturbs its surface. I make the full circuit after only a few minutes and leave the park. I start making my way home at this point, but I take a longer route that leads me in almost a full circle from where I started. By the time I reach my apartment building, I've gone more than five miles and it's just after five in the morning.
When I get up to my flat, I take a long hot shower. As I head into the bathroom, I catch a look at myself in the mirror. You can definitely tell I've only had a few hours of sleep; my eyes look tired still and there's faint blue shadows under them. I shrug and step under the steaming water.
Rubbing shampoo through my hair, I think about what to do for today. I'm progressing well through the latest chapter at work, but I'd really like to see Grimmjow at some point. I know he's busy but it's been almost two days since I've spent time with him. A sudden thought strikes me. Why don't I visit him at work?
He's been to my office a few times, dropping me off or picking me up for lunch, and I've been to his office once or twice. It's nice there, I guess, but I've never been a cubicle kind of guy. His job has a lot of numbers and statistics and science attached to it, whereas mine has imagination and creativity and flexibility. I feel stuffy and out of place when I visit, which is why I don't go very often.
But since it's been a few days since we've seen each other, I'll suck it up and bring him lunch. It should help him unwind and de-stress.
I smile as I turn the water off and dry myself. I'm suddenly very excited for this afternoon.
When I'm dressed for the day, I decide to make myself a real breakfast. Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns—the works. It's absolutely delicious, too. I clean up when I'm done and grudgingly leave for work, calling a taxi to pick me up at the front.
It's barely seven when I unlock the doors and let myself in, and still cold. Rukia normally shows up around eight-thirty, but no one else comes in until at least nine. I normally amble in around nine-thirty, but Rukia goes nuts if I'm any later than ten.
I flip on the lights in my workroom and go about getting it ready for the day. I pull out a few sketch and reference books and lay them on the table around where I'll be working. I pull out the folder containing the last few completed sheets of the chapter before setting out a collection of pens and pencils and erasers.
I finally sit down and pull over a blank sheet of paper. I always start off warming up, getting the creativity flowing before starting on the real thing. I sketch out a few figures before practicing my favorite characters from the manga. I even add a few familiar faces from Renji's current project. We read each other's stuff, but we both claim to only have a professional interest in it. I am, however, a closet fan of Renji's piece, something I would never admit out loud.
When Rukia walks in later, she's obviously surprised and a bit confused at my presence. I briefly explain my sleeplessness to her before showing her what I've got. I've completed another page since arriving, and am supremely proud at how detailed I've managed to make it. That's something I've noticed about myself. When I'm working either very late or very early, I'm able to focus on a single thing for much longer than normal. It makes it easier to create quality panels and pages.
Eventually the assistants show up, and I set them about the tasks of researching. The next story arc contains some new fantasy ideas and I'll be needing some background information. I fell bad making them do busy work, but I don't really have much else for them to do. If it weren't for Rukia insisting, though, I wouldn't have assistants at all. I've always preferred to do things on my own.
Shortly before noon, I call Grimmjow and ask if he's free for lunch.
"Hey," I say, when he answers.
"What's up?" He's only said two words, but I feel like he's distracted. "Not much," I say, keeping it simple. "I was just wondering if you wanted to get lunch together today.." He's silent for a second before answering. "I can't really get out of the office right now, we've been really busy."
"That's okay, I was actually wondering if you wanted me to pick something up and bring it up to you."
"That works. I can't guarantee we'll have a ton of time, but you're welcome to come over. When will you be here?"
I tell him I'll be over in an hour and that I'll bring teriyaki. He agrees and we hang up. I finish a few details before putting my stuff away and letting Rukia know I'll be leaving for a bit. I don't bother taking another cab, instead opting for the commuter train.
I leave a short while later, excited to see Grimmjow, but also a bit sad for a reason I can't really place.
So, did it work better than the last chapter? If you liked it, let me know!
I also wanted to clarify a few things: this might spoil it a bit for some, but I do plan for this story to have an eventual happy ending, even if it's not 'happy' in the conventional sense of the word. There is also a point for writing it in this perspective. I want to show how Ichigo's mindset changes throughout his ordeal, to show his thoughts about the whole thing.
I hope you're not mad at me for giving it away, well, for kind of giving it away! But again, I appreciate the feedback and support, so drop me a review before you leave, thanks!
~Frankie
