Here is chapter tres!
I know some of you have been wondering what on earth went on between Ichigo and Byakuya. You'll find some of what happened between them in this chapter but you won't find out about the whole scoop till a bit later ;)
Now on with the show!
Ichigo…
Huh?
Ichigo…wake up sweetheart!
I opened my bleary eyes to find an erratic looking Grimmjow staring down at me.
"Ahh!" I screamed as I scrambled off the couch.
Looking around, I noticed I was no longer in my apartment. In fact it looked like I was in somebody else's house altogether.
"Grimmjow where the hell am I? And what are you doing here?"
"What do mean? You're in our house babe. And I was watching you sleep earlier." He said with a manic smile.
"What! I don't live here!" I yelled alarmingly as I made my way across the room and flung open the door to run for my life.
When I opened the door to leave however Grimmjow was already waiting for me on the other side.
"Where do you think you're going? Of course you live here my little strawberry shortcake." Grimmjow said as he walked in and closed and locked the door with a bone chilling 'CLICK'.
I continued to back up from Grimmjow until I nearly tripped over something rubbing in between my legs
I looked down to find dozens of house cats meowing and rubbing against my leg.
"Where the hell did all these cats come from!"
"Why they live here with us of course. Along with our two little ones."
Little ones?
Just then I heard a loud crash and two pairs of little feet come running towards us.
"Mom!"
"Dad!"
I felt all color drain from my face as I watched the two miniature versions of me and Grimmjow come running up to me and cling onto both my wrists.
"Mom you promised you'd take us to the park today!" The little Grimmjow whined while tugging on my left arm.
"Yeah mom, promised!" The little me whined in unison while pulling on my other arm.
"What the hell! I'm not your mother!" I yelled as I tried to shake the little demons off of me.
Grimmjow let out a bark of insane laughter as approached me and the kids.
"Of course you're their mother Ich-babe." He grabbed my chin so I could look him right in the eyes.
"Just like you're also my little wife. See…" Grimmjow said as he looked down.
When I looked down to see what he was talking about, I found myself dressed in a pink frilly outfit with a white apron tied around it.
"The pink looks good on you babe." He said with an evil wink.
"Yeah mom you look pretty!"
"Yeah pretty like a girl!"
"AAAHH! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs.
"We're married Ichigo. See." Grimmjow said as he held up both our hands with the malevolent rings glinting at me in the light.
"This can't be happening. I've got to go!" I said as I tried to pull myself from the children's iron grip.
"You're not going anywhere Ichigo. You live here with me remember. And you'll stay here forever and ever." Grimmjow said as his insane eyes bored into my own.
"Yeah mom forever!"
"Yeah mom and ever!"
The kids said in unison as they began to laugh.
My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. Actually a heart attack would be a miracle at this moment!
Grimmjow then leaned in so his mouth was right next to my ear.
"I love you, Ichigo" He whispered wickedly.
"AAAAHH!" I screamed, falling off the crappy pull out sofa.
I sat up and looked around. My heart beating like a race horse. I was still in my apartment. The TV blared in the background. Must have just fell asleep watching my stupid shows.
I could still feel the tremors of terror go through me as I remembered the dream. But it was just a dream. A very SCARY dream that is never going to fucking happen!
I got up from the grey carpet floor and looked up at the clock on the wall. 8:34 p.m.? Fuck I really conked out.
I stumbled into the kitchen to check the fridge for anything to make. Empty. Oh yeah, forgot to buy groceries on my way home from school. Shit.
"Well this is why they invented delivery service." I said to myself as I reached for the cordless phone next to the couch.
I dialed up my favorite pizza joint and placed my order.
"Yeah can I have two large pizzas….extra cheese, green peppers, peperoni and onions….delivery….uhh Oak Court room 302…kay thanks man."
15 minutes later….
"Alright thanks bro." I said to the delivery man as I handed him the money and grabbed my pizzas.
I placed the steaming food on the coffee table when I heard another knock at the door.
"Look man I know 50 cents isn't much of a tip but I'm scrimping on money right now." I said, expecting to see a pissed off delivery man.
Instead I found a manically happy Grimmjow.
"Hey Ichigo! What's up?"
Grimmjow was still wearing his usual clothes from today, but now they had splotches of dried up white paint all over them.
"What's with all the paint?" I asked.
"Oh this? I got called in to help my dad with a roofing job downtown. Don't worry it will come off. But I actually came up here to ask if you'd like to come with me to the annual pool barbeque this weekend?" Grimmjow asked with a hopeful look in his blue eyes.
"Why ask me so late at night though?" I asked skeptically.
"Well I stopped by earlier but you were sleeping so I thought I'd come by later to ask you."
"Wait a minute! How did you know I was sleeping!"
"Well your door was unlocked…"
"So you just walked into my apartment?" I yelled.
"No! Well yeah, but it was just to make sure you were ok since you weren't answering the door. And it's not like I watched you sleep for a minutes or anything like that." He said, holding his hands up in mock defense.
Somehow I really doubt that. I thought sourly.
"So would you like to come with me to the barbeque?" He asked again while scratching the back of his head.
"Actually I've already made plans to go to the barbeque with Tia Harribel."
As soon as I said her name Grimmjow's demeanor changed dramatically. The smile immediately fell from his face and was replaced with a cold sneer. His fists balled up tight enough to see the whites of his knuckles. Even eyes even seemed to darken a shade as his jaw became rigid.
"Tia?" He spat with a nasty vehemence.
"Uhh yeah…I ran into her when I was walking home today and she asked to go with me." I said a bit nervously.
Grimmjow seemed to be grinding his teeth.
"Do you two not get along?" I asked.
He let out a dry snort.
"Yeah you could say that…"
2 Years ago…
I just got done moving in the last of my boxes when I heard Pantera give a shrill scream in the hallway.
"Pantera!" I yelled worriedly.
I opened the door to find some blonde-haired woman cruelly stepping on Pantera's tail.
"Hey! Leave my cat alone you fucking bitch!" I shouted. She lifted her heel up and Pantera came scurrying up into my strong arms.
"Your stupid cat was using my door frame as a scratching post."
"Well you didn't have to crush her tail because of that you psycho!"
The blonde bitch turned to face me with a cold stare, her emerald eyes full of malice.
"What is she your girlfriend? Can't get a real woman so you settle for a cat? How pathetic!" She said with a cruel laugh.
"Fuck you!" I yelled angrily.
The bitch had struck a nerve.
"Have fun with your little girlfriend faggot boy!" She yelled, waltzing back into her room.
"Cunt" I muttered before going back to my own room and slamming the door.
"Are you ok Pantera?" I asked softly, scratching the back of her ear.
"Meow?" She looked up with those beautiful eyes of hers.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. That bitch doesn't know anything."
But truth be told, what she said still hurt.
Present Time…
"Look Ichigo you shouldn't…"
"But I can go with you too if that's fine."
"What?"
"I said I can go with you too. I mean it's no big deal to me, plus I won't be hanging out with Tia the whole time so…"
"That'd be great!" Grimmjow said a little over excitedly.
"Cool then. I'll be at the barbeque at around 3:30." I said, still a bit bewildered at Grimmjow's massive mood shift.
Just then I heard a loud rumbling coming from Grimmjow's stomach.
I bet he's hungry.
What was your first clue Steve?
Brain! I should've known. And did you just make a Blue's Clue reference?
Invite him in Ichigo. The guy had to work on his day off and he's probably been busting his ass all day. He could use some hospitality.
Ugh…fine.
"Hey would you like to come in and have some pizza with me Grimmjow? I ordered two larges."
The happiness that lit up in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Yeah! I'd love to!" He said as he walked in and plopped down on the couch to open one of the boxes.
"And you got my favorite toppings! Sweet!" Grimmjow said excitedly as he shoveled in his first piece.
I gave a little smile at his overzealous attitude. It was kind of charming in his own crazy way.
"Alright I gotta take a leak. I'll be right back." I said as I shuffled into the bathroom.
'RING!'
"Should I answer it?" Grimmjow yelled from the living room.
"No just let the machine get it." I said while trying to pee.
'BEEP'
'Hey this is Ichigo leave a message or whatever…'
'BEEP'
'Ichigo, its Byakuya….
I immediately froze upon hearing that voice. Grimmjow turned down the TV so both of us could listen.
I'm calling because I would like to talk with you about…us…I know our last encounter wasn't the most pleasant..…but…(sigh)….I just need to speak with you as soon as possible ok? When you get this message call me back….I…I love you.'
'CLICK'
…
"WHO DOES THAT FUCKER THINK HE IS!" I screamed from the bathroom.
I stormed into the living and went straight to the answering machine yelling various obscenities. I grabbed the machine and started yelling at in frustration.
"You think you can just call me up and think everything's ok now! Did you forget all the shit you did to me? Do you think I wanna be anywhere near you after all that bullshit! Fuck you! I am not calling you back you bipolar asshole! I'd sooner tattoo the word COCK on my forehead before I have any kind of conversation with you! And I love you! Are you fucking kidding me! That's such bullshit! I know for a fact that you were just using me! You don't love me! Fuck you Byakuya!" I screamed at the machine before slamming it back onto the table.
I was so caught up in my rage filled rant that I had completely forgotten I had company.
I looked over to find Grimmjow staring at me in shock.
Great now I look like the crazy one.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Grimmjow asked quietly.
I sat down next to Grimmjow with a loud 'thump' as I rubbed my temples to try and relieve my oncoming headache.
"No, but I know it'll drive you nuts if I don't." I said with extreme exhaustion in my voice.
"Byakuya is my ex if you didn't already figure that out. He's the guy from the bad breakup I told you about when we had dinner. Byakuya and I went out for about a year and half before we had our big blowup. There was a lot of shit that contributed to the breakup. We lied to each other, I found out he was cheating on me, we constantly got into shouting matches, he lied to the cops and said I hit him once and now that's on my record! The charges were later dropped but it still says on my permanent record that I was arrested for physically assaulting someone I never touched."
I groaned, remembering the day the cops came to get me. It was Yuzu's 12th birthday.
Grimmjow just sat there and listened. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he looked understanding.
"I'm sorry you had to go through so much bullshit Ichigo. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be treated like that. You deserve someone that actually cares about you. Someone that listens and doesn't judge you. Someone that doesn't care if you come off as slightly unapproachable."
I gave him a little glare at that last part
"But what I'm trying to say is that you're a really good person and you deserve someone that will treat you just as good." He said with a slight smile.
"Why do I feel like I've heard these lines from a Lifetime movie?" I said with a playful smirk.
Grimmjow straightened his back and blushed a bit as he quickly denied ever watching a Lifetime movie in his life.
I laughed at his embarrassment and grabbed a slice of pizza.
"Hey man no one's judging you here." I said through bits of pizza.
Grimmjow grabbed another piece himself while mumbling something unintelligible. He then snatched up the remote and turned it to the National Geographic channel.
"Ooo! I forgot BBC was going to show a documentary tonight about the lion prides of Africa! You're gonna love it. BBC wildlife is the best at documenting big cats, unlike Animal Planet. I mean there's are ok, but weak in comparison to BBC's footage." Grimmjow said with child-like enthusiasm.
"Sounds good to me." I said as I chowed down on another piece of greasy pizza.
I entered the apartment in a very pleasant mood.
"Meow?" Pantera asked.
"I was over at Ichigo's. He invited me over to have pizza with him." I said, plopping down on the couch. I kicked off my work boots and let out a content sigh.
Pantera jumped onto my lap, kneading my thighs before settling down with a happy purr.
"Meow?"
"Mmm? Oh it was great Pantera. Me and Ich sat on his couch eating pizza and watched that BBC documentary about the lion prides in Africa."
"Meow!"
"Yeah sorry I forgot to tell you."
"Meow meow"
My eyes narrowed.
"I also found out about Ichigo's ex."
"Meow?"
"Yeah that one. He didn't tell me everything that went down between them but from he did tell me I can see why he'd want to be single for a while."
"Meow purr?"
"Hell no I'm not giving up on him! Not when we made such great progress in our relationship today. Plus I finally got that TA job at his school."
"Meow meow?"
"The dean of his school is good friends with my dad and let me have the job. I won't get paid, but this way I'll be able to see Ich more! Though there was only one opening in all of Ich's classes for a TA, it's the one he has every Tuesday and Thursday."
"Purr?"
"I don't think he'll be mad. He'll probably be very pleasantly surprised to see me in his class."
"Meow…"
"Don't be so pessimistic. I bet pretty soon here, Me and Ich will be dating!"
"Meow meow meow?"
My teeth gritted as I remembered what that Byakuya fucker said on the answering machine. That asshole had his chance and blew it royally. If he thinks he can just waltz in and take my Ich from me then that prick has got another thing coming. I'll make sure he never gets the chance to try and patch things up with my Ich.
But I shouldn't have to worry about this too much. Ichigo made it very clear when he was yelling at the answering machine that he wanted nothing to do with this Byakuya bastard.
"Don't worry Pantera. I won't let that fucker anywhere near Ichigo."
"Meow?"
…
I hadn't thought about that.
What if Ichigo decided to give that bastard another chance? What if he does decide to call him back? What if decides to meet him for lunch! Where would they go to eat? What would Ichigo get for desert! No! You're getting off-track!
"I don't know Pantera...no! I refuse to let that bastard have Ich back! He doesn't deserve him."
"Purr meow meow"
I smiled.
"Thanks Pantera. You always know what to say."
I hope this chapter turned out ok. Again if anyone would like to Beta this please let me know.
Please review and let me know what you think!
Until next time mi compadre's!
mcpidy
