"After meeting Emma, things were going well. She and I got along pretty well. I might have hated my job, but I was able to go down and see her whenever I had to head to the copy room or when I did have some free time." Ichigo's new job might not have been what he liked, but Emma made it better. The two of them met up and talked with them enjoying themselves. "She and I had some fun, but we made sure not to cross any lines or had some friends with us whenever we were out." Emma and Ichigo did like being around each other, but they had to be careful not to cross any lines. That's why Renji or one of Emma's friends were with them when they weren't at work. When they were at work, they still managed to talk to each other and still managed to have some good times together. "Nothing special really happened, so I'll fast forward to about a couple months later."
"Don't worry, Cinderella. Prince Charming is coming to get you." Renji teased as Ichigo tried making himself a little nicer.
"Very funny." Ichigo said. "Maybe if you actually have a girlfriend, you might actually try to make yourself look decent." With the two of them bantering, Ichigo tried focusing on getting ready for the day. Today is the day where Emily is coming up for the first time.
"I should ask now. Are you two getting a hotel room or am I the one who is going to need to vacate?" Renji asked. Before Ichigo could even talk about that, they heard a knock on the door. "Is that her?"
"Maybe, but she's early." Ichigo said.
"It's open!" Renji called. Turns out, it was actually Emma as she let herself in.
"Hey, guys." Emma said. "I was passing by and see what you two were up planning for today. Do either of you want to catch a movie or something?"
"Sorry, Emma. I can't go because Emily is on her way." Ichigo said. "It's her first visit up here and I said I would spend the day with her."
"So the famous Emily is coming?" Emma said. "Does this mean I'll finally get to meet her?"
"Maybe. She should be here at any moment." Ichigo said.
"You're really into her. Do you think you're ever going to propose and marry her one day?" Emma asked.
"Well..." Ichigo said as he wasn't sure what to say, but mostly because he was a little embarrassed. He certainly wants to have a life with her. Maybe that day will come, but he just wants to enjoy the day with her. Hearing a knock on the door, his heart pumped with excitement. He walked right over to the door and saw Emily standing right there.
"Ichigo!" Emily said with much joy as she didn't wait another second and kissed him.
"Watch the public displays of affection." Renji said.
"Hi, Renji." Emily said with her taking notice of Emma. "Who's this?"
"Emily, this is Emma. We work in the same building." Ichigo said.
"It's nice to meet you. Ichigo talks about you a lot and seems to really like you." Emma said as she held out her hand. Emily took it and it seemed like the two of them having a decent meeting. After meeting her, Emily had a look around the apartment.
"It doesn't look so bad in here, Ichigo." Emily said.
"That's because you just got here. Come on. I'll show you around the city." Ichigo said as he took her hand. "I'll see you guys later."
"Have fun." Renji said as the two of them headed out.
...
The Park
Ichigo was glad to have Emily with her. The two of them hit the park first. They just strolled down the beautiful park and it felt so serene. The best part was that Ichigo could be here with Emily.
"What do you say? Can't wait to move up here?" Ichigo asked.
"It certainly is beautiful." Emily said, but it seemed like she was uncomfortable with something.
"I've been thinking, Emily. Maybe it's time we think about living up here together." Ichigo said. "We could find a place for you here, we see each other more, and we can start our lives together here."
"Yeah... Could be..." Emily said, but she sounded uncertain. Ichigo could just see that there was something bothering her.
"Is everything okay." Ichigo asked as he stopped walking to talk to her.
"Fine! Why wouldn't it be?" Emily said, but it didn't sound too sincere.
"Because you sound like your mind is somewhere else." Ichigo said. "Something's clearly bothering you? You might as well tell me now." The truth was that Emily did had something on her mind. With it just being her and Ichigo, it was really all she could think about now.
"There is something, but I don't know if I should tell you or not." Emily said as she couldn't even look him in the eyes.
"You can tell me anything." Ichigo said, but Emily was still hesitant on how to say this. "Emily, I can't help if you don't tell me. You and I have been together for a long time. I'm sure whatever it is, I can..." "I cheated on you!" Just like that, time froze for Ichigo. Those words weren't what he was expecting to hear from her at all or ever.
"Oh! It feels so good to get that off my chest!" Emily said as she felt so much better to get that out there.
"Wait a minute!" Ichigo said as he was in complete shock. "You cheated on me?! Are you serious?!"
"Yeah..." Emily said as she knew this wasn't going to go well. "Ichigo, I am so sorry."
"Sorry? How the hell did this even happen?!" Ichigo said as he couldn't wrap his head around it.
"It happened about a month ago." Emily started to explain. "I met this guy and he just started flirting with me. I wasn't at all interested. However, I missed you a lot. It just... It just happened."
"I... I can't believe this! Was it just one time?!" Ichigo said.
"Well... No... It's been going on for about a month." Emily said with Ichigo feeling like he was getting pounded by a sledgehammer. "Ichigo, I am so sorry."
"So are you in love with this guy now or something?" Ichigo asked.
"No! We were just having some fun. Nothing serious was going on. When I came to see you, I felt so guilty about the whole thing." Emily said with in tears. "I am so sorry. Please forgive me." She pleaded as she tried to hold him, but Ichigo just backed away from her.
"I... I need some time." Ichigo said as he just turned away and left Emily crying. He just couldn't even look at her right now.
...
Present Day
"She cheated on you?!" Ichika said as she and Kazui couldn't believe it.
"Yeah. It really stung." Ichigo said. "You hear about those sort of things, but it's different when you really experience it. Luckily, she had a place to stay. Don't want you think I just left her stranded."
"We were all shocked. It just never seemed like her." Renji said.
"Well, Emily can't be Mom. Mom would never really do something like that." Kazui said with Orihime trying to act a little coy about it.
"Don't be so quick to eliminate, Kazui." Ichigo said. "This happens to couples, but they forgive and forget." He said to try and get Kazui second guessing. That seemed to have worked. "Anyway, Emily and I ended up breaking up around that time. That very day, I went to a place where adults go when they feel miserable."
...
The Story
The night Ichigo ended learning about Emily cheating on him, he hit a bar. He just sat down at the counter and chugged down what drinks he could. Hearing what Emily did was one of the worst feelings he had.
"There you are." He turned around and spotted Emma walking in.
"How did you find me?" Ichigo asked.
"Renji told me this is your favorite bar since you moved here." Emma said as she sat next to him. "He told me what happened, so I thought you could use a friend. I'm really sorry."
"I just can't believe she would actually do that. I thought she was better. I kept picturing a future with her." Ichigo said.
"It will be okay." Emma said as she reached over and placed her hands in his. "I'm here."
"Good thing you are. I might need a driver or something." Ichigo said as he chugged down another drink. Emma didn't go anywhere until he did.
"Did you and Emma started dating then?" Kazui asked.
"No. You can't just jump from one girl to the next like that. That's just something jerks would do. For a while, I wasn't quite the same, but Renji and Emma helped me through all of it. Soon, I started to feel good about myself. I'll fast forward a few more months when it's my birthday."
...
Months Later
Ichigo had a hard time since Emily cheated on him and they ended up breaking up, but he soon got back on his feet. He felt good about himself again and was doing his best to put the whole thing behind him.
"Hey, Emma." Ichigo said as he walked into the copy room.
"Hey! There's the birthday boy!" Emma said as she was excited for him.
"Stop. I just came by for some copies of this." Ichigo said as he handed her some paper.
"Come on, Ichigo. It's your birthday. You've got to celebrate your birthday." Emma said as she was insistent on this.
"Emma, with how things have gone lately, I'm not really in the mood to celebrate." Ichigo said.
"Ichigo, I'm not going to let you just blow off your birthday. Why don't you just come by my place later tonight?" Emma offered. "It can just be you and me." Ichigo did find it hard to say no to her.
"Fine, but that's all." Ichigo said as he wasn't in the mood for a big party.
...
Emma's Apartment
Emma and Ichigo headed back to her apartment for she wanted to celebrate Ichigo's birthday. It seemed like it was just going to be what Ichigo wanted his birthday to be.
"Thanks for this, Emma." Ichigo said. "I just want it to be a quiet and peaceful night."
"Of course. Just you, me,...and a few other people." Emma said as she opened the door.
"Surprise!" A bunch of people cheered. There was a party set for Ichigo's birthday. He can see now that Emma clearly outsmarted him.
"You planned this, didn't you?" Ichigo said with Emma unable to stop smiling. "You're a lot smarter than I give you credit for."
"Come on. Don't keep your party guests waiting." Emma said as she showed him inside.
"Okay." Ichigo chuckled. Despite how Ichigo didn't want to have a party, he ended up having a good time. There were party snacks, beer, and some good times. Ichigo actually had a lot of fun at the party. Even when people started to leave, Ichigo stuck around. They did get a little tipsy from the drinks, but Ichigo stuck around Emma's apartment until it was just the two of them. He continued with another drink as he sat on the couch. As for Emma, she grabbed a cupcake with a candle and she lit it.
"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you." Emma said as she sat next to him and handed the pastry. Ichigo couldn't stop chuckling. He humored her by blowing out the candle, but he put it to the side.
"You are unbelievable." Ichigo said. "You seemed more happy about my birthday than I was."
"It's your day. You had to do it right." Emma said. "It had to be better than just being a mope." The two of them couldn't stop chuckling as they kept having fun together.
"I have to admit that I did had fun. I can't believe you actually did this for me." Ichigo said.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Emma said. "I just figured you deserve something nice."
"Well, I say this covers it." Ichigo said. "I haven't felt this good since..." When he realized what he was about to say, he stopped himself.
"I take it from when you and Emily broke up." Emma finished. "I'm still sorry you had to go through that. I don't think someone like you should have gone through that."
"Well, I was pretty upset about the whole thing, but I've done a lot better." Ichigo said. "You don't have to worry about me."
"Well, I do worry about you." Emma said.
"You do?" Ichigo questioned.
"Yeah. You're...amazing." Emma said.
"I think you're amazing, too." Ichigo said. The two of them just stared into each other's eyes. They might have had a few drinks, but something in their heads told them to do this. They closed the distance between each other and actually kissed each other. They were like that for a couple minutes before they separated. "Uh... This probably isn't a good idea."
"You're right." Emma said. That did sound logical, but they did have a few drinks. When you have a few drinks, a bad idea still happens. That's why, despite saying it wasn't a good idea, the two of them kissed with such passion. Emma even climbed on top of Ichigo and straddle him. They just had their way with each other with such passion. As Ichigo pushed her down on the couch and just let the night take them away. Some changes are happening in Ichigo's life...big changes
