Hope you guys missed me. :) Happy Friday!
I must have killed a baby panda in my past life. I mean, why else would I deserve to be thrown into this living hell?
You know, the one where I'm stuck being the so-called assistant to a lunatic by the name of Grimmjow Jaegerjaques.
All that hard work, sleepless nights, and tears - okay, so I'm being a little overly dramatic here - to finally get this prestiguous internship, and what do I end up being? A fucking errand boy, that's what.
After Kenpachi ever-so-graciously handed me over to him, Jaegerjaques announced that from now on, I am to report to him first thing in the morning every fucking day until the end of my internship. My job description now includes aiding his costume changes - well, we've kind of established that, haven't we? - his fan club correspondence, and most importantly, waiting on him hand and foot during shootings.
And so, here I am, a soon-to-be-graduate of a prestigeous university, knocking on the door to Jaegerjaques' hotel room to announce my arrival.
What, you actually think he spends the nights in his trailer? Hell no. All the higher-ups have a hotel suite to themselves - though the director does share one with his wife - unlike poor interns like us who have to make do with the cheaper rooms downstairs.
Anyways, so I knocked, and now I wait, stomach rolling in a mixture of dread and morbid curiosity. I hear footsteps. Slow, messy shuffling that sound like they belong to a zombie. I take a step back unconsciously right as the door suddenly swings open.
When my brain finally registers the image in front of me, my jaw falls slack.
Jaegerjaques is standing at the doorway wearing nothing but a sleeping robe; the thin, silky material sticking to his body like second skin, hugging the muscular planes and angles of his figure perfectly.
I will have you know that I'm trying very hard not to look. I swear I am. But honestly that is simply impossible when the bloody thing is blatantly open, okay? The sash hangs uselessly from the belt loop and I'm presented with fleeting glimpses of his goods as he cocks his hip and grumbles in a scratchy voice.
"The fuck you up so early?"
I glance at my watch. "You're the one who asked me to 'report to you at eight o'clock sharp'," I mimic his haughty tone with a roll of my eyes.
He glares at me darkly, lip curling into a half-snarl. "Smart-ass," he mutters. And then just like that, he walks back into his room without another glance at me.
I stare blankly at the door that's still wide open. I turn my head left and right to check the hallway before peering hesitantly into the suite. What am I supposed to do? Waltz right in?
A loud holler of "What the fuck's taking you so long?" answers my question, so I take a tentative step into the room and pull the door close behind me.
I look enviously at the lavish furniture as I wander deeper into the suite. A pair of bright red love seats decorate the small sitting room, a flat screen TV mounted on the wall in front of them; the carpet so lush that it feels like I'm stepping on expensive fur. I hear the sound of running water coming from the doorway on the right, so I turn that way and, slowly, carefully, approach the door.
The first thing that greets me is a messy King-sized bed; its sheets crumpled and hanging limply over the side. I count about seven pillows scattered all over the mattress, some flattened, others bent out of shape.
Then, I freeze.
Standing next to the bed, eyeing me with an impish grin on his face, is Jaegerjaques in all his naked glory. Call me a pervert, but the first thing my eyes zoom in on is his package. I mean, how can I not? It's staring right at me in a half-salute, nestled in the midst of neatly trimmed curls - every strand as vividly blue as their counterpart on the man's head.
Immediately, all the blood in my body seems to rush to my face. Heat blooms on my cheeks as though someone had just lit my skin on fire. With an almost audible gasp, I peel my gaze away from it, but I know it's already too late. Jaegerjaques has already caught me staring at his jewels.
"What, never seen a man naked?" he asks tauntingly.
For a moment, I'm so floored by his lack of modesty that I didn't - couldn't - reply. The fact that he really doesn't seem to care that he's completely exposed in front of me just blows my mind. I'm by no means a prude, but to let everything hang loose like that...I just can't imagine myself doing that. Ever.
"You..." I finally manage to respond, wrinkling my nose to convey my utter disgust. "Ugh, please put something on!"
Jaegerjaques takes one look at my face and throws his head back in a howl of laughter. Then, shaking his head, he pads into the adjoining bathroom; hips swaggering proudly, the muscles of his well defined buttocks rippling under taut, tanned skin with each step. My eyes triumphs my brain, and I find myself staring at his retreating form even though I know I'm just sinking deeper and deeper into Jaegerjaques' trap.
I can feel his heated gaze on my back as I walk into the bathroom to begin showering. The kid's practically drooling, but he's still trying to act tough and deny that he's completely under my control. That's okay, I'll let him pretend. We'll see how long he can keep up his act.
Even though it may seem like I had planned this, I actually hadn't. Honest.
I had stayed up late last night to rehearse today's scenes, and by the time I finally hit the sack, I had completely forgotten that I had asked Kurosaki to "report to me" this morning. I'd woken up blurry-eyed and disoriented, thinking that maybe it was Urahara with something super important, only to find a stunned Kurosaki standing in front of the door.
From the moment I felt him staring at the opening of my robe, I know I can't miss this chance to rub it in his face. The kid looks too damn cute when he blushes and purses those supple lips of his into a petulant pout. Oh, I'm sure he prefers to call that a manly scowl.
Half an hour later, we arrive at the studio, where Ayasegawa is already waiting for me in front of my trailer. His intern - the kid who has the short and blond version of Cleopatra's haircut - raises his eyebrows in surprise at the sight of the two of us walking together. I smirk. I guess Kurosaki hasn't told his friends about our...arrangement yet.
The rest of the day goes by relatively quickly. Life is good when you have a piece of eye candy like Kurosaki as a personal assistant. He's there when I need a sip of water; when I need some tissues to blot the sweat off my brow; to answer my calls when my cell rings; and when I want to be out of the harsh sun, he's there with an umbrella. And the best part is I get to be up close and personal with Kurosaki, who can't seem to stop blushing like a sixteen-year old virgin.
Damn. I can get used to this.
By the time the week is over, I'm about two inches away from going batshit insane.
I've never met anyone so fucking narcissistic and demanding in my life. The novelty of seeing Jaegerjaques naked is starting to wear off, and I just wish that he'd stop strutting his stuff in front of me without a thread on. He obviously knows that he has a killer figure, and he sure isn't modest about it.
He's doing this on purpose, no doubt. My extremely thin skin and my tendency to blush at the slightest suggestion of anything sexual is certainly not helping. It's not something that I can control, alright? I bet he's enjoying every minute of my torment, probably thinking that I'm getting flustered because I'm turned on by him.
As if!
At the moment, though, I'm blissfully Jaegerjaques-free, having lunch with my fellow interns not far away from the set.
"A lot of people would kill to be in your shoes, you know," Shinji says with a face-splitting grin, not sounding the least bit sorry for me.
"Gee, thanks for the insight, jack-ass," I retort bitterly, glaring at him.
Across from me at the lunch table, Uryuu pushes his rectangular glasses up the bridge of his nose and says, "Look on the bright side, Kurosaki. Think of it as a chance to train your people skills. You're going to need that to survive in this industry."
For a moment, I don't know whether I've just been insulted, or if Uryuu is simply giving sound advice. I swear that boy was born looking snarky, what with his narrowed eyes, thin lips, and that annoyingly arrogant voice of his. I stare at him for a few seconds and decide that I really do need better people skills because I can't read him at all.
"Just suck it up, boy," another voice joins in, and I look up to see Shinji's mentor rolling his eyes at me. "For me, personally," Ayasegawa bats his feathered lashes as a dreamy look appears on his face, "I'd rather be Jaegerjaques' assistant than Kenpachi's any day. At least Jaegerjaques is nice to look at."
Well, that's technically true - Jaegerjaques is sinfully hot - not that I'd ever admit it out loud as long as my heart's still beating, but his attitude really puts a dampen on his attractiveness. And that's putting it very mildly. Anyways, that really isn't relevant to my situation. A gorgeous asshole is still an asshole.
I shove a hearty spoonful of fried rice into my mouth and chew forcefully, pretending that I'm chewing Jaegerjaques to death. My morning has been relatively bearable so far, but they're going to shoot a scene later - the one after Jaegerjaques' contact gets shot and he finds himself surrounded by his former comrades. There will be a few stunt sequences to be performed by the man himself, and that means plenty of work for me.
After lunch, Shinji scrambles off to Jaegerjaques' trailer with his mentor to get the man ready for the shoot. I drag my feet and trudge slowly behind them, knowing that Jaegerjaques is just going to shout for me anyway if I don't show up. But just as I'm about half way there, a loud yell stops me.
"Ichigo! How are ya?"
I lift my head to see a high-spirited redhead jogging up to me. Abarai Renji, if I remember his name correctly. He's the guy playing the dead contact, although honestly I've never heard of him till the other day. He seems to be a friendly enough guy, at least from what I could tell before being dragged off by Jaegerjaques.
"I've been better," I say glumly before I can stop my big mouth. I kick myself immediately for being so unprofessional. Shit, if I'm not careful I really will become the "whiny little snot-nosed brat" that Kenpachi thinks I am.
Renji's goofy grin falters a little. "What's the matter?" he asks with a quirk of a tattooed eyebrow.
"Nothing," I mutter hastily, hoping that he won't notice my reddening ears.
He frowns a little, then to my surprise, his mouth opens into a comical-looking "O" before morphing into a sympathetic smile. "It's Jaegerjaques, isn't it? He's giving ya trouble?"
I scrub my face vigorously with one palm. "Is it really that obvious?" I huff.
Renji shrugs. "The guy's pretty notorious," he says. "I'm sorry, man."
That has got to be the nicest thing I've heard all week. Now, if only Jaegerjaques is even half as decent...but of course he isn't, and that reminds me that I need to get my ass to his trailer right now or risk his wrath, so I thank Renji and tell him that I have to run.
But before I can turn away, Renji stops me again. "Say, do you want to catch a cup of coffee later?" he asks.
My stomach flutters at the unexpected question. I blink dumbly as Renji looks at me, his russet eyes wide and hopeful.
An actor is asking me out? Sure, Renji's new to the scene and only has a few minor roles tucked under his belt, but still! He's young, ruggedly handsome, friendly, and obviously his ego hasn't been inflated irreparably by his status as a budding celebrity...yet. I can't think of a reason to say no.
"Sure, I'd like that," I reply finally, smiling for the first time in the past few days.
I watch them through the blinds in my trailer, blood boiling and jaw clenched so tightly that I can hear the sound of my teeth grinding against each other.
How dare he. A second-grade actor, a bumbling idiot if his performance the other day is anything to go by. I don't know what he's saying to Kurosaki, but I can't stand that stupid grin on his face. The way he's staring at Kurosaki...I can practically see his tail wagging like a fucking puppy.
The moment Kurosaki smiles at him, I know I have to stop them. I can't have my Kurosaki being too friendly with that tattooed freak. I glare at Ayasegawa and that skinny blond-haired intern and push past them to get to the door. I take a deep, calming breath, then I yank the fucking thing open with almost enough force to rip it from its hinges.
"Kurosaki!"
The kid whips his head around, his smile immediately replaced by a dark, stormy frown. Abarai looks at me with a peeved expression which quickly turns into a fierce scowl when I flip him off with a sneer. To my chagrin, Kurosaki turns back to him and they exchange a few more words before Abarai walks off with a smile, pointedly not looking in my direction.
"You're late," I growl when Kurosaki reaches the steps of my trailer.
"In case you didn't notice, I was having a conversation with a colleague," he counters defensively.
I snort and stroll back to my seat, to Ayasegawa's apparent relief. "Yeah, one who wants to get into your pants," I mutter.
I know I'm being a hypocrite, alright? But I'm me and Abarai's just...nobody. Plus, Kurosaki is mine. I don't want anyone else sniffing around my property.
Without even looking in the mirror, I know Kurosaki is glowering at my reflection. Fine, he wants to play hard to get? I'll play along.
Two hours later, I'm sitting on a lawn chair in front of the set ready to go while Kurosaki sits next to me in another chair with a stack of towels on his lap and a water cooler by his leg. I study him out of the corner of my eye; starting from the lean, mile-long legs clad in a pair of form-fitting black denim pants and slowly drifting up to the slender torso hidden under a maroon V-neck t-shirt. He's not the buff, muscular type, but his swimmer-like physique has its own charm. In fact, I think the picture of him wrapping those legs of his around my waist is extremely appealing...
"Stop staring at me, you pervert."
I raise an eyebrow. "Who says I am?"
Ichigo rolls his pretty brown eyes. "Oh yeah, of course you're not, you were just checking out the towels," he says dryly.
I bark out a laugh. I just can't get enough of that expression on his face; those thin orange brows pinched into a frown, his soft, very kissable lips pursed in a half-pout, half-snarl.
Approaching footsteps prevents me from delivering a snappy comeback, and I look up to see the stunt coordinator strolling up to me, his bald head practically sparkling under the bright sunlight.
"Ya ready, Jaegerjaques?" the man yells, the corners of his lips lifted into a challenging grin.
Madarame Ikkaku is one of the best stunt coordinators in the field, widely known for his colorful background as a former stunt man himself. He has sustained many injuries in his time, some serious enough to put bigger, tougher-looking guys into retirement, but Madarame just bounces back every time. But eventually, age caught up with him and he had to cut back on the action and work behind the camera instead. I can see the thirst and jealousy in his eyes sometimes as he walks me through sequences, his body thrumming with energy that's just begging to be let out. Maybe that's why we clicked right away; we're a lot alike in that sense. Some people can sit back and watch somebody else do their dirty work and then claim the fame for themselves, but me...I can't stand that shit. I'm paid to act and that's what I'm going to do. If you want me, then you'll be getting nothing but Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, from the beginning till the end.
Madarame's arrival is the cue to begin the next shot - my long awaited fight scene. I've been looking forward to this for weeks; secretly practicing the moves in the privacy of my hotel suite and tweaking them a little to my own liking.
"Hell yeah I'm ready," I reply, jumping to my feet and rubbing my palms together in glee.
"That's the spirit!" The bald stunt coordinator claps me on my back and throws an arm around my shoulders.
I let Madarame steer me towards the set, assuming that Kurosaki would simply follow behind me, but the footsteps I'm expecting never came. What I hear instead is Abarai's irritatingly cheerful voice.
"Hey, so what time should I pick you up later?" I hear him ask.
Shocked, I turn around so quickly that the joints in my neck creak in protest. The sight that greets me leaves me clenching my jaw in fury. Abarai is standing way too close to my precious assistant; the redhead's taller frame almost enveloping Kurosaki's, whose cheeks are turning an alarming shade of pink.
So this was what they were chatting about this morning? Abarai actually has the balls to ask my Kurosaki out on a date? That insolent bastard!
By this point, I'm seeing red. I wrench Madarame's arm off of me and stalk back towards Kurosaki. I vaguely register a low, rumbling growl coming from the depths of my throat as I approach them, my hands balled into fists that are just itching to sink themselves into Abarai's gut. Kurosaki's eyes widen as he spots me coming at them from behind Abarai, and that in turn prompts the redhead to turn around. Our eyes lock, and my hackles rise immediately as Abarai's gaze hardens with a challenging glint.
"What's going on here?" Jaegerjaques growls when he finally pulls up in front of me.
Renji moves to shield me from Jaegerjaques, but that just adds insult to my already-injured pride, so I shove him aside to face the blue-haired, red-faced actor.
"I don't see how this is any of your business," I say as calmly as I can manage. Inside, my blood is becoming molten lava, bubbling with all the pent-up anger that has been building since the beginning of the week.
Jaegerjaques shoots me an icy glare. "Of course it's my business," he sneers. "You work for me and your job isn't fucking done until I say it is."
"Hey, watch your mouth," Renji cuts in, stepping in front of me once more; blatantly ignoring the warning look from me.
I grit my teeth as I look from Renji to Jaegerjaques. I understand that Renji is just trying to be nice, but his chivalrous protectiveness is making me look like the helpless princess that I'm not. As if that isn't bad enough, this ridiculous little spectacle is beginning to attract attention, and people are slowing down to see what's going on.
"Renji," I tug on the redhead's sleeves to get him to move aside, but instead of moving, Renji turns around and bats my hand away.
"Let me handle this, babe," he says.
Babe?
I can't fucking take this anymore.
"Enough!" I scream, my self control finally snapping like a piece of dry twig.
A stretch of stunned silence follows my outburst. Then, Jaegerjaques raises an eyebrow and asks mockingly, "Or what?"
I really should have done this all along. Screw the internship. Screw this so-called "opportunity of a lifetime". I curl my lips into the fiercest, most aggressive snarl I've ever made in my life, then I let my right fist fly.
To be continued...