Happy Friday! xD

I seriously didn't see it coming.

One minute I'm smirking at Kurosaki, taunting him because I know he'd do anything to keep his job. Then the next minute, I'm holding my nose, the pain so explosive that white spots are dancing in front of my darkened vision.

Kurosaki fucking punched me.

I'm so shocked that, for a moment, I'm almost convinced that it's a hallucination, but the blood that's leaking out from my nostrils and dripping onto my shirt begs to differ.

There is a few seconds of complete silence before the proverbial shit hits the fan. Everybody begins to talk at once, no doubt horrified that the main actor of the movie has been injured. Madarame comes over to grab ahold of me as I stagger backwards, my body doubling over, eyes watering as I struggle to breathe through my mouth. Kurosaki is still trying to lunge at me, his limbs flailing about violently in the air, but Abarai has him around the waist so all he can do is scream a string of curses.

"What the hell is going on there!" Kenpachi roars from across the studio, and then I hear his footsteps quicken and I know he's rushing towards us to see what the commotion is about.

When the man skids to a stop in front of me, his eyes widen comically like they're about to pop out of their sockets. Then he turns to Kurosaki, his features so dark and ominous that I can't but cringe even through the terrible throbbing of my nose.

"You! You're fired!" Kenpachi stabs Kurosaki in the chest with so much force that I'm surprised that his finger didn't poke a hole in the kid's flesh.

Kurosaki stops struggling, but he doesn't go pale or protest or beg or do anything that I expect him to. If anything, he only appears all the more determined. His caramel eyes flash dangerously as he glowers at me one more time before staring right back at Kenpachi fearlessly.

For obvious reasons, that just pisses Kenpachi off even more. "Get him outta my sight! Right fucking now!" the giant hollers, his gravelly voice so loud that I'm sure everybody within a five-mile radius can hear him.

And then his words registers in my head. I look at Kenpachi wildly, wanting so badly to ask him to wait but I can't speak properly with my nose completely blocked by blood that's still dripping all over the place. I know I should be angry at Kurosaki, but to be honest - crazy as it may sound - I'm too impressed by him to be angry. Not everyone has the gall to stand up to me, much less to actually fight back like he did.

Plus, I kind of asked for it, you know? It's fun playing with the kid and all, but I know how much this gig means to him. I may be an asshole, but I'm not cruel. I never intended to get him into trouble in the first place.

Then, in the midst of this craziness, comes the unmistakable click-clack of Urahara's wooden clogs.

"My, my," the director says in his signature sing-song voice, stepping into our little circle and giving all of us a quick once-over. "What do we have here?"

His slate grey eyes land on my bloodied shirt and his eyebrows immediately shoot towards his hairline. "Oh dear, not feeling so well, are we, Jaegerjaques?"

Kenpachi glares at his director, but Urahara simply waves him off with that stupid paper fan of his. "And who is this?" He steps in front of Kurosaki and leans closer to the kid as if he's studying a piece of fine art. "Ah! Kurosaki Ichigo, isn't it? The young intern who came highly recommended by Professor Ukitake! How are you today, Ichigo?"

Kurosaki frowns. "I'm not an intern here anymore," he says tersely. He shoots me another murderous scowl before continuing, "I just got fired. And no, I'm not sorry for what I did."

Kenpachi looks like he's going to explode, but Urahara silences him with another wave of his fan as everyone watches on in fascination, myself included.

Just what exactly is Urahara playing at? Shouldn't he be furious that the biggest star in his movie might be sporting a broken nose right now? I mean, I know Urahara is a bit...eccentric all along, but...

"Jaegerjaques," he says suddenly, whipping around to smile at me.

I blink at him, my hands still cupping my throbbing nose protectively.

Urahara's smile widens. "Do you want us to fire Kurosaki?"

I blink at him again, too surprised by the unexpected question to reply immediately. Then, finally realizing what he's asking me, I shake my head slowly, mindful not to jar my injury.

I've never seen so many pairs of eyebrows raised at the same time in my life. Kurosaki gapes at me, jaw slack like an idiot, while Kenpachi's eyes dart between me and his director with a look of utter disbelief.

"It's settled then," Urahara says cheerfully. "Now, people, break's over, let's get back to work, shall we? Madarame, take a look at Jaegerjaques' nose, will you?"

With that, he turns on his heels and strolls back to his seat, leaving the rest of us standing here in stunned silence. Kenpachi takes a threatening step towards Kurosaki and growls in his face before stalking off after his director, no doubt going to demand an explanation for the man's bizarre behavior. People sneak curious and careful glances at us, but after a while the crowd disperses when they realize there is no more drama to see.

Then it's just us - Kurosaki, Abarai, Madarame, and me. Abarai keeps eyeing Kurosaki warily as if he's afraid that the kid is going to sock him in the face next. As for me, I can't tear my eyes away from Kurosaki, who's looking pointedly at his own shoes like they're the most intriguing thing in the world. Seriously, I don't understand myself sometimes, because all I can think of right now is how sexy the kid had looked when he told Urahara that he's not sorry for what he had done. That look of pure rage and confidence on his face...shit, it just makes me want to grab him and fuck him into the nearest hard surface, audience be damned.

My lecherous thoughts are interrupted, however, when Madarame pries my hands away from my face. He tips my head up and from side to side, eyes narrowed as he inspects the damage. At first glance, he looks like he's all business, but I catch his lips twitching as his eyes drifts briefly over to Kurosaki.

"Go ahead, just laugh, you fucking prick," I grind out, keeping my voice low so that only Madarame can hear me.

The bald stunt coordinator snickers under his breath. "Kid sure has some potential, maybe I should get him to join my crew," he teases before continuing in a more serious tone. "Nah, your nose is just fine, s'not broken. It's not going to look pretty for a couple of weeks but it'll heal up as long as you don't do anything stupid." He winks at me. "Wait here, let me get you some ice."

I roll my eyes and stupidly decide to wrinkle my nose to make a face at Madarame. I regret it at once as a jolt of pain immediately shoots right up into my head. Before I can stop myself, I let out a sharp hiss.

"Serves you right," Kurosaki mutters.

If I were anyone else, my manager would be on her way here along with a lawyer, but I'm, well...me, and I don't do whiny. "Yeah, yeah," I say with another roll of my eyes.

The kid frowns at me with his lips pursed into a thin line. He clearly has something else to say, even though he looks like he'd rather suffocate to death than spit it out.

"What?" I ask finally, unable to contain my curiosity.

Kurosaki searches my face for a few heartbeats before replying grudgingly. "Why'd you do that?"

I pretend not to know what he's asking and simply quirk a questioning brow at him. His eyes narrow dangerously. I resist the urge to widen my grin, but I can't stop the spark of fire that ignites deep in my gut. He sure has a lot of heat for someone who nearly got fired not ten minutes ago, and damn if that doesn't turn me on as if he'd just stripped naked in front of me.

"Why'd you ask them not to fire me?" he repeats.

I shrug. "What's the fun in that?" I say. "I wouldn't get to tease you anymore if you're gone."

Abarai sucks in a deep breath. Judging from the look he's sending me, I think he's convinced that I'm out of my mind to toy around with Kurosaki like that so soon. What can I say? I like playing with fire. It's not like Kurosaki can truly resist me anyway. He'll just bitch about it like he always does, but in the end he will still want me. They all do.

But the biting retort that I'm expecting doesn't come. Kurosaki just regards me coldly, his mouth curled in disdain. The seething resentment in his eyes hits me like a wall of ice. Nobody has ever looked at me like this before, not even Kurosaki himself. Anger, sure. Dislike? Eh, once in a while. But such deep, utter disgust? Never.

Then, before I can even fully process what that means, Kurosaki stuffs his hands into his jeans pockets and leaves without a word, never once looking back as he walks away from the studio.

I stare after him, stunned beyond words - and if I'm honest with myself, shaken - and suddenly unsure what to do. I glance at Abarai, who shakes his head with a hint for pity in his eyes. My stomach flip flops uncomfortably.

Well damn, I think he might actually be serious.

I flex my right hand, balling it into a fist and then stretching the fingers out, feeling the slight ache that pulls on my knuckles whenever I repeat the action. It had felt so good wiping that smug smile off Jaegerjaques' face, but now when I think back about it, I can't help but break out in cold sweat.

What was I thinking, really, lashing out at an actor? That was so unprofessional, not to mention humiliating. Now that I'm no longer clouded by anger, I realize what a close call that was. It's not just about the internship, I could've ruined my career in this industry before it even began. But in the end, ironically, it had been Jaegerjaques who saved my ass.

I should've known that he didn't do it because he felt guilty for how he treated me. For one stupid, naïve moment, I'd actually thought he stopped Urahara from firing me because he wanted to do the right thing. I had even felt grateful.

But of course he didn't. He had done it for his own selfish pleasure, so that he can continue to torture me. Call me silly, but I actually feel disappointed. How is it possible for someone so physically perfect, so beautiful, to be so...evil? I don't get it. It just seems like such a tragic waste of a fine specimen.

Well, either way, it doesn't matter anymore. I ended up talking to Urahara after the whole fiasco. They'd had to postpone the shooting of that scene and film the ones with Nelliel instead. After I calmed down, I went to Urahara to apologize. Not for hitting Jaegerjaques - the bastard totally deserved it - but for disrupting Urahara's schedule. The director had been surprisingly cool about it. Said I don't have to work with Jaegerjaques anymore, even offered to mentor me personally from now on. I'll finally able to return to tasks that are actually on my job description.

I should be ecstatic, but for some reason I feel depressed. I don't understand why. I'm free of Jaegerjaques now and I should be celebrating, yet here I am, tossing and turning under the covers wondering if there is even a shred of humanity left in that cocky bastard.

I shake my head at my own stupidity. Fuck that. It's none of my business whether Jaegerjaques has a heart or not. Why should I care? He's someone else's problem now. From tomorrow onwards, I'm going steer clear of him and hopefully never have to talk to him ever again in my life.

"I think he might actually dislike me," I mumble as Ayasegawa paints a bruise over my cheek bone.

"Mmm hmm."

"Like, really dislike me," I ramble on. I don't know why I'm telling Ayasegawa this, but I'm seriously at a loss here.

It's been almost one week now. My nose is still a colorful purple and green, but Urahara is smart; he had written that into the script as an injury that I got in the fight scene so that we could continue filming. My manager wasn't pleased, but she couldn't do anything since I refused to take any action against Kurosaki.

Since then, the kid hasn't talked to me. Not even a single word. Hell, he hasn't spared me even a single glance. He just goes about his business, does his work, hang out with the other interns, and goes back to the hotel. At first, I thought he's just throwing a tantrum. I mean, that's understandable, he's entitled to feel pissed for a while, but I'm beginning to think that he's not going to stop avoiding me.

Ayasegawa swipes his brush on his palette to pick up more color, his eyes never leaving my cheek. "Honey," he says in an amused tone. "Are you serious? You're not pulling my leg?"

I frown. "What do you mean?"

Ayasegawa's teasing smirk fades. In its place is a sympathetic smile that I don't appreciate. "My god, you really don't know," he says slowly, as if he's talking to a small child. "Of course he doesn't like you. The kid hates your guts, Jaegerjaques. The way you were treating him, I'm surprised he's even still here."

I feel a heavy lump settle in my stomach. So Kurosaki is serious. His look of disgust the other day wasn't faked. I mean, yeah, I considered the possibility, but I had shrugged it off, deeming it too ridiculous. It's Kurosaki. The boy had jerked off to me. He wants me.

Doesn't he?

"Damn..." I mutter under my breath.

Ayasegawa laughs. "You're more delusional than I thought, Jaegerjaques," he says.

I don't know what to say in response. I'm too shocked. It's one thing to speculate in my head, but to hear it from Ayasegawa like that...wow. To make it worse, he's making it sound like it's so blatantly obvious, like it's crazy that I haven't realized it. How could I? Kurosaki has always blushed like a shy virgin whenever I tease him, and I know for a fact that he finds my body desirable.

Doesn't that mean he likes me? That he wants me?

To be continued...