I hate seeing Ichigo get harassed by paparazzi.
Sure, I've been there. There was a time when I was one of those paparazzi that would harass him and think that I knew a lot about him. I blackmailed him and threatened to end his career, that's how we're in this situation in the first place. Yeah, I used to follow him around and take photos but now things are changed.
After getting to know Ichigo better, I realise that the things I had once thought or even knew about him was nothing compared to now that we are actually together.
Seeing Ichigo trying to get through crowds of paparazzi piss me off. All those flashing lights bouncing off him at crazy fast speed and he has no choice but to go through it.
And why is this? Because some asshole stalked him to my place, took our photos together and leaked it. Ichigo's not the only one though. He may be used to being followed around by paparazzi, getting asked some stupid fucking questions and having to go everywhere knowing he's going to end up on the front page of some celebrity magazine. But I'm not exactly used to this shit.
After having all those paparazzi rock up at my door, I finally start to realise just what it would have felt like for Ichigo all those years, and I contributed. I know I'm not exactly experiencing Ichigo's experiences with the paparazzi to the full extent, but shit this stuff can be intense. I guess it's kind of my fault too that something like this is happening. Thinking I could blackmail him and get away with it. All that sneaking around and hiding for what? For it to all boil down to this. Even though this is something that Ichigo and I aren't ready for, at least I destroyed all the photos of Ichigo that I threatened to sell him out with, so no one can get their hands on it now.
It doesn't matter if the paparazzi don't leave me alone, even when I leave my house. I ignore the few that follow me, covering my eyes in shades. I don't even get why they're following me around. I know Ichigo's well known celebrity but it's not like I'm a celebrity to be getting this much attention. They ask me shit about Ichigo but I look forward, acting like they're not even there even though I hear their cameras going off and the lights hit me. I know their tactics to make me tick and get me to talk, but I'm not gonna fall for it. I was in their shoes once before to know about it anyway.
I waste no time in getting in my car. I lock the doors cause who knows what these fuckers will do. Some of them are crazy. I let out a sigh, starting my car. The lights bounce off my car and the assholes stand in front and beside my car taking photos. I swear if they don't move my crazy ass is gonna run them over. I clench my jaw, holding back since I don't want to cause havoc and make it all fall back on Ichigo. I drive out of there pretty quickly, feeling relief when I'm away from them.
"Since when were you dating a celebrity?"
I throw my cap off and peel the sun glasses away from my face. Once I was teasing Ichigo for trying to disguise himself out in public and now I'm here doing the same. Getting a dose of my own medicine.
Getting to the nightclub Starrk works at during the day means I don't have to see anyone I don't want to inside. It's closed off during the day, meaning I can talk with Starrk about my problem and finding this fucking guy that spilled the news on Ichigo and me.
"Well, I didn't think I'd have to tell anyone." I tell Starrk, who just smirks at me.
At least he's not freaking out about it, asking me wild questions or whatever. At least he's cool like that, but I can't say the same for anyone else.
"It's a long story," I admit. "I need your help."
"With what?" Starrk asks, a lazy brow arching at me.
"The guy that took our photo and leaked it. Nnoitra Gilga. Do you know of him? He's a paparazzi new on the scene. Looks like he made his big break thanks to us."
Starrk squints his eyes in thought. I give him a moment, knowing that if anyone knows anyone, it's got to be Starrk.
"He's a new guy,"Starrk says casually. "Yeah, the guy hasn't been paparazzi for long but, thanks to you, he's made a big story and a decent cut in a short amount of time."
"Shit," I mutter, leaning back in my seat. I need to find this guy and it seems like Starrk knows where I might be able to find him. "Where is he?"
"You gonna do something stupid?" Starrk asks, leaning casually on the counter.
He watches me with a knowing smirk so I smirk back.
"No. Just gonna smack him around a bit."
Starrk laughs.
"You know, I've seen the guy in this club before. Maybe if you stick around you'll see him?"
Starrk's recommendation keeps me here a lot longer than I initially planned.
I don't care how long I've got to wait and look for this guy. The shit he did isn't exactly a favorite of mine and I'm going to make sure that he damn well pays for it. When I find him he's not getting away from my fucking fist.
The club is already bustling with people. The music is cranking, the drinks are pouring like crazy and it looks like people are already well on their way to getting drunk. Celebrities are out too, and I briefly wonder if Ichigo would be here too. We didn't talk about it, but I'm hoping he doesn't come here. I don't exactly want Ichigo to get involved with this paparazzi, or see me beat him either.
I'm expecting to see this guy here, and if he isn't, I'm going to have to go on a bigger hunt to find him. I don't know what's going to come of this now. My gut feeling tells me that Ichigo's going to be going through some shit with his manager and maybe his celebrity friends and colleagues too. Doesn't matter. I'm getting doses of bullshit too and I know it's only gonna get bigger somehow.
Starrk nudges me and nods towards a man sitting at the bar.
"That's him."
I watch the guy for a moment. It looks like the sleaze bag is hitting on the girl working the bar, but she looks too uninterested for it to go anywhere. The lanky dude sits kind of hunched in his chair, sipping on a drink.
"So do I beat him or ask the questions first?"
Starrk scoffs.
"Knowing you it's gonna be in that exact order."
I stifle a laugh, but I'm too irritated even by the mere sight of this guy for my mood to lighten up now.
I already envision beating the crap out of him, but the better part of me knows it's not exactly the best idea. Especially not when this guy can say shit about us and I'm not gonna let Ichigo go through more shit cause of another paparazzi.
When the bartender walks off I decide to approach him. Starrk stays behind, watching me with no expression, but I'm sure he's doing it so nothing gets out of hand.
"Hey," I say, sitting in the seat next to Nnoitra. Or whatever the fuck his name is.
He takes one look at me and smirks. So I see that he knows exactly who I am.
"Look who it is." He says, peering at me as he finishes his drink and slams it on the counter.
"Looks like you've been busy, Grimmy boy. No wonder you haven't been taking much photo's lately, so I decided to step in and expose you." Nnoitra smiles crookedly.
"That was a real shitty thing you did." I keep myself composed with no expression at all, but inside I'm fucking mad.
I wouldn't mind letting my sadistic tendencies out on this guy, but I don't exactly wanna cause a load of problems for myself here either.
"Aww come on! You think I was gonna let something like that slip?" He cackles. "Your fault anyway."
My silence doesn't sway him and the idiot keeps talking. He's not making a good impression at all and I'm already mad over this shit and if he keeps talking I'm about to smack him a few times.
"Hmm, nice job with Kurosaki, though. With that sweet little ass I guess any guy would wanna fuck him."
I let out a sigh of irritation. I'm gonna punch him in the fucking teeth. But not in here because I don't want to draw more attention to myself than what I already have. Some people around the bar are already looking at us.
"Get up, we're gonna talk somewhere else."
He looks like he's about to object but I roughly grab him by the jacket and haul him out of his seat anyway. The moment we step out the back door into the alley, he opens his mouth to say more but the tall freak doesn't react fast enough when I jab him hard in the face. He stumbles back; pain etched over his face and grabs his nose.
"What the fuck man!" Nnoitra yells.
"Not gonna let you talk about him like that," I sneer, gripping Nnoitra by the collar of his shirt and twisting upwards, making him sneer back at me. I harshly slam him into the brick wall, tightening my hold on him.
"You leave Ichigo alone. You don't go near him. Don't even think about taking anymore photos of him or I'll do more than hit you. Don't fuck with me."
I'll torture him if I have to. I'll fuck him up. I let him go with a shove, deciding I don't want to waste my time on this fucking idiot anymore. He's one fucker I had to deal with, now I have to think about what's going to happen to Ichigo and me and all these other paparazzi.
I start to get a call. I glare at Nnoitra who sneers at me, walking back into the club. The moment the back door slams shut, I answer the call.
"Hey, Grimm."
"Ichi. I found the guy."
"The one that leaked our photo?" Ichigo asks, and oddly, he sounds closer than I thought.
"Yeah. Where are you?"
"I'm at Sexta."
Shit. If Ichigo's here it means that Nnoitra could bump into him. I need to get Ichigo out of here.
"I'm here too. Tell me where you are so I can come get you."
"I'm inside by the lounge." Ichigo answers without any more questions.
I hang up and head towards Ichigo. I finally see him, dressed in a tight black and white outfit. Doesn't matter how mad I get. The moment I see him is like there's nothing else that should be bothering me so much. He sees me and smiles. I spare no time in grabbing his arm and start walking.
"H-hey, what're you doing?" Ichigo asks, walking beside me. "Grimm, tell me where we're going."
"We're leaving. I don't want that guy that leaked our photo's to bother us."
"Where is he then?" Ichigo asks. He keeps walking, peering over his shoulder as we pass a bar and head out the entrance.
"Don't worry about that, Ichi."
Leaving out the front door is a bad idea. The moment we step out and the paparazzi see us, cameras at the ready; we're flooded with flashing lights.
For a moment I'm shocked. I didn't expect there to be paparazzi outside, not only that but I'm not exactly used to this shit either. Ichigo looks at me, a little worried expression on his face. I pull him back inside the club, knowing that they can't follow us in here. We skim through the dancing and drunken crowds, past the blaring music and out the back door. It's much quieter here, with a person here and there having a smoke. But they pay us no mind so we keep on walking.
"That was a bad fucking idea," I mutter, leading Ichigo along.
"Grimm, they're going to follow us," Ichigo interjects as I take him towards my car. "They always follow me, but you already know that."
Of course they're going to follow us, but that's all they'll really do. I would actually be surprised if they didn't. I squeeze his hand that's clasped to mine. Even if they follow us, it's not like we're going to let any of them into the car, or the house if they decide to follow us that far.
"Who cares if they follow us," I say, noticing paparazzi approaching. They snap at least two photos of us before we get into my car. I didn't realise how bright the flashing lights really were until I'm on the other side of the camera, blinking to try and see past the brightness.
"Where are we going to go?" Ichigo asks, his scent flooding my car.
I start the ignition, realising that this is the first time Ichigo's been in my car. I look at him for a moment, taking it all in. He looks at me with a frown. I figure it's better to go to Ichigo's house instead of mine. Ichigo has a lot more security than I do considering the fact that he's been a celebrity for some time now.
"Your house?"
"Okay." Ichigo says simply.
"You OK?" I ask, pulling onto the road and routing my way to his place.
"Yeah. Are you OK, Grimmjow?" Ichigo asks.
I smile at him.
"Yeah. I got to punch Nnoitra in the face. And you know, I am super popular right now."
Ichigo smiles at me. I can tell he's trying to hold back on laughing at me.
"OK, fine laugh at me. Karma's fucking me up right now."
Ichigo starts laughing, shaking his head.
I can't help but smile, even though this isn't exactly the type of situation that's funny to me. But hearing Ichigo's laugh is enough to calm me down.