G.J. – 10/31 Fri. – 8:28 pm

What.

How.

Why.

Fuck.

Grimmjow took his eyes from the road to glance at the passenger's seat, where Ichigo was sitting. That part was good – wonderful, really – but sitting atop his lap and blushing tremendously was the Princess. Are you serious? How had it come to this?

III

They had gone out shopping for costumes earlier in the day. Grimmjow had asked if that was really necessary, since it was only one party. Nel had told of course it was necessary, especially because it was this one party. It was a big one and it would be fun. Grimmjow ended up getting a pair of torn vintage shorts out of exasperation (mostly caused by the girls' nagging), but also because he had wanted one like this for quite a while now; it was just that he never had the opportunity. Otherwise, he was basically just there to carry the bags, much like the few other males that were there with them.

All throughout the shopping, the girls were texting rapidly even as they walked, but when Grimmjow asked whom they were speaking to, they would ignore him or change the topic. Not that he really cared whom they socialized with, but their attitudes did slightly provoke his curiosity. The way they could multitask through literally anything never ceased to astonish him.

III

"Ahh, Grimmy! You look amazing!" Nel squealed gleefully, holding what looked like an ordinary pencil to Grimmjow, but what was apparently actually a makeup tool for the eyes. It didn't exactly sit well with him that his sister and her friends were applying makeup on him, but he decided it would be all right. It was only for the day, after all.

They were in the house that Nelliel and Rangiku shared along with several other girls. Friends and lovers were there as well, all preparing for the party that was apparently a much bigger deal than Grimmjow had first anticipated. He wondered if Ichigo would be okay with that, and what the orangette was currently doing. If he had any female acquaintances, he would probably have been dragged out to shop by now.

"But it would look so much cooler if you let us powder you up a little!" Rangiku pouted, cradling her cheek in the palm of her slender hand. "Ah, mo, Jack-chan is naturally pretty tan, so I guess this will do!"

Stitches were skillfully drawn all over Grimmjow's body, paintings of two bolts on either side of his head. He was wearing the shorts he had bought earlier, but without a top. He was supposed to be Frankenstein, which had not been his idea, but his sister's. He went along with it, for he really didn't have anything better.

On the other hand, Nelliel and Rangiku had dressed up as twin cats, feline ears on their heads and makeup on their faces that strongly resembled a cat's snout and whiskers. They even had colored contacts – yellow and with sharp pupils that looked quite realistic. Their costumes were indeed rather great ones, very well suited and prepared for. It was obvious they had been anticipating this party for quite a while now. After all, they hadn't been able to attend the last one – no; there had not even been a last one – due to certain…circumstances.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Grimmjow glanced up, wondering whom it could be especially since they were just getting ready to leave. Nelliel hopped up to get the door, and when it opened with the usual clatter-pop, her excited squeals could be heard all the way back to the living room.

As eager voices approached, everyone's eyes were trained on the entrance. Several people stepped in, Nel talking non-stop beside them as she led them back in.

"Yay! These guys have the extra car." Nelliel clapped to get everyone's attention, which she already had anyway. "Okay, I think we're ready to go, don't you think?"

III

And so, everyone ended up squeezing into three different cars.

Grimmjow (now wearing a dark shirt – against the girls' protests) was made to drive by Nelliel, who rode in the back with Rangiku, a maroon-haired senior named Haineko (a.k.a. Neko), and a quiet raven-haired junior named Nemu. Having four women in the back of your car means a lot of noise. His eardrums were about to burst just by being with them.

On the other hand, Ichigo was riding shotgun, and as mentioned before, Princess was on top of him, blushing like a madwoman.

"I'm really heavy though…" Princess was totally freaking out over this. It pissed Grimmjow off.

"Eh? But you're not heavy at all; it's okay," Ichigo was saying. What the fuck, Ichigo, you're not supposed to say those things!

Their conversation was…really distracting.

"Grimmy! Stop driving so roughly! You're gonna get us killed!"

Nel's high-pitched voice snapped Grimmjow out of his reverie. The car nearly swerved back into the road where it should have been before Grimmjow lost focus.

"Ah, sorry," he muttered, gripping the steering wheel in a somewhat firmer hold.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ichigo looking at him, not to mention the feeling of the brown eyes trained on him. The orangette still spoke to Princess, but in a slightly distracted tone, as if he wasn't really listening but just nodding along to the distant warble of her voice.

But goddamn, if his eyes weren't attracted to the carrot-top. Ichigo was dressed as a vampire (obviously girls' idea) – black skinny jeans, white dress shirt, dark cloak, and polished black boots. And he had smoky eyes. And it suited him. According to that short brunette among the group of people who had come in later, Ichigo had also refused to put powder on his face. Grimmjow thought he looked completely fine – no, he looked real good. It was really too bad that he had to keep his eyes on the road.

On the other hand, Princess was dressed as a witch. She was completely covered in black, including a long dress, a dark cloak, sharp-looking boots, and a pointed hat that she was holding in her hands instead of wearing it – just because it was too high for the small car. Her makeup was near perfection, apparently done by the older girls they had gone shopping with. Grimmjow had to admit: she looked cute. Hot, even. And he felt that that was all the more reason she should not be sitting on Ichigo's lap.

When they finally arrived at the party, it had already been going on for around half an hour. It was in Las Noches, which they had rented out by sharing the price, but mostly using the connections they had within the club. The Halloween decorations were impressive indeed, and the scent of food sent Grimmjow's stomach growling with hunger. People in all kinds of costumes roamed the grounds. There were wizards, princesses, butlers, animals, ghosts, fairies, maids, pirates, angels, succubi, mummies, heroes, villains, demons, ninjas, skeletons, monsters, undertakers, nurses…

It was really a lot of fun. Usually, when Grimmjow went to parties, it was just to get drunk, stoned, or even laid. He actually had fun in this one. And the night was just beginning.

III

"Berry-tan's getting druuunk," Kuna said with a shake of her own drink. Damn, that short lady was one good drinker. And what's with the green hair? Dye? She was dressed as a pumpkin. The look surprisingly suited her.

They were sitting at a booth: Kuna, Kotetsu (the smaller one; apparently, she was Work-Kotetsu's younger sister), Hinamori, Abarai, Nel (whose boyfriend couldn't make it until later), Rangiku (whose boyfriend also got held back by work), Ichigo, and Grimmjow. The table was covered in various assortments of bottles, glasses, plates, and bowls.

"Am not," Ichigo refuted with a huff, downing the last of his beer. Grimmjow had no idea the guy could drink so much.

Previously, he had assumed Ichigo was a quieter, no-parties sort of guy, and it even seemed the man himself thought so as well. At first, Ichigo didn't want to drink and refused to take a sip, but after much nagging from the others, he gave in. And once he got fired up enough, he was an incredible drinker. Currently, Abarai, Rangiku, Kuna, and Ichigo were having a drinking competition to see who would drop or surrender before the other. It was pretty much tie game so far.

"Excuse me for a bit," Ichigo announced as he stood, inching his way out of the booth.

"Ahh, Ichigo-chan surrenders?!" Rangiku exclaimed dramatically, but the carrot-top only shook his head.

"I'm sorry to say, but no," he said with a light laugh. "Just need the toilet." After receiving directions on where the restroom was, he disappeared into the crowd, waving off Rangiku's comment about not being allowed to drink any water while he was gone before completely merging with the rest of the club.

"I'm going too." Grimmjow stood as well, earning several whines from the group. He laughed and scooted out.


I.K. – 10/31 Fri. – 10:21 pm

He felt slightly tipsy, but otherwise, he seemed to be in pretty good condition. He headed to the restroom to take a piss, for he really hadn't lied when he told the others he needed the toilet.

It happened when he was washing his hands after stepping out of the slightly disgusting bathroom stall. When he glanced up at the mirror, his own face wasn't the only thing he saw. A longish face occupied the space beside Ichigo's, one eye covered by an eye patch, straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Ichigo started at the sudden and rather creepy appearance, yanking his hands from below the rushing sink water.

"Holy fuck, man," he muttered under his breath, calming his rapid pulse. He recovered enough to turn off the water and dry off his hands. He felt a lot better than he had before the bathroom break. "Jeez, you scared me."

"What a cutie. Even better up close," the stranger slurred, and Ichigo turned around to find the man was freakishly tall. There were a few others behind him, and did not look like they were specifically there for the Halloween party since they weren't exactly wearing any costume…well, unless that eye patch was supposed to make him some kind of pirate.

"Me?" Ichigo scowled, and an unpleasant shiver ran down his spine when the man nodded. "Hey, I'm a dude."

"I know," the stranger said with a growing grin. When Ichigo cocked his head in confusion, the gang behind him snickered like mad.

"'Course he knows, but he don't care cuz Nnoi here's a flamin' gay. Right, Nnoi?" Somebody in the back provided an explanation, but it wasn't exactly helping the bedlam within Ichigo's head, especially with the excess amount of alcohol already buzzing it up a little bit.

"Shaddup, D," Nnoi – whoever he was – mumbled, but his grin only seemed to grow wider with every passing moment.

By this point, Ichigo had to think a little. Sure, he was a good fighter from…admittedly, from his junior high days. He still worked out too. These guys, however, looked like some serious shit. He was positive they could fight as well, and five of them were a little… Well, he wasn't sure he could handle all of them at once if they attacked at any point.

"Sorry, man, not interested. I suggest you go find some other 'flaming gay' and I'll get back, yeah?" Ichigo reached for the door, hoping to escape while he was still one whole piece, but was stopped by the ridiculously large hand on his wrist.

"Naw, honey, stay and play, won't'cha?"

That's it. Ichigo reached out and landed a solid hit on "Nnoi's" cheek, earning a pained cry, a scowl, and spit mixed with blood in the process. The man glanced at him, anger boiling in his beady eyes. His large hands formed a fist and he swung forward, Ichigo moving away just barely before it hit him.

"Oh, ow." Someone behind.

Ichigo whipped around, guard way up, only to see Grimmjow rubbing his shoulder, probably where Nnoi had hit instead of its original destination: Ichigo's face.

"That timing though," Grimmjow said as he raised an eyebrow at the gang. Although his words were playful, his tone did not suggest any sort of joke. He looked upset, actually. "What're you doing here, Nnoitra?"

Nnoitra.

"Just tryin' ta enjoy tha party, Grimmy; wha's tha problem there?"

"Go home, man; you're drunk as fuck." Ichigo almost laughed at Grimmjow's comment.

"Aw, Grimmjow, yer s'rsly gonna take 'im all by yerself? C'mon, kid, don't be all selfish-like."

Ichigo didn't like the way Nnoitra spoke. His words were all slurred together, and the contents made Ichigo skeptical of the entire situation. He couldn't understand half the things Nnoitra was spouting, but Grimmjow seemed to get it all with no trouble.

"C'mon, man, get your scrawny ass up and home…" Grimmjow muttered, then sped up as he began charging toward Nnoitra with clenched fists. "Before I fucking make you regret coming here in the first place!" He swung at the taller man, landing a solid blow straight in the gut. Nnoitra coughed violently, but cracked his fingers when he recovered enough, motioning his goonies to surround the other two. Ichigo hated to just watch.

"Hey," he muttered to Grimmjow. The blue-haired raised an eyebrow in response. "It's nice and all that you came to help, but y'know, this was my fight. I could handle it on my own – just for the record." Damn, but was that true? Of course not. He was grateful. But would he let that show? No.

Grimmjow chuckled, stretching out his shoulder muscles as the Yankees shifted into place around them.

"Sure, sure, I knew that," he said just as the gang charged at them.

III

After washing off whatever blood remained on their skin (and clothes, for that matter because what a waste of perfectly new clothes), Grimmjow and Ichigo returned to their booth, and oh, what a pathetic state it was in. There were booze bottles everywhere, and everyone's faces were pretty much lax from too much drinking. Despite what Rangiku had told him earlier, Ichigo had gone and drank a bit of water after the little rough-up outside. When they stepped in front of the table, Rangiku dropped her head backwards to stare at them, her eyes narrowed drunkenly.

"Ah, moooo, that took waaaay too long, guys," she whined. Her eyes widened suddenly when she noticed the little parts on their faces where the skin had been torn, and hence they could not hide. "What happened to you?!"

The others glanced up to see the same. Grimmjow and Ichigo could only exchange looks.

"What the hell happened here?" Ichigo inquired, avoiding Rangiku's question. He leaned over the table, scooting into his spot next to Inoue, to which she blushed. Which reminded him of Grimmjow's words from four weeks ago, when they were walking home together. He had asked if he was dating Inoue. He wasn't, for sure, but did he like her? That reminded him of Renji too.

The truth was, he thought he liked her, actually. But that wasn't the case anymore. He knew he didn't like her. It was kind of strange how she blushed whenever he approached. She was a really nice girl, though.

"Mashiro's down!" Rangiku said, sounding excited as she jerked her chin at the fallen girl. "Renji's breaking too. I can feel it! Ichigo-chan doesn't count anymore cuz he left…"

She fell to the side all of a sudden, Grimmjow moving in just in time to catch her.

"Fuck, yeah, I win!" Renji exclaimed before dropping unconscious as well.

Rolling his eyes, Ichigo pulled the redhead onto his lap for some peaceful rest. Fuck him if this boy wasn't going to have a huge hangover tomorrow. He actually wanted to take the drunkard back to the dorm immediately, but was held back by the rest, somehow allowing himself to be persuaded by the miserable lot he now called his friends. He drank a little more while the others completely immersed themselves in the feel of the party. It reminded him of back when he was in junior high, flunking classes and fooling around all the time. The memory was the only thing that prevented Ichigo from doing much else, and he always excused himself for a bit just before he was tempted to drink a little too much at a time – which really was quite often.

After a particularly dangerous cup of booze, Ichigo headed outside to get a little "fresh air" – although really, the alleyway smelled like anything but fresh. More like vomit and burnt cigarettes.

He was leaning against the old brick wall beside the club's metal door when it slammed open all of a sudden, two people stumbling out. The noise blasted out for a brief two seconds before the door swung shut again, muffling the sounds once again.

The couple consisted of a petite woman with curly purple pigtails and a well-built man with striking blue hair gelled up in the most perfect way possible.

Grimmjow.

And a girl.

Ichigo stared wide-eyes at the two as they slammed up against the wall opposite of him. He noticed how it was the girl making all the initial moves; she was actually being a tad bit too aggressive in Ichigo's opinion, and it looked as if Grimmjow was more than a little uncomfortable as well. Her hands pushed against his chest as she kissed him roughly, her breasts rubbing up against Grimmjow's body. Ichigo felt pretty terrible about watching, but he just could not tear his eyes away.

He hated to admit it, but it was hot.

"Cirucci, Jesus Christ, knock it off!" Grimmjow finally shoved the girl off, and Ichigo jolted in surprise. Should he not be here or…?

"Why?" the girl – Cirucci – questioned. Ichigo couldn't tell if she was hurt or just plain drunk just by staring at the back of her head. "Is it because of that person? You can't even kiss me at a party because of that?" Her voice was raised but quivering, although whether it was from rage or from grief, Ichigo couldn't tell.

"I've told you s—" And then Grimmjow stopped, noticing Ichigo for the first time. His eyes widened with what seemed to be shock. Oops. Ichigo had missed his chance to escape.

Grimmjow pushed Cirucci away completely, and finally she seemed to notice where his gaze led to: Ichigo. At last, he could see her face clearly. She wore an enormous amount of makeup, all of them in different shades of purple, and it made Ichigo wonder whether it felt sticky and uncomfortable on her face and whether all that junk weighed anything.

"Who the f—"

"That's him."

The girl had just been about to curse Ichigo out when Grimmjow interrupted, making her whip back around to face him.

"What?"

"He's the person I'm in love with." And then he was gliding toward Ichigo, leaning in and kissing him as if he would never see another day.


There is…I don't know – quite a lot of "development" this next chapter I think? I hope you don't think it's too much. I just plugged in what seemed to be appropriate for the moment – what jumped into my mind as I wrote. And I think I like it!

This is a shorter chapter, if you couldn't tell already. It's probably around 2000 words less than other chapters, but I think this is the way I will be writing from now: shorter chapters and more frequent updates.

Honestly, the reviews make my day. A HUGE thank you to all who bother :)

And THANK YOU to Padt06, my spectacular beta.

[ Jou ]