Berries and Bimbos and Boobs, Oh My
Well now that the school day is finally over I can go home. It may not be much, but it's better than living with my dad and his new girlfriend. The fourth one in two months. Course, I guess him having a girlfriend is better than him bringing hookers over all the time...
Yes. Those were dark dark days indeed. Especially when he made me do their laundry. Have you ever washed a ho's laundry? It's rather disgusting. That and there are way too many stains in there clothes. You'd think with all that money they make they'd at least try to buy something new every now and then.
But more importantly I need to get food and soon, otherwise my stomach will eat itself. And while that brings about some very interesting mental images, it's not really something I would like to have happen.
I can't cook for shit, so pretty much all that's lying around my house is instant crap. And I know it's probably not all that great for me to be eating it all the time, but I'd rather not kill myself in an attempt to make something edible. So instant crap it is.
Unfortunately, before I can make my food (oh wonderful food how I miss you), I find that my misery has followed me home. Stupid bitch. And from the sound of it, she wasn't alone. Oh, goodie.
"Shiro! Shiro~!" she calls, banging on the door.
"Shut up, Cirruci! Go away!"
"But Shiro! Your friends are here!"
"What the-Why the hell are you bringing people here?!"
"Because they want to see you!"
Great. Just what I need. Everybody knowing where I live. The one thing I have yet to figure out is how Cirruci managed to find me. I would hope that she hadn't followed me home except for the fact that, well, she's my stalker. That's kinda what she does.
"Open the door, Shiro," she whined.
"Hell no!"
"But Shiro," Boobzilla cut in. Dear god, now she knew where I lived. Fuck, could this day get any worse?
"No!"
It was silent for a moment before I hear someone messing with the door. What the hell? Were they trying to pick the lock? Damn it! Rushing to the door, I manage to push my weight against it before they can get the lock undone.
"Stay the hell out!"
I could hear murmuring on the other side of the door, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Suddenly there was a huge shove against the door and they damn near got it open. This was not fair. There were who knew how many of them and one of me. Someone up there must really hate me.
Another shove forced me back and they managed to get the door open wide enough to create a crack to slip through. Damn. Cirruci was strong for a girl. She managed to force the door open wider while people slipped in. Just how many had she brought?!
So far there was Boobzilla, Frodo, the ditz, Taco Man (not sure how he managed to get in through that crack...), Crab ass, the clown, the pineapple zebra, the gnome, the bald guy I have fondly dubbed the lightbulb, and some guy that has a weird feather coming off his eye. I call him birdman.
By this point I'd given up on trying to keep them out and had decided on trying to focus on a place to hide. Too bad this was such an open space. The last person to walk in surprised me though. It was Ichigo. While his company wasn't entirely unwelcome, it was still weird to have him show up. Cirruci closed the door behind him and decided that she should act as the host.
"So who wants drinks?"
More than half the people in the room raised their hands like five year olds. All I could think was that if they were hungry, they were shit outta luck, because I highly doubt any of them want any of my instant crap.
It was really weird having all this noise in the house. Ok, it wasn't really a house, it was a flat, but whatever. Either way it was much louder than usual. Someone had flipped on the TV and everyone else was trying to talk over it. Maybe this was why I never made many friends, the noise level was almost unbearable.
I noticed a couple of them wandering into the kitchen (good luck finding anything), and another one heads down the hallway and to the bathroom. Looking around I notice that a certain head of bright orange hair is missing. And I don't like not knowing where people are.
Peeking down the hall, I could see that the light was on in the spare room. When look inside, I find Ichigo standing in front of the bookshelf. Now, I have a lot of spare time on my hands, most of it is filled with drawing and reading, so I buy a lot of books. I actually find it a miracle you can even walk into the room. There are books double stacked on the bookshelf and many more lying in piles on the floor. And this was only a small amount of the collection I owned.
Now, I wouldn't have a problem with him looking through them, except for the fact that I read everything I can get my hands on. Fantasy, science fiction, action, adventure, gay, lesbian, straight, romance. Notice anything strange in that list? They're mostly the reason I read alone at home, because being gay is one thing. You start reading that kind of romance out in public and people think you've got some kind of mental disease. Course, I guess it doesn't really matter considering the fact that people already think I have issues.
I see him pick up an anthology that I had gotten a few months back. While there were some good stories in it like The Rubens Gamble, it was mostly gay erotica. Like I said. I read anything I can get my hands on.
He stared at the cover for a minute before flipping it over and reading the back, not that it told you anything that the cover hasn't already. After a minute he seems to figure this out and flips it open. I know he doesn't know I'm here so I decide to cut in and see what he does.
"The Rubens Gamble is one of the better stories," he jumps a little and turns around. I can see him blush and it's rather cute.
"Sorry, I didn't mean-"
Shaking my head I tell him, "Don't worry about it. That's what they're there for."
"There's so many of them," he says, looking around the room.
"This is only a small portion of them. The rest of them are either in my room or packed in boxes and stored away in the closet. And I don't really tend to read books twice, so feel free to take some of them."
He stared at me for a moment. "You really have that many?"
"Yes. You can check if you like."
"And you've read them all?"
"Yes."
"Wow," he whispered, looking around again. "Are you sure I can take them?"
"I will probably never touch them again."
"Thanks."
"Sure," I said, and I walked out.
Apparently leaving the living room had been a bad idea. They'd found the game systems (hey, I get bored and feel the need to kill things too) and were now having a Tekken 6 tournament. Cirruci had taken it upon herself to make popcorn which, by the way, I didn't even know I had. There was much yelling and people were making weird hand motions at the screen.
There were empty cans all over the place already and I started to gather them up along with any empty bowls. One of the great things about living alone, is that there are so few dishes, and I was really starting to appreciate that at the moment.
Boobzilla tried to get me to join in at one point, but I'd really rather not be stuck in the middle of a screaming mob. And when I had most of the cans picked up and it seemed somewhat safe to leave them, I snuck back into the spare room to see what Ichigo had picked out.
I actually hadn't seen him at first, because he was sitting on the floor, which was littered with book piles higher than my waist. When I did manage to find him, he was sitting in a corner with a small pile of books next to him. I assumed those were the ones he would be taking with him. He had one already open and was reading it. Glancing at the cover I see Drama Queers! And I vaguely remember it being about a guy who liked drama (the class) with a closeted gay, band friend and he ended up getting with a younger guy he hated in the beginning. It was strange...
Sitting down on the floor in front of him, I pick up the pile of books and read through them. If Angels Burn, Dancer From The Dance, A Secret Edge, Men of Mystery (that anthology he picked up earlier), and When You Don't See Me. I think I'm seeing a trend here...
For those of you that don't know, every book on that list including Drama Queers! (excluding If Angels Burn) is a gay novel. What I'm trying to figure out is if there's something he's not telling me.
He suddenly looks up at me and says, "I hope you don't mind."
"Nope. Just seeing what you picked."
"Do you remember any of them?"
"Yes."
"Which ones?"
"All of them."
"Really?" He sounds surprised. Is it unusual for me to remember them all?
"Yeah."
"Which ones are better?"
"A Secret Edge and When You Don't See Me."
He stares at them for a moment before looking back at me. "Ok. Care to join me?"
"That would require finding my book."
He rolls his eyes at me. "You keep this place spotless. How hard could it be?"
I shrug.
"Go find it."
The book wasn't the real problem. In fact, I knew exactly where it was. It was sitting on my nightstand. I just didn't want to have to put on my glasses to read it. They're these weird squarish glasses, kinda like C.T. Smith's. They make me hate not being able to see words more than I already do.
When he sees that I've made no move to get up, he half kicks me in the shin.
"Hey! What the hell was that for?"
"Go find your book," he kicks me again.
"Fine, just stop kicking me."
At the end of the hall is my bedroom and I'm quite happy to say that no one has invaded it yet. It looks kind of like the spare room, only darker and with fewer books piled on the floor. Picking up my book I stare at my offending glasses before sighing, picking them up and taking them with me.
I check in on the group in my living room before heading back in, just to make sure nothing's been completely destroyed yet. Fortunately, it seems like the game has enough of their attention to keep them from tearing everything apart.
Walking back into the spare room, I see Ichigo with his elbows propped up on the bed, looking at me. It makes me feel kind of uncomfortable.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just making sure you came back with your book."
I hold it up for him to see.
"Night Embrace?"
Shrugging I make my way over to his little corner and take up my seat again. He sits back down and picks up his book. Putting my glasses on (damned glasses), I can see him stare at me. Again, this is uncomfortable and really wish he would stop doing it.
"What?"
"Nothing. I just didn't know you wore glasses."
"Only for reading," I say, opening up my book.
"Hey, Sunshine, your friend's awake. What's his name?"
"I don't know, Starla. I didn't ask."
Oh, but this is getting stranger and stranger.
Unperturbed by his presence, the woman walked into the room to the side of the bed where the nightstand stood. "You look like a Steve," she said as she bent down, lifted up the pink scarves, and started digging through a stack of magazines that was hidden beneath it. "Are you hungry, Steve?"
Before he could answer, she raised her voice. "It's not here."
"It's under the copies of Art Papers."
"It's not here."
Sunshine entered the room. Walking with the grace of a fairy princess, she wore a long-sleeved purple dress so bright, he had to squint from the hue. As she crossed in front of the window, he realized the material was rather sheer, gifting him with a pleasant view of her lush, ample curves and the fact that she wore nothing beneath that dress.
Nothing except her tanned skin.
His throat went dry.
She was wiping the paint from her hands with a towel as she moved to the nightstand without even glancing his way.
"It's right here," she said, pulling out a magazine and handing it to the older woman.
Finally, Sunshine looked to the bed and met his gaze. "Are you hungry?"
"Where are my clothes?"
She cast a sheepish look at Starla. "Did you ask his name?"
"It's Steve."
"It's not Steve."
Suddenly Cirruci burst into the room, nearly causing me to drop the book. I quickly took my glasses off (that was not something I wanted her seeing. Actually, I hadn't wanted Ichigo seeing it either, but we all know how that turned out) and noticed that Ichigo seemed quite horrified. "What?"
"Shiro! Matsumoto's being mean to me!"
"...Who?"
"The strawberry blonde with huge boobs!"
I had no idea which one she was talking about, but I didn't really care either. If someone was making her life miserable, I wasn't about to stop them. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"You're my boyfriend! You're supposed to stand up for me!" she whined.
"Go get that clown to do it! He likes you more than I do anyways!"
"But I don't want Nnoitra to do it!"
"I don't care!"
Boobzilla then came bursting in, pushing Cirruci aside. "Hey Ichigo! Holy shit, where did all these books come from? Never mind. Ichigo! Come play with us! We need one more person because Yumichika and Cirruci won't play!"
"Back off bitch," Cirruci says, sitting on the bed. Boobzilla leaned over the side so she could actually see us.
"Aw, man," she says when she sees Ichigo with the book open. "Now we'll never get him to play. Hey Shiro, why don't you come play!"
"That depends on what it is."
"Cranium!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air. Damn, I didn't even know I had that game.
Before I can answer, the doorbell rings and Boobzilla immediately shoots up and runs for the door. Who the hell was it now? I don't really want any more people here, but it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice either.
Standing up I follow after her, Cirruci now clinging to my arm. She's hugging it so tight I'm pretty sure it's cutting off the blood circulation to my fingers. And I really would like to keep those, if at all possible.
When the door opens, there's a very loud scream of "Shinji!" so I guess it's safe to assume Carlisle is here. My stalker immediately takes off to latch onto him. Thankfully Crab Ass gets to her first, because while I don't want her clinging to me, it's not a punishment I would wish upon anyone else. But we've all been done a favor and it looks like she'll be out for a while.
Boobzilla seems excited that he's here, so I guess that means they won't be needing me. Thank god.
The ditz suddenly calls over everyone, "Shirosaki-kun! Someone on the phone wants to talk to you!"
"Why the hell are you answering my phone?!" I ask, rushing for the second line in the kitchen. "Hello?" I can hear her hang up the other phone.
"So you finally found yourself a girl, huh?" my father asks. I tense. One of the big reasons I'm living on my own is because he can't get over the fact that I like guys. I guess he didn't want to risk damaging what little reputation he has left. I walk outside, I don't want anyone listening in.
"No, I didn't."
"So then who was the girl that answered the phone?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because I miss you."
I scoff. "I'm sure."
"I mean it."
I sigh, "Look, I'm not going back and I have no money to give you."
"That's not why I called."
"Then what do you want?" I don't really want to talk to him any longer than I have to. Besides, I'm sure he's got some hooker waiting for him to hang up.
"Your grandparents want to see us and-"
"No."
"Why the hell not? They're your grandparents." He's angry now, but so am I.
"That may be so, but you're the one who turned me away because I can't get it up for a girl. I will not pretend that we're happily living under one roof when you can't even stand to look at me. The minute I stepped out that door, we no longer had anything to do with each other. Don't call here again," I hang up.
Sighing, I slump into the nearest chair and set the phone on the ground. I can't believe that asshole would think that after kicking me out and ignoring me for three years, he could just call up and ask me something like that. Scratch that, I can believe he'd do it. He just did. Stupid son of a bitch. I hope his dick rots off.
I can hear the back door open beside me, but I can't bring myself to care at the moment. Whoever it is will either have to wait or do without whatever it is. Now that the depression has set in I feel like I should be banging my head against the wall and chanting "angst, angst, angst, angst". Maybe I should. Maybe it'll kill so many brain cells that I'll stop caring and get on with my life.
Ok, I know it won't actually happen, but I can hope right?
Someone taps me on the shoulder and it scares the shit out of me. I guess all that time living alone has really had its effect. That and the fact that people think I'm a freak and tend to avoid me. It really is weird having people around...
Turning around I see Boobzilla standing behind me.
"Are you ok?" she asks, genuine concern wrinkling the features of her face.
"I'm fine."
She's either really stupid and believes me, or she's much smarter than I thought and decides to just let it be. I opt for the latter.
"Well, Hiyori and Shinji have tied Cirruci to a chair and shut her up with duct tape, Chad, Toshiro, Yumichika and Ikkaku have left, and Renji found the alcohol."
I sigh. I guess this means I have to get out all the blankets and pillows stashed in the closet somewhere. The only reason I have alcohol is because when I moved in my next door neighbor decided it was a good gift to give to a college student. Oh, the things that could go wrong.
"I'll be there in a minute."
She nods and leaves. I've decided that I like Boobzilla. Maybe someday I'll take the time to actually learn her name.
Staring out at what little backyard I have, I find a white butterfly sitting on a flower. It makes my hands itch to have a pencil and some paper in front of me, but I can't quite bring myself to get up and get them. So I guess that's just a lost idea now.
I'm not sure how long I sit there, but I hear the phone go off several times while I do. Each time I refuse to answer, knowing he's on the other end. He can tell my grandparents whatever the hell he wants, but I don't want to go anywhere near him. Who knows how many diseases he's attracted over the last three years.
Plus I figure if they wanted to see me that bad they'd call and at least find out what's going on. If not, well then I guess there's really not much to say to them is there?
By this point it's getting cool and I pick up the phone and head back inside. In the living room, Boobzilla, the pineapple zebra, the clown, and Carlisle are all passed out. Lovely, second day of school and they'll already have hangovers. Well, it's not my problem. As long as I can get them out in the morning we're ok. Cirruci on the other hand, is still tied to the chair. I debate on whether or not to leave her like that. Particularly when that chair's in my house. It's just a tad bit counterproductive and I decide that even though I don't like her, leaving her strapped to a chair all night is a bit much.
I somehow manage to get her to go home and get the ditz to help me with the blankets and pillows. Once everyone's been covered up, I give both her and Crab Ass their own pillows and blankets and tell them they can sleep on the couches. It's probably more comfortable than the floor.
I feel like I'm forgetting something, and as I head down the hall and see the spare room light on, I remember that Ichigo is here as well. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I see that I must have been out there much longer than I thought, because it's already seven. Damn.
Ichigo is still in the corner, nose stuck in his book.
"You're welcome to stay the night," I tell him. "Seems like most of the others are anyway."
He looks up at me and says, "That's ok, I don't want to impose."
"I guess you weren't paying attention. Half of your little group is already passed out in my living room. Imposing is not the issue."
He chuckles. It's rather cute. I wonder what he'd look like-
No. Let's stop that train of thought right there. If I let it go any farther I'll end up with a boner and that is not really something I want to deal with at the moment.
"Shower's at the end of the hall along with the towels and anything you can find in the kitchen you can eat. You can sleep in here or out in the living room with everyone else, it makes no difference to me."
He smiles and nods his head. I leave. I'm tired and...angsty...and all I want to do is sleep. I've never had people stay over before, so for the first time I close my door behind me, strip to my boxers and lay down. I probably won't actually get to sleep for a while, but it's nice to be here and doing something familiar. Today really has been a hectic day.
I remember the butterfly I had seen earlier and the itch for paper returns. Fortunately I don't have to look far for it. Turning on the lamp by the bed, I pick up the paper and pencil from the nightstand and let my hands do what they want. About halfway through making the sketch I vaguely register that the water is running in the bathroom.
I'm not sure why that matters but apparently something in my brain thinks it's important. My brain then decides that it's so important it needs to be put on paper, which, as I finish, I find that it really didn't. What started out as a suicide turned into a horny, naked teen in the shower. Yeah, just what I needed. I wish my brain didn't feel the need to do that to me...
Stuffing the supplies back in their drawer, I lay back down and stare at the ceiling. As boring as it sounds, it's really not. A lot of times my imagination takes hold and images dance across the surface, my entertainment for the night. Most of the time I end up falling asleep without realizing it at it works out quite well.
But tonight I get nothing. I'm bothered by the idea of my father suddenly wanting me to do something for him. There were times when I wish I knew something about my mother, but most of the time it doesn't matter. Mostly the people that raised me were hookers and bartenders, and that works just fine for me. I have to say that my favorite bartender was Stark. I'd say I take more after him, but he was lazy, not withdrawn.
Harribel taught me most of what I know about defending myself. She was quiet but if you pissed her off, you were lucky to make it out alive. I liked her too. Yammy was a bouncer and really stupid, so I tried to avoid him whenever possible. Nel was sweet, but couldn't cook, which is probably where I picked up my incapability of creating anything edible. But I have to say Szayel was the creepiest. He had pink hair and hit on anything that moved.
As I dozed off I was vaguely aware of someone whistling.
There's that damned alarm clock. That creepy, annoying little clock Szayel had given me. The thing was this pink...thing...some creature...A Pokemon I think. A cle-something from that hospital. He has some weird fetish with all things medical. Normally it's annoying....hell it still is. But it may for once come in handy, because this thing is going to die. It'd be nice if it could put itself back together before I get home...I do need to wake up tomorrow morning...Well, if nothing else I can just get a new alarm clock.
Reaching over to the alarm clock, I shut it off. Turning over I find that my pillow is really warm. Wait...that's not a pillow. What the-
Opening my eyes I see very bright orange hair. It's very pretty. Wait. Orange. HOLY SHIT! What the hell was Ichigo doing in my bed?! I hadn't had any alcohol last night, so what the hell was going on?!
Pulling myself away I can see him shift as he starts waking up. This is going to be awkward, but as I watch his eyes flutter open I can't help but think about how I could get used to this. No! You've known him for all of a day! Sure he's attractive, but that's no reason to go jumping into a relationship.
He seems somewhat confused about where he is, but as soon as he sees me (and probably how freaked out I am) he immediately blushes. It's really cute...
"I'm sorry," he says quickly. "I don't...I mean...I'm sorry, I-"
I hold my hand up and he shuts up. "Just tell me what the hell you're doing here."
"I don't know..." he says, avoiding my gaze. He's not telling me something, but at the moment I don't really care what it is, so I nod and start getting up. It's probably something stupid and embarrassing like he can't sleep alone, so I guess it doesn't really matter. But the fact that he's here reminds me of the fact that half his group is passed out in my living room and that they'll wake up with hangovers.
Walking into the bathroom I pull out the bottle of ibuprofen and walk into the middle of drunken retards. I stick two in each of their mouths and get them to swallow it. Hopefully it won't be so bad by the time they wake up. I don't want to walk out of the shower to a bunch of groaning.
Putting the bottle back, I close the door behind me and turn the water on. Once it's warm enough I strip completely and step in and let the water wash over me. It feels so nice to have the water beating on my back, pulling out all the knots in my muscles. I don't stay in long though, because there isn't long before I have to get ready for school. Damned learning facility.
Turning the water off, I grab the spare towel on the rack and dry myself off before wrapping it around my waist. Normally I wouldn't do that, but considering there are other people here, I figure not everyone wants me walking around the house nude.
As I open the door, I hear shifting in the living room and assume it's people waking up. Returning to my room, I find some clean clothes and throw them on, not really caring what they are. Glancing at the clock, there's about half an hour before I have to leave, so I go to start waking everybody up. I'm not comfortable with leaving them alone in my flat.
The ditz and Crab Ass are already up when I get there. I start nudging the rest awake with my foot.
Boobzilla wakes up and starts screaming. When she finally quiets down she says, "Hey, my head doesn't hurt."
"Probably because I shoved ibuprofen down your throat about fifteen minutes ago."
"Really? Thank you Shiro!" she says hugging me.
The other three are waking up carefully, so I guess they were expecting headaches as well. Boobzilla explains the situation and people start getting up and walking around. As I walk into the kitchen I find Ichigo scouring the cupboards.
"Good luck finding anything that's not instant," I tell him. He jumps.
"You really need to stop doing that," he says, turning away to try and hide the blush I've already seen.
"Doing what?"
"Sneaking up on people."
"I didn't sneak up on you," I said, reaching into a different cupboard. I grabbed a poptart and shoved it in my back pocket. I had to get everything together before I left, which meant getting my glasses, my books, and whatever else it was we were supposed to have.
"Yes you did."
"I walked into the kitchen, you just didn't happen to see me do it."
"You did the same thing yesterday while I was in the spare room."
"Then you really need to learn to start paying attention."
There was a somewhat awkward silence before he said, "Are you angry?"
"About what?"
"This morning." He's turned bright red and I can tell he's trying to hide it. I almost tell him it's not working.
"No. Should I be?"
"I...I don't know."
He seems relieved by the fact that I'm not upset, though I still don't know why I would be. Maybe I'm just weird that way. Course, I grew up with hookers and bartenders, so I've woken up in worse situations. So I guess for me, this is normal.
I can hear people walking out the door and I walk back to the spare room to pick up my glasses. My backpack is in my room along with anything else I'd need. Once I've got everything gathered I walk back out into the living room and see Ichigo waiting. He's got this scowl on his face.
"You shouldn't do that," I tell him as I put my shoes on and set my bag down.
"Do what?"
"Scowl like that. It ruins your pretty face," I tell him, smirking. It's so much fun to tease him and make him blush. Even if his scowl had deepened. "You got everything?"
He nods and I open the door and follow him out. Locking up the place, I start walking toward the school. He's not far behind, but he's so quiet it's weird. It seems like he's thinking about something, and I find myself curious as to what it might be.
About half way to the school he heads off in a separate direction. I guess he's skipping school. I almost ask him about it, but it's none of my business.
"I'll see you later," he says quietly. Shit, was my depression contagious?
I nod and continue on to the school. As usual, I'm greeted by Cirruci. Oddly enough, Ichigo's small group of friends also join us.
"Where's Ichigo?" Boobzilla asked.
They all think for a moment. The gnome replies, "What's today?"
"Tuesday," Taco Man says. Wow. It's just occurred to me that I hadn't heard him talk yesterday.
"I meant the date."
"June 17th," Carlisle replies.
Everyone quiets down in understanding. I have no clue what's going on, but again, it isn't my business so I don't ask. Boobzilla says, "So I guess we won't be seeing Ichigo today..."
Instead of hanging around and letting myself get more depressed than I already am, I head for my art class. I know it's early, but one, it'll get rid of Cirruci, and two, it'll take my mind off my own problems. At least, I hope it does.
The instructor looks at me as I walk in, obviously surprised by the fact that I'm here twenty minutes early, but he doesn't really seem to mind. I take my seat and pull out the paper and pencil. Not the sketch I had been working on the night before, god knows that thing should be burned. Instead I focus on the anger and hurt that were building up inside of me. The anguish that I had seen in Ichigo this morning.
Instantly my hands go to work and suddenly everything around me is gone. Replaced by a world of colors and sounds. There are no shapes, just emotions painted in every direction in several different ways.
Before I realize it, the first bell is ringing and I find myself starting at the image on my paper. There's a little boy about the age of eight hugging his knees in front of a grave. He has one hand reaching out as he smiles sadly at the ghost of someone lost.
"You've got that look on your face again," Frodo says, taking his seat.
Before I can say anything I hear, "Oh my god," come from behind me. Turning around I find the instructor looking over my shoulder at the drawing. Shit. This could not be good.
"Uh..."
"This is amazing," he says, picking it up. "Where did you learn to do this."
Shit, he liked it. This was going to be a long year.
"It's...just something I've picked up over the years."
"Drawing like this? You weren't taught by anyone?"
"No."
"Incredible."
"Not really."
"Would you mind if I took this?"
I almost told him yes, I did mind. I didn't want this to end up like it had back in high school where my stuff ended up in competitions, but it didn't seem like that's what he wanted to do with it. Either way, it wasn't like I was going to do anything with it. Most of the things I draw either end up sitting around my room, in the trash can, or getting burnt to a crisp, so I shake my head and let him keep it.
He smiles and takes it back to his desk.
"Did he tell you?" Frodo asks.
I give him a questioning look in return.
"Ichigo. Did he tell you?"
I assume he's talking about why he's not here today. "No, but it's none of my business, so I don't want to know."
He stares at me for a minute before returning to the instructor. He's rambling on about the simple shapes in art and how the form the most basic parts of any drawing, painting, blah blah blah. With the way he's going it doesn't seem like we'll actually be doing anything today.
"I'd like you all to take out a piece of paper," oh how wrong was I. "Once you've got it I want you to look at the person across from you. Study them. You'll be drawing them. There are no limits in what you can do with the picture. Be creative, draw them dancing, sitting, don't just draw what you see." An image of the sketch I made the previous night popped into my head.
Well isn't today my lucky day. The instructor comes up to me and tells me I can start whenever Ichigo gets back. I have no clue when that will be, but I know I can start today. Staring at my blank page I start thinking about what I should do. I let my hands start sketching.
By the end of the class I have quite a few doodles done. English is going to suck ass. I know because as soon as I walk in there's a reading assignment on the board. Lovely.
Boobzilla is already in her seat when I arrive and I take my place next to her. She has a rather sad look on her face and I assume it has something to do with whatever today was. But I wasn't going to ask. She gave me the courtesy of not asking, so I'm returning the favor.
Pulling out the book from under my desk, I put my glasses on and rest my forehead on my palm as I start reading. It's not so much that I'm trying to hide as it is a habit. I have no idea where or why it started, it's just something I do when I read. And as more people start piling in the classroom, the more I fell into the world of Shakespeare.
The class flew by. I could hear people chatting in the background the whole time, but I had already gone on ahead of what we were supposed to be doing because I was bored and didn't really want to be doing anything else at the moment.
Boobzilla caught me on the way out and told me she wanted to talk to me at lunch. If this had something to do with that damned berry-head, I really didn't want to know.
By the time lunch does come around, I could swear I'd fallen asleep in my history class. Watching a war movie with really bad opera music isn't exactly my idea of a good way to spend an hour. But I guess it's better than doing any actual work.
I don't really want to meet with Boobzilla at this point, so I decide to walk around the campus and see what I can find instead of going up to the roof. While the campus isn't huge, there's still a lot to look at. I managed to find four cafeterias all in a manner of fifteen minutes. They have three theaters, twenty million bathrooms, and I managed to find the dorms. I don't know why they have them since most students live off campus, but whatever.
I must be really off today because after what seemed like mere minutes, the bell for class rang. Damned bell.
By the time school ends, it's pouring outside and I want to get home as soon as possible. Cirruci's already taken off for her house, so I doubt she'll be coming by today. Wouldn't want to ruin that horrid makeup now would we?
But the biggest surprise of the day is waiting for me by my front door. Ichigo is sitting in the rain with his knees pulled to his chest. I'm not quite sure why he's here or why he's sitting in the rain, but I don't want him out here much longer. It'd be a bitch if he caught a cold. Especially considering the fact that I have no idea where he lives or what his house number is.
Once I get the door open I say, "Hey!" he looks up at me. He's been crying. "Get inside before you catch a cold."
He stares at me a minute longer before getting up and trudging inside. He stands in the doorway and I roll my eyes at him. I push him down the hall and into the bathroom. Reaching into the closet across the hall, I grab a couple towels and shove them into his hands and close the door behind me.
While he showers and hopefully warms himself up, I get dry clothes on and start some instant soup. I make an extra one and set it on the counter while I wait for him to come out. I'd left some spare clothes inside after he had gotten in. He's just a little smaller than I am so they might not fit quite right.
As he comes out I can tell they don't fit because the shirt comes down to his thighs and he's had to tie the strings to the pants really tight. He's flushed slightly and I can't tell if he's sick or not. I walk over and place my palm on his forehead, mine resting on the other side. He didn't feel warm. Maybe it was just me. When I pull away he lets his head droop.
"Why aren't you home?" I ask, handing him the soup. He takes it and sits down.
"Don't wanna be."
"Family issues?"
"Something like that."
I let the subject drop as he starts eating. We sit in silence and it's not bad. Not like had been this morning. Now he's just depressed, and because I'd never had much of an emotional connection with people, I'm not exactly sure what to do about it.
He suddenly stops eating and just stares at the table.
"You alright?"
He looks at me and all I can see is despair. Tears start spilling and he's trying to stop them. I do what I was taught and hug him close to me. It's strange, but he starts letting go and full blown cries. I don't say anything, and I don't think he expects me to. I just let him get it out. No judgment. No criticism. Just understanding. He hugs me back, crying into my shirt.
After a while he stops.
"Feel better?"
He nods.
"Good." he looks tired. "I guess you'll be staying here for tonight. Let's get you settled in."
I let go and try to get up only to have him hug me tighter. "Don't go."
I sigh. Looks like tonight might be awkward.
"Guess you're sleeping with me again then."
He gently loosens his grip and follows me down the hall into my bedroom. Walking over to the nightstand, I turn off the light and slip under the covers. I can feel him do the same and clutch at my shirt.
There was a strange silence before he whispered, "Today is the anniversary of my mother's death."
Well shit.
Ha! The plot bunnies smile upon me! Kind of...they let me update these stories but...they keep giving me new ones T~T.
Anyways:
Credit goes to Redfaerie as always. I put this in here for new readers and because people need reminding of how much she helps me out.
Ok, I think we all know Tekken 6 is a real video game.
All those books mentioned? They're real.
If Angels Burn-Lynn Viehl
Dancer From The Dance-Andrew Holleran
A Secret Edge-Robin Reardon
Men of Mystery-(editors) Sean Meriwether Greg Wharton
When You Don't See Me-Timothy James Beck
Drama Queers!-Frank Anthony Polito
Anybody that doesn't know who C.T. Smith is should be beaten. He's a character from a series called ZombiePowder which is by the same author as Bleach!
Night Embrace is the third book in the Dark-Hunter series, written by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
That whole banging his head against a wall and chanting angst is from Harry Potter Puppet Pals
When Shiro grabbed the poptart I was laughing so hard because all I could think about was Grimmjow's cat named Poptart in another fic of mine called Please Don't Beat The Hybrids. I was tired of people naming his cat Pantera or some shit like that. I wanted to be different and named it Poptart. I think it's a cute name for any animal.
Same goes with this story as with Please Don't Beat The Hybrids. It may be soon put on hold to write a (hopefully) oneshot. ShiroxIchi. I'll let you know more later.