Me: Well, we're back.
Ichigo: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Fascinating.
Rukia: (rolls eyes) Saying you were wallowing in self-pity would be a MAJOR understatement.
Ichigo: (wails) Well, how would YOU feel if you had this damn itchy cast on, and your girlfriend wasnt around to take pity on you? I got free kisses for this thing: FREE. Do you know how big of a deal that is for me? And now the only person who helps me is Orihime, because Seth thinks she's an angel and she wants to keep it that way! DAMMIT!
Me: (obviously extremely disturbed by that whole rant) Um...Yeah. Enjoy.
Renji slowly poked his head out from below Ichigo's desk, making a weird face. "Hey, Mr.-Grumpy-Gills! Just keep swimming, just keep- Oh, wait. That's right. You CAN'T, because you have a CAAASSTT on!"
Ichigo's temple throbbed. "Dammit, Rukia, WHY did you let him watch Finding Nemo with you?"
Rukia shrugged. "It's a great movie!"
Renji smirked. "Don't mind Strawberry. He's just all bent outta shape because Peeeytooonn's gooonnee."
His temple throbbed again. "No, that's not exactly it. I just didn't get any sleep last night."
"Because Peyton's gone," Rukia and Renji repeated in unison, exchanging a high-five and making Ichigo sweatdrop.
"Whatever. What's the point of trying to reason with you two dumbasses?"
"Why don't you call her?" Orihime suggested out of nowhere, making Ichigo fall out of his seat with a surprised yell.
Everyone snickered, and his temple throbbed- AGAIN.
"Hi Orihime. Thanks for the warning."
She smiled cheerfully. "Hi! Seriously, though? Why not just call her if you miss her?"
Renji nudged Rukia. "Maybe we should put him on suicide watch? He seems depressed."
"I'M NOT DEPRESSED! CAN NO ONE JUST BE TIRED THE DAY AFTER THEIR GIRLFRIEND LEAVES ANYMORE WITHOUT THEIR MOTIVES BEING QUESTIONED?" He shouted, making everyone stare at him.
He cleared his throat, then snatched his phone out of his pocket. He glared at Orihime as he dialed Peyton's number (Yes, I memorized it. I memorize lots of things. Except...Well, not much else than her number, lyrics, moviies, and my locker combination. Well, actually, Rukia wrote that on the bottom of my shoe for me, so I never memorized that, either. BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!).
Orihime sank lower into her seat under his glare, then sat up a little after Rukia smacked Ichigo upside the head and pressed a button.
"Dammit, moron, you're supposed to put it on speaker! Who says you get to hog her all to yourself?"
Ichigo sweatdropped, but just sighed and shook his head. "I'm not gonna comment."
But right as they heard someone pick up, Ms. Ochi walked in, and Ichigo slammed the phone shut.
Everyone within a five-row-radius let out rather loud and violent groans towards Ichigo after looking forward to eavesdropping, but dammit, he didn't want a good fifteen minutes of the conversation consisting of Ms. Ochi gushing about how awesome Peyton was, and how cute they were together, and her commentary about parts of that stupid video.
So let them be disappointed. HE had time to call her later, and that thought made him smirk rather smugly.
As soon as they landed, Peyton was ready to go to the Austin Correctional Facility, but apparently everyone else was tired.
"So what if it's three in the morning? Family comes first!" She protested with a whine.
"Yeah, and right now, the majority of your family's about to die from exhaustion," Steven had retorted.
So she ended up being passed out most of that morning and the next day, because she had been just as exhausted.
UNTIL she heard her phone playing "Because I Got High", increasing in volume steadily until she picked up.
Peyton answered it, knowing only one person would dare call her at eight-something in the morning when she didn't have to be anywhere.
And she had been hoping he would dare to do such a thing.
"Hello?"
BANG!
Peyton shot the phone a good five feet away from her ear, holding it out as far as her arm would go in a rather dramatic manner.
She heard what sounded like groaning right before the line went dead, and for a moment she sat there in the hotel bed wondering what had happened.
Then she decided that as long as she hadn't heard any screaming or Hollows, no one was in immediate danger. Therefore, she didn't care, and could flop back into the pillows with a clean conscience.
So she did.
SEVEN HOURS LATER...
"I was gonna go to class, before I got high.."
Peyton literally dove for her phone, making Lindsay pause in brushing her already-smooth blonde hair.
"Hello?"
"Yo."
"Hey, no. That's MY word."
"Wow. I'm glad you're happy to hear from me."
"Oh, sorry. No, I'm happy to hear from ya," she said while eyeing her own messy auburn hair. Sigh. How Ichigo seemed to think she was hot no matter what was WAY beyond her.
"Oh, yeah, she is. You should've seen the way she dove for the phone. Woke her right up, it's the damnedest thing!" Lindsay added loudly.
Peyton heard him laugh as she smacked Lindsay repeatedly on her thigh. "Is that Lindsay?"
"Yep."
"I like when she overhears our conversations. She always tells me the truth."
"The truth?"
"Like how totally uncool you are whenever it concerns something about me," Ichigo replied in a casually smug voice.
She loved and hated that tone, and he knew it. Peyton huffed, but was grinning. He probably knew that, too.
"Whatever. Don't get a big head. It's not a good look for you."
"Good thing I don't ever get one, then."
"Ha! You're funny."
"I know."
"So...Why'd you permanently damage my right ear this morning?"
"Oh, that. Ms. Ochi walked in."
"Ohhhh, I get it. And you wanted to talk to me when you could have me to yourself," she guessed.
"Tch. No. NOW who has the big head!"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, you're the worst liar I have ever met, you know that?"
"I know."
"Did I miss much today?"
"Well, I beat the crap out of Renji today."
"Shocker."
"Yeah, I know. I'm too awesome for him to beat me."
"Ichigo, he beat you last time...!"
"The sun was in my eyes!"
"We were inside, Ichigo!"
"So? There were windows, Peyton!"
Peyton laughed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."
She heard Karin's voice in the background, followed by Isshin using his usual "Peyton Tone"- the tone he always used when praising Peyton and her "child-bearing skills", which he assured them both was very high.
As if that was THE number one thing on their mind at age 16.
As she predicted, Ichigo covered the speaker end of the phone to shout at them both, then sighed rather heavily. "I gotta go. Dad's trying to use this conversation to re-calculate our Baby-Making Chart."
Peyton felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. "Baby-Making Chart? He seriously calls it that?"
Lindsay started rolling on her bed with laughter.
"Sadly, yes. I tried to get him to at least change the name, but Karin suggested the 'Bow-Chika-Wow-Wow Meter', so I figured I'd just let the chart be for now and burn it later."
She laughed. "Ichigo?"
"Yeah?"
"It's good to know insanity runs in your family, and you're not the odd kid out," she commented innocently.
Ichigo laughed sarcastically. "Wow. So funny. I'm gonna let that go, just because I miss you right now."
"AWWW!" Lindsay said mid-laugh. Peyton would've hit her again, but she had to wonder how the hell her sister had heard him say that all the way across the room. She shuddered at the thought, then smirked as if Ichigo could see her.
"Really? I was sure y'all would be glad of the break. I hear I can be too much to handle for too long a time."
"Obviously whoever told you that isn't as awesome as me. I could take you on for a looooong time," Ichigo boasted.
That made her stomach flip a little, knowing this was his way of trying to get through to her how he was feeling about the whole thing.
"Mm. Good thing I'm with you, then," she commented brightly.
She heard him laugh to himself. "Yeah, I guess it is. So I'll call you tomorrow?"
"Hope so."
"Night, Peyton."
"Night, Ichigo."
As soon as she hung up, she pretty much attacked Lindsay. "DAMMIT, STOP EAVESDROPPING ON ALL OUR PHONE CALLS! THIS IS THE EIGHTH TIME!"
"Eighth? Pfft, try the fiftieth, P."
"Exactly!"
He honestly didn't know how or why he said it. It just sort of happened. Ichigo had tried to talk to her during school the next day, but her phone didn't pick up.
So he figured either she forgot her charger or lost her phone again.
But he knew she wanted to hear from him, 'cause he was just that awesome. So he decided to leave Peyton a random voicemail.
Which worked out perfectly.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, is that a PHONE in your hand?" Renji cried out, grinning innocently at Ms. Ochi as if he were the best homeroom and chemistry student she had ever had.
Ichigo flashed a dazzling smile. "Actually, it is. I was trying to record the lessons so Peyton, my awesome girlfriend with whom I was featured in a YouTube video, won't miss anything while being away for a family emergency."
Of course, Ms. Ochi and the girls in the class were all like, "AWWWW!"
He smirked triumphantly at Renji, whose jaw dropped. "EHHHH? WHAT THE HELL! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"LANGUAGE, RENJI, LANGUAGE!" Ms. Ochi snapped before beaming brightly at Ichigo.
"Go right on ahead. Feel free to add commentary!"
As soon as she went back to whatever the hell she was doing up there at her desk, Ichigo whispered into his phone, "SCOOOORE!"
But that's not what was so mind-blowing about the extremely long voicemail.
He had kept his phone on through three periods so far, and classmates had been saying random things into it, (Peyton was gonna laugh until she cried once she heard Ichigo battling it out with some pervert who said, rather seriously, "Take off your pants. NOW." into the phone.) and Keigo had just walked up to it.
"Tell Lindsay I love her and miss her. Oh, and I hope everything goes good with your godfather, Peyton!"
Then he just walked off, so maybe that message of Keigo's had something to do with what happened next.
Mr. Okiwura wasn't exactly fond of him or Peyton (here meaning HATED THEIR GUTS), and Ichigo knew he wouldn't let him tape the lesson. Or, more importantly, anything that happened between the students.
"Okiwura just walked in. He looks hungry, his pot belly's jiggling with anger. Which means he might eat me if he sees my phone just sitting randomly on my desk, so...Yeah, I'll leave you another voicemail or something later. I love you."
It wasn't until after he shut the phone and saw Rukia and Tatsuki staring at him in awe that he realized what he had just said.
For 89% of the room, their highlight of that lesson was watching Ichigo spastically re-dial Peyton's number and practically trip over his own words trying to explain himself.
"Oh, um, okay. Yeah. See, this CRAZY thing just happened. Today they brought a ninja into Okiwura's class to tell us about his awesome career, and his ninja yell made it sound like I said something weird at the end of that voicemail. It almost sounded like, uh...'I love you' or something like that. Crazy, I know! I can't believe you're missing this! But yeah, uhhh, that's all it was at the end there. I bet Okiwura paid him. So, anyway, um...yeah, bye."
He hung up, and Renji peered at him. "Did you just tell Peyton over voicemail that you love her?"
"NO, NOW GO AWAY!"
"YOU SOOOO DID!"
"GO GET HIT BY A BUS, PINEAPPLE HEAD!"
"GO GET CHOPPED INTO A SMOOTHIE, STRAWBERRY!"
"GO GET SUCKED BY SOME HAWAIIANS, PINEAPPLE!"
"PERVERT!"
"I didn't mean it like THAATT, Rukia!" Ichigo said warily. He should've known she'd call him a pervert.
That night, he went through dinner and such on autopilot, running the last part of that voicemail over and over in his head and hoping Peyton never caught on.
Why the HELL had he said that? Sure, he liked Peyton. Really liked her. Really, REALLY liked her. But love? HIM? No.
No, just...NO.
Right? RIGHT!
Ichigo finally sighed, painfully aware that he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. He went to his desk, got a sheet of paper, and grabbed a pen.
After one more cautious look in his closet's direction, hoping to any Gods that might be up there that Rukia didn't have to pee or something, he started thinking.
MEANWHILE...
Peyton was actually first to wake up that morning. Lindsay, however, didn't wake up until a while later.
She would've stayed asleep longer if Peyton hadn't been noisily emptying her bag, checking everything.
"What the HELL are you doing?"
She glanced up at Lindsay, who rubbed her eyes moodily. "Oh. You're awake."
"No kidding. Having problems?"
"Oh, you noticed? Yeah, I can't find my charger."
"Is it the one that was plugged into the wall, as always?"
"...Yeah..."
"Then it's still there."
"LINDSAAAAYY! Why didn't you remind me before we left?"
"I dunno. Didn't think about it at the time."
Peyton sighed and dropped her bag, heading for the bathroom. "You comin' to visit Uncle Cameron with me?"
"Nah, I'm going later."
"Okay."
TWO HOURS LATER...
Peyton pretended not to notice the prisoners watching her as she followed the officer, trying her hardest not to shiver as their eyes traveled all up and down her.
"Fresh meat," one commented.
"Nah, man, she visitin' fo sure. The cop ain't got a jumpsuit in his hand, and she ain't been frisked. See, she has a phone on her."
And THAT is why she brought her currently dead cell with her; just to throw people off. Well, that and she had walked out with it in her hand, out of habit.
Finally, the officer stopped in front of a room inside of which her godfather sat, cuffed to a stainless-steel table.
Peyton had to muster all the self-control she had to not run over the poor guy as he unlocked the door, and she felt her eyes tearing up once Cameron noticed her.
He beamed as if he weren't sitting in a prison.
"Peyton. Damn, how you've grown."
She laughed and hugged him tightly, and he patted her back as she pulled away. "How are you here? Didn't you guys move to Japan?"
She nodded. "Once I heard, I flew with Kate and them straight here. Uncle Cameron, how the hell did all this happen?"
He shook his head, and his eyes turned somber. "Peyton, it happened so fast. One minute I was on the interstate, the next a cop pulled me over. I thought it was for speeding, but...well, obviously, it wasn't."
Peyton sighed. "Is it true? You could get twenty-four years?"
He nodded hesitantly. "I'm sorry to say it is. Hey, don't you cry," he said as she blinked really fast.
He attempted to pat her hand, but the stupid handcuffs wouldn't let him reach that far. A pained expression crossed his face, and Peyton's heart broke to see him that way.
The officer rapped on the window, signaling that their time was up, and Peyton came back around for another hug.
"I'll visit you again over the next couple of days, until the trial. And I'll be there, too."
He held her close for a long moment, then let go and smiled at her. "I'll try not to go anywhere until you get back."
She laughed, knowing that's what he wanted, and hesitantly followed the officer out.
That night, she tossed and turned. Her thoughts must've had ADHD for the night, because they couldn't stay on one topic. Her mind went from Cameron, to Lindsay's snoring, to Hollow Ichigo, to Ichigo, to how many missed calls she might have, to what he might be doing right now, and then back to Cameron.
She wanted to blame Lydia, his ex-wife, for the whole thing. Most of her family already did. But no matter how much she stewed over it, she couldn't bring herself to do so.
Her mom had mentioned once or twice that Peyton was an "old soul". She was able to think and feel things most people her age never even considered.
One of which being she viewed things from both sides, with very complex thoughts on them, no matter how biased she might be. This was no different. If she had adopted a kid or two, like Lydia, and gotten a divorce, she would want some support for the kids' futures, too.
It wasn't Lydia's fault that Cameron didn't have a job and had a hard time paying it. He could've at least tried to compromise with her, and pay it off little by little, instead of not making any effort and letting it pile up like that.
But he didn't. Don't think for a second that Peyton wasn't on her godfather's side, but at the same time, she had to wonder how those kids thought about the whole thing.
Did they feel abandoned, knowing their dad hadn't helped their mom prepare their future? Did they feel unloved? Or were they mad at their mom? Maybe they talked as bad about Cameron as her family did about Lydia, which always made her uncomfortable at how vicious they could be sometimes.
Needless to say, she didn't sleep at all that night.
In fact, she didn't fall asleep until about five in the morning, and it was a restless one.
Me: That sucks. She's so right, though. I dunno if there's one side that's totally right in this kind of conflict.
Rukia: (totally ignoring my deep monlogue) Ichigo said he LOVES her!
Ichigo: DAMMIT, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!
Me: Oh, yeah, that's right. I was so shocked!
Ichigo: Screw you both, I'm going back to fucking bed.
Me: Want some cake?
Ichigo: NO.
Rukia and Me: (exchange looks) Oh. My. GOD. This is serious!
Me: (suddenly totally unconcerned about Ichigo's mood) Anyways, REVIEW!
Rukia: (eye-twitch)