2. You Have No New Messages

Cafe Sixx was busy today. At least four more people than usual were seated randomly amongst the tables, all couples talking quietly to one another. Though this went stubbornly ignored by the recently-acquired regular, she had distracted herself, staring at the blank message screen of her cell phone, with a mixture of contempt and waiting playing on her, usually calm, features. By the sixth time of obsessively checking the silent device, Nel decided it was finally time to stick her nose where it rarely belonged.

With a whipped-cream-topped cappuccino as offering, Nel braved the negative aura the dusty-rose haired girl gave off, in way too much abundance.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Ai's bitter expression seemed to fade, though she still didn't feel much like talking. She put her phone face down with a sigh. "I don't need pennies... but that cappuccino looks good."

Nel smiled, placing the cappuccino down, glad to hear that Ai wasn't in too bad of a mood. Inconspicuously glancing around, she noticed Grimmjow was serving the table on the opposite side of the cafe. This gave her just enough time to squeeze Ai for information. "Alright, spill! What's got you so glum, chum?" she asked, scooting her chair closer for effect.

A heavy sigh came as Nel's answer, as Ai silently contemplated her situation. It wasn't that she didn't trust Nel. Over the last few weeks that Ai had been visiting Cafe Sixx, Nel proved to be friendly, talkative, and surprisingly intuitive, despite getting scolded quite often by Grimmjow and her coworkers. A pout came to her lips as she resigned herself to confiding in the nosy woman. "We usually meet at Espada for tea."

"My boyfriend, he-" she started, before being abruptly interrupted by an excited gasp. Ai put her hand up to halt the green haired girls' impending scream." Nel. NEL. No." "Sorry..." Ai watched her bite her lip and shrink into her chair, before returning to her explanation. "We had a really big fight and-" Having to pause and take in Nel's enraptured expression, she narrowed her eyes, not knowing whether to be entertained or really annoyed. "-and I stopped going to Espada, and I went to stay at my parents' to piss him off. That's why I started coming here. I guess my plan didn't really work." she sighed, staring down at her phone again. "He hasn't sent me anything in two weeks."

"That asshole!" Nel exclaimed, after finally finding her composure. "What was the fight about?" The exhaustion of the situation was obvious on Ai's face as she slumped back against her chair. "I met up with a group of friends from school. I guess somewhere along the night he saw me talking to one of the boys. He cornered me the morning after when I went home, said he saw me flirting or something. Made me feel awful, even though I told him I wasn't cheating on him." "...but he didn't believe you." "Yeah..."

Nel frowned deeper than Ai had ever thought was possible, and huffily rested her cheek on her palm. "That's terrible. What's his deal?" "I don't know..." Ai sighed, mimicking Nel's position. "I knew from the start he was a little possessive, and it was fine. I found it attractive, but he's acting like I had slept with the guy. I told him he was insane. " Ai rubbed her temple, remembering the event vividly.

"Clearly. What happened after that?" Nel commented, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

Sighing heavily, Ai shrugged and mumbled, deciding she had said enough. Reliving the scene was more than nauseating. "I left." As Nel quietly listened, a strong sense of concern grew in her chest.

"Men are so stupid." Nel remarked, taking Ai's hand into both of hers to comfort the forlorn girl.

"Excuse you." growled a gruff voice from beside the girls. Grimmjow stood with his arms folded, looking less than pleased that Nel was once again sitting on the job. With how silently he appeared, Ai wondered if he was a ninja, or maybe a cat. Nel startled, "B-Boss- ahh! S-Sorry... Ai's really upset. I was just-" "Helping. I know." His voice came out low and vexed. Grimmjow glanced between the two girls before his eyes settled on Ai.

"Don't be bringing your man troubles in here..." he grumbled. This time it was Ai's turn to scowl, certainly in no mood. "I'm not bringing my man troubles anywhere. At least Nel was nice enough to ask instead of coming to my table with a bad attitude."

Both the customers, and the staff fell into a hush. Nel's eyes became saucers. Slowly, she slid to her feet, hoping to cautiously diffuse the fight waiting to happen. "Boss, calm down! Ai is really upset! Besides, she's still our customer and we've gotta take care of her."

Grimmjow grit his teeth, barking back, "Break up with the idiot if you're that pissed about it!" Ai's voice raised as she abruptly stood from the table.

"Ai-" Nel started. In a flurry of movements, Ai gathered her things and stormed out of the cafe. Nel turned to her boss and clicked her teeth, "You try being a girl in that kind of situation! Jerk! Moron!" she screamed, tossing her apron at the, now bewildered, man before leaving the store herself.

"Why the fuck am I the bad guy!?" Silence filled the cafe, all eyes watching Grimmjow. "GO BACK TO YOUR COFFEES." He shouted, storming into the back room.

From his place behind the counter, Ulquiorra let out a soft sigh, both at his boss' crassness and at the clamor taking over the cafe. Since Nel and Grimmjow had both stormed off, he decided to quietly clear Ai's table.

Ulquiorra paused, as he lifted the untouched cappuccino. 'Ai's phone?'

It buzzed suddenly as he quitely decided to give it to Nel when she came back. "Hm?" The message read 'From: Sousuke'.

His eyes widened slightly, "...Oh."