disclaimer: no own.

Chocolate

"Stop staring at the building Rukia, people will think you're gonna bomb it or something." said Rangiku, the woman with what may be the largest pair of fun bags you might have ever seen. She also works with me….at the video store.

No, I'm not a failure in life. (Not that I consider people working in video stores to be failures…sort of.)

It's just my job for the time being until I work in The Building.

The Building that I'm referring to is the building a block away from the video store, the building that has the shiniest windows, numerous amount of floors/levels (thus leading to the immensely tall-ness of it), and the most professional people with briefcases working in it.

I really want to work there.

Like if the President of The Building just walked right on by and if I knew what he looked like I would just plop right on down the ground and beg to work there.

I'm not even joking.

The only problem is that I'm eighteen, probably not eligible enough to work there yet, and the college I go to isn't the right college for the business field of The Building.

"How can I not Matsumoto? It's…it's beautiful." I breathed.

"It's a building. A building probably filled with a bunch of snobs that make old people pay taxes." She replied, looking bored and staring at The Building as well.

Rangiku doesn't seem to understand the concept of 'I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.'

Ugh, she's way too laidback.

"How can you not see that working at a video store isn't fulfilling?" I asked, thinking I should've brought a lawn chair if I was going to stare at The Building for so long. My feet were starting to hurt a little.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm, pulling me away in the direction of the dreaded video store.

I should've worked at a coffee shop. But everyone works there. And it's a little cliché.

"You work there; you make money, deal with it." Rangiku said.

I sighed and followed her to my job.

My job that is lame.

(Frowny face)

.XoXo.

The video store I work at is relatively peaceful. There's the occasional group of annoying teenagers snickering at the cover of a porno, the hobo who rents movies…which is really strange because how does he have a TV? Whatever. There's the overgrown nerds who rent all the Star Wars movies, Star Trek series, and the Battlestar Galactica series.

I give them props for knowing so much though.

"Noo!" Shrieked a woman on the TV I was watching.

Blech, some sort of zombie movie. I scrunched my nose and took the movie out, walking out of the front desk and towards the romance isle.

Yes, I am a romantic.

I'm not the cheesy kind where they flail around and daydream about smoldering love making all day. That's Momo.

I walked into the romance isle and found a guy staring at the movies on a shelf in front of him. He sort of looked like he was constipated with the semi angry look he had on his face. And he was really tall, his hair was orange, which is kind of weird but it somehow suited him.

Not exactly knowing what to say or do, I just stood there, watching him as he was staring at the romance movies.

"Do…you need help?" I asked unsurely after a minute or so.

The tall person looked at me in surprise, finally noticing I was standing right next to him. "What do you mean?" He asked a little roughly.

Gosh did he look like an angry person. I mean, I thought I was angry in the morning but looking at him just made me think otherwise. "I was just asking if you needed help picking a movie. Jeez."

He blinked. "Oh."

Ugh, it just got even more awkward. "So…" I started, not really sure what to say since he gave me a non-helpful monosyllabic answer.

"Do you know where Sleepless in Seattle or Two Weeks Notice is? I can't find it anywhere." He finally responded, his voice sounding strained and his face not in my direction.

My eyes went wide.

….what?

Are you some emotional bad ass?

Am I missing something?

Apparently he read my mind because he turned to me with a scowl and said. "Not for me genius." I frowned. Way to make a girl feel special. His eyes glanced at me. "My friend's girlfriend is coming over tonight and he wanted me to get a movie for them."

I stared at his face for a moment.

Okay, I have to admit. This fellow has his looks goin' for him. If it were Renji that sarcastically called me a genius I would've punched him in the gut until he apologized forty times.

But this guy… and his eyes…maybe I'm going insane.

"Hurray for caring friends." I said dryly. He rolled his eyes. His…beautiful…brown-ish amber eyes…

I turned my back to him and went to go find the two movies he mentioned.

Unfortunately I am a fan of many chick flicks. That's why I was ashamed to remind myself when he asked for the two chick flick movies that I had them under the counter of the front desk (which is where I normally sit for my shift and watch movies all day) because yesterday I repeatedly watched them on the TV in here.

"So do you want both movies or just one?" I asked, sitting behind the front desk, grabbing the two movies, and watching as he followed me to the cash register.

"Yeah sure, both. I don't care, they're stupid anyway." He said, his eyes wandering around the store.

It felt weird because for some odd reason, the entire time when I finally noticed he was in the store he had my attention. God I must seem like a real creep, watching him.

Why didn't I see him walk through the front door though?

I shrugged.

"You're not gonna get anything for yourself?"

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe later. I hardly have any time for movies."

My jaw dropped. Does that make me a loser? Because I have all the time in the world to watch movies!

Did he just insult me?

"Oh." What am I supposed to say that? I handed him the movies and he gave me the money, heading towards the exit.

Hardly have time for movies? Is he insane?

The bell on the top of the door rang, signaling that he left (or someone walked in) and I sighed, starting to hit my head on the counter repeatedly, not thinking how many brain cells I was going to have left afterwards.

"What's wrong with you?" Asked Matsumoto as she came in from the back of the store, her face saying 'What the hell? Are you having a seizure? 'Cause if you are you know I'm not calling the hospital.'

"I'm socially inept." I mumbled, my lips touching the counter as I spoke.

She came towards me and patted my back. "There, there. Are you on your period? I have some Midol in my purse if you need some. Or did someone comment on how short you are? You always get mopey when someone mentions that."

I groaned. "No. Now go get me that Drew Barrymore movie will you?"

"The one where she hit her head and there's something about a pineapple?" Rangiku asked, her fingers playing with my hair.

"No, the other one where she goes to high school again because she's like some sort of undercover reporter and you just feel bad for her because it's like…fuck."

"The Never Been Kissed one?" She asked, walking away from me to find it.

"Yeah." I grabbed a bag of Sour Patch Kids, gummy bears, a Sprite, and a leather stool towards the television, wondering if I should get a box of donuts as well. Mm, the glazed ones sound nice.

Matsumoto walked up to me with a handful of movies and I raised my eyebrow at her. "I'm leaving in fifteen minutes to go pick up Momo, so I won't be back 'til six but I thought since my shift ends at seven thirty I might as well just stay home. If the boss asks where I am tell him I got off early."

I glared at her. "Thanks for sticking around pal."

She smiled condescendingly. "Glad you understand. That's also why I brought you the movie you asked for, as well as Emma, The Notebook, the second Lord of the Rings movie since I know you love it so much, and Marley & Me."

"Jeez, how long am I supposed to stay here? Am I covering your shift as well?"

"Yep. So you're staying here until around eleven and you're gonna close up because Hisagi didn't show today."

I sighed. "Alright. Hand over the movies and get me that chair in the back with the fancy pattern. Tell Momo to call me when she's finished unpacking."

Matsumoto hugged me. "You're such a doll Rukia."

When she left I took my shoes off and turned one of the movies on.

Great.

Seven more hours until my shift is over.

Let's hope I don't get too overjoyed.

.XoXo.

By ten fifteen (pm. It was flippin dark as hell outside) Marley & Me was almost over and I was sniffing like a kid whose pet goldfish got flushed down the toilet (although this was a bit worse…), one hand wiping the tears off my face because Marley, the dog in the movie was dying and it was downright sad, and the other hand wiping the runny snot underneath my nose.

I'm not always this emotional but this movie just brings out the inner tears of the kid who never had a dog but still cries over one.

The bell on top of the door rang but I ignored it, crying and sniffing even more because now Marley was on his deathbed and Owen Wilson was nearly in tears as well.

I am never watching this movie again. Especially if I'm gonna cry this much.

Oh god, could this movie be any sadder?

I sniffed again and wiped my snot on my sleeve. Lucky I was wearing a long sleeve shirt.

"Are you done sobbing or am I going to have to go and get a box of Kleenex and wait?"

I looked up and gasped.

Fuck.

"Uhh…"

There he was.

Mr. Spectacular Amber Brown-ish Eyes in the flesh, standing right in front of me with a scowl on his face.

"Whaff…" Damn it, I'm speaking gibberish.

He stared at me, his eyes bored and his lips pulled down. "I'm just getting some movies."

At ten nineteen at night? What are you? A vampire? Jeez.

I sniffed and tried not to think of what my face looked like at the moment. Probably disastrous. And red. And puffy.

"Sure. One sec." Still sniffing and sounding awfully nasal-y, I pushed the pause button on the television.

Turning my back on him, I smacked my face and tried not to look too morose.

"Have you already found the movie you wanted?" I asked, turning back and looking at the movies in his hands.

He handed them to me, staring at my probably red or pink face.

"So did your friend and his girlfriend enjoy the movies?" I was still putting a disc into the case, hoping I wasn't smudging the disc. Customers get so angry when their DVD isn't working. It's not my fault that other people don't know how to take care of a damn DVD.

"Yeah. They made me watch it with them. Considering I don't like chick flicks it was pretty hard to sit and endure it."

I snorted. "Typical male."

He smirked. "Pretty typical of a female to cry watching a movie about a dog."

Okay, I am not a robot like some people. Movies with poor animals dying are my weak point. And Beauty & the Beast. Oh gosh, whenever Beast is all sad because Belle just tears up my heart.

"Hey! I heard that even grown males cried while watching Marley & Me! And I have very sensitive tear ducts, so it's not my fault." I retorted, putting another disc into the last case.

Mr. Spectacular Amber Brown-ish Eyes scratched the back of his head and rolled his eyes. "Sure."

"Whatever. Coming from a macho guy renting a drug dealer movie, an Adam Sandler movie and Family Guy season five you wouldn't understand."

I handed him the movies, feeling awkward because this already happened about seven hours ago.

Biting my lip and frowning I was tempted to say, "Don't trip on the door mat." Oh but I'm much too nice.

I un-paused the movie and watched as Mr. Spectacular Amber Brown-ish Eyes left.

For the second time today I saw him exit the video store.

Shucks, I didn't even get to know his name.

At the door he stopped, turning to me with a smirk and said "By the way, don't you think you have too much time on your hands to watch all those movies in one day?"

I blinked, not fully taking in what he just said.

Wait a minute…

Mother of Renji's dead goldfish Phillipe and all the different kinds of cheeses in the world, how dare he!!

a/n: nomnomnom. i need a foot rub. care to review? :D