Love Me: The Rewrite

CHAPTER THREE...

It was a mistake; something that happened a long time ago that was supposed t be a secret. That secret eventually ruined Uryu's life.

He fell and hit the ground hard and painfully. He couldn't get back up and he probably never would. Ryuken would make sure of that after what Uryu had done to him.

/'The worst form of shame for a father is to have a like you.'/

Where had he heard that before? Someone had said that to Uryu once. When was it? He could barely remember the day.

He remembered his third year in high school. It was november...november 28th. He brought a friend home while Ryuken was at work. He decided he wanted to do more than 'study' with Uryu, so they started to experiment together. Eventually it turned into meetings once a week. Then meetings twice every week. Then, as soon as it started, it was over.

Ryuken had forgotten his suitcase and walked in on the two of them together. Uryu had his fingers woven in his hair his friend's mouth to his nether-regions. Ryuken's bed was larger than his and more /activities/ could be done.

He had never meant for it to go so far. But it did. It always did. Ryuken nearly killed the both of them that day. He'd kicked Uryu out and emptied his bank account. His clothes were tossed. His room was emptied of all his belongings. There was nothing for him to go back to.

/No son of mine will go down this road./

/I'm sorry, Ryuken, please-/

/Go! I won't allow this in my house! Get out!/

/I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!/

Ichigo shook Uryu's shoulder in trying to wake him up. The young man squirmed and thrashed and muttered words that didn't make sense.

"Get up man! Wake up!"

"I'm sorry," he cried. "I'm sorry."

Orihime placed her hands on Uryu's temples. Ichigo watched in horror and confusion. It was a frightening sight to see. It was so rare to witness Uryu break down so easily. He was always so calm and reserved. It was beyond terrifying to see someone so strong wracked with tears and sweat.

"Ichigo," Orihime whispered. "He's waking up."

Orihime carefully brushed Uryu's hair back, humming a soothing song in his ear.

"Where am I?" Those were the first words that left Ishida's mouth as he attempted to sit up.

He touched his hand to his face and cringed, remembering the pain he'd felt the other day. Memories started to flood his head about the previous morning.

"You...you had a disagreement with Grimmjow," Orihime explained. "...you were in shock..."

She was obviously just as shaken up as Ichigo, seeing Ishida in a state like this. His left eye was still bandaged, but he seemed to not be worried about that. Soemthing else plagued his mind.

"Orihime healed most of what she could," Ichigo explained. "The rest will take-time-but You'll be fully recovered soon. How...how do you feel?"

"Like crap," Ishida answered, honestly.

He shivered slightly. Ichigo couldn't tell if it was from the cold or his realization of what happened. Orihime placed a hand on the Quincy's arm and gave it a light, reassuring squeeze. Ichigo began to feel a twinge in the pit of his stomach.

/Jealousy?/

/No. Not that/ he tried to tell the voice in the back of his head. He pushed all outside thoughts away and sat beside the young man's hospital bed. Ishida smiled weakly at Ichigo, a little amused by the fear and guilt that stained his eyes.

"I'll be right back," Orihime whispered, sensing the rising tension coming from the two.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo whispered as Orihime left. He slid closer to his bedside. "I should have done something-"

"It's not your fault that Grimmjow has-anger issues." Ishida laughed, silencing him.

"What did you say to set him off?"

Ishida shrugged. "I can't remember honestly."

That was a lie. They both knew it. Ichigo brushed it aside, knowing that it was best not to pry at the young man.

"What happened...you know, afterwards?"

"Everyone just-," A lump formed in Ichigo's throat.

Everyone just stood there. No one did anything. It pained Ichigo to think of that. It pained him to remember that he didn't react like he sould have. This was his /friend/! Uryu would never let him down like he had done to him.

"Chad-is he..." Ishida sighed as if he were prepared to get some buried secret off of his chest. "We made a deal a long time ago. Chad promised me...that's why he didn't defend me like he normally would have.../he was only protecting me/."

At those last few words, his vouce trailed off. Ishida looked across the room, away from his friends brown eyes. He felt so guilty for having to put everyone through this. He wished there was something that he could do to take everything back.

"You-you're not making any sense," Ichigo frowned.

/Chad promised you /what/? He wondered. /He's protecting you from /who/?

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ichigo questioned feeling his stomach churn with concern.

Uryu turned toward him. What he did was enough to end all of Ichigo's worries: he /smiled/ at him. It wasn't just a regular smile, it was a genuine 'everything is going to be alright' smile. People saw few of those from Uryu nowadays.

"You feel guilty about letting this happen, don't you?" Ishida asked.

Ichigo nodded. The raven-haired man laughed. He laughed. It was a true laugh. A laugh that hurt so badly it stung his eyes with tears.

"You shouldn't feel bad for me. I forgive you, Kurosaki."

Something about that look Ishida was giving him settled his nerves and deflated his guilt. Ichigo began to feel in himself that everything /was/ going to be alright.

"Everything will be back to normal," Ichigo reassured him, feeling a twitch of gratitude for his friend.

Ishida smiled a smile that masked a pained cringe on the inside. Everything back to normal...That's exactly what he was afraid of.

[A/N]: I would appreciate a review or two, just to let me know if I'm doing well and if this story is still catching your attention and if it is doing better that its earlier version.

Thank you very much for your time,

Maxx Knight.