She was there. After all this time, on a date with Kurosaki-kun. One part of herself shouted that she should be happy. Should? Why wasn't she happy?
"Oi, Inoue!" her orange-haired mate called her. Orihime snapped out of her daydreaming, to find herself sitting next to Ichigo, who was looking at her as if he hadn't seen her before.
"Where are you travelling again, girl?" he asked her, leaning closer to examine her now flushed face. Orihime looked at her lap, trying to get her mind back to her date. But every time she tried, her mind wandered off. To the sight of him.
Lately, a new student had been transferred to their class. Helena was a beauty. Plus, she was like…the female version of Ishida. She looked pretty much like him, and she had the same interests. She was an excellent student and a hotshot girl. Everyone found the need to be near her, and many boys fell to her charms. But she had set her eyes on Ishida, whom she discreetly started flirting, shortly after her transfer.
He, at first, seemed ignorant of her gestures. And that was, up until the day Orihime told him, while he was taking her home –a habit that they had for months- , that she was planning on talking to Kurosaki about her feelings. He would just look at her intently and say: "That's up to you, Inoue san. I hope he will return your feelings. One-sided loves are not a good thing." ,before pushing up his glasses. Orihime didn't notice the sadness in his eyes, until much, much later.
Soon afterwards, Ishida started responding to Helena's moves. He spent more and more time with her, dedicating his attention and his time to her. The well-endowed teenager felt happy for her friend. She turned to Kurosaki, trying to attract his attention more zealously than ever. Until…
It seemed quite obvious to everyone that Ishida and Helena had become a couple. Everyone was envious of the bispectacled teen. Orihime however, was totally oblivious. But she couldn't help but wonder why her friend became so distant. He had stopped taking her home in the afternoons, and he rarely answered her phonecalls. When he did so, he was cold and typical. One day, she decided to spend her lunch break with him, so they could work things out. So she headed towards his favorite spot to meet him, but stopped suddenly, when she noticed Helena sitting next to him, tugging in his collar, leaning on him for a kiss. With her eyes wide open, she saw him folding his arms to her waist, pulling her closer as he was kissing her back. Orihime blinked once, blinked twice and then took off silently. She should be happy that her friend was not alone, but she felt rather…jealous. This day, much to surprise of her classmates, she was strangely silent. She wouldn't respond to anyone's gestures. Not even when Chizuru leapt on her to hug her- thankfully, Tatsuki was around to save her best friend.
When school was over, she approached Ishida, wanting to talk to him. She saw him, packing his books hastily, ready to leave, so she stopped him.
"I-Ishida-kun?"
The boy turned his head and looked at Inoue, frowning.
"Yes, Inoue-san?" he answered coldly, turning his gaze back to his bag.
"Are you going home? I thought that…if you do, we could walk together!"
Ishida stared at her, his eyes colder than ever. And…sad, somehow. He raised a finger and readjusted his glasses. "I'm sorry but…I'm not going home for now. I'm…rather busy."
Her heart sank for a moment. But she wore on a smile. "It's okay! Maybe some other time! Ishida-kun… I'm very happy for you, you know. Helena-san is a great girl. Beautiful, and smart, and graceful, and…"
"Please stop, Inoue-san. " Her friend's cold voice prevented her from talking. She stared at him, eyes wide open with surprise. She'd never heard him talk to her in this manner.
"I know all these. Helena-san is excellent, indeed. And thank you. But maybe you should go back to Kurosaki, instead of seeking my attention. And now, if you're okay with that, I have to go." He took his bag and left, grinding his teeth as he left without another word.
She blinked, trying to hold on some tears that she felt that would be running, and got ready to leave, lowering her head as she walked out of the classroom.
