Ichigo let his thoughts wander as he stared up at the twinkling stars in the clear night sky. He felt the tickle of grass on the back of his neck and the slight dampness that had started to seep through his clothes. If he concentrated, he could just about hear the faint sounds of traffic coming from the nearby town.
As he lay on the damp ground, he thought of his life; of his sisters and father, of school and of his friends, but most of all he thought about Byakuya.
Ichigo felt a smile tug at his lips when the image of the cool-eyed transfer student entered his mind. He closed his eyes and focused on remembering every detail of his crush's face, from his beautifully pale skin to the ever present frown that seemed to be carved into his face.
Ichigo could put his hand to his heart and truthfully swear that he loved Byakuya. He knew it was more than a brief period of infatuation; he could feel it. Every day he kept his feelings to himself they only seemed to grow stronger.
But Byakuya was far out of his league. Ichigo was not stupid enough to think he had half a chance with him. Byakuya was the son of the CEO of some important company. He was very well-to-do, rule abiding and sometimes so polite and stiff he came across as snobbish. He was incredibly handsome, with his silky black hair and chiselled features and had become incredibly popular with both girls and guys alike during his brief time in Karakura Town.
Ichigo, on the other hand, was the son of the owner of a small local clinic, and while it generated enough money for him and his family to live comfortably, it was nothing compared to the luxury Byakuya was surely used to.
Ichigo thought he was fairly average in the looks department. His bright orange hair was either an asset or a liability, depending on who was looking. He didn't think his face was ugly per se, but he was often told how handsome he would be without the constant angry look he wore. He was in shape; he worked out often and enjoyed running and martial arts.
He wasn't aware, however, that he was also quite popular and had quite a few admirers. Some people thought that his hot-headedness was sexy. And Ichigo could get so passionate sometimes, girls especially liked that and many fantasised about him being that worked up about them.
Ichigo stole a glance at his watch and decided that it was time for him to head home. He dragged himself to his feet and brushed himself down before meandering through the sparse trees that his little clearing was surrounded by.
After he broke away from the trees he jogged slowly to his bike. It was a cool night and his breath formed little clouds. Soon it would be too cold for him to go up to the clearing at all; winter had just come around and Ichigo hated the flu with a fiery passion.
He undid the lock to the chain that held his bike to a fence that overlooked a slight cliff. He folded the chain into the basket attached to the handlebars and hopped onto his bike before pedalling his way towards the sounds of the town.
Ichigo had slid on a high-vis jacked before mounting his bicycle, but hadn't bothered with a helmet. He didn't have one that fitted him properly, and anyway, the chances of him having an accident were incredibly slim.
He navigated his way down a winding path until he came to a crossroads. Here, Ichigo took a left turn and cycled past the houses and scarce shops that had been built on the outskirts of Karakura Town.
It wasn't long until he reached the door of his house. He stowed his bicycle away around the back of the house and quietly crept inside the front door. He mentally thanked Yuzu for leaving the door unlocked for him.
All the lights were out and he could hear his father's loud snores coming from the floor above. A quick glance at the clock in the kitchen told him it was well past ten o'clock.
Ichigo slid his shoes off and silently climbed the stairs to get ready for bed. He had school the following morning and quite a few winter tests to boot.
Usually the exams were left until the week before the holidays, but since many students were absent during that time for whatever reason in upcoming years, it was decided that they would be moved forward. This meant that Ichigo had had a lot less time to prepare for them, which in turn meant that now he was more stressed and short tempered than usual.
Ichigo felt his previously relaxed shoulders begin to tense up. He sighed and slid between the covers on his bed. He was just about to fall asleep when he got a text.
He groaned and unlocked his phone. It told him that it was now quarter past eleven.
Who the hell is texting me now? I was just about to fall asleep.
Ichigo groaned again when he saw that it was from Rukia. She wanted a place to crash for the night, and was apparently waiting outside the house.
"One second" Ichigo had texted back, and he made his way down the stairs to let her in.
"Thank you Ichigo!" she had exclaimed enthusiastically, and Ichigo hadn't wasted any time in whispering at her to shut up.
They were both used to this routine. Rukia lived with her sister, both of whom had moved into a house a few blocks away a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, Hisana – Rukia's sister – was ill and she often had overnight stays at the hospital. Sometimes Rukia was fine by herself, but other times she needed company, even if it was just to take her mind off of things.
Whenever the need arose, she slept on a spare futon that had been set up in Ichigo's rather spacious closet. It allowed them both a bit of privacy without either of them being completely alone.
The two were best friends; they understood each other and could empathise no matter what the situation, but at the same time neither of them were afraid to call the other out on their bullshit and give them a push (or a lot of the time, a punch) in the right direction.
After Rukia had been settled comfortably in the closet with her stuffed bunny, Ichigo switched off the light and climbed into his own bed.
The two drifted off quickly, and Ichigo's dreams were filled with all manners of things; from food to frogs to felons. The only thing they all had in common was that they always contained Byakuya, smiling his rare smile and simply being with Ichigo.
The ones with Byakuya were always Ichigo's favourite dreams.
A/N yay! New story.
This story is pretty much an 'everyone's human and somehow attending the same school in some way or another' AU.
There will be smut in future chapter(s) as soon as I get around to writing them, but it will probably be a while before that happens, mainly because of school and the fact that MY CHRISTMAS EXAMS ARE THIS WEEK AND I AM DYING.
My school pretty much decided to do what Ichigo's school did. People were missing the last week of school so they moved the exams forward giving me about A MONTH LESS TIME TO STUDY. It also meant that we had to fly through the criteria.
In short, I am fucked. I have my German, science and English exams tomorrow and I literally don't know any of the stuff. Goodbye higher level, hello pass class.
Anyways, I do not own Bleach or any of the characters, only the faint hints of a plot.
Please review and follow/favourite, I'd love to hear what you guys think about the new jumble of words that I have decided to call a story.
Thank you for reading and putting up with my rant about school :o)
Wow this author's note is really long. Cookies for you for reading this far!
