Running and Falling
"Well, it's hard to explain…"
She shifted the phone on her shoulder, pressing the receiver end closer to her chin.
"It's ok, Ichigo, just tell me."
Her heart was pounding and she could hardly believe that she was not bouncing off the walls in excitement. Ichigo Kurosaki had called her, Orihime Inoue, the girl who pined for him ever since she had seen him, and at night, his voice worried and as gruff as ever. So she was now nestled in a chair, trying to soothe her aching heart, making sure that she listened to every single word and didn't wander off in another fantasy scenario. Those has been costly even in the day and she didn't want to worry Ichigo, especially now that he seemed tense and in need of help.
Her help, she was reminded, and she pushed the phone closer to her skin.
"There's this thing I don't get…"
"What's this thing, Ichigo?"
His name really was the coolest thing to say, it reminded her of his hair, even though it was no way related to pink, or red actually, like the strawberry, like his name, like his hair. She frowned. She was drifting again, and she buried herself deeper into the blanket ensconced around her.
"It's just that, like, look right here."
Her brows narrowed and she opened her eyes, confusion washing over her. How could she see something over the phone? Was this metaphorically, literally? She racked her mind, trying to think of various ideas Ichigo could possibly be talking about when he spoke again and she snapped to attention, back straight in her cushioned chair.
"Isn't it confusing?"
This was so weird, on levels she couldn't explain that she blurted out an incoherent word before slapping a hand over her mouth. Ichigo had not even explained anything yet and she was supposed to answer?!- she was panicking.
"Inoue?"
"Ichigo, I don't understand," she murmured apologetically, eyes closing.
"You don't?"
She shook her head miserably and then remembered he couldn't see her and replied, "No."
"But you're the only who got it, or so I heard?"
How was he so patient, she wondered, her eyes fluttering open as she sprung free of her blankets and the chair. She was getting more and more disappointed in herself, and this called for pacing the floor.
"Inoue?"
"Yes, Ichigo?"
"Sorry for bothering you."
"Ahh, no- not at all! Really Ichigo, it's my fault, I wish I could have helped you…"
She stood in the center of her room, clutching the phone tightly and hearing his steady breathing clearly over the phone.
"I just thought you understood it. But I ended up troubling you." He laughed briefly, and she felt as if it played on repeat, on slow motion for her. "Never meant to confuse you."
"You can always ask me for help! Anytime…"
"I know. I can always depend on you Inoue."
The light flooded back into her eyes and she felt euphoric, top of the world, bouncing off the walls but she didn't dare move or speak more than a squeaky word.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You know why?"
She shook her head and then bit her lip, quietly saying, "No."
She could feel it now, anything that he said would be a priceless memory for her, something she would never let her mind forget, even if she was 100 years old and had Alzheimer's…drifting, she reminded herself with a soft laugh.
"Inoue, you're my-"
A/N: Good friend. Best friend. Nakama. Lover. Girlfriend. Wife. Soulmate. Choose whatever you want for the ending but that's the ending! This was for "cliff-hanger" in the tournament Nayuki-Bunny and I are in. Review if you enjoyed!
