A/N: This is it; the end… or rather the beginning of the end. I hope you enjoyed this chapter… it took me a while to actually plan out how I wanted to sound and I hope that you all see the method behind my madness.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and I do not own these lyrics; that right belongs to the Foo Fighters.
Prologue- The Pretender
Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend
Keep you in the dark
And so it all began
He looked up at his lover with pleading eyes. "One more?" As their lips brushed against each other's, his knees began to shake. "Ichigo… I have to go… my father leaves from the States tomorrow."
Ichigo laughed huskily as his lover tried to evade his grasp but failed miserably. "Yea, Uryuu at 5 in the evening! I'm pretty sure you can spend at least another hour with your boyfriend, in fact I'm pretty sure you can spend the night!"
Uryuu rolled his eyes, "Yea sure Ichigo."
"Dad!"
"What is it my son?" Isshin's voice could be heard through Ichigo's locked door.
"Can Uryuu spend the night? It's a Friday night and he has nothing else to do."
Uryuu playfully punched Ichigo in the arm and murmured to himself: "I do have stuff to do you just don't know about it."
Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones go marching in…again
The need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are ever ready
Are you ready?
I'm finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance
That whole defense
"Why sure Uryuu can spend the night here. He is a welcomed guest into our home anytime."
Ichigo turned toward the locked door, "Okay, thanks dad." He then turned to Uryuu.
"Now where were we?" He asked as his hands began to roam over Uryuu's pale chest toward his skin-tight jeans. Uryuu let out a low growl as one of Ichigo's hands found his ass and the other his now-hardening member. Ichigo looked down at Uryuu and kissed him on top of his head. "And see you wanted to go home; you see what you would've been missing out on." He whispered, as he quickened the pace on Uryuu's dick.
Uryuu, who was near release, moaned loudly into Ichigo's shoulder, "Yes… Ichigo… I do… please keep going."
Ichigo smirked into Uryuu's hair, "I plan to keep going, blueberry… unless you want me to stop."
Uryuu, who was now holding onto Ichigo for support, heard the word stop he looked up at Ichigo with burning azure eyes. "If you dare stop strawberry…you won't like the consequences."
Ichigo again laughed, "Okay, I was just saying…OW! Babe, do you always have to do that?"
Uryuu blushed sheepishly, "I'm sorry strawberry. I didn't want to attract any unwanted attention…"
"By taking out a chunk of my shoulder? You bite your lip; you kiss me or something to suppress your moan but not that!"
Uryuu dropped his head in shame, "I apologize babe; I promise never to do that again, forgive me?"
Ichigo, who was massaging his shoulder and licking off Uryuu's cum off of his fingers at the same time, sighed and nodded, "Yea, I forgive you, it only hurt a little; and besides," he gave Uryuu a very provocative smile. "I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I was in your shoes."
Spinning infinity, boy
The wheel is spinning me
It's never ending, never ending
Same old story
As the two lovers lay together in bed, neither was asleep nor tired. "Ichigo…we have to start telling people about us… I want to be able to kiss you at school, not just here or around the corner from my house." Uryuu could see, because of the moonlight, Ichigo's chest rise and fall; he sighed deeply.
"I know… Chad I'm pretty sure will understand. Orihime and Rukia… I'm starting to think they suspect something but I think they'll also be cool same as Tatsuki."
"And Keigo?"
Ichigo shook his head, "Now that one I'm not sure about. Hey we have the rest of the weekend to decide who we will tell and who we will wait on, okay? Let's get some sleep." As the two boys began to drift off, Ichigo began to wonder who exactly he could trust with his relationship with Uryuu.
What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?
The following Friday…
Ichigo looked around the table before lowering his voice to speak to Uryuu. "So… how far have you gotten?"
Uryuu looked up from his bowl of rice, "Tatsuki… she seemed fine with it."
Ichigo nodded excited, "I told Taveri, Dalyste, and Keigo."
Uryuu's head shot up, "And?"
What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?
"All 3 are cool with it. Taveri and Dalyste wanted to know so badly but I told them that don't know you. Keigo tried to guess but was way off; when I told him it was you he said he wasn't surprised at all and that he's happy for us."
Uryuu smiled deeply, "So that leaves Chad, who I'm sure will support you 100."
Ichigo, who had begun eating his lunch, "Oh yeah I'm sure. Do you want to be there when I tell him or do you have something to do?"
Uryuu nodded a piece of rice on his chin, which Ichigo chuckled at him for. "I have stuff to do; my dad is coming home right after school and I have to go pick him up."
Ichigo, a little disappointed at the news, nodded anyway, "It's okay… I'm probably going to need to tell him one-on-one. That way, there's no big deal about it."
Uryuu nodded again, "Exactly, so today?"
As the bell symbolizing that lunch was over rang, Ichigo flashed his big goofy grin that Uryuu had fallen in love with. "Today."
In time or so I'm told
I'm just another soul for sale… oh well
The page is out of print
We are not permanent
We're temporary, temporary
Same old story
"So what did you want to tell me Ichigo?" Chad's calm and soothing voice put Ichigo at ease as his mind began to run wild with numerous thoughts. Even though Chad was taller than him, Ichigo felt, even with the weight of the secret on his shoulders, that he was on equal height compared to Chad.
"You know how no matter what it is; I can tell you anything Chad?" Chad nodded; the confusion was masked because of his hair covering his face but was present throughout his body.
"Yea…so?"
Ichigo sighed, "Well I have something to tell you- I'm gay."
Chad stopped in his tracks, making Ichigo as well. "What?!"
"I'm…gay."
"As in you like boys?" Chad turned to Ichigo his gaze making Ichigo feel uncomfortable.
"So I'm going to assume you have a boyfriend since you're telling me." Ichigo nodded, unsure of Chad's next moves.
"…Yea." After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Chad threw up his arms in frustration making Ichigo flinch.
"So are you going to tell me who the hell he is?"
Ichigo closed his eyes, Uryuu's face flashing through his mind as he did so. "No."
What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?
Ichigo stared coldly at Chad, "That is none of your business." Chad began to grow angry: he began to shake. He scoffed at Ichigo, pushed him away and then began to walk away.
"Chad- wait let me say something to you please?"
"What the hell do you want faggot?"
Ichigo stopped four feet away from him, "Excuse me, what did you call me?"
Chad, who normally slouches to hide his real height, extended all the way to his 6'7" stature. "I called you a faggot-faggot. You got a problem with that? Then let's go right now."
Ichigo stood in disbelief of his best friend, "How could say that, Chad? I thought we were good friends."
"Yeah you're right Ichigo- we were good friends."
Ichigo began to open his mouth and question Chad when a fist connected to his jaw and knocked him out.
What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?
"W-what happened?" Ichigo looked and saw that he was back in his room with having no recollection of how he got there. He attempted to sit up but darkness began creeping in his eyes forcing him to lie back down.
"Ichigo just rest." Rukia's soft yet authoritative voice emerged from his right side.
"Yea Rukia's right Ichigo; do you know what happened- Rukia and I found you in the street lying there, who did this?"
Ichigo's eyes darkened, "Yea, I know who did this- Chad. I told him something and he snapped." Rukia and Orihime looked at each other, concern etched on their faces.
"What did you say, Ichigo?" Orihime braved the question after a moment of silence. As Ichigo heard the question being asked, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply hoping that telling him his secret would end in a better result that Chad's.
"Look… I'm gay."
I'm the voice inside your head
You refuse to hear
I'm the face that you have to face
Mirrored in your stare
I'm what's left, I'm what's right
I'm the enemy
I'm the hand that will take you down
Bring you to your knees
Ichigo slowly opened his eyes as he looked between the girls, hoping for some- any really, type of reaction. Rukia, snorted after a brief silence.
"Really?" she shrugged, "Not really surprised though you always did look at Renji with that longing look in your eyes."
Orihime gasped audibly, making Ichigo turn towards her, "Yay! Now you can help me pick me outfits!" Ichigo rolled his eyes, 'Orihime- always the playful one. I'm glad she is not passing judgment.' He turned towards Rukia and was immediately drawn towards her concern-filled eyes.
"What is it Rukia?" She looked at him, tears brimming under her azure orbs.
"I was thinking about Chad- and what exactly are we going to do with him." Ichigo's eyes darkened as the room became unbearably silent; until Uryuu came crashing through Ichigo's bedroom door.
"Oh my… Ichi" he rushed over to the silent (still) boy. Uryuu began placing kisses upon Ichigo' cheeks and lips; oblivious to the blushing girls on each side of Ichigo's bed. "I'm so glad you're okay. Chad called me and told me that you got into a fight.-"
"Wait… Chad called you?"
So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Ichigo was surprised (to say the least) to hear Uryuu say that, "Well… what exactly did he say?"
Uryuu, who was surprised that Ichigo was so shocked that he had said that, continued, "Oh well…you know he called me and said, 'Have you seen Ichigo?' and I told him that I had not and then he said that I'd better go check up on you because he had heard that you had gotten into a fight. And I went ballistic, so after my father got home, I came straight here."
Ichigo looked to the two girls behind Uryuu; the same expression that was on his face was on theirs. Rukia was the first one to speak. "So… Chad didn't tell you who beat up Ichigo or why for that matter." Uryuu turned around, surprised to see Rukia and Orihime standing there.
"No…does Chad know who did this?" Rukia, helplessness etched upon her face, looked towards Ichigo.
"Ichigo tell him… he needs to know?" Uryuu turned toward Ichigo.
"Strawberry…what's going on?"
Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend
Ichigo sighed, keeping the tears at bay for the moment, "The person who did this," he said, gesturing to his swollen eye and cheek, "was Chad. I told him, babe. I told him that I was gay. No let me finish, I didn't tell him that you were my boyfriend. Although he was convinced that I had one, I do no know how, however."
Uryuu looked past Ichigo, his voice seemed distant as well, and "Babe…I'm so sorry. What are we going to do about this?"
Ichigo looked at him, his expression unreadable. "We will do nothing, I will handle it. I need you guys to act like you're going to side with Chad. That way, I will be the only one dealing with this. Besides I'm a senior and I only have a little over a semester left; it helps that I'm graduating early." Rukia, Uryuu, and Orihime looked amongst themselves, hoping to avoid the inevitable- they had no choice but to agree. They nodded, Ichigo smiled slightly, "Thank you- I can't have you guys go through a year (plus) because of me."
What if I say I'm not like the others?
(Keep you in the dark)
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
(You know they all pretend)
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?
Monday morning…
Ichigo sighed deeply as he waked onto the school grounds since that Friday afternoon. Ichigo began walking towards the front doors when he saw Chad with a group of his former classmates. Ichigo's pace quickened; he kept his head down as he hoped that he could avoid Chad until lunch but it was too late. As his hand touched the door handle, Ichigo was being dragged back until he was slammed into the ground.
Ichigo tried to get up but a huge foot came crashing into his chest, cutting off his breath and keeping him on the ground in the process. Ichigo laid there gasping for air, when Chad's face appeared out of his blindside.
"Hello there, faggot." That introduction got a few chuckles from his gang while cutting deep into Ichigo's chest.
"What do you want Chad? Tell your friend to get the hell off of me." Chad's face turned into a deep scowl.
"Listen here: "I make the rules, not you; so just lay there and listen." After a few minutes of hearing Ichigo struggling to breath, Chad began to speak. "You stay clear of me; you won't want have to deal with the consequences. Are we clear?"
Ichigo nodded, "Crystal."
"Good," as Chad began helping up Ichigo up, Ichigo sported Orihime, Uryuu, and Rukia entering the gate. Chad noticed this as well; he struck Ichigo in his stomach as he attempted to walk away. "Also, stay away from those three. They don't need you fucking up their lives with your homosexuality." He emphasized the last word with such malice and hate that Ichigo actually flinched.
Orihime, Rukia, and Uryuu walked past Chad and that's when they noticed Ichigo on the ground clutching his stomach. "Why is Ichigo on the ground?" Orihime's question breaking the silence; Chad looked down at Ichigo (fake) shock apparent on his face.
"I'll tell you- Ichigo is gay and I was trying to beat the gayness out of him- guess it didn't work." Ichigo looked up at them, hoping that they would hold up their end of deal.
Uryuu's eyes widened, "You're kidding right Chad? I've spent the night at his house! You freak!" Even though the lines were rehearsed, the words were still hard to speak for Uryuu: he felt like a fraud, linking hands with Rukia and walking inside leaving Ichigo to struggle to get to class on time. As Uryuu looked back at him, they locked eyes and Uryuu felt his mouth move and form the words, "I'm sorry. I love you." before he turned around he saw Ichigo mouth back.
"I'm sorry too."
So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
A/N: There you have it! I am officially done with this story! Thank you to all who have reviewed for this story (or have given me some type of feedback in numerous other methods). I wanted to write this chapter because I wanted to introduce how the bullying began and how Ichigo decided to handle it and why he would handle it that way. I hope you have enjoyed it.
CalisOwnCaliGrown (Jasmine)