Another one-shot is out! So to be honest I was a bit nervous writing this one because I'd been stuck in Eleventh Division so long. And Chad seems to just ooze the opposite of those boys. But I tried my best to keep it in character. I don't own Bleach that is all Tite Kubo. I'm just a fan writing my own little story.

Reviews?

Afraid of my own fear.
Of times when I may not be strong.
Places were I may not belong,
But I hold on to this feeling,
That stands above all feelings

-"One Step Away" Elisa

Bright green eyes stared with frustration in the mirror. You'd think after all these years that Lilly would be used to the short gray skirt she was forced to wear. However she wasn't and probably never would be. She'd moved from the States to America about three or four years ago now. But she still couldn't get over the obviously sexist uniforms. Sighing in frustration she raked her hands through her golden hair. In the beginning people had made fun of her since her American descent was apparent. Unlike most of the kids at her school she didn't have dark colored hair, no instead she had bright, platinum blonde. As natural as it was it still caught a lot of unwanted attention. Instead of having slightly dark skin, hers was as pale as it came. A soft porcelain color. Her mother had always compared her to a perfect porcelain doll, and as flattering as it was it was annoying. So many difference to make her stand out, even her height was a problem. She towered over most of the guys that she met, which made the girls tiny in comparison.

"Bye mum!" She called happily over her shoulder before darting out the door. The cool air whipped around her sending a joyful buzz through her body. Lilly had always been a nature bug. She hated being cooped up in one place for to long, hence why she hated school. Since the first day of school she'd been friends with Orihime. There was something overly likeable about the girl. She stood out just as much as Lilly, and deep down that comforted her. When she met Ichigo and others they'd done really well at making her feel at home within their circle.

"Lilly!"

Stopping instantly she saw Orihime and Tatsuki walking her way. Some of the others were with them, but they caught her attention mainly because of the manic way they were waving at her. Laughing softly she jogged over to them, greeting both girls with a hug. Lilly had always been a very outgoing girl, but not in a rude way. The blonde looked up, then up, then up some more to see the face of none other than Chad. Though she would have loved to hug him as well, it didn't seem to appropriate.

"Good morning Chad."

"Morning." He said with a simple nod before leaving it at that.

Lilly sighed at his response, she'd always hoped to keep up a conversation with the gentle giant but found it useless. Sure she could keep a conversation going on her own if she wanted to, but she thought he'd find it annoying to sit there and listen to her talk.

The whole walk to school she kept her eyes downcast and simply listened to the others talk. Is this how Chad felt all the time? If so why wouldn't he speak up? Lilly wasn't very understanding to things she didn't know, and she had a hard time understanding once she did know. Her hunter green orbs floated up to look at his angular face, he was so handsome in her opinion. It made her wonder if that was why so many people picked on him. Other than to prove themselves they must have been jealous of his looks. He just seemed to be naturally gorgeous. Or maybe they did just want to prove themselves. She felt her cheeks slightly warm up when his eyes locked with hers. Had she stared at him for that long?

Shaking her head violently she tried to rid another thought from her mind. All day she'd been unsuccessful at doing anything other than thinking about Chad. The history lesson had dragged on leaving Lilly's mind open to wander to whatever it wanted. What it wanted however had been the Mexican hunk a few seats over. Looking up she noticed all the people staring at her strangely. Great now they thought she was even weirder.

'Note to self, don't shake head in a noticeable manner in the middle of class.' She thought dully.

Once again lost in her thoughts Lilly didn't notice when everyone had left for lunch. The only reason she noticed was because when she went to look at Chad he wasn't there. A fake pout appeared on her pink lips before she stood up.

"Well, it looks like they left the Yankee behind today."

Her eyes widened at the sound of some very familiar voices behind her. Turning around she was immediately met by equally familiar faces. Lilly was normally a brave girl, but being surrounded by four or five guys left her a little frazzled. That and the nickname isn't exactly appealing, especially since she was born and raised in the southern part of America. "Just leave me alone alright?"

Much to her disliking her voice didn't hold nearly as much authority as she'd hoped. So all she got in return was a bunch of laughing. Grabbing her lunch she decided to make a bolt towards the door. She had one chance to get away and she was going to take it. Rushing around them, the sound on their laughing and cheering reached her ears. 'Almost there!' She thought hopefully reaching for the door. A sudden scream slipped from her lips as one of the men's hands came crashing down on her arm.

"Let go of me!"

"Come on babe, let's have some fun."

The grip on her arm was tight, the more she tried to pull away though the tighter it became. Lilly was panicking more with each second that went by. She could feel the pounding of her heart in her chest. Her body was shaking so bad that if the man let go, she was certain she'd crumble to the ground. Laughing the man tightened her grip on her arm, causing another whimper to slip from her lips. Without warning though, the pain in her arm seemed to vanish. Along with the hand that was on her arm all together.

Looking up she noticed Chad had tightly gripped the mans forearm. It seemed presence enough was enough to send the men rushing out the door, regrettably right into Ichigo. Seemed these thugs didn't have to good of luck. Lilly rubbed her arm, her eyes never leaving Chad's warm colored face. Smiling brightly she launched herself foreword, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"My hero," Still holding her grip on his waist she looked up to see the bright flush that was gracing his cheeks. "But really, thank you Chad." Her smile grew even wider when she felt his large, warm hand rest itself on her back. He was hugging her back! There was only one way she could make this day better.

Pulling one arm from around him, she motioned with her finger for him to move down. In all sense it did seem like she simply wanted to tell him something. Complying the large man bent down, just to have her lips softly press against his own. Some how his already red cheeks turned an even more vibrant shade as she pulled away. So he hadn't beaten the guys up, he barley talked, to Lilly though he sounded like the perfect hero.