Hello everyone! This is my very first fiction, so I wanted to make it about my favorite paring!
Without further ado, here it is!
DISCLAIMER: Bleach and all its characters belong to Tite Kubo
The Beauty of a Confession
Chapter 1
"I love you" Orihime said finally. She looked into his eyes as she waited impatiently for an answer. Who wouldn't be? Especially if they've been waiting since middle school to tell their true feelings.
Everything was perfect. She informed Ichigo she had something important to tell him and to wait for her at the park down the street from her apartment at six. The sunset would set the perfect tone. He was to wait in front of the fountain in the middle of the park. She had chosen this specific location because of the way the Sakura flowers drift in the air and created lovely scenery at that exact spot. It was the perfect place to tell him how she felt.
Ichigo stared. She... She loves me? I don't deserve her love. Especially not from someone like her. Innocent and kind. No... I've seen horrible things. And I've done worse. She deserves someone who will make her happy.
"I... don't deserve your love." he said slowly. "You deserve someone better than I am. Someone pure and kindhearted, like you."
Orihime was taken aback. "I don't know anyone who deserves my love more than you do. I've known you since childhood and even then you were as you are now! You're kind, caring, and loving! I've always admired your confidence in anything you did!" a light blush rosied the apples of her cheeks.
"You" she started quietly as she stared at the grassy earth. "You're my hero, my best friend, my..." she couldn't find the right words to describe what Ichigo was to her. "My everything" she whispered.
His resolved hardened. 'So this is why' he thought. 'Orihime doesn't love me, she admires me. She's just confused. I have to let her know that what she's feeling isn't love.' "I'm sorry Orihime, but what you're feeling isn't love. I can'tー"
"It was really easy you know," she cut him off softly, looking into the fountain. When she picked this spot she thought it symbolized hope, the spouts of water a fresh start no matter what someone has done in the past, the small pool of memories at the bottom of the fountain. But now it feels like the spouting water is someone trying to avoid their past, but they always end up right where they've started. "Keeping my feelings to myself. I've always thought about what it would feel like if I ever told you how I really felt. I thought I would feel relieved, like the weight of the world would be lifted from my shoulders. But, I just feel worse. I feel disappointed and a little humiliated that you didn't return my feelings. But it's okay. I'm okay."
"Orihime, Iー"
"Time heals all wounds, right?" she continued, looking up to smile weakly, eyes glossy with unshed tears. "It's okay. I'm alright. It's just a high school crush, right?"
Orihime walked away, leaving Ichigo confused and conflicted. Should he go after her? No. She needs time to think and heal. 'But what if she goes into a depression or does something rash? There's no way that'll happen. She's Orihime. The happiest, most cheerful girl at school. A simple rejection wouldn't be enough to bring her down. But that look in her eyes… I don't know. I have a bad feeling.'
In a daze, she walked, going anywhere her legs would take her. 'I guess I knew all along that he wasn't going to return my feelings. He's got Matsumoto, and plus he's way out of my league. I don't even know why I did it anymore.' A tear rolled down her cheek. Then another. She sat down on a bench and cried, both hands covering her face, ashamed and lonely, she finally set free her broken sobs.
How was it? Please review, and help improve my writing! If you have any suggestions, I would be mor ethan happy to take a look at them. I hope you enjoyed my very first chapter!