Hey guys, random one-shot. I thought of this idea when I was in class chewing gum and I decided to just do it. So, with that being said, I hope you all enjoy it and review.
XoXoXOXoXoX
Pop.
I lift my head up from my desk and turn to my left. I knew that's where it was coming from, it always was. The kid next to me always chewed some fruity gum in class without a care in the world. The entire class knew there was supposed to be no gum in class, but I guess this kid didn't get the memo.
Pop.
I stare at him as the bubble he blew pops over his lips and as he sucks in the deflated bubble. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip to see if he got it all and resumes back to blowing bubbles.
I don't know how long I had been watching this kid blow bubbles, but it had to have been the rest of the hour because I soon heard the bell ring and the class quickly shift towards the door. I shake my head and gather my things as well and so does the kid next to me. We stand at the same time, but he walks in front of me and without realizing, he drops his notebook. I reach down and grab it, unconsciously reading off his name.
Ichigo Kurosaki
"Hey, uh Ichigo?" I here myself saying. The kid slowly turns around and stares at me. He almost looks surprised I know his name and I can't for the life of me figure out why.
"Yeah?" He says after he blows his bubble. I watch it pop before answering.
"You dropped your notebook…" I tell him as I return it to him. He seems a bit sad as he stares down at it, but he does take it back. I rest my hands back down to my sides as he looks up at me and places the notebook with his other belongings. Afterwards, he looks up and smiles threw the bubble he had just made.
"Thanks, Grimmjow." He tells me as he walks away, leaving me there to wonder how he knew my name.
Once he was out of the room, I slowly gather my wits and follow suit out the class. I find my friends waiting for me in the usual spot near the large window outside my class. My friend Nnoitra is the first to notice me.
"Fucking finally! What the hell took you so long?" he asked as he shifted his book bag. I offer him a shrug and my trademark smirk.
"Nothing really. Some kid just dropped his notebook and I gave it back to him. That's all…" I tell them. Starrk is the first to speak up.
"You sure that's all? You're normally the first one to get out of Aizen's class…" He announces.
"And you're not one to help someone else out either. I don't believe ya'." Nnoitra says as he gives a cheeky smile. I punch his shoulder as we start to walk to lunch.
"Believe whatever ya' want. I just picked up a notebook. Nothin' special."
"I don't know. This kid must be kinda special if she's gotcha pickin' up notebooks and shit." Nnoitra teases.
"First of all, HE doesn't have me doin' shit and second, the kid's nothin' special…" I tell them nonchalantly.
"Oh, it's a boy…who is it?"
"I don't know, some kid. I think his name is Ichiho, er somethin' like that…"
"You mean Ichigo? As in Ichigo Kurosaki?" Ulquiorra says. He was the quietest of the group, so it was a little surprising when he spoke at times. But never mind that, he knew this kid.
"So you've heard of this kid then, eh?"
"Yes, but so have you." He says as he keeps walking and as I stop.
"Wait, what? What? Ulqui, the hell are you talking about? I don't know that guy."
"If you don't remember, it's no longer my problem…"
"Damn it." I curse. It was no point in trying to further pester him about. If he wasn't going to tell me, then there was no point to keep asking him about it. Ulquiorra was just like that.
Oh well, I guess I'll have to figure out how I knew the kid on my own.
XoXoXOXoXoX
Ever since that day Ulquiorra told me I somehow knew this kid, I watched him every day. Not in a stalker kind of way, but when I had the chance or when I saw him in class. Like now.
He was still chewing that fruity ass gum as he took notes and he would still randomly pop bubbles. I didn't really mind though, I liked the way they looked as they formed out of his mouth. He would look at his notes to jot down something Aizen had said every once in a while, but for the most part he just sat there, blowing bubbles. I noticed that no one said anything about it, not even Aizen and he always found something to bitch about. Maybe Kurosaki was just different.
I also noticed other things about him too. Like how his eyelashes were slightly lighter than his obscenely bright hair or how his bangs stopped just a few centimeters short of touching his eyelids. But perhaps the most interesting thing of all that I noticed, were his lips. How full and pink they were. Or how soft they looked. I oddly wondered if that was why Aizen had never told him to spit out his gum.
I study him a bit more and it's then that I realize that I'm completely checking Kurosaki out. His naturally tanned skin, vibrant orange hair, big molten brown eyes, and those sinful freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose and cheek bones.
God I love freckles.
"It's wonderful that you love freckles, Mr. Jeagerjaques. In fact, we can talk about your love for them during detention if you wish. But right now, you will not interrupt my class." Aizen tells me.
The class irrupts in a fit of quiet giggles until Aizen taps his pencil on the desk and resumes teaching. I groan as I realize I announced my apparent love for freckles out loud. I sigh as I run a hand through my messing blue hair and awkwardly take a peek at Kurosaki. And he's….blushing? He couldn't have known I was talking about him, right? But then again, he is the only person in the room with freckles. I see him sneaking looks at me and I grin when he realizes I see him. His blush further increases.
Yeah, he knew
I don't have time to further elaborate on the thought as the bell rings and he hurriedly rushes out of class. I quickly get the rest of my things and try to follow after him, but Aizen's voice stops me.
"I expect to see you after school, Grimmjow. Do try not to be late." He says with humor laced throughout his voice. I bite back an insult as I roll my eyes.
"Yes, Aizen-sensei." I grunt out with sarcasm as I walk out the door. As usual, my friends are near the window waiting for me. Again, Nnoitra is the first to spot me.
"You know, if you start making this a habit I'm just gonna have to start leavin' your ass at lunch." He grunts out. I growl at him and give him the finger and start to walk towards the cafeteria. Starrk chuckles beside me and throws his arm over my shoulders.
"Relax Grimm, you know Nnoi's just playing. We're not gonna leave you."
"I would." Ulquiorra quietly inputs.
"Well, Ulquiorra would…" Starrk tells me as he snickers a little. After that, we walk into the cafeteria and get our usual table consisting of the usual people, including Nel, Harribel, and Starrk's little sister Lilinette.
I sat down with a huff and watched as Lilinette argued with Starrk over a seat and Nnoitra got from his. He leaned over me, waving a hand in front of my face which I slapped away. He laughed.
"You want somethin' from the line?"
"Uh, water I guess." I tell him as he walks to the lunch line, cutting in front of some underclassmen. I snickered at that.
I then looked across from me and I saw that Kurosaki kid again. And he was smiling. Whenever I saw him he looked upset and he scowled at every living thing. But now he was smiling and I liked it. If I listened real closely, I could hear him laughing and it made me almost want to laugh too. I examined him as he made a joke that made his entire table laugh.
He just didn't know how fascinating he was
I then noticed a girl from his table looking at me. She alerted Ichigo and he looked back at me and blushed. He turned around quickly and I guess the violet eyed girl scolded him because he turned back around and waved at me with a slight smile.
It threw me off for a second, but I recovered quickly enough to wave back. The girls at his table giggled and his red haired friend nudged him, which he punched back in response. I chuckle lowly from my seat and direct my attention back to my table, only to find the attention was solely on me. I raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"Damn, Grimm. You stare much?" Nel said as the rest of them laughed. I try to find words to retort back, but I can't. I had been caught.
"Whatever. I wasn't staring at him that long…"
"Dude, I gave you that water five minutes ago and you didn't even notice…" Nnoitra said as he gave me an all knowing smirk.
"But that aside, we're coming over your house today." Nel said as she picked at her sandwich. I shake my head.
"Can't, I have detention with Aizen." She groans.
"Damn it Grimm, and I had something really interesting to show you too!" she whines.
"Why can't you just show me now?" She smiles and winks at me.
"Sorry, it's too late now. You're gonna have to wait until tomorrow! But I promise it'll be worth it." I raise an eyebrow but wave it off. Nel had a tendency to over exaggerate things, so whatever she had probably wasn't that big a deal anyway.
"Whatever…."
XoXoXOXoXoX
The Next Day
Detention with Aizen wasn't awful. In fact, he sent me home early. I didn't complain about it. It was the same in class too. I continued to stare at Kurosaki and he pretended not to know I was staring at him making bubbles. Or…doing anything else. Lunch was the same as well. He would take a peak at me when he thought I wasn't looking and I would do the same when I thought he wasn't looking. My friends would tease me and I would shrug it off.
Now, I was at my place with my friends. So far, we hadn't done anything. We cracked a few jokes, made some food, and somewhat went over some homework. Once all that was taken care of, Nel had finally decided to show us what she had been practically screaming about all day. She dug into her back and pulled out something rectangular.
"Ta-da!" she said as she slam it down on the floor with a smile.
"What the hell is it?" I finally ask.
"You don't know?" She asked back in a high pitched voice.
"If I asked you what it was, do you think I know what it is?" I retort back. She rolls her wheat colored eyes and points to the title.
"It's our middle school year book, stupid! It even says Las Noches Middle School on it! Duh!" she tells us. Nnoitra is the first to pick it up.
"Damn, I remember this! This shit is old!"
"Yeah, we were the only class to make one right?" Starrk asked.
"Yeah. Why did we? The other second year classes didn't make one and it's not like it was our last year either…" Nel pondered. I take it from Nnoitra's hands and skim threw it. I laugh as I come across a picture of Nel crying.
"I remember this. Nnoitra hit you and knocked out your tooth. You cried the entire day." Nnoitra laughed and Nel punched him in the nuts.
"Shut up! You're lucky it was only a baby tooth. Now, lemme see the yearbook!" Nel exclaimed. She gasped as she found a picture and blushed and hid it. Harribel noticed.
"Let me see it." Harribel demanded. Nel shook her head and Harribel took it from Nel's hands.
"Bel, give it back! It's not funny, c'mon!" She whined as she reached for the booklet. Harribel skillfully avoided her attempts to grab the booklet and snickered when she saw what Nel was hiding.
"You and Ulquiorra had a thing?" she asked as Nel blushed.
"It was 7th grade! Tell him Ulqui!"
Ulquiorra took the book and hummed and dare I say, smiled as he saw the picture. "I remember this well. We were on a field trip to the apple orchard and you were my partner. I suppose it wasn't unpleasant…"
"It's still a weird thought…" I say as I take the book from him.
We flip through more old photos, smiling and laughing as we do so. We would occasionally stop and make a comment or two about certain pictures or reminisce about the old times. I then turn the page to a picture of the entire class. I grin as I spot Nel gripping Ulquiorra and pointing to the camera.
"Nel and Ulquiorra sittin' in a tree…K-I-S-S," I begin.
"Grimmjow if you finish that, I will murder you." She warns.
"Fine, fine. But look at all of us. We were so young." I say as I point to Starrk, his hair wasn't as long then and had very few chin hairs and smiled a lot more. But the thing that never changed was his laziness.
"Oh god, look at Yammy! I hated him. He was such an ass." Harribel groaned and we laughed and I look for a picture of me. But what I find is a bit strange.
I had the biggest smile on my face and I was arm and arm with some random kid whose smile could rival my own. I didn't know him or anyone that looked like him. He had blonde hair, brown eyes, and what looked like freckles. It was a strange combination of things.
"Hey guys, do any of you know this kid? He doesn't look familiar, but we look close…" Nel takes the book and looks it over and smiles.
"Oh I remember him! You guys were really close. He came to our school for one year then moved. You really don't remember him? You guys hung out, like, all the time."
"Yeah, I remember him too. He used to get picked on by Yammy a lot. I think he used to call him Blondie or somethin'…" Starrk said.
"I don't remember his name, but I think you used to call him Berry." As Nnoitra said that, it vaguely clicked.
"Y-Yeah, I kinda remember that. We used to go to the arcade a lot or play games at my place. I used to think he was real quiet until he beat the shit outta Yammy that day! Yeah, we were close. That entire year we were inseparable." I said as a ghost smile spread across my face.
"He's in some of the later pictures too! Look…" Starrk said as he pointed to one of me and that kid arm wrestling. And then another with us eating lunch together. In the picture, I had taken some of his food and he was poking me with his chop sticks angrily.
I snort at the memory. "I remember that. In fact, I remember why we have this thing in the first place. We wanted him to remember us when he moved, so we all pitched in and made booklet for him and the class. Heh, I remember when he left, he cried like a baby. Before he left, I gave him my favorite pack of gum. I wanted him to remember me and it was the only thing I had that meant something to me. Damn, I hate that I can't remember his name…"
"His name is Ichigo Kurosaki, stupid!" Nel blurts out. I snap my head up at her and she covers her mouth.
"Nel, you idiot…" Harribel mumbles.
"W-Wait, that's Ichigo…Kurosaki? He went to Las Noches Middle School?! Why didn't you tell me!?" I exclaim.
"Well, he was the one that told us not to tell you…" Nel mumbles out.
"What? Why?"
"Well, he remembered all of us instantly when we got to high school and we remembered him too. For whatever reason, the only person who didn't remember was you. He thought it would mean more if you remembered on your own, but you never did so we told him we'd help you remember somehow. But you were taking forever to catch on even though it was soo obvious!"
"But that was so long ago! And he looks different!"
"So do we!" She argued back. She had a point.
"Now I feel like an ass for not remembering…" I grunt under my breath as I stare back at the picture of me and Ichigo.
"Well you should, it has been, like, five years…" Harribel adds.
"Then that settles it, I'll tell him I remember tomorrow."
XoXoXOXoXoX
After yesterday I had made up my mind that I would talk to Ichigo on the roof top. He seemed a bit surprised when I came up to him before class started and slammed my hand on the desk demanding he meet me on the roof top. He slowly nodded and I could tell he was nervous.
I would catch him fiddling with his pencil and picking at his nails before glancing at me. On the outside, I was calm and collected, but on the inside, I was losing my mind. I had so many questions. What if he was mad at me? What if he hated me? What if thinks I'm an asshole? Well, I am an asshole, but that's different.
Finally the bell rang and I waste no time grabbing his wrist and dragging him towards the roof, but not before I passed my group of friends.
"You go Tiger!" Nel screamed, receiving glances from other students in the hall.
"Grimmjow, why the hell are we going to the roof? It's freezing today!" I ignore him as continue to make fast strides to the roof. And once we get there, I waste no time kicking the door open. I drag him to the middle of the roof and grab both of his shoulders which seems to alarm him.
"Okay? You got me up here. Now what?" he asked.
"I remember you." I simply say. He stops chewing his gum for a moment and gapes at me.
"W-What did you say?" He questions. I grin and repeat my statement.
"I said I remember you. All of it. The class booklet, the arcade, the gum…everything." I tell him.
Ichigo continues to gape at me for a moment and then hangs his head down. He started to make some noise and my first thought was that he was crying and that was the last thing I wanted him to do. But then he suddenly whipped his head up and started laughing.
"Finally! It took you long enough! I had been waiting to hear you say that. For so long."
"Yeah, I just couldn't remember it. Maybe I had blocked it out or somethin', I don't know. But I remember you now." I say as I offer a smile. He smiles back and sits down on the cement. He motions for me to do the same and I do. We don't speak for a moment, but then he suddenly asks me a question.
"Hey, do you want some gum?"
"Sure." I take it without even looking at what flavor it is. I eat it and cringe at the fruity and sour taste.
"Oh God, it's so sour! How can you eat this shit?" I ask as I continue chewing. Then the gum suddenly gets sweet.
"Oh, it's not sour anymore…"
"Yeah, I didn't always like it. You used to always make me eat it with you and then you'd laugh at the faces I'd make while eating it. I used to hate it, but then it became the only thing I had to remember you by when I moved. I came to like this sour shit, as you call it." He said as he laughed.
"I thought it tasted familiar. I don't know what the hell I was thinking eating this shit. How come you remembered this out of all the things?" I questioned. He hummed to himself.
"Well, I knew you would remember that if I gave you some. And because the flavor reminded me of you."
"How so?" I ask awkwardly.
"It's sour then sweet. You could be an ass sometimes, like when you used take my lunches without asking me and then you'd combine our lunches so we could share. It was sweet. So, I kept on buying the gum and before you know it, I had an addiction."
"Dude, that's so cheesy! But, I like it…"
"But, I don't think we can be friends at this point…" he announces. I glare at him.
"Why the hell not?! I started to get to know you again and you go and say we can't be friends. Well, I want an answer!" He stands up and brushes off some of the dirt and looks at me.
"Well, I don't really see you like that anymore…I kind of, um…developed a crush on you and I know it wouldn't be the same. So…"
"So, you basically came up with this assumption by yourself?"
"Yeah. So, I guess we can't be friend now right?" he asked as he teared up.
"I guess so….because I wanna be a bit more than that." I say as I grin at him. He looks up at me and sways a bit before regaining his balance.
"R-Really? You didn't even think it over."
"So? I've come to like you these past couple of weeks, even without me knowing who you were. And now that I do know you, it's an even better reason for me to date you."
"Geez Grimm, your logic sucks but, I'm okay with your answer." He tells me as he face palms. He blows a bubble and it pops. He then licks off the remains.
"Oh that reminds me. I've been meaning to do something." I tell him. He raises an eyebrow.
"What?" He questions.
Before he has time to react, I kiss him. His lips were soft, warm, and everything I had been imagining it would be. Ichigo must have also found it enjoyable because his fingers were woven deeply into my hair and he moaned with each touch of our lips. He did groan when we pulled away which made me laugh.
"So glad I got that out of my system. So, you wanna go eat lunch now?" I asked him and Ichigo chuckles at that.
"What?" I ask him.
"I think lunch already came to us…" He says as he points to the door. I turn and see my friends in the doorway grinning like idiots, minus Ulquiorra, as they came out.
"Fucking…finally!" Nnoitra exclaims. Nel laughs and sits down on the ground, along with Harribel, Starrk and Ulquiorra.
"You assholes were eavesdropping?" I ask.
"Hell yeah. We couldn't miss the hook up of the year." Starrk jokes lightly. I snicker and pull Ichigo down to sit with me. Lunch goes over smoothly and we all end up talking about the short time we spent together.
"Hey, random question. Does anyone have any gum?" Nel asked. Ichigo and I both exchange looks. We snicker quietly as Ichigo pulls out the gum.
"I do, here."
"Thanks!"
We watch as she pops the gum into her mouth and she smiles as she does so. Soon her smile slowly morphs into that of horror and Ichigo and I laugh.
"Oh my God! What is this!? It's awful!" Everyone continues to laugh at Nel's misfortune and I stop and stare at Ichigo.
I figured that gum would only be special to the both of us. Like our own little memory.
I hope you guys enjoyed that. I was bored and this was the outcome of that. Thank you all for reading and please review. I also will get around to updating, just bear with me!