This is my first fanfiction, so please help me by leaving suggestions for improvement :). I use characters from Bleach, and characters of my own creation (Natsumi is my OC, for example). Please read and review, thank you! :). I hope you enjoy.


I was alone. Ever since I lost my mom all those years ago, no one has even tried to make friends with me. Something about losing a parent scares kids away. Even to this day, kids make sure that they stay away from me. I guess my appearance doesn't help either. I have bright blue hair that I keep long. I have pierced ears, and I generally wear darker clothing. Like, Hot Topic type of clothing with combat boots. I feel that only those bands understand me. No one else does. They're idiots, all of them. They don't know my pain. They don't know my story. They don't know me. No one will ever know me.

-Ichigo-

I sigh, a headache blooming. AP can really push you to the limits. And just my luck, I somehow ended up signing up for four AP classes: AP Language and Composition, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, and AP European History. What was I thinking? Academic suicide, that's what. Due to my classes and workload, I didn't have a lot of time for socializing. Luckily, my friends completely understood and even helped me with my homework. Especially my friends Orihime and Natsumi. I had them both in APES, AP Bio, and AP Lang. I look down at my homework. Yep. I was stuck. Pre-Calculus sucks. Because I was sick the day before, I missed one lesson. Maybe I should head over to Natsumi's. She's a freaky genius. Maybe it had to do with music. According to most studies, music and math were directly related. And low and behold, she was musically talented. Whatever. I pack up my homework, and I headed downstairs.

"Yuzu! Dad! I'm heading to Natsu's for help in Pre-Cal!" I manage to yell out before I head out the door. I walked to the park and I had to stop. One of my backpack straps got messed up, so I stopped to fix it. I didn't realize that I wasn't alone.

-Grimmjow-

I sit in my usual spot in the park, not wanting to go home. My dad was most likely sitting on the couch, getting drunk. That's all he ever damn does. Ever since my mom died, he drank himself stupid. To forget everything. Even his son. Who is the only piece of his wife that he has left. I sigh, adjusting my music so that I can forget the tears that I know to come. I look around the park, and my eyes land on a boy. Holy crap. That was the brightest orange hair that I have ever spiky hairstyle suited him. The boy was shorter than my 6'1" height. He had to be about...5'9". He was fiddling with his backpack straps. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. It was...kinda cute. I stand up, putting my earbuds down. I walk over to the boy.

"Need a hand?" I found myself asking him. He looks up, startled.

-Ichigo-

"Need a hand?" Someone asked me. I look up, startled. I didn't know that someone else was in the park with me. I look up to see the most handsome boy that I have ever seen. Bright blue hair, beautiful cerulean eyes...a muscular body. Holy shit. I blink, then use my words.

"I-I got it. Thanks though." I smile kindly.

"Alright. Hey...aren't you in my Government class?" He asks me. Then it comes to me. I do know him. Grimmjow, I believe his name was.

"Yeah. Grimmjow, right?" I ask

"Yep. Don't wear it out." I laugh a little.

"I'm Ichigo, by the way."

Ichigo. That was his name.

"Nice to meet ya. Officially." I chuckle.

"Nice to meet you too." He smiles, and slings his backpack over his shoulder.

"I have to go. Pre-Calculus tutorial." He shrugs and looks at me apologetically.

"You mean to tell me that Mr. Brains goes to tutorial? Someone call the press." I tease him. My joke works. He laughs. Oh my god. That had to be the most beautiful laugh that I have ever heard. I feel an invisible flush creep onto my face.

¨See you at school?¨ I ask him. He nods. I wave a little and walk away, back towards my spot.

-Ichigo-

I was a little sad to see him go. But. I did have tutorial to go to. I walk to Natsu's house. I walk in to see her cooking. There was a strange man in the house. He was standing next to her, watching her. His focus shifts to me. His eyes narrow at me, like I was a threat. He was about 5'6, with snow white skin, raven colored hair, and emerald eyes. I stand there awkwardly. I felt that I was intruding on their little moment.

"W-want me to come back later, Natsu?" I ask her. She turns to look at me, her brown hair framing her face. Her brown eyes stare kindly back at me. The man glares at me, and he wraps an arm around Natsu's waist. The message was clear: she's mine. I raise an eyebrow.

"It's fine, Ichi. Pre-Cal tutorial, or were you starting to miss me?" She winks and turns to the man.

"Ulquiorra. It's okay, he's a friend." She kisses his cheek. "I tutor him." He relaxes. He takes a bowl of food.

"Eat with me?" He asks...looking at her like a puppy looks at his master. With loving eyes. She nods.

"Ichigo, why don't you take a break for food? I can tell that you've been stressing." Before I can protest, she hands a bowl of food to me, gets one for herself, and goes to Ulquiorra. I didn't know she was dating anybody. That made me feel...alone. Even Natsu, the class genius along with Uryu, has a lover. Why ,then, can't I find someone? I sigh and go to eat in another room. Being the third wheel is awkward. I can speak from experience.

What the hell? Did I actually flirt with him? Great. If word gets out that I swing that way...then I'm done. But he was so cute….and he was so nice and smart...I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. What was I thinking? If I was gay...then I really would be dead. When my deadbeat dad wasn't drunk off his ass, he was a man's man. He was a nut for finding a beautiful woman, settling down, the whole fucking package. I sigh and stand. Time to head to hell.

"Okay. So you're stuck on probability?" She asks, pulling out her homework. Already done, of course.

"Yeah…" I blush a little.

"Okay. Probability is the number of favorable outcomes over the number of total outcomes. Basically, the odds of something you want happening." She says calmly, just like a teacher. I nod slowly.

"I just don't get the whole thing. The math." I groan, rubbing my temples. She nods.

"Chill out Einstein." She says, putting my hands down. She looks at the first problem and smiles.

"Okay. This is simple. I have a deck of cards. In a deck, there's 52 cards. There are Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Clovers. Okay?"

I nod, feeling stupid.

"Now. There are 3 face cards per 'house'. A King, Queen, and Jack. So. The question is asking you what is the probability is of getting a King." She writes down "4/52." Wait, what?

"There are four kings in a deck of cards." She explains, as if sensing my confusion. "Reduce...and you'll get 1/13. Basically, you'll have a 1/13 chance of finding your king." She winks and helps me with the rest of the problems. Then she goes back to her boyfriend. I said goodbye and I left. The last thing I heard her say is "Ulquiorra, you're my King." She was probably joking about the math problems, but who knows. She found her King...why couldn't I find my own Queen?

-Grimmjow-

"Where the hell have you been?!" My father throws a bottle at me. I duck my head, missing it.

"Why the hell do you care?! Lazy ass drunk!" I shout back at him and rush to my room, slamming the door shut and locking it. I fall onto the bed, groaning. I hate being here. Beer bottles all over the place, relying on welfare and unemployment, and having to keep myself quiet. I basically did everything in the house. It's a sorry excuse for a life. I just want to lash out...and my dad would be the first to feel my rage at the world. I picture how I would do it. I would come home from school, a knife in my boot. My dad would be asleep, from his afternoon liquor date. Vulnerable. Perfect. I would pull the knife from my boot, the blade would glisten in the soft light from the window. There would be a rush, and then the knife will meet his flesh. Squish. Swish. Squish. Over and over and over until I was satisfied. His blood would gush out of his body like a waterfall. I would feel the life leaving him, hear his dying breath...I snap out of it. What was I thinking? I sigh. I need someone. Someone who would listen to me, just plain be my friend. Or...lover. I need love from someone. It's tough, knowing that the last person who loved you is six feet under.

-Ichigo-

I end up in the park again. I missed my mom more than ever. I knew that if she was here, then everything would be okay. She wouldn't pressure me to be this human computer. She would help Yuzu with housework, help Karin with her boy troubles. Most of all, my dad would be at peace. Tears spring in my eyes and I quickly wipe them away. Ever since my mom's death, I have never cried. Not even in private. I hate feeling weak. But...I want to be weak for one. A quote that I read comes to mind. "I cry not because I am weak, but because I have been strong for too long." That quote really hits home for me. No one is really there for me. Although Natsu is my best friend, it's still not enough. I want love. Yes, I know I'm selfish. But I'm tired of being alone. I want some light in this dark tunnel of life. No, dark tunnel of my life. I want the light of my life…

-Grimmjow-

School. My only escape. I would never say this out loud, but I love school. The way some teachers really cared about their students...and books. I loved books. The classics had to be my favorite. So, when I didn't want to go home, I would go to the library. The librarians didn't mind my punk appearance. They even let me watch movies on the computers, which is a huge no no at my school, since some idiots decided to watch porn on the computers. Seriously? Why at school? Idiots. Anyway, I'm there after school on Monday. I decide to get one of The Mortal Instruments books, the one where Alec admits to being with Magnus Bane. I feel like I can relate to that...for whatever reason. While I read, I imagined that I would be Alec...and Ichigo would be Magnus. Wait what?! I snap out of my trance. And who do I see? Freaking Ichigo, textbooks around him. Just freaking great. The last person that I want to see right now. But...he is right there. I set my book down and walk over to him.

-Ichigo-

"Need some help?"

I jump, not expecting anyone to disturb me. I look up to see Grimmjow. Wait. What was he doing here? He didn't strike me as the book type. I blink then answer him.

"I think I'm okay, thanks." I smile appreciatively. I close my book, in desperate need of a break. If there was a class that can be very strongly described as boring, Government would be the winner of that. Who cares about this politics stuff? A lot of kids sure don't, myself included. The things that bug me the most are the laws that control us. He sits next to me.

"Do you ever get a break?" He asks me, studying my features carefully.

"What's a break? I have four AP classes. There is no break." I respond. He blinks at me, stunned.

"What are you trying to do? Fry your brain to the point of no return?" He laughs a little. I blush a little. My God, that laugh was the absolute...cutest. It didn't suit him...but yet it fit him perfectly. Wait. What was I thinking? I couldn't be...no. I wasn't.

"Well, maybe." I wink at him. I swear to this day that he blushed.

"Oh shut up Kurosaki."

And we talked and talked. Finally, I had to go home. Dinner would be happening soon.

"Hey, I got to go, Grimmjow. See you tomorrow?" I ask him, slightly sad that I have to leave him. He nods in response.

"See ya." He stands and goes back to his computer, which was paused on a movie. Lucky. Even I can't watch a movie on those things. The librarians are hawks, always watching us. They must like him. So, I wave goodbye and walk out of the library.

-Grimmjow-

I couldn't believe it. I actually managed to have a conversation with him. Best of all, I actually didn't make myself look like an idiot. The gods must be looking down at me or something. I was actually sad to see him go. I quit out of the computer and begin heading home with a pretty nice skip to my step. What the hell was wrong with me? I go back to the park where we met for the first time. I sit down on my favorite bench and just...sit, thinking. I find my thoughts drifting to Ichigo, and how adorable he was. The way he talked to you and that contagious smile. And just...his intelligence. He was the only person that I could really talk to. In that short conversation, I felt closer to him than with anybody. That felt...good.

-Ichigo-

Wow. Grimmjow really deceives appearances. I avoided him before because he looked like a bully. But now I know the truth. He was one of the nicest guys that you could ever hope to know. And he was very intelligent too. I could actually...be myself around him. At the thought of seeing him tomorrow...actually excited me. My heart did a somersault at the thought of seeing him smile, and those oh so gorgeous eyes. Those eyes had to be the most gorgeous cerulean eyes known to man. And in those eyes...I could see the real him.

-Grimmjow-

I walk home to see that my father is gone. Thank God. Now I can finally clean the freaking house. I get sick at the sight of those goddamn beer bottles. So, I put my music on and go inside, immediately beginning to clean. Over the years, I learned how to quickly clean enough so my dad wouldn't get pissed off. By the time that he got home, the house was pretty much clean. All that was left was dishes, which I saved for last due to the sheer amount. I was in the bathroom when I heard the front door slam open. I felt my heart sink into my stomach.

"Why is this house always such a mess?! These damn dishes aren't done!" Wow. Drunk already. It's not even five. New record. I lock the bathroom door, and hide. I"m scared of my dad. I just want my old dad back. The one who smiled, and made everything feel okay. But most of all...I wanted my mother back. I close my eyes and hide, ready to weather the storm.

-Ichigo-

I arrive home to a busy house. Yuzu was cooking dinner, Karin was sprawled on the couch in her PE uniform. I didn't spot Dad, he must be at the hospital.

"Ichigo! Dinner will be ready in about 20 minutes!" Yuzu yells at me. I nod and ruffle her hair, going to my room to finish up my homework. I was supposed to finish it in the library, but then Grimmjow came. Once again, I find myself thinking of him. He seemed really alone. I recall his face when I started talking to him. He seemed genuinely surprised that I wanted to talk to him. Other kids pushed him away and called him a freak. I decided to act on that whim. I was going to become his first friend. And maybe...something more.

-Grimmjow-

The next morning, I was sitting in my Government class. I wasn't paying much attention. It hurt to look up. My old man got me good in the head. Son of a bitch, it hurt. The light hurts. Finally, I will myself to look up at the teacher.

"Okay, everyone. For this unit, I have decided to not give you guys a test." Everyone burst into cheers, much to my annoyance. The pounding in my head got ten times worse. "But. You will be assigned a project, which will count as your test." They all groan.

"Do we get to pick our partners?" One girl asked.

"I have assigned them to you." Miss "Oh-Superior-One" answered her. God, was she always so annoying? No wonder why I always fall asleep. She began to list the partners that she selected. Finally, she got to me.

"Mr. Jeagerjaquez, you will work with Mr. Kurosaki." No way. There was no way. I feel all the kids' eyes give me envious glares. He glances over at me and offers me a friendly smile. I pray to God that I don't blush, and wave back. Was today my lucky day? Or my birthday? Now was my chance...to be close to him.

-Ichigo-

Yes! This was going to be my chance. After the bell rings, I stay behind so I can talk to Grimmjow.

"Hey. Guess we're partners?" I chuckle and smile. He looks up at me and returns the smile.

"I guess so." He chuckles.

"So...meet up after school?" I ask him, and he nods.

"See ya after school."

-Grimmjow-

I go to my baby (a blue '67 Chevy Impala. Dad let me take the car today), and wait for Ichigo. Being the idiot that I am, I forgot to tell him in the parking lot. A million thoughts were racing in my mind. Would I be able to control myself around him? I mean...I actually sat and thought about it. I came to terms of what was causing me so much angst. My feelings for Ichigo…really were romantic after all. Guess what I'm gay! I feel that irritating blush come back onto my face. I cleared it quickly and got lost in my thoughts. Would he feel the same for me? Does he honestly see something in me, the punk loser? I feel a tap on my shoulder and I jump a little, not expecting anyone to come up to me. It was Ichigo, his glasses pushed to the bridge of his nose.

-Ichigo-

Just my luck. My contacts were annoying me, and I had to take them out. I hate how I look with glasses on. Praying that no one would say anything, I practically dash out of Pre-Cal, to the parking lot. I spot Grimmjow leaning against his car, a 1967 Chevy Impala. Sweet ride. He was daydreaming, so I tapped his shoulder. He jumped and I laughed.

"Welcome back, partner." I wink at him, feeling just a tad...flirty.

"Oh shut up." He growls at me, blushing from embarrassment. "So where do you want to go?"

"My house. We'll need internet. A GOOD internet connection. The one here sucks."

"Good point." He nods and unlocks the car. He opens the door for me, which I had to admit was a tad unusual. I shrug it off and go in.

"Thanks." I say and he nods, shutting my door. He jogs to the driver's side and I see his ass in the mirror. Holy shit. Wait. What the hell was I doing? I blush and hope that he didn't notice. He slides into the driver's seat.

"Give me directions, yeah?" He asks, putting his seatbelt on. I realize that I should too.

"Yeah." I nod, putting on my seatbelt. He starts the car, and I give him directions to my house.

-Grimmjow-

Should've known that he lived in the nice part of town. Nice houses, nice feel to the place. I park in his driveway, and I can practically feel all the envious glares at me. I smirk and go to the passenger door, opening it for Ichigo. Had to admit, smart move on my part. I saw how he was checking me out in the mirror, and knew that I had a better probability of him liking me. I hated probability. The odds are always against you. But when it's in your favor...it was beautiful. I was the King in the deck of cards that can't be used. In Solitaire, red kings can't go with a red queen. That's how I view the whole world. I am the red king, desperately looking for the black queen to complete him. He gracefully gets out of the car. He nods in thanks to me, and jogs to his front door, messing with his key. Finally, he gets the door open. He had a nice place, I had to admit it. A decent sized living room, leather couches. Then I notice the giant poster of a woman that I assumed to be his mother. That was...unusual. Nice kitchen, and a nice space to live in. There was a staircase that I assumed that lead to the bedrooms. I brilliantly notice that we're alone.

"My dad's at work, and my sisters are off with friends. The computer is in my room...follow me." He gestures to the stairs and goes upstairs. I follow him into his room. It was a nice little room. Giant ass bookcase stuffed to the brim with books, a nice bed, and a medium sized desk with a nice laptop and printer. There were posters of bands, much to my surprise. Secondhand Serenade, Avenged Sevenfold, Escape the Fate...basically all of my favorite bands (minus Metallica).

"Dude, nice room." I get comfy on his bed, and pull out our textbook.

"Okay...what's our project again?"

"We have to explain the three branches of the government. Executive, Judicial, and Legislative." He says, beginning to pull up Prezi on his laptop.

"What a bore." I pretend to snore. He laughs, which is the most goddamn cutest thing ever.

"Tell me about it." He says, browsing through the different themes. "Hey Grimmjow? Come help me pick one out?" I go over to him. Now, we were a hair's length away from each other. His scent...was so clean. He smelled like paper and soap, and it just...suited him. Wait, was that strawberry too? I blush a little and turn back to the screen. They were all crappy. I point to one in the corner, and turn to face him. "That one would work." He turns to me, so we were facing each other. We were now just inches-no. Millimeters away. He turns bright red and looks to his screen.

"Y-yeah." He agrees with me, still bright red. I decided to make a bold move. I placed my hand over his.

-Ichigo-

This was not happening. THIS WAS NOT HAPPENING. He laid his hand over mine. He had warm, strong hands. They were a bit rough...but my god I loved those hands. I felt...safe. I couldn't find the will to move my hand away…

-Grimmjow-

He didn't move his hand away. Taking another chance, I slowly lean forward…

-Ichigo-

He leaned forward, his eyes closing. I knew what he wanted...So I decided…