What ever makes you happy; Distance

'When the summer vacation ends…Then….Let's come and watch the red dragonflies again!' she wore her usual bright smile when she suggested it but I could see her try to hide her sorrow. I looked at her with worry. She was going far away. I knew she would be in danger and there was nothing I can do about it. Nothing I can do to help her. Nothing but sit and wait for her to come back.

That was weeks ago and still no word from her. It was as if she had left me behind knowing full well she wouldn't be returning. Looking back, I can't help but notice how fake her smile really was. It seemed so real, so full of life. I could tell that deep down you were trying to convince even yourself of your return.

I stood inside a convenient store by my house browsing the items looking for a snack. I had been eating those too much lately and it was starting to show. I'm not gaining weight or anything but my karate is starting to suffer. Actually it's been suffering since the last tournament when I broke my arm. Sensei is worried about me. I don't care though. I'm just trying to fill the emptiness within myself. The emptiness that cannot be filled as it seems to form a hole in my chest.

A flash of orange catches my eye as I look over. I get a quick look of someone with long orange hair before their out of sight. Was that? I walk out of the store in a hurry to get another glimpse of them before their gone. She was a couple stores away when I caught sight of her again. She stopped a moment to look in a store window showing enough of her face for me to recognize the features before she was off again.

I ran to catch up with her wanting to call out her name but words escaped me. I just ran to her. When I caught up to her I grabbed her upper arm and turn her around only managing to say, "Hey."

She turns and hits my hand away from her shoulder bringing her hand to a stop over her hairpin. She looks at me she's like ready to attack me. Her eyes are so different now. They're cold and emotionless instead of bright and full of life. "Orihime?"

Her eyes widen as if just realizing who was standing in front of her. She lowers her hand slowly as if still on guard. Her eyes lighten slightly but still hold their cool. "Tatsuki, sorry I didn't realize it was you. I thought you were someone else."

'Someone else', what did that mean? My eyes widen and I grab her shoulders. "Did someone hurt you? Are you okay?" I was frantic with worry. If anyone hurt her I would kick their ass.

She just smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine Tatsuki." She lied through her false kind eyes. "It's nothing to worry about."

I looked at her hurt from her lie. I want to say something about it but can't find the words. It's like a part of me wants to believe it. A part deep inside that wants to have complete faith in what she says no matter what. "Ah Tatsuki, your arm healed."

No matter how much she lied or how much she had changed in the past few weeks. Those words seemed full of life and happiness. I can't help but smile at her momentary return and the change of topic. "Yeah, well it took long enough. But I finally got the cast off a few days ago."

She takes a step back removing herself from my grasp. She looks away. It hurts to see her like this. I have to think of something to say. "So um Orihime, what are you doing around here?" How lame was that.

She lifted up a shopping bag. "I had to buy some groceries. Since all the food I had went bad I needed to restock." She offered another fake smile. My stomach growled at the mention of food. My face warmed up as a blush spread across my face. Her smile widened. "Do you want to come over for lunch?"

"Is it okay?" I asked to be polite, despite the fact that I wanted nothing more then to go and spend time with her no matter where we went. She nodded offering her bright happy smile. This one was real at least. She was happy to spend time with me. It made the emptiness that had been growing inside me these past few weeks close just a little bit. "Is there anything else you need to do?"

"No, it can wait until later. There's no rush." She smiled again. With each smile she starts to act like how she used to be. It brings a warm smile to my face as we head towards her apartment. "So how has your summer been so far, Tatsuki?"

"It's been a little slow. I couldn't do much with a broken arm." I shrugged. "What about you? How was your time at your grandmothers?"

"Oh, it was um," She placed a finger on her chin and thought about it for a moment before she turned and said. "Let's just say, it was very eventful!"

I chuckled at her response and expression even though I know she's hiding something. We continue on towards her apartment with bits of small talk. By the time we were at her door we had run out of things to talk about. She let's me in quietly and I make my way to her living room while she went to the kitchen to make some tea. I sat down at the floor table and stared at my hands awkwardly awaiting her return. It seemed to be normal for me to just sit there waiting for her to come back to me.

She returns with a couple of cups and a kettle full of tea. She poured me a cup with a smile. "What do you want to eat Tatsuki?"

"It doesn't matter as long as it's edible." I joke remembering her odd taste. She pouts at me and walks back to the kitchen to make something with god knew what in it. I shudder at the thought and decide to help out so I can persuade her into making actual food. If I couldn't it would at least be a bit easier to prepare myself for what was to come.

I enter the kitchen to see her standing in front of the sink gripping her arms tightly and crying while shaking uncontrollably. Before I could think about what I should do I was already by her side holding her tightly and stroking her hair. "Its okay Orihime, its okay. You're safe."

She buries her face in my chest and clutches my shirt. I can already feel her tears soak though my shirt. I repeat myself over and over again till the words no longer make sense to me. The longer she cries the tighter I hold her. Soon I have to stop speaking, the words have become so meaningless I can no longer speak them. I continue holding her close as I stroke her hair trying to ignore the stiffness in my recently healed arm. Finally her sobs slow and she lets out long choked breathes.

I stop stroking her hair and reach for a cup beside the sink and fill it half way with cool water. I offer her the drink. She takes it gratefully moving as little as possible to stay in my arms while she drinks the water greedily. I rub her back to prevent her from choking. She exhales deeply when she finishes, resting her head on my shoulder now. I take the cup and put it back on the counter and continue to rub her back. I want to ask her if she's okay but she's still shaking so I don't dare say anything or stop what I'm doing no matter how sore my arms get.

Her breathing has regulated significantly since her tears started. She was still shaking but that had calmed as well. It was no longer as violent but it still threatened another fit of tears. I can't say anything to her. She went through something horrible and I can't make her relive it. All I can do is hold her and hope she feels safe. I start to hum a song that I know she listens to when she's upset. She looks up at me and I meet her eyes. She offers her thanks with I smile. I just keep humming till I hit a certain part and sing: "I'll be there for you…"

"….These five words I swear to you." She smiles and reburies her head in my shoulder as I continue to hum the song until the end, but sing the last verse for her as well. I knew the song well after all it was me who introduced it to her. It had been around the time we first met. It warms my heart now to see that it has such a good affect on her. I remain silent for awhile as I hold her unsure if I should let go or continue comforting her. "Tatsuki," I respond with a hum. "Could you…"

"Again?" She buries her face in my shoulder even more and nods. I oblige immediately not wanting to disappoint her and to get her mind far from what was upsetting her. Halfway through she started humming along and moving back and forth in my arms in a slow dance. I smile knowing I had succeeded in cheering her up. I extended the song a bit and made a slight twist on the ending to get a laugh out of her. She giggled in my shoulder before leaving my grasp. Her eyes were red from crying but her expression was very happy and grateful like she wasn't even crying. It mended my aching heart.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that." She paused placing her hand on the wet spot on my shirt looking at it clearly upset that she had cried. Then her face warmed as she looked up at me and she said, "But I'm glad you're here. You're the only person that can always bring a smile to my face."

My chest tightens at her kind words and I can't help but smile as I wipe away the remainder of the tears that my shirt failed to catch. She giggled again as we lowered our heads. Our foreheads touch and she stops giggling and we looked into each others eyes. She leaned forward a bit. She was so close to me I could feel her breath on my lips. Is she about to?

My stomach growls and we pull back. Our faces are covered in a full blush. Were we about to? I avoid looking at her completely embarrassed.

"I uh," I start but can't finish. What the hell do I say to her? "Um I'm gonna go."

I ran out of her kitchen and to the front door. I barely got my shoes on before I was out the door. I collapsed against the outside of her door hating myself. What was I doing? I can't leave her right now, not after she broke down like that. She needs me right now more then ever and I just ran out on her. What the hell kind of friend am I to do that to her? But after what had just happened, or rather what almost happened between us. I took a moment of consideration, reflecting on it. That was definitely an intimate moment. How could that have even happened? But then, didn't I start it when I started humming? No, that's not what I meant by it at all, I was just trying to cheer her up.

I sighed looking over my shoulder at her door. Despite what just happened I couldn't just leave her all alone. I turn and open the door slowly trying not to make any noise. I let myself into her home quietly closing the door behind me and make my way to the kitchen but she's not there. I quicken my pace as I hurry to the living room. She's not there either. I go to her room and see her collapsed on her bed sobbing loudly. I knew it. I make my way over without a sound. I lean over and put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

She jumps away in surprise shaking uncontrollably. She was terrified. "What's happened Orihime? This isn't like you." Tears roll down my cheeks as I reach out to her. She backed away from my outstretched hand like I'm going to hurt her. "Orihime, it's me. It's Tatsuki. I'm your friend I won't hurt you. Not ever."

She can't comprehend my words. She manages to slide to the wall as she buries her face in her hands. I go to her side with my hands in view to try and calm her. She ignores my attempt and tries to bury her face even more. I drape my arm around her shoulder and start humming again. She looks over and offers a weak smile. "I thought you left. I thought you weren't going to come back. Then I remembered-"

"I did leave, but than I realized you need me more then ever right now so I came back." I smile at her. "You're my best friend Orihime. I'll always be right by your side when you need me."

She tries to return my smile but there is a slight awkwardness lingering in the air from before. "You're a really good person Tatsuki. I'm really glad we're friends," She chokes on a sob. "If you weren't by my side-" She's full on crying now making speech impossible.

I pull her closer to me and stay silent just letting her cry it out while I stroked her hair. She didn't have to finish the sentence. I knew what she was going to say. 'If you weren't by my side I don't know if I could have handled everything.' We had discussed the topic a long time ago but I could never get that fact out of my head. I closed my eyes and held her close as I rested my head on hers.

"It'll be okay." I let those meaningless words escape my mouth once again as she cries herself to sleep on my shoulder.

I sat there while she slept a very disturbed sleep. Nothing she muttered in her sleep was audible or understandable. I cried unable to contain the pain I felt from her distress. There is nothing I can do for her. All because I can't ask her what happened during her time away. All because I don't know if I can even handle it.

It's already been three days since Orihime's return and her constant breakdowns have subsided to occasional small outbursts of tears. We were almost always together now because I couldn't leave her alone for more then a few minutes knowing she could break down at any moment. She still hasn't told me what happened while she was at her grandmothers so I don't know what would trigger her memory. Though I know she will tell me what happened when she is ready to talk about it.

It was late in the evening and we were sitting at her floor table with nothing to talk about. Her face is pale and her eyes dark. She hasn't been sleeping well and I don't blame her. When she does sleep her dreams are plagued with nightmares and cold sweats. By the looks of it she may have given up on sleeping all together now. Soon she'll be collapsing at random. Her life will be controlled by her fear. I can't let her go on like this it needs stop. She needs to sleep and she needs to eat. Another thing she has given up on. Only eating one meal a day if you could even consider that a meal.

"Hey, Orihime," I look up from my hands. "Would it be alright if I spent the night tonight."

Her face twisted in horror at my question. She shakes her head lowering her gaze. "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't want you to see me like that."

I shake my head at her response. "Orihime, you misunderstood me. I wasn't asking. I told my mom this morning I would be spending the night. I even brought spare clothes." I look at her dead serious and crossing my arms. "If you don't want me to spend the night then you're gonna to have to physically throw me out. And I wont hold back either."

She looked at me horrified not knowing how to respond to my statement. I looked at her sternly to show her I was serious. Our eyes meet and her horror turns to fear. I relax my face and start to get up but my movement startles her even more so I sit down and drop my gaze. "I'm sorry, Orihime. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's okay Tatsuki, I'm fine." She forced a kind smile. "You don't have to worry about me. And to be honest, I'm more worried about you."

"What?" I slam my hand on the table pushing myself up so I'm on my knees. "Have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately? You haven't had a proper meal since you got back and I know your not sleeping." I'm practically yelling at her. "I know I may be getting pretty bad too. But I'm a lot better off then you are right now."

All of her own sorrow is forgotten as she looks at me with an aggressive stare like she's actually willing to physically throw me out. But all she does is say, "You don't understand."

"Damn right I don't. I don't even know what happened or where you even went. I know you weren't at your grandmothers so don't try to stick to that story. I want the truth for once Orihime."

She shook her head making my anger rise. "That's not what I meant at all. Even though I haven't told you everything I have a very good reason not to. You're carrying too much right now." She paused looking at me sincerely with a hint of sorrow. "You're carrying more then I am. You spent a month worried about me and with your broken arm you couldn't practice karate to help get your mind off things. Now your arm has healed so you can practice karate again, but I came back. I came back like this so now you're neglecting everything else to take care of me but in doing so you're also carrying my problems. Although I appreciate your kindness it's too much for you to handle. Maybe you're right I haven't looked in a mirror lately. Maybe I look worse then you do. But I'm only carrying my own problems while you're carrying both of our problems. It isn't right Tatsuki. No one should have to carry that."

I sank back to the floor as everything sank in. I hadn't even realized it. I was so caught up in getting her back to normal that I hadn't even realized my own problems. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I clasped my hand on my mouth to stifle my own sobs. She comes to my side and rubs my back I don't dare try to hold her or ask for her embrace. We've avoided close contact since that time, only allowing what was necessary.

"I'm sorry Tatsuki, but you should go home." I avoided her eyes, another thing we started doing. "Tomorrow I want you to go to the dojo. I'm sure everyone there is worried about you. And if it puts your mind at ease I'll go watch you."

"HYAAA!" I let out a ferocious cry as I swung my leg out striking my opponent with enough force to make an impact but not enough to cause injury. He went to the ground with a thud and Sensei raised his left arm announcing my victory. I straighten up and bow before heading to the side of the dojo.

"Tatsuki, you were great!" Orihime called cheerfully running to meet me. She offered me a towel and my water bottle. I gratefully accept both with exhausted thanks. She smiles her brightest smile while her hands linger behind her making some of the newer and less knowledgeable members of the dojo stare. She looks so bright and cheerful like she doesn't have a care in the world.

"Hey Tatsuki," I turn to see Sensei walking over to us. "It's good to have you back."

"Thant you, Sensei," I bow. "It's good to be back."

He bows back. "You should bring your friend next time. You know the one with the orange hair. She always brightens this place up."

"Huh?" I turn to look at Orihime but she isn't there. "What?"

The dojo fades away into nothing. Everything is dark. "Orihime!" I shout. No response. "ORIHIME!" I scream louder this time. I hear a scream in the distance and run towards it. It was definitely female. It's definitely Orihime screaming.

I run forever never getting any closer to the screaming. I call out to her again. Her screams are getting louder as I start to make something out. I call out frantically trying to get her attention. Trying to let her know I'm here. She doesn't notice and keeps screaming.

Finally I'm close enough to her that I don't have to yell for her to hear me. "Orihi-"

I'm cut off as something massive hits me making me go flying. Something I can't see. Something that lets out a terrible howl that sends fear throughout my body. I land on my back and immediately feel something apply pressure on my body, crushing everything except knee down and shoulders up. My breath comes out jagged as I struggle to free myself from whatever has me pinned down.

A tiny orb of light flashes across my vision and the pressure is released with another bone chilling howl. I sit up instantly and push myself away. The tiny light is flying around where I just was like it was fighting whatever's there. There is another howl and the light flies away. I follow it with my eyes as it goes to Orihime and disappears. I struggle to my feet and run over to her.

She looks over at me with a cold glare. Like I'm stranger that's threatening her. I stop in my tracks as she raises her hand allowing it to hover over her hair pin. "Orihime?"

"Koten Zanshun, I reject." She says bitterly as a piece of her hair pin breaks off turning into a small light. It shoots towards me then through my chest. I fall back watching my blood mark a trail as I fall. I don't hit the ground. The ground no longer exists just like Orihime no longer exists. Both are but a fragment of memory made real by my desire for them. As this realization dawns on me both had disappeared.

Orihime had never come back. Not fully. A part of her stayed at wherever she disappeared to. It was no longer her. It was just a shadow of her former self brought on by my loneliness. She was gone and she was never coming back. Her shadow's eyes told me that whenever I looked at them.

I awoke in my bed at home covered in cold sweat and with a throbbing pain in my chest. It was a struggle just to breath. My whole body ached as I tried to sit up. It was only 1 in the morning. I let out a jagged sigh as I try to remember my dream. 'Koten Zanshun, I reject'

My eyes widen as I hunch over clutching my chest coughing in pain. What was that dream? That wasn't Orihime, it couldn't be. She would never do something like that. Had Orihime really returned or was that all a figment of my imagination brought on my own loneliness. No, she's here she has to be here. I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't back.

I get off my bed in a hurry and get dressed. I have to make sure she's home. I have to make sure she's still the same person.

Quietly, I sneak out my house and make my way to her house. My fear grows with each and every step I take. Haunting me to the very end as my mind relives the dream. Each time the light goes through me I quicken my pace and try to ignore the following pain in my chest. It's not long before I'm sprinting.

When I finally get to her street I'm out of breath and have a strong taste of blood in my mouth. I slow my pace to a walk unable to run any longer. My knees shake as much as my breathing does as I stumble towards her apartment.

I'm close enough now to see a light on. Relief rushes through me as I wonder if she's still awake. I pull out my phone not wanting to knock on her door incase she is trying to sleep. I find her under my contacts and message her. *Hey* is all I write as I continue on.

I'm at the stairs when I get a reply. *Can't sleep?*

*No, you?*

*No, are you okay?*

*I'm outside.* I write as I reach her door. I can hear her response to my email through the door. She's doing something frantically inside. Had she broke down again? The thought makes my heart sink.

When she opens the door I can see that her face has become even paler. Though the cause of that may just be because it's 1:30 in the morning and I showed up on her front door but I know it's more then that. Thankfully though, there are no signs of tears in her eyes. I feel relieved. She is the first to speak, "Tatsuki, why are-"

I cut her off by practically leaping into her arms. She steps back and almost falls over but manages to catch her balance somehow. She does nothing more then let her arms gently wrap around me as I cry on her shoulder. I'm grateful for her lack of comfort. As long as she's here it doesn't matter.

"I'm so glad your back, Orihime." I sobbed. "I couldn't stand it when you were away."

Her grip tightened at my words and I felt my chest tighten. Why does this keep happening? Why does it hurt so much? "Tatsuki?" She asks with a quiver in her voice. "Are you okay?"

I nod and straighten myself up. I catch a glimpse of her eyes and stop. I had never noticed that there was so much depth in her pupils that it was so easy to get lost in them. I have no idea how long I was standing there just looking at her grey eyes. "Um, Tatsuki what's wrong?"

I snap out of it and let go of her taking a step back. "Sorry. I'm fine now." I avoid her eyes. "Um, are you up for a walk?"

She smiles wearily like she could break at any second. I immediately regret asking now. With her in the condition she's in it would put her under too much strain. "Sure I don't mind." She says brightly and completely oblivious to her health. "I could use a change of scenery anyways."

"You don't have to force yourself if you're not up to it." I say quickly now trying to talk her out of pushing herself too hard.

"Its okay, Tatsuki I know you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me." She pauses for a moment taking in my reaction. "I'll be ready in a minute. You can come in if you want."

I shake my head not wanting to be too close to her at the moment. "I'll wait out here for you."

She nods understandingly and goes inside to get ready. I let out a sigh as I collapse on the wall by her door. What is wrong with me? This isn't right I shouldn't be in so much pain. How can this have so much of an effect on me? I hope all of this blows over soon. I can't stand any of it. It's all just too much.

A moment later she comes out in a change of clothes. She looks a little bit better then she had when first came out. "Are you ready?"

I nod unable to say anything or look her in the eye. We walk down the stairs not saying anything or really deciding where to go we just walked and occasionally turned down a street until we got to a park and decided to just stay there. We sat quietly on a bench.

I was staring up at the stars oblivious to anything she was doing. I could barely even look at her it caused me so much pain. It was as if my dream held true. That she was just a fragment of my memory that was trying to keep my loneliness at bay even if that itself caused me pain as well. Though, it would be much worse if she hadn't returned. But either way it would hurt.

"I honestly don't know what to do anymore," I say not looking down from the sky. "I don't even know what is real or not anymore." A single tear rolls down my cheek. I can feel her hand on my cheek to wipe it away. "I need to know, Orihime." I pause looking down to her. "How much of this is real?"

I regret looking down now because she smiles and says, "I don't know if everything you're going through is real or not." She pauses. "But, I'm here. I'm right beside you. This place is real, our conversation is real. But unfortunately and fortunately our problems are real too."

"What do you mean 'unfortunately and fortunately'?" I ask bewildered that she could be grateful for any of this.

"Well," she starts than pauses a moment to make sure what she is about to say is right. "It's unfortunate because it is a terrible burden that we have to carry and it's having such a horrible effect on both of us." She pauses again letting her words sink in. "But it's fortunate because we have each other's company and help through this. I just know our bond is only going to get stronger through all this. I can already feel that we are a lot closer from this."

I become lost once again in her eyes as I feel an arrow go through my heart. All I want to do now is embrace her and kiss her as passionately as possible. I don't even blink at the thought. It seems so obvious now that it makes me feel like an idiot for not noticing before. I am completely lost in her eyes that I can't even move nor do I notice the tears rolling down my cheeks. That is until she smiles and wipes them away.

I snap out of it and look away now confused about my own feelings. But I know if I look at her now I don't know what will happen or if I could even control myself so I return me gaze to the stars and realize it's like looking into depths of her eyes. I shake my head to try and clear my thoughts as I look at the ground instead.

Suddenly I remember the dream I had. Recalling the light Orihime shot through my chest. Was that dream metaphorically trying to tell me Orihime had taken my heart and was trying to bring me back from my darkness with that small light? Thinking about it, it did make sense:

Orihime had disappeared and it had sent me into darkness. Her disappearance had crushed me. When she returned there was a small glimmer of hope that fought off my depression which threatened to crush me. And through all this she managed to claim my heart with the same tiny light that had saved me from my depression. How could I not see this before?

"Tatsuki, are you alright you've been pretty quiet lately." She asked concerned.

I looked at her though still avoiding her eyes. I smile brightly and say, "I feel better then ever right now."

She smiles back at me. When was the last time we both shared a real smile? "I'm glad, you seem a lot happier now too."

She has no idea how true that is. With this new understanding of my feelings everything seems so much lighter now. My smile widens as I stand up and stretch. "Shall we go? It's getting pretty late."

Orihime chuckled a bit. I look over at her confused. "It was pretty late when you came over. Now it's really late." I tried to hide my blush as she stood up with a smile. "Shall we?"

We walked back to her place with a bit more conversation then before and it went a lot faster. Before I knew it we were in front or her apartment. I didn't want to go home just yet so I walked her to her door. "Well," I said a bit downcast. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiles as I turn to leave. "Tatsuki," She stops me. I turn to look at her. "You can stay if you want."

"Are you sure?" I ask surprised. Does she know I want to stay by her side?

She nods with a happy smile. "Besides I probably won't be able sleep otherwise."

"Yeah," I frown trying to be convincing so I don't seem too eager. "Well, if it will help you sleep then its fine."

"Come on. I'll lend you something to sleep in."

"Tatsuki," a soft angelic voice called out to me stirring me from my peaceful rest. "Hey Tatsuki, come on wake up."

I opened my eyes unwillingly. Light poured into my vision making me close my eyes and drift back to my previous calm. Something started shaking my arm. I rolled over in retaliation not wanting to be disturbed any further. "Tatsuki, your mom is on the phone. She wants to talk to you and she seems pretty upset."

I wave off the meaningless words and drift further into my sleep. I dream of nothing. But that nothing is bliss. It's free of worry, pain, complications, and consequence. The voice stopped and went away leaving me at peace.

My peace was complete as I lost awareness of what is around me. It felt as though my body, no, my entire existence was floating in a vast ocean with nothing around to disturb me. It was such a nice feeling until the back of my neck started to freeze.

The cold crept down my spine. I arched my back to avoid its icy touch but to no avail. My eyes shot open and I leapt up with a yelp. The cold feeling slid down my back and landed on the ground with a thud. I looked over at it. It was an icepack. My eyes dragged upwards to the culprit who robbed me of my bliss.

Orihime sat a few feet away trying to stifle a giggle. "You are so dead." I mutter with a bit too much harshness. She looks up still unable to control her laughter. "You think this is funny?"

I pick up the icepack and advance on her as she burst in to a laughing fit. She doesn't try to run and can barely resist as I vengefully shove the ice pack down her shirt. She yelps out arching her back making her fall into me I pull her down and roll her over so her back is now pressed on the icepack freezing her.

We are both laughing hysterically as I collapse my arms laying half my body on her. My head rested on her shoulder. Our laughter slowed as we panted to catch our breath she says, "Your mom is on the phone. She's pretty upset."

"And you wait till now to tell me?" I got up and ran to the kitchen phone. It was lying on the table I pick it up and press it to my ear. "Hello, mom you still there?"

"It's about time you got up!" She was frantic. "Where did you go at six in the morning?"

"Sorry I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake anyone so I went for a walk." I said making up excuses as I went.

"You could have left a note or something at least telling us where you went. Your father is worried sick about you. And if you went for a walk how come you're at Orihime's?"

"Because I got an email from her asking if I wanted to hang out today so we met up." I hoped she would buy it.

"Well we are going to have a serious talk when you get home. It may be summer break but that doesn't mean you're free to do as you please." She shouted. "Be home for supper or you can say goodbye to the rest of your break."

She hung up leaving me standing there like an idiot. I heard a stifled giggle behind me before my shirt was pulled back and the ice pack was once again shoved down my shirt. I yelped and quickly turned sending the icepack flying away. She bursts into another fit of laughter.

Any anger I held towards her from her little 'joke' was soon forgotten at the site of her laughing in high spirits. I join in on her laughter. If I knew before that all it would take to stop her from crying was an icepack I would have let her do that sooner.

We stopped laughing when we were no longer able to breath. By that time we were on the ground holding our sides to try and ease the cramps. "How'd you sleep?" I asked through panted breaths.

She smiles and says; "Better then I have in weeks."

"That's good," My breathing has regulated making it easier to talk. "I'm glad I was able to help you, even if it ment my back freezing."

She became quiet and looked at the ground. "Tatsuki, I'm sorry about the way I've been acting the past few days. But I'm really grateful you were here for me through it. I feel a lot better now. I would never be able to smile the way I do if it weren't for you." She looked up at me and smiled beautifully. "So thank you, Tatsuki."

I melted under her words and felt my face heat up. I know she can see my blush but I do nothing to hide it as I became once again lost in her eyes. Her beautifully deep grey eyes that seem as though they carry all the life in the world, if she were to close her eyes my whole world would be dark.

-End-