So this is my first Bleach fanfic, and only my second fanfic on this account, so be nice. AU: Society, shinigami and hollow are non-existent, buuuut they might make a cameo. Confused? Perfect.

I will try to keep characters as OC as possible, however, I will tweak something's to make it believable. I have a plot for this, guys. I will not be making Ulquiorra all warm and fuzzy (IF he does pop up somewhere along the way) so don't expect me to. IchiHime will be main pairing and protagonists, but since in third person/god's eye, I will also be expanding on other… relationships and situations as I see fit. This was half of one chapter originally, but I thought 3,000+ was enough for the first chapter, so I have the second chapter in progress. Feedback is appreciated!

I do not own Bleach, or the image I have used as my cover, all credit goes to they're creators.

"–up to my desk and line up neatly and I will give you your timetable for this year. If you have a blank in your timetable, you need to go straight to the office after receiving your timetable, or else, go straight to your first classes of the year…"

Just go away. Tap, tap, tap.

"–this year will be a very important year for you all, make sure you get all homework and assignments in on time…"

Ugh, stop reminding me, I already know. Tap, tap, tap, tap.

"–notices later on next week for those students wanting to participate in the annual Children's Hospital fundraiser…"

An auburn head perked up, rising slightly, before falling back down. She gnawed on her lip until it bled, but she barely noticed. It would appear she was only concentrating on the rhythmic tapping as her eyes were glued to the spot, unblinking. But a thousand things were running through her mind in that instance as she listened intently for anything of interest, not even acknowledging the growing frustration on the face around her.

That would be a great distraction from you; I think I'll go check the notice board for any other activities I can sign up to again this year. Anything to keep myself busy, so I don't have to face reality. Shut up, I know, okay! I have until the year ends, anyway, so just leave me alone. Tap, tap, tap–

"ORIHIME INOUE, STOP THAT ANNOYING TAPPING NOW!" an annoyed shriek came from the front of the grey cubed classroom. The source of the deafening noise came from a slender woman, standing above her students, glaring at the beetroot, silent girl. All eyes were on the perpetrator, and she felt her body react instinctively, curling inwardly as it always did as much as she fought against it. Long amber locks falling into their typical bangs that covered her cloudy grey eyes though she wore them pinned back, hiding her furious blush and embarrassment.

At least it's gone, for now.

"Ano, s-sorry sensei," a soft, hasty apology came from her lips, just loud enough for the teacher and the rest of the class to hear. She let both arms drop to her lap to conceal her favourite pink fluffy pen she had been tapping on the desk with and narrowed her eyes, before inhaling. She swallowed again and lifted her head up to face the burning stares of her classmates, eyes closed as a warm smile broke across her face at her teacher. Her voice came much louder this time, but slower, as though she were treading vigilantly around what she was going to say next: "I was trying to shoo away the dancing little fairies on my desk, sensei. They were distracting me from hearing the notices."

A snigger went around the room, as well as slight grumbles and whispers.

"Ugh, not this year too. I thought she was supposed to be smart, or somethin'?"

"What a freak..."

"She's such a ditz; all boobs, no brains…"

"Is she on drugs?"

"Nah, she's probably just retarded."

The older woman sighed, not even fazed anymore by the obvious remarks she had heard so often in the past, and continued to prattle off the rest of the information they needed to know before the shrill ring of the bell alerted everyone that homeroom had ended. Just as the students all began to get up and leave, the older woman yelled again, reminding everyone once more to come and collect their timetables or they wouldn't know which class to go to now. Some grumbled, probably hoping to use that as an excuse to bunk on the first day of their last year of high school. The girl stood sluggishly, straining to pick up her heavy bag from the floor and unzipping it, pulled out various books from her bag and slung it over her shoulder again, with much more ease. Why did I have to bring all of them today? She blamed her stubbornness and lack of upper-body strength.

A towering electric blue head bobbed past the huffing Orihime who stood in line waiting for the other students to finish getting their timetables before she made any move to retrieve hers. The figure bumped against her shoulder, uncaring, strutting straight out of the door, grumbling something like, "fuck classes". She winced at the use of language and the pain that shot through her arm. The girl glanced after him, rubbing her shoulder lightly while wondering if he was made out of concrete. Certainly felt like it, she thought to herself, unsurprised. Maybe I'm just a big, soft marshmallow, or a banana possibly – easily bruised.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw familiar girls glancing in her direction, giggling madly. They had their hands covering their mouths, as though to share a secret, but their high-pitched voices were so obviously loud. As though they knew she was listening. Orihime knew they did.

"Ugh, she's just so… so weird!"

"I know right! Definitely the weirdest girl in our grade. Actually, the weirdest girl in the school!"

"Can she even talk properly? All I hear coming out of her mouth is mumble, mumble, mumble. Like, speak up we can't hear you! And when she does speak, it's as though she's from a different planet!"

"It just freaks the fuck out of me, like she's hallucinating shit, am I right? And she dresses horribly, look at that plain Jane. She's such an eyesore."

Orihime took a peek down at her uniform. She was wearing it how everyone else wore it, wasn't she? Or maybe she was wearing it backwards, or inside out. Her eyes widened, scanning her body to make sure she hadn't put her clothes on backwards again without noticing. It wasn't her fault she enjoyed watching the cartoons and anime they showed in the mornings before school. They made her day just a little bit better, before it even begun. As long as she watched her cartoons in the morning, she knew she'd have a good day. Or at least what a good day was for Orihime Inoue.

"And that hair! Disastrous. I don't know how she can show herself in public with that ugly orange mop!" cruel cackles erupted from the other side of the room.

Orihime bit her lip hard to prevent the tears from forming in her eyes, knowing full well they would only embarrass her further if she let them get to her. Sighing, she accepted the fact that this year was going to be another bad one for her. What was even worst this year was that her best friend, Tatsuki, had been moved into another homeroom, after four years in the same class together. Of course, she would have other classes with Tatsuki, it wasn't the end of the world and she knew it was selfish of her to feel that way, but the fifteen minutes she had in the morning with these girls was the most horrible part of her day. Tatsuki would always stand up for her, but now she wasn't here. Why did Tatsuki have to fail one or two of her classes last year? But Orihime knew how passionate her best friend was about martial arts. Tatsuki wanted to be a famous fighter, so she focused a lot of her energy into achieving that goal, instead of passing high school. Because she was an above average student, Orihime had been placed in this class, as did the other students, including the two bickering girls, believe it or not. Tatsuki was lucky – she had been put in the class for average and below average students for failing the end of year exams, or rather not attending them, but was now with their other friends Nel and Rangiku. Orihime was less fortunate, and though she had been in the same class for the past four years, the girl barely spoke to anyone at all, with the exception of Tatsuki when they were in the same class obviously, ad Rukia Kuchiki, another one of her good friends, who did not like first days at all. If only she had worked a little harder, perhaps she would have been placed in the top class, and then at least she would have her sewing class acquaintance Ishida-kun to make idle chit-chat with.

She hated being on her own, without her best friend and only other person who socially accepted her in her entire class, but she also hated relying so much on Tatsuki to protect her. Orihime wanted to stand up for herself – she just didn't know how. She had never so much as raise her voice to anyone before (anyone real of course), let alone have the hate in her heart to voice the witty comebacks that passed through her mind from time to time when they harassed her. The girl was a kind soul – she didn't believe that two wrongs made it right, and thus would never treat others as they treated her. If this was how it made her feel, how would it make them feel? Tatsuki, on the other hand, did not care how the other person felt if they had hurt her friends; she was extremely protective like that, and always had been, since the first time they met and Tatsuki had thrown some bullies off of her for pulling the auburn locks that Tatsuki said not long after reminded her of her good friend. Last year the two girls had simply glared at the girl every morning, leaving the torture for any opportunity where Tatsuki wasn't around Orihime, but now…

"The ugly colour suits her, though, don't ya think? A weird colour for a big weirdo."

It wasn't her hair colour that really made them attack her appearance, because she knew they would never say that to Rangiku-san. It was the fact that Orihime was unusual – everyone knew it – especially the said girl. Orihime knew she was weird, and that was okay, so she didn't mind students the rude interpretations and generalizing comments here and there – they were only expressing the truth, albeit it was as they liked to see it, and she couldn't be mean to anyone who was so blind to not see between the lines and simply judge others because of what they saw. It was because Orihime knew she was not like them, that she was able to see past the hurtful snide others threw at her, and hold her head high, but it hurt. Boy, did it hurt. More than they would ever know. She smiled even if it did feel like a knife was piercing her heart with every word, every sideways glance or hushed giggle. They did not know her, so why did they have to judge her like they did? Why did they have to make her feel absolutely horrible and wishing she hadn't been born?

Sometimes she even liked to think of herself as a *gulp* actual princess, like Snow White, or Cinderella – a kind soul who only wanted to be happy, but was pushed down by others who did not want that, until one day her prince rescued her and everyone would feel bad for the way they treated her, but Orihime would courteously receive their apology and they would all say how compassionate and beautiful and…

I'm getting ahead of myself again, she sighed mentally.

In fact, Orihime Inoue welcomed the knowledge the she was a little… odd, and could proudly say that she was different. Most of the time. The voices were definitely not something to be embraced, but she knew even when she did say such silly things, no one would take her seriously, and that was better than she could ever hope for – to be thought of as a complete airhead than a raging lunatic who argued with the voices in her head and things others couldn't see.

"Oi, why are you making fun of her hair colour? Mine's weirder than hers, you don't see me getting picked on because of it," an irritated, bored voice came from behind the frail figure and the girl jumped in fright, letting go of the books she didn't realise she had been gripping to her chest like a lifesaver. The hardback novels scattered on the floor before her, and she bent down to get them, sighing once more. Definitely not her day. First people stare at her, and then tease her, and now frighten her until she drops her books everywhere. I just can't get a break, can I? She thought irritably, though not letting her frustration show, though her mask was close to breaking. A figure suddenly steps towards her, and she can feel a shadow looming over her. She froze, not wanting anyone to sneak up on her now. From this angle, they could probably pour cold water over her on 'accident' or push her into the crotch of some repulsive male or even… see down her top!

Her hands were placed on the first book, trying to cover the title quickly before the person would see it. People already thought she was weird enough; she didn't need them seeing her questionable reading material as well. Then again, they were English books, and most of the students here couldn't fully comprehend the language as well as she could, so she relaxed a little, and continued to seize the books strewn on the off-white linoleum floor. The girl didn't dare glance up in fear that it was one of the girls. However, long legs dropped to one knee, and snatched up the book Orihime had been reaching for, a flash of tan, lean arms. Orihime was shocked, but kept her head down, still not wanting to look at the person who knelt in front of her, intruding her personal space. From the sight of shuffling, disappearing feet, she denoted that most of the class must have left, already over the sudden outburst that silenced the two girls at once.

"Endless Love, huh? I didn't know you were into this stuff, Inoue." The same deep voice from before was loud in her ears now, even louder than when he was behind her. She was surprised – the person actually knew her name. It sounded strangely familiar, the way her name rolled off his tongue. She liked the sound of his voice – it was smooth and though he still maintained the bored tone, she could tell he wasn't making fun of her for reading such a silly romance novel with such a cliché title. Orihime was curious now; most people would laugh at her and call her a complete dork. Tatsuki thought it was stupid for Orihime to fill her mind with such fantasies of love at first sight, unrequited love, and knights in shining armour, whereas Nel was more into manga and Rangiku just didn't like reading full stop unless it was a scandalous tabloid. Orihime just suspected Tatsuki was bitter from the bad break up her and her first boyfriend had gone through in the earlier years of high school. They had been together for a few months, and one day Tatsuki went over there to find him losing his virginity to the pretty girl from next door. After beating the crap out of both of them, she felt great and said she never wanted to date again, and that was well over a year ago, almost two years ago, when they were sixteen. She still hasn't had another relationship to this day, but then again neither has Orihime. At least, not with someone that wasn't a fictional character.

"Y-Yeah, it's stupid, I know." The girl laughed shakily. From experience, Orihime knew that if she acknowledged how dorky the things she liked were, then usually people didn't carry it on any further, most of the time.

"Nah, I think it's… cool that you're into reading actual books instead of gossip magazines."

Orihime eyes almost popped out of her skull. Cool? She's not even sure if she had ever heard anyone use her and cool in the same sentence before, especially since she was supposed to be the weirdest girl in school, she grimaced. Long fingers swept all of the books up in one motion, stacking them neatly in a calloused hand. The English novel was held out in front of her face, while the others were perched perfectly for her perusal.

"Here."

Orihime's curiosity won and she stole a glance, or at least tried. She lifted her head and swiftly pushed her auburn locks out of her eyes, immediately locking them with a pair of chocolate brown one's. The 'thank you' she was about to voice was caught in her throat when she realised exactly who was helping her. Down on one knee, with her books balanced in one hand and a muscular arm extended out towards her, grasping the awkwardly titled book, was a scowling Ichigo Kurosaki. A deep blush coated her cheeks and the girl was left wordless, mouth slightly agape as she averted her eyes quickly, realising she had been staring for far too long. The taller boy simply raised an eyebrow, and waited for her to say something. Then again, his face is a much better view than the floor….

Her cheeks reddened even more at that thought. The girl swallowed the lump in her throat and nervously lifted her face to meet his intense gaze that held her eyes in place. She suddenly realised how close he actually was; she could practically feel his warm breath fanning across her face. At least it smells like he actually brushes his teeth in the morning…

"Uhhh… a-arigato, Kurosaki-kun." Her reply was slow and consisted of her usual softly spoken words. She hastily reached for the book that was being handed to her, and then stood abruptly, straightening out her skirt and bag.

"No problems, Inoue. Where are you going with all these romance novels?" Ichigo quizzed enquiringly. Orihime, embarrassed and slightly startled that the other teen had been able to read the titles after all, cursed herself mentally a thousand times while her cheeks heated up again. Then again, she was sure the intimate couples on the fronts probably didn't do well to conceal that fact.

"W-Well, I borrowed them off Ochi-sensei so I would have something to read for the holidays because the librarian is evil and associates with the little blue men, but now I'm done reading them so I'm giving them back, I guess."

A smile played on Icihgo's lips. I'd forgotten how strange she was…

"You've read all of these already?" He eyed the small bookcase he held in one hand. There were seven books in total, each pushing two or three hundred pages easily. The girl simply laughed again fretfully, as though she were afraid he would turn on her and start bullying her like those other girls had just then. She knew he wouldn't though – it was Ichigo Kurosaki; she wasn't sure if she had ever heard him insult anyone out of spite.

"Yeah, I have no social life outside of work, except the occasional coffee date with Tatsuki and that."

"There's nothing special about it, really. I feel bad, how is Tatsuki? I haven't talked to her –"

"Oi, you two! Stop flirting and come and get your timetables! I don't have all day to hang around waiting, I have students waiting to come in!" their teacher cut their conversation short, her tone coated in annoyance. The two just stood their blankly, then suddenly her words hit them, a furious blush painted across their noses.

"We're not flirting!" both said in unison. Orihime held her hands up in defence, while Ichigo, who surged forward in an attempt to shake his free fist at the older woman, however only ended up tripping over his own feet and hitting his head on a desk, before tumbling face first to the floor. From the loud thump and groans coming from the orange-headed figure, it must have hurt.

"Gosh, you're so riled up Ichigo! Orihime, just take yours and Ichigo's timetable and make sure that punk gets to class without falling flat on his face! He looks like he might need to go to the nurse's office, so please be a dear and haul his butt there for me, okay princess? I'll collect the books, thank you for returning them, bye Orihime-chan." The teacher smiled sincerely, all frustration dissipated as she looked at the blushing teen, who simply accepted the timetables graciously with a bow, and then peeled a somewhat dazed Kurosaki-kun off the linoleum to hurry him out into the corridor before sensei could make any more comments about how much of a punk Ichigo Kurosaki was, or worse, how much of a punk she was for tapping her pen in class.

As she watched their backs retreat, Orihime awkwardly supporting the boy, she smiled again, mischievously and knowingly.

Thoughts? Too OC orrrrr? I dunno, I think I tried too hard.

-ForTheLoveOfLiterature01