I'm so surprised by the nice response I've been getting for this story. Thank you so much. I love hearing from you guys even if there are only a few of you. Here is an extra long chapter


Chapter 2

Ichigo knew that he shouldn't have gone to that party. He already had a hard time saying no which made it nearly impossible when his favorite student that he was tutoring insisted on him coming. Even though he tried to explain to her that it wasn't exactly his scene she insisted on introducing him to her friends so they can possibly help him get rid of his virginity.

He didn't know how she found out that his virginity was still intact since he has never brought it up. Despite it now apparently it being a sin to be a high school senior who isn't sexually active he hasn't really taken too much interest in abandoning his virginity, but he already knew that she had the wrong idea about his interests. It's not like he made those said interests well known. He kept mostly to himself and he only told his immediate family and his best friend knew about them.

His best friend Rukia said he would be fine and that he should see what it was like to experience a party since it was so far out of his comfort zone. She always tried to encourage him trying new things, but he always thought he would pick up something like tabletop board games or web design. Parties weren't exactly what he had in mind when shopping for new hobbies.

All he wanted to do was spend his night with a book and maybe a cup of tea if he wasn't too lazy to prepare one, but while he was changing into his sweatpants to spend the rest of the night in bed he got a text from his student, Harribel reminding him that he better come. She always insisted that he was so uptight and that he would have fun if he learned how to live a little. He didn't know how to explain to her that spending his night in sweats without any obligation to anyone but himself was his idea of a good time.

When he tried to refuse she pulled the birthday card and he found himself sighing and changing into clothes that he thought was more appropriate for a party. He may have had to make a Google search and dig through his closet a bit, but he was able to find something somewhat appropriate to wear.

He should have turned back as soon as he entered the party. By the time he has gotten there the party was in full swing and it reeked of alcohol and body odor. The music boomed in his ears and made him crave his quiet room. If the music wasn't so loud he could have sworn that he could hear his book that he was so close to finishing call out to him. Each body that swayed and knocked into him made him feel more and more claustrophobic. He made a plan find Harribel and say happy birthday. As soon as he did that he was going to book it, run back home and shower while sitting in the fetal position for the rest of the night no matter how much water is wasted.

Then he slipped. He should have listened more to his own common sense than get influenced by those around him. He got lost in the party the crowd swayed and the only way to prevent more bodies from falling on top of them was to sway with it. Some guy grabbed a hold of him and started to grind against him. He didn't know how to react so he just stood their awkwardly as the admittedly attractive guy had his fun with him in the middle of the crowd without any regard to how they looked at him or how he felt. Despite the so called dance floor being dark he could still make out the moving shapes and the guy he didn't recognize. Everyone seemed a bit too busy with their own business to notice what was going on. Ichigo tried to articulate that he wanted to leave, and he wasn't sure whether he said something to make him misunderstand or that guy was too under the influence to comprehend what he was screaming over the loud music.

The guy took Ichigo by the hand, the first time Ichigo has ever held hands with a boy. Maybe he should have pulled away, but he was curious about where things were going. He blamed the party. He thought that he was taking him to a more silent part of the house so that they could talk and maybe even learn his name. That was when the guy slurred that he wanted to have sex with him making Ichigo swallow the lump in his throat. He never so much as had his first kiss yet here he was getting offered to skip right to the last chapter.

He should have seriously known better. Life doesn't just give you what you want and neither do parties. When the guy flicked the lights on in a solitary room in the house that was far from the bustling noise that took place down below he found that he wasn't alone with the guy, but shared the space with not only the boy who has been making a move on him, but two more guys that he has recognized as members of the football team. From the looks on those guys' faces he knew that he wasn't skipping ahead, or skipping way ahead anytime soon, not that he had any intention of doing so.

Ichigo turned around to see the guy that brought him there blocking the door. It took him a moment to recognize the guy as one of those so called popular kids. Ichigo had to rack his brain to remember the name of the not so significant guy who has tricked him. It was Tesra, right? Not that it mattered; he should be more focused on the state of his own life rather than some name.

If the guy standing in front of Ichigo wasn't so freakily tall they would have been standing nose to nose. The lanky tall guy he recognized as Nnoitra. He used to be on the basketball team, but he was way too aggressive for it so he joined football so that he could be as violent as he wanted until they gave him a penalty. He heard that Tesra followed his every command. It would make sense that Nnoitra was the ring leader behind this little prank. The guy standing next to him was the notoriously violent Kenpachi Zaraki. Ichigo has forgotten the number of people he has injured in the games he have played nor has he really thought much about it until now.

Nnoitra took a fist full of Ichigo's hair, forcing him to look up at him. "Looks like we fished up a fag," he hummed. Ichigo gripped onto Nnoitra's wrist and glared at him with fire in his eyes and eyebrows pushed together. His father would be so disappointed to see him frowning all the time. He always insisted that he was going to get frown lines if he kept it up. "A feisty one at that." He laughed.

"I was just going to tell your friend that I was planning on leaving. I didn't choose to get dragged here." Ichigo said directing most of what he was saying to the boy standing behind him as to remind him rather than pay any mind to the guy pulling at his scalp.

Nnoitra glanced at Tesra. His eyes widened when the lean jock glared at him with so much malice that Ichigo could feel it resonating off of him in waves. He was pale and his eyes shifted from every person in the room. "He didn't push me off when I danced with him nor did he object when I said that I wanted to have sex with him or took him here." Tesra said defending himself, trying to vocally use Ichigo as a shield.

"Guess you didn't get the memo." Nnoitra cooed, gripping onto Ichigo's cheeks making them push forward in front of the rest of his facial features and making his lips look more like they belong to a fish. "No fags allowed."

Ichigo didn't keep up with the sports in the school even though the schools hierarchy is determined by the sports you play, the people you fuck, and the parties you throw yet he knew the stories that came from these two guys. Looks like he was in trouble and he knew better than to fight a battle he couldn't win. He was out numbered so he knew that the best way to walk out of the party with minimal injuries was to surrender.

He felt super lame being trapped in the closet with something as small as a chair blocking his way out. He felt weak allowing two monstrous guys put him in that position. They shoved him around a little and there will probably be some light bruising under his clothes, but other than that he was relatively unhurt.

The lights were turned off in the closet and then the room, not even allowing a little light to leak in from the outline of the door. He was left alone in the dark. He got tired of knocking, hoping that someone would hear him. He sat on the floor, right next to Harribel's impressive shoe collection waiting for some sign that someone would walk in and hopefully not to make use of the bed. He texted Harribel where he was, but she didn't even open the message. He lost track of how long he sat there, his phone died while he was in an intense game of Fire Emblem Heroes and no one wore watches anymore and even if he did it would be too dark to read it so he was just left sitting there counting prime numbers.

Around the time he lost count light illuminated the outline of the closet door he was trapped behind allowing light to pour in the darkness that he was trapped in, a sign that someone walked in. He pounded on the door to give a sign that he was there before the room was left abandoned again. There was a moment of silence before he heard the chair sliding out from under the door knob before he opened the door himself, not realizing how anxious he was being in the small space until he was given the option to leave.

It would have been less embarrassing if it was anyone else, but no it had to be his old best friend that has abandoned him for popularity. Okay, it was unfair to blame him for that since it was more of a mutual thing and he could be held at fault just as much. They hung out less and less until they were nonexistent in each other's lives. It wasn't either of their faults that they had different interests. Ichigo was interested in books, his studies, and securing a proper future for himself while Grimmjow seemed a bit more interested in fucking any moving thing with a vagina. Their friendship ended healthily and they winded up never having to see each other. Sometimes he would notice Grimmjow's blue hair bobbing above every other head at the school and Ichigo may or may not look downward when he saw him as to hide his own head of hair that acted like a beacon.

Grimmjow seemed surprised to see him like he was a ghost of his past yet Ichigo cringed at the sight of him. Grimmjow must have thought that Ichigo disappeared or maybe he has forgotten him already and seeing him there was a reminder that he had a friend that he no longer existed even though he knew him for practically his entire life.

The worst part was that Grimmjow acted like how he did when they were still friends. Even though he was drunk he recognized Ichigo immediately and demanded to know who shoved Ichigo into the closet. He wanted to protect him just like how he used to insist when they were still kids. There was no way he could let him do that. He wasn't planning on telling him anything. He didn't need a drunk man to defend his honor much less if that drunk man was his former best friend. He was able to escape Grimmjow's investigation once he let him go and all that was left was to leave the party which wasn't too difficult since it was starting to get late, but even as he left he could tell that Grimmjow wanted to keep talking to him, find out what happened, or maybe even try to catch up with him.

Adding to the worst part was that Ichigo kind of wanted to do the same. He wanted to find out if Grimmjow was able to stay out of trouble without him there. He was tempted to tell him the people who dared bully him so that he could let Grimmjow at them like a wild dog. He may have even wanted to rekindle the friendship that he tried so hard to forget, but he knew better than to get involved with him. If he went back to him then he would be brought into the limelight. He could become popular and even though that may have seemed like the dream to some people who shared the same social standing as him it wasn't his dream. He just wanted to remain unnoticed. The less people who know him the less people there are to drag him out of his comfort zone or learn about his secret. He didn't need his old friend and he definitely didn't need to worry about his old feelings on top of that.

He hoped that Grimmjow was too intoxicated to remember anything on Monday morning, but his hopes were dashed when he noticed people staring at him as he walked through the hallways. The only thing that makes people notice him was the bright color of his hair, but these stares weren't the same as the ones he has received before. There was an air of enmity in their eyes, casting him out as an 'other.' Not accepted. Harribel's party was supposedly big even by this school's standards so the rumors about him must have spread somehow even if Grimmjow didn't make his rescue public. At this rate everyone at the school was going to learn what happened, not just the popular cliques that gossiped like it was essential as breathing, but losers and maybe even the faculty.

Hate mail was shoved into the vents of his locker causing a few slips of paper to fall out when he opened it all labeled 'fag.' He never came out. Never felt it safe to come out. He hated how he was forced out of the closet because of an assumption and rumor spread about him. The irony of all of this was that the bullies that discovered his sexual orientation locked him in a closet, but at the same time forcefully dragging him out by his hair. There was no point in trying to claw the hands that gripped him since everyone can hear him screaming so all he could do was allow himself to be dragged through the dirt and hope that the pain would eventually stop.

He made it to his first period class early. AP English class was his favorite since it revolved around his favorite subject. He loved books and nobody was going to bother him when he was the smartest and most intimidating person in the room for a class that was already difficult to begin with. There weren't a lot of people in his class since there weren't a lot of people who wanted to take AP classes during their senior year. Also it was hard to bully him when his teacher was in the front of the room with a book of literature open and held in front of his nose especially since Ichigo was his favorite student.

He sat silently at his desk; usually he would open a book of his own or ogle at Mr. Ukitake who was no doubt one of the most attractive people he has ever seen. He was almost 18 he was allowed to have a crush on an older man. Mr. Ukitake noticed him staring off into nothing and he gave Ichigo a light smile before standing up and taking long strides to reach Ichigo's assigned desk.

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" He asked without getting too close to his student.

Ichigo blinked as his attractive teacher questioned him directly, pulling him out of his daydream. Ichigo never showed a glum face in his class even though he didn't exactly consider himself a happy person. "I'm fine." Ichigo reassured.

Mr. Ukitake looked at him skeptically, but then shrugged, knowing that Ichigo wasn't exactly planning on having a heart to heart with him right before class started. Maybe he could impose on him later. He reached into his bag and handed Ichigo a book. "I don't know what's bothering you, but I personally find it comforting to get lost in another world. You can borrow that book from me for a while." He said with a sympathetic smile on his face while he leaned against another student's unoccupied desk.

Ichigo quizzically flipped the book over and examined the cover. "Romeo and Juliet?" Ichigo questioned. In the list of literature related clichés this was towards the top and it didn't help that he was receiving this book from the teacher that he had a crush on. He felt his nose scrunch up and a smile attempt to pull at his face as he looked at the book that his teacher lent him. Wasn't that a good sign that he was lending him one of his own possessions? Even so he shouldn't look so happy. "I've already read this one more than once, sir." Ichigo said holding the book back to his professor. Ichigo's mind immediately went dark as he realized what he was doing. Is he some kind of idiot? Just take the damn book! Don't give it back.

Ukitake shrugged and pushed the book back into Ichigo's chest. "I find it the most comforting to revisit stories you have already read. Maybe you'll find something there that you haven't noticed before."

Not giving Ichigo time to respond Mr. Ukitake turned around to take his seat back at his desk. His white hair swayed behind him moving elegantly behind the thin framed man. He took a seat back at his desk, reopened his book and gave Ichigo another gentle smile.

Ichigo was in awe as his teacher quickly changed gears and buried himself back in his book as if he has never left. Ichigo stared at the book in between his two hands. He stared at the cursive writing at the front of the light pink book. Romeo and Juliet wasn't exactly his favorite out of Shakespeare's plays. Call him cliché, but he really enjoyed Hamlet or Macbeth and even if the complex wording of the bard can occupy him it wouldn't do much to take his mind off of things.

He opened the book and tried to focus on it. Hell he wanted to enjoy it. His crush freaking handed the book to him despite him probably reading it himself, sacrificing his beloved reading time to lend the book to a student that he had no obligation to except to teach him and give him a grade.

His peace was disturbed when his best friend Rukia came charging into the room. He grabbed Ichigo by the back of his collar and pulled him back without even muttering a greeting, nearly causing him to fall backwards on his chair or tear his shirt. He quickly scrambled from his seat while Ukitake looked up from his book at the commotion that Rukia was causing and chuckled at Ichigo's sudden surprised expression at his best friend's intrusive actions. He was used to this sight since they shared the same class and Rukia can cause quite a commotion with Ichigo at the other end of it.

Ichigo stood to his full height to break Rukia's grip on his now crumpled up shirt and followed her out. She led him to the stairway that no one uses. People tend to use it to smoke in between classes and teachers don't care enough to stop them since it was too much of a bother to punish every student who did that. At least it was a good quiet place to talk.

"When did you come out?" Rukia asked insistently. She looked like she was about ready to flip some tables which only meant that she has heard some of the indecent things people have been saying about him and she needed to find a way to take out her anger in a nondestructive way. She should have figured out by now that he didn't come out using his own volition, but she definitely needed to yell about it to someone and who better to complain about to then Ichigo himself.

"It's clearly new to me too." Ichigo said rolling his eyes. "I didn't come out. It's a rumor. Things will settle down if people ever learn that it isn't true."

Rukia growled at Ichigo's nonchalant response. It was obvious that she was irritated with Ichigo's response. She knew that he was acting like it wasn't a big deal for her own sake so that she wouldn't have to worry about him, but that part of Ichigo did wonders to piss her off and Ichigo was well aware of what she was thinking, but he still couldn't help himself. She crumpled her hands into fists, stood on her toes to make up for her short height so that she can at least reach Ichigo's height slightly, and knit her eyebrows together so that hers matched Ichigo's.

"But it is true. You don't have much of a reputation so it will be a lot harder to convince people that you are straight." Rukia fought. She made valid points. The only way he could really clear the rumor was to make himself more well-known and date a girl, two things he wasn't exactly interested in. He missed becoming one of the shadows that walked the school silently excelling in his classes. He was probably going to be valedictorian, but even if he was he would refuse the position so that he wouldn't have to give a speech and leave the school relatively unnoticed.

He took the risk of becoming a tutor and accepting a popular girl to be one of his students just so he can earn a little extra cash. He should have been colder to her so that he wouldn't come off as so lovable. She wouldn't have insisted on him coming to her party to help him lose his virginity that he never told her about. Seriously it was embarrassing enough to see all of her missed messages when he got home asking if he was okay and if the rumors are true. He didn't want to become her friend. He had no intention of making friends at school. Sure he loved Rukia, but she would never do anything to hurt him.

Before Ichigo could say anything the bell rang signaling that it was time for them to head back to class. Ukitake wouldn't be strict on them since they were in class before and Rukia only dragged him out to try and cheer him up. Ichigo let out a sigh that was almost as long as the bell ringing. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other while Rukia turned her head towards the floor. He clicked his tongue and faced the door that lead to the stairway exit. "We should probably head to class. I want this day to be over with already."

Ichigo knew it was going to be a shitty day, but he didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. By lunch time he was hiding in the library. The library was a sacred ground for him. He already read half of the books in the fantasy and sci-fi section and he didn't regret a thing. The best part of the library was that it was silent and only people like him that were passionate about reading ever went there. Even people who also took hard classes just like he did didn't go there, preferring to study at home and not during their lunch period. There he was able to escape the reality of the outside world. Those popular kids stayed out of the library like demons would to a church. The difference was that they were welcome there since the library is for everyone.

It was too bad that Ichigo was reminded of that a little too late. Hovering above him was one of the very people he has been attempting to avoid. He hasn't run into him in years of semi avoiding him yet here he was towering above him as he attempted to sink further into his book, hoping to hide inside which was probably not the best idea since the book that he has picked up off the shelf was The Shining and a horror story wasn't exactly the best book to Blue Skidoo inside of. Still hiding inside of that hotel may have been better than what was about to happen if he stayed there.

"This is where you've been hiding for the past three years?" Grimmjow growled above him yanking the book out of Ichigo's hands not even being considerate enough to place his finger in between the pages so that he wouldn't lose his place. He observed the black book and grimaced at the title. "You know that there is a movie for this right?" He asked like he was proud of himself for recognizing the title of an incredibly famous horror film that was based off of the novel he was holding.

Ichigo frowned and lifted his hand above his head without voicing anything, requesting for Grimmjow to hand his book back. Grimmjow did the exact opposite of oblige, holding the copy of the famous story further away from him so that he could talk to Ichigo without any distractions. He slid in the seat next to him causing the chair to make a small sound while it dragged across the carpeted floor. Ichigo glared at him to make it clear that he wasn't welcome, but he clearly didn't take the hint. It seemed like he could stick his nose where it didn't belong even when he was completely sober not that that was anything new.

"Are those rumors true about you?" Grimmjow asked cutting right to the chase. Ichigo sighed tempted to leave his temple to spend the rest of his lunch period at his other hiding place, but decided against it knowing that Grimmjow would just follow him. So Ichigo decided to indulge him a bit if he knew more then maybe he would finally leave him alone.

"Which ones?" Ichigo asked playing innocent yet not meeting Grimmjow's eyes so that he wouldn't be able to read him. He glanced over at the librarian who seemed too focused on her own book to notice him looking for a way out of that awkward situation. Yet Miss Ise gingerly flipped a page and adjusted her glasses, not paying attention in the slightest to her favorite regular.

"The ones about you being…you know." Grimmjow hesitated at the last second substituting the final word as if saying it would summon Voldemort which only did wonders to Ichigo's depleting patience.

"Say it." Ichigo growled in a low raspy voice that was just an octave higher than being low that he wouldn't be able to hear. "I dare you."

Grimmjow's eyebrows knit together to compete with Ichigo's own. He leaned in closer to Ichigo's face, but didn't take his eyes off of Ichigo's amber ones. "Gay?"

Ichigo smirked. "Yup." He said simply, his facial features not softening to accommodate for the smirk on his face making his expression borderline evil. Surely that was enough to scare him away, right?

Grimmjow's eyes shot upward. "Since when?" Grimmjow exasperated, raising his voice a little too much for a library. Miss Ise shot him an angry glare as an immediate response, but when she noticed him sitting next to Ichigo her expression changed to one of confusion. She looked into Ichigo's eyes and mouthed the words 'what's wrong?' which Ichigo responded to by waving his hand as if to tell her not to worry about it. She hid herself behind her book, raising her eyes right above the pages to spy on the two high schoolers. "I leave you alone for three years and you turn gay."

Ichigo shuttered at the misconception about homosexuality making him turn away from the blue haired tyrant that decided to impose on his quiet life. Miss Ise even heard that one from the background and momentarily gripped her book tighter.

After the initial shock Ichigo's face turned blank displaying a poker face that hopefully Grimmjow wouldn't be able to see past. He may have been very good at reading his thoughts when they were younger, but it has been years now so maybe things have changed. "Grimmjow," Ichigo said flatly, completely void of emotions.

"Seriously, where did this come from?" Grimmjow insisted on running his mouth. Ichigo contained his urge to roll his eyes. "When did you start liking dick?"

Ichigo was at his limit. He gripped the hair above his forehead and lightly let it go making it scrunch into a mess before he rested his hand on his forehead and slowly, almost lazily dragged it down his face. "Okay, I answered your question." Ichigo breathed out quickly checking his phone to see how much time he had left in the day before he could just go home. "Now, can you give me my book back so you can leave and never talk to me again?" Ichigo outstretched his palm, requesting once again for him to have his book back.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Grimmjow growled refusing again to give Ichigo the simple pleasure of his horror story about a homicidal manic terrorizing a family. He was starting to understand the feeling of his bloodthirsty tendency after every word Grimmjow said. Seriously why was this this guy so hell-bent on prying into his life? He should have been scared away by now.

"I've had to deal with it my entire life." Ichigo answered quickly like the faster he answered Grimmjow's questions the faster he would leave him alone. "Just drop it, okay?"

Grimmjow stretched out his legs underneath the table, lightly brushing up against Ichigo's feet momentarily causing Ichigo's legs to feel stiff as a reaction. It seemed like there was no sign of him leaving any time soon. "If you don't want to be bullied then why don't you just be straight?"

Was he really planning on having a full blown conversation about this? "Oh my God, you're a genius!" Ichigo nearly shouted gripping his hair in both of his hands, looking at Grimmjow with wild eyes and his mouth hanging open in mock surprise. "Why don't I just magically start liking girls? That's so simple. In fact, why stop there? What if poor people just stopped being poor? Or how about assholes just start being nice? Oh and maybe you can try saying something smart?" Ichigo exploded in a fit of sarcasm.

Miss Ise's eyes grew at the sight of Ichigo's outburst. Heck the few other regulars in the library found themselves looking over to spectate the show that should have come with playbills. Usually Ichigo was so calm and collected yet here he erupting from something this almost stranger said. Grimmjow blinked a few times to register the words that Ichigo enunciated, taking a while for them to get through his thick skull. His face formed a weird grimace processing the insult that this loser hoisted at him like it was no big deal. Ichigo had guts, that hasn't changed.

"How would you know if you were even gay?" Grimmjow asked. "Have you ever had sex with a girl?" He continued deciding to take pity on his former best friend rather than introduce him to a world of pain.

Ichigo rolled his eyes at Grimmjow's stamina. He definitely had more tolerance to stupidity than he did, but it would make sense that he were immune since he was the source of stupidity in this pointless conversation. He has never talked about his own sexuality so much and he was starting to find it draining. Why would anyone care so much to hear this shit?

"Have you ever eaten insects?" Ichigo asked.

"No, gross." Grimmjow said blinking, not really knowing where that question came from.

"Yeah, that 'gross' you just said is similar how I feel about the idea of sex with women. Eating insects isn't uncommon. In plenty of countries people eat insects every day and even during festivals." Ichigo explained. He could correct Grimmjow and tell him that actually plenty of people eat insects unknowingly since insects tend to be an ingredient in a lot of dyes used for candy, but being a know-it-all would deteriorate his main point. "Guess what also isn't uncommon. Homosexuality."

He really hoped that Grimmjow would get the point eventually. He hung his head downward in exhaustion. He looked at the table right below him. The table was practically asking him to bang his forehead against it so that he could knock himself out so he wouldn't have to continue this stupid conversation.

"Can you please leave me alone now?" Ichigo asked holding his hand out to request his book for the third time.

Grimmjow looked at the book that he was holding seemingly having forgotten that he was holding it, that bastard. He placed it on the table with his hand on top of it so that Ichigo still couldn't get it.

"Why are you so desperate to get rid of me?" Grimmjow asked. His facial features lightened and even though he was looking into Ichigo's eyes his own seemed to hold some sort of sadness. He didn't expect Grimmjow to start crying in the middle of the library, but Ichigo could tell that he was upset with him being shoved away, but what Ichigo took away from those words was the realization that Grimmjow knew he was being shoved away yet he still refused to leave.

"Because we aren't friends," Ichigo explained. "We can't be friends." His words cut like a knife and his eyes crinkled up and his mouth twitched to form a slight frown. If he said those words then even Grimmjow would understand that he is unwanted.


A/N: Remember to review, favorite, and follow to fuel me with motivation to keep working even if I already have plenty.