A/N: This is late and for that I am extremely sorry. I have no excuse, I toiled all day to get this type on time. I hope you all enjoy it! I'm watching Boy Meets World as I typed this out and all I can think about is wonder, wonder and wonder some more, then burst into laughter. This chapter is a major turning point for the story.

Disclaimer: check chapter one

Chapter Two: (February)

Nina was working a late shift today, according to her note on the fridge that Grimmjow found that morning. A twenty dollar bill was attached to it via a magnet. Grimmjow picketed the money and began his daily walk to The School. As he'd taken to naming it since he'd forgotten what it called. It wasn't important.

He'd order pizza when he got home.

Or maybe some chicken.

Or maybe he should be thinking about the test he had today.

He also needed to buy a new coat though, the one he had on now had rips. It didn't keep him warm enough.

Walking through the school entrance that day, he was shivering more than the day before and that meant one of two things. Either his coat was in more horrible condition than it had been before or it was colder out. Grimmjow wasn't really sure which.

It didn't really matter which though because he was in a bad mood either way. He was in a bad mood most days now and he had no idea why. He was in a bad mood most days now and he had no idea why. The only thing that brightened his day, that shed some light through the dark cloud hanging over his head, was when he teased Ichigo Kurosaki. Nothing made you feel better than when you made someone else feel worse.

So when he spotted a head of orange farther down the hallway when he was putting away his jacket in his locker, Grimmjow smirked.

Time to make himself feel better.

Grimmjow slammed his locker shut and went in the direction he'd last saw his prey.

He turned the corner and saw Ichigo head into the bathroom, he followed. There was on other person in the washroom and Grimmjow guessed Kurosaki was in one of the stalls. Drifting to the side, he waited. The other guy soon left, keeping his eyes on the floor and keeping as far from the blue haired menace as possible.

Eventually Kurosaki came out, oblivious to his unwanted visitor. Grimmjow smirked, "Hey Kurosaki."

The shorter teen jumped and whipped around. His body was tense, as if ready for a fight, it stayed like that when he spotted who it was and if it were possible, he became tenser.

Ichigo scowled, "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

Grimmjow shrugged casually, pushing himself from the wall, "Nothin Kurosaki nothin." His head tilted to the side a bit, "Why so hostile Kurosaki?"

Ichigo backed away a few steps with his hand trailing the sinks. Each step he took put him farther away from the door, his exit, Grimmjow noted smugly.

"Why such a dickhead Jeagerjaques?"

The smirk slid off and anger tried to rear its ugly head. A dangerous look began to make its way into his blue eyes.

The orangette smirked when he saw the taller teen's blunder.

Grimmjow took a few steps closer and Ichigo hastily stepped back.

Up closer to his prey now, the bluenette noticed the dark bags under the other's eyes. Kurosaki had been looking tired a lot lately, if he thought about it. Yesterday the other had even tried to walk away, that is before Grimmjow had called him a PMSing bitch and they'd almost got to fighting. The bell had rung though and his female friend had dragged him away.

A weird feeling came over him, it was very foreign and he didn't like it at all. Without really knowing why, Grimmjow turned around and left the bathroom and a bewildered orangette behind. Students started to rush past him as the bell rang through the halls. After a moment he copied them and made a beeline for Ms. Unohana's class and the math test.

His bad mood was back and almost twice as worse.

-Love&Loss-

Ichigo ignored the bell signaling the start of classes and leaned wearily on the sink.

That was too weird.

Ichigo's tormentor had just left of his own free will instead of the other way around; Ichigo always left first.

Putting the other out of his mind, Ichigo sighed tiredly and turned on the tap. The noise from the hall and turned on the tap. The noise from the hall was fading as students wandered to their classes.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he turned his face a little bit. The bags were darker than they were before.

Two weeks had passed already. Two weeks of ignoring Renji's texts and emails and calls. He was mad at him though. Ichigo couldn't help how he felt. Tatsuki and all his other friends were trying to convince him to speak to Renji, but Ichigo wouldn't budge. They didn't understand none of them did; well, Chad might understand a little, but not fully.

To be fair though, it wasn't like Renji was coming down and forcing a talk out of him.

Ironically, that hurt more.

There was a hole in Ichigo's heart that was slowly getting bigger with each passing day. His best friend's absence was like thorns in his skin. He hated it and every time he dwelled on it Ichigo began to reach for his cell. Each night, he fought with himself, over whether or not to phone Renji and apologize again and again. To beg for the other teen's forgiveness. Ichigo would just forget that Renji was keeping a secret from him.

Then the fact that Renji was keeping a secret from him would make itself known double time and he'd throw his phone in his desk drawer.

Ichigo had sworn to himself two weeks ago that he wouldn't talk to Renji until he told Ichigo the secret.

Splashing cold water on his face woke him up a bit and Ichigo did it a few more times.

Maybe he would just avoid his group of friends for a little while too. Just until Renji came to his sense and told him the truth.

With that decision made Ichigo felt a little lighter.

His heart still felt tight though and depression still loomed on the horizon.

It looked like sleep wasn't part of his future plans.

-Ichigo-

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully. At lunch Ichigo hid out in the library. Lessons went in one ear and out the next, none seeming to stick long enough for the orangette to really know what they were about.

He was on auto-pilot, going where he needed to go when he needed to be there. When one of his friends tried to find him, he lost them. Jeagerjaques didn't pay him a thought the whole day.

Now, walking home, Ichigo found himself singing the element song to keep thought of Renji at bay.

... and hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium… and, and… Ichigo's eyebrow twitched, and I have no idea what else.

For the past few days, Ichigo had favored the long way home; preferring to be alone. When he got home, Yuzu would stare at him worriedly, Karin would give him The Stare and his dad would demand to know what was wrong. Of course when he yelled at the man to leave him alone, his dad would then cry and whine to the memorial picture of Ichigo's mom on the wall.

His dad was a creep.

Walking this way now, a bad feeling came over him, but he pushed it down along with everything else. That turned out to be a very bad thing to do.

Because in the next instant he was grabbed and shoved into an alley.

"What the hell!"

Ichigo hit the ground with his shoulder, the palm of his hand slammed down, lessening the blow slightly. The alley was wet and it seemed to be colder; and because they had taken him by surprise, he didn't react when the same hands lifted him up and shoved him harshly against the wall.

The air whooshed out of him, he coughed and gulped in some air.

Ichigo quickly took in the situation, there were eight of them and all had some sort of weapon on them. Most had metal bats and pipes, one even had a chain and another had a pocket knife.

Okay, he could safely say they weren't friends.

"Hello Kurosaki."

Ichigo could also safely assume they knew him.

"Hello?"

The hand holding him in place lightened, then shoved at him again. It hurt enough that Ichigo gasped a little. "Don't mock me Kurosaki." The one holding him snarled. "It's time you paid for what you did."

What did I do? He asked himself.

"Who are you?" He decided to ask instead.

Silence took them over.

Their leader sputtered, or who he assumed was the leader. It was hard to tell, they all looked equally stupid.

"You stupid bitch." Possible-Leader snarled.

Then he proved his stupidity by doing the worst thing he could've done; the asshole punched him.

Ichigo's frustration over the whole Renji thing came to surface with that hit and boiled over. Oh, what the hell! He thought and shoved the asshole off him.

He could use a good fight.

"Come and get me asshole." Ichigo growled.

After a moment, the leader (was he?) gathered himself and gave his goons a signal. They all rushed him at once.

I don't need Renji for this, was his last thought before the punching started.

-Love&Loss-

Five hours of classes later and Grimmjow's had moved had only worsened. All day he had left Kurosaki alone, feeling unmistakably worried every time he caught a glimpse of orangette. He had a theory about what was going on, but he didn't like it one bit.

Grimmjow hadn't had a friend since about fourth grade. He had tried at first, but quickly he learned it was useless to do so if all they were going to do was leave in a few months. In fact, for almost as long as he's been in school, Grimmjow has gone out of his way to avoid making friends.

Ichigo Kurosaki was the only human being that he had willingly socialized with since he was nine. Teasing the guy these past few weeks had been the most fun he's had since… since he could remember. Which, in retrospect, was pretty dam pathetic.

He bit his thumb nail and continued to walk aimlessly, trusting his instincts to lead him where he needed to be.

"Hold him down!"

Grimmjow's first instinct was to ignore the noise and keep walking, but it sounded again. This time, the same voice yelling something about payback.

Well, it would only take a few minutes to check and then he could continue on his way.

The noises were coming from an alley on the other side of the street he guessed and waited for a lull in the traffic before racing across. When he got to the edge of the alley, he took a quick peek inside. Six thuggish looking brutes were ganging up on some poor fool. Two held the guys arms against the alley wall, effectively pinning the guy, while one punched and kicked at their captive, and yelled obsinities. The other was putting up a struggle, that was for sure, but he…

Holy shit, Grimmjow stared in shock at the orange hair the thugs victim had.

Why the hell was Kurosaki letting these losers beat him?

Annoyance made itself known by way of a twitching eye. Grimmjow could beat these losers no problem and Kurosaki could hold his own against him.

Why the fuck was the guy losing?

Suddenly, he was very angry at the whole lot of them and he made a split second decision.

He would kick their asses, wait for Kurosaki to heal up, then Grimmjow would kick his ass.

Stepping so he was a clear figure in entrance, Grimmjow removed his hands from his pockets. Spreading his legs slightly he smirked.

"Hey!"

The beating stopped long enough for all of them to get a good look at him. The one that had been beating on Kurosaki stepped forward, Grimmjow assumed he was the leader. His attire was certainly out there, Grimmjow noted. The guys pants were past his ass and there were five too many piercings on his face.

This would be over quickly.

His smirk turned feral.

"What the fuck do you want assho-" the leader guy went flying backward; he landed a good few feet from where he used to be. He made a sound when he landed, but didn't get back up.

Grimmjow stood where their leader used to be, only giving all a second to try to figure out what the fuck was going on before the blue devil was moving again.

When Grimmjow fought, he preferred background music of some kind. It got his blood racing to have the beat of it and usually it wasn't a problem to have because he used to have an iPod. Last place Nina and him had occupied though, they'd been robbed. The iPod was lost and he'd been fighting to grunts and curses ever since.

Distantly he heard a struggle of some sort behind him. Grimmjow turned to check it out, but right then one of them got him with a punch. Quick as a snake, the bluenette grabbed the hand and twisted.

Not a minute later and Grimmjow tossed the last of them. Turning he got ready to finish the last two, but when he turned around, they were both unconscious. Staring in shock, the bluenette forgot he had actually been trying to save someone. That is, until someone cleared their throat, startling so much he jumped.

"Did I scare you?" A very familiar voice mocked.

Kurosaki was leaning against the wall, near the end of the alley. He was breathing heavily a little, the beating he took didn't seem to be registering, because of how relaxed he looked.

Who the hell looked that relaxed after a fight?!

Wasn't really a fight though… he thought.

Grimmjow scoffed, "Like hell you can scare me Kurosaki."

No witty reply came forth after he said that and it worried him slightly.

Yes! He was man enough to admit he was worried about the fool. If only just a bit.

A sliver.

A tiny dots worth.

Fuck it, this was getting him nowhere!

Kurosaki was staring at him oddly, like when you saw something you didn't quite understand and desperately wanted.

The abrupt change in the others demeanor to him was enough to freak him out. Where was the hate? Where was the annoyance?

Grimmjow scowled an stomped his way to the exit. Now the bluenette was the one annoyed and that didn't sit well with him at all.

"Thanks Grimmjow."

What did he just call me?

Kurosaki shoved himself from the wall, barely managing to hide a wince of pain, and took a few steps toward him.

"Thanks for saving my ass."

An uncomfortable feeling invaded Grimmjow's being; this was a very unfamiliar situation. The heartfelt apology was completely out of character from how they were supposed to act towards each other. If he were to be completely honest it creeped him out.

So, because he was such amazingly uncomfortable standing there and feeling extremely awkward, all he did was grunt and walk away. Unfortunately for the bluenette though, Kurosaki began to follow him.

Grimmjow whipped around and glared, "Why the hell are you following me?!" he snarled.

Finally, a little annoyance crept into those brown eyes, "I'm a bruised, bloody mess," he raised his hands in a shrug, "I can't go home like this. Can I come back to yours with you and clean up? I'll be gone in a jiff."

Jiff? Who said jiff anymore?

Opening his mouth to answer with a big fat "No," Grimmjow was interrupted yet again.

"Please, you'll barely know I'm there."

Why the hell was Kurosaki acting so out of character?!

Caught off guard by what his classmate had just said, all he did was nod dumbly.

Kurosaki smiled—What the fuck?!—and inclined his head, "Thanks Grimmjow."

Okay, Kurosaki had to stop calling him that right now!

Turning, he began his original walk to his original destination he'd had in mind before the fight. Looking up though he caught sight of the street name and came to an ugly realization. This wasn't the way to work.

With great horror he came to another, uglier realization, he had no idea what street it was. Which meant one, very obvious fact.

He was lost.

Shit.

-Grimmjow-

Unlike the last few days Grimmjow had been coming into work, everything was quiet. It was never quiet in the shop; somebody was always working on something. Kurosaki wasn't far behind him, but he wasn't too close either so he left the other alone. The whole way there neither said a word to the other or made any sort of sound.

Something weird was going on with the guy and Grimmjow wanted to get rid of him as soon as was humanly possible. Behind Kurosaki made a curious noise; suddenly very angry Grimmjow stopped and turned to give the guest a look. (Yes, Kurosaki was a guest, an unwelcome one, but a guest nonetheless.)

After only a few tensed seconds, the orangette spoke, "Is this where you live? Or are you breaking and entering here?" He asked it in sort of a teasing way and for good measure added a sheepish smile at the end.

Seriously, what was wrong with the guy?!

Kurosaki was acting nice to him.

That was just plain wrong.

The taller teenager scowled, "Work," he managed to get past his clenched teeth.

After a few more seconds—this time awkwardness lay over them—Kurosaki spoke again, "I thought we were-"

"Why would we?!" Grimmjow interrupted abruptly, "I know you. Plus, I gotta work."

Kurosaki raised his hands defensively and backed a step away, "Sorry."

Staring at each other, they just stood there; one waiting for something to happen and the to her waiting for an orange headed teenager to return to normal. When neither happened, Grimmjow felt some of his anger leave him as suddenly as it had come. He scoffed and quickly made his way to his boss's office.

Kurosaki stayed where he was.

Rooting around the messy room, the bluenette searched for the first aid kit he knew was in here. He found it in the bottom drawer of Starrk's desk, it was cracked and dirty, but it had what was needed.

Exiting the office, he looked at Kurosaki pointedly and gestured sharply to the couched and chairs.

"Sit down over there."

The orangette readily complied.

Girmmjow sat across from him and got to tending the others wounds.

Kurosaki's knuckles were bleeding from all the punched he had probably thrown before Grimmjow had arrived. Weirdly enough, he was l gad to see them, it meant the orangette had fought back. Which also meant there was still some normal left in Kurosaki. Ever since he'd first encountered the other, Grimmjow had sensed a fire in him. The will t fight, if you were being cliché about it. It was part of the reason why he'd loved teasing Kurosaki so much; nothing the bluenette had ever fazed him. Unfortunately though, the fire had quickly dwindled. He had no illusions about him being the cause though. Kurosaki had always had the fire when he went up against him. Until today.

As quickly as their verbal battles could turn into physical one's, Kurosaki went from loathing his presence to acting like an almost-friend.

Maybe he could beat some sense into him. Grimmjow had decided that he was going to do so after he had beaten the crap out the wannabe thugs.

Kurosaki hissed when he started cleaning a cut on his cheek. Grimmjow gave him a disapproving look, "Man up Kurosaki."

A flash of annoyance came and went out of the brown eyes.

There he is, Grimmjow thought.

Now, how to get him back permanently. He wanted the Kurosaki that fought back, not this docile, polite, annoying nerd.

After he finished, Grimmjow leaned back and gave his work a once over. Black eye, swollen lip, a few more bruises here and there and even more scratches and ripped clothes. All in all, he looked like the crap had been kicked out of him.

Hopefully the orangette hadn't been looking for a miracle. Then again, Kurosaki also should have known better than to expect one.

"There's a bathroom just over there, beside the office." Grimmjow turned and pointed to where he was talking about.

"Don't you want me to take care of your wounds?"

"What?"

That was an absurd question.

Kurosaki rolled his eyes and pokes Grimmjow's cheek harshly. The bluenette hissed and slapped the hand away, "What the hell!"

When he glared accusingly at his attacker, Kurosaki just smirked mockingly, "Take it like a man Jeagerjaques."

Was Kurosaki teasing him?

Suddenly very defensive he created more space between them, "Shut up Kurosaki. I don't need tending to and you're done. Leave."

Grimmjow got up with every intention of forcing Kurosaki out, but then he was grabbed and forced back down into the couch. A stray spring he never noticed before poked him in the back.

"Sit down you idiot."

And without really knowing why, Grimmjow let him tend to him.

A short while later, when Kurosaki finally went to leave, Grimmjow shifted awkwardly while he watched the other leave. Just before he went out into the cold though, Kurosaki turned, "Thanks again for saving my ass Jeagerjaques."

Before Grimmjow could stutter his way through a "no problem" or a "whatever" he left.

Maybe I'm sick…

It was the only plausible explanation.

-Love&Loss-

Renji tried calling that night, the cell rang the red heads song over and over, but all Ichigo did was stare at it. He had no idea what to do. After the decision he had some to after school, when Grimmjow had saved him from getting beaten nearly to death, this call threatened everything. The song stopped an silence reigned. Soon after though, it started up again.

Tightening the hold on his legs, Ichigo tried his best to ignore it.

He wasn't going to answer it. That was that. Renji had made it obviously clear that he didn't need Ichigo. So, in return, Ichigo would do the same.

After the fight, and while he had watched the other fight, Ichigo had decided that Grimmjow could be a friend.

If the orangette was going to freeze out all his friends—temporarily of course—then someone completely unrelated to the situation would be welcome. Grimmjow could easily be that person.

It wouldn't be easy though, the guy was a bastard with no manners.

The song stopped and the silence that followed was very loud. Hopefully, it wouldn't—the song started again.

Ichigo snatched the phone from his bedside table and flipped his phone open. Before some part of him could talk him out of it, he shut it off.

Tomorrow was to be a new day, he didn't need old baggage.

-Ichigo-

The next day, Ichigo stayed by himself, all the while running his plan through is head. There were two ways of going about this. He could do it slowly; get Grimmjow used to the idea of being friends or he could just force him to accept the idea. The former was the smartest route and the one he should take, but Ichigo didn't feel like it.

So the latter it was.

Ichigo had been going to enforce it as soon as he saw the bluenette, which was supposed to be this morning, but… there was no sign of his soon to be ex-tormentor.

That would just not do.

Grimmjow was messing with Ichigo's plan and it ticked him off.

When lunch came, the orangette began to search. He planned to look everywhere but he roof. It took only ten minutes to find his target. Grimmjow was walking down an aisle in the library, scowling unhappily. Following in silence, Ichigo suddenly had no idea what he was going to say.

What if what he said got them to fighting?

Considering it was them, it could happen. He had to think about this for a second.

Ichigo could always start with, "Hello." He immediately threw it away. Talk about awkward. Maybe he could—he stopped himself.

I'm overthinking this.

Grimmjow grabbed what seemed like a random book off the shelf and went to sit at a nearby table.

Just act Ichigo, the orangette ordered himself and did just that.

When he plopped down onto the chair across from the bluenette, said bluenette jumped in surprise. For a second the other looked like a deer caught in a trucks headlights. The look was gone quickly though, like it had never been.

"Hey Jeagerjaques."

This was part of the plan. Even though Ichigo thought of him as Grimmjow, he couldn't call him that. Not until they were officially friends. He wouldn't want to scare the other away or something like that. Much like he had been doing yesterday.

"What are you doing here Kurosaki?"

Grimmjow sat stiffly in his chair, looking ready to bolt any minute.

Maybe Ichigo could start out a little slow.

"I'm hiding from my friends. Then I saw you over here, looking bored and thought you might like some company."

Grimmjow gave him a weird look, "Right Kurosaki, whatever you say."

Then he made to leave.

Ichigo lurched across and latched onto the others wrist with all his strength, "Wait!"

Grimmjow jerked, "Kurosaki, let go!" he demanded.

It might've been his imagination, but the bluenette sounded slightly panicked.

Ichigo couldn't tell past his own panic though. He had been going to play it cool, the whole thing, if Grimmjow ever walked away, Ichigo would simply follow him. It had all flown out the window when the bluenette had actually begun to leave though.

Way to lose your cool Ichigo, he mentally growled to himself.

Out loud he said, "Grimmjow I have a proposition," Oops, small slip, "please sit back down."

The plan was completely out the window now, Ichigo was improvising.

Grimmjow scowled, "Let me go Kurosaki."

"Sit down, Jeagerjaques."

Surprisingly, Grimmjow didn't bolt either.

Maybe this would work out.

"Talk." The bluenette demanded.

How to phrase this? What to say? He had to think quickly. In the short time the other had been at this school, it was quick knowledge that the 'new kid' had no patience.

God he was acting pathetic.

Finally, he found the right words and began to talk, "Why don't you and me become friends?" Grimmjow looked like he wanted to interrupt so Ichigo began to speak faster, "It wouldn't be that big a deal! I just need some help keeping my friends off my back for a while. My friends hate you because of how you're basically been bullying me since the semester started. You're perfect for exactly what I need."

It was all very reasonable. It made perfect sense too. The bluenette had no friends in the school—that Ichigo was aware of—and the guys aura just screamed, "Stay away from me or die!"

All Grimmjow had to do was agree.

The bluenette was staring at him incredulously, "What the fuck kind of deal is that?" He made to get up again and again, Ichigo latched onto his waist with an iron grip.

"We're always fighting! Wouldn't this be better?!"

Grimmjow froze and seemed to be having some battle with himself.

They stared at each other, waiting and thinking.

It was a crazy idea from the start, Ichigo knew, but some things were worth the risk. If the bluenette was able to keep everyone off his back it would be worth it.

Hopefully what he had said last would get through to the taller teen.

Finally something happened.

The wrist Ichigo had been gripping went lax and Grimmjow looked at him curiously.

"You want to get rid of your friends this badly Kurosaki?"

"I don't want to get rid of them."

The bluenette sat back down on the chair and shook off his captor's hand. It easily complied.

"What, exactly do I get out of a deal like this?"

Sighing tiredly, he nearly smacked his face on the desk. He hadn't that one through very much.

"I'd owe you."

Grimmjow drummed his fingers on the table, looking totally relaxed. It was the complete opposite of how he had looked before, when Ichigo had sat down. Complete opposite of how Ichigo himself felt.

Slowly, the bluenette leaned forward and smirked, "Okay, you'd owe me."

Grimmjow held out his hand, "You got yourself a deal Kurosaki."

The relief Ichigo felt then almost felled him.

They shook hands.

"I'll collect on a later date."

The bell rang, but it was only background music in the library. Grimmjow let go of his hand and left without looking back.

Leaning back in the library chair Ichigo smiled and laughed a little nervously. He ran his hands over his face, suddenly, unexpectedly, tired.

Weirdo friendships had been formed.

He hoped.

-Love&Loss-

"So, anything new happen today?" Nina asked her son, pushing her peas back and forth on her plate.

A few days ago she had decided that they should start eating like a family. A completely foreign concept when related to them, in Grimmjow's opinion.

He never told her the truth when he tried to strike up a conversation though, so what he said next was okay.

"Yeah," He smirked and stabbed a piece of meat with his fork, "I made a new friend."

Nina looked up, started, then a second later a wide smile stretched across her face.

"Oh, that's great hun!"

Grimmjow held back a grimace, "Yeah, you can call it that."

She looked at him confusingly, but he just continued eating.

It was going to be interesting, participating in this 'friendship' with Kurosaki. Grimmjow knew he could deal with it too, because he knew how to fake something. He use to get a lot of practice every day at home after all.

The End! of the chapter. Ichigo is getting deeper and deeper, whatever is going through his mind? We'll figure out in chapters to come. It is late, I am tired, I am happy to get this posted. Please write down your thought and send to my review box, you're thoughts are wanted. Expect next update in March.

Yours truly,

~Klaanvdia