After what happened in the morning, Orihime's confidence started to wane. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her feelings in, but she wasn't sure if it was the right time yet. And that was always the problem. Each time she wanted to tell Ichigo her feelings, something would interrupt the moment. Whether it was one of their friends or even a hollow, it always seemed like there was something keeping them from being together!

Noticing how sullen her friend's mood had become, Tatsuki looked over to Rukia, who like her, noticed the girl's sudden mood change. Both of them had exchanged glances, not realizing the man who was oblivious to Orihime's feelings saw the whole thing.

Suddenly, he got a weird feeling in his stomach. And he wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

"Tch. You're such a pansy, King."

"Shut up. Why do you always have to butt in when situations don't concern you?"

"Because unlike you, I'm not stupid. Why are you holding back from telling Queenie how you feel?"

"What makes you think Inoue likes me to begin with? Are you trying to get my hopes up for nothing?"

"I wouldn't be saying this shit if I didn't know how she felt King! Just look at her! Think back to every time we've been around her! With everyone else, she's normal. But when she's around us, she's a rambling girl who has a crush on us. The fact that you're so oblivious to this shit drives me insane."

"I'm pretty sure you're already insane. Now go away! I don't want to think about this anymore. Plus I'm trying to listen to my teacher and actually graduate."

"Whatever. I'll just continue to watch her then. And make you think of all the naughty things we could do to her right now."

Hearing his hollow cackle in laughter, he shrugged his head before resting on his hand. His gaze had subconsciously gone to the girl staring out the window. It was one thing for his friends to tease him about Orihime, but now his hollow is too? He sighed; surely there was an answer for all this madness he called his life. He always had a crush on the healer, though he can never remember when it had started.

But he didn't want to take that chance and screw up their friendship. So instead, he had sworn to protect her and make sure no other guy hit on her. The fact that his hollow showed interest in her obviously meant his feelings were real. His evil half wouldn't hit on everything that moved, nor was he ever so persistent.

The bell had rung to signal it was time for lunch. Getting up and packing his bag, he sighed.

Finally; a place where I can relax.

.

.

.

Unfortunately, to Ichigo's dismay, lunch wasn't as relaxing as he thought it was going to be. Between Keigo whining about not spending time with any of his friends, Uryu saying smart ass comments to him again, Tatsuki and Rukia agreeing with him, he couldn't get a break! The only people who weren't on his case were Orihime, Chad and Mizurio.

Come to think of it, he didn't see her anywhere.

"Where's Inoue? She's usually the first person here."

Tatsuki and Rukia blinked, their mouths were kept shut. Looking at each other before looking at him, they shrugged.

"I have no idea. She told me she was going to meet us here. She said something about staying back for a bit to talk with Ochi-sensei."

"Tch. If that's the case, don't you think she should've been here by now? Doesn't it worry you that she's not here?"

A frown formed on Tatsuki's face. Before she could reply, Rukia beat her to it. "Since when have you become the one to worry constantly, Ichigo? I understand since the Hueco Mundo incident you've been more protective of her, but don't you think you're overreacting, just a little bit? Surely, she's still in the school. I haven't sensed anything wrong with her."

Standing up, he left his lunch as he walked towards the door. "I don't trust it Rukia. I'm gonna go find her."

The slam of the door made Keigo jump, Renji lifted his head from his comic book, his eyebrow raised. "What was that about?"

Chad smiled. "Ichigo's starting to understand his feelings."

.

.

.

He knew Rukia was right. Surely, she was fine. He was keeping his attention focused on her the entire time she wasn't there. Her reiatsu was calm, happy even. He was glad the whole incident didn't do anything traumatic to her. He wasn't sure if she wanted to be near him after the whole ordeal.

But he was glad she was still beside him.

Turning the corner, he didn't realize she was heading up the stairs and he crashed into her, both of them falling onto the floor. He groaned in pain before looking down at the girl underneath him. He was glad no one was around at the time, for a huge blush covered his face.

He lost his breath when she opened her eyes; they shone a very bright grey. And he realized he could lose himself in them forever if he wanted to. Licking his lips, he avoided looking at her lips; the position they were in was tempting him very badly to do something he didn't want to do.

Scratch that, he wanted to do it. But he didn't want to scare her off.

"Shit… You okay…. Inoue?"

His voice made her snap out of her thoughts and she looked into his eyes; they were blazing with an unknown emotion she couldn't figure out. Not trusting her voice, she nodded her head instead, and for some reason, she couldn't take her eyes from his. It was like they were calling her. As weird as it sounded to anyone else, to her she fully understood what she was feeling.

He stood up then, dusting his pants off before offering her a hand. Sitting up, she turned her gaze to him, confusion swept across her features. Knowing he wouldn't back down, she grabbed his hand and tried so badly to ignore the electricity that coursed through her veins at the touch.

Rubbing the back of his hand, he looked away, another blush appearing on his face. "Y-You didn't show up at lunch today. I was worried and decided to go look for you."

Her eyes widened before a bright smile blinded him. "Arigato, Kurosaki-kun. I just had to talk to Ochi-sensei about the homework. Some of it didn't make sense, so I wanted to make sure I understood before trying to do it tonight."

He nodded, not trusting his voice. The bell rang at that point, signalling that lunch was over. He blew out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, before looking at the small girl. Not wanting to be late for class, he grabbed her hand and began walking. He completely ignored the girl who was currently freaking out about it.

Oh, how he wish his heart would slow down…