I'm baaaaack! This one may be a little longer than the others, but it's because I love you :) Some of the chapters may be longer or shorter than the others, but that's because I don't want to have, like, a bajillion chapters because there's a lot going on and the chapters are short. So read, and enjoy!

The music coming from the house could be heard almost a mile away, and cars were already lined up outside. Rukia sat nervously in the front seat next to Orihime, who babbled on and on. Finally she stopped, noticing her friend's silence.

"Are you okay, Rukia?" she asked worriedly. Rukia shrugged and smiled, trying to cover up how nervous she was.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't go to parties that often… I'm surprised my brother let me come here." Orihime smiled understandingly.

"I know what you mean. My brother doesn't let me come a lot, either. I didn't know he would let me drive his car. I used to not go to parties at all before I met Rangiku. She dragged me to so many of them that I just got used to it." Rukia sighed again before opening her door and climbing out of the car. Orihime followed her towards the house, locking the car behind her. Once they got in side they had to be careful not to lose each other in the crowd.

Rukia recognized some of the people that went to her school, but most were complete strangers. The two girls walked into the living room and spotted Rangiku sitting on the couch, holding a beer while surrounded by guys. Her loud, obnoxious laughs could be heard over the music.

"She certainly gets a lot of attention," a voice came from behind them. Rukia and Orihime turned to see Tastuki standing there, watching Rangiku with an eyebrow raised. Orihime giggled and Rukia shrugged.

"What do you expect?" she said, "Most of them are guys."

"Except for Chizuru, of course," Tatsuki replied. Just then Momo appeared beside them.

"Hey, have you guys seen Toshiro?" she asks. Everyone shook their heads.

"Last time I heard he was disappeared shortly after him and Rangiku got here," Tatsuki informed her, "Why do you need him?"

"She wants to ask him out," Rukia answered for her friend, smirking. Momo blushed slightly and scowled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna go find him, ok? See ya." Soon Momo was gone, and Orihime went off somewhere so just Rukia and Tatsuki were left alone.

"What now?" Rukia asked, and Tatsuki shrugged before someone was suddenly shoved into her and she fell to the ground. The now angry and confused tomboy opened her eyes to find herself pinned under the body of a boy with strange tattoos and fiery red hair.

Orihime sighed. She had left her friends in an effort to find somewhere quieter where she could sit and be alone. Rangiku did drag her to a lot of parties, but that didn't mean she liked them anymore than she had before. The strawberry blonde climbed the stairs, passing other kids who gave her weird looks or totally ignored her and made it to the second floor. The hallways were filled, and a few of the doors she opened were, well, occupied.

After blushing and apologizing before closing the door and feeling like a total idiot, Orihime sighed and simply sat on the floor in the hallway. A few people past her, glancing at her and mumbling, but she tried to ignore them. Just when she was thinking about going back downstairs to find Rukia, a cold, unfeeling voice that sent shivers up and down her spine reached her ears.

"Are you alright?" Orihime looked up at the person who spoke. It was a boy around her age with dark black hair, striking green eyes, and paint that made it look like he was crying. Orihime opened her mouth, but couldn't force anything out. The boy's presence was heavy, and she felt as if a huge pressure was building on her chest and weighing her down.

"Well?" he said, "Are you going to answer or continue to gape like a fish?" Suddenly Orihime snapped back to her senses and blushed.

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I just…" The boy continued to watch her, waiting for an answer, and finally she sighed.

"I'm alright," Orihime assured him, "I just wanted to get away from all the people." The boy nodded.

"I'm Orihime, by the way," she went on, "Who are you?"

"Ulqiorra."

"Nice to meet you."

"….."

"…"

Orihime shifted uncomfortably at the silence. She was trying to think of something to say when suddenly Ulquiorra spoke.

"I have to go," he said, "Good bye, Orihime."

"Er, good bye, Ulquiorra." He walked away, and Orihime watched him, wondering what the secrets were the boy held.

Toshiro sighed, looking up at the sky. It was dark already, and music still blared from the house, shouts and cheers coming from the inside. The moment they arrived, Rangiku had been swarmed by guys, and Toshiro had been able to escape out the back door. Now he stood, staring up at the starry sky and crescent moon. He heard footsteps to his left and turned, bracing himself to deal with one of the drunken guys that had stumbled out to throw up. Instead he saw Karin, walking slowly while kicking a pebble.

She felt another presence and looked up, surprised to see the white haired boy from her soccer practice. Her mind flashed back to then, when they had been so close, and felt her face heat up. Karin was lucky it was dark; if anyone found out Karin Kurosaki had blushed because of an almost-kiss, or had blushed at all for that matter, her reputation would be shot.

"Hey," she greeted, walking to stand by him, "What're you doing out here?" Toshiro shrugged, looking back up at the sky.

"Just wanted to get away from the people. You?" Karin sighed.

"Same. My stupid dad said he had "stuff" to do tonight, so he made me and my sister Yuzu come with Ichigo," she explained.

"So where's your sister?" Toshiro asked, wondering if a girl her age should be wondering around a house alone with a lot of older people. Karin must have read his expression, because she shook her head and said, "Don't worry, she's with my brother. We were told to stay together, but Ichigo let me come outside as long as I "didn't talk to strangers" and crap like that." Toshiro nodded understandingly.

"I don't know your brother well," he said, "but I see him at school sometime. He's kind of a punk, but he seems like a good guy." Karin chuckled, the closest sound she had ever gotten to giggling.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. So did you come here with anyone?" she asked slyly, wondering why she cared. Toshiro sighed.

"Yeah, my friend Rangiku. She got surrounded by guys the moment we stepped in, so I got to sneak away out here," he told her, asking himself in his mind why he was talking so much, "Her other friends were supposed to meet us here, but I haven't seen them."

"Oh." It was silent as they both stared up at the sky. Surprisingly it was a comfortable, companionable silence, one you wouldn't have expected to have settled over a boy and a girl who barely knew each other. The night air was cool, and a light wind blew around them. If it hadn't been for the blaring music behind them, it would have been one of the most peaceful nights she had experienced in a long time, and Karin let a small, rare smile spread on her face.

Back inside, Tatsuki was furious.

"Get off me, you idiot!" she shouted at the boy lying on top of her, shoving at him. The guy jumped up, and Tatsuki followed immediately after.

"You idiot, watch where you're going next time!" she shouted. Rukia was starting to get worried Tatsuki might actually murder someone when she suddenly recognized someone standing closely behind the guy that had knocked over Tatsuki.

"Ichigo?" The strawberry turned, and once his eyes landed on her they lit up in recognition.

"Rukia? What are you doing here?" Just then the red head decided to retort to Tatsuki.

"Yeah, well move out of the way next time," he growled. Tatsuki glared at him, and Rukia felt as if the floor was going to open up and swallow the guy right then and there.

"I shouldn't have to, you damn idiot! If you weren't being a total asshole and messing around this never would have happened!" Rukia gave Ichigo a warning look as his friend started to open his mouth to continue the fight, and he nodded.

"C'mon, Renji," he said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder to restrain him, "Cut it out."

"Yeah, Tatsuki," Rukia said, tugging on the angry girl's arm, "Let's just go see if we can find Momo or Orihime, ok? I haven't seen them in a while and I'm starting to get worried." The two friends reluctantly obeyed and backed off. Ichigo and Rukia exchanged a nod before he dragged Renji away into the crowd.

"Who does he think he is?" Tatsuki mumbled, crossing her arms, "Stupid pineapple head… who has that kind of hair color, anyways?" Rukia would have rolled her eyes at her friend's antics if she had been listening, but her mind was too busy working. So what did this mean for her and Ichigo? Were they friends now? They still fought when they saw each other in school, but it was more playful than before. So were they friends, or maybe something more?

Momo sat on the edge of one of the couches, holding her head in her hands and feeling dejected. On her search for Toshiro she had finally found him outside, staring up at the sky. She started to approach him when suddenly there were other footsteps, and both she and Toshiro turned to see the girl from the soccer game, Karin Kurosaki. The two started talking, and Momo automatically knew that any chance she had with Toshiro was shot.

Momo sighed, thinking. Now what was she supposed to do? When she had gone back into the house, feeling down about Toshiro, she couldn't find her friends anywhere, so she just took the free spot on one of the small couches in the living room. Suddenly the couch beneath her shifted and she turned to see Kira sitting next to her.

"Kira?" she said, blinking in surprise, "What are you doing here?" Kira turned to her.

"Hey Momo," he greeted, "I came here for the party, what else?"

"I don't know, this just doesn't seem like you're type of thing." Kira observed her.

"What's wrong? You're usually a lot more happy than this." Momo shrugged and went back to holding her head in her hands.

"Nothing. Just this guy I like is into someone else…"

"Well, if he doesn't like you, then he's an idiot." Momo turned to Kira in surprise and saw a light blush had crept across his cheeks. She smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, making his face redden.

"Thanks, Kira," she said, her smile widening. Kira gave her a small, shy smile back.

The end :) I know it's kind of an odd place to leave off, but I'ma tired and have other stuffs to do. Anyways, review and give me suggestions and stuff :)