Hey guys! I apologize for the long wait- university has been hectic. Luckily I was able to write a chapter that is my usual word count (I think something like 2100 words) and some smut. Please enjoy and let me know what you think xx
Chapter | 13
Ichigo still wasn't speaking to her. Three days passed since they showed up at school with the brownies, and all he did was throw a measly, "thanks," in Rukia's direction.
"That jackass," Rukia muttered furiously as she walked down the hallway during lunch. She wasn't going to take this anymore; if he was going to avoid her, then she was going to make it very hard for him.
She wasn't sure how she was going to get him alone, but today was the day that Ichigo was going to stop his shit. She was getting tired of it, and feeling guilty for feeling that way, because technically she started their little feud.
Orihime and Tatsuki were waiting for her near the staircase, "Come on, we'll be late for gym."
"What crawled into your cereal this morning?" Tatsuki asked as they caught up to Rukia.
Rukia gave Orihime a quick glace to see whether she was looking- she wasn't- and shook her head at Tatsuki. Tatsuki understood immediately.
"Anyone know what we're doing in class today?" Rukia asked as they neared the gym.
"Coach said something about dodgeball," Orihime answered, her voice a little nervous.
"Don't worry, Hime, the boys won't throw balls at a pretty girl and I'll make sure the girls don't get you." Tatsuki draped her arm over Orihime's shoulder. "Or maybe the other team will just give up when they get a look at fuming Rukia over here."
Rukia rolled her eyes, but she was glad they were doing dodgeball. It meant she could vent a little.
"Good morning, class, please line up from shortest to tallest," coach announced once everyone was there.
It took a good five minutes, but everyone managed to line up without too much hassle.
Coach then proceeded to send one person right and the next to the left and so on. Soon there were two teams and a lot of mixed emotions.
Rukia and Orihime were on the same team, but Tatsuki and Ichigo were their opponents. Coach quickly ran them through the rules and soon all them were against their respective walls.
The whistle sounded.
Rukia was the first to make it to the line, and didn't bother to retreat before taking out two of the other team's players. She was on a roll, and seeing Ichigo on the other side was only increasing her determination.
The game quickly thinned out until there was only five players left on each side- Rukia and four others on her side and Ichigo, Tatsuki, and three random kids.
"Okay, guys, last two minutes. Team with the most players left wins," Coach announced.
"Bring it on, Rukia," Tatsuki goaded as Coach placed five balls in the middle of the room.
Five balls, ten players. It was go time. They ended up with three of the balls on Tatsuki's side and two on Rukia's, but where Rukia's team managed to take out two of the other team's players, Tatsuki's side only got one. And that's how the game came to an end.
"Okay, shake," Coach ordered and last player standing moved towards each other. Tatsuki gave Rukia a big smile, congratulating her on the win. Ichigo, on the other hand, was less warm. He didn't look at Rukia as they shook hands, well, more like grazed palms.
"That didn't look too good," Tatsuki whispered into Rukia's ear. "What happened?"
"We had a fight, and now I'm trying to make it better, but Ichigo's being stubborn about it," Rukia said through clenched teeth.
They watched as Ichigo left the gym with the rest of the guys. The girls followed after, wanting to get dressed before break.
"You know what I found works best on his stubborn ass?" Tatsuki offered. "Getting straight to the point and not giving him chance to slip away."
Deep down, Rukia knew that, but direct confrontation in this situation scared her. She didn't want her big mouth being the reason she lost Ichigo.
Can't lose what you don't have. Ichigo didn't belong to Rukia, she had driven that point home for him. And the unexpected longing that Rukia felt caused her to shudder.
"Thanks," Rukia said as she left Tatsuki. The bell for break had gone and she knew where she would find a scowling Ichigo.
She ran into Uryu and Chad halfway to the roof.
"Hey, Rukia," Uryu greeted and Chad nodded his head.
"Guys, do you maybe mind giving me some time alone with Ichigo?" Rukia asked. She noticed their suspicions glance at each other, but figured she didn't have time to entertain them by spinning a story.
"Sure," Uryu, "Is everything okay?"
"Nothing to worry about, just a tiny fight," Rukia said before starting up the stairs to the roof.
The door to the roof was propped open, probably a sign from Ichigo to his friends. But Rukia didn't waste any time in removing the brick and swinging the door shut.
"You guys are late," Ichigo's irritated voice comes from around the corner.
Rukia, her bravado slightly wavering, stepped around. "They're not coming."
Ichigo's eyes widened for a split second as he stared at her form. He managed to compose himself, getting to his feet.
"Then I'll go find the-" Ichigo didn't meet her eyes, which only helped to infuriate her more.
"No," Rukia interrupted, throwing her arm out to stop him from passing by. "You can't keep avoiding me."
"Don't flatter yourself, midget," Ichigo said, but his words are strained.
That's it, Rukia thought, seconds before she stepped up to him, grabbing him by the material on his shoulder and chest. In one smooth motion she brought her one leg between his from behind, hooked the back of their knees and paralleled her body with one leg planted on the ground.
Ichigo let out a yelp of surprise as he lost his balance and hit the ground flat on his back. Before he could get up, Rukia was on him, straddling his stomach.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo exclaimed.
Instead of answering, Rukia leaned forward until her head is directly above his. Ichigo looked away.
Raising a fist, Rukia brought it down onto his chest with about as much force as a baby. "Look at me, damn it."
The sadness in her voice took even her by surprise.
Slowly Ichigo lifted his head, their eyes properly meeting for the first time in almost a week. Rukia felt the inside of her stomach knot.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know you're probably still mad about the biting thing, but right now, I want to be here for you and you're not making it easy at all."
Ichigo still didn't say anything.
"You might not admit it, but the serial killer thing has you rattled, and I can see that. Please," Rukia took a breath, "Please, just talk to me."
Ichigo's eyes stayed on hers, but he made no move to answer. He really was mad at her, or if not, Rukia had no idea why he was still shutting her out.
What if he hates me? The though popped up before she could stop it. A cold shrill ran down her spine, the knot in her stomach becoming physically painful.
Rukia sat up, her hair dropping over her eyes as she lowered her head.
"Fine, I won't bother you any further. Just know that I'm here." And with that she pushed herself onto her knees and was about to get up when a hand wrapped around her wrist.
This time it was Rukia's turn to yell out as she was harshly tugged to the side (good call not to get changed out of her gym clothes). Luckily she didn't hit the ground hard, and Ichigo's face looming over her silenced any further objections.
"I'm sorry." Ichigo's voice was barely audible.
Before Rukia could react, his lips were on her. She had almost forgotten what his touch could do to her, but as Ichigo kissed his way down her jaw she couldn't help the sound that slipped from between her lips.
When Ichigo reached the collar of his shirt, he raised a hand and tugged her bow-tie off before undoing the first two buttons. Any more than that and Rukia probably would have stopped him, but now there was just enough space for Ichigo's lips to reach her throat. And Rukia liked that, she like that very much.
Rukia's hands reached past him and wrapped themselves in the fabric on his back, tugging him closer. Ichigo didn't need further motivation as he lowered himself onto her, still keeping most of his weight on his arms.
A loud cheer from the sport field below broke their spell.
Breathing heavily, they pulled apart, knowing they were in a very compromising position if someone decided to venture onto the roof. It would cause them a lot of problems.
Reluctantly they both sat up, and Rukia gave a little laugh as she found her legs were a bit numb. She scooted over to the wall and leaned her back against it. Ichigo joined her.
"So, I'm forgiven?" Rukia asked hopefully.
"Remind me again what I should forgive you for?" Ichigo pretended to scratch his chin in thought. He just wanted her to say it aloud.
"I'm very sorry for biting your lip and running away," Rukia muttered.
"And why was that again?" Ichigo probed.
"Because," Rukia started, but remembered that she never actually told him why she did it. "It's nothing."
"Come on, Rukia, this is a two-way street. I'll apologise for avoiding you if you tell me why you bit me," Ichigo proposed.
"That's not fair. Then you should explain why you avoided me," Rukia countered.
"Well, you did bite me," Ichigo pointed out. "But fine, I'll explain as well."
"I thought there was another girl," Rukia blurted out.
Chancing a peek at Ichigo, she saw his expression change from confused to surprised.
"You though I was cheating?"
The word cheating caught Rukia's attention. Cheating was something you could do in a relationship, she and Ichigo weren't exclusive, so technically it wouldn't be cheating.
"When we both got ill, I somehow," not so somehow, "got it in my head that you might have gotten it from kissing someone else." Rukia explained it in a whisper.
"Or, you know, I play for about five teams and from time to time I take a sip from their water bottles." Ichigo didn't sound mad, more like disappointed that she didn't trust him enough. "Haru, in the soccer team, had it shortly before we got it, and I remember him letting me take a sip of his water a few times."
Rukia pulled her knees into her chest and groaned. "I feel so stupid."
"You acted pretty stupid," Ichigo added.
Rukia turned her head to him. "I'm sorry, I should have thought about something other than some girl wrapping herself around you."
"What type of girl?" Ichigo asked and Rukia swatted his arm.
"I'm kidding." Ichigo laughed. "Just so you know, even if you don't know what this is, I won't go sneaking around behind your back. I'm loyal to you."
Ichigo's words didn't take Rukia by surprise, by her breath did hitch.
"Your turn," Rukia said, unsure of how to answer his statement.
"Well, for one I thought you didn't want to see me- the whole biting think you know? But when I found out that man was killing again…" Ichigo hesitated. "I don't even know. You were clearly struggling with something and I didn't want to unload my problems on you as well."
"We're friends, Ichigo. Right?" Rukia asked.
At first Ichigo didn't understand, but answered nonetheless, "Of course."
"Then don't be stupid. Even if I was confused about something, I'll always be there for you. Even if don't really understand what's going on between us, I'll always have your back."
"Yeah," Ichigo whispered. He looked down at her, his eyes holding an emotion Rukia couldn't decipher; they were warm, but there was something else there as well.
"So, are we good now?" Rukia asked, his gaze making her nervous, but in a good way.
"We're great," Ichigo confirmed.
They smiled at each other, feeling how some of the weight lifted of their shoulders. It was easier to breath.
Neither of them moved until break ended, and when Ichigo made to get up, Rukia grabbed his sleeve.
"Could you, if you want to, kiss me?" Rukia was blushing furiously. She wanted to feel his lips on hers, not just on her throat like a few minutes before.
Ichigo leaned in until their noses were almost touching. "Are you going to bite again?"
"Who knows?" Rukia muttered, but neither of them cared about her answer.
Ichigo's lips slanted against hers; what was intended to be sweet and light ended up being passionate and deep. Ichigo probably would have pressed her back into the ground if they didn't have to go to class.
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