(A/N: Yes guys. Unfortunately I'm still alive here and your heartwarming reviews remind me that, "oh hey, would you look at that I've still got a story that needs to be done". Oh well. After centuries, my muse has finally activated and here it is. My apologies for the inconvenience and super-duper late update. But shit happens. And I gotta do some important stuff that has to do with our basic needs such as food, money, shelter, etc. Here ya go. Hope you enjoy).

Disclaimer: Yep. Totally own them. I've bought some of them at the supermarket to do the laundry.

EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T WANT TO WEAR THE PRETTY AND SILKY SCARF THAT DAY, Matsumoto had insisted stubbornly on putting it on him. The said woman had justified that it's "winter taicho and its cold!" and "I think she will be really happy if she sees you wearing it" with a matching playful wink and a smug grin to which he only glared at her. He would never know on how the hell Matsumoto found out that Inoue gave him a present. But due to street smarts and a little manipulation, it wasn't hard for her to figure it out.

The passersby seemed to do a double take on him as he walked down the street. He overheard one of the girl's gushing and whispering to her female companion.

"Geez, do you know who's that boy? He sure looks cute especially with that cool scarf of his."

Toshiro's eyebrow twitched involuntarily when he heard the word "cute" but he tried to act nonchalant about it afterwards. He didn't know if that was a compliment or not but he decided to ignore it. He didn't want to waste his time analyzing some random girl's absurd remarks, but one thing is for sure, this scarf that Inoue had gave him was really pretty and it complimented his tanned skin and his turquoise eyes. Somehow the thought of Inoue does genuinely care for him made him feel light and warm all over. It was just like a bright ray of sunlight that has just dawned on him.

He tried to suppress a dumb smile that was threateningly to inch across his lips before his nosy lieutenant could notice. For sure, if Matsumoto had seen his strange behavior she would never let it die down and would never hear the end of it. And why the hell did he let this foolishness took over him? He wasn't going to succumb to these foreign feelings that Inoue was waking inside of him. He was—

"Taicho, taicho? Hello to Earth taicho." Matsumoto called on him as she snapped her fingers in front of him.

Toshiro jerked mildly at her lieutenant's patronizing voice and blinked up at her. What the hell?

He looked at her in annoyance. "What is it Matsumoto?"

Matsumoto wasn't the least to look perturbed at him and was enjoying catching him off guard. "I said we're almost in Karakura High. And….." she paused for a brief moment and let the words hang in the air for a dramatic moment.

Toshiro just raised an eyebrow at her in impatience.

"Did you already asked Orihime-san out in the upcoming school dance?" Matsumoto asked cheekily. A self-satisfied smirk was already inching across her lips as she asked this.

Toshiro almost choke out on air and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at Matsumoto as if she had grown two heads. It's a good thing that he wasn't drinking anything or else he would've spit it out. He felt like she had dropped a verbal bomb on him.

"What?" He exclaimed incredulously.

"I said . . . . ?" She repeated in a slow but playful manner. She was enjoying this immensely! It was rare for her to see her beloved taicho looking stupefied and flustered over. It's a shame that she didn't brought a camera to record this. Oh well, there's always a next time.

"Of course not! Why would I ask her out? And what made you think that I would go to that useless human event in the first place?" Toshiro almost barked, while trying to control the reddening of his cheeks.

Matsumoto pouted. "You're so uptight taicho. You should act you age and have some fun."

"Oi Matsumoto. What's that supposed to mean?" His eyebrows almost drew together.

"C'mon taicho. Everybody's going. I mean Ichigo already ask Rukia to be his partner, Ikkaku is going out with Asano-san's sister then Renji is with Tatsuki-san and I'm with Yumichika. Although I didn't even know why I ended up with Yumichika in the first place. Anyways, that leaves only you and Orihime-san. So do her a favor and ask her out will you? I'm sure she'll appreciate that." Matsumoto winked at him then rushed into the grounds of Karakura High before he could even snap a sharp retort to her.

Toshiro sighed. He really wouldn't get it as of why they should mingle with these petty human affairs. But now that he had thought about it… he quickly shook his head in disapproval. No, he wouldn't waste his time attending an adolescent dance party even if it meant that it is highly likely that Inoue would be there.

"ORIHIME-CHAN!" CHIZURU SCREAMED AND LUNGED AT HER like a rabid fangirl.

"Good mor—I—Eeep!" Orihime squeaked in embarrassment as Chizuru blatantly hugged her from behind.

"What the hell Chizuru?!" Tatsuki yelled angrily then smacked her head in annoyance.

"Owww, that hurt Tatsuki why did you do that? I just wanted to greet my Orihime-chan a wonderful morning." Chizuru grimaced as she continued to rub her head in dismay.

"That's not even a greeting you idiot." Tatsuki growled. Orihime laughed nervously. "Now, now guys don't be like that. Its only 7 in the morning." Being the peacemaker she was, she tried to intervene between the two.

"Hey Orihime-san, the upcoming dance is already on next week. Did someone already ask you out to be their partner?" Mizuiro asked curiously as he appeared from nowhere.

"As of now, there's none. Nobody have asked me out yet." Orihime replied rather sullenly. She tried to be nonchalant about it, but she really wanted to go to the dance. She had waited for it. But if there's nobody going ask her out, she'd have to prepare her pajamas and sleep early.

"Oh, oh I wanna be your date Hime-chan!" Chizuru volunteered brightly.

"Chizuru you're a girl, you can't ask Orihime out to the dance." Tatsuki stated blandly.

Now that Orihime thought about it, she wondered if Ichigo would finally ask her out to be his partner in the school dance. She clearly doubted it though. For sure, he would ask Rukia's permission to be his partner for that night. And not her. It's strange but she didn't feel depressed about it. The pang is still there but not like before as if her heart were shattering to pieces. Was she finally—

Her self-reflections were cut short when the classroom door swung open to reveal a cheerful Matsumoto followed by a serious looking boy that suddenly made her heart leapt in her throat.

She suddenly felt nervous and became self-conscious around Toshiro. She didn't know why but somehow her physical appearance matters to her when he was there. Yet, she resisted the urge to grab her compact on her bag and check her looks. For sure, everybody would notice and looked strangely at her.

"Act cool Orihime. Act cool." She repeated to herself as she tried to steady her abnormal heartbeat.

"Good morning Orihime-san!" Matsumoto greeted her lively.

"Good morning too Rangiku-san!" she hoped that Rangiku wouldn't noticed her behavior or her thoughts about Toshiro. Although she may appear bubbly and nonchalant, she had an uncanny way of figuring out things very quickly and putting two and two together. Smart woman she is.

She subtly snapped her attention to Toshiro who was still sitting casually by the window. She smiled inwardly as she noticed that he's wearing the scarf that she gave to him the other day.

"You're wearing it Toshiro-kun." A gentle smile was slowly easing into her face as she shot him a surreptitious glance at his side.

"Yeah. I believe that it's beginning to snow and winter is already here. So I decided to wear this scarf to prevent the cold weather from creeping in my body." He explained calmly not bothering to look at her.

"I'm glad you wear it. It suits you." Inoue said sincerely.

Toshiro shot a surreptitious glance at her to hide the reddening of his cheeks. "Thank you Inoue-san."

"So Inoue-san and Hitsugaya-kun? How long has that been going on?" Mizuiro asked casually, a hint of curiosity and amusement was underlying his tone.

"Huh? What do you mean by that Mizuiro? They barely talk to each other." Keigo replied offhandedly.

Mizuiro rolled his eyes and resumed tapping on his cellphone. "Yeah right. You won't even notice if you burn your face in the process."

Keigo began to flail his hands vehemently in offense. "Hey! That was uncalled for!"

Matsumoto tuned them out and plopped lazily at the empty classroom chair nearby. An eerie smirk was forming on her lips as she observed shrewdly the two.

Inoue immediately knew something was off already and she stared at the two, especially at Matsumoto. A mild suspicion was marring her thoughts. A sinister smile like that just means—

"Hey, Orihime-san do you have a partner already for the upcoming prom this week?" Matsumoto asked unceremoniously, but there was a strange glint in her eyes.

"Um, no actually. No one asked me yet." Inoue replied truthfully, suddenly caught off guard at her question.

"Oh really? What a coincidence then! You see I know someone who hasn't got a partner yet." Matsumoto tried to put on an innocent look but she could feel her taicho's intense look that almost bored thru her soul.

"Wellll… don't lose hope yet Orihime-san. For sure someone would take you to the prom."

Before Inoue could respond to her innocuous statement Matsumoto winked at her and instantly went to her own desk as their teacher was already inside their classroom.

The thought quickly flew out of her mind as her attention was in deep in class.

ORIHIME SIGHED FOR THE NTH TIME as she gazed out at the sky throughout the window. She wanted to go but no one's asking her out yet. Maybe she could ask Uryu if he'd like to go but she guessed that he already had a partner from the student council since he was the President this school year. Or maybe Chad….. No. She shook her head in dismay. Chad wasn't interested in parties let alone socializing with other people.

So that leaves…. Toshiro. At the sudden thought of him, her pulse had quickened and a strange light, giddy feeling overcame through her. She didn't know why but just the sound of his name was enough to send her nerves into a haywire. She decided to ignore it and think of something logical of approaching him to be her partner. But what if, he, too, wasn't interested in going to social events like Chad? She had known him to be a very private and quiet person and would prefer doing work than mingling with people. At the thought of this, a pang of disappointment seemed to hit right through her and she couldn't explain why. Why was she feeling like this? Just because the thought of Toshiro wouldn't come with her had sent her into an unexplainable sadness. Ridiculous.

"Orihime, get a hold of yourself." She chastised herself. Just because the thought of Toshiro not coming with her at the ball didn't mean that was not the end of the world for her. She guessed she'll have to wait next year for another school dance.

A soft knock on the door reverted her back to the reality and glanced curiously at it. Who could possibly be disturbing her at this ungodly hour? "It must be Rangiku requesting her to watch another horror movie again…." She thought tiredly.

She swung to open the door to politely decline only to reveal—

"Toshiro-kun!" She exclaimed, completely taken aback to see him standing in her doorway.

"Good evening Inoue. I hope you don't mind my presence here?" Toshiro asked uncertainly.

Wait, did she trace a hint of nervousness in his voice? Toshiro nervous? Because of her? What a laughable thought.

"No Toshiro-kun! Not at all! You can come in." she quickly reassured him, before opening the door widely to let him in.

Her heart was already hammering in her chest as he finally came in. Oh, dear God, why couldn't she control her heartbeat every time she saw him? It was as if she was running a marathon contest.

Silence stretched between the two of them.

"Toshiro-kun—

"Inoue—

They both stopped abruptly and stared at the floor, deep blushes were adorning their cheeks.

"You first Toshiro-kun." Inoue said politely.

"Ladies first." Toshiro immediately answered.

"Err, I just wanna ask if there is something that you need me to?" Inoue asked curiously.

"Ah, yes, about that. I just wanted to ask if you— could— wanted to— be — my— partnertothe upcomingpromenadedanceparty?" he forced out hastily. His faltering and mangled words had completely reduced him into an idiotic six year old kid. Damn! What was happening to him? He wanted to smack himself. How pathetic.

Inoue just stared at him blankly. "W-what?" she mouthed unthinkingly.

Finally, Toshiro heaved a sigh before speaking more calmly. "Will you be my partner to the upcoming promenade dance party?"

Did she heard it right? He's asking her to be his partner to the upcoming prom? At first, she didn't respond, she continued to stare at him like a deer caught in the headlights. He was beginning to worry that she might—

"Of course Toshiro-kun! I'd be happy to!" she cried out and instinctively hugged him in delight.

But she immediately sprung away from him.

"Sorry about that Toshiro-kun. I just get carried away I guess." She scratched her head sheepishly.

In all honesty he didn't mind though. It actually felt….right. He was becoming lightheaded and giddy every time she hugged him like that. Damn! What was happening to him? He felt like a teenager who always act like an idiot when he was facing his crush personally. Wait, he had a crush on Orihime?

Orihime watched him in fascination as Toshiro's facial expression became more expressive from time to time. His normally stoic face was replaced by a funny looking expression like she had grown two heads. She tried to suppress her giggles because of that.

"What is it Toshiro-kun? Is there something on my face?" she asked coyly.

He was snapped out of his disturbing thoughts and looked at Orihime's amused expression. He tried to suppress a groan. Ugh. Damn it to hell, he was making himself like a total fool in front of her! "And I thought nobody was dumber than Kurosaki." He thought dryly.

"No. there's nothing on your face Inoue. I just wanted to say, uh, thanks for accepting my invitation." He said, his face turning again into a multitude deeper shade of red.

Orihime find it cute though. Clearing the lump in her throat she said in her most sincere way, "I should be the one thanking you Toshiro-kun for asking me to be your partner for the prom."

"It's nothing Inoue." He said gruffly.

"So see you at the party next week then."

"Goodnight Inoue."

"Goodnight too Toshiro-kun."

(A/N: I know this was a shitty chapter but can you just let it slide since it's my birthday today? *puppy eyes* My apologies for the OOC-ness of some of the characters here. Couldn't help it though. This chapter was full of fluff. I had to make this so that we can move faster to the main plot of the story. I already made the next chapter but first let me know what you think by leaving a review in the cute, little box down there and hitting the pretty little button so you can get faster updates).