Orihime woke up sometime in the late afternoon, the sound of thunder in the distant calming. The air was cool around her, the light streaming from her window a faint grey-blue. She turned on her side, snuggling further into the pillow and smiled faintly as she watched drops of rain slowly roll down her windowpane.

She took in a deep breath through her open mouth, closing her eyes again as she burrowed further into the warmth of her bed sheets. They were soft against her skin, the light pink blankets wrapped around her like a protective cocoon. She smiled faintly and breathed in the scent of her coconut shampoo, the faint smell constantly clinging to her pillowcase.

She contemplated getting up, but wasn't pressed for time, as she did not have school for the day. She supposed she should probably go to work; she had just recently gotten a job at a bakery near by. She could make extra if she went in for the days she didn't have school, and then maybe do something nice for herself sometime later on in the week.

She was thankful to find her mind-crushing headache from the night before had faded away in the night. She had a stale taste in the back of her throat that tasted a bit like the cheap orange soda she had drank, despite the fact she had brushed her teeth upon getting home and then once again after her shower.

The taste was enough to motivate Orihime to finally get up out of bed and do something; namely brushing her teeth and getting a glass of water again. That, and she needed to use the restroom and eat…

She managed to untangle herself from the covers, stumbling out of bed and then hopping up and down a couple of times to get her leg freed. Finally she was free of her bed, so she made her way to the bathroom attached to her room.

Orihime's legs erupted in goose bumps just walking forward, her nightgown not doing much in the way of warmth. She stepped into the bathroom, letting out a little noise as her feet hit the cold tile floor. She hopped up and down, quickly grabbing her toothbrush and spreading toothpaste over the bristles before jumping back out onto the carpet.

She brushed her teeth, then changed and did her hair. For the day she decided she would just pull her hair up into a pony tail, donning grey sweats and a yellow long-sleeved shirt for the day.

Breakfast was a simply bowl of cereal, which she ate in silence. She did the dishes, wiped down the counter, and then decided she might as well clean the whole kitchen since it had been a little while since she had.

She had just gotten to the stove when the phone rang.

She contemplated letting it just ring, but then thought that maybe it would be a friend needing something or someone wanting to talk, or any other number of things. She threw her gloves off and ran for the phone, snatching it from it's cradle just before it stopped ringing and answered it.

"Hello?" She breathed into the phone.

"Hello, Inoue-san."

"Ishida!" Orihime plopped down on the floor, her legs folded beneath her. "You called me!"

"You sound surprised."

"You're not really the phone call type." She admitted.

"I see. Well," his voice suddenly sounded just a little nervous, "You're right about that. So, um-" Orihime's eyes went wide. Ishida never said 'um'. "-how about we go to the park so that we can talk face to face? I hear that there's going to be a performance there later on."

"It's raining." She pointed out.

"Well, yes, but you seem to like waking in the rain so I thought-"

It then hit her. Ishida was trying to ask her out on a date.

Suddenly her good mood crumbled, her heart falling in her chest. Ishida was such a good friend. She knew that he would have been one of the best boyfriends anyone could ever hope for. Really, probably even better than the Ichigo boyfriend she had once imagined. But she only saw him as a friend. And, on top of that, if she were to even try to be his girlfriend… she would feel sick the whole time. She would be betraying him.

"-is that alright with you?" Ishida finished.

Orihime paused. What should she say? Yes? He hadn't said it was a date. He could be asking her as a friend to just go for a walk. As a friend. But… it didn't sound like that. It sounded like a date Ishida had carefully planned out, as was his manner.

But if Orihime was one thing, she was kind. She was kind, and she was honest. "I'd actually really like to, Ishida." To make her position clear, she added, "It's been a while since I've gone to the park with any of my friends. It sounds fun!" She stressed the word friends as clearly as she could.

There was a bit of a pause on his end. She knew he was intelligent, he would understand what she was saying.

"Alright, should I pick you up around two then?"

He didn't really mind, she found. He really was just a really great guy. A true prince.

"Thanks, Uyruu."

It was too bad she was done with princes.