AN: I'm sure you all would like to know, this story is DONE...I wrote it a long time ago during class (shows how bored I was). So now it's just a matter of me typing it up and editing.

Notnow didn't edit this chapter, so I'm sure it's full of mistakes. I'm sorry! I hope it doesn't effect your reading!

Enjoy!

"Shopping Day"

Chapter 2

"Class dismissed!"

The teacher's words knocked Rukia out of another trance. She shook her head for what felt like the millionth time, trying to rid her mind of the previous encounter with Ichigo.

She stood up and slowly put her books back into her bag, stalling until Ichigo had made his way out the classroom door. She was finding it particularly difficult to look him in the eye since the rendezvous, and she silently cursed herself. He didn't mean anything by it. She told herself furiously. This is just another one of his stupid ways of pissing me off.

Rukia sighed and left the room. Before one dainty foot had left the previous premise, Orihime had bounced up happily in front of her, stopping the tiny girl abruptly in her tracks. She smiled her best, covering up all the turmoil rampaging in her mind.

"Kuchiki-san!" Orihime said happily. "I heard Keigo-kun invited you to the dance!"

Rukia blinked. He was really spreading the news fast. Quickly Rukia covered up her falter. "Uh…Yeah!"

Orihime giggled again. "I'm sure you don't have a dress, do you?"

A pause. "Well…I have my usual dresses…"

"No, silly! You need a real dress…One that will wow Keigo-kun!"

"Then I guess I don't have one…" Suddenly, Rukia wasn't feeling too good about this entire dance thing.

"Great! Neither do I!" Orihime grabbed Rukia's wrist gently. "Let's go pick one out together! They're having a deal down the street…They're so cheap, I'll buy you one! How's that sound?"

Rukia couldn't refuse the smile. She let her shoulders drop in defeat, but didn't let loose her façade. "That sounds great..!"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder, half expecting Rukia to be following him a ways back. When he saw no one behind him, a small tremor made its way over Ichigo's face, but he quickly muted it.

Ichigo wasn't one to second guess his decisions. Why he was still thinking about what was going through his head at the time he had pulled Rukia into his arms puzzled him beyond belief. Must've been the heat or something, he wondered, as he scratched his head absentmindedly.

For some reason, ever since they had returned from Soul Society, Rukia had been acting really detached. And she talked about Renji a lot more than was proving to be comfortable for Ichigo. He grumbled just at the thought of the fire-headed shinigami. But Rukia…She just seemed to be falling further and further away from him. He wanted to slap himself subconsciously for acting so brash on the roof.

It was so obvious to him. Rukia didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be with him.

A tiny bell jingled happily at the top of the door as the two girls arrived at the clothes boutique.

"Good afternoon, ladies!" A woman in her middle thirties approached quickly in a business-like manner. Her sharp purple dress suit clashed with her dark red hair and horn-rimmed glasses, and she smelled of some kind of heavy perfume that filled Rukia's nostrils angrily. She continued, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Orihime gave Rukia a nudge forward. "She needs a dress for our school dance. Can you help her?"

A gleam flashed across the woman's glasses and her ruby lips curled into a smile. "Help her? Honey, that's what I do!"

As the woman pulled Rukia away, Orihime leaned forward and mouthed, "Have fun!" before turning towards a particularly interesting rack of dresses. Rukia felt like snorting.

Leading Rukia around, the saleswoman plopped dresses into her arms. Holding a few up to her frame, some going directly to the pile, and some back onto the rack. After about a pile of ten had collected, their path led to the dressing rooms at the back of the store. A "gentle" push inside from the woman, and Rukia found herself locked in a room with an armful of clothes. Most of them she didn't even know how to put on.

Rukia fumbled. Looking immediately for a dress that she could just slip over her head, she happened upon a simple blue one. It didn't seem like much. The fabric was light and flowing, the only design being the cinch underneath the chest. She slipped off her school uniform, and then pulled the dress over her head, threading her arms under the thin straps. She turned and looked in the mirror.

The girl in the mirror was a stark contrast to the boyish girl that had stood before it only moments before. The dress complimented her perfectly, ending right at the knees, just how she liked it. A thought dissolved into words before she even had time to revise it.

"I wonder what Ichigo would…" She stopped herself. Rukia looked away from the image and clenched her fists. She wasn't going to this thing with Ichigo. It didn't matter what he thought of the dress, he wasn't her date.

She quelled her next thoughts as she pulled the dress back off and redressed. Rukia didn't feel like shopping anymore. The blue dress was good enough for her.

Orihime decided on a dress not too long later, and they paid. Leaving the store, Rukia turned to the happy girl and bowed. "Thank you very much, Inoue-san."

The boisterous girl waved gleefully. "I'm glad I could help!"

And so they parted their separate ways, each with a dress slung over their arm.

Rukia climbed up to Ichigo's window later on that night. She had walked around for a while, enjoying the rest of the day while stalling her arrival home to a waiting Ichigo. Rukia slung the dress over her shoulder and made her way up, glad that the window was still open. She was only mildly surprised when she saw Ichigo sitting on his bed reading manga.

No words were exchanged as she made her way over to the closet door. Rukia opened it and hung the dress up, getting ready to hop into the closet for the night. Just as she got one leg in a small grunt from behind paused her progress. She turned halfway around, her eyes expectant.

The same eyes seemed to knock him off his track as his sentence fumbled immediately. Ichigo looked down and continued with no eye contact.

"Are you…" He stopped for a minute; as if unsure he should continue. A bit of him seemed to give in, and he finished shakily. "Are you…mad at me…for earlier?"

Rukia gulped as the memories returned. She averted his gaze quickly and frowned. "Idiot. Why would I be mad at something as trivial as that?"

Ichigo relaxed visibly. A small smile danced at the edges of his lips and Rukia finished climbing into the closet. Just as she was about to shut the door closed, a small voice murmured behind her, "Yeah…"