Sorry for the delay - I went through a horrible bit of writer block for this chapter. All the others are done, so it won't happen away.

The good news is that, at least, it's long.

XVIII: SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME

Three weeks ago…

Renji had found many weird things during his already prolonged stay on Earth. However, none was weirder than teenage girls' behavior.

They always acted incomprehensibly – but there had been a conspicuous increase in the last weeks. The female students huddled together, whispering, giggling and blushing all the time.

Since the Student Council had decided to organize a mid-term dance – not the usual party, a real, formal ball! And all thanks to the combined efforts of the Dance Club and the Readers of Romantic Novels Club– life had become unbearable.

"Abarai-kun, can I have a word with you?" said a small, black-haired girl from another class, blushing furiously as she stopped him in the hall.

"Uhm, sure." Renji blinked, shifting the weight of his schoolbag on his shoulders.

"I was wondering…would you come to the dance with me?" she rushed, her flush deepening.

The red-head coughed, embarrassed. The fact that Rukia was watching – and smirking – a few feet away from them didn't make the situation any lighter.

"Sorry," he said, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. "But I'm already going with someone else."

"Oh." the girl attempted a small smile. "I see. Well, never mind."

Renji kept on walking – in a second, Rukia was by his side, grinning widely. "Awww, what's wrong, lover-boy? You don't like the attention?" she winked at him. "You'd better make the most of it – it's not like you'll be getting any once we're back home!"

"Shut up!" he growled.

The short girl rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Renji. What was wrong with this one? She was pretty cute…"

Renji frowned. Rukia did have a point – but it would be a cold day in Hell before he admitted it. He tried to think about this last asker – average height, not too flat, cute face, brown eyes, long black hair… Definitely pretty. Still, there was a something that didn't ring quite right – although he couldn't say what it was.

"So? Why did you turn her down?"

Renji didn't really know how to answer, so he said the first thing that came to his mind. "The color of her eyes was wrong."

As soon as those words left his mouth, he realized that, after all, it was true. The fact that a sudden vision of eyes as black as the night-sky had suddenly flashed into his mind had, of course, nothing to do with that.

The other Shinigami looked at her long-time friend sideways. "You're weird…" she sighed dramatically. "So, who are you going with?"

Renji didn't hesitate. "Arisawa."

Rukia stumbled on her own feet, quickly regained her balance and looked at him, blinking a couple of times. The red-head ignored her display and kept on walking. Rukia studied him for a few seconds, then nodded. "Ah, I see." she elbowed him lightly. "And tell me, lover-boy – does she know?"

"Of course she does!" Rukia threw him a piercing glare. "Ok, she doesn't know – yet."

The short Shinigami blinked. "You are planning to ask her?"

"Why shouldn't I?" he replied, sharply.

"Come on, Renji! You're always at each other's throat!" he looked away and she frowned. "Unless something happened – which doesn't seem possible, but…" her frown turned into a glare. "Is there something I should know, fukutaichou?"

He smacked her on the head. "Not so loud, idiot! And it didn't happen anything between us…" 'Only a kiss. Or two.'

He shrugged, trying to look impassive. "It's not like somebody asked her already. It' going to be a piece of cake."

"No!" Tatsuki's locker slammed shut, almost underlining her word.

Renji blinked. "Excuse me?"

She looked at him over her shoulder. "Are you deaf, Abarai? I told you I won't come to the dance with you."

The Shinigami scowled. "Why not? Did you join the Wallflower Club?" he crossed his arms and smirked. "Or maybe you can't dance, mmm?"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "As a matter of fact, I can. Probably better than you." she suppressed the urge to stick her tongue out at him. "But I'm not going to the dance."

His eyes widened. "You're not going? And who will protect poor Inoue from the onslaught of suitors, perverts and Chizuru?"

"Orihime is going with Ishida." she closed her schoolbag. "He's more than capable of taking care of her."

"Come on, as if you'd trust a guy to do that!" he said. "And I don't believe you're not going! All the girls are going!"

Bad move. Tatsuki turned and glared at him, eyes flashing with anger and – could it be jealousy? "I'm not all the girls." she said sternly, tossing her bag on her shoulder and walking toward the door. "Pick one of your fan club. I have no intention of making a fool out of myself!"

"Come on, Arisawa…"

But she was gone.

Renji cursed and kicked one of the lockers, leaving a dent in the metal.

'I'll find a way to convince you, Tatsuki…' he inwardly cringed. 'Even if it means asking Rukia's advice.'

Tatsuki didn't think back on Renji's proposal. Not at all. The thought didn't even cross her mind. If she had been spacing out – which she wasn't – it wouldn't have been to think about that.

And no matter what Chizuru said – she was not thinking about it when, two days after the aforementioned accident, a first-year came in their class at lunchtime and thrust an entire bouquet of flowers right into her hands.

As she would explain later, she hadn't said anything because of the shock.

The boy looked quite torn between staying and making a mad dash for the door, but then seemed to remember what would happen to him if he didn't complete his task. He had the feeling that it would happen anyway – only from another person and probably not exactly what his employer had promised, but still along the lines of "slow, painful death."

Still, at least he had more probabilities to make it out of that class alive if he just went over with it.

However, as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, he took a couple of steps back. Just in case.

"To the attention of Miss Arisawa, from her devoted admirer."

Tatsuki's face turned quite red – the boy took another small step back and took a deep breath, since it would probably be his last.

"Had I the heavens' inbr..embroidered cloths," He started in a firm voice.

One down and only seven to go and he wasn't dead yet. Unfortunately for the poor messenger, the troubles started from the following line.

"Encrought...no, that doesn't sound right, sorry…e-ehm, Inwr…Enwrit.."

Shibahime Arisu, the top-of-the-class student in English, decided to intervene – not so much to save the younger pupil from embarrassment as much as to stop him before the next mispronunciation caused her a heart attack. "Enwrought" she hissed, after much studying of the scribbles on the paper.

"Right, thanks. Enw…er, whatever she said with golden and silver light" a slightly long pause. "The blur…no, blue and the de…dim and the dark cloths" He frowned.

"Of knight…night and thigh and the half tight – I mean light and the half light,"

"I would bread the cloths under your teeth

But I, being pour, have only my creams; ? No, it can't be right...does that guy even know how to write!" grumbling under his breath, he brought the paper closer to his face and read the two verse again. This time, they turned out as:

"I would spread the cloths under your feet

But I, being poor, have only my dreams; Now that's more like it!"

Silence followed his words – only a faint squeaking was heard, as if someone was clenching his – or her – fists so hard that the bones actually, well, squeaked. It was not comforting. Not at all.

Luckily enough, the last two verses didn't hold many problems – at least nothing he hadn't seen before.

"I have Spread my Dreams under your feet;

Tree…er, Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

The boy looked up and glanced around. Everyone was silent and staring straight at him. Shibahime-san looked a little white in the face, but that was not the point.

During the time he had spent trying to make sense of those awful chicken scrawls, Arisawa Tatsuki had gone from quite red to definitely purple.

And yes, her fists were clenched. Very tightly, in fact.

Before the boy could even consider making a dash for the door, Tatsuki beat him to that – and stormed out in the corridor.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Rukia called, but the short-haired girl didn't hear her.

She was about to call after her again, but then closed her mouth, mentally apologizing to Renji.

When Renji found himself confronted with a very, very, very furious Tatsuki, his first thought was not how to retreat. It was how to kill himself fast enough.

Unfortunately, even that thought wasn't fast enough.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing!"

Renji's innocent face wouldn't even have convinced a blind pigeon. "Who? me?"

"DON'T FUCKING PLAY AROUND WITH ME, YOU ASSHOLE! YOU CAN TAKE YOUR SICK JOKES AND STUFF THEM UP YOUR…"

Renji sighed – and decided that it was time to play full force. "What joke?"

"What joke! WHAT JOKE? You even dare to ask! I know there's you behind this whole scheme! If you're trying to make a fool out of me, I…"

"I'm not."

"Yeah, right! What the fuck are you trying to achieve then with this….this mess!"

Renji took a deep breath. "You didn't like the flowers? Or maybe the poem wasn't enough…"

"It was copied from the English textbook! And rather badly too! As for the flowers, they'll soon adorn your grave!"

It was time to drop the bomb – before a very furious young woman actually got a hold on him. "I want you to come to the dance with me."

Tatsuki froze, hands in pre-choking position. "What?"

"I'm answering your question, Arisawa: I want you to come to the dance with me."

She glared, clenching her fist. "Drop it, Abarai. This joke has been going for much too long already!"

"I'm not joking." he replied in a firm voice and looking straight at her. "I'll pick you up at half past eight."

He strolled past her, heading for the door.

"I didn't say yes, Abarai!"

"You didn't say no, either." He tossed over his shoulder, before calmly climbing down the stairs.

For a brief moment, she considered throwing the bouquet at his head – but reconsidered soon enough.
It wasn't heavy enough.

She ignored the little voice in her head telling her that, after all she didn't mind going with Renji. The other voice telling her there was something suspicious in this whole invitation was much, much louder.

Renji deeply deplored the habit of not hanging mirrors on front doors – possibly full-length ones. He tried to check over his suit once again. Smoothing imaginary creases and swatting away invisible dust, he once again hoped he did look, at least, decent and wouldn't stick out like the proverbial white fly.

It was quite hard to do so if a boy was nearly 190 cm tall and equipped with a mane of long red hair. And if he was covered in tattoos, face included.

Or if the above mentioned boy kept on fidgeting and squirming in his suit.

Renji tugged at his collar again. He had never been one to fuss over his appearance, but tonight he was nervous.

'Damn Rukia! Somehow this is all her fault!' he thought, conveniently forgetting he had been the one who had asked her for help.

But this was the living world and it was still much of a mystery to him.

Also the living girls' world was still much of a mystery to him, but it wasn't exactly a good time to remember that.

Anyway, girls were supposed to like this stuff – so he'd put up with it.

He wasn't very sure why, though, since it was Tatsuki…

"Well, hello Abarai."

Renji stared. Then gaped. Then stared some more.

…now that was a good reason!

He hadn't expected much – but this was entirely beyond any expectations he might ever had.

Tatsuki's dress was quite simple – it reached about an inch above her knees and left her arms bare with only two straps passing over her shoulders. The square-cut neckline was lower than usual, but still far from the line that divided "sexy" from "sluttish."

Simple, but elegant and beautiful – just like her.

"Well? Cat got your tongue?" Tatsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Uh – hello," he automatically handed her the flowers. "You look good."

Renji mentally cringed – beautiful would have done better. Great would have done better. A lot of other adjectives would have done better.

Tatsuki smiled a bit, accepting the small bouquet. "Thank you. They are very beautiful."

Renji smiled back. "Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl."

She cast him a quick glance, but remained silent, pinning the bouquet on her dress. "Shall we go?"

"Of course." Renji took her hand, leading her down the road. "I parked nearby."

Another quick glance, this time definitely puzzled. "You parked? Were did you get a car and a driving license?"

"Oh, I have my ways." he smirked back.

"I see. So where did you steal it?" she smirked back.

"From the headmaster." he replied, unlocking the door and holding it open for her.

"Thank you." As she got in, Renji mentally thanked Urahara and his ways – not to mention his "facilities for undercover Shinigami."

The drive to school wasn't long, but they barely exchanged a word.

Tatsuki stared out of the window. From time to time, Renji sneaked glances at her. She didn't look angry or sad. Probably the best word to describe her was – quiet.

Though he could detect the faintest trace of tension within her, he knew it wasn't the proverbial calm before the storm.

He felt her take a deep breath as the door to the gym swung open.

They had barely set foot in the gym-turned-ballroom that something pink and frilly came bouncing toward them. Closer inspection revealed it was none other than Orihime. "Tatsuki-chan! I'm so glad you came! Isn't everything beautiful? It's like a fairy-tale!"

"Yeah – very beautiful." Tatsuki met Ishida's slightly annoyed gaze. "I think there's a certain gentleman waiting for you."

Orihime blushes. "Fine, fine…But I'll still talk to you later!" she bounced away.

Ishida politely waved at her, then took the princess' hand and whispered something in her ear. Even from that distance, she could see the blush rising to her best friend's cheeks.
Tatsuki turned away, feeling as if she had intruded in a private moment, and wondered for the nth time what the hell she was doing there. It was not a place for her.

She too in her surroundings. Even beneath the loud music she could hear the rustling of long skirts from stylish dresses. The room practically gleamed with jewelry and polished shoes and smiles.

Tatsuki clenched her teeth. She could feel eyes on her. She had never cared about what the others thought or said about her – but now, ripped from her familiar surrounding, from her usual place and usual clothes, she found herself suddenly vulnerable to those cutting stares and those whispered words. Even though the heaters were on, she there was a chill, deep down inside of her, that just would not leave.

Then, she felt a strong arm wrap around her and pull her against a firm, warm body. "Let's get something to eat." Renji said, guiding her toward the buffet.

As she walked by his side, a strange thought crossed her mind. Maybe she couldn't kick on those hellish heels – but she could still stub toes.

When asked later, the only answer she'd be able to give would be: 'it was weird.'

Weird, but – normal.

Or maybe weird because it was normal?

But… how normal could it be, standing with your supposed enemy next to the buffet, talking about everything and nothing at all but still enjoying yourself?

How normal could it be, trading comments on fights with a boy instead of flattering compliments and phone numbers?

She didn't care. He didn't care.

This was their normality.

Thus they talked just a bit more relaxingly, and teased each other and flirted with each other.

Several song passed them by, just a background sound slightly more pleasant than the buzzing of the crowd.

Then, a new song began and she raised her head.

I hear you call my name

And it feels like home1

"Arisawa? Did you fall asleep"

"Shut up, Abarai. This is one of my favorites." Unconsciously, she tapped her fingers against the plastic glass.

Renji smirked a bit and drained his glass. Then he took hers out of her hands and placed it on the nearby table. "Let's dance."

Tatsuki laughed and let herself be half-lead, half-dragged to the dance floor.

When you call my name it's like a little prayer

I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there

In the midnight hour I can feel your power

Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there1

Tatsuki laughed and danced with the red-haired Shinigami.

Renji watched her, as he danced along, and smiled.

And the song played on and on, until the last note rang clear under the star-like lights.

As a new song began, some students moved out of the dance floor and other moved in.

The short-haired girl turned to leave, but Renji caught her by her wrist. "May I have another dance?"

His eyes burned right into hers – right into her soul. She found herself nodding and not resisting when he pulled her closer. And together, they danced.

Like a river flows to the sea

So it goes, some things

Are meant to be

Take my hand

Take my whole life too

But I can't help

Falling in love with you1

They danced some other songs, while sat through others. Still that one would not get out of her head, even on the ride home.

Renji parked – quite badly – in the first close space he found, not bothering to look for a better one. After all, no policeman would be up and about looking for badly parked cars at five past midnight.

"You don't have to do it, you know" she muttered as he walked her to the door.

"I know," he replied, arms crossed behind his head and eyes locked on the stars above. "But I want to."

A strange sense of déjà vu washed over her. She huddled in her jacket.

"Are you cold?"

"No, it's ok. My house is near anyway."

Renji patiently waited as she grabbed the keys from her small bag and unlocked the door.

Tatsuki turned toward him, a small smile on his lips. "Well, I'm here. Safe and sound."

"Good. Well, I'll be going now." he fidgeted a bit.

Tatsuki looked down, then up again. "Thank you for the nice evening."

"Uh…I'm glad you had fun." he fumbled. "I….I had fun too." He leaned a bit closer.

Tatsuki unconsciously moved closer as well. A lamp was switched on, its light exploding like a bomb. Both jumped back, without knowing if they had been more scared by the sudden light or by the sudden realization something was about to happen.

"Is that you Tatsuki?" a woman called from upstairs.

"No, it's Godzilla," she muttered, rolling her eyes before answering loudly. "Yes, yes it's me."

Renji laughed nervously. "Goodnight, Tatsuki. I'll see you around."

"See you." she called back.

She took of her shoes and came in, lingering in the doorway to watch him go, until even his fiery red hair was lost into the darkness of the night.

Her mind was reeling – their laughter, the dances, the song and now that…that thing. Whatever it was. Whatever it might have been.

Tatsuki shook her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts and to chase the stupid song out of her mind. Trying to look at it objectively.

What had it been after all?

Just a school dance.

Just a boy and a girl.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

But in the last two years, normality had fled their – no, her life, fading like a dream at dawn. Leaving behind no trace, just a bunch of discolored memories growing more confused every day.

Now she had a new normal memory. And she would hold fast to it for years to come anyway.

Author's notes:

1: I'm not using song lyrics – I'm quoting them.

The songs quoted are:

Mad House – Like a prayer (cover from Madonna)

ATeens – Can't help falling in love with you (cover from Elvis Presley)

The poem used is "Aedh wishes for the cloth of Heaven" by William Butler Yeats.

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