Halfway done!

Well, more or less :) Enjoy!

You paint me into the memory of all your pain
But I will not be drawn into the past again.

'Cause all of this is all that I can take
And you could never understand the demons that I face.

It's not a question of who is wrong and what is right
But time can not heal what you will never recognize.

Just a Little Girl - Trading Yesterday

Chapter 10: Uncertainty and an Apology

-Rukia-

When the pair arrived back at the deck of the beach house after their run, Ichigo took advantage of his longer stride and climbed the three stairs to the deck in one step, pulling in front of Rukia at the last minute.

"I guess that means I won." A triumphant grin formed on the boy's face.

"We weren't even racing, you cheater." Rukia rolled her eyes and tried to step around him to go back inside, ignoring the small thought in the back of her mind that screamed he was flirting with her.

"You're just a sore loser." Ichigo placed himself in front of the door and put a hand on the top of her head.

Rukia felt her face grow hot at their closeness and she was thankful she could pass it off on the exercise. She watched him draw his hand back to his chest, comparing her height to his.

"I guess I'd be bitter too if I was half the height of a normal person." He chuckled. Rukia frowned, about to punch the stupid carrot top in his stupid face, but then the door opened behind him.

"Oh, what's this! Am I interrupting something?" A melodious voice spoke out from the door and Rukia felt her heart drop, surprisingly annoyed at her old friend's unannounced intrusion.

"Hey, Matsumoto." Rukia forced a smile. "You're not interrupting anything; we just got back from a jog."

The strawberry blonde giggled and wrinkled her nose. "Certainly smells like it."

"Yeah, well…" Rukia tried to find an appropriate response to her friend's bluntness.

"So this is the boyfriend?" Matsumoto had one eyebrow raised, studying Ichigo with obvious interest. He squirmed under the girl's intense gaze and looked at Rukia for reprieve.

"He's not my boyfriend. I- Wait. How did you even get in? I thought I locked the door." Rukia sputtered.

"Your large tan friend let me in. He's cute too but I'm not much for the strong and silent type." Matsumoto grinned suggestively at Ichigo. "I'm more into the bad boys."

"Like Grimmjow?" Rukia cut in.

A pained expression crossed Matsumoto's face. "I'm really sorry about that, Ru. I don't know what he was thinking. He said he was really sorry. We're not even speaking anymore."

She seemed sincere and Rukia sighed, realizing she couldn't stay mad at her old friend for long.

"It's fine. I'm not upset with you."

Ichigo made what sounded like an annoyed noise beside her. "Excuse me. I'm going to take a shower."

Matsumoto quickly stepped aside to let him pass, giving Rukia a confused look.

"What's his problem?"

"Don't worry about it. He's just naturally an inconsiderate jerk." Rukia shrugged, trying not to care if she had done something to upset him.

Matsumoto recovered quickly and took Rukia's hands into her own. "Can we go inside and talk? I want to throw another party to make up for last night."

"You're forgiven, really. I don't think another party is the solution." Rukia tried to reason with her friend as she was pulled inside.

"Oh, please, Rukia! Just go wake your other friends up and see what they think." Matsumoto sat down in a chair in the main living room and looked up at her expectantly.

Rukia ran a hand through her hair and considered her options. She finally decided to give in and went to retrieve the three teens that seemed to still be asleep.

-Ichigo-

"What does she mean 'it's fine'?" Ichigo kicked off his running shoes so that they hit the bedroom wall with force. He angrily pulled off his shorts and threw them against the wall as well, still muttering curses.

A knock on his door diverted his attention and he wrapped a towel around his waist before answering.

"What?" Ichigo answered grumpily.

Uryuu, still groggy and clad in boxers and a tank top, winced at the harsh tone. "Take it easy. I was just going to ask you to keep it down."

"Sorry," Ichigo mumbled.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, just great." He grabbed his clothes for the day and shrugged. "I'm going to take a shower."

He heard Uryuu mutter something sarcastic behind him but he didn't bother turning around. Once inside the bathroom, he turned on the water and stepped into the shower.

The image of that Grimmjow guy kept appearing when Ichigo closed his eyes and he wished that he had beaten him senseless when he had the chance.

And Rukia! How can she forgive him just like that? Doesn't she realize what would've happened?

Without thinking, Ichigo opened his eyes in an attempt to clear his head. Shampoo slid down his forehead, stinging his eyes.

"Fuck!"

He held his face under the stream of water, trying to rinse his eyes. By the time he had finished getting the shampoo out of his eyes and hair, Ichigo was in an even worse mood than before.

There was a knock on the door and Ichigo, in the middle of brushing his teeth, threw the door open. He was about to yell at Uryuu for bothering him again when he realized that the person on the other side of the door was not, in fact, Uryuu.

"Hey…" Rukia had a surprised look on her face but stood her ground. "Um, everyone's downstairs if you want to come down. When you're done here, of course."

Suddenly very aware of his toothpaste-filled mouth and wet body covered only by a loose towel, Ichigo felt his face grow warm and he nodded.

His words were muffled but Rukia seemed to get the idea and she quickly made her exit.

Feeling rather deflated, Ichigo took his time putting his clothes on and tried to force that stupid blush off his face.

-Rukia-

… Oh my.

Rukia took a moment to regain her composure before returning to the living room where everyone had gathered.

Matsumoto was already explaining her plan for another party tomorrow night and, so far, the group seemed to be going along with the idea.

"And only people I know personally will be invited. It'll be totally safe." Matsumoto smiled at Rukia as she sat down.

"Grimmjow seemed to know you pretty well." Rukia reminded her friend.

"I trusted him to host while I ran to the store for more drinks but I didn't know he was like that. We were together for a while but we're over, I promise." The strawberry blonde's answer was vague but Rukia understood her friend's brusque tone and immediately felt guilty.

Grimmjow was the new boyfriend that Matsumoto had wanted Rukia to meet at the party.

And that would explain why I never saw her last night…

"So we're just supposed to trust you on this?"

Rukia heard Ichigo's voice behind her and she turned. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the wall, looking skeptical.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki scolded. "Don't be so rude."

Matsumoto didn't seem fazed by his cold tone. Instead, Rukia watched her grin and giggle flirtatiously.

"You can trust me. Rukia's my friend; I have her best interests at heart." She leaned forward slightly, exposing her cleavage. "You're being awfully possessive, you know? Maybe you'll just have to stay by her side all night and protect her."

"I'm not being possessive! I just-"

Oh, God…

"I think I can manage myself, thank you." Rukia interrupted. She stood up and looked at Matsumoto. "Maybe you should go now."

"It was nice meeting you!" Orihime called after the girls as they left the living room.

"Well, that was subtle." Rukia commented dryly as she opened the door for her friend.

Matsumoto chuckled sweetly. "Oh, come on, he's totally in love with you. He just doesn't know it yet."

"He is not. Believe me. He is not interested at all." Rukia responded stubbornly.

"And you're not into him at all either, right?" She raised one eyebrow and smiled to show that she already knew the answer.

"Oh, stop. You know it's not like that."

"I'm just saying to keep an open mind." Matsumoto giggled, "You never know what could happen!"

"Nothing is going to happen!" Rukia retorted as her friend rolled her eyes and started walking to her car.

"See you tomorrow!"

Rukia waved and closed the door as Matsumoto drove away.

Turning around, she leaned backwards into the door and watched her friends get up and move on to other activities. Tatsuki was heading back to her room to sleep while Orihime asked Uryuu a question about a new book he was reading. She saw Chad preparing something in the kitchen and Ichigo was walking towards the stairs.

She thought about what Matsumoto said and watched him as he passed her.

"What?" Ichigo snapped defensively.

Rukia put her hands up innocently. "Nothing, jeez."

"Whatever." He went upstairs and Rukia heard his door close forcefully.

Somebody's moody, Rukia thought to herself. There's really no way Matsumoto could be right.

Ichigo Kurosaki is just another wannabe bad boy who thinks it's cool to hook up with girls and break their heart. He could never be genuinely interested in a girl like me.

…Right?

Yay for Rangiku! Maybe she'll get these two together properly ;)

Reviews would be wonderful; I'd to hear your thoughts and ideas!