So...I've decided that I'd just post this now. Track and Field and my dumb long-term science project are over as stated on my profile (if you people have been checking in on my profile) so I've gotten some of my life back and I am now able to work on some my fanfic compositions. Anyway, onward!
After the Quincy fully modified his wet apparel, an unnoticing Uryu Ishida walked into a very warm and, rather cozy livingroom. Well, Orihime never ceased to amaze him. She was right. The clothes he wore fit just about perfectly. The shirt was exactly his size, and so were the tan khaki pants she had let him wear. He rolled the sleeves up on the red long sleeved tee.
Hmm, Inoue-san must of turned a heater on or something. As he inhaled the air for a quick breath, his nose felt irritated. It smells kind of—
"Ah-ah...ahchoo!!" He sneezed vociferously with a twitch. Wiping his nose with a finger, Uryu's right eye blinked a few times behind one of the rectangular glass lenses on his face.
—ugh. Peppery...
Uryu looked around as his vision cleared and saw Orihime. She was sitting on the floor by a small table in the middle of the room. There were two cups on the flat surface she sat at, plus a number of other appetizing and colorful objects on it.
She's shaking a...a peppershaker above the cup?!
He stared at her.
...More like thrashing...
Orihime heard him sneeze and rapidly turned her head to look at his direction. "Oh, Ishida-kun! I made some tea for you!" She pointed at it with her other hand and smiled in her usual cheerful manner.
He cautiously walked over to her and sat down. Uryu looked at the brown liquid timidly and gulped. There was nothing floating in it...it actually looked normal, but with life lately and with Orihime, nothing was ever "normal" anymore. He almost even forgot what it meant, that word normal. And "average".
"If you were wondering, Ishida-kun," Orihime answered the obvious question to himself about the liquid tormenting before him, "I didn't put anything in your tea. You don't look like much of a pepper person anyway. I didn't put any sugar either...Or hot sauce...Or peanut butter...Or lemon...Or ranch."
He almost threw up in his mouth when she said "ranch". Uryu's eyes watered and he couldn't bear to even take glance at her cup. So, he just ordered himself to stare at either his own or her face. He was still shy about earlier, though. He meekly chose to look at the tea.
But, then he felt a great weight be lifted off his shoulders—at least it wasn't toxic.
Scooping two spoonfuls of sugar and dropping them gracefully into his tea, Uryu lightly smiled and chuckled under his breath. "Thank you, Inoue-san. That was nice of you to think of me. I really appreciate it."
Orihime blushed at his complement. He was acting out of character again! Since when did he smile? More or less chuckle?!
"I-Ishida-kun! You're not acting yourself today! Do you have a fever?!" She moved over to his side of the table before he could even blink a dark navy blue eye and felt his forehead with one of her hands. He looked straight at her with an extremely nervous twitch. Her breasts were in his face, and Uryu was in fear of an onset nosebleed. "Hmm...You're not hot..."
He turned away and blushed. She followed by blushing deeper. "I-I mean your forehead's not hot! Of course you're hot, Ishida-kun! Ack!"
He blushed times three and she blushed times twenty-seven. "No, no, no! I-I didn't m-mean it that w-way!...oh, u-uhm," she stammered, "Ah, ehmm..."
Did I just call him hot?! I must be the one with the fever!—
"—It's okay, Inoue-san..."–he paused then reassured her–"...I'm not sick, nor do I have a fever." He really just wanted to stop the awkwardness anyway he could. It was awkward enough for him already, why add more?
Orihime moved back to her side of the table and got back to her over-exotic tea. "Alrighty then." She consented, still slightly unsure of his well-being.
Their faces were both still a little red. She took a deep breath; he covered his mouth with a half clenched fist and coughed nervously. The girl instantly looked at him.
Uryu rose both of his hands up. "I swear! I'm not sick, Inoue-san."
Orihime looked at him suspiciously with her gray eyes. "Sure, Ishida-kun..."
She took hold of her tea and he looked down again. Uryu cleared his throat and reflected deeply on the girl sitting across from him. This was a good idea because if he was to watch her sip her tea (if you could still call it 'tea'), he'd probably pass out from sight of the black snow of pepper on top of the hot sauce sea of lemon with a scoop of peanut butter and three teaspoons of ranch.
She seems really...I don't know...happy now. Has she forgotten about Kurosaki that fast? She seems to have accepted it, or maybe she just wants to look like it to make sure that I don't worry about her? Should I ask...?
"Inoue-san, you're a really resilient person."
She cocked her head sideways with a monotonous blank look in her eyes and a thin little line for a mouth. "Resili-huh?"
"Umm, really, eh, lively is what I mean. You seemed to have been feeling better about–about well, you know, Kurosaki...since before."
"Oh..." Orihime looked down. Her heart slowly started to beat in a faster tempo. "Y-Yeah. To tell the truth, I haven't thought about him since you left to go change." She sadly smiled a small smile."I want to thank you for, um, helping me earlier. I really thought about the things you told me, Ishida-kun. At first it was kind of hard, y'know, to picture Kurosaki-kun with Kuchiki-san because I've always wished that I was with him..."
Uryu just stared at her. For some reason, he couldn't believe her words. He knew how long she has loved Ichigo, and how strung up she was on him.
"...But, they looked really happy together, and I think he's always kind of liked her that way, ever since he first met her...it will still hurt a little bit but, I'm–I'm accepting it with open arms! Kurosaki-kun has my blessing to be with—"
"Inoue-san, don't kid yourself."
She blinked at him. Uryu's tone was cold and his eyes were frigid. The way he talked hurt her, but the scowl of his eyes harmed Orihime even more. "W-What do you mean?"
Intense emotion was deeply etched in his pale face. He wanted to believe her, more than anything. But, she needed more time.
"You can't get over someone that you loved for so long that fast. You can try to accept it, but even then, your heart will still yearn for the one who broke you. It takes time to move on, and it takes time for your wounds to heal. It...will still always hurt..."
Orihime was silent. Did she say something wrong that made him mad? Her vision started to blur, and she felt tears starting to dam up around the edges of her gray eyes. Her mind went back to when they were out in the rain and he was wiping her tears away as the water fell from the cold sky and her face. She wished he'd do that again now and talk to her tenderly as he did before. I-I didn't mean to make him mad...
Her eyes drifted down and Uryu saw a tear roll down her cheek. Instantly, he hated himself to the fullest extent.
"I-I'm sorry, Inoue-san." He quickly said.
She looked up at his face. Sincerity and regret were in his dark, navy blue eyes. His voice was now caring and sorry, as if he had hurt her. He did, and he knew it in her and his expression. "I didn't mean to sound like that. It just...it just hurts. More than any physical wound. More than anything, to have that person that you've loved for such a long time to be in love with somebody else and not love you the same way. Please, don't cry...Inoue-san."
Orihime wiped her eyes. "Ishida-kun, don't be sorry for me! It's alright. Really. You don't have to say you're sorry. I should be the one to say sorry. You're right. I can't get over him that fast."
Hearing her say this forced Uryu to get something off his chest. He's never really opened up before to talk about his feelings and things relating to emotion with anyone except with his grandfather, but, with Orihime he felt that he could talk about anything with her. He trusted and loved her enough. Love required trust.
"I'm in the same position as you." Uryu said this in only a whisper; he was staring at his tea once more. "I love someone too, but they are in love with someone else. S-She doesn't notice me much, and I don't think she likes me the same way as I do her. It always kind of hurts just to be in the same room with her so close by...but I've gotten used to it..." He sadly laughed under his breath. "I'm like you, Inoue-san. I feel the same things as you. You're not the only one who hurts."
Orihime looked at him in surprised forlorn. Ishida-kun's been hurt by someone he's loved too? He's never shown any sign of it at all...how could a person hurt someone so nice like him?
"I had so many chances to tell her how I feel." Uryu was reminiscing the everyday bittersweet encounters with Orihime. The way she smiled. The was she laughed. The happy look on her face. Then the way she'd look at Ichigo. "She is always right there in front of me."
And she still is.
Uryu didn't want to admit it, but that bastard Kurosaki always brought the best out of Orihime. Her face would shine the very most when he was around. The best of everything. Her smile that Uryu saw. Her laugh that Uryu heard. The emotions on her face that Uryu'd secretly gaze at. And the tears that fell from her eyes that he had wiped away.
Fate was a terrible thing he mentally concluded.
Orihime was curious and her head was spinning faster than ever before. Who was this mystery person Uryu was talking about? She had never seen him looking at anyone. She had never seen the girl he was talking about ever in front of him. Wonder was starting to get the best of her. Just who was this enigma of a girl?
Huh. Tatsuki? Course not. She said he looked too frail and bony. Ryo? Hmm...no. She said she didn't want a boyfriend because "he'd just slow her down". "After the Olympics," I think she said. Uh, Michiru? Heh, no way! She likes Nakahira-kun!...Umm, who else is there?...Chizuru?
Her gray eyes went slightly wide.
...eww...
This was making her head hurt. She knew almost about all of the girls in her class, and none really seemed like the type he would choose. Or to like his type...which was kind of weird. Didn't a lot of girls go for the "tall, dark, mysterious" type anyway? Maybe it was the glasses...or the fact that he wasn't that social except for around Chad, Ichigo, Rukia, and her and always told people to never talk to him anymore. Oh things were getting really confusing again! She didn't like being confused; she always felt that something was missing.
Does he like someone I don't know or maybe from another class? Grr! So—
"–who is she?" Orihime blurted out in mid-thought, oblivious to the question she just asked him.
He was petrified. Uryu couldn't even look at her. His face was blank and his heart felt like it had ceased beating. How could she possibly ask him that? How could he even answer that? Didn't she know how much it hurt? Didn't she go through the same exact thing? Uryu's eyes were blank and lucid, just as his face was. And yet, they were foggy and clouded. Tormented. Broken. Every synonym for hopeless that you could find.
He needed to leave her house. Uryu couldn't stay any longer. He shouldn't have even been there at all. The walls were caving in on him and he felt as though he couldn't breath. He couldn't stand it. A hole in his chest was starting to open up and Uryu needed to get away from her, from Orihime's apartment. It was better to be alone and cope, but he was stupid and landed himself in the belly of the beast. He was always alone, and he will forever be always alone. Uryu's breathing started to revive and hasten.
Orihime saw this with realization. She instantly regretted what she had just asked—unaware of his feelings and the things that were running through his mind. He still really loved that one girl, and she knew how hard it felt to love someone like that, and to feel the emotional backslide. She was so stupid. Knowing—but never, ever thinking.
"Ishida-kun! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that! You know me, I just say and do stupid things without thinking! Please, Ishida-kun! I'm so sorry!"
He didn't answer. He was put into a state of total monotonous being. Uryu breathed lightly, finally beaten and kicked to the ground and hard concrete. "I should be going home now, Inoue-san." he hardly managed to say to her face. His eyes were stuck on the wall behind her, not daring to look at any inch of her body. In the corner of his eye, he could see a blurry outline of Orihime.
"What? You can't go now!" Orihime begged him. However, she couldn't help but agree with him. She'd want to leave too if someone had just stupidly said the same things she did. She quickly racked her brain to try to find a reason for him to stay. "You...you didn't even finish your tea yet."
Defeated, the Quincy sighed. The features on his face looked ultimately despondent. She started to feel guilty for bringing up painful memories for him and resurfacing them from his heart.
"Yes, I should, Inoue-san. It's late, and you need to rest. I'm just troubling you with my pitiful woes," he said lowly. "I don't want you to feel sorry for me." I couldn't bear that, if anything.
Uryu didn't see the look of disappointment on Orihime's face as he lethargically glanced at his watch for the time. It was already past seven. He turned his head to look out of the window in the livingroom and saw it was already almost dark outside. Uryu's mind told him to leave, but his heart told him to stay. How he wanted to listen to his heart. But, every time he did it always resulted in something going wrong. Uryu's luck was the worst in the world and he couldn't help that, just like how he couldn't help that he loved her. How could he not? Two negatives equaled a positive, right? You learned this in grade school. They were so different, yet he couldn't help but be utterly attracted to her. Inwardly, he groaned. Science and mathematics were such abominations at some times.
Orihime chewed her bottom lip. She really wanted him to stay longer. She liked him there. She wanted to know him better, and she wanted him to know her better. Orihime was his friend. Probably one of the only friends he's ever had. She liked him.
She liked him...
"Inoue-san, may I have a bag or something for my clothes?"
She was brought out of her daydreams once again. Orihime looked over at him and he was already standing up. She wouldn't deny him what he wanted—she had done and said enough things to him in the time frame he was there at her apartment. Besides, he'd do anything for her if she asked. He was such a nice guy behind the stoic exterior he always showed and gave out to people.
"It's okay, Ishida-kun. I-I'll do it for you," her voice rustled softly.
She got up and went to the bathroom where his clothes were hanging. Getting the bag, she rolled up his damp apparel. Unknown to her she also started humming as she wrapped the clothes into a bundle and placed them into the plastic bag.
Yep...there you have it. Chapter two. So this will be a three chaptered IshiHime fanfiction, and not a two-shot like originally planned. I think I failed in my writing abilities since I consider this chapter really choppy...and not as good as it should of been. I honestly think my writing sucks. But, writers are their worst critics (or in my case). So please review! Would be greatly appreciated; you people plus reviews equals guilt which equals at some eventual time a new chapter. Guilt trips are welcome, so please tell me if there are typos and stuff like that (even though none of you do). Thanks again! Talk to you all later!
