A/N: Sorry about the length of the last chapter!

I hope everyone is having a good break! Mine couldn't go any slower, and I'm glad! It gives me more time to write! Though I probably won't use it...

Just so you know, dancing has no real significance in this chapter.

Happy New Year!

Enjoy! :3

When there's no one else in sight

In the crowded lonely night

Well I wait so long

For my love vibration

And I'm dancing with myself

Oh dancing with myself

Oh dancing with myself

Well there's nothing to lose

And there's nothing to prove

I'll be dancing with myself

-Billy Idol 'Dancing With Myself'

Zaraki chewed me out when I got back, though he calmed down when I told him why I was gone.

And he just had to ask about my relationship with Orihime.

So, yeah...that thing.

I'll get to that, but there are a few things I have to explain first. It didn't just happen, y'know?

There's kinda a whole story behind it, but I'll only be telling Zaraki the part about Orihime. So sit tight.

It happened right at the end of the first semester. Winter Break was here.

At this point, you could say things were leveling out. I had made it through first semester. My grades were slightly better (since Starrk never helped me with art class, I'd decided to take Professor Aizen up on his offer, no matter how creepy the man was), I wasn't as annoyed with people anymore, and I wasn't as rude.

Well, maybe I was still rude, but I didn't try to be.

I started to hang out with Ichigo and his odd group of friends. Though they seemed to enjoy each other's company. I still thought most of them were annoying, but that was due to my misanthropic attitude.

We usually hung out on the bleachers in 0 period or at lunch. Surprisingly no one ever came up here during school hours, so it was perfect for our little group of misfits. And whenever I got the chance, I pestered Starrk about picking up his slack.

"God, fine. Relax, Blue," he'd groan and roll his eyes every time then run off to his friends.

It was a start though. Usually he'd have no idea who I was each time. Now I've been upgraded to be acknowledged as 'Blue.' Which was weird because that's what Renji would call me. And now that we were on a kinda first name basis, he was starting to work a bit.

It was still basically nothing, but hey, improvement was something.

And I'd been feeling strange lately, mainly about Starrk.

It all kind of started when we'd hang out on the bleachers. Starrk and his team were always there practicing everyday. I got used to watching him while I did my homework, then that was all I'd ever did. I began to notice little things about him. Like how he ran his fingers through his hair to keep it out of his face, but it never worked. Or how much his team looked up to him. Once while I was watching him play, he missed kicking the ball because of his hair and laughed at himself. But the coach yelled at him to pin it up. He ran towards us since his bag was on the bleachers. I watched him constantly push his hair out of his face to find it. He sighed then looked up, his eyes catching mine. I blushed and looked back down at my school work.

"Hey, kid!" I knew he was shouting at me, but I didn't look up. I didn't want to have to talk to him. "Uh...Blue! Hey, Blue!"

I reluctantly looked up, only to be surprised when he was right in front of me. I'd never been this close to Starrk before, not even in class. He smelled of fresh sweat. The regular stench that comes with athleticism and something burnt. No, not burnt. He smelled smokey, like something that had been charred to perfection. The mixture of these two scents would have made a regular person's eyes and nostrils sting. But to me, it made my insides flutter as I took deep inhales.

Oh, God, what's wrong with me?

I wanted to punch myself in the face.

I wanted to punch him in the face.

"Um...Blue?"

"What?" I replied rudely. I was pissed at the way I felt.

"Can I borrow this?" Starrk placed his finger on the headband that was currently keeping my hair back. I held myself back from leaning up into the touch.

Can I punch him in the face? Please?

"I'm using it."

"Please? I'll bring it right back, I promise," he pleaded sincerely. I was about to say no, but...fuck. He's got those eyes. They smolder even when he doesn't mean for them to.

"Fine," I agreed (which was very unlike me) and slipped the band off of my head, my hair falling partially over my eyes. I need a haircut.

"Thanks," Starrk said, his silky voice accompanied with a smile from the gods. He ran off to the field and I quietly sighed.

Kill me now.

"Wow, Grimmjow! That was a really nice thing to do," Ichigo said. "You feeling okay?" He teased with a laugh.

"Fuck you, Kurosaki," I retorted.

As he continued to laugh, my eyes caught Orihime's, hers instantly darting away and her cheeks flushing. Mine flushed too, but I don't know why. The 3 o'clock bell rang and we all stood then made our way down the bleachers. I felt a hand clasp my arm making me stop. I turned around and saw that it was Orihime who had stopped me. I didn't say anything, seeing as I had nothing to say, so I just stared at her. I guess I seemed angry, because she quickly detached her hand from my arm. Her eyes darted from mine to our surroundings. Her hands fiddled with the hem of her shirt. It was really annoying, but I didn't express that. I'd grown accustomed to Orihime's shy personality, so I'd grown lots of patience and compassion as well. She didn't talk to me just as much as I didn't talk period, so I couldn't be a hypocrite.

"H-Hey. Are you going to the...the Winter Formal next Saturday?" Orihime asked quietly.

"The what?" I asked. She looked to me then down again, swallowing nothing to compose herself.

"The Winter Formal. It's a dance the school has at the end of finals week, right before the break. I-I was just wondering if you were going and—"

"Oh, probably not," I answered quickly then turned around to go home. But curiosity stopped me. "Why?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Well...I-I, um..." Her voice got softer and I turned back around to hear her.

"You what?" Orihime's face was so pink you'd think she was holding her breath. And she looked like she was about to cry.

"If you're not going with anyone—i-if you're going at all, that is—I was wondering if...I could...go with you?" She shut her eyes then looked down, her hands squeezing her skirt.

I was astonished. I felt warmth creep up my neck and settle in my face. I was really confused and didn't know how to react.

"You...want to go to the dance...with me?" I repeated her question. Her eyes look to me then away as she nodded.

"Yes. If you want to. If it's okay, I mean."

I'd never been asked something like this before.

My eyes flickered over to the field. Starrk was still down there, and someone was with him. His girlfriend, Harribel. She had her arms around his neck, and his were around her waist. His eyes were covered by his hair, but I could still see his smile as he talked. They kissed, and his hands traveled to her ass. She punched his arm with a laugh, causing him to give chase. They ran under the bleachers, making me look back to Orihime.

"Sure," I said with a small smile, and her eyes lit up like there were fireworks in them.

"G-Great!" She exclaimed then wrapped her arms around me. I wasn't one for bodily contact, so I just stiffened up. Orihime caught my tension, so she let go. "Sorry," she said with a smile and a blush. I shrugged and smiled.

"S'okay." I elbowed her then nodded for her to walk with me.

Maybe this could be fun.

But did I even know how to have fun?

The night rolled around for the dance. I was at the door when Kisuke and Yoruichi stopped me.

"And where are you going, young man?" Yoruichi addressed me.

"To the winter thing at my school," I answered.

"The Winter Formal?" Kisuke asked.

"Yeah, whatever," I shrugged then opened the door.

"Not like that you're not!" Yoruichi said as she pulled me back inside.

For the next thirty minutes, I was irritated as they did my hair and dressed me. Kisuke pulled out an old suit and Yoruichi slicked back my hair. I huffed in annoyance, but that wasn't going to stop them.

When I was finally 'presentable,' I headed to Orihime's house. Her brother wasn't very menacing, but it was clear he didn't want anything to happen to his little sister. And I promised nothing would. We headed to the dance, and all of our friends were already having a great time. I didn't want to dance, so I stayed on the side. Orihime didn't seem to have a problem with that, but I knew how badly she wanted to. But if she wasn't going to ask then I didn't have to, right? Plus I didn't know how to dance anyway.

"Go dance, Orihime," I said plainly. She looked at me and tried to protest that she didn't want leave me, but I insisted.

Then it was just me on the wall.

But I was perfectly cool with watching everyone else dance. They came over and asked if I wanted to eat with them, so I went to wash my hands in the bathroom.

"Well, well. Been a while, yeah?" I watched Nnoitora walk into the bathroom after me.

"Fuck off," I replied.

"Nah, I think I'll stay."

Great. I didn't know why Nnoitora insisted on being a prick all the time, and honestly, I didn't care. I just wanted to go back to the dance and eat. I tried to walk out of the bathroom, but he stepped in front of me.

My hands clenched into fists.

"What do you want?"

"I just want ta talk, Blueberry, geez. It's about yer little group of friends out there. Actually, one in particular. That ginger-haired girl. Tha one with tha huge tits. What's her name?" When I didn't answer, he smirked a bit. "What? You her boyfriend or somethin'?" I flushed.

"No, but—"

"Then I don't see tha problem. Who is she? Man I want ta fuck her so bad," he let out a low groan as he watched Orihime dance through a crack in the door.

"You won't touch her," I growled. He was really pissing me off.

"And who's gonna stop me? From what I see, yer just her friend-date fer tonight. And if no one is hittin' that now, then I sure as hell will be soon."

I swung my fist at him as hard as I could. It impacted his nose with an audible crack, and the force hurt my hand.

But man did it feel good.

It's a weird feeling, liking to hurt people, I mean. Don't wanna make that a habit.

"Big mistake."

Nnoitora shouted then tackled me to the tiled floor. He hit my jaw and I growled. We tousled and threw punches and I fought him as hard as I could. I finally got up, and when he did the same, I punched him so hard he fell backwards and out the bathroom door. People gathered quickly as I straddled his waist and punched him twice more. Before I could land anymore hits, someone pulled me off of him.

"Alright, Blue. That's enough."

I didn't even register who's voice it was that was speaking lowly in my ear.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." One of the administrators said to me.

I shook the persons hold off of my arms as I looked to my friends. They looked concerned, but also scared and disappointed.

Great. Good going, idiot.

I spit at Nnoitora and was promptly dragged out of the dance before he could attack me again.

"Hey, you good?" I stopped seeing red and Starrk's face appeared in front of me. I blushed and hoped it couldn't be seen in the dim light outside. I felt warmth on my lips and touched them. My fingers came back bloody. "Damn. Looks like you both did a bit of damage. C'mon."

"W-Where are we going?" I asked.

"Somewhere else." I didn't really get his response, but I didn't question him.

His grip on my wrist was strong, I'd never forget it.

It made my stomach tremble.

I hated it.

Starrk's car was parked near the gym, so I didn't have to walk far. I was thankful because I was feeling kind of dizzy. It was a silver mustang, but I was too out of it to notice the year. He gently pushed me into the passenger seat then walked around to get in. He tried to make conversation, but I didn't respond aside from an occasional grunt. The engine rumble was smooth, and it soothed my growing headache.

"Just let me apologize about Nnoitora," he said with a small chuckle.

"Why're you apologizing?"

Well, he got me talking now.

"He beat you up." He sounded confused.

"But you didn't do it, so why are you apologizing?" I asked him like he was stupid which probably sounded rude as always, but I didn't notice. "And I beat him up, not the other way around." Starrk let out a laugh. I tried to swallow my nervousness.

"Someone has to apologize. Or would you rather me say sorry?"

"I don't need your pity."

"That's what I thought." I glared at him, but he kept his eyes on the road. They were hard and focused, like steel. He pulled into a parking lot then killed the engine. "Be right back."

I watched him jog into a store then shortly return. I wondered what he was doing. After getting back into the car, he pulled out some tissues and a jar. My eyes stayed on his hands as they moved place to place. The ointment stung when he rubbed it on the broken skin of my nose. He wiped my face of blood then put a band-aid under my eye.

"You're tough, I'll give you that, Blue," he chuckled then pulled out a bottle from the bag. Brown liquid sloshed around in it.

It reminded me of the kind my father used to drink. Which was weird because Starrk was only a year older than me.

"Thanks..." I said then looked into my lap. "Why'd you stop me?"

"Well, Nnoitora's a total dick, but he's still my friend. I didn't want to see him hurt like that. Someone had to." the bottle squeaked when he unscrewed the top. The smell burned my nose.

"Why do you do that?" I asked curiously.

"Do what?" Starrk tipped the bottle and took a long drink. He shook his head from the burn.

"You keep taking responsibility for people. It's not your job. What do you have to take responsibility for?"

"What do you mean? Somebody has—Oh, I see what you're saying," Starrk laughed at himself a bit. "I don't know. It's a habit, I guess. When people don't do the right thing, I feel like I have to do it, or else no one will."

His face fell, and I saw something I'd never seen before.

He looked sad and angry, but he willed it away as he took another drink.

Starrk held the bottle out to me, and I surprisingly took it. I stared at the bottle and took a drink.

The rim was still warm from his lips, it made me blush.

The liquid burned on the way down so I pulled it away and coughed. Starrk laughed and I glared as I wiped my mouth. That was my first drink.

We talked for a while. He asked me about myself, but of course, I didn't tell him much. Just what I felt comfortable telling him. What I was interested in, what I liked, what I did. He called me a geek, but the word didn't sting, because he didn't mean for it to. It had a playful connotation, so I wasn't really offended. Starrk told me about soccer, about how much he loved it. He wanted to go professional, but he laughed at how juvenile he thought he sounded. It's really hard for me to figure him out.

More specifically, I couldn't tell if he was an asshole or not.

He hung out with Nnoitora and his band of worthless shits, but he took care of me instead of him. He said he liked what I told him about myself, but he sneered and called me lame. He asked about my hair and eyes, and he stared for a long time. It made me nervous. Starrk must've had the shortest attention spand ever. We jumped from subject to subject, until we found something we both liked, which was rare. I was nothing like Starrk, nor the other way around. But I'd never gotten along with another person like I did with him. He told me he'd never been into art before, but he wanted to see mine. He'd never liked classical music, but he'd heard of the composers I mentioned.

Talking to him made my heart beat furiously, it made my insides tremble.

Starrk said he liked me, but I didn't know how he meant it.

I wanted to fucking rip out my stomach.

Why?

What was this feeling at the bottom of my soul?

He's so fucking odd. But I was one to talk.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I looked at the screen. Ichigo was calling me. I was buzzed, so it took me a while to decide whether to answer or not.

"You gonna get that?" Starrk questioned.

"Probably not. It's most likely a call to come back and explain myself," I answered.

"Need a ride?"

"I don't want to go back."

"Why not?"

"I don't really want to explain why I started a fight and got kicked out of the dance," I explained and rubbed my head.

"Why did you anyway?" He realized I never told him the reason we fought.

"Did you not just hear what I said?" Starrk laughed as he started the car. "You okay to drive?" I asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah. I drive best when I'm drunk." Before I could protest, he sped off and headed back to the campus. The entire place was deserted.

We'd been sitting in a parking lot talking that long.

"Dammit. Hang on." I dialed Ichigo's phone and waited for a bit.

"Grimmjow? Where are you, man?"

"Where are you?" I insisted an answer instead.

"We're at the hotel. Don't you remember? We all rented a room for the night," Ichigo said. I remembered no such thing. "Orihime's all alone, man. She wanted to hang out with you." I slid my hand down my face.

"Yeah...okay. I'm comin'," I said then hung up.

"So, where to?" Starrk asked.

"Uh, that's okay. I have to go to some hotel," I replied and shrugged.

"Which one?" I told him the hotel I was going to and he laughed. "Sweet. I'm going to that one too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Me and my girlfriend are in the same hotel."

"Oh."

My jaws twitched, maybe from anger, but I didn't know. We drove to the hotel then parked. Starrk went to his trunk and pulled out an overnight bag.

That pissed me off even more.

"It was nice talking with you, Blue. You're a really cool freshman," Starrk said with a smile then walked towards the door.

"Yeah."

I was reminded of our minuscule age difference. I'd totally forgotten about it the whole time. It just showed how alike we were in our differences.

I waited downstairs for Ichigo to come get me, tapping my foot and bobbing my head to the lobby music by myself.

Not quite going to got into detail with the Orihime story just yet!

I wanted to go into a bit of Grimmjow and Starrk this chapter.

Hope you all enjoyed what little bit of them I revealed this chapter! Please tell me how you liked it!

R&R!

~EMAE