Fast Times at Hueco Mundo High (Revised)

by WolfmanStarrk

The Arrancar face something they have never faced before: The Challenge of everyday life of your average teen! Main Pairings: Starribel, GrimmNel. (This is a rewrite/reworking of my previous submission.)

3. Chapter 3: Meet Me at The Mall

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach or it's characters, Tite Kubo owns all that (and some really neat shades)

Chapter 3

Weekend Homework Session

OR

Meet Me at The Mall!

The following morning, Starrk and Lilynette had just finished their morning preparations and sat down for their breakfast. Lilynette noticed that her brother was still looking over the slip of paper that Harribel gave him the previous day. Her trademark mischievous smirk soon found it's way onto her face.

"Whatcha looking at Starrk?" Lilynette asked.

"Oh...uh...nothing." Starrk replied, blushing slightly.

"I see...that little piece of paper you have wouldn't have anything to do with that girl you like would it?"

Starrk's blush deepened a little more as he remained silent, much to the amusement of his younger sister.

"Oh my God it DOES!" Lilynette blurted out excitedly. "It's her phone number isn't it?"

"Nah, it's not." Starrk replied lazily.

"Well, what IS on it then?" Lilynette asked, reaching for the slip of paper. "You may as well save yourself some trouble cause I'll just keep asking you until you answer."

"Fine..." Starrk sighed in defeat.

He showed the curious Lilynette the slip of paper, which was quickly swiped out of his hand. The plucky young girl looked over it for about a minute and once again another mischievous smirk appeared on her face.

"Wow Starrk," Lilynette said, still grinning. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"Urgh...Lilynette since when did you turn into Grimmjow." Starrk said, blushing a bright shade of red.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you're finally moving on from her." Lilynette replied. "Seriously, I just want the best for you."

"Thanks squirt." Starrk said, playfully ruffling Lilynette's hair. "Though I wouldn't call this what you're thinking it is."

"Whatever you say." Lilynette replied, smiling slightly.

"We'd better get going, I'd hate to have to face Principal Luisenbarn for being late." Starrk muttered, in mid yawn.

"Yeah, last thing I'd want to deal with is the wrath of Mumm-Ra the Ever Living." Lilynette replied, giggling at her own joke.

"Don't ever call him that to his face, otherwise he might sentence you to the dreaded 'Respira'." Starrk muttered.

"Noooooo!" Lilynette mock shrieked, "I'm too young and cute for hard time!"

Both Starrk and Lilynette made their way towards Starrk's car, opening their respective doors and hopping in. They drove off towards the school to start what would likely be another interesting day.

Meanwhile on the campus...

Grimmjow pulled into the Senior parking lot hoping not to be the first one to arrive on campus again. However, it would seem that luck was not on his side, for he discovered that the parking lot was empty, much to his annoyance.

"Damn it!" Grimmjow growled. "Not again! Why does this shit keep happening?"

As Grimmjow mumbled to himself about his bad luck with his school arrival times, he began to formulate a plan that would ensure he would never be first on campus again. It didn't take long, though, until he saw some cars pull into the parking lot, one in particular belonging to Ulquiorra. As the car parked in it's usual space under the rather large oak tree, Grimmjow's mumblings intensified.

"Oh great... last thing I need is the Sad Mime throwing insults my way." Grimmjow mumbled to himself.

"Well now, this is most certainly an interesting obsveration." a familiar voice said.

"Just what do you mean by that Dork Knight?" Grimmjow asked.

"What I mean," Ulquiorra replied. "Is your rather strange penchant for being the first one to arrive on campus. It seems contrary to your general disdain of scholastic affairs. Not that it's any of my buisness of course."

"Damn right it's not Lord Doom," Grimmjow growled. "Besides who the fuck asked your opinion anyway?"

"I sometimes wonder why I bother associating with trash like you." Ulquiorra replied calmly. "If you will excuse me I would rather spend my time occupied with something more constructive as opposed to listening to your inane vulgarities."

Ulquiorra then walked into the building, leaving behind a very ticked off Grimmjow. His mutterings and growlings began to get more and more intense.

"Damn your douche-baggery you fucking snobby little pampered ass..." Grimmjow growled under his breath, struggling to maintain his composure. "One of these days Batman, I'll show you who's boss, oh yeah you'll get what the hell's coming to ya."

"And just what's your plan to beat the Bat, Mistah J. ," someone said, sneaking up behind Grimmjow.

"WOAH! Holy SHIT!" Grimmjow shouted as he jumped a little. "Damn Nel, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Nel found herself in a giggle fit over Grimmjow's reaction. As soon as Grimmjow regained his composure, he joined in Nel's laughing fit.

"Sorry, Grimm, I couldn't resist," Nel said, still giggling.

"Eh it's alright, and hey that wasn't a bad impersonation." Grimmjow replied.

"What can I say, I can't help but like The Joker and his Femme Fatale," Nel said. "Anywho, you never answered my question, 'How are you gonna take down The Bat?'"

"Heh, maybe I can make the Bat eat some of those weird grinning fish," Grimmjow added.

"Oooooh the Joker Fish?" Nel asked.

"Yeah, and maybe then The Bat King would loosen up and grow a personality," Grimmjow replied, "Or at least not act like he's better than everyone else."

"Hopefully you know the jingle." Nel added.

"Heh, who DOESN'T know that old classic?" Grimmjow replied.

"They're finny and funny and oh so delish, they're joyful and jolly JOKER Fish!" Nel and Grimmjow sang simultaneously before going into another laughing fit.

As Grimmjow and Nel were busy enjoying their laughter and conversation, they both spotted Starrk's dusty grey Cadillac Sedan pulling into the Senior parking lot. Starrk and Lilynette got out of the car and waved to Grimmjow and Nel.

"Hey Starrky," Nel shouted in her usual cheery tone.

"Hey Nel," Starrk replied, lethargically.

"Yo, El Lobo," Grimmjow said, "You hyped for the coming weekend?"

"Oh? What's going on this weekend?" Nel asked.

"Oh nothing much, 'cept Wolf Man Mac here's got a date," Grimmjow replied, smirking at Starrk.

"Grimm, I've told you already, it's not a date," Starrk replied, blushing a bit. "We're getting together to work on some school related stuff and maybe head out to the mall later that afternoon."

"You know Starrky, there's a river in Egypt called 'Denile' right?" Lilynette replied, also smirking at the blushing student.

"Yeah Starrk," Nel added "Ahhhh, mall trolling eh? That's a first date standard if I ever saw one."

"Come on you guys," Starrk said, trying to stifle a yawn. "Bel and I barely know one another. If anything this is more like a 'get acquanted' kinda thing."

"Riiiiiiiiiight," Nel replied, playfully sticking her tongue out. "Just keep telling yourself that."

Starrk couldn't help but grin at his friends' teasing. He couldn't ignore all of it though, he kept thinking to himself "what if it IS a date", despite rationalizing that it couldn't be, since he and Harribel only just met the previous day. Deep down though, Starrk couldn't help but feel a sense of joy, joy that perhaps Grimmjow, Nel and his own sister, might be right.

As the quartet entered the building Harribel pulled into the parking lot. Noticing that her usual space was taken already, she quickly parked in the nearest open spot. What she didn't know was that she was parked next to Starrk's vintage Cadillac.

Later that day in Mr. Ukitake's Class...

Class started off on a hectic note as Szayel Aporro and Charlotte Cuuhlhourne argued back and forth over the concept of beauty and fashion. Needless to say, not much progress was made on the duo's project. Elsewhere Apacci was eying Tesla, making sure the meek student didn't try any funny business with her. Finally Grimmjow and Nel were busy on their project, The Crusades. As it turned out, the two worked fairly well together. It helped that they shared a similar sense of humor, making conversation easier.

"You know..." Nel began, placing a finger on her chin, "You said something about Starrk and Tia getting together Saturday right?"

"Yeah, So?" Grimmjow replied.

"Well, I was curious, would you like to get together with me this weekend?"

"Sounds like fun," Grimmjow replied. "Though I gotta ask, why?"

"Well you partially answered your own question, silly," Nel said. "We could knock out some of that excess homework for one thing, and maybe we could go out for a bite to eat and hit up the mall later?"

"If I didn't know better," Grimmjow replied. "I'd swear you were asking me out on a date."

"Well I dunno about that," Nel replied, playfully teasing the blue haired student. "It's more like we're just hanging out. Besides maybe Starrk and Tia would want to join us."

"I figured as much," Grimmjow muttered, "Still can't blame a guy for trying right?"

"I suppose not," Nel replied, sticking her tongue out and winking at her study partner.

"So, I take it Saturday afternoon's good for you?" Grimmjow asked.

"Sure," Nel replied. "Far as I know I'm not doing anything then."

Elsewhere in the classroom, Nnoitra was fuming, having overheard the exchange between Grimmjow and Nelliel. He was already in a foul mood due to the rather unfortunate result of his "date" the previous night, and what he was over hearing was pushing him to near madness. Whatever had happened between Nnoitra and Luppi must have been horrific, for the tall student refused to give Luppi any sort of eye contact.

"Um, Nnoitra, we need to get our presentation ready by tomorrow." Luppi said, trying to get Nnoitra's attention.

"That fucking little..." Nnoitra grumbled under his breath, trying not to look at his partner. "How dare he steal my prey like that?"

"Ugh...whatever..." Luppi stated. "I'll just read up on 'spoils of war' by myself then."

"Wait," Nnoitra replied. "Did you say 'spoils of war?' As in, Gold, loot AND women?"

"Yeah, I did..." Luppi replied, smirking. "Did something about that grab your attention?"

"Yeah, though don't say 'grab' around me," Nnoitra replied.

"Whatever you say, cutie," Luppi replied, smirking at Nnoitra seductively.

Elsewhere in Mr. Urahara's class...

It was buisness as usual in Kisuke Urahara's class. Ulquiorra and Sung-sun were working on their assignment for the day, making sure to document every detail of the experiment. The teams of Di Roy and Nakeem and Avirama and Findor, once again, found themselves engaging in yet another "war" of explosions, much to Mr. Urahara's amusement. Starrk and Harribel however had other things on their mind besides the daily assignment.

"Um...Starrk," Harribel asked, "Are you alright? You look a little nervous."

"Huh...Oh...um..." Starrk replied. "It's...It's nothing..."

"I don't know, you've been fidgeting a little since class started." Harribel said.

"Well..." Starrk replied "My sister found out about our plans, so did Nel."

"Ok?" Harribel added "I don't know why that would make you nervous. I mean Nel is your friend for one thing."

"Yeah..." Starrk muttered. "But they both have a habit of teasing and well...They seem to think we're going on a...a date."

"Ah, so that's what's got you a bit flustered." Harribel replied, smiling slightly.

"I mean...I wouldn't mind if it was..." Starrk said. "But we barely know each other."

"Yeah..." Harribel added. "View it more as we're getting to know each other."

"That's what I was thinking." Starrk replied, smiling at his lab partner. "Good luck convincing Nel and Grimm that though."

Harribel couldn't help but laugh at that last statement. As the two continued to work on their lab assignment, they both caught their hands touching on occassion. Of course when the noticed such, they immediately blushed.

'I wouldn't mind if it was a date...' Harribel thought to herself. 'There's just something that feels so RIGHT being next to him.'

Elsewhere in the room, Mila Rose was watching Starrk and Harribel, muttering something under her breath. Ggio couldn't help but take advantage of her distraction to sneak in some ogling. Before she could retaliate once she noticed Ggio eyeing her, fumes from the warring lab duo's impromptu "war" floated over to their table. Rose and Ggio quickly dived under their table, discretion being the better part of valor in this case.

"I'm so going to kill those two morons..." Ggio growled under his breath.

"Not before I get my hands on them first..." Mila Rose muttered.

Later on at Lunch...

Starrk and Grimmjow were sitting at their usual table, chatting about some their days so far, as well as the latest news regarding the latest releases of some of their favorite bands and such. Nel came over to join them with her lunch as usual, but unlike most days, Harribel was with her.

Over at Harribel's usual table, Apacci and Mila Rose were in yet another shouting match over who knows what, while Sung-Sun, clearly annoyed, tried her best to ignore her cohorts. While Nel sat across from Grimmjow, Harribel decided to sit across from Starrk. Seeing this course of action on their friend's part, Apacci immediately jumped up and begn to storm over towards Starrk. She was hell bound and determined to remind the laid back student, that if he did anything to Harribel, he was as good as dead.

Lilynette, on the other hand, was sitting with her friends as usual. The group was talking about what they were planning to do over the weekend. She noticed Apacci's march towards her brother, but figured that the people at that table could handle themselves and returned to her conversation, bracing for fireworks at the same time.

"Well now, this is new," Grimmjow said, "Don't you usually sit with your three body guards?"

"Yeah," Harribel replied. "But Apacci and Mila Rose's constant bickering was starting to give me a headache."

"I hear ya on that one Tia," Nel added. "Dealing with Szayel and Cuuhlhourne's arguing wasn't much better."

"Yeah," Starrk added.

"So," Nel said, grinning. "I hear you and Starrky have a big date this Saturday."

Harribel and Starrk both blushed at the reminder. While Starrk's initial anxieties about their weekend meet up had faded for the most part, Nel's playful teasing always had a way of getting to him. Harribel, while slightly embarassed by Nel's statement, found herself smiling a bit. Before Nel could proceed with any more questions, however, Harribel asked a question of her own.

"Oh, and what about you and Grimmjow?" Harribel asked. "Do you two have anything planned for the weekend?"

Nel found herself blushing a bit at Harribel's question, while Grimmjow nearly spit out some of his drink in surprise. Starrk couldn't hide a chuckle about their respective reactions.

"Well now," Starrk said. "Does Grimm have a li'l ol' date this weekend?"

Grimmjow remained silent and gave Starrk a halfhearted glare. Despite the small blush on his face, Grimmjow kept his composure.

"Hey man," Starrk muttered. "Turn about IS fair play."

"Oh really?" Grimmjow replied. "In that case I plead the fifth."

Starrk once again chuckled at Grimmjow's response, then glanced over to Nel, who was still blushing. She didn't say anything but her blushing, and her smile told volumes.

"I wouldn't call it a date per se," Nel repied, finally regaining her composure. "We were simply thinking about hanging out at the mall Saturday. Maybe get some of school stuff out of the way."

"You sure about that?" Starrk asked. "Didn't you both tell me that 'Mall Trolling' was a standard 'first date'?"

"Curses!" Nel replied playfully. "Hoisted by my own petard!"

"You know, Starrk and I could join you." Harribel said. "If you both are alright with that of course."

"Sure!" Nel replied. "I never did get to give you a grand tour of the mall since you were busy getting settled and all. Oh and I bet Starrk's sister will want to go too."

"Yeah." Starrk added as he yawned slightly. "She loves going to the arcade and spending time on the DDR Machines."

"That's fine." Harribel replied. "Like I said yesterday I would like to get to know her better as well."

"Well, while you're doing that, I'm SO hitting up the Arcade." Grimmjow said, smirking slightly.

"You and that arcade..." Starrk added. "Planning to show off your 'skills' to Nel I take it?"

"Not my fault I'm that good." Grimmjow replied, his trademark smirk ever present.

"That reminds me, I can show you the book store while we're there," Starrk said. "I've got a friend who works there, you'd probably like her."

"Yeah, Cirucci can be a little snarky but only because she works in the service field." Nel added. "It's sort of how she deals with it. Don't worry, though, she won't act like that around us."

"Of course, expect to hear customer horror stories that either she or her boyfriend have seen first hand." Starrk said.

"With all this activity we have planned I doubt we'll get to much of our assignments done." Harribel added.

"We could meet up earlier than 3 if that's the case," Nel said. "We don't have all THAT much to do homework wise."

"Yeah, most of it is stuff from Miss Ise's class anyway," Grimmjow stated. "Wolf boy there's a wiz in that class."

"Even though he sleeps through class he always seems to figure out the problems." Nel added "I wonder if his sleeping is him actually learning through entranced meditation or something."

"It's gotta be SOMETHING alright." Grimmjow said. "Whatever it is, it's hilarious seeing Miss Ise freak out every time he nails the answer. At least that's what Yylfordt always says, anyway."

"That's rather peculular," Harribel added. "Starrk doesn't sleep much if at all during Mr. Urahara's class."

"That's because your class has Di Roy and Nakeem." Nel said, giggling. "Poor Starrky couldn't afford to sleep in that class."

"That and that Urahara guy would probably experiment on Starrk in his sleep." Grimmjow added.

"Who knows." Starrk said lethargicly "That guy's so unpredictable."

As the group's conversation continued, the bell rang which meant it was time for the second half of the school day. Classes proceeded normally, with Lilynette once again having to go and fetch her Uncle Shu from the rooftop. Starrk slept through Miss Nanao Ise's class, much to her chagrin, and Harribel found herself sketching another picture, once again Starrk, but wearing a solid grey uniform, jacket with a red button at the top and gold yellow lining with black boots to complete the ensemble.

Harribel once again found herself blushing at her newest sketch, this time, however, she intended to finish it at home, time permitting of course. Before long, the bell signalling the end of the school day sounded off and the group of friends found themselves walking towards their respective vehicles. Before they could get past the door, Starrk was ambushed by a very familiar form. Lilynette leaped towards her brother and proceeded to latch onto him in some form of tackle hug. Starrk almost fell but, having long been used to Lilynette's odd greetings, was able to keep his balance.

"So," Lilynette said, glancing at Harribel. "Is this the lucky lady I've been hearing about?"

Starrk blushed a bit at his younger sister's rather blunt question. Harribel, while also blushing, couldn't help but smile at the adorable scene taking place before her. Grimmjow and Nelliel glanced at the trio walking to their respective vehicles. They both couldn't help but smile at them, seeing how happy they looked.

"Oh, Bel," Starrk said, breaking the silence. "This is my younger sister Lilynette.

"Hello." Lilynette replied, smiling at Harribel.

"Hello," Harribel said, reaching her hand out towards the smaller sibling. "Pleased to meet you. Your brother's told me a lot about you."

"Is it true you and Starrk have a date this Saturday?" Lilynette asked, once again causing both Starrk and Harribel to blush.

"Lilynette!" Starrk said, trying to regain his composure.

"Well," Harribel added. "We were thinking about going to the mall with Nel and Grimmjow."

"Oooooh," Lilynette replied. "I wanna go too!"

"I figured as much." Starrk said, running his hand through his hair.

"We were planning on showing our new friend here around," Nel added. "You wouldn't mind helping out with that would you Lily?"

"Course not," Lilynette replied.

"Long as I get my fix of Arcade action, I'm good." Grimmjow added, smirking slightly.

After a bit of discussion regarding their plans, and other assorted bits of small talk, the group of five were beginning to lose track of time. Grimmjow and Nel were the first to their cars, and before they left for their respective homes they waved bye to their friends. Starrk, Lilynette and Harribel stayed behind a little longer to talk and so that Lilynette to get acquanted with the blonde student. Before long, Lilynette spotted Rudobon and his squadron of Exequias performing their final patrol of the day, glancing in the direction of the group.

"Uh-oh," Lilynette said, gesturing over towards the group. "We'd better get out of here before 'The Spanish Inquisition' over there decides to hold us for questioning."

"Ahh," Harribel shouted, as she noticed Rudobon's patrol. "I guess it's true what they say, no one really DOES expect the Spanish Inquisition..."

"Yeah," Starrk added, chuckling at Harribel's unintended joke. "Those guys seem to pop out at any random time. Still, we'd best get going. Last thing any of us needs is to be bothered by them."

Harribel nodded in agreement as she got into her car.

"See ya tomorrow Bel." Starrk said, as he stood outside his car door.

"Yeah," Harribel replied, slightly blushing. "See you tomorrow."

After Harribel pulled off and headed on her way home. Starrk and Lilynette began to do the same. Being a curious sort, Lilynette had a lot of questions for her brother. Starrk kept evading the questions or changing the topic, much to the annoyance of his younger sister.

The following school day seemed to drag on for everyone. After all, the weekend was coming up and that meant fun for many students. Of course some classes were a little more eventful than others. Di Roy, Nakeem, Avirama and Findor were up to their usual antics in Urahara's class, much to the teacher's delight as he not-so-secretly recorded them. Starrk was once again run ragged by Yachiru and slept his way through Algebra 2 later that day, pleasant dreams filling his head.

The Next Day...

Once again, Starrk's younger sister Lilynette found herself trying to wake her brother up. Looking at Starrk's alarm clock, she could see it was a little past 11:40 AM.

"Starrk... Hey Starrk!" Lilynette shouted trying to rouse her brother from his slumber. "So that's how you're gonna play it eh?"

Lilynette, a wicked grin on her face, got out one of her many secret weapons for waking Starrk, namely an airhorn. Cackling to herself, she placed it right by one of his ears and pressed down on the button. With a loud blast of sound ringing in his ears, Starrk immediately jumped up from his bed, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling.

"Gah!" Starrk said, still shaken from his wake up call. "Why did you do that?"

"You know," Lilynette replied. "If you'd just get up like normal people, I wouldn't need to resort to such extremes.

"I knew buying you that thing was a mistake." Starrk muttered.

"You'd better get moving and get ready, or do I need to blow the airhorn again?" Lilynette said, grinning mischievously.

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going." Starrk replied, making his way to the bathroom.

"And don't fall asleep in the shower," Lilynette shouted.

"Right, right," Starrk replied, yawning.

Starrk took his time in the shower, relaxing under the hot water was one of his few luxuries. Of course, he couldn't afford to take too long this time unless he wished to incur the wrath of his younger sister. Once he was done, he wrapped himself in a towel and quickly made his way back to his bedroom.

"Bathroom's all yours squirt!" Starrk shouted from his room.

"Ok," Lilynette replied. "And stop calling me 'squirt' it sounds weird."

Starrk chuckled a bit at Lilynette's repsonse as she proceeded with her own grooming rituals. After he applied his deodorant and his necklace, he quickly selected his choice of outfit, a black t-shirt with a pack of wolves on it and simple blue jeanswith a pair of broken-in black loafers.

When Lilynette was done getting herself cleaned up, she came out of her room wearing a pink button up shirt, unbuttoned, with a white tank top under it. She also wore a pair of black biker shorts and a pair of pink hightops to complete her look. Both siblings then descended the staircase, though Lilynette was in more of a hurry. Starrk chose to take his time.

"What's the rush Lilynette?" Starrk asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Well, I'd like to get to the mall sometime TODAY," Lilynette replied. "Besides, it's not my fault you slept in."

"We don't have to meet the others til a bit later."

"Well, maybe I'd like to grab some 'noms on the way. Bet you didn't consider that did you?"

"Isn't that what the food court's for?"

"Touche..." Lilynette conceded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once Starrk and Lilynette were out the door, they made their way to Starrk's car. Usually Lilynette would ride "shotgun" with her older brother and as such, the responsibility of navigator usually fell to her. Using her phone, she entered Harribel's address into the GPS program. As the siblings drove, Lilynette once again began asking questions about Starrk and Harribel inbetween making fun of the automated GPS voice.

Meanwhile at Grimmjow's house...

Grimmjow had just finished his usual grooming ritual before heading out and was looking in his closet for something more comfortable than the Hueco Mundo High uniform. His chosen outfit consisted of a white tanktop with a light blue a circle-A on the front. A pair of faded blue jeans and messy looking sneakers completed his attire. He also wore a couple of punk rocker style bracelets and a black jacket with various patches to complete his ensemble. All ready to go, he took a moment to sit on his bed and relax for a minute.

Grimmjow's room was much like your standard male's room, fairly messy with dirty clothes scattered about. The blue walls featured posters of bikini clad supermodels, a wall scroll of one of his favorite series, Berserk and a poster for the metal band Pantera. One corner of the room featured an entertainment hutch and within it was a 30 inch television hooked to a couple of gaming consoles. In the opposite corner was his computer desk, more or less neat save for a couple of empty soda cans. On top of his dresser, resting on top of a stack of DVDs was a half eaten slice of pizza. On the night table next to his bed was his stereo system, playing metal songs in the background.

Making themselves comfortable on his bed, four cats were curled up, napping in a cat pile unfazed Grimmjow's taste in loud music. Unfortunately for Grimmjow's schedule, one of them had sprawled across his lap like fuzzy ooze the minute he sat down, purring like a cement mixer. Disentangling himself from the cats, who barely noticed his movement, he glanced at the clock on the wall above the TV.

"Heh, about time to head out." Grimmjow muttered to himself, giving the cats a quick scritch before heading out of his room, switching the music off and leaving the door slightly open so that the cats could roam at will. Before he could make his way to his jeep, however his phone's text alarm sounded off.

'Hey Grimm, It's Nel. I completely forgot to give you my address...'' The text read, along with her address, and a photo of herself. 'PS. Here's a photo of me you can use for your contacts. I hope I can get one of you too.'

"Heh," Grimmjow said to himself, smirking. "I think I could arrange that." As he drove, though, he started to wonder, "How did she get my number?"

Making sure that the directions to Nel's house were entered properly into his GPS, he couldn't help but grin in anticipation for their meetup. He cranked up the radio, grinning as AC/DC came up in the rotation, and started loudly singing along, checking the GPS instructions at the same time.

Despite the best efforts of the GPS to get him to keep turning right in a perpetual circle one street over from his destination, Grimmjow managed to successfully find Nelliel's house. In fact once he was on the proper street, it was painfully easy to spot it. Grimmjow was expecting Nel to live in an average looking house that closely resembled the rest of the neighborhood, however what he found was interesting, to say the least.

The outside of the house had sea green siding and the doors and window panels were a dark, forest green in color. Decorating the yard were statues of sheep and rams. The rams looking like they were in a headbutting contest and the sheep looking like they were grazing. Before he could get out of his jeep, Nelliel half-sprinted out of her front door. With a spring in her step she made her way to the Jeep, hurtling over a few of the statues for good measure, and jumped in.

"Hey Grimm, I see you got my text." Nel said.

"Yeah," Grimmjow replied. "I have to ask though, how did you get my number?"

"Oh that's easy," Nel said. "Lilynette gave it to me yesterday before her and Starrk left."

"I should have known," Grimmjow muttered, "Anyway, you ready?"

"Oh I was BORN ready." Nel replied, grinning.

"Then let's rock and roll!" Grimmjow shouted in excitement as he reved up the engine.

Back with Starrk and Lilynette...

"Turn right at the next corner," The GPS blurted out.

"Captain's Log," Lilynette said, mocking the GPS voice. "Turn right... at that weird... phallic shaped... sign, you dipshit."

"Come on now Lilynette," Starrk replied, trying not to laugh at Lilynette's snark. "Try to keep your language clean, at least in front of Bel ok?"

"Oh don't worry," Lilynette said. "I'll keep my dirty, dirty little mouth clean in front of your girlfriend. In fact, since I like her, I'll be nice and sit in the back when we pick her up."

Starrk was taken aback by Lilynette's response. Usually she wasn't as compliant towards Starrk's requests, nor was she quick to take with people she's only just met. Of course that didn't stop her from teasing him regarding his and Harribel's relationship.

"What?" Lilynette said. "She seems nice."

"It's just..." Starrk replied. "You usually don't take to people so quick."

"You know better than anyone I'm an excellent judge of character," Lilynette said. "Plus, after what happened with your ex..."

Starrk didn't comment on that, choosing instead to focus on the road. After all if there was one thing he wanted to forget about, it's his ex.

"I didn't mean to strike that nerve." Lilynette said, feeling a tad guilty.

"It's alright Lilynette," Starrk replied. "Let's not think about bad things from the past."

"Yeah!" Lilynette said happily. "We're off to have fun, not be sad depressios like a certain rich kid."

Starrk chuckled a bit at Lilynette's reply as they drove on. Though he may unintentionally annoy her sometimes, Lilynette knew he loved her and vice versa. Lilynette truly wanted to see her brother happy, and seeing him going out to meet with friends, and actually looking half way lively was a joyful sight for her. Before long the GPS reminded the pair that they had arrived at their destination.

Harribel's house was more "normal" in appearance, especially compared to Nelliel's house. It was a two story family dwelling with white aluminum siding, with the front door being a golden yellow. The window paneling was also white, matching the siding on the house. Starrk pulled into the driveway and parked and, as promised, Lilynette got out of her seat and moved to the back. Starrk got out of the car and stood next to his vehicle.

After a couple of minutes Harribel walked out and walked towards Starrk and Lilynette. Harribel's choice of attire consisted of a sleeveless midnight blue top and basic blue jeans. In addition to her shark charm she wore a pair of white shoes and a shark tooth pendant to complete her ensemble.

"Hey Bel," Starrk said, opening the door for her. "You look great."

"My aren't you the gentleman," Harribel replied, smiling. "And thank you, you don't look so bad yourself."

Starrk found himself blushing once again but also smiling. As he made his way to the driver's seat, Harribel found herself looking at Starrk, and she couldn't help but smile thinking about every time he called her "Bel". Not even her ex called her that, let alone any other "pet name". Starrk was the complete opposite of her ex, humble, kind, considerate and laid back, and now she was going to see what he was like when not at school.

"So Bel," Lilynette chimed in, breaking the silence. "What shop are you looking forward to visiting most?"

"I don't know," Harribel replied. "Maybe the book store. I'd like to see their selection."

"Yeah," Starrk added. "They've got quite a variety of books, comics and a few other assorted knick knacks."

"Of course I wouldn't mind hitting up the food court first." Harribel said. "I... kinda slept in a bit and forgot to eat breakfast."

"Oh dear," Lilynette added. "You're picking up some of Starrky's habits aren't you?"

"In my defense," Harribel replied, trying to hold back a small chuckle. "I was up late taking care of school work, so I could focus more on today's events."

"Bel...," Starrk replied. "You can't be skipping meals now, it's not good for your health."

"I'll be okay," Harribel said, blushing a bit. "It's sweet of you to be concerned for me though."

"Would you like anything in particular from the Food Court?" Starrk asked.

"Hmmm, if they have one, something from The Noodle Hut?" Harribel replied.

"Sounds good," Starrk replied. "It's been ages since I had anything from The Noodle Hut."

"Oh, I just got a text from Nel," Lilynette said. "Funny that you guys mentioned the food court, Nel wants to meet us there."

"Heh, Talk about fate," Harribel added.

"Yeah really." Starrk said.

On their way to the mall, the trio talked about many different subjects. As usual Lilynette was full of questions, some of which made Starrk and Harribel blush a bit. Before long the group was at the mall and, while looking for a parking space, they spotted Grimmjow's jeep.

"Looks like Grimm beat us here," Lilynette said.

"Yeah," Starrk added. "How much you want to bet he risked a speeding ticket?"

"Oh no," Lilynette replied, giggling. "I'm not taking that bet."

As the group walked together, Lilynette immediately noticed that Harribel and her brother's hands would touch on occasion. Due to them engaging in conversation and keeping an eye on parking lot traffic they didn't notice each other holding hands. Lilynette simply smiled at the sight before her.

'Hah...,' Lilynette thought to herself. 'And you're saying this isn't a date.'

Soon Starrk, Lilynette, and Harribel were inside the mall and then made their way to their first destination, the food court. Once there, they were quickly greeted by Grimmjow and Nelliel. The group soon found themselves a table to sit at.

"Oh hey!" Nel said, greeting the group. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up."

"Eh, you know Starrk," Grimmjow added. "He always tends to drive like an old lady."

"I'd like to keep my car in one piece thank you very much," Starrk replied. "After all, it's an oldie, but a goodie."

"Oh come on," Grimmjow said. "I'm not THAT bad a driver. I mean I've not had a wreck yet."

"Well that right there makes him safer on the road than Apacci." Harribel added. "I can't tell you how many times Apacci had wrecked her car."

"If she's that unsafe," Grimmjow asked. "How the hell did she even GET a license in the first place?"

"There are times I ask myself that same question." Harribel replied.

"Hey Starrky," Nel said, playfully poking Starrk. "Lilynette's getting to that age where she'll be learning to drive."

Starrk's eyes widened in horror at the thought of his younger, rambunctious sister behind the wheel. He not only worried for her safety but the safety of other drivers as well. Grimmjow laughed at Starrk's reaction to Nel's question while Lilynette simply gave her brother a look of mild annoyance.

"Hahahaha! You should see the look on your face." Grimmjow said, laughing.

"What?" Lilynette asked. "You'd be the one teaching me I'd hope."

"Uh... yeah, sure." Starrk replied.

"Surely she wouldn't be worse than Apacci." Harribel added, trying to reassure Starrk.

"So, who's getting what?" Nel said, changing the topic.

"Bel and I were thinking of hitting up the Noodle Hut." Starrk replied.

"Ooooooh, are you two gonna share your lunch?" Nel asked, grinning wickedly. Which resulted in more blushing from Starrk and Harribel.

"Pizza for me!" Lilynette added.

"Ditto for me!" Nel said.

"I'm getting my usual," Grimmjow said, "A big beef brisket sandwitch."

With that said, each pair, save for Grimmjow, went to their food place of choice. Nelliel and Lilynette made their way to the pizza stand. Lilynette ordered a couple slices of pepperoni, and Nel ordered a goat cheese, onion, pineapple and canadian bacon on a coned crust. Grimmjow made his way to Biff's House of Beef and ordered a large beef brisket sandwitch. Finally Starrk and Harribel stood in line for The Noodle Hut. When their turn came, they both placed their orders, Starrk ordered a shrimp chow mein and Harribel ordered a pineapple fried rice.

After about fifteen minutes or so, the group returned to the table they selected from themselves. Grimmjow was rather surprised by Nel's choice of toppings, as was Lilynette. After the initial shock of Nel's choice of pizza, everyone started eating. Glancing over Nel noticed Starrk and Harribel sharing their meal. They told her that they were simply trying a bite of one another's meals, but her mischievous grin told them both that she didn't believe them. When Harribel offered to share her drink with Starrk, that only further encouraged Nel's theories. Once their meal was done, the group then discussed what they were going to do next.

"Oh MAN!" Grimmjow said, trying to silence a belch. "That was a damn good sammich!"

"I imagine so," Starrk added, "I mean you pratically inhaled the thing."

"I still don't understand how you could put fruit on your pizza." Lilynette muttered.

"It's an acquired taste." Nel replied. "Then again, some people say I've always had 'strange' tastes.

"So where are we heading off to first?" Grimmjow asked.

"We still have to give Tia the grand tour you know." Nelliel replied.

"I'd be okay checking out the bookstore," Starrk added. "I've been meaning to see if the newest volume of Legend of Los Lobos is out or not."

"I didn't know you read Legend of Los Lobos." Harribel said

"Yeah," Starrk replied. "I've been reading it since I was a kid."

"Oh wow," Harribel added. "So you most likely know who 'The Grey Canine' was."

"Yeah," Starrk replied. "She was Commander Lobos' first partner. Before he met The Tiburon Princess."

"I think we have a connection," Lilynette whispered to Nel.

"Yeah," Nel whispered back "Whether they realize it or not."

The group of friends then got up and disposed of their trash. When that was done, the "Grand Tour" of the Menos Mall commenced. The first stop on their tour was a specialty store, this store in particular had various gag items, keychains and shirts featuring icons on popular culture and band names/logos. Nel and Lilynette were more than enthused about visiting this particular shop. Starrk and Harribel were looking at the band t-shirts while Nel and Lilynette looked at keychains. Grimmjow was looking at some of the knick knacks, trying not to succumb to boredom while resisting the temptation to set off every singing, dancing electronic toy in the place.

"Hey look at this a Bawabawa keychain!" Nel exclaimed. "I haven't seen one of these in forever!"

"This one's kinda cute," Lilynette said, holding up a wolf keychain.

"Oooooooh, I LOVE this little headbutting ram one!" Nel said. "Now I don't know which one to get."

"Why not both?" Lilynette asked, as she continued to look over the display of keychains.

"Hey yeah." Nelliel replied. "Of course I need to see how much they are."

"Hey Nel, I think I found something Grimmy there might like." Lilynette said, pointing to a particular keychain.

"Awwwww, now that's an adorable one," Nel said.

"Even though Grimm has that punk appearance about him, he's a total softy when it comes to kitties," Lilynette explained as she held up a small, blue kitten keychain. "Of course you'll never get him to admit it."

"Ooooh, Good to know," Nel replied, once again grinning as she looked over to Grimmjow.

Meanwhile, Starrk and Harribel were looking over various t-shirts. They both noticed a Legend of Los Lobos shirt, featuring the main cast of the series. Another shirt that caught Harribel's eye was a shirt featuring a shark with a top hat and monicle on it. She showed the shirt to Starrk to which he found the image on it rather amusing. Starrk on the other hand found a shirt that featured a wolf on the front wearing shades and sporting dredlocks.

"Heh," Starrk chuckled. "Looks like I'm not the only one who found an amusing shirt."

"I see," Harribel replied. "I'm tempted to get that shark one myself."

"Yeah, same for me and this wolf shirt."

"I'd go ahead and get it, but I also want to save a little spending money for the bookstore."

"I hear you, I've not been in a little while, so I could only imagine what my pull list must look like."

"Hey Starrk!" Lilynette said, walking over towards Starrk and Harribel. "Look at the sign above the display. It's a clearance deal, buy one get one free."

"If you want," Harribel said, looking over at Starrk. "I could buy the shirts..."

"That'd be cool," Starrk replied, "And in return I could uh... maybe get you something from the bookstore?

"Sounds fair to me." Harribel said as she picked up both shirts.

Lilynette couldn't help but find herself grinning at the exchange before her. She was tempted to say something about their being on a date, but in a rare showing of mercy decided to keep quiet. After they paid for their items, the group continued on their tour of the mall, with Nel pointing out some of the stores and what they sold as they passed by. However, the tour would once again come to a stall when they passed one of the department stores.

This store was one that would allow the customers to try out various make up and perfume. Nelliel's smile turned delightfully wicked as she looked at Grimmjow. The blue haired boy was confused as to why Nelliel was eyeing him as if he were some kind of prey. His confusion would be short lived, though, as she grabbed him by the arm and drug him into the department store. Starrk, Harribel and Lilynette all looked at each other, shrugged, and followed their friends into the store. They noticed that, like most department stores, they carried a wide variety of goods, but most of them designed to appeal to more vanilla tastes.

"Um... Nel...," Grimmjow said confused as to what was going on. "Why did you drag me into the make up department?

"Oh you'll see..." Nel replied, her mischievous grin ever present. "Now sit right there."

"Oooookay?" Grimmjow said, still confused.

"Oh this is PERFECT!" Nel exclaimed as she found and brought over some samples of various cosmetic products.

"Just what are you planning to do with those?" Grimmjow asked.

"Well, I want to try them out." Nel replied

"Can't you just try em out in front of a mirror?" Grimmjow growled.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Nel replied. "You and I have the same complexion, so I thought I'd use you to test some of these out."

Grimmjow's eyes widened at Nel's proposal to use him as a make-up guinea pig. He wanted to object, but the weird fluttery feeling he felt when he saw Nel's eyes and smile kept him from doing such. He didn't go down without a fight, much to Lilynette's amusement.

"Oh no! No WAY!" Grimmjow shouted. "I don't want to be painted up like some kind of freaky clown!"

"That's an oddly specific thing to compare this to." Nel replied, giggling at Grimmjow's reaction.

"Why don't you get Harribel or Wolf Boy to be your make up model?" Grimmjow asked, trying to get out of his amusing prediciment.

"Well Tia's complexion is the complete opposite of ours and Starrk's is closer, but still too tan." Nel replied.

"What about Lilynette?" Grimmjow asked, again trying to get out of being Nel's cosmetics model.

"She wouldn't sit still for this sort of thing," Nel replied. "Plus her reactions aren't near as funny as yours are Grimmy."

Grimmjow tried to appeal to Starrk for help but he simply shrugged his shoulders, smirking slightly to himself. With no one else to turn to for help, Grimmjow remained silent as he resigned himself to his fate. Lilynette's laughter grew louder as she bore witness to Grimmjow's impending humiliation. Harribel on the other hand only shook her head, trying not to laugh at the display taking place.

"Resistance is futile Grimmy!" Nel said as she began looking through her supply of sample cosmetics.

"Urgh... " Grimmjow grunted.

"Oooooh this looks like a good one," Nel said happily as she began to apply foundation on Grimmjow's face. "Ah yes, this red shade is going to look soooooooo cute."

"Seriously?" Grimmjow asked

"What?" Nel replied, a twinge of flirtiness in her voice. "Don't you want me to look cute and beautiful for you?"

Grimmjow remained silent on that one. Though he was a bit of a ruffian, he knew a loaded question when he heard one. Wisely he chose to remain silent, which seemed to please Nel. Starrk and Harribel soon found themselves looking around in another part of the department store, while Lilynette wandered into the toy department. Just when Grimmjow's agony couldn't get any worse, ANOTHER very familiar student from school happened to wander by.

"Ahhhh Miss Nelliel," The voice spoke. "A pleasure seeing you here, and I see you have found a new subject."

"Oh hey Szayel," Nel replied. "Yeppers, he's a little stubborn but some of these colors look great on him."

"Indeed," Szayel added, inspecting the now horrified Grimmjow. "Although, I don't see him as a winter, Grimmy here is more of a summer."

"Of COURSE!" Nel shouted. "No WONDER that foundation doesn't quite look right."

"Yes, Indeed," Szayel added. "Plus red clashes to much with his blue hair and icy blue eyes. Here, try this coral blue 24 eye shadow."

"Oh wow Szayel, your right! That looks so much better on him. Do you have any other tips?"

"Why yes I do. In addition to being a genius, I am also an expert at the proper application and usage of cosmetics." Szayel smirked at Grimmjow before returning to Nel. "While I might not use them myself, I do have access to an excellent test subject myself."

Much to Grimmjow's horror, Szayel started giggling. "Although this gives me the perfect opportunity to test out my latest work on a fresh subject." Szyael said, grinning madly.

The pink haired, bespectacled boy pulled out a jar with a strange, slightly glowing substance. Grimmjow's eyes once again widened in horror as he viewed the jar, engmatically labed "Science Cream".

"Ooooh may I try it out?" Nel asked, further frightening the normally unshakable Grimmjow.

"But of course my dear," Szayel replied as he handed the jar over. "I was hoping you'd want to sample this new product of mine.

Nel took the jar and removed the lid. She took an experimental sniff, grinned, and with one finger she took a bit of the cream and applied it to her face. Grimmjow was expecting the worst, but after a few minutes, nothing strange or bizarre happened. Instead, a rather pleasant smell of pomegranate and tangerine found it's way wafting past Grimmjow's nose. The make up tester was surprised to see that Nel was suffering no adverse effects from Szayel's mysterious concoction, if anything the skin that was tested practically seemed to glow with health.

"Wait..." Grimmjow said, "How come there's no weird shit happening to you?"

"Oh come now Grimmy," Szyael replied. "Did you really think I would let Nel use something that would cause some form of bizarre side effect?"

"Yeah Grimmy," Nel added. "Szayel would never do something like that to me anyway."

"So Nelliel, how do you like my new Eau de Telon Balon perfume?" Szayel asked.

"Oh it's absolutely divine Szayel!" Nel replied as she put another small dab of cream on her fingers. "Here Grimmy, you should give it a try."

"What?! No way!" Grimmjow protested. "Perfume's not my thing!"

"Awwwww," Nel replied, pouting "But it'd make you smell so sweet."

"Think of it as a manly cologne then," Szyael added, grinning maniacally. "Unless, of course, you would rather I show you some of my other cosmetic products I've been working on."

"Do I have a choice?" Grimmjow asked.

"No, not really." Szyael replied.

"Come on Grimm," Nel added, giving her best pouty face "Please?"

"Ugh... Fine..." Grimmjow sighed.

"Yay!" Nel shouted happily as she began to rub the cream all over Grimmjow's face, neck and shoulders.

"Now you smell so pretty!" Nel said as she finished applying the perfume.

Soon after, another familiar presence made itself known, in this case Yylfordt, looking for the younger, more twisted Grantz. Grimmjow tried his hardest to hide from Yylfordt's sight but alas, his efforts were in vain. Yylfordt spotted Grimmjow in the chair and a grin soon appeared on his face.

"Oh man bro," Yylfordt said, trying to hold back his laughter. "What happened to you? Lose a bet or something?"

"Come on Yylfordt, don't start man," Grimmjow muttered.

"Hey man, you're the one who's got make up all over his face. It's kinda hard NOT to laugh." Yylfordt replied.

"Oh THERE you are Yylfordt!" Szayel added, giving his older brother a rather unsettling grin.

"Oh shit!" Yylfordt shouted, startled by the sudden appearance of his younger brother.

"Say, Nelliel," Szayel asked, turning his gaze to Nel, "I do believe Yylfordt has a similar complexion to Mr. Jaegerjacques here."

"Hmmmm, I do believe your right Szayel." Nel replied, both sets of eyes looking at Yylfordt.

"So, dear brother, would you like to join us? I believe have some products that would be perfect for you."

"Yeah, wouldn't you want something that would drive the ladies wild?"

"Run Yylfordt! Run in the name of all things sane!" Grimmjow shouted, trying to warn the blonde student.

Before Yylfordt could respond, he saw both Nel and Szayel carrying powderpuffs and wearing matching unsettling grins. Sensing imminent danger, Yylfordt made a break for the exit. His attempt was not fully successful, for both Szayel and Nel decided to chase after the elder Grantz sibling, twirling the powderpuffs above their heads and cackling. Grimmjow took this as an opportunity to escape from his chair, make his way to a nearby bathroom, and most importantly, wash off the makeup. No matter how he scrubbed, he couldn't remove the scent of the mystery Science Cream.

As Nel and Szyael chased Yylfordt, Nel realized that she left Grimmjow unguarded. While Szyael continued to chase Yylfordt, Nel decided to return to the place where she left Grimmjow. Upon returning she was a bit bummed out to see that he was no longer there. Just as she started looking around, Lilynette, Starrk and Harribel were coming back from browsing some of the other store sections.

"Hey guys, did any of you see Grimmjow?" Nel asked

"Nope." Starrk said, yawning a bit.

"I didn't see him either." Harribel added.

"He's probably on the crapper," Lilynette said.

"Ahhhh, I bet he went there to wash the make up off. No wonder I couldn't find him."

"He wasn't exactly willing to participate in your little cosmetics test Nel."

"Awwwww, but you gotta admit, his expressions and reactions were gold."

"Well, can't exactly argue that. Anyway, we should probably try to find him."

"Knowing Grimm, he'll probably be heading to the arcade," Starrk said. "Once he feels the coast is clear so to speak."

"Sounds like him alright," Lilynette added. "Can't say I blame him either, I kinda wanna hit up the arcade myself."

"Hey Nel," Lilynette whispered towards Nel "I got a great idea."

"Oh?" Nel whispered back. "What's your idea?"

"How about you and I go to the Arcade and look for Grimm, that way Starrk and Bel can spend some alone time together."

"Ooooooh aren't we a sneaky little devil. I LOVE it."

"Yeah, they said they wanted to go to the book store anyway. You KNOW those places are kinda boring to me."

"While I don't mind bookstores, I DO like your idea. Why don't we tell them what we're doing?"

"Okay!" Lilynette replied cheerfully.

"Hey Starrk," Nel said, getting Starrk's attention.

"Huh, yeah?" Starrk replied.

"Would you mind if Lilynette and I go to the arcade to look for Grimm?" Nel asked.

"Heh, I figure he'd still be hiding in the bathroom." Starrk replied.

"Yeah, I guess he couldn't handle my makeover skills," Nel said, giggling. "So is it alright if I take Lilynette with me for awhile?"

"Sure, but may I ask why you want to take her with you?" Starrk asked.

"Well, so you and Tia can spend some time together and stuff," Nel replied, grinning and winking at her friend "Plus didn't you want to check out the bookstore?"

"Well yeah," Starrk replied. "But why don't you want to come along with us? I thought you liked bookstores."

"Come on Starrkey, you KNOW exactly why." Nel said, playfully sticking her tongue out.

"Yeah, I have my suspicions. You guys can hit up the arcade if you like."

"Then what are you waiting for? You two go do your thing and we'll do ours. I'll poke your phone when we're ready to head out, ok?"

"Sure thing." Starrk sighed.

Starrk sighed again as Nel and Lilynette ran off for the arcade. He then turned his gaze to Harribel who was reading a magazine about aquatic life. Starrk couldn't help but smile a bit, he was more than happy to spend some time with just Harribel. Harribel then walked over to Starrk.

"Where did everyone else go?" Harribel asked.

"Most likely to the arcade," Starrk replied. "I think they wanted to give us some 'alone time' or something."

"Do... do they think... we're on a date?" Harribel inquired, redness appearing on her face.

"Probably..." Starrk replied, running a hand through his hair. "Nel's always been like that though."

"Yeah," Harribel added. "Though she doesn't seem to mean any harm by it. Anyway, shall we be off?"

"Sure." Starrk replied.

The couple then walked towards the bookstore. Though neither Starrk or Harribel realized it, they would end up holding hands along the way. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the Kind of O Lot Booknook. Despite the name, the book shop carried many different kinds of books as well as comics and graphic novels. This store even carried various core rule books for table top games and some accessories.

Over at the counter was a girl with short purple hair styled up in a peculiar manner. She sported purple teardrop like markings under each eye and she wore a a spiked hairpin as an accessory. Her clothing consisted of a black t-shirt featuring a sparrow in midflight and the word "Golondrina" on it. She wore a pair of midnight blue pants and a pair of dark, high-heeled boots. She was currently reading a book at the time Starrk and Harribel entered the store.

"I'm curious," Harribel said, looking over at Starrk "Aside from Legend of Los Lobos, what other books do you enjoy?"

"Well, let's see...," Starrk replied. "Rob Thurman, Richard Kadrey, John Ringo for starters. How about you Bel, any writers you enjoy?"

"For me it'd have to be Faith Hunter, Mercedes Lackey and Sherrilyn Kenyon." Harribel answered.

"Oooh interesting choices. Of course when I need a good laugh, nothing beats Terry Pratchett or something dark and twisted, Neil Gaiman." Starrk said.

"Oh my God YES! I adore Sandman and Good Omens." Harribel replied.

"I read Good Omens at least once a year myself, it never gets old."

"What about Jim Butcher?" Harribel asked. "Or Jody Lynn Nye"

"Ooooh their work is amazing." Starrk replied, "I was a fan of Jody Lynn Nye since I was little."

"As for graphic novels or manga," Starrk said, slightly shifting the topic. "Besides Legend of Los Lobos, I enjoy Star Lights, and Tales of Dark Water."

"Well I can say for certain that you have fantastic taste." Harribel replied.

"Thanks Bel." Starrk said, slightly blushing.

"Oh looks like they got a new volume of Sword Maiden V." Harribel said, glancing at the manga display.

"I imagine Lilynette will be happy about that," Starrk said. "I better get a copy while I'm thinking about it."

"OH. MY. GOD! Coyote Starrk is that you?" A voice shouted.

Starrk and Harribel turned around to find where the source of the voice came from. They then saw the girl who was at the counter earlier. She quickly walked over to where the pair were standing and upon seeing Starrk gave him a quick hug.

"Hey there Cirucci," Starrk said. "It's been awhile, how have you been?"

"Eh, doing alright," Cirucci replied, "Aside from dealing with one of those know-it-all type customers from time to time of course."

"Eh, comes with the job though."

"True, but it's paradise compared to what my boyfriend endures."

"I could imagine, after all, food service can be a very dangerous line of work."

"You don't know the half of it." Cirucci said.

Cirucci then glanced over to Harribel and very soon a grin appeared on her face.

"Well well well," Cirucci said, still observing Harribel. "Who's your new friend here?"

"Oh yeah," Starrk replied "This is Tia Harribel, her and I thought we'd enjoy hanging out at the mall today."

"Oh my," Cirucci said, her grin widening a bit. "I was wondering when you were gonna give dating another shot. Anyway, pleased to meet you Miss Harribel. I'm Cirucci Sanderwicci. I've been friends with Starrk since we were little."

"It's... it's not... not what you think Cirucci." Starrk replied, a deep shade of red quickly appearing on his face. "Bel and I only met like last week."

"'Bel' eh?" Cirucci said. "Sounds to me like you two are very comfy in each other's company if you're giving each other little nicknames."

Starrk's face turned an even deeper shade of red and Harribel wasn't faring any better.

"Seriously though, how did you two meet?" Cirucci asked.

"Like I said," Starrk replied. "We met last week and we have a couple of classes together, that's about it."

"I see," Cirucci muttered. "Just between you and me, I think she's rather in to you."

Starrk was taken aback by his friend's rather hasty observation. One thing that could be said about Cirucci was that she was blunt. She didn't hold anything back, especially when it came to delivering snark to those who ask for it, or personal observation regarding her friends. Harribel tried to focus on a manga volume she picked up, hoping that Starrk's friend didn't see her blushing.

"I don't think I need to tell you what Nel's told me, I know your totally gaga for her."

"Well yeah I really like her, but I don't want to rush into anything."

"That right there is why she likes you too. You've always been considerate of others."

"Can't help my upbringing you know."

"Regardless of the situation, I'm glad to see you out with another girl, after everything that happened with 'Her'."

Starrk's expression turned to one of slight discomfort. If there was one topic he didn't want to talk about in front of Harribel, it was his ex.

"That's over and done with." Starrk replied.

"Well Starrk, I'm gonna be honest, should you two decide to become and item, you're gonna have to tell her about your ex at some point." Cirucci said.

"I know, but I also don't want to burden her with my baggage you know?"

"I understand that," Cirucci replied. "But you know I'm right Starrk, don't get me wrong, I just want you to be happy."

"I know, I know," Starrk said, running his hand through his hair. "Grimm and Nel and even Lilynette are saying similar."

"WOAH!" Cirucci shouted in surprise. "You mean to tell me your little sister likes her?"

"I... I... would certainly hope so..." Harribel spoke up. "From the little bit of time we spent together she seems to be a sweetheart."

"Ha ha ha, Oh wow," Cirucci replied, laughing. "CLEARLY you've never seen her try to wake up Starrk here."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Starrk moaned.

"Oh I forgot to mention, the newest volume of Legend of Los Lobos came in last night." Cirucci said.

"Oh cool." Starrk replied.

"I figured you'd want to get a copy as soon as possible so I set one aside for you."

"Thanks."

"No problem, speaking of which I'll have to get back to my post over there."

"That's a shame," Harribel added. "Since your Nel's friend and all I thought maybe you'd like to come with us to the arcade once we pay for our stuff here."

"I wish I could, but unless my co-worker shows up I'm kinda stuck here." Cirucci replied.

"That sucks," Starrk added "Nel would have loved to see you."

"I know," Cirucci said. "It's been too long since her and I had a gab session, and you know Harribel, you're more than welcome to join us anytime."

"Thanks, and feel free to call me 'Tia'" Harribel replied.

As the couple placed their merchandise on the counter, another person entered the bookstore. The man in question was a rather tall and toned individual with brown eyes. He sported a slight tan and a large burnt orange afro-style haircut with thick sideburns with a gotee to complete the look. His outfit was much different than Cirucci's. He sported black tank top with a blue star in the center, grey pants and a white button up shirt that was unbuttoned. The button up shirt was perhaps the most distinguising for it had frills going up and down each side.

"Oh hey Cirucci, your shift's done," The man said. "You can take off if you want, I'm handling closing today."

"Thanks Gantenbainne," Cirucci replied. "Guess I'll be joining you two after all."

"It's funny how fate has a way of working things out right?" Harribel said.

"Yeah really, fate is indeed a strange mistress." Cirucci replied, turning her gaze over to the couple, smiling.

Meanwhile at the arcade...

On the other side of the mall was the Sonido Arcade Palace. This arcade had everything from games you can play for prizes, dance off games, and arcade cabinets featuring various VS style tournament fighters. There was even a section dedicated to console games.

After cleaning the make up off of his face, Grimmjow managed to make his way safely to the arcade without drawing the attention of the mad make-up artists. Little did Grimmjow know, however, that Nel had ceased chasing Yylfordt, leaving that to his demented younger brother. Before long the former make-up model found a pair of hands covering his eyes.

"Guess who," A voice called out.

"Uh... Munchkin, is that you?" Grimmjow asked.

"Nope!" The voice replied, "You were a naughty boy running away like that."

"Oh damn it," Grimmjow muttered. "You're not gonna put more of that make up on me are you?"

"Nah, not right now anyway," Nel replied, removing her hands from Grimmjow's face. "Still though, you didn't have to run off like that."

"Sorry about that," Grimmjow said. "But make up, and things like that, just aren't my thing."

"That's alright," Nel replied her smile returning, "I was playing with you, but you have to admit, that perfume of Szayel's does smell nice."

"Well yeah," Grimmjow said. "I mean you smell great, me, not so much. I smell like a fruit salad."

"That's not a bad thing you know," Nel said, giggling. "Besides, would you rather smell like Yammy's armpits, or worse."

"Agghh!" Grimmjow shouted, trying to keep his lunch from reappearing. "I didn't need that image stalking my thoughts."

"Let's not think about Yammy's armpits then," Nel said trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, I'd like to keep my lunch in my gut thanks," Grimmjow replied. "Anyway, where's El Lobo and Harribel?"

"Lilynette and I decided to give them some alone time," Nel replied. "Knowing them, they're probably at the bookstore by now."

"What about the munchkin?" Grimmjow asked.

"She's over there," Nel replied gesturing over to one of the DDR Machines and sure enough Lilynette was already on one of the platforms.

"Hah, not surprised she'd be on one of those." Grimmjow said.

"What about you Grimm?" Nel asked. "I see you eyeing that game over there."

"Heh, yeah I'm the undefeated champ on that one." Grimmjow stated, smirking confidently.

"Is that so?" Nel replied, her mischievous smirk making once again it's presence known. "Well then, how about a little friendly competition."

"Oh ho ho," Grimmjow chuckled. "Are you challenging me?"

"Maybe," Nel replied. "and why don't we make it interesting. If I win, you'll have to be my pack mule when I go clothes shopping."

"And if I should win?" Grimmjow asked.

"Hmmmm," Nel replied, placing her finger on her chin. "Let's see, if you win I'll flash my boobies, sound good?"

"Oh yeah!" Grimmjow said grinning like a madman. "I like those terms."

"Hehehe, I hope your ready to carry a buttload of bags Grimmy." Nel said as she and Grimmjow walked over to the arcade cabinet.

While Grimmjow and Nel began their virtual match, elsewhere in the arcade there were a few more familiar faces from Hueco Mundo High. Ggio Vega, Avirama and Findor were also hanging out at the arcade. Findor and Avirama were locked in their own battle, leaving Ggio bored and looking around.

"I don't know what's more fucked up," Ggio grumbled to himself. "Those two morons playing a game called 'Meat Beat Mania' or me standing here watching."

"YEAH! TAKE THAT LOBSTER NEWBERG! I CAN DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS!" Avirama shouted as he pulled ahead in score.

"No es Exacta!" Findor shouted in retaliation.

"Ugh... I don't know how much more of this I can take..." Ggio muttered.

He looked over to the DDR Machines and aside from Lilynette, he saw another girl. This girl was of a similar frame to Lilynette only she had black hair tied into braids wrapped in white ribbon. Her outfit was a black sleevless shirt with matching pants, accessorized by a necklace with a butterfly adorning it. It would seem that both girls were completely absorbed into their game. Ggio found himself lost in thought and meserized by the black haired girl's moves.

"Woah...," Ggio thought to himself. "Who is that? And, why can't I stop watching her?"

With each move the girl made, Ggio watched, entranced by her graceful technique. Lilynette proved to be a decent player at DDR in her own right but this girl, it would seem, was in a league of her own. Findor and Avirama were once again in another match trying to prove which one was the superior male, Avirama of course performing his usual ritual of shouting and jumping and Findor blurting out "Exacta". Despite such noise occuring in the background, the dancing ability of Lilynette's rival consumed Ggio's attention completely.

Unfortunately for his libido, another very familiar student came over and obscured Ggio's view of the DDR Machine. The student in question was none other than Charlotte Cuuhlhourne, who was striking a myriad of different poses. The buff, self proclaimed beauty incarnate quickly noticed Ggio's trance, then looked over towards the DDR Machine. A sly grin crossing his face, Cuuhlhourne quickly deduced the cause of Ggio's current state.

"Well what do we have here," Cuulhourne said, striking another pose. "Has our glorious, handsome, devilish, intelligent, fearless, magnificant, wonderful leader been struck by cupid's arrow?"

"Wha..., OH GOOD GOD CUUHLHOURNE! PUT YOUR LEG DOWN FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Ggio shouted, his hypnotized gaze broken by the sight of Cuulhhourne's rather "interesting" posing. "And stop using so many words to describe me, it's freaking weird." Ggio growled.

"I can't help it if I have a way with words darling." Cuuhlhourn replied.

"Will you step aside? You're blocking my view!" Ggio grumbled.

Cuulhourne simply grunted and pranced to the side, however the game between the black haired girl and Lilynette had ended. It was close but the win ultimately went to the mystery girl. The two seemed to be good sports about unknown girl's victory, with Lilynette vowing to redouble her training. They both shot each other a small smile and a silent bow before going their own ways. Ggio was disappointed that he couldn't watch more of the girl's skillful moves.

Elsewhere Grimmjow and Nel were having their own match. Confident that he could win their little wager, Grimmjow dramatically underestimated his opponent's skill. Ultimately Nel ended up the victor in their match, prompting Grimmjow to challenge her to a best two out of three rematch. Nel simply giggled and accepted the stubborn boy's challenge. Despite his best efforts, once again Grimmjow found himself the loser of his and Nel's rematch. The young teen punk couldn't understand why he couldn't defeat Nel in a game he himself was a champion at.

"Damn, how are you so freaking good at this?" Grimmjow said, shocked at his opponent's level of skill.

"Don't go giving up now, you might still win your prize." Nel replied, winking at Grimmjow.

Then it occured to him, her promise to show him her bare chest had distracted his thoughts enough for her to win. Of course Nel wasn't without her own skills that such a distraction was needed, she simply enjoyed playfully teasing Grimmjow, more than any of her other friends.

"Well, that's victory for me!" Nel said as she made a "V" sign.

"Damn it!" Grimmjow grunted in frustration. "I think I got hustled!"

"Aww, don't be too upset Grimmy, you gave it your best shot. Tell you what, I won't work you too hard as sort of a consolation prize." Nel replied, as she patted her defeated opponent on his shoulder.

"Eh, while it sucks to have to be a pack mule, it's refreshing to find someone who brings a challenge," Grimmjow said, "I'm just gonna have to step up the practice a bit, whenever I can get some free time anyway."

"Well then," Nel replied, grinning mischievously. "Anytime you want to have another go, I'll be waiting."

It was a strange phenomenon indeed, Grimmjow wasn't too terribly upset about losing to Nel. Sure, he didn't get the prize he desired and had to be her personal pack mule, but he did gain motivation to improve his skills, with Nel's aforementioned prize being a prime motivator. Of course finding someone who can not only compete on his level of skill but even BEAT him was a prize in and of itself. The fact that it was the girl he was developing feelings for only enhanced this joy ten fold. Grimmjow wouldn't admit these feelings openly of course, due to his pride as a male.

In another part of the arcade, another familiar student was over by the crane game machine. The student in question was none other than Ulquiorra, who somehow managed to look bored even in the colorful, chaotic atmosphere. The pale complected boy was easily proving himself to be quite masterful at the skillcrane, as the small pile of plush toys could attest to. His focus was so great that he managed to completely ignore everything else that was occuring around him.

"Hmmmmm," Ulquiorra thought to himself, "I wonder if she would enjoy receiving this particular plush toy as a gift?"

"Wow," a familiar voice peeped out "That's quite a collection of plushies you got that Ulqui."

"These plush toys are not for myself, I intend to give a few of them to someone." Ulquiorra replied.

"Really?" The voice asked "That's... not like you at all... at least not according to Grimm anyway."

"Ah Lilynette... " Ulquiorra said in his usual monotone voice. "There is an old saying 'Never judge a book by it's cover'."

"Ah yeah I know that saying." Lilynette replied. "It's a lyric from one of my favorite songs from Rocky Horror."

Ulquiorra simply raised an eyebrow at Lilynette's response. A small part of him wanted to ask her how and why she would know of The Rocky Horror Picture Show considering her age. However he found it best to return to his current task at hand, as the answer he may recieve could possibly disturb him beyond rational thought.

"Ulqui," Lilynette said, trying to get the dark clad boy's attention. "Hey, Ulqui!"

Ulquiorra remained focused on the crane game, ignoring Lilynette's pokings.

"Feh, whatever," Lilynette said as she walked off. "I'll be over with Grimm and Nel. If you can spare a minute away from that skill crane that is."

After her exchange with Ulquiorra, Lilynette walked over to where Grimmjow and Nel were standing, figuring they would be much better conversation than the oddly focused Ulquiorra. As the young girl approached the older couple immediately took note of her presence.

"Well hey there munchkin," Grimmjow said greeting the petite young girl. "Enjoy yourself much?"

"Yeah, that girl really pushed my limits." Lilynette replied. "I'm really gonna have to step my moves up if I'm ever gonna keep up with her, let alone BEAT her."

"I know that feeling all too well..." Grimmjow muttered.

"Oh really now?" Lilynette replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh don't mind him," Nel said. "He's still in a bit of shock that I beat him at a game he's a champ at."

"Really?" Lilynette said. "I always thought Grimmjow was one of, if not the best at fighting games."

"Well, I suppose he was until I came along," Nel replied. "So I guess that makes me the new champ now?"

"Yeah it does," Grimmjow said, his trademark smirk ever present. "Of course you'd better be ready to defend your title."

"Like I said earlier, anytime, big boy." Nel replied, winking and playfully sticking her tongue out at Grimmjow.

"Ohhhh yeah, these two are DEFINITELY made for each other..." Lilynette thought to herself.

As the trio of young teens were conversing, their group was about to increase in size. Entering the arcade were none other than Starrk, Harribel and Cirucci. The two groups of three were soon about to meld into one large group of six as Starrk's group was approaching Nel's. Nel's eyes lit up and a huge grin appeared on her face when she spotted Cirucci and she immediately ran over to greet her friend.

"Oh man, you should TOTALLY give Drifters a shot, it was created by the same guy who created Hellsing." Cirruci said.

"Hellsing you say?" Starrk asked. "NOW you've piqued my interest."

"Same here," Harribel added. "Though I've never read Hellsing."

"Oh you'll love Hellsing Tia," Cirruci said. "Alucard has to be one of my all time favorite Manga characters."

Just then, Nel spoted the trio entering the arcade and her eyes widened with joy at the sight of one of her old friends.

"OH MY GOD CIRUCCI!" Nel shouted happily as she rushed over and hugged the purple haired girl.

"Oh jeez Nel," Cirucci replied, trying to maintain her balance. "Easy with the glomping there ok?"

"Sorry Cirucci," Nel said, still hugging her and Starrk's mutual friend. "It's been so long since we saw each other."

"Yeah, work sucks sometimes I tell you." Cirucci said.

"I wouldn't know..." Nel replied, looking over at Starrk and Harribel. "So I see you met Tia?"

"Yeah," Cirucci stated. "She seems pretty nice from what I've seen so far. I'll go into super detail mode tonight, ya know since Starrky's so easily embarassed and all."

"Oooooooh I can't wait." Nel replied, strugging to hold back her giggling.

"Hey what's going on here?" Grimmjow asked. "You gonna leave us out of this little shindig?"

"Oh Grimm, I'm sorry," Nel replied, holding a hand behind her head. "This is Cirucci, she's a close mutual friend of Starrk and I."

"Yo," Grimmjow said, "Name's Grimmjow, but everyone, save for Ulquiorra, calls me 'Grimm'."

"I swear I've seen you somewhere before," Circucci said as she shook Grimmjow's hand. "Were you the guy who spray painted 'Kurosaki likes teh Ishida?' or something like that at Karakura last year?"

Grimmjow thought about Cirucci's words for a few seconds, and then errupted in a fit of laughter. As the group began to walk out of the arcade and explore the mall a little more, they were slightly curious as to what Grimmjow was laughing about.

"Hahahahaha oh man," Grimmjow said, trying to catch his breath. "Oh man, yeah I remember writing some grafitti on Karakura's campus."

"Oh my, such a bad bad boy," Nel added, pretending to swoon. "Do tell the story though, I've got to hear this."

"Well, it was the big championship playoff between our team and Karakura." Grimmjow said. "So me and some of the guys got the idea to mess with our opponents and write some derogatory things on their campus."

"Seems a bit childish don't you think?" Harribel added.

"Ahhhh it was all in good fun," Grimmjow replied. "At least some of them thought so anyway."

"So what did you write Grimm?" Lilynette asked, fascinated by Grimmjow's tale of teenage mischief.

"Mine was 'Kurosaki wears pantaloons' if I remember right," Grimmjow stated, still chuckling at the memory. "Some of the others were pretty funny too, like Edorad's 'Karakura are teh suxorzed' and Yylfordt's 'Karakura smells like dog buns.'

Starrk and Harribel simply shook their head at Grimmjow's tale, while Nel and Lilynette giggled. Cirucci on the otherhand simply smirked as the brash blue haired boy continued his story.

"Yammy's was probably the most baffling one of all though," Grimmjow said, sounding confused.

"Oh really?" Cirucci asked, "I know I'm probably going to regret asking this but, what did Yammy write?"

"He spray painted 'I liek doh-nutz' all over the parking lot," Grimmjow replied. "Like seriously, where the fuck did THAT even COME from?"

"Now that I think about it," Starrk added, stiffling a yawn. "Didn't that stunt of yours cost us the game?"

"Come to think of it, yeah it did," Nel said in agreement. "Those Karakura guys were pretty mad if I remember right."

"Yep," Cirucci added. "And what better way to unleash all that rage than on the football field."

"We might have lost the game," Grimmjow said, smirking proudly. "But it was worth it to pull off that prank."

"Too bad Coach Zaraki didn't think so," Starrk replied. "Neither did Principal Luisenbarn."

"Aw come on Starrk," Grimmjow said as he playfully hit Starrk's arm. "Let me enjoy my moment man!"

"Still," Cirucci said. "Yammy's 'I liek doh-nutz' graffti makes a hell of a lot more sense then some of the shit customers ask at my boyfriend's work place."

"Oh hell..." Starrk said, sounding slightly frightend.

"Oh yeah," Cirucci replied, "I still say the worst thing I've heard out of a customer, and I was actually THERE that day, was some crazy old bat who wanted a certain water because and I quote 'she was allergic to oxygen.' Needless to say I was stunned into silence after hearing that."

That last statement brought everyone to a standstill. No one present for this conversation could believe what they heard. Cirucci was amused by their expressions after she mentioned someone being "allergic to oxygen".

"So, let me get this straight," Grimmjow said, breaking the silence. "They said they're 'allergic' to OXYGEN?! AKA AIR?!"

"Yep, that's what the wacko said." Cirucci replied.

"HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN WORK?!" Grimmjow shouted in response, his head slightly hurting from such a concept.

"Maybe that customer is some kind of outer space plant creature," Starrk added. "It'd certainly explain that oxygen allergy."

"Oh you mean like the Fiore from Legend of Los Lobos?" Harribel chimed in.

"Yeah actually," Starrk replied. "They have to wear special suits when visiting inhabited worlds or they will wilt, if I remember right."

"Unlike that customer though, the Fiore are a peaceful species." Harribel said, laughing a little.

"Yeah, they're litteral flower children in both appearance and philosophy."

"Wow... " Cirucci whispered to Nel as she observed the conversation between Starrk and Harribel. "I still can't get over Starrk taking so quickly to someone like this, especially after..."

"Yeah," Nel whispered back. "His ex was such a cruel thing, and they had NOTHING in common. Yet Tia's the opposite, and seems like they have quite a number of common interests."

"I hope those two make it 'official'," Cirucci added. "They look so, perfect together."

"Same here, I mean even Lilynette's taken to Tia." Nel whispered happily.

"So what are you two talking about over there?" Starrk said.

"Oh, nothing important." Nel replied cheerfully.

"Okay?" Starrk asked, confused at his friend's response.

As the group walked around the mall and continued to give Harribel the tour, they all enjoyed various amusing conversations, although very little of it revolved around school work, which was the original purpose of the meet up. Time flew rather quickly as the group enjoyed each other's company. Of course Grimmjow and Lilynette kept bugging Starrk regarding the time he spent with Harribel at the bookstore, with Starrk retaliating about Grimmjow and Nelliel.

Harribel had heard about Starrk's tendencies to sleep during class and laze about at home. Today, however, she got to see a different side to Starrk. She noticed that when he was among his friends, he felt alive and energized. Harribel also noticed how she was able to relax around Starrk and simply be herself, something that she could never do around her ex, or the group she used to associate with at her old school. Something else that she couldn't stop thinking about was how holding hands with Starrk and just being with him in general felt right.

Soon it was getting late and it was time for everyone to head back home. As everyone made their way back to the parking lot they noticed a strange figure hiding behind the dumpsters. Grimmjow was quick to point out that it was Yylfordt, hiding from his deranged younger brother. When Grimmjow shouted for him, Yylfordt silently told him to be quiet for he didn't want Szayel to find him. Of course, that was enough for the pink haired, bespecticled boy to find his older brother, much to the latter's dismay.

"Ahhhhhh there you are you naughty naughty boy!" Szayel exclaimed upon finding Yylfordt. "There is nowhere for you to flee to now mein guinea pig."

"Aww man..." Yylfordt groaned as he resigned himself to his fate.

"Oh don't worry mein brother," Szayel said as a maniacal grin formed on his face "I promise you this series of cosmetic experimentations won't hurt... much."

"Much?" Yylfordt asked, fear clearly showing. "What do you mean by 'much'?"

"Oh...Nothing," Szayel replied, whistling a jaunty sea shanty. "Nothing at all mein brother, nothing at all."

"That's what I was afraid of..." Yylfordt groaned.

Elsewhere in the parking lot, the group of friends were preparing to go their seperate ways. Although they didn't complete any school related work, they did have a lot of fun. However all present would agree that they probably didn't need to see Szayel Aporro dragging his older brother off via a leash.

"Hey, any of you guys going to the homecoming game coming up?" Grimmjow asked "We're up against Sokyogu if I remember right."

"Sure," Cirucci replied. "Provided I can get the day off that is."

"Oh I'll definitely be there," Nel added cheerfully "I wanna cheer you on since you're on the team and all!"

"I'll make sure Starrky goes." Lilynette said, smiling mischeviously.

"I don't even want to know how you plan to make that happen..." Starrk muttered.

"That's just gonna have to be my little secret." Lilynette replied, still grinning wickedly as she gave her brother a wink.

"Well anyway, see you guys at school Monday." Grimmjow said, as he jumped into his jeep.

"Yeah, catch you all later," Nel said waving. "Oh and don't forget to call me tonight Cirucci, we still have some catching up to do!"

"Oh you can count on that girl!" Cirucci said as she hopped into her car.

"See ya later guys," Starrk said as he climbed into his car.

After each person bid one another a fond farewell they finally drove off on their separate ways. Starrk and Grimmjow were saddened that they had to be parted, albeit temporarily, from their objects of affection, but there were other things to focus on that would alieviate that bit of sadness.

With Grimmjow and Nelliel...

"So," Nel said, enjoying the evening breeze. "Did you have fun today? I know I did."

"Yeah," Grimmjow replied. "It was pretty cool hanging out with you, even if I DID lose my title."

"Wanna do it again sometime?" Nel asked, her smile ever present. "Hang out that is, and of course you're always free to challenge me to a rematch."

"Heh, is the sky blue?!" Grimmjow replied, his cockiness present as usual. "Of COURSE I wanna hang with you again, anytime."

"How about next week then?" Nel asked. "Maybe after the game we could grab a li'l bite to eat in celebration?"

"Heh, yeah!" Grimmjow growled excitedly. "A perfect way to celebrate victory! Man you come up with some amazing party ideas Nel."

"Awww, Grimm..." Nel said, her face reddening from her companion's compliment. "D... Don't forget, we can also hang after school t... too..."

"Yeah there's that," Grimmjow replied. "When I don't have practice of course."

"Would it bother you if um... I sat and watched during your practice/training days?" Nel asked, touching her fingers together.

"Sure I guess," Grimmjow replied, "I don't know why you would though, wouldn't you be bored as all hell?"

"Nah, I can work on some assignments if that happens." Nel said, her confidence suddenly restored.

"Although..." Nel thought happily to herself. "I don't think I'd ever get bored watching you get all hot and sweaty, Grimm... mmmmm..."

"Well, it's up to you then," Grimmjow said. "Then again aren't cheerleader tryouts this coming week?"

"Oh crap!" Nel said, startled at Grimmjow's question. "You're right! Thank you so much for reminding me."

"Geez Nel, scare a man to death why don't you?!" Grimmjow shouted at Nel's outburst.

"Oh... hehehe, sorry Grimm," Nel replied, slightly embarassed. "It's just with so much stuff going on I completely forgot about cheerleader tryouts."

"No worries, but if you're gonna freak out, could you not do it while I'm driving?" Grimmjow asked. "I mean I wanna keep Pantera and us in one piece you know?"

"I'll keep that in mind Grimmy," Nel replied. "But your Jeep's name is so cute, anyone ever told you that?"

"Pantera's a MANLY name, not 'cute'." Grimmjow said.

"Doesn't stop me from thinking it is," Nel stated, grinning "Besides, I named my car 'Gamuza' if it makes you feel better.

"'Gamuza eh?'" Grimmjow asked. "Did you name it after that J-rock group or is there like a deeper meaning behind it?"

"Well," Nel said, as she was thumbing through Grimmjow's CD collection. "You'd be partially right with the first guess, I do like Praising Gamuzas but it's also a reference to my online handle."

"Oh ho ho ho," Grimmjow chuckled. "Now THIS I wanna know, and your music tastes since you're checking out my music collection."

"Okie dokie then," Nel replied, "I suppose I can indulge some of your kitty like curiosities then. Well first off, my online handle is 'Capricorn_Knight', feel free to add me sometime."

"Awesome, mine's 'PantherKing' short, sweet and to the point," Grimmjow replied. "Oh and you bet, first thing I'm doing is adding you."

"I guess if one were to get technical 'Gamuza' would translate to 'chamois' but very few would know what a chamois IS, other than being my favorite animal, so I went with 'Capricorn_Knight'. I suppose I should have technically used 'Antelope Knight' but that just doesn't sound as cool you know?" Nel stated, explaining the origins of her username.

"That, sounds rather awesome actually." Grimmjow replied, genuinely interested in Nel's words.

"As for music tastes," Nel explained. "Well, Starrk probably should have filled you in on that."

"What you like bubbly, poppy shit, right?" Grimmjow asked.

"Well only a little, provided it's from the 80s." Nel replied, giving her driver a little wink. "Tell you what, how about I surprise you next time we go out?"

"Oh you why must you tease me so?" Grimmjow asked, acting melodramatic.

"Well, where would the fun be if I told you everything now?" Nel replied, playfully teasing Grimmjow. "Besides, my house is coming up."

"Aw man," Grimmjow said, sulking a bit. "I was hoping I'd learn more about you, plus, we forgot to finish some of those assignments."

"We could take care of that over the phone tomorrow maybe?" Nel asked, as they pulled up to her house.

"Sounds good to me." Grimmjow replied. "Well then, see ya monday Nel."

"See ya Grimm-Kitty," Nel said, giving the blue haired boy a hug before exiting the vehicle. "But before I go, I... um... got you something at the mall, I think you'll like it."

"Nel... how did you...?" Grimmjow asked, taken aback that Nel knew about his love for cats.

"Lilynette told me, so I um... I bought it for you. To commemorate our first outing together," Nel said, blushing. "Well, I'd better get in, see you later Grimm, and hey poke me later tonight okay?"

"O... okay," Grimmjow said, as he accepted Nel's little gift. "See ya later Nel..."

"Shit..." He thought to himself while holding the kitty keychain. "It's official... Fuck... I'm deeply in love with Nel..."

Grimmjow stuck around long enough to make sure Nel got inside her home safely. Even though he hated parting her company he loved watching her, whether it be from behind or in front, he just loved looking at her. He didn't even get angry when she called him "Grimm-Kitty". He knew he was falling for her from the first day he laid eyes on her. Sure she was a knockout, he was well aware of that but these feelings he had been developing for sometime now were more than simple lust.

He was geniunely falling in love with Nelliel, this scared him a bit since, much like his own mother, he never viewed himself as "relationship material". His father constantly making comparisons between himself and his mother didn't help matters. Of course he thought that maybe Nel could change that, but he wasn't quite sure how she felt about him. Little did the blue haired, self styled punk realize, though, Nelliel was begining to develop feelings for Grimmjow as well.

With Starrk and Harribel...

As Starrk pulled out of the mall and onto the road, he took time to enjoy the early evening sky and most importantly, the company. He enjoyed spending time with Harribel and was pleasantly surprised to have ran into his old friend Cirucci. To make his day complete he even managed to snag some of the graphic novels he'd been falling behind on. Of course he didn't forget about his younger sister, having picked up a copy of the newest Sword Maiden V volume for her. He was also amused that she found a "rival" in Dance Dance Revolution.

If there was one thing to say about Lilynette, it was that she was far more competitive than her older brother was. Where Starrk played games to unwind and have fun, Lilynette enjoyed the thrill of victory but she wasn't above having fun either, even if she lost. Harribel also had enjoyed her outing and getting to know her new friends, especially Starrk and Lilynette. It was somewhat refreshing as well that she didn't have to listen to another argument between her three friends. She loved Apacci, Mila Rose and Sung-Sun, but their incessant bickering tended to wear on her nerves many a time.

"Hope you two don't mind if I take a short nap," Lilynette said, lying back in the backseat.

"What, did that girl you were talking about wear you out?" Starrk asked, playfully teasing his sister.

Lilynette simply blew a raspberry at Starrk in response.

"So, Bel..." Starrk asked nervously. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah..." Harribel replied "How about you?"

"Same here." Starrk said. "Would... would you... would you have considered this a... a date?" Starrk asked, again feeling nervous.

"I... I don't know..." Harribel replied, blushing at Starrk's question, "I'd say possibly, would you have considered this a date?"

Starrk was taken aback by Harribel's turnabout on the question. Needless to say, his face was a deep shade of red after that question. Of course Starrk was paying most of his attention on the road ahead so he failed to notice that Harribel had reached her hand towards him numerous times.

"May I be honest?" Starrk asked trying to regain his composure.

"Of course," Harribel replied giving a small smile. "and I'll be honest as well."

"Well," Starrk began. "I'd say most likely it was, we both bought each other something we wanted."

"Yeah," Harribel replied. "And thank you so much for the graphic novels, I've been wanting to get these for a bit now."

"You're welcome," Starrk said, "And thank you for the rather amusing wolf shirt."

"So there was that, and the obvious spending time together," Harribel added. "Though we spent a lot of time with the others too."

"Wanna compromise and call it a 'pseudo-date'?" Starrk asked.

"Heh, sure thing." Harribel replied, giggling at Starrk's creative terminology.

"Maybe next time... if you want... we could call it a... a real date?" Harribel asked, nervously.

"Sure." Starrk replied.

"So, if you aren't doing anything next friday..." Harribel began. "Would you like to go to the big game against Sokyogu High?"

"You know, I'm normally not much for going to sporting events," Starrk replied. "But for you, sure I'd be more than happy to go with you Bel."

"Thank you Starrk," Harribel said happily. "To be fair I'm not much for football and such myself, but Mila Rose and Apacci are eyeing the cheerleading squad soooo..."

"Ah yes I see how that went," Starrk replied. "They want you to be there for support right?"

"Bingo," Harribel said, confirming Starrk's inquiry. "I imagine Grimmjow is similar with you?"

"Kinda," Starrk responded. "It's more like he wants me to see him 'destroy' his opponents, or to see Yammy do something strange. Lilynette's pretty bad about the support angle but also I think she just likes getting out."

"Yammy doing something strange seems to be a daily thing with him." Harribel laughed.

"Yeah I know right?" Starrk said, chuckling. "So I don't understand why I'd have to go to a school sporting event to see that. But that's Grimm for you, doesn't matter to him."

"You want to join us for dinner Bel?" Lilynette said, yawning and stirring slightly.

"I wish I could," Harribel replied. "But I told my mom I wouldn't be out too terribly late."

"Awwwwwww," Lilynette whined. "Well maybe next time then?"

"Sure," Harribel replied. "Speaking of which we're almost to my house."

"Yeah I see it up ahead." Starrk said, as he aproached the residence.

As they aproached Harribel's home, Lilynette started to stir a bit more, she knew she would be changing seats soon. When they pulled up, Starrk offered to walk Harribel to her door, which she accepted, but was a bit surprised by his gentlemanly offer. Lilynette simply grinned at her brother as the two were holding hands once again, planning to really rib on him as soon as he returned to the car. Of course while he was escorting Harribel to her door, she moved from the backseat to the front.

"Thanks again for the books, and for the outing," Harribel said, "I had a lot of fun today."

"No problem Bel," Starrk replied. "I enjoyed hanging out with you today, even if we didn't get any school work done."

"Hehe, yeah, but... um... if you want... would you um?" Harribel asked nervously. "Would you want to take care of that... over the phone tonight? Like after dinner or so?"

"Sure," Starrk replied, running his hand over his hair. "Even you don't have all that much left."

"Yeah, but still..." Harribel said. "Some of this algebra is confusing to me."

"Ah, I er, could help with that then." Starrk replied.

"That'd be cool of you and in return I could help you out with something." Harribel said.

"Yeah." Starrk replied.

"Of course we're on for Friday right?" Harribel asked.

"Not even the end of the world would make me miss it." Starrk replied. "Course, we'll see each other before then"

"Well yeah, at school," Harribel said. "Oh, before you leave... let me hand you something."

Harribel took out another slip of paper and wrote something on it, then placed it into Starrk's hand.

"There's my phone number," Harribel said, blushing. "Feel free to call me, or text me if reception is wonky."

"Will do," Starrk replied. "Standard rule of thumb of course is no calling really late right?"

"Right, unless it's an emergency of course," Harribel said. "So I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, see ya later Bel." Starrk replied.

Starrk made his way back to his car when Harribel entered her house. Feeling a sense of euphoria about him, he ignored most of Lilynette's teasing and questions about his and Harribel's relationship. While Lilynette disliked being ignored by her brother, she let it slide. Seeing her older brother so happy and lively was more than worth it.

"So... are you gonna ask her out?" Lilynette asked.

"I... don't know... I want to take this slow..." Starrk replied.

"Playing it smart I see," Lilynette said. " I don't blame you, still, you two look natural together, I'm serious."

"Are you gonna nag me about this the whole way home?" Starrk asked.

"Yep!" Lilynette replied cheerfully. "It's only cause I care about you, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Starrk muttered. "After dinner, I'm retiring to my room, so unless it's an emergency try not to bug me okay?"

"Oh ho ho ho," Lilynette said, as a wicked grin formed. "You got her number and you're gonna call her later aren't you? You naughty, naughty boy you."

"It's not like that Lilynette..." Starrk replied, eyes slightly widend and a deep red blush across his face. "It's for school stuff, I swear you're such a pervert."

"Keep telling yourself that Starrky," Lilynette said. "Keep telling yourself that."

Starrk simply grinned at his adoring sister as he drove the two home. Starrk was ready for an evening of kicking back, and an enjoyable phone call with the girl who captured his heart.

With Harribel...

Harribel looked around her home in case her mother was home. She soon discovered she was home alone, as her mother would be a little later arriving. She took this time to head up to her room and lie back on her bed and think about all the fun she had today. She enjoyed getting to know some of Nel and Starrk's other friends but the majority of her thoughts focused on the sleepy eyed, yet gentle natured boy with the gotee.

"Why don't I go on and ask him out?" Harribel thought to herself. "He's nothing like my ex, or anyone from my old school for that matter. He makes me... happy."

"Of course," she continued in thought. "I don't want to rush things, and I'm pretty sure he feels the same."

"Mom would probably tell me it's best to just let things flow naturally, I think she'd be right in the case."

"Still... I can't wait to see him again..."

Harribel smiled at her thoughts as she unwound from the day's events. She then looked at the remaining stack of class assignments and figured it'd be fun to tackle those, especially with someone she was growing very close to. But before that, she took the volume of Legend of Los Lobos and began to read it, figuring that once they were done with their school work they'd have something else to talk about.

TO BE CONTINUED!

A/N: This has to be my longest chapter so far but certainly very enjoyable.

Once again special thanks goes out to my editor/co-writer Vetis and MJLCoyoteStarrk who provided me with the inspiration to rewrite this story.

And of course some special thanks to all of you who took the time to read and review and all that good stuff.