Tittle: After School

Universe: AU

Rating: T

Genre: Highschool Romance

Summary: "Hey, let's make a bet, whoever gets the lowest score for the midterm test should date Orihime Inoue." After school, Inoue overheard the guys were talking about her. She couldn't do anything, after all this could be the only chance for her to have a boyfriend…

4. (Tatsuki's View)

"Maybe, I'm in love."

There was a loud noise as the black haired girl fell from her chair. The whole class looking at her but she didn't care. She sat back to her seat, eyes locked on the girl who sat in front of her, eating her lunch shyly. Her face was red and she avoided her black eyes.

The class was once again busy with their own activity, ignoring the beautiful girl and her best friend who sat face to face, supposedly enjoying their lunch. If only the auburn haired hadn't said what she just said few minutes ago. Now Tatsuki had lost her appetite. Her friend, her best friend had admitted that she was in love. Oh okay, she needed to calm down. Don't panic, Tatsuki, she reminded herself, No, maybe she didn't mean it. Oh, no... She can't be...

"Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime looked up from her lunch box shyly to the other girl. She had been friend with Tatsuki since forever and she thought, it was only fair if Tatsuki knew about this, "Tatsuki-chan? Earth to Tatsuki Arisawa-san?"

"Ah, ah yeah..." Tatsuki laughed nervously, she grabbed her grape juice and drank it, "Well, uh, it's good, isn't it? I mean, wow... congratulation... But, with whom?"

Orihime cheeks were once again reddened. Tatsuki had to admit that this girl was the most beautiful girl she had ever met. She just didn't know it herself, how popular she was at school. She was a little weird, uh well, not a little, but the point was, Orihime could be really oblivious to the things around her sometime. This made Tatsuki worried actually.

Orihime had always thought that she wasn't popular at all, she didn't knew that those people were not staring at her, they were ogling her. They didn't hate her, oh and the reason why she kept losing her pens or even slipper wasn't because there were people bullying her, it was just those people were simply stealing those things to keep it for themselves. She wouldn't know that she even had a fans club. There was only a reason why she never had a boyfriend...

Tatsuki.

The reason why there was no boy dares to make a move was not because she wasn't attractive, hell yeah of course she was attractive! She has one nice body and prettiest face! If no one hadn't dared to confess it was because they were scared of the dragon.

Yes, Tatsuki was the reason why Orihime had never had a boyfriend. She scared those guys, or pests how she called them, away from the princess. Orihime was too naive and kind, it was her job as her best friend to take care and to protect her.

It wasn't too difficult to do her job to protect her from those guys until just now. Orihime said she was falling in love and now it changed everything. As much as she didn't want those pest to touch the princess, she also didn't have intention to break her heart.

"If," Orihime touched her index fingers together, her face was pretty shade of pink, "If I told you, you wouldn't laugh?"

"Well... No, I won't"

Of course, laugh was the last thing she could do in this situation. Her precious princess was falling in love! There was no way she could laugh. It could be some random guy whom she fell in love with, she wouldn't let that happen. She knew what was in those guys' head when they looked at a beautiful girl with nice body like Orihime. Just by thinking about some random guy tricked Orihime made her blood boil. Oh, no, she wouldn't be the only person who'd killed that bastard who'd tricked Orihime, that person would definitely kill that bastard if he knew about it. Oh yeah... Maybe together they could kill that ugly bastard...

"Promise me?"

"Ugh," Tatsuki nodded halfheartedly, "I promise."

When the beautiful princess smiled at her, Tatsuki was ready to stand up and run away from the room to get that person, together they would find that bastard and...

"It's Kurosaki-kun."

I bit my lower lip when I looked at Tatsuki-chan with a worry look. Tatsuki-chan, however, just blink once before she gave me that, uh I couldn't describe, look. Her mouth was half opened, she made this funny face I often saw on anime when the character was shocked... Oh well, she looked kind of adorable this way.

Actually, I was worried with how her reaction would be. however, Tatsuki-chan was my best friend, just like a sister, oh no... a Mom! I loved her so much and if she said i shouldn't love Kurosaki-kun, I guess I would... I would... I didn't know what I would do if she said she didn't like it but if she supported me, oh I would be really happy then!

"Um..." I looked at my fingers, tried to find something to say because apparently Tatsuki-chan couldn't say anything at the moment, "I think, it was not weird, I mean, technically, I am his girlfriend. It's normal for a girlfriend to, uh, love her boyfriend, right?"

Though I knew Kurosaki-kun didn't love me back. Oh, after all he only dated me because he lost the bet. But Tatsuki-chan didn't have to know about the bet. Tatsuki-chan really loved me and a little too overprotective toward me, if she knew about it, I believed she would kill Kurosaki-kun. I knew Kurosaki-kun was strong. I heard rumors that he fought some yakuzas and won. But still, I knew how much stronger Tatsuki-chan was. I didn't want Kurosaki-kun to get killed even before I had a chance to confess.

"So," I was really glad when finally Tatsuki-chan talked again, "You're in love with, uh, Ichigo?"

I nodded.

"You told him?"

I shook my head quickly. My face was getting redder, there was no way I could tell him about my feeling. Not when I knew the only reason for him to have me as his girlfriend was because she was losing a bet.

Tatsuki-chan sighed and nodded, "Okay."

"You're not angry with me?"

She looked at me, confused, "What? Why?"

"Because..." I shrugged, "I don't know, if you don't like it... I mean... If you said I can't love Kurosaki-kun..."

"Well, if I told you, you can't love him, would you stop loving him?"

I thought for few seconds. Well, if Tatsuki-chan told me not to love Kurosaki-kun... What would I do? Well, I love Tatsuki-chan so much, it was almost like she was the only family I had now, I didn't want to make her sad. But Kurosaki-kun...

I shook my head, "I would not do anything to make Kurosaki-kun be mine, but I would not stop loving him either," I answered truthfully, "I am not an expert when it comes to this matter, but... Love isn't something you can force to start or stop. I think..."

Tatsuki-chan smiled and patted the crown of my head few times, "Good girl..."

I smiled back at her. I was really happy because I didn't make Tatsuki-chan upset.

"But Orihime," Tatsuki looked into my eyes seriously, "Can you promise me one thing?"

I tilted my head to the left, "Uh yeah?"

"Promise me, you wouldn't confess to Kurosaki-kun until the school festival."

I blinked my eyes. Tatsuki-chan looked at me seriously.

School festival is six weeks from now and I didn't have any plan to confess to Kurosaki-kun. I wondered why Tatsuki-chan asked me that.

"Uh, okay." I nodded.

Tatsuki smiled happily.

"Well," she opened a melon bread and bit it happily, "then it's all fine."

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long delay.

:D so if you review, I can be happy and if I happy I can update faster ...