A/N: Hello everyone! Here's chapter 5 of His best friend's crush :D

Big thanks to all those who reviewed and added this story on their fav list :)

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!

oOOOo

"What is it that makes him so perfect in your eyes?"

"I… Does there really have to be a reason to like someone?"

I carefully thought about her question for a moment before answering. "I guess not… but surely there are some decisive factors that make you fall for someone, right?"

Slumber Party

The TV flashed in time with the music of the horror movie.

I dozed off, blankly staring at the screen while I was lost in my thoughts. Even Ikkaku's girly screams sounded far away.

We were all full stomached, courtesy of Ikkaku and Ishida, and we were lazily spread out in the living room, in the middle of our traditional 'Horror Movie Marathon'.

"Kira-kun isn't really in love with me. He's just in love with the idea of being in love."

What do these words mean? And what does she mean with these words?

I've been the main witness to Kira's sentimental side towards Momo. And, damn, the last thing he'd be in love with is merely the idea of being in love. I saw him trip over his own feet just to catch her attention. I saw him muster up his courage before he began a conversation with her, or before sending her a text. I saw him get depressed over the first rejection. And I saw him crushed on the second rejection.

Also, I'm pretty sure that everyone else in our group noticed the poor guy's efforts.

So I have two theories. It's either that Momo has a very low self-esteem and believes that no one could ever fall for her, or she's just dense when it comes to these kind of things.

I hid a smile behind my hand. This is such an ironically cliché situation for someone who's not fond of cliché things.

"Toushirou," Whispered Renji, making me snap out of my daze. "Everyone's already asleep. Ikkaku, Ishida and I are going to sleep in Ran's bedroom."

I just nodded as they silently walked by Rukia and Ichigo, who were sleeping on the mattress on the floor.

Only then did I notice that everyone was already asleep. The movie wasn't over yet, but that's how things usually run in our slumber parties. Ahem, 'parties'. If party means happily eating dinner with friends then turn into lazy bums, run a horror movie marathon as everyone, one by one, falls asleep… then this is one hell of a party.

Glancing behind me, I saw Momo curled up in a ball and Kira rigidly laying behind her, but he was asleep. I held back my urge to laugh, even when he's asleep he gets nervous just by being next to her. What held me back from laughing was the irritation at these two for squeezing in with me in my usual sleeping spot on the L-shaped couch.

Momo and I even argued for this spot earlier, but whatever. This spot perfectly fit two people, but… Kira wanted to sleep next to her, and I got too heated up in the argument earlier to give up my spot.
So the three of us squeezed in together on the short side of the L, since Yumichika and Rangiku were comfortably laying on the entire long side of the couch.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. 2 am.

Alright, I still got some time to sleep before we all have to get up and clean up the house before Rangiku's parents come back home.

After minutes or hours (I have no idea how long it has been) of tossing and turning, I gave up on sleeping and sat up. Rangiku, Yumichika and Rukia snored with all their might; how the hell did Ichigo manage to sleep next to Rukia? He even looked so peaceful in his sleep.

Narrowing my eyes, I caught a glimpse of what seemed to be earbuds in his ears. Go figure… I silently chuckled and got up from the couch. Might as well leave my spot to Kira and Momo, I felt like the third wheel there, anyway. I glanced at the two; Momo was still curled up, but she quickly invaded the empty space I left, hugging her pillow tightly, while Kira was still in his rigid pose.

I grabbed my sweater and headed out in the backyard and sat on the wooden quaint bench. It's already spring, but nights and mornings are still very cold here. I looked out in the horizon, making out the outlines of Karakura Beach.

Damn Kira and Momo for depriving me of sleep. I leaned back in my seat, once again lost in my thoughts.

It seems like Kira is really decided on confessing for the third time to Momo; I guess this time I should help him. His first two independent attempts didn't go well, maybe with a little bit of help, he might make it.

The point is, I know nearly nothing about Momo's expectations in a guy. All I know is that she likes Aizen Sousuke, so I guess that's where I should start.

Who is this guy, and what's so special about him? Squeezing faded memories from my brain, the few things I remembered from Momo's tales about this guy were these: he's kind; he's handsome; he's smart.

I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms across my chest. Kira has these very same traits. Why can't she like him, then? Plus, he's a hopeless romantic. Isn't that what girls dig into?

"He's just in love with the idea of being in love." Ah. Don't tell me that it's exactly Kira's hopeless romantic side that drove her away?

Or maybe she's just too shy to admit her feelings towards Kira now, after rejecting him twice?

Ugh, no, it doesn't make any sense.

Sighing in defeat, I looked up at the sky as the sea of stars twinkled brightly. I'm just going around in circles here, I'm sleep deprived, I know nearly nothing about Momo, and I'm not even sure if Kira's going to accept my help.

"Can't sleep?" I almost jumped out of my seat at the feminine voice, soon followed by a light laughter.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that, Momo." I put a hand over my chest to calm down my startled heart.

She just laughed and handed me a cup of coffee as she sat next to me. "Here you go."

Grumbling out an incoherent, I took a sip of the coffee, welcoming the warmth in my body. "Why are you up?"

The brunette shrugged, sipping at her own warm drink, probably tea. "Can't sleep."

'You left Kira all alone, go back and sleep next to him!' I wanted to tell her, but then I refrained myself. "It probably can't be helped, with that snoring trio."

"Did you see Ichigo's earbuds?" She asked, laughing.

It was my turn to laugh "Explains how he can sleep so peacefully next to Rukia."

Silence fell between us, and it gave me the moment to realize that I haven't talked with Momo like this in the past years.

Looking down at my cup of coffee, I also realized that it was prepared the way I usually like. Glancing at her, I motioned at my cup "Thanks. For the coffee."

Her lips curled up in a smile "Lukewarm water and only a tablespoon of sugar."

"You and your crazy memory…" I said, amused. "Though you have a hard time remembering names."

She burst out in laughter, smacking my arm in her usual manner. "Shut up! Nobody's perfect!" A dreamy sigh escaped her lips. "Except for Sousuke-kun, of course."

"Ah… again with this Aizen Sousuke." I said in a mocking nostalgic voice, earning a sucker punch in my arm. This is actually the perfect chance to find answers to my questions. "What is it that makes him so perfect in your eyes?"

"Well… get ready for the long list." She teased. "He's kind. He's smart. He's handsome. He's a great basketball player… He's funny, he's witty!"

"Sounds like a normal guy, to me." I deadpanned. I seriously

"Not to me." Momo looked off into the distance, a smile playing on her lips. "I… Does there really have to be a reason to like someone?"

I carefully thought about her question for a moment before answering. "I guess not… but surely there are some decisive factors that make you fall for someone, right?"

She side-glanced at me. "Right…" Then, she looked down at her lap. "I mean… I don't know. We've been friends since childhood, we were always together, and our parents loved teasing us by always pairing us as a couple. Maybe that's what started it. It made me start wondering what having a partner would be like… How many kids I would have with Sousuke-kun in the future…" She added jokingly.

I broke out in laughter "Well, that escalated quickly!"

Momo laughed along and resumed her tale. "Seriously, though. I really like him." A smile, so different from the one she usually displayed, lit up her whole face. "And I miss him. We haven't met since I got here and we just chat on holidays." Oh, that explains her excessive hyper attitude during the holidays. "That's why I have no idea how to approach him now, after not seeing him in so long… How do I do that?" She looked at me with a concerned look. "How do I ask him to become my escort out of the blue?"

"Who knows, maybe he'll say yes." I tried to console her.

"I really hope so." I couldn't help but turn to look at her, surprised by the earnest and honest feelings that came out of such a short sentence.

"You really like this guy, huh?"

She nodded.

"Do you think there's still a valid reason for you to like him until now? Maybe he's changed in the last two years."

Momo quizzically and amusedly looked at me with a smile. "You're asking too many questions. And you're too pointy towards 'reason'" She started swinging her legs, like a kid. "In love, reason is bullshit."

"Oh wow, smart words. Really. That's great." I sarcastically gave her an applause, while she just laughed.

"Hey, let's play a game." She suddenly said, interrupting me when I was about to ask her more questions.

"A game? What are you, a kid?" I glanced down at her swinging legs. "It looks like you are."

Momo slapped my arm and laughed. "Since you're really into questions tonight, and I still need to recover from my little shock, this game will do us good." She put her fist on her palm. "Rock, paper, scissors. The loser answers truthfully to the winner's question."

Little shock? What shock? I turned to face her and set down my cup of coffee. "Game."

"One question per round, okay?" She teased and we began to play.

She won the first round.

"Bullshit, you cheated." I pointed an accusatory finger at her hand, making her laugh.

"Who was the kid again?"

"Not me. Kids don't say 'Bullshit'. And you just asked your question, round two."

She gasped in horror. "Oh my gosh, you are such a cheater!" She gave up anyway and played along.

After idiotic questions during the first rounds, I turned the questions up to a notch.

"Don't you sometimes think that… maybe you don't actually like him anymore? Like, maybe you think you like him just out of habit?"

Momo seemed to be taken aback from my question, but she immediately recovered. "You just asked me two questions." She looked down, her lashes hiding her eyes. "I don't want to think of someone I've liked for so many years to be merely a habit. So, yes, I still like him. And no, I don't think of him as a habit."

"Sorry." I apologized. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I just wanted to test the waters for Kira. I need to find out if her feelings for this Aizen guy are going to be a serious obstacle for him.

The game went on.

"Why are you asking me so many questions tonight?"

I titled my head, thinking of a good answer. Momo narrowed her eyes at me, in a silent reminder that we were to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth. "Because I'm curious."

Momo burst out in laughter. "Yeah right. If you have to lie, try harder."

"It's the truth! Really!" I insisted, hoping that she'll let it slide this time.

"Right, whatever, you liar." She grumbled. "You owe me so much for letting you slide by with your stupid lies!" I just laughed at her seemingly mad expression.

Along the run, I was running out of questions. Until something tingled in the back of my head. "Earlier you said you were in shock… What did you mean by that?"

Momo blinked a couple of times, then chuckled. "Nothing much… I was just shocked that you actually talked to me."

"Oh come on, I always talk to you."

She just shook her head with a smile. "You've run out of your lying permits, Toushirou."

Without saying anything more, we played another round and she won.

"So… what did I do wrong to make you avoid me for two years?"

I was seriously taken aback from her question. Is that what she's been thinking in the past two years? That she probably did something wrong? "No! You did nothing wrong." I tried to steady my voice down, not wanting to wake up the whole neighborhood. "I wasn't avoiding you."

"Yes, you were!" Her brows shot up "You think I didn't notice?"

"I…" I opened my mouth to say something, but then I closed it again.

What was I supposed to say? 'Oh yeah, I've been avoiding you because Kira is madly in love with you, and he feels uncomfortable when he sees us like this.'

Momo bit her lower lip, a usual habit of hers when she gets nervous. "Can I ask you a favor?"

I agreed before even knowing what she wanted.

"Can we go back to the way we used to be? I remember so vividly my first months here in Karakura, when you and I hit it off so well. Or am I being too presumptuous saying such things? Was I – no, am I the only one who thinks this way?"

No. A voice in my head immediately answered. She was right. Sometimes, as much as I hate admitting it, I regretted my decision to put a distance between us just because Kira said he felt uncomfortable. Plus, he never asked me to distance myself from her.

Denying the friendship that was obviously meant to be born between us felt wrong.

There's nothing wrong being friends with my best friend's crush, right? This is going to be good for all of us; this way, I gain a good friend with whom I really get along (which is extremely rare for me), helping Kira to catch her heart will certainly be easier, and Momo will also be happy (I guess).

I just shook my head, unable to take out all the thoughts that formed in my mind in that moment.

She smiled with a hint of sadness. "And… I've had past experiences with people avoiding me… and it wasn't a nice experience. I just really want to get along with everyone in our group." She shifted in her seat and looked at me straight in the eyes. "Just tell me what I did wrong, I'll fix it. I promise."

The sun was lazily rising now. The first rays of light gently lit everything up. Momo looked seriously worried, and the stabbing guilty feeling worsened. "You did nothing wrong, really… You know I'm not much of a talker."

She raised her eyebrow mockingly, wordlessly saying 'Really? Didn't seem like it tonight.'

"Alright, except for tonight." She laughed at my lame answer. "Seriously, though. You know that I'm one of those guys who'd rather stay at home and watch a movie than go out and chit chat."

Her lips curled up into a bright smile. "I know..." For a moment, I thought she was going to say something else, but it seems like she refrained herself from doing so.

"If it bothered you, I'm sorry. I promise, from now on I'll try to talk a little bit more… but I also want you to promise me something."

Momo immediately nodded.

"If… if Kira ever asks you to go out, on a date or something, will you please say yes?"

She titled her head and frowned in confusion. "Why would he do that? He and I are just friends now…"

I couldn't help a smile forming on my face. So my theory has been verified; she's dense when it comes to love. "I don't know. Just promise me this."

Momo smiled. "Alright. I promise."

oOOOo

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed! :D The wheels of fate are now set in motion, and I can't wait to finish the next chapter already hahahah I've taken quiet a liking to this story!

Leave a review, let me know what you guys think is going to happen in the next chapter :3

Toodles!