Pierced Ears

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

I fell in love for the first time on the winter of my second year in college.

He caught my attention like no man has ever done. It was not love at first sight. It was not even affection that drew me to him, but curiosity.

He was tall and lean with broad shoulders. He had bright amber eyes and a scowl that marred his handsome face. He was always hunched over though almost as if he didn't want to be noticed. But really, it was hard not to notice him, but that's what first drew me to him.

I could never forget the day I first saw him. It was late in the afternoon and I had been on my way home. I stayed behind to take care of some things for one of my university organizations. The president had another errand to do and she had asked me to get the remaining paperwork stored in the room. With the papers in hand, I was passing through the university's forest path when a flash of bright color caught my eye.

It was a cold afternoon and yet, I found him leaning against a tree, black earphones plugged into his ears, a Shakespeare book on his lap and bag laid beside him. I did not know what made me think so, but he seemed troubled about something. I knew he was staring into space, because he had that same dazed look that my friend said I always had. He did not seem to see me, but I sure got a glimpse of him...well, okay, maybe more than a glimpse.

His bright orange hair stood out against the dark brown trunk he was leaning on and the white snow that surrounded him. He had on a thick, dark blue coat with a fur trimmed collar over a tight black shirt. I was not able to observe anything else, because I was snapped out of whatever trance I was in when he seemed to move out of his pose. I was so embarrassed that I quickly ran away.

However, after this incident, I found myself looking for that flash of orange amidst the campus.

The next time I saw him was a week before our Christmas break. I had been walking around campus with a friend when we walked passed him on the hallways. He was alone just like the first time I saw him. He had brushed past my shoulder and he had muttered a soft "sorry" before continuing his way. Like before, he had a constant scowl and troubled look on his face. I was not able to catch everything that my friend said, but I could have sworn she had cursed. I had hushed her immediately, but all the while, still, my eyes followed after HIS retreating back. Maybe that's why I stopped paying attention.

But after that second meeting, I became even more aware of my surroundings and it was like I suddenly had this nose for his scent.

He was suddenly everywhere I looked. Inside the library, eating at the cafeteria, brooding underneath that tree. And like the first and second time I saw him, he was always alone. I could never muster the courage to talk to him or even approach him. I was very much content to just watch him from afar. But fate seemed to have something else in store for us.

"Excuse me, miss."

I would know that voice anywhere, but it still made me gasp when I turned to face him.

I was in the supermarket, getting ingredients for tonight's dinner, when I heard that voice. I had to freeze when I realize how close he was to me. His face was breath-taking. His brow was still furrowed and his amber eyes bore into mine. His perfect, perfect lips seem to be forming some words. I could have sworn sparkles were coming out of him and flowers seemed to pop out of the air. He had unplugged one of his earphones and was frowning even harder.

"Um…miss? I need to get to the milk behind you."

I gasped again and I could feel my face heating up. I cupped my face, but quickly scooted out of the way. "I'm so, so sorry." I couldn't look at him straight at the face. How embarrassing!

From my peripheral, I could see his tanned hand reaching for the glass door of the refrigerator behind me. His earphones were plugged back into both of his ears. He quickly grabbed a carton of flavored milk and my eyes widened at his choice.

Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have guessed that this would be the moment that I would finally know his name.

"Strawberry…" I had mumbled under my breath.

"Yes?"

He had an earphone in one of his hands and a basket in the other. The milk was safely placed into his cart. My hands came to cover my mouth when I realized what had happened. I had accidentally discovered his name! I was so happy! And then I had to stupidly ask, "Your name is Ichigo?"

"Err…yes. Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm sorry… Do I know you?" As he said this, his face scrunched into this adorably cute face. He looked confused and very much concerned. Like the babbling idiot I was, I started panicking and my words were all over the place. Actually, I can't remember what I had said anymore. I just remembered slamming the milk all over his head by accident from my flailing and running away in utter horror and embarrassment.

In all my hurry though, I was able to find out that he had a single ear- his left ear- pierced with a black stud that shone under the fluorescent lights.

"You."

That one word had contained so many emotions, but the most obvious feeling I could pick out was anger. I was almost afraid to turn around. I knew that everyone was watching; most especially my friends, who were murmuring amongst themselves. I hesitantly turned around and looked at his face.

Woah, how many words for super, uber mad can you get?

"You." He repeated the word in a near growl. I would have been swooning at how sexy it sounded if I was not completely paralyzed. "M-m-me?" I squeaked out. I gulped when that growl turned into a snarl.

"You. Did you know what you did?" He pointed a finger at me. "Not only did you completely smash that carton of milk on me, but you left me to pay for that stupid drink. I had to walk all the way home smelling like strawberry milk!"

In his anger, he had shouted it so that the rest of my friends heard everything. They started giggling amongst themselves. Oh, gosh. He's turning red again and he's narrowing his eyes. I don't know if I should cower in fear or gush over his apple-cheeks. My friends seemed to do the former as they suddenly started talking in quick, hushed voices.

He growled again. "You know what? Forget it. I'm outta here." With a wave of his hand, he left. My eyes trailed longingly after his back. It was only until he was meters away did my friends start chattering loudly about how rude he was. They started talking about how crude he was; how ungentlemany he was. I had forgotten what they had actually said, but their last message to me was clear.

Stay away from him!

They judged him by his bright, orange hair. They got turned off by his intimidating stare. They pointed out his pierced ear. They called him a delinquent. They called him a hoodlum and a scoundrel. They called him a no good person, someone who will never amount to anything.

It was no surprise that I found myself straying further and further away from their company.

I was the first to approach him on our fifth meeting. It was another snowy afternoon. I had caught up to him, his bag slung over his hunched back. I hurried to run after him and I had to catch my breath when I was finally in front of him. He had this look in his eyes, but it was not of disappointment, anger or even guilt. It kind of looked like…boredom? Or was it impatience?

"Kurosaki-kun, I came to apologize to you today about what happened the other day." I began to twiddle my fingers and bowed my head. I nervously waited for his reply. I was so sure that my cheeks were incredibly red.

"Oh, that? Didn't I tell you to forget about it?" He plugged his earphones back into his ear, almost as if he did not want anything else to do with me. He IS still angry. Maybe, he really doesn't like me? I could feel my stomach sinking at the realization and my vision getting blurry from wetness. "Oh…" Darn, why did my voice break like that? I tried to hurriedly walk away, but his surprised tone stopped me.

"Wait. Are you...are you crying? Shoot. Was it something I said?" His alarmed tone made my heart skip a beat...just a little bit. I peeked at him and sure enough, he had a very concerned face. His eyes widened when he noticed my unshed tears…well, at least I'm sure that was what made him panic. Or maybe I had a runny nose as I usually did when I held in my tears.

And then, that's when I realized that my nose was bleeding.

"I'm so, so, so, so, sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I really, really am." I said for about the thirteenth time that day. We were sitting on one of the school benches and it had stopped snowing a long time ago. I clutched his bloodied handkerchief to my nose. Of all the days to forget tissue! He must really hate me now…

"It's nothing, really. It's nothing." Kurosaki-kun said, shaking his head. He looked kind of embarrassed. I stared at him for a moment. He really is handsome. Oh, he's looking this way...and is he blushing?

"Um…is there something wrong, miss?" He paused to scratch his chin. Oh, how cute! "You've been staring at my face for a while. " Oh, oops. I blushed in response and I clutched his handkerchief tighter in my hands until I was practically wringing the colors out. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"There it is. There it is again. You keep saying sorry." Kurosaki said exasperatingly. And then, he had this wistful smile on his face. "She would have never said sorry to me and instead, she would blamed me for getting us into this mess." He shook his head and chuckled quietly to himself. The sound was soft and almost inaudible...but I was sure it was a chuckle.

"What was that, Kurosaki-kun?" I heard him clearly. I really did, but it came out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Nothing…it's nothing. Anyway, I have to get back soon." He said, awkwardly. He grabbed his bag and was preparing to leave. I needed to say something…anything to keep him from leaving so soon. "Um…Kurosaki-kun, is it alright if I give your handkerchief back some other time? I'm afraid I won't be able to give this to you now."

What I said made him pause as he thought for a moment before he nodded. "Okay. Just text me whenever you want to meet." He quickly scribbled his number on my hand and left as soon as he was sure that his number was visible enough to read. I may not have been able to make him stay longer, but I got his number!

That night, I spent it in my room obsessing and memorizing each and every individual number. I rolled around on my bed in glee. I had placed his number into my cellphone as soon as I was able to and I took extra acre to make sure the numbers stayed on my arm for as long as they could.

His numbers were running around my mind and I was so, so, so tempted to just text him a good evening. But, oh no, I couldn't do it. He doesn't even know my name! Even with that thought in mind, I was not able to get a good night's sleep as I thought to myself the entire night: to text or not to text.

I eventually did get to text him, but I was never able to give back his handkerchief, because I was not able get the bloodstains out. It's now folded and placed into my dresser right beside my diary. I bought him a new one and gave it back to him the following week. After that meeting, we saw each other more often and before long, we started talking, as in really talking though I did most of the talking in our conversations, and I daresay we became friends.

The weeks I spent with him were the happiest I felt all my life.

In each and every day we met, I fell more and more in love with him. He became my friend, my comforter, my knight in shining armor. In the moments I spent with him, I realized he was slowly becoming my everything.

Over a year has passed since we first met, I'm now a third year in college and he, a senior. It would be today that I would finally find out the last detail about my prince charming.

I was ten minutes too early and it was cold, snowing like the first day I met him, but I was content to just wait for him right now. My face grew hot when I realized that it looks as if I was waiting for my date. I brushed my hair back and winced when my ear stung as my finger rubbed it.

Oh, that's right. I had my ears pierced yesterday. I smiled.

Today was the day I will confess to him. When I confess, I'm sure he will blush. And then, hopefully, he will whisk me into his arms and finally, point out my orange earrings. He will ask about them and I will answer him. I pierced my ears to tell him that he would never be alone…that I will always be strong enough to support both of us. That I will love him so long as I will live. And then, we would kiss into our happily ever after. I giggled quietly to myself.

"What are you laughing about?"

Oh, is it time already? I instantly stopped laughing and instead, gave him a bright smile. "Kurosaki-kun! You're early!"

He scoffed. "So, are you." He crinkled his brow. "How long have you been waiting here?" From the months I have known him, I knew that a lecture would soon follow if I had told him that I had been waiting here for more than just a few minutes. So, I lied. "Oh, I just arrived actually."

He obviously did not believe me, but he waved his hand to signal me to come with him. I happily complied and walked beside him, easily catching up to his long strides. I could tell that Kurosaki-kun was excited by something as he started humming a tune, but I didn't know what. I tried to get it out of him indirectly.

"Why do you seem so happy, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Oh, do I?" He took a quick glance at me and then smirked before looking at the road before us. "I guess I'm pretty excited." He then paused as if thinking about something. "Remember that story about this?" He asked, pointing to the shiny, black earring on his ear.

My mood suddenly dampened, but before he noticed, I quickly brightened again and simply nodded.

This story was one of the only stories from his past that I hated. It was about another girl, one that could bring out emotions in him the way I never could. He never did talk about her much, but when he did, his eyes would dim and he would have this sort of wistful and longing smile on his face. The story basically was about how he got the earring. I remembered what he said with such intensity...it wasn't even funny.

"I had been asleep on my desk after a late night when all of a sudden, I felt this stinging pain on my ear. I woke up and got pretty mad when I felt a ball on my ear. I was so furious at her, especially when I realized she was laughing." He had closed his eyes and shook his head. "I didn't talk to her for weeks until she practically kidnapped me one day." His fingers went up to the ear and he chuckled. "She talked about how stupid I was angsting over a pierced ear. She then pointed to her ear and right there, I saw a white earring similar to mine. She was so strong and then, she had to leave…"

He never did finish the story, because he suddenly had this sad look in his eyes. I never asked about the earring again. But I was pretty surprised though that he would bring this story up again.

He sighed. "Well, I…oh, we're here." I looked up to see a tall building and then, I remembered that we were going to his house today! I turned giddy yet again at the thought. I heard him yell for me and ran towards him, trying to forget about the pierced ear.

We walked towards the elevator where the receptionist and the doorman greeted us warmly. I was awed by the wonderfully large lobby and the nice service we were receiving here. We stepped in. He clicked on the 15th floor and I nervously anticipated for the elevator to stop.

This would be the first time I came to his house. I was really surprised when he had asked me to come home with him. He told me he had some business at home that he wanted to share. I was hoping that it would be a sweet or a treat that he had discovered or maybe a new toy he had. There was another possibility, one that I was direly hoping for. Maybe…just maybe, he would finally, finally ask me out. My heart started beating faster when the elevator signalled our arrival.

We stopped at the first door and he gathered his keys. Time seemed to slow down as he pushed the key into the doorknob and turned it. When it finally opened, I thought my heart would explode and I was about to say something when he yelled into the house. "I'm home!"

"Welcome back!"

I was not expecting someone to answer back. And a WOMAN's voice nonetheless. I heard footsteps and a gurgling sound that could only come from a child. The woman appeared in the doorway and my heart, which had been beating so fast, now sunk into the pit of my stomach. I never knew hearts could do that.

She was petite with gorgeous amethyst eyes and short, black hair. She was wearing a loose dress and a smile on her face. In her arms was a beautiful baby boy who giggled at the sight of Kurosaki-kun. I did not expect Kurosaki-kun to laugh and pick the baby from the woman's arms. I did not expect him to sigh and smile in complete and utter content. What hurt the most though was when he eventually stopped to observe the woman and he stooped down to kiss her on the lips. My eyes…they sting. What was this? Who was she?

I caught a glimpse of white from her right ear. Oh. Why do I notice these things? I wanted to scream so badly.

"Stop it, Ichigo. We have a guest." The woman laughed- she called him by his first name so easily - and she gently pushed him away. She came forward and took my hand warmly in hers. "Hello, my name is Kuchiki Rukia. Ichigo has told me so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

My heart rose slightly when I heard this and I was about to reply back when Kurosaki-kun interrupted us.

"Oi, Rukia!" Kurosaki-kun scowled when the woman ignored and the little boy laughed in his arms as if he was thoroughly enjoying what was happening. Well, I wasn't enjoying this and my eyes prickled even more at what he said next. "Oi, midget. You're no longer a Kuchiki." Rukia stuck her tongue out at him and then, she looked at me concerned. "Hey, are you okay? You look sick."

I realized how ugly I probably looked right now. "Yeah, I guess I set a bit. I'm not feeling so good." I wanted to do nothing right now but go home. I wanted to be anywhere but here. I shook her hand and said, "It was nice meeting you too, Kuchiki-san."

She giggled. "It's Kurosaki-san, actually, and you can call me Rukia." No, no, no please don't say that. Please. My heart shattered completely at this. She grabbed Kurosaki-kun. "Hey, you. Bring her home." That was the last thing I heard her say. I did not hear Kurosaki-kun's response afterwards, because I found myself running and running far, far away from them. Far away from the happy family.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

Eventually, I would hear from Kurosaki-kun afterwards. He would explain to me how he had eloped with his wife, Rukia when they were in their first year and how they had transferred to this town. He would confide in me how concerned he was when she was having problems with their son while she was pregnant. He would tell me how much she wished she could finish college and how guilty he felt for causing her to stop her education. Ever since he introduced her to me, he could not stop talking about his wife: his pair to his single earring.

I didn't want to listen. I didn't want to see his happy face. I didn't want him to talk so lovingly about another woman, but I had to. I may never be his lover, but I will always be his friend even if it kills me one day.

On the winter of my second year, I fell in love for the first time and on the winter of my third year, my heart was broken beyond repair.

I love Kurosaki-kun and these pierced ears will a testament to that until I have the courage to take them off.

...maybe I should have listened to my friends after all.

Author's Note: This story is terrible and gosh, I hate writing in first person. The main POV's identity is supposed to remain hidden, so it can apply to any girl, but I was fashioning it towards a specific girl who we know LOVES her Kurosaki-kun ( I really don't like her, but I tried to keep her in character all the same.)

I finally got out of writer's block! Yes! It was terrible. I had both a writer's block and an artist's block! I couldn't get rid of it for two months! I apologize for the horrible story and the horrible quality, but this will just be a stepping stone until I get back into the groove. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story and if you have suggestions to get rid of this block, please do write them in review or PM me! - Z-san

PS I finally got two piercings on each ear. :D it looks awesome.