Love At First Word

Chapter 6

~ Grimmjow ~

The next morning, when I walked into class, Urahara had his head down on the desk. He wasn't sleeping, but he also wasn't awake.

I frowned, about to ask if he was okay, when a snore from behind me sounded.

Ichigo was fast asleep, drooling as he snored loudly. Nnoitra was laughing outright, but the rest of the class was at least trying to keep it hidden.

I wanted to laugh too, but Ichigo was new and I didn't want him to feel teased, so I sat down beside him.

Thinking it'd be just like waking my little sister up, I touched his back, shaking him.
"Ichigo, class is gonna start soon."
He didn't budge.
"Ichigo?"
It was like he was in a coma.
"Ichigo!" I said loudly in his ear.
He jolted up, smacking my chin with his head.

"Fuck! What d'you want Renji?!" He growled, rubbing his head as he came to full consciousness. He stared at me for a moment before a blush almost literally exploded on his face.
"Not Renji." Ichigo said simply. He looked around and sighed when he saw Urahara at the front.

He still did that weird thing with touching the desks. I wondered about that, seeing as he only touched the ones to his right.

He shook Hat'N'Clogs awake before handing him his teachers book.
Ichigo said something to him, and Urahara smiled, nodding his head.

Just as my new red-headed friend sat down beside me again, Urahara began the lesson.

"Alright, guys. This project is going to take a long time. Since it's Wednesday, you'll have the rest of this week to become accustomed to each other. But since we switch schedules next week, I won't see you until you come back the week after." He paused for a moment to take off his hat and pushed his glasses up to hold back his hair. His face was something we'd never really seen.
"Now onto the details. You'll be living with someone for the next two weeks. You will not have a choice in your partners. I have already picked the pairings. Anyways, the one goal of this is to have you open up to each other and tell one of your biggest secrets to this person. You will be living in the unused dorms on campus." He paused again, looking up from his book and stopped the pacing he had begun.
"And I've gotten permission from every single parent in this class. No one gets out of it."
Lots of kids groaned, but I was worried about who I'd end up with.
Obviously not Nnoitra since we knew everything about each other and Urahara knew that as well.

"I'm listing off pairings today. You'll sit beside each other for the rest of the week. I would also prefer it if you spent time together outside of class.
Ah! And, Nnoitra. You're lucky that my other class has an odd number as well. You are with Mr. Hirako."
Everyone heard Nnoitra sigh in great relief, and I swear I saw Urahara's lips quirk up in a smile.
It was like he knew all they'd do is screw.
"When I call your name, leave with your partner and head out to the courtyard. I want you both to fill these out and let each other look over them."
When I got the sheet to pass back, I was confused. They were the sheets a lot of teachers give their students on the first day of school to learn about what that batch of kids is like.

"Uh, Mr. Urahara? Aren't these...for elementary kids?" I asked.

"Yep. But you're still going to fill them out. They're surprisingly useful."

I zoned out afterwards, not quite caring who I was with.

"Jeagerjaques. Kurosaki."

I looked to Ichigo, who just smiled and held up a peace sign, a small giggle escaping him.
"Shh. He's gotta soft spot for me." Ichigo whispered.
He patted my back and got up, motioning for me to follow him.

I smiled to myself, following him out.
We sat quietly under a large tree while we filled out or forms.
"So...how'd you get him to pair us?" I finally asked him.

"Well, like I said, he kinda has a soft spot for me and I felt like I needed to do you a favor for helping me yesterday. Originally, I asked for him to stick you and Nnoitra together, but he said you two know too much about one another. So, I asked if he'd stick Nnoitra and Shinji in one room and me and you together next door."
Ichigo scribbled something down on his paper before he smiled and handed it to me.
"All done!"

I grinned, excited to learn about him.

I knew the first few things, like his name. I laughed a bit at his nickname being Strawberry. His birthday was July Fifteenth.
His favorite color-
"Blue?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh..yeah. My mom used to wear blue a lot because it made her hair stand out more. She always looked pretty, so I associate the color with her." Ichigo didn't look up from the sheet I had given him.

I nodded, looking back down. He'd already told the class he likes chocolate, but I smiled at his favorite movie. Pride and Prejudice.
I had expected his favorite book to be a Shakespeare, but instead, it was a book called Storyteller by Patricia Reilly Giff.
The list continued on, favorite sport, show, animal, song. Favorite season and snack.

"U-um..Ichigo?" I asked quietly, shocked at what I was seeing.

"Hmm?"

"W-why does it say your favorite toy is 'the blue one?'" I rasped, not wanting to believe what I thought.

Ichigo looked up and grinned at me.
"Is masturbation a bad thing?" He asked.

"N-no, I was just-"

"You were being a pervert, that's what. You didn't even know!" He cackled, reminding me scarcely of Coach Zaraki, before he calmed himself.

"But..yeah. I'm gay. The blue toy is my favorite." And he went back to my paper.

I took a minute to regain my train of thought.
I'd never thought anyone could make me blush and act like a school girl.

As I read down the list, I was pleasantly surprised at a few things.
He wanted to be a psychologist, he used to dress up as a girl when he was little, three words to describe him were 'ambitious, optimistic, and caring,' and if he had one wish, it would be 'the purge, and then world peace forever after.'

"What are you laughing at?" Ichigo asked me with a scowl.

"You want..the purge, and then world peace?" I asked through my dying chuckles.

"Well...I've always wanted to murder this one kid named Luppi. But I also hate war." Ichigo glanced back down at my paper. "And I should be asking questions. 'Bitches Love Grimmjow'? Really?"

I started laughing harder, and eventually he joined me.
"You're gonna be hell to live with for two weeks." He grinned at me and pushed on my shoulder.

"Yeah, but you're gonna be fun to live with." I replied happily.