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Rukia hated the commute to school. The morning rush hours were infernal, the trains were always packed to the brim. She hated to be squished in the car, standing in the crowd of students and salarymen and office ladies who often towered over her. She would reek of someone’s cologne even as she reached the school gates. In private, Rukia was quite particular about her personal space, but the morning train gave no mercy and left her no options but to be squeezed between the bodies, fighting to stay upright and ignoring the people bumping into her.
Her only solace during these torturous mornings was a certain student who had caught her eye. He commuted always the same time she did, together with two or three other boys, all in the grey uniform of Karakura high. His friends were loud sometimes, which was why she had glanced over at them that very first time. But her gaze had instantly landed on him, attracted by his wild orange hair and irritated scowl.
At first she watched him just because he reminded her of her first crush. Then she began to wonder just what made him so annoyed, the frown never seemed to leave his forehead.
For weeks, she travelled with him on the same train every morning. She didn’t think he had paid any attention to her, after all, he usually was chatting with his friends. She had never seriously considered going over to him or talking to him or anything. She was perfectly comfortable with admiring him from afar. Really, it was just nice to have some eye candy, something to distract her from the utter discomfort of being trapped in the crowd. That was all there was to it.
Then came one miserable Monday morning. It had been grey and gloomy all weekend, the rain had been absolutely pouring down. It still rained cats and dogs when Rukia entered the subway station, trying to navigate the crowd the best she could and dodge other people’s wet umbrellas. There were even more people than usual, and when entering the car she was forced almost to a corner. Then, at the next station, even more people flooded the train car. The influx of people pushed her further, until she couldn’t back away anymore, he back coming in contact with someone else. She fought her wish squirm in disgust, feeling the bodies press against her at all directions. The train started moving again, with a jerk that made her stumble and collide against the person behind her again. A dark curse slipped her lips. She hated feeling this clumsy, but the handle hanging from the ceiling was just out of her reach so she couldn’t really support herself. Fighting down the frustration, she turned to look over her shoulder and apologise to the person whose personal space she was invading, but the words died on her tongue when she realised it was him.
His scowl was fiercer than ever. His posture was stiff, hands stuffed into his pockets. His face was very red, even the tips of his ears were tinted pink, and he was resolutely avoiding looking at her.
Rukia’s lips twitched, and the giggle escaped before she even fully realised it was bubbling up her throat. His gaze flitted to her, his blush deepened. She bit her lip to stifle her mirth, but she couldn’t stop the amused glimmer of her violet eyes. His brown eyes were boring into hers; they made her think of a deer caught in the headlights.
A mischievous smirk slowly spreading onto her lips, she purposefully leaned a little closer. He immediately looked away, though she felt his fingers twitch involuntarily against the small of her back.
“I’m terribly sorry,” she told him, though the lilt of her voice quite contradicted her apology.
His scowl darkened, and he grudgingly met her eyes. Somehow, he looked quite vulnerable. It was utterly adorable.
“It’s okay,” he mumbled gruffly.
She smiled, shifting her weight so she was no longer leaning against him.
The train braked as the reached a station and Rukia stumbled again. She cringed, about to swing into a fellow passenger’s soaked umbrella, when a hand wrapped around her shoulder, steading her. She turned, and this time he met her eyes.
“Thank you,” she breathed, flashing him a brilliant smile.
“No problem,” he said.
The train had stopped moving. The doors were opening and she needed to get off.
“Um, this is my stop,” she told him, her eyes dancing with laughter.
“Huh?” he grunted. Then, he realised he was still holding on to her. He quickly snatched his hand away and shoved it back into his pocket. “Sorry.”
His cheeks flushed again, and she chuckled.
“It’s alright,” she told him.
As she followed the commuters out and stepped onto the platform, she could still feel her shoulder tingling.