The Challenge: Turn on your playlist and let it play through on shuffle, writing a drabble for the first ten songs during the duration of the song. No skipping, no repeating, no pausing.

I cheated and turned on the TV to XMHitlist (hooray for satellite radio!) and listened to the songs there for the majority of this. The songs I wasn't familiar with got skipped.

I'm pretty sure I didn't do this right. I took the song's lyrics more as prompts than I actually listened to the music and let the mood sway my writing...

Slide by the Goo Goo Dolls

“Can I stay the night?”

Ishida would have frowned at the request if the face that made it didn’t look full of confusion. Instead, he wordlessly nodded and moved back from physically barricading his window to allow Ichigo to enter his room.

He decided it safer for his sanity not to ask.

That resolve died the second strong arms wrapped around his waist.

“What are you doing?” he asked, doing a few freak out steps best he could while being held.

A self-depreciating smile was made into the Quincy’s neck. “I just want to wake up where you are.”

-+-

Home by Chris Daughtry

Ishida had promised himself he wouldn’t look back, but he did anyways.

Less than a second later came the sharp reprimand of “Uryuu!” from his father.

Scowling, Ishida returned his attention to looking ahead and following his father to the car, ignoring the shinigami aura that was sitting on the roof of his now-abandoned apartment complex.

He didn’t owe any of them an explanation.

It’s not like he would be missed anyways…

-+-

Umbrella by Rihanna & Jay Z

“Ichigo, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Ishida said with a snort as he adjusted his glasses, effectively killing the seriousness of the mood and temporarily lifting the despair everyone was feeling.

“What?! I’m trying to reassure you, you dick! The least you could do is be grateful!” Ichigo argued, stomping his foot as he took on a rather ridiculous defensive pose.

“No one will be able to be around for someone else forever,” Ishida dismissed logically. “It’s impossible.”

“Well I’ll make it possible! Just watch! I’ll kick anyone’s ass who makes my friends feel down! Even after I’m DEAD!”

Ishida twitched back, mouth turned down into an angular frown even as the blush dusted over his cheeks. “Stop making such retarded promises that contradict themselves! It makes you look like an idiot!”

The rest of the group couldn’t fight back the nervous smiles as the two launched into yet another argument over who the bigger idiot was.

-+-

Rockstar by Nickelback

“You want to what?” Ishida asked, not quite sure he had heard the shinigami right.

“I said I think it would be neat to be a rock star,” Renji repeated, oblivious to the incredulous look he was now being subjected to.

Ishida merely blinked as the other stared off into the distance wistfully.

Well…he could probably pull it off if he were ever to get over his hippie fashion sense.

Or he could just hit the stage shirtless every night. With the number of odd tattoos he had, he didn’t really need a fashion sense…

Blood began to trickle down from Ishida’s nose as his train of thought drifted down a slightly different path than Renji’s.

-+-

The Great Escape by Boys Like Girls

Ishida was unable to stop the bark of laughter that escaped from his lips as Keigo’s water balloon hit Renji right in the crotch, causing the man to fall to the ground in pain.

He had managed to keep his stoic face unmoving for most of the game, but seeing someone as big and badass as Renji go down was far too amusing to not laugh at.

From that initial “HA!” came peals of laughter that effectively brought the game to a pause as the teens slowed their movements to take in the sight of their most distant friend finally cut lose, even if it was at someone’s expense.

The moment wasn’t allowed to last too long, seeing as how Renji was never one to take too kindly to being laughed at. Grabbing an armload of water balloons, the shinigami launched his attack with a cry of, “You think that’s funny? Let’s see how YOU like it!”

The amusement of the group of friends was turned into disbelief as they watched Ishida actually allowed himself to be chased, unable to cease his laughter.

Rukia even went as far as to poke Ishida later on while wearing her infamous glove, wondering if the Quincy’s body had been possessed.

-+-

It’s Not Over by Chris Daughtry

Ishida stood, torn between what he had believed in in the past and what he wanted to look forward to in the future.

On one side was his father and a life of security and pride. On the other were his friends – his first true friends – with nothing more to offer than to simply be there for him when times got hard.

His father looked confident.

Ichigo looked ready to beat the shit out of him if he “went and did something stupid.”

Never one to compliantly follow along with anything ever since his grandfather had died, Ishida cast one last look at both sides before walking straight ahead and leaving, speaking loudly enough for both sides to hear.

“You all are idiots. I’m not choosing sides just because you don’t know how to get along.”

-+-

Thanks For The Memories by Fall Out Boy

Ishida really knew he needed to stop hanging out with Shinigamis.

It was time for him to put these things behind him, to store away what memories his nights out with them gave him and move on with his life as his father had ordered.

But it was hard.

There was a certain thrill in going out and killing Hollows with others; it no longer felt like a burden or duty. A sweeter taste had been added to the hunt. A hum of adrenaline that fueled him even after it was over, pushing him to test other boundaries that not only his father, but society as well, would frown upon.

A thump was heard on his window and Ishida looked up from his studies, a smile creeping across his face as he stood.

His father was just in the other room, but one more night wouldn’t hurt…

-+-

My Own Worst Enemy by Lit

Ishida stared incredulously at the sheepish smile he was being given. He knew he had issues with being a little stiff and prude at times, but for Ichigo to actually have the audacity to approach him, asking what he had done wrong was…was…

A solid punch to the idiot’s jaw successfully solved that problem, closely followed by Rukia’s mutter of “moron…”

-+-

Calling You by Blue October

Wearily, Ishida’s hand blindly searched for the phone located somewhere on his nightstand.

“M’lo?” he asked, shifting in his position so that his face was no longer buried in his pillow.

“Sorry, were you sleeping?”

“Obviously,” the young med student replied, rubbing his eyes as he made no attempt to open them in fear of glancing at the clock to see the time.

“Oh. Were you dreaming of me?”

“Ichigo, I’m hanging up now.”

“What? Why?! But-”

There was a soft beep as the ‘end’ button was pushed before the phone was tossed carelessly on the floor as Ishida rolled over and went right back to sleep.

-+-

All Around Me by Flyleaf

His back arched up from the sheets he was sinking into. He couldn’t understand why he was sweating when it was the middle of winter. Why Ichigo’s touches burned and made his heart pound. Why the air in the room felt thick and he couldn’t grasp just why all this was.

He felt surrounded, all coherent thought other than Ichigo’s name gone from his brain.

Feeling more alive than ever before, Ishida was glad he let the other stay the night.

-+-

Owari.