There are so many ways it could have all turned out differently. Imagine if she hadnt forgotten the book. She wouldnt have had to run back into the house while mom waited outside with the car running, the engine setting loose a cloud of exhaust in the late-day heat.

Or before that , even imagine if she hadnt waited to try on her dress,so that she might have noticed earlier that the straps is too long and mom wouldnt have had to haul out her old sewing kit, turning the kitchen counter into an operating tanle as she attempted to save the poor lifeless swath of purple silk at the very last minute.

Or later if she hadnt given herself a paper cut while printing out her ticket if she hadnt lost her phone charger, if there hadnt been traffic on the expressway to the airport. If they hadnt missed the exit or if she hadnt fumbled the quarters for the toll, the coins rolling beneath the seat while the people in the cars behind them leaned hard on their horns.

If the wheel of her suitcase hadnt been off-kilter. If she'd run just a bit faster to the gate. Though maybe it wouldnt have mattered anyway. Perhaps the day's collection of delays is beside the point and if it hadnt been one of those things, it would have been something else.

The weather over the atlantic, rain in Japan, storms clouds that hovered just an hour too long before getting on with their day. Rukia isnt a big believer in things like fate or destiny but then, she's never been a big believer in the puntuality of the airline industry either.

Who ever heard of a plane leaving on time anyhow?

Sh's never missed a flight before in her life. Not once but when she finally reaches the gate this evening, its to find the attendants sealing the door and shutting down the computers. The clock above them says 6:48 and just beyond the window the plane sits like a hulking metal fortress, its clear from the looks on the faces of those around her that nobody else is getting on that thing.

She's four minutes late, which doesnt seem like all that much when you think about it, it's a commercial break, the period between classes, the time it takes to cook a microwave meal. Four minutes is nothing. Every single day, in every single airport there are people who make their flights at the very last moment , breathing hard as they stow their bags and then slumping into their seats with a sigh of relief as the plane launches itself skyward.

But not Kuchiki Rukia, who lets her back pack slip from her hand as she stands at the window, watching the plane break away from the accordion like ramp, its wings rotating as it heads toward the runway without her.

Across the ocean, her father is making one last toast and the white-gloved hotel staff is polishing the silverware for tomorrow night's celebration.

Behind her , the boy with a ticket for seat 18C on the next flight to Tokyo is eating a powdered doughnut, oblivious to the dusting of white on his blue shirt.

Rukia closes her eyes, just for a moment and when she opens them again, the plane is gone.

Who could have guessed that four minutes could change everything?..

A/N:

Just finish reading this story and its soo good! I love it .. it cute and simple..

I'll write it here but wont change a thing except for the characters, because I need an Ichiruki inspiration for 'One last Chance' and this story is just very Ichiruki like..

so guys if you still havent read it.. try it, this is worth your money, I just love this story..

'The statistical probability of love at first sight' wrote by the amazing Jennifer E. Smith.