Also check out Eischirmchen's art on tumblr (link on profile) because her and I did a collab for this week, and the things she's done for it are adorable!
Day 1: Geeking Out
Sparks Fly
Throughout his life, Soul Evans has loved many things and people. He has had loves that were brief, didn't last so long, and died away as he grew older. There were loves that stayed with him, starting in his childhood and seeping into his teen years. There were the loves that he grew to realize were the most important, the ones that didn't fade away as time wore on, and the ones that shaped him into the person he is today.
It's incredible to think that everything played an important role in his life. How everything he cared for deeply has remained rooted on his timeline for all of eternity.
But there is one love he refuses to ever let go.
One that didn't originally start out as love, but rather grew as he did, as she did.
The person he has grown to love the most is the girl he has known since he was five and she moved next door to him. She's his best friend in the entire world, the only person who knows all of his secrets, the one who has been there for him when no else was, and the one who means the most to him. Maka Albarn has a kind soul that has touched him in ways he didn't know were possible. It has helped shape him into the person he is today, and taught him that it is possible for someone else to love him.
Even now as he stands near the gate to her house, hidden in the shadows from the rest of the partygoers, he knows it's true. His heart beats wildly against his ribcage, palms sweaty as he flexes his fingers in and out; even his breathing is shallow at what he has come here to do. He loves her. He loves her more than anyone else in the world, and he wants her to know that. It has been hell being away from her for so long, but it has taught him that really does want to be with her. There are no other people like her, no one else that makes his mind go blank or makes him think about future.
It has been her.
It has always been her, and now is his chance to see if she feels the same for him.
Xx.
The first time he realized his emotions for her went beyond the realm of friendship was when they had attended an anime con together.
It had been her bright idea to cosplay as two of the characters from a video game he played for a week, one that she had followed suit in was his first mistake: the only two characters from the game they had been able to dress up as were highly unpopular. They were a couple that made most fans cringe, a NOTP for almost everyone because the circumstances around their relationship were controversial.
Her large hat with the red eyes sewn in on the inside hit the dorsal fin that was strapped around his head when she moved slightly as she stood next to him in line for food. The carmine sailor outfit that was reminiscent of the protagonist's in the first bad ending looked better on her than he expected. Even the brown wig that resembled the girl she was meant to be looked natural on her. Soul swore Maka was able to put on just about anything, and it'd be perfect for her.
But that had always been her.
She had always fallen so naturally into things that were meant to be out of her element, always made them seem like she'd been born to do them. They were the complete opposites in that sense. He had always found it difficult to follow things outside of his norm, things that weren't designed for him. Like now as he felt suffocated in the white suit he wore, he became hyper aware of the accessories necessary for his own cosplay. The tail that was magnetized to the trousers of his suit and the dorsal fin that was strapped to his head both grew heavier as time passed.
Soul was ready to strip out of the outfit and into his boxers right about now, but there were still things to do for the con. Things that they had both wanted to see and buy because this was just as much for her as it was for him.
Sighing, he unconsciously raised his hand to run it through his hair, but allowed it to fall as he remembered the dorsal fin. "How much longer do we have to wait? I'm starving." He grabbed his stomach for emphasis, and felt rather than saw Maka's eye roll.
"That doesn't surprise me. You probably came out of the womb wanting food."
"Isn't that what most babies want when they're born?"
Her laugh rang out like a chorus of bells, and his stomach performed the all too familiar backflip as he batted away the ridiculous feelings. They were friends. Best friends. And they were the type of best friends who didn't fall in love with each other. Rather, they were the type who supported the other when they did form a more intimate relationship with someone else. That was who they were, and feeling any sort of affection for Maka that existed outside of those parameters was a dangerous thing.
"Only babies named Soul Evans."
"And what did you want when you came out? A library full of books?"
She turned and smiled. "That's exactly what I wanted. I was a practical baby."
"A practical baby who didn't have her priorities straight. You do know books won't feed you, right?"
"They feed you with knowledge, though," she said teasingly.
"You're an ass sometimes, you know that?"
"I do," she beamed. "But at least I'm not the type of person who complains when they're hungry all the time, like certain people I know."
"I don't do it all the time." Maka crossed her arms and smirked up at him as if to ask 'really?'. Soul glanced away and laughed a little before turning back with a smile. "Fine. I do it all the time. But that's because I like food so you can't really blame me. I'm a growing boy, Maka."
He puffed out his chest as if to emphasize his point, and she playfully punched him in the gut causing him to double over.
"You're seventeen, Soul! You're done growing!" she laughed.
"Agh! Says you!" He lightly kicked her ankle. "You don't know my life like you think you do."
"I've known you since we were kids. I'm pretty sure I know you better than most people. And I know you stopped growing last year so ha!"
Soul scoffed as his attention was diverted by the line moving up a little. "I hate when you talk book to me."
"No you don't."
Glancing back toward her, he noted the childlike spark in her forest green eyes, the fond half-smile as she stared back at him, and his heart skipped a beat. She was gorgeous when she looked at him like that, like she was in love with him, like he mattered. It made his body heat up, his palms sweaty, and his mind start to race. He knew he shouldn't allow himself to act that way, but it was unpreventable. Maka was his best friend, and he might have accidentally fallen in love with her, which was dangerous. Far too dangerous.
He had to control himself. Think of something cool to say that didn't cross the line of friendship or scare her away. Think of something that wasn't along the lines of confessing the feelings he was experiencing at that very moment, but nothing came to mind. For the first time in his life, Soul's brain had gone completely blank, and he wasn't entirely sure of what to say. Or at least what to say that didn't ruin his friendship with the girl right there on the spot.
So he said the only thing that seemed natural. Something that wasn't cool at all.
"What did you wanna eat again?"
Way to ruin the mood, Soul Evans. He was the epiphany of cool.
Maka's face seemed to drop for a second, but her smile quickly came back so he didn't think much about it. "Um, I think I'll stick with the basics. Burger and fries. Can't really go wrong there. You?"
"Same," he shrugged. "Can't go wrong with the classics."
About fifteen long minutes later, they were finally able to order their food. They found a small secluded corner in the court food area to sit down, munch on their meal, and satisfy their starving stomachs. When they finished, Soul and Maka headed toward one of the exhibit halls where all the vendors were located. He had distinctly remembered Maka mentioning that she wanted to buy some items from some swimming anime she loved
He had found it laughable that out of all the types of anime there were, Maka "I'm gonna kick your ass for saying something rude to me" Albarn chose sports anime. Soul had expected her to at least like cheesy shojos over sports any day. Or something that fell along the line of being dark and gritty like Death Note. But, nope. Instead she had chosen to fall in love with the sports anime that was geared toward horny girls due to the overly attractive boys.
Who the hell fit that kind of standard, anyway?
At least, that was his own general assumption. He preferred the dark, gritty, psychological anime that fucked with his head along with some shonens. Occasionally he chose to watch a good shojo if it came highly recommended, but that was very rare. Very, very rare. Soul had better things to do in his spare time than watch two idiots fall in love and get frustrated when they didn't.
Was it too much to ask for one fucking kiss scene?
The pair stopped at one of the booths that was selling fanart made by the artist right there on the spot. As Maka talked to the girl behind the table, chatting about the Free! boys they both loved so much, Soul moved over toward one of the vendors nearby. He browsed through the keychains and shirts that were sitting on the table, trying to find something that interested him, but came up short. The table was full of junk that no one in their right mind would be a fan of, things only perverts were interested thanks to the unnecessary fanservice.
Soul turned around to go back to Maka, but knocked right into a short, dark haired girl who was standing entirely too close to him. He reached out to help steady her before she fell to the ground. Watching as she dusted herself off, a light pink spreading over her cheeks, he noted the pigtails in her hair and the camera that was hanging around her neck, and assumed she was a photographer.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, her hands flying up to toy with the camera. "I was standing a little too close and wasn't expecting you to turn around so quickly."
"Uh, nah. It's okay. I should have been watching where I was going. It's this stupid tail." Soul scratched the back of his neck. "Nothing to be sorry about or anything."
"Mhm," she nodded.
He returned her gesture, rocking on his feet awkwardly before he smacked his lips together and said a cordial goodbye. But he didn't move very far. The girl quickly whipped around and grabbed his wrist preventing him from returning to his partner.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Yes." She paused, releasing him from her grip in the short amount of time. "I'm Tsugumi Harudori. I work for the Death Anime magazine. I'm not sure if you've heard of it before."
She trailed off as she glanced up at him, searching for some kind of reassurance that he had, and at his nod, she continued.
"Good!" It appeared like her entire demeanor changed at him recognizing the name. Tsugumi beamed up at him and stood a little straighter as she continued. "I'm supposed to be doing a spread about the cosplayers at this convention, and I noticed that you and the girl at that booth," she pointed at Maka, "are dressed as two characters from the same video game. Are you two together?"
His heart stopped for a brief moment before his brain fully processed what she meant by together.
"Uh, yeah," he said. "She's my best friend, and we decided to do a couple cosplay. Even though we aren't," Soul quickly added.
"Do you mind if I do a little photoshoot with you two? I think you'd both be perfect for my spread!"
Soul glanced over at Maka who was finishing up her conversation with the girl before returning to Tsugumi. If he really did know her as well as he thought he did (which he did of course), he assumed she wouldn't say no to the girl. Maka had always been the type to help someone who is in need. That was one of the many ways she was a better person than him, one of the reasons they were friends now.
"Sure. I don't think she'd mind."
"Mind what?" Maka asked as she appeared behind Tsugumi.
The other girl turned around and smiled at her. "I was asking him if you two would be okay with doing a small photoshoot for a magazine spread I'm working on."
"Oh, that sounds like fun!"
Maka looked over at him, and he read her thoughts through her inquisitive eyes. It must have been a surprise that he'd willingly agree to do something like this. Usually social things that called for him to do more than sit on his ass were a pain, and he refused to do them unless some bribing was involved. But he knew this was something she wanted to do, and as long as he was with her, he'd be able to handle it.
A few minutes later, they found themselves standing outside of the convention in front of the garden. The photographer, Tsugumi, stood in front of them directing their positions and telling them what to do, like where to stand for better lighting. It was slightly annoying, but also exciting because he was able to touch Maka like he had never done before.
His hands rested on her hips as she stood in front of him, striking a pose that was similar to something her character would do. Or sometimes she'd be pressed against him as she faced the camera. And every time she was remotely close to him, closer than she normally was, his heart beat wildly against his chest, breath catching in his throat as he didn't dare breathe. His chest warmed as she rested her head against him. He hoped she wasn't able to hear the irregular beat of his heart.
Tucking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, Soul raised her head slightly up toward him while she kept her eyes focused on Tsugumi. But it seemed like the world evaporated around them as he stared at her face, noting the light blonde lashes outlining her eyes. He was able to count the subtle freckles across her cheeks and nose, how they added a beauty to her face that he hadn't seen before.
Little things became more prominent than before as she stood in the sunlight. Maybe it was the first time he saw them, or maybe he had known of them all along. He wasn't sure, but he did know she was more radiant than before. The desire to kiss every aspect of her was strong as he stroked his thumb across her jaw line. They looked so natural on her. Her features came together to form the person he had known for years. The person who made his heart slow, the sounds around them grow quieter, and her small, shallow breaths fill the silence. Suddenly, it was only him and her, standing in the middle, standing in the middle of two rose bushes.
And there was nothing else that mattered.
He didn't register his actions, allowed himself to move of his own accord, and it wasn't until Tsugumi's squeals of excitement broke through his reverie that he noticed anything.
Their faces were inches apart from each other, her hot breath warming his face as she stared at him wide eyed. He had only thought of kissing her, but he wasn't expecting himself to actually move in to do it. It wasn't the right time, the right place, or the right anything, to be honest. Neither one had talked about being more than just friends, or expressed that they were in love with each other.
It was wrong, and he wasn't the type of person who put her on the spot like that.
Soul quickly moved away from Maka, praying that she didn't hit him upside the head or chide him for being a pervert. He knew how she felt about things like that,forcing someone into something they weren't ready for yet. And kissing your best friend definitely fell under that category.
Licking his lips, he opened his mouth to apologize, but was interrupted by the photographer.
"That was so cute!" she squealed. "The reader's are gonna eat that right up and talk about this all over tumblr! I just know it! You two were fantastic! So believable!"
Maka blinked a few times before turning toward the other girl. "Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!"
"I thought it was absolutely adorable! Thank you both so much for doing this! I really appreciate it! And I hope you two have a fun day at the rest of the con! Bye!"
"Bye!" Maka said for the both of them since Soul was still too focused on apologizing.
Once Tsugumi had disappeared back into the convention hall, Soul said, "Sorry about that back there. I didn't mean to do that to you or anything."
Maka straightened out her skirt, and made sure her wig was still in place before glancing up at him. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."
And it was the soft smile she gave him, the sincerity in her voice as she said it was okay, the adoration in her gaze that made him realize it.
Soul Evans was falling in love with his best friend.
