Disclaimer: I Do not own Soul Eater or Nicholas Sparks' A Walk to Remember
And warning, I don't know much about astrology, so sorry for any mistakes on that end.
A Walk to Remember
Soul's POV:
It was a cool summer morning in Death City; there was a breeze that made the morning hardly bearable. School was to begin the next day and new "groups" were beginning to form. Though some were not as easy to enter into as others.
"Ok, all you have to do is jump from that place up there and . . . you're in." Blackstar smiled as he crossed his arms and smiled that cocky smile of his on. Tsubaki was resting her head on his shoulder, her long black hair up in a high ponytail; Blackstar's turquoise spiked hair was brushing up against her face. Oddly enough his hair was in the shape of a star, and his small green eyes were something to be terrified of. Whereas Tsubaki had soft big indigo eyes, she looked at him with a form of compassion and interest. She was probably the only one that actually seemed to be really in love. Blackstar was mainly going out with her due to the fact that she had a killer body, and she was one of the most popular girls in school, which made them one of the "hottest couples."
Now, Kid had two girls that he tended to be "in and out" of relationships with. They were known as the Thomson sisters, some of the most feared delinquent sisters in all of Death City. Patty was more of the . . . airhead that tended to scare the shit out of you, and Liz was the one that came up with all the planning as well as finding ways for the two of them to survive on their own. Kid found the two of them one day and brought them in.
I actually dated Liz for a while, and she was . . . easy to get along with to say the least, but it didn't work out. We're friends now, but sometimes I think she's trying to give me subtle hints, but lately I'm not into that.
I'm Soul Eater Evans, I'm technically viewed as an albino, but with a tan, other than that I have red eyes, white hair, and sharp teeth. Ya I guess one word to describe me would be freakishly scary, but most people seemed to be drawn to me, especially the girls. I'd go out on a whim every so often, but I never found someone that I wanted to stay with. Liz was fun; she had soft brown hair and blue eyes, a toned curvy figure. Her sister wasn't too bad looking either; she had short blond hair with blue eyes that were slightly lighter than her sister. Patty was younger than Liz, but with a bigger bust and more curves; Kid was a lucky guy. He was taller, not like Blackstar, with black hair and three white stripes on his left side; his bright yellow eyes were like daggers toward anything unsymmetrical. He often tried to have Liz and Patty wearing similar if not identical outfits. Liz preferred jeans with a red tank top, silver tie and cowgirl boots. She sometimes wore a grey cowgirl hat, Patty wore the same shirt, tie, hat and boots but with a rounded toe look and she wore parachute shorts. I was into that, and Tsubaki looked killer in her low-cut V-neck tan dress with a yellow star over her right breast. The dress had a slit on the side where you could see her long curvy leg and her long black sock and white boots.
Us guys seemed to be the luckiest guys in the world, Kid wore a tux with dress shoes practically everyday, if not he made sure to wear something symmetrical. Blackstar wore white cargo shorts with a black high collar sleeveless shirt black and silver combat boots and cut off gloves for his bike. We shared that in common, I loved my black and orange bike, it was a Ducati and Blackstar and I would hang out and work on them together.
"So, what you're saying is that I have to climb up there and jump into the water?" A high-pitched voice questioned nervously.
"Ya, you want to be in this group right?" Blackstar questioned.
"Well ya, but I don't know if I can handle it." That voice seemed to tremble.
"Come on Crona, I'll do it with you." I began to take off my white t-shirt and combat boots, socks followed by navy jeans.
"Uh well, sure." Crona had short pink hair and dark blue frightened eyes. No one really knew if Crona was a boy or a girl, well IT wore a black dress with a white collar and white and black boots. Crona often hung around Ragnarock, a real douche; we didn't even talk with him. But Crona seemed to want to make friends, and was desperate enough to do whatever we said. So Blackstar came up with the bright idea to have Crona jump off a high place into the water. We both climbed up the latter and looked down onto the water, and I said we'd jump on the count of three.
"Ready, one, two, three!" I walked forward and stopped as Crona jumped only to realize he (turns out Crona wears boxers) was alone, he tried to stop himself from falling, but all that did him was landing a belly flop into the water, it was at least five feet deep, but his landing from a high altitude didn't help.
"He's hurt!" Liz yelled out in terror. My stomach felt like it fell to the ground as I realized Crona wasn't moving.
"Shit!" Patty cried out as she grabbed onto her sister.
"Soul! Get him! Get him out of the water!" Kid ordered. I ran over to the ladder as I climbed down and Blackstar and Tsubaki were trying to point out to where Crona's body was.
"Soul, there, he's there!" Blackstar yelled.
"Soul hurry, someone's coming!" Tsubaki shrieked.
"Shit!" I ran into the water and swam towards Crona and pulled his body towards me as I began to swim towards the shore. Blackstar tried to help me pull him out as Kid and the Thomson sisters fled.
"Help me get him out man!" I yelled at Blackstar.
"Get him over here. Here . . . give me his arm." Blackstar pulled one of his arms as Tsubaki got the other and I jumped out to pull him up and out. There was a security guard yelling at us, but by that time, we were all in, or on, our rides and got the hell out of there.
I guess I'll never know if Crona was still interested in joining our group.
It was later on that day (Sunday) that mother made me go to church with her. The minister wasn't too fond of me or the rest of the gang, so we weren't too fond of attending. But mom insisted on it, even if she wasn't much of a "church-goer" herself. But there I was, sitting next to her, towards the front, while the minister talked about how Crona was lucky to be alive and those who forced him to do such a thing were sinners, blah blah blah. The minister has somewhat of a past himself, with that red hair and blue eyes of his, he ended up getting a divorce with his wife, since he couldn't stay out of the bar for more than a few hours. But he's a "changed man" now, like that even really happens.
But I noticed one particular girl in the church choir. Her face was oddly familiar; she had ivory skin, blond hair, and large green eyes that stared out and around the room. She had a certain kindness about her, yet she was totally mysterious and didn't seem to let anybody in. Just one glance and I thought she was the strangest creature I'd ever seen. But she wasn't my "type," huh like I'd ever fall for a girl like that. But that voice, it honestly was stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
It was Monday morning, it was so hot that day, that I almost wished I'd stayed home, but my mom insisted on me going, even if I had some torn ligaments in my left leg and a gash across my chest from some scrap metal I ran into while getting Crona out of the water. So I was going to have a nasty scar along with a boot on my leg for a while. Somehow I managed to still ride my bike, but once I got to school, I saw some familiar faces that didn't appear to care about what had happened the previous morning.
"Sup bro?" Blackstar approached me and we did our usual handshake. Tsubaki was leaning against him, her bust clear up against his arm.
"Hey Soul." She nodded towards me.
"Hey." I was sure not to make too much "eye contact" with her for too long, Blackstar hated that, especially staring.
"Hey-ya Soul." Liz winked, as she puckered her lips and tried to blow me a kiss. I just nodded at her and walked towards Blackstar and waved at Kid and Patty. Suddenly the bell rang and I honestly have never run towards class so fast before. It was History, I honesty just doodled and took a nap, until I was rudely interrupted by the principle.
"Mr. Evans I'd like to see you in my office."
"Sure, why not. And would you quit calling me Mr. Evans that was my father's name, and what everyone calls my pussy excuse for a brother." I snapped. Mr. Death looked like a man in all black, with a face as white as a ghost, his eyes were almost black, and his hair was barren. I got up slowly as I walked with him, my backpack loosely hanging from my shoulder. I knew I was in a shit load of trouble.
"Mr. Ev-Soul, I'd like to discuss your current position at this school. As you may, or may not know, you are failing all of your classes, have not completed your community service hours, and you have been caught smoking and drinking on campus. As well as other inappropriate activities, and it is my responsibility to set things straight. I know that your father is no longer with us, and you must feel a great deal of pressure due to the fact that your older brother Wes is quite successful as well as thought of as the 'golden boy,' but that doesn't mean you ought to be acting the way you have been lately. You don't HAVE to live up to your brother's achievements; you can be your own person. You're making things more difficult than they have to be; I know you can do much better than this. And so I have decided in order to receive extra credit for your classes, as well as community service hours, I want you to join the drama club and be in their next play, help with tutoring for underprivileged kids that are struggling in school, and you will also be cleaning up the gym floor."
"You're fucking kidding me right?" I scoffed.
"Watch your language young man! And I'm not joking. I'm completely serious, and if you don't get your act together, I'll expel you, and you'll have no chance of getting into a good college." He said sternly. To be honest, he was pretty damn scary when he was mad.
"I never really thought about going to college." I shrugged.
"Listen, I'm trying to work with you here, not against you. Would you stop acting like a spoiled child and realize it's either this or jail?" To be honest, I was not expecting that.
"What."
"Ya, that's right, you're looking at time, especially if you continue to drink on school property. I will not hesitate to turn you in." Damn, he had me.
"Fine." I groaned as I gathered together the paperwork and limped off to my next class, science. I saw a familiar face, Maka looked pale as ever, her eyes looked somewhat tired, yet filled with joy, her hair was in her usual pigtails, and she was wearing a button down white t-shirt, a long plaided red and black skirt and some black and white buckled combat boots. She often wore a creamy-yellow vest with a green and white-stripped tie, and when she was cold, she wore a black trench coat with white gloves. She was dressed like a freak; I'd never seen a girl so covered up by clothes before.
"Hey Soul, sit here." Liz flirted; I just smiled and decided to sit by Blackstar and Tsubaki. I looked and noticed that Liz wasn't the only watching me. Maka had glanced over at me; I gave her a disgusted look and snarled a comment,
"Take a picture, it'll last longer sweetheart."
She simply smiled and turned away, which I thought was . . . interesting.
"Alright class, settle down, as you know there will be a science fair that will be held for extra credit, and I have a list of those that I would recommend this too. So those of you that know who you are should talk to Maka, she's in charge as well as being one of the judges, she's also planning on having a workshop if any of your younger siblings would like to go. So Soul, Blackstar, Liz, Patty, I would recommend that you all participate. And everyone else is welcomed to take the rest of this class as study hall while the others pick their partners."
"Yo Soul."
"Ya, I'm with you man."
"So Patty, I guess it's you and me." Liz murmured.
"Yay!" Patty jumped up out of her seat, until the teacher yelled at her to sit down.
"Hmm, well, please sign this." Maka stood as she walked over with a clipboard and pen in hand. She walked up to Blackstar and me first.
"Sure thing." Blackstar winked.
"And Soul?" She looked at me with those large intelligent jade eyes.
"Ya, whatever." I signed sloppily as Blackstar and I began to plan out our experiment.
"So Soul, what'll it be?" Blackstar asked as Maka walked away, she just smiled and went on her way.
"No idea, whatever you think will get me an A." I shrugged as I turned to look away, but Liz caught me and gave me a glare. I sneered and just ignored her and went back to brainstorming.
"That's it, now we're talking!" Blackstar yelled.
"You know I was just joking right?" I asked him.
"But it's a great idea! We can make a rocket and launch it!" Blackstar hollered again.
"There's no way in hell that we can build a rocket by ourselves and figure out how to launch it by the end of this semester, that's like five months. We have to think of something way easier, something like . . ." I looked around and saw Maka sketching out something, it was a telescope.
"Why don't we make a model of the solar system or something?" I shrugged it was an elementary project it should be easy.
"Ya! Not as good an idea as a rocket, but it sounds fine." Blackstar shrugged as he exhaled and went back to staring out the window. Tsubaki went over towards Blackstar and whispered something in his ear, it made him smile and he seemed to refocus.
"So Soul, let's go out to get all the stuff for this project." He nudged me.
"Now?" I looked over at him in a somewhat confused state.
"Ya now. Why the hell not? We don't have anything else to do." He shrugged.
"Man, I would, but the principle's on my case. If I ditch or screw up again, I'm getting kicked out."
"Jeez man, that's tough. Fine, I guess we could go after our last class. Maybe we can even get a little pick me up." He chuckled.
"Haha, we'll see."
"Attention students, miss Maka Albarn will be giving an announcement for the theater club."
"Good afternoon, I'd like to announce that the theater club will be meeting in room 201 from 4 o'clock until 6 o'clock tonight. Tonight we will be discussing parts as well as rehearsal times. Feel welcome to bring dinner or some snacks, if not, we will be ordering pizza and soda. Everyone is welcomed to pitch in and get a slice. I hope to see you then, and God bless."
"Ha! God bless, pfff figures, from a pastor's daughter." Blackstar laughed.
"Huh, I bet she prays for all of us on her spare time." I chuckled.
"Ya well, she most certainly has an interesting fashion sense." Liz scoffed.
"Ya! She's like weird and stuff!" Patty hollered out.
"Ya, it's like a kindergarten teacher picked her outfit out for her." Tsubaki chimed in.
"Ha, ya, she's never gonna get laid. And her outfit isn't even that symmetrical." Kid added in.
"Ya well, unfortunately, I'll be spending the evening with her. Thanks to Mr. Death." I scoffed again, this time there was more of a frustrated tone to my voice.
"What?" Kid was confused. Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki were speechless.
"You're gonna sleep with her?" Blackstar blurted out.
"No, Mr. Death is making me join theater club, and I have to be in their play, in order to get some credit to graduate." I spat out.
"Jeez man, calm down. We all know you'd never be into that chick." Blackstar backfired.
"Ya, she's sooo not Soul's type." Patty nodded as she crossed her arms and made a firm expression.
"Exactly." Liz huffed.
"I think it'd be interesting." Tsubaki whispered under her breath.
"Ya well, let's go get our stuff for that science project, I have to be back in two hours." I cut in.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to the first theatre club meeting. We are going to be presenting a play that I wrote specifically for this group of students. Now, I'd like to start off with assigning parts. Maka will be playing our mysterious singer that is a performer at the Death Bar, which is owned, and run by Soul Eater Evans; and-" Mrs. Stein started, but was interrupted by your truly.
"Wait what? You expect me to play the lead role? I mean, I know I had to be thrown into all this shit, but what the hell?" I burst out
"Soul, watch your language, there are ladies present!" Mrs. Stein snapped back at me.
"Sorry Marrie, but this is bull!" I slouched into my chair, crossing my arms like a child.
"It's Mrs. Stein to you, you little-" Mrs. Stein grinded her teeth together, she could be pretty scary when she was pissed.
"Mrs. Stein, I don't think you need to get to carried away. If Mr. Evans-" Maka began.
"Soul." I cut in again.
"If Soul is insisting on not being a part of this production, then he shouldn't be forced into it." Maka shrugged, as she seemed to be wearing a small smile.
"Exactly, thanks doll." I smirked as I nodded over toward her everyone else seemed shocked.
"My name is Maka, call me doll again, and I will continue to refer to you as Mr. Evans." Maka gave me the death glare.
"That's fine, Maka, whatever you want." I shrugged.
"Yes, thank you. As I was saying, Soul doesn't have to be in the play, we'll simply tell Principle Death and he doesn't have to be in the play. It's simple, he'll just have to make up his credits another way, or possibly even repeat his senior year." Maka shrugged as I tensed up and whispered to myself.
"Damn." I whispered under my breath as I rolled my eyes and realized that this was my only shot at finishing this year with "ease." But how in the hell did she know that I was failing?
"Well, it seems we are in a difficult situation." Mrs. Stein started again, this time more calmly.
"Got that toots." I retorted.
"Soul, will play the lead role, and Maka's love interest in the play, and Kim Deihl will be playing Soul's girlfriend in the play. Those are the lead roles, everyone one else, please take these scripts, find your name and pass them around." Mrs. Stein smiled, as everyone seemed fairly pleased with the roles they got. We each read over our lines individually, and then began to read them as the play went on, but it was obvious that I sucked, and that was putting it nicely. I knew I needed help in order to do a passable job, and unfortunately, there was only one girl that may have been willing to help me. Thus, after our first meeting, I decided to approach an angle of mercy in order to get through this hell.
"Hey Maka I could really use a hand with something." I scratched the back of my head, frizzing up my white locks.
"That depends." She looked at me with that somewhat stern, intimidating expression.
"On what?" I looked at her curiously.
"On how much you're willing to beg for my help." She crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly back as her smirk seemed a bit frightening.
"Please Maka, I'm desperate. I'm not willing to relive my senior year again. You know how much I need this. Please, don't make me beg anymore." I pouted as I forced myself to say please far too many times in one sentence.
"Fine, but you have to promise me ONE thing." She tensed herself up, trying to be serious I suppose.
"What?" I asked looked up towards her.
"You have to promise me you WON'T fall in love with me." She stated quite seriously, but I couldn't help but laugh.
"Pfffttt, hahaha! Don't worry, that will NEVER happen." I blurted out.
"Good, then we have ourselves a deal." She put her hand out and I took it, giving it a fairly firm shake, I noticed hers was someone firm, but it seemed almost frail.
"Alright then, cool." I smiled at her earnestly.
"Hmm, we'll start tomorrow." She closed her eyes and smiled, she was almost, beautiful, and I'd never seen anything so earnest in all my life.
"Hey Soul." She waved at me, dammit! And right in front of all my friends. When she noticed I didn't respond, she seemed to have a frown on her face. It'd been a week since we had been meeting and rehearsing.
"So I'll see you after school again today?" She seemed to be checking if I was understanding what she was saying.
"She's not serious is she?" Liz spat out rudely.
"Ha, no way!" Patty shouted.
"Soul man, what's all this?" Kid asked.
"Maybe in your dreams sweat heart." I winked as I coolly leaned against the lockers, only to see she wasn't pleased with my response. She simply walked away without another word. I felt as big as the head of a needle, and even more worthless than that.
The rest of the day was a blur, I simply dragged my sorry ass from class to class, until school was over and I found myself riding over to her house like I'd been doing for the last week. I knocked on the door to see a sulking Maka answer the door.
"Hey, I hope you didn't take any offense to that . . . comment." I rubbed the back of my head again as I hoped she'd respond differently than I had anticipated.
"Oh hi, let me guess you only want me to acknowledge you after school, and so long as none of your friends are around right?" She asked me, somewhat sarcastically.
"Yes, exactly, it's like you're reading my mind." I waved my hands around with excitement.
"Great, now you try and read mine." She had a pissed off glare on her face, she wasn't at all pleased and knew she wasn't going to keep this up any longer. She closed the door on me and I felt my heart sink, as did my gut, I knew without her, I'd never pass.
"Maka, open the door." I began to knock lightly, but there was no answer.
"Maka, come on, it was just a stupid misunderstanding." I knocked harder this time, but no one answered.
"Dammit!" I screamed and was met face-to-face with Mr. Albarn, also known as Minister Albarn. He was a tall man with red hair and pale blue eyes; his skin was far more peached than hers. He wasn't too pleased either; I knew it was time to leave.
"Sorry." I scoffed as I went away back to my ride and left.
Weeks went by, but they felt like centuries, I couldn't avoid her, I felt like at every turn I saw her, those beautiful golden locks flowing at her shoulders as she passed me in the halls. It was like she was a ghost and I couldn't avoid her. Those piercing jade eyes looking right past me, as if I didn't exist, it was slowly killing me on the inside. I managed to spend the majority of the night rehearsing my lines, but during the day, Maka was all I could think of. My friends were even starting to notice.
"Yo Soul, what's going on with you?" Blackstar approached me, one hand on my shoulder.
"Hey man, I don't know, just a lot of shit all happening at once." I puffed out as I lowered my head and let my hands hand over the railing. We were on the rooftop of the school, for whatever reason I felt like I could straighten anything out there.
"Like what? You wanna talk about it or something." He shrugged.
"I don't know man, I know you wouldn't wanna hear all this, and I don't want you to get involved in all this . . . shit." I looked over at him; my eyes must have given away what I was thinking.
"Come on man, I know you better than that." He came over and put his elbows up on the railing as he looked up at the sky, just waiting to hear what I was gong to say.
"Huhh, well you know the principle's making me do like a million things to help me graduate. And this damn play fuckin' sucks! I asked Maka for some help . . ."
"The minister's daughter?" He looked over at me shocked.
"Ya, but I pissed her off. Her dad too, and now she won't even talk to me. I can't get these lines down. Or when I do, the next day in rehearsal, I screw up. I'm managing to get everything else alright, but I don't know, I just don't want it to look I don't give a damn when I want to get the hell out of this school!" I fisted my hands together as I shouted out, there were birds flying overhead, a flock of crows. My eyed narrowed as I ground my teeth together as I felt all the anger and frustration in me being slightly released. I still felt like I could punch through a wall.
"Pfftt, what a sissy man." Blackstar mocked.
"What?" I looked over at him, enraged.
"You heard me man, suck it up!" He faced me, he was about five inches shorter than me, I felt like I was gong to explode.
"What are you going to do about it? Cry?" Blackstar began to shove me back, closer towards the railing.
"Fuck off man!" I shoved him, but he managed to catch himself as he squatted down, and did a quick spin, nearly knocking me off my feet, but I was much faster than that. I did a backflip as I smirked slightly.
"You want me to get serious hu?" I asked him as I saw him look down, and give me that knowing look.
"It's on!" I hollered as I charged him, landing punch after punch, but his hands were the ones catching them. This is why Blackstar is my best friend, he knew when I needed to let all my anger out, and was always willing to be my sparing partner, just like I was willing to be his. We both took jujitsu all our lives together, and we were both highly trained black belts. Ever since we were kids, we always messed around, we didn't like talking about all that emotional bull, but we sure as hell loved to spar it out.
"You haven't lost your touch man." Blackstar patted me on the back.
"Same to you man." I chuckled as we both sat back and looked up at the clouds dispersing.
"Yo man, we should get back to class, and you don't want to get in trouble with the law." Blackstar teased.
"Ya, I don't need anymore trouble." I picked up my bag and we both headed toward our next class, I hadn't even looked around to notice Maka standing around the corner, eating alone and doing homework on her own, always on her own. She'd never let anyone near her, ever since we could remember, she'd always wanted to be separated from everyone, she'd never get too close to anyone, like she was too good for everyone, but she seemed different than that, like she was hiding something.
It was opening night, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It was a full house, and all my friends were going to be there, I didn't know how to take the pressure. I managed to breathe long deep breaths until we were told to take our places. Before I knew it, we were on stage and acting out each scene, one after another, it was all going pretty well, until she walked out on stage, the center stage light was on her, as she pulled down the hood to her coat. Maka's hair was shimmering in the light, slightly wavy and long, here eyes were lightly made-up with eye make up that made her jade eyes shine, her lips looked pink and soft, her light green dress made her eyes pop as she strode toward me, her shoulder back, she looked confident, the dress hugged her in all the right places and spaghetti strapped, then it flared out near her calves and skimmed the floor with each step. I couldn't speak, couldn't think, my jaw was dropped. I wore a white dress shirt and a black tie with suit pants, a jacket hung up on the chair next to me, and my fedora on the table, my silvery-white hair was slicked back and my crimson eyes focused on her. I could see her lips moving and even remember the lines that she once spoke before, but I couldn't remember my next damn line! She looked at me with that quizzical stare, I could hear people in the wings trying to tell me what to say next, but all I could get out was the truth,
"Sing to me, because all I've been dreaming about is hearing that beautiful voice of yours, I love it when you sing . . . I love you."
Everyone was spellbound, especially those that knew anything about the play, even she looked at me half shocked, but knew she had to go on in order to save the rest of this show. So she sang, that same old sappy song Only Hope, a depressingly romantic song that the writer came up with himself, he worked alongside Maka in order to get the sound right. But the way she sang it, looking at me, and then turning to look out at the audience, her perfect body gliding across the stage as she hit every note and set my soul on fire. I gulped down before she ended the song, sat next to me and leaned forward, then I did the unthinkable . . . I kissed her. Straight on, going at it, on the lips as the curtains closed and she froze. She didn't even respond to me. She finished curtain call and disappeared for the rest of the night. As I walked out with my mom, I saw a familiar face that I've always avoided.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I coldly greeted my older brother.
"It's nice to see you too Soul." Wes put out his hand as I pushed past it and kept going, I hated seeing them, but I knew my mom only did it for "my own good," or at least that was what she said.
"Now Soul, don't be rude!" She yelled after me, but I ended up getting on my bike and driving out to an old empty lot over looking the lake. It was the same place where Crona had that incident of his, mostly being my fault. I don't know what came over me, but I just started to feel a churn in my stomach as tears began to roll down my eyes, I hated remembering what had happened that night. I'd never seen my mom so angry, and I'd never seen her cry like that. But my dad would always have a nasty temper, and he tended to take it out on people closest to him, unfortunately . . . that was my mom. I couldn't take it anymore, I'd work out and make sure to be strong enough to protect her, but I was too young, too weak. And every time I picked her up off the floor and help clean her up, she'd always say, "Now Soul, don't be angry at your father about this. Everyone loses their temper at times. Just be positive and make sure you can control your actions. And always know, that I love each and every one of you, no matter what." Then she'd smile at me, her big blue eyes looking down at me, as if I was supposed to be ok with all this. One day, I just got her to the hospital just in time, dad had found out she was looking for an apartment and they had accidentally called the home phone when my dad was home. And he let her have it, Wes was never around, he'd go out to Shinigami knows where with his groupies and he'd even occasionally go drinking with dad. I despised him because of that and we'd never really talked. I simply got all out stuff out of the house and mom and I have managed fine, they got a divorce a year later and dad's big check gets cut in half every month and mom's got a few jobs, I even try and do some odd jobs when I'm not studying. I want to be a doctor so I can help people like my mom, so I can help support her next time. But Wes ended up being the doctor instead, and he never once called us to see how we were doing. So who gives a rat's ass if Wes drove down to see me in some dumb play? I hadn't seen him since the funeral a few years ago.
Another month passed by and I was managing things pretty well, I was giving kids decent tutoring lessons and they came back with all A's, so I wound up helping out with community service and even applying for an internship at a nearby hospital, and they're thinking of hiring me in the future. Wes has been leaving me messages on the house phone every day, I tell mom not to give him my number and she at least gives me that freedom, I've honestly been seeing more of Blackstar and his girl than anyone else. They all fell off the face of the earth, which means something troublesome is going to happen soon.
Maka's POV:
It was a beautiful fall day when I arrived at school; I noticed Liz was keeping her tabs on me lately, which didn't seem compelling enough for me to worry about anything. Next thing I knew, she came up to me and we started to chat.
"So I was like thinking you're so pretty and like all you need is a make-over, just let me mess with your pretty face, I mean like to put on some make-up on you." She laughed, but it didn't seem too earnest, I wanted to trust her, I really did.
"Ok I guess." I just smiled and shrugged it off.
"Come have lunch with me?" She pleaded with her large blue eyes.
"Sure." I smiled as she lead me over to her table, then she picked up a piece of paper and showed it to me.
"Is this you Maka? Nice bod." She teased as I looked over at the paper and noticed it was a fitness model, half naked with my face photo-shopped onto the paper. My heart dropped into my stomach as I read the words "Virgin Mary?" on that paper, I felt the room spinning as everyone laughed, they all seemed to have that same paper in their hands as all the guys checked me out and all the girls gave me disgusted looks. I turned to run but ran into a solid object that wrapped something around me protectively. I looked up to see it was Soul; he seemed to be telling me something.
"Hey, it's not you, it's because of me ok? It's not your fault, just ignore them, it's not your fault." His voice was soothing and calm, somehow I trusted him. I nodded my head as we began to walk away until Kid, Patty, and Liz approached us. Soul pushed me behind him protectively as Liz gave me the death glare, and Patty simply bounced about as she observed the situation.
"What's the deal Soul? Oh hey, is this her (Kid picked up the paper)? Damn, no wonder you don't want to hang with us anymore." Kid chuckled as he looked between the picture and Maka. Soul looked as though he was about to kill Kid, it was quite nerve-wracking, he was grinding his teeth so hard I thought they were gong to crack.
"Listen Kid, piss off would you? Don't make me do something that you'll regret. Don't go anywhere near Maka, talk about her, or think about her, got it? Oh and make sure to keep your brothel away from her too." Soul growled as he began to turn, only to feel Kid's hand turn him around.
"Hey, listen you piece of shi-" Kid was never able to finish his sentence before he felt Soul's fist crashing against his face. Everyone watching them could hear the sound of Kid's jaw cracking as he fell and hit the floor, blood gushing out as he fell unconscious.
"Come on, let's get out of here." He took my hands as we ran out the doors and he got me into my car, I was still in a state of shock. So many people were running around and screaming, others cursing at him, yelling at me, telling us to get out before we were blamed for any of it.
"Where do you want to go? You want me to take you home?" He asked earnestly.
"No, no I'm ok. Thank you though, I really appreciate it." I smiled at him, he seemed to smile back as he leaned his head back and began laughing.
"What's so funny? You do know you knocked Kid unconscious, you could get expelled." I was trying to make him concentrate.
"Ya, haha I know, haha. Aww man, I've never, ever thought I'd hit Kid. Haha, but that bastard deserved it. So what if I get expelled, they should at least get half the blame because of all that shi-crap they started with you. I am really sorry about that Maka, you of all people don't deserve to be treated like that." He looked down at the floor, as he seemed to be sincerely apologetic about it.
"It's fine, it happens. People are cruel sometimes, but still, to error is human right?" I smiled, still unable to think that this was the same guy who stole my first kiss.
"You think? Haha, I thought the only things we were able to do was continuing to screw up." He laughed again, that deep laugh that made his chest rumble and his pearly white, sharp teeth to show. It almost took my breath away, almost, but I knew better.
"So, I guess I'd better let you go." He smiled as he ruffled his white-silvery hair as he turned to look at me, smiled and I nodded at him as he let himself out and he was gone.
"Bye." Darn it, too late, I just couldn't bring myself to talk to him, but there was always next time right?
Narrator's POV:
The following morning, things seemed somewhat tense between Soul, Kid, Liz, Patty, and even Blackstar and Tsubaki. It was about lunchtime when Soul had finished his last class before lunch and had gone to his locker to put his things away. He then headed toward the cafeteria and saw that all eyes seemed to be on him, thus he headed toward the only place he felt secure, the rooftop. As he opened the door, he was surprised to see Maka sitting on the wall facing the front of the school as her dirty blond hair flowed in the wind.
"You know, you really shouldn't sit so close to the edge." Soul teased as Maka turned towards him and gave a small smile.
"I'm not afraid." Was her simple reply as she turned back around, closed her eyes and sat there, meekly taking in the moment.
"Whatcha doin?" Soul asked as he sat by her and began eating his lunch.
"Waiting." She responded as she continued to smile, her eyes still shut.
"For?" Soul asked as he raised an eyebrow, not fully understanding what she meant.
"A sign." She opened one eye as she looked at him, she couldn't help but laugh at his expression.
"Oh, sounds deep." Soul nodded as he took a large bite at his sandwich.
"Hmm, I suppose." She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath, then she suddenly turned around while the threw her legs up, jumped up on the ledge again as she spread her arms open and leaned forward.
"Maka, what are you doing?" Soul sounded rather worried as he nearly threw his lunch down as he stepped off the edge and slowly began to back his way behind Maka.
"Just trust me." She looked back at him as she smiled, as she leaned forward, she used the strong winds to push her back as she giggled. Soul smiled as he somewhat chuckled as they both noticed he held his arms out, as though he were about to either catch her or stop her from jumping. They both looked at each other as they continued laughing, then Maka jumped down and sat down, leaning against the supporting wall that she was just standing on.
"So, what do you do for fun?" Soul took out another Lays chip as he tossed it in his mouth and turned to look toward Maka.
"Well, I have a bucket list I'm working on and I like astrology." Maka looked down as she scooped out another spoonful of pudding.
"Oh ya? And what's on this list?" Soul asked curiously as he took another sip from his juice pouch.
"Well, I've numbered them, and one being the most important task to complete, and the numbers increasing according to the fact that they are lower on my list. So, things like witnessing a miracle, being in two places at once, getting a tattoo, things like that." She smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Oh, and what's number one?" Soul asked as he opened a box of animal crackers.
"I can't tell you." Maka answered somewhat sternly.
"Why not?" Soul was surprised.
"Because then I'd have to kill you." Maka poked a hole in her juice pouch as she began to sip from it.
"Oh." Soul raised his eyebrows as he leaned back, unsure of what exactly she meant. Suddenly the bell rang, the two of them stood up, gathered their things and walked down the stairs as they chatted and laughed at each other's jokes.
"Well, I gotta get to my last class, then I gotta head out right after school. I've got community service stuff to do." Soul shrugged as he grabbed his backpack and his books from his locker, which was right across from Maka's.
"I also have just one class next, then I'm also off after school. Ironically I'm also doing some community service. What may I ask, do you do for community service." Maka inquired.
"Tutoring." Soul answered quickly.
"Oh, really? Me too." Maka gave him a closed eye smile.
"Cool, I'll see you then." Soul nodded as he walked away at the sound of the bell.
"Alright then." Maka nodded at him as she walked over to her locker, pulled out her books and walked to study hall.
One evening as Maka was sitting out on her porch swing, she heard a noise and looked up to see Soul carrying a small yellow-cream bag in one hand, and the other he ran through his snowy hair. It was beginning to get cold and thus he wore a baggy navy sweater with loose fitting black jeans and a pair of black high-tops.
"Hey." He waved at her as he walked up to her porch. She waved back and smiled as she said,
"Hello. What are you doing out here?" Maka inquired.
"I have something for you." Soul took a seat as they both looked over at the small bag, Soul handed it over to her and she had a surprised look on her face.
"Thank you Soul." She smiled brilliantly as she opened to find a creamy-yellow camisole.
"It's lovely Soul, thank you, you really didn't have to." She smiled as she held it up and looked at him with kind, thankful eyes. As she leaned in to hug him, the door opened and Maka's father walked out, arms crossed and a stern face. He was wearing a blue button up shirt to match his eyes as well as black dress pants, glasses on, and a Bible in one of his hands, apparently preparing for the next sermon.
"Good evening Mr. Evans." Spirit called out coldly as he sized up Soul.
"Good evening Minister Albarn." Soul replied in a cool, kind-hearted tone.
"I guess I best be going then, I'll see you at school Maka." Soul got up and waved goodbye to her.
"Yes, and thank you again for this lovely sweater." She nodded at him as she began to wave goodbye. As Soul walked off, Spirit had something to say,
"I don't like the looks of that boy Maka." He stated in a matter of fact tone.
"Dad, it's just a sweater. Nothing more." Maka smiled.
"Fine, but be wary of him." Spirit scoffed as he went inside. Maka smiled as she placed the sweater back, rose, and went inside to start dinner.
Days passed, Soul and Maka began to have lunch together, and hung out after completing their community service hours, and they wound up becoming good friends. And in no time at all, fall season had come to an end, and Soul constantly found himself asking if their relationship would ever become anything more. Soul finally decided to go seek out Minister Albarn and ask for his permission to date Maka.
Thus the following day, he decided to go to the church and find Minister Albarn and ask him for permission to date his precious daughter.
"Aa-hem." Soul cleared his throat as Spirit looked away from his sermon and looked over at Soul, rather disappointedly.
"Yes, what is it Mr. Evans?" His tone was cold and unfriendly.
"I'd like to ask for your permission to date Maka." Soul asked earnestly.
"Ha, that's ridiculous, you're wasting your time. You may as well go out the same door you came in." Spirit waved Soul away as he went back to his sermon.
"Look sir . . . Minister Albarn, I'm simply asking for the same thing you preach in church every Sunday." Soul was stern, and endearing.
"And what's that?" Spirit put his sermon down as he looked up at Soul.
"Faith." Soul fisted his hands, as he gave a stern expression.
"Hmm." Spirit was rather shocked. He thought to himself for a moment as he gave a small smile as he looked back up at Soul.
"Alright then, I'll give you what you want, but if you lay a hand on my daughter, all Hell's wrath will be on you boy. Understand?" Spirit waited for Soul's response.
"Yes sir." Soul gave a solute as he nodded his head and went out the door. Once Soul was finished with this meeting, he decided to visit Crona and ask for forgiveness, to which took him quite some time to agree to it.
"Wow Soul, I can't believe you went and asked for my father's permission." Maka giggled as her blond curls bounced and her jade green dress twirled. She wore that same creamy-yellow camisole Soul had bought for her. She wore a matching green headband to pull the majority of her bangs back, and she wore green heels.
"Ya, me too. Haha." Soul pulled her chair out. He was wearing black dress pants, a nice leather jacket and a red button down shirt with a tie and black dress shoes. His hair was gelled back and he had the tendency to try and run his hands through it when he got nervous, only to remember how hard he worked to keep his hair back. And each time he'd be temped to cuss, he'd say "crap," and Maka would begin to giggle. They both enjoyed dinner, and even began to dance to the live band, Soul was smooth on his feet, and Maka leaned on his shoulder as they went around the floor a few more times. Soul then paid the bill and they were off. Soul's mother was kind enough to allow Soul to use her car, rather than driving Maka around in the cold night air on his bike.
"Where are we going?" Maka asked curiously.
"It's a surprise." Soul winked.
"Oh?" Maka asked as she tilted her head.
"Ok, were here." Soul stopped the car as they got off the car, Soul helped Maka out, and ran her over to the middle of the street where two large signs were posted on wither side of the street.
"Ok, ok, where are we?" Maka turned to look at him.
"Just trust me ok. Put one foot here, and the other here." Soul pointed to two different spots on the center of the road.
"Ok, now what." Maka looked up at him.
"You're straddling the state line. You're standing in two places at once." Soul stood back as he smiled, seeing her facial expression transforming from a confused look to a brilliant smile.
"Oh my gosh." She began laughing as she observed that she was straddling the state line. As she took in the moment, she looked up at the stars and ran over to him and gave him a hug. He spun her around as they both began to laugh, walking back over to the car as the pushed up against each other. They sat down and began chatting as Soul brought out some form of stickers, showing Maka; once again she was confused as far as what the stickers were for.
"They're tattoos. Which one do you like?" Soul asked as he watched Maka bite her lip as she looked over the different stick-on tattoos.
"Hmm." Maka observed the different tattoos; she was stuck between the star and the butterfly.
"The butterfly." Maka pointed to a blue and black butterfly as she smiled brightly.
"Nice, where do want it?" Soul looked up at her, and then quickly looked over her body.
"Hmm, here." Maka took off her camisole as she pulled her dress down and exposed her shoulder. Soul's mouth nearly dropped to the floor as he observed her creamy white skin; he smiled as he prepared the butterfly tattoo, placing it on her shoulder as he began to press the tattoo onto her skin with a damp sponge. He then slowly peeled off the paper and began to blow on it in order to allow it to dry. As he pulled away, he smiled; Maka turned her head and glanced down at her shoulder, barely able to see the butterfly tattoo and beamed.
"It looks good." Soul grinned at Maka as he gave her a wink and sat back and watched her response.
"It's beautiful Soul, thank you." Maka smiled sweetly as she gently touched it as she looked up at him and gave him a "thank you smile."
"Uhh, dam-darn it." Soul leaned in close to Maka as he placed his hand on her face; she gave him a deer in the headlights look.
"Maka, I think I might kiss you right now." Soul leaned in closer, as his lips were centimeters away from hers as he observed her face.
"I might be bad at it." Maka breathed out, clearly she was holding her breath.
"That's impossible." Soul breathed out as his lips brushed against her in a chaste kiss. Maka's eyes shot open as in juxtaposition to Soul's closed eyes. Maka felt how dry his lips were against her moist lips, once she got used to how it felt, she closed her eyes and took in the moment. Soul pulled away slowly, leaned his forehead against hers as they both smiled.
"Alright, let's get you back now. Your dad's probably worried sick." Soul smiled as they buckled up, started up the car, and left.
"Hey Maka, we're here." Soul gently nudged Maka awake as he helped her out of the car.
"Oh, sorry for falling asleep." Maka yawned as she got out.
"No, it's fine. Hey I've been meaning to ask you. Why do you believe in God? I guess I just don't really understand why you have so much faith in Him and all that." Soul shrugged as they approached her porch, until she stopped, feeling the light breeze going through her hair.
"Well, God is like the wind. I can't see Him, but I can feel Him; He constantly surrounds me." Maka smiled as Soul merely grinned, walking here up to the door as they gave each other a good night kiss. Maka opened the door and Soul went over to his car, having a small victory dance inside his head.
Weeks went by as Soul and Maka began to grow closer, their relationship becoming more and more serious as they began to hold hands, Maka wearing Soul's jackets, and the two were even found kissing in public; to which Spirit did not approve of.
One afternoon, Soul was bringing Maka back from a date when Spirit opened the front door.
"Maka, come inside please, I'd like to talk to you for a moment." Spirit demanded in a stern voice.
"I'll see you later ok." Maka smiled at Soul as she kissed him.
"Ok." Soul held her face for a moment before she left to go inside.
"What is it Papa?" Maka asked as she sat down on the couch.
"The way you're acting with that boy . . . it's as if the two of you were-" Spirit started.
"In love?" Maka finished as she rose, walking to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
"Yes, it's not right!" Spirit raised his voice in frustration.
"Well, it's true Papa, I love Soul, and he loves me." Maka smiled brilliantly as she continued to work around the kitchen.
"It's, it's sinful Maka!" Spirit's face turned red in frustration.
"Papa!" Maka scolded.
"Just think of what your mother would've said." Spirit lashed back.
"I think mother would have wanted me to be happy." Maka turned to him and smiled.
Spirit was astounded, not finding the right words to respond. He simply sat down on the couch and seemed to simply meditate on her answer.
"Hmm, well then I guess I'll have to trust you on this." Spirit finally looked up earnestly at Maka and smirked.
"Thanks Papa." Maka grinned back as she approached him and went in to embrace him.
"Hey, you ready for this?" Soul approached Maka as she was setting up her telescope.
"Hey." Maka put down what she was doing and went up to greet Soul with a kiss and a hug. Soul swung his backpack off his back and placed it on the ground.
"Kind of a creepy date babe, in a cemetery, and at night to top it off." Soul chuckled as Maka turned and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Well, you didn't HAVE to come, darling, I was just trying to be nice and invite my boyfriend to spend some time with me doing something we could both appreciate." Maka walked toward him and poked his nose.
"Hmm, gazing up at the stars can be pretty romantic." Soul leaned back as he looked her over, drinking in every inch of her body. She was wearing a pair of boot cut jeans a T-shirt and Soul's letterman jacket, her hair was in a loose side braid and her long bangs were hanging over her angelic jade eyes. Soul was wearing a pair of loose fitting jeans, a black T-shirt, a large black leather jacket and a black beanie with a skull and cross-bones on one side. They both made sure to dress warm on this cold night, Maka was wearing a pair of warm boots; Soul simply wore a pair of combat boots and called it even, though the gloves did help to keep his hands warm.
"So, what do you want to see?" Maka leaned forward as she looked into his deep red eyes.
"Hmm . . . Jupiter." Soul looked over and answered her.
"I think I can manage that, but how late do you plan on staying out tonight?" Maka tilted her head as she looked at his expression, being somewhat devious.
"All night babe. Oh, and I'd like to watch the sunset with you." Soul winked at her.
"Hmm." Maka sat back and crossed her arms as Soul closed his eyes, smiled and rubbed the back of his head. He then reached over toward his backpack and pulled out a large warm blanket along with a thermos with hot coffee.
"You planned this didn't you?" Maka huffed at she looked at the contents in his backpack.
"Yep, I got a nice big blanket and some hot joe." Soul smiled and seemed to be carrying a scheming grin across his face.
"Hmm, I see. So is this an attempt to seduce me?" Maka put her hand on her hip.
"Are you seducible?" Soul looked her up and down, raising an eyebrow.
"No." Maka shook her head as she began to laugh slightly.
"Thought so, I brought this too." Soul pulled out another warm blanket and handed it to her.
"Thanks." She smiled at him as she then leaned on his shoulder. They just lay there a moment, taking it in. In less than an hour's time, they decided to rise and look out at Jupiter and they were in awe of its beauty.
"You know, this is pretty nice." Soul looked down at Maka who had just finished up a cup of coffee.
"Hey look, a shooting star!" Maka pointed out as she sat up.
"Let's make a wish." She smiled as Soul chuckled.
"Sure." He smiled as he simply went along with it. As they both lie down and slowly fell asleep, they thought about what they really wanted with all their hearts' desire.
"Mmmm, Maka . . . warm." Soul snuggled up to Maka and realized that the sun was already beginning to rise.
"Sh-crap Maka, the sun's coming up." Soul nudged Maka as she slowly began to open her eyes and realized that they had fallen asleep.
"Oh no, I think I need to go home. My dad will be worrying about me." Maka slowly began to raise, as her body seemed to be somewhat weak as she stumbled, Soul managed to help balance her out.
"Whoa, you ok?" Soul asked as he looked to see if she was ok.
"Y-ya, thanks. Sorry about that, I guess I'm still a little tired." Maka held a hand up to her head as she looked at him and gave a soft chuckle.
"Ya, I'll walk you home ok?" Soul looked at her as she nodded.
After they put up the telescope, they both walked hand in hand to Maka's house as Soul dropped her off and promised to meet her for a late dinner.
"So I'll see you tonight?" Maka asked.
"Ya, I'll pick you up around?" Soul smiled.
"Sure." Maka kissed his lips softly as she slowly pulled away, a part of her not wanting to let go, as Soul smiled, his hand slowly falling down to his side as Maka's was slipping out of his grip.
Soul had taken Maka out to a small shopping center as they went to a "hole in the wall" Italian restaurant and were walking off their dinner.
"It's a nice night." Soul smiled as he wrapped his arms around Maka's small torso as he looked down at her.
"Ya, it is." Maka smiled weakly.
"Hmm, so what do you plan to do after you graduate? Like what colleges are you looking into?" Soul asked.
"Oh, I'm not applying anywhere. I'm actually not going to college." Maka somewhat shrugged the answer to the side.
"Oh, so um are you going to get a job or something?" Soul looked at her questionably.
"No, that's not what I mean." Maka pulled away from him.
"I don't get what you're implying?" Soul looked at her.
"Soul, I'm sick." Maka turned as she had a distraught look on her face, her hands fisted at her sides as her messy blond hair swung around with her, her bangs hiding the tears in her eyes. She wore his leather jacket with a simple t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
"Do you want me to take you home, or to the doctor? Do you want some soup? I can care for you at home." Soul ran up to her as he held her hand.
"No Soul, you don't understand. I have leukemia." She began to cry as Soul's expression turned into a frown.
"What? How could you have leukemia? You're, you're perfect." Soul began to laugh nervously, slowly beginning to feel tears gliding down his cheeks as he clenched his teeth and fisted his hands. He was wearing jeans and a sweater with combat boots.
"It's true, I stopped taking treatment." Maka choked out.
"But, I-I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Soul was beginning to grow angry.
"Because I didn't want you to act weird around me. I haven't told anyone else either." Maka began to slightly walk toward him.
"I could see why you wouldn't tell anyone else, but me? You thought I'd act weird around you? So you kept this from me?" Soul was trying to go forward, but Maka wouldn't let him get too close to her.
"I especially didn't want you acting weird or different around me!" Maka's voice cracked.
"Geez." Soul huffed out as his hands went straight to his silvery-white hair as he gripped his head, feeling like he wanted to scream, cry, and curse all at the same time.
"The doctor's did what they could, but, I just wanted to live a normal life, and then you came along. They said I was doing better; you helped me get this far Soul. And now, I don't know, it's hard for . . . for me sometimes. I do NOT need a reason to be angry at God." Maka choked out as she turned away and went home.
Soul got in his car and simply began driving, not thinking, he was afraid to think, he knew if he started to, he'd realize too much, how life could be so cruel, bitter sweet, and merciless. Before he knew it, he was in front of his brother's house, his eyes watering as he got off the car and began knocking at the door.
"Hey Soul, what are you doing here?" Wes answered the door, his long black hair was hanging in front of his eyes, his brown eyes looked curious, and his light skin glowed in the moonlight. He was wearing a pair of expensive PJ's, a cigar in hand, and a glass of alcohol in the other.
"H-hey Wes. I n-need your help. My girlfriend, she has l-leu-leu-leukemia, could you help her out?" Soul choked out as he leaned forward, almost putting his hands on his brother's shoulders.
"Well Soul, I don't know anything about her. Her medical history, her files, anything-" Wes began, until Soul cut him off.
"So you can't help?" Soul asked as he felt a burning sensation within the pit of his gut began to surface.
"Now Soul, don't." Wes tried to reach out for Soul but was unsuccessful.
"I knew this was pointless." Soul put his hands in his pockets as he skulked away.
"Dad, dinner's ready." Maka managed to speak, though her body felt as if it was getting weaker as the days went on. It'd been a week since she'd talked to Soul.
"Ok, I'm coming." Spirit entered the room, but froze when he'd noticed how pale Maka was.
"Maka, are you feeling ok?" Before Spirit could even finish his question, Maka had began to slip toward the floor, Spirit managed to catch her as he pulled his phone out and called 911.
Soul's POV:
There she was, lying in in that despicable hospital bed, looking practically lifeless, only the machines detected a heartbeat from her. She looked like an angel, with her soft hair fanning around her angelically pale face, her long lashes spread out over her soft cheeks. If it weren't for all the wires, IV, and other equipment prodded and poked into her perfect flesh, she could almost, almost, be considered beautiful.
I hated this waiting stage, to see when she'd finally open those big, beautiful jade eyes of hers. But she wasn't moving, just enough to show faint evidence of her breathing, making me worry every passing second. Then suddenly, her eyes began to twitch, almost as if she was about to open her eyes, it had been hours since she'd been here, and now finally she was ready to wake up. My heard felt as if it was going to leap out of my chest, I even felt as though I was holding my breath, unable to face the fact if this was . . . our last moment together.
"Mmm." Maka moaned lightly as she slowly opened her eyes as she began to bat her eyes, she turned to look as me and smiled. As she pulled her oxygen mask down, she smiled and looked at me.
"Hey." She said as she reached out for my hand.
"Hey, glad to see you're awake." I smiled as I kissed her hand; her face flushed a soft rose color, as she seemed to giggle, though she sounded weak, as if it took all the energy within her in order for her to make that one sound.
"How you feelin'?" I asked.
"Ok, thanks. Where's my dad?" She looked around and saw her dad in a corner sleeping. She simply smiled and turned back toward me.
"I didn't want to wake him up." I whispered as I lifted my hand to tuck some of her hair out of her face and behind her ear. She pulled her hand up and put it atop mind as she closed her eyes and smiled, as if she was saying "thank you."
"How long have you been here?" She whispered softly.
"Since your dad called, so about the whole day." I smiled.
"Hey, can you do me a favor?" She looked at me earnestly.
"Sure." I nodded as I slowly took my hand away after she let go.
"I have something for you." She turned toward a small table by her bead to pull out this book it looked like a journal.
"This was my mother's. It has all her favorite quotes, Bible verses, and anything that had a great affect on her is written in here." She smiled as she flipped through the pages, looking for a certain quote.
"Here, could you read this for me?" She asked politely.
"Ya sure. 'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil bur rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preservers.' Wow, that's . . . amazing." I smiled for a moment as I noticed Maka had been mouthing ever word, clearly having this quote memorized by heart.
"It was her favorite, mine too. It's from First Corinthians chapter thirteen, verses four through seven. She would read it to me every night, and when I would miss her, I'd look it up in the Bible and read it to myself, remembering the way she read it." Maka smiled as tears trickled down her eyes slowly.
"It's an awesome excerpt." I smiled at her as I leaned forward and gave her a kiss. Suddenly, her father awoke, coughed lightly as he rose and greeted his daughter.
Another two weeks had passed, and I was beginning to worry for her, some days she would appear to be in good spirits as well as healthier, but others, she looked as though it would be her last day on earth. Thus I made sure to be with her 24/7, even if that meant little to no sleep, I refused to let her alone for less than a second. Spirit had actually come to me and told me to get some sleep, I wound up getting a small cot brought in so I could stay in the same room with her, just to end up waking up in cold sweats, only to realize she was there resting the whole time. It seemed like it was getting harder and harder to sleep, almost impossible even. I had a feeling that I should also go and check up on my mom, I hadn't talked to her in a few days. I'd simply told her what had happened to Maka, and that I needed to be by her side. Mom's been too preoccupied with work in order to visit, but she said she'd come out tomorrow during visiting hours. Thus it was important that I get some sleep; I then closed my eyed and tried to sleep again, this time I was a little more successful.
"Hmmm." I turned over, and suddenly realized the sun was coming in, the blinds were open, and no one was in the room.
"Huh? Where's Maka?" I jumped out of the small cot and looked around the room, but there was no sign of her, thus I walked out of the room and heard some voices coming from down the hallway.
"Oh hey Soul. Hmm, good morning." There she was, in all her shimmering glory. She looked like a new woman, her hair was down and framing her face, she wore a simple pink dress with a white camisole with a pair of pink and white polka dot ballerina shoes. I smiled at her as we walked towards one another, she was looking up at me and I was looking down at her, she was the first to hug me with all her strength, I began to laugh as I felt she had regained it within a matter of days.
"You look good Maka." I pulled back to get a better look at her, her eyes were bright and reflecting the sunlight, her skin was also showing some color, rather than that pale appearance it had at first.
"Thanks, so do you. It appears as though we both got some much needed rest." She smiled brilliantly.
"Ya." I tucked some hair behind her ear as she leaned her cheek into my hand.
"Oh, and I have great news! You're brother is paying for at home care, isn't that wonderful! Tell him thank you for me." She grabbed my hand as she jumped around.
"That's-great." I smiled; though it felt fake. I was too shocked to know if this was really happening.
Later that day Maka was taken back home by her father and I got all my things together and dropped them off at home, Mom greeted me and she asked how Maka was doing, I wound up telling her everything and told her I had to be somewhere. I then got in my car and drove off, I couldn't believe I was going back to this place again, but it had to be done.
I knocked on his door and waited for a response, I felt as though there was a frog in my throat, hoping that I would be able to speak he opened the door.
"Soul." Wes was shocked to see me there, but he seemed to know why.
"H-hey." Damn it! I was getting all chocked up. Then he suddenly embraced me, as if to say "you're welcome." We both simply cried in each other's arms as I mustered up enough breath to say,
"Thank you!"
"I can't imagine what you're going through right now man. I'm always here for you little bro."
"Thanks." We patted each other on the back as I said my goodbyes, knowing there was still one more place I wanted to be.
"Hey, tell Maka I said hi." Wes waved goodbye to me as I left.
"Will do."
*Knock*Knock*
"Coming." Spirit hollered as he walked towards the door.
"Hi Mr-"
"Please Soul, Spirit is fine. I've been meaning to tell you to thank your brother for me." He ruffled the back of his head as he smiled genuinely.
"Sure, I just wanted to see how she's doing." I looked behind him to see if I could spot her.
"Sure, sure. Come on in, she's in her room." Spirit point towards that direction.
"Thanks." I smiled as Spirit welcomed me in.
I knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
"Come in." Her voice was gentle and sweet, and even sounding fairly strong compared to how she sounded just a few days ago.
I opened the door slowly and saw that she was facing away from me; she was opening up her curtains to take a look outside.
"Hey." As I greeted her, she turned around and walked towards me.
"Hi." She put her arms around me and gave me a light kiss.
"You're looking well." I smiled at her as I lifted her chin, kissing her on the forehead.
"Hmm, you don't look too bad yourself." She teased.
"Hmm, do you want to go out today?" I asked as she smiled and rolled her eyes as she thought about it.
"Sure, why not." She shrugged her shoulders as I picked her up, twirled her around and sat her down on her bed.
"Hmm, let me see what I'll wear." She looked in her closet and pulled out a Pendleton jacket, pulled it over her plain white t-shirt and she slipped on a pair of white converse and grabbed her wallet and stuffed it in her pocked.
"Ok, I'm ready." She turned and smiled at me.
"Ok, let's go." I grabbed her hand and we were out the door.
"Hey, if you can't stay awake, you should go to sleep." I told her as she looked up at me with those big jade eyes. We were sitting on her porch, looking up at the stars, she insisted on staying out since there'd be a meteor shower later tonight.
"It should happen soon. Just a little bit longer." She moaned as she snuggled into my arm, I pulled the blanket up and made sure to cover her. About an hour later, it started, and I made sure she wouldn't miss any of it.
"Hey, Maka wake up, it's happening." I nudged her.
"Hmm, oh wow!" She gasped in surprise as she jolted up in awe; the night sky was lit up with shooting stars darting across the black sky, the new moon made it even more splendid.
"That's cool." I huffed as I sat back, wrapping my arm around her as she looked at me, smiled, and gazed back at the night sky. Those twinkling stars reminded me very much of a special gift my mom gave to me not too long ago. I remembered to carry it on me in order to take it out at just the right time.
"They look just like diamonds." Maka mumbled under her breath, as she seemed to close her eyes and recall her wish.
"They sure do. Hey, can I ask you something?" I looked down at her.
"Sure, what is it?" She opened her eyes and turned to look at me.
"I was thinking, would you ever consider getting married or anything?" I looked at her honestly.
"Well, I never really thought about it. I'm not totally against it. I'd honestly like to have one child, I'd really love that, but it can be pretty risky." Maka shrugged her shoulders.
"I see. Hmm, a kid, that's a lot of work." I leaned against her as I reached for my pocket and went down on one knee.
"What if I told you I wouldn't mind having a kid with you?" I looked deep into her eyes as I pulled out a red velvet box.
"Oh Soul!" She raised her hands to her face as she gasped; she was beginning to become teary eyed as she began to smile.
"I know I'm not perfect, and probably not the best match for you. But I swear I will keep loving you for all eternity and I'll always be faithful to you. Heck, I'll even go to church with you on Sundays if that's what you want. And I figure, if your dad said I was 'good enough' to even think about asking you, and then I thought maybe-" she suddenly put her finger over my lips as she smiled and told me,
"Just ask the question Soul." She couldn't hold back the tears anymore.
"Maka Albarn, will you marry me?" I asked as I opened up the box to reveal a vintage diamond ring, it was shimmering as brightly as the stars, but was a modest size.
"Oh Soul!" She wrapped her arms around me as she nodded her head and began to whisper, "Yes, yes, yes," in my ear over and over again. I cannot begin to describe the amount of joy, relief, happiness, and hope that I felt in that single moment of my life. The ring fit her perfectly, and she already knew she'd be wearing her mother's dress.
We got married in her father's church; it was a simple ceremony with close friends and relatives only. And she looked, like an angel coming down the isle. It was a traditional white lace wedding dress probably from the late seventies, early eighties, but it didn't matter to me, she was just simply breathtaking. With a long veil, her hair down and curled, simple makeup, long sleeved dress with a small train, and wearing my grandmother's wedding ring. We exchanged our vows after Minister Albarn (Spirit) read First Corinthians chapter thirteen, verses four through seven. We had a short reception after the ceremony and went straight to the whole "working on the kid thing," and I must say, we were very successful. It was a girl, precious, small, and just like her mother, but healthy and no thus signs of leukemia. We raised her together for her first year of life, but Maka's body weakened and I was with her through her final moments, but I had to ask her something.
"Maka, what is number one on your list? I want to make sure that your wish comes true." I managed to ask, though ears, and the lump in my throat didn't help.
"Don't worry about it, you already made it all come true. My wish was to be with you, forever, to get married, and have a child. I know you'll be a great father Soul. I love you, I will always love you." She reached her hand out to hold my tear-stained face one last time.
"Maka, I love you too . . . forever." Then, she was gone, just like that.
A small girl with light skin, long light blond hair with icy tips and ruby red eyes was getting older, sometimes asking about Mommy. All I could tell her was that Mommy was busy being God's angel, and especially her guardian angel. I was able to manage getting a job, along with applying to med school, Spirit helped me look after Kami and I was able to finish school. Over the years I was able to forgive my friends, and Liz and Patty even gave me the pictures from our high school play.
Spirit and I decided to give Maka's mother's journal to Kami, and I'd read her favorite quote every night to her. She ended up being a daddy's girl, and on some occasions, I'd tell her about her mother, and the love we'd shared for each other over the years. Each time, a tear would escape me, but I would always tell her,
"Our love is like the wind. I can't see it, but I can feel it; it constantly surrounds me."
I tell Kami that everyday to remind her that our love for our daughter will never die, just like my love for Maka will never diminish, but it will grow stronger every single day for the rest of my life until I see her again.
The End