A/N: I got a prompt over at tumblr Kissing to Save the World, and I immediately thought of the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, so it borrows a lot of ideas from that, but the story should be easy to grasp even without having seen the anime. Enjoy! And don't forget to leave me your feedback!

The Melancholy of Soul Evans

"Maka! Hey, Maka!"

Maka shut her eyes tightly, swatting away at the hands that were shaking her. It was far too early to get up for school, and she needed her minimum of six hours of sleep. She groaned and tried to roll away, away from those annoying hands and that very familiar voice that kept calling her name frantically and worriedly. It was then she noticed the solid ground instead of the soft surface of her mattress underneath her. She blinked blearily, her vision clearing as she took in the red and black checkered tiles, the grand piano illuminated by a single light from above, the deep red velvety curtains. Her eyes widened. She knew this place, and it was not her bedroom.

"Soul?" she mumbled, disoriented and confused, the fabric of her dress crinkling. The storm in his agitated red eyes calmed somewhat when she heaved herself into a sitting position, the relief evident on his face. Wait? Dress? What happened to her pajamas, the embarrassing pink cotton pajamas with heart patterns? The dress was also familiar as was the cellphone in her hand. Soul had made fun of her because it was so old it could be a fossil from olden times. "Soul, what's going on? Where are we?"

He ran a hand through his hair, and loosened the tie around his neck right after. Oh, he was wearing that nice suit he had worn at the ball, which had lead her to ogle him shamelessly, in particular the way those pinstripe dress pants of his hugged his butt.

"Well, I have no idea why we're here, but this looks very much like the ballroom my people had rented for that charity ball," he said, voice calm, as his eyes darted back and forth, his grasp on her shoulders tightening as his nervousness rose. "Don't ask me how we got here. I just remember being in my room and falling asleep, and when I woke up I was here...so were you."

A Closed Space, Maka thought to herself as they got on their feet, Soul warily studying their surroundings as if he were expecting someone to attack them.

"Hmm, did you see Kid?" she asked. His face contorted from barely hidden trepidation to annoyance, his lip curling into a snarl.

"No, why should he be here?" he snapped and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Maka shrugged and opted to ignore his little tantrum. "Just a hunch I had."

He mumbled something under his breath, something she didn't bother to catch because she knew it'd be the ridiculous concoctions of his imagination regarding her and Kid, and it'd just make her angry and him just even more prissy.

"You don't seem to be surprised at all that we're in this place, Maka."

Actually she was surprised, surprised that he was here as well. "Let's...have a look around, maybe we can get back somehow."

Maka had met Soul Evans, or Soul Eater, the ridiculous nickname he occasionally went with, when they had both started their first year in high school together. He seemed normal enough; somewhat of a jerk, somewhat broody and relatively quiet and sarcastic, with a dark sense of humour. He was also a perceptive individual and a good person at heart plagued with extreme bouts of low self-esteem, which he hid quite well.

She didn't know how, but he had somehow bullied her into joining his….Visual Media Appreciation Club, which in all honesty was just a fancy way of saying anime club, but Soul was too much of a prissy snob to call it that. She'd had no intention of joining a club like that, because Maka Albarn was made for debate clubs, for chess clubs, or for the volleyball team. Well into the first two months of high school, their two-member club had accumulated a decent quantity of members─ Kid, who had joined the club on the next day, Tsubaki, who was a foreign exchange student from Japan and quite possibly Maka's favorite person in the club, and Black*Star, the class idiot full of neuroses.

Yes, they were an eccentric bunch, but normal high school students regardless, and Maka would always defend the claim that she was the most normal and well-adjusted member of society out of their whole group. Even sweet and kind Tsubaki could be...weird, what with her partiality for perverted comics and manga. Normal, yes.

Figures they were not normal aside from Maka herself. It had been Kid who had dropped the bomb on her. He was an esper, Tsubaki was a time traveller, and Black*Star was an alien. Of course, going through life with a healthy dose of scepticism and being all around adverse to bullshit from people thanks to her father, Maka hadn't believed him and had outright laughed at his peeved face. The closest she had come to believing in that moment had been Black*Star being an alien. That actually had seemed closer to the truth than anything else.

Maka would have preferred the option of Kid being just crazy, instead of the one where his words proved to be the truth, which she came to realize the moment Kid displayed his...psychic powers, turning her shrill laughter into a garbled shriek when he emptied the contents of her bag with his mind.

So if Tsubaki was a time traveller, and Black*Star an alien, and Kid an esper, where did that leave Maka and Soul? Apparently, they had all coincidentally been given the same task by their respective bosses, meaning keeping an eye on Soul 'Eater' Evans as he had the power to alter reality to his whims.

A power everyone in the club was aware of except for Soul himself.

And that was how Maka found herself involuntarily babysitting her classmate and making sure that he never found out about his powers. Yeah, she had wondered about Kid's reasoning about that, too.

"But wouldn't it be better if he knew about his powers and learned to control them?" Maka had asked dubiously.

Kid had given her a look that was similar to the one she had been subjected to when her left pigtail was a little askew. "Maka, Soul is fifteen years old. There is no worse kind of person to possess godly powers than a pubescent hormonal teenager."

Maka had to agree somewhat hesitantly, although it made her wonder why a teenage boy with a severe case of OCD should have full knowledge of his psychic abilities in that case. Maka was sure that deep down Soul did have a basic amount of human decency and sense of responsibility in his heart, making her doubt that he'd ever be so reckless as to recreate the world. At least, he'd never choose to do it on purpose. However, if Soul never knew about his powers in the first place, he wouldn't ever have the chance to decide to fuck it and do with the world whatever he pleased.

She sighed as their steps echoed through the deserted ballroom, her heart constricting uneasily. What if they never made it out of this Closed Space, out this realm that Soul had unconsciously created? Where was Kid? Shouldn't he and his fellow espers already be working on getting rid of this space?

They made their way down a winding staircase, a clearcut replica of the one in the actual world right down to the little indent on the first step at the bottom, where the pointy heel of her elegant shoe had gotten stuck and she would have fallen if it weren't for Soul, who had caught her gently by the arm only to hastily yank her back to her feet. Or that had actually been the plan, but in her momentum, she had lost her balance and had crashed against his chest instead, and she was still able to recall the way his heart had hammered against her ear. His eyes had been the most unguarded in that moment, raw with emotion as something she hadn't been able to decode had swirled in the depths of his burgundy irises.

Maka recalled the way it had made the heat shoot up into her cheeks, how she had blushed and stammered inelegantly when she had tried to untangle herself from his awkward embrace, even though she had enjoyed the sensation of his sturdy chest against her palms and the comforting warmth that had been oozing out of him. If Kid hadn't shown up, making his presence known by clearing his throat, Maka didn't know what else could have happened since she had been rather unsuccessful with trying to get out of Soul's arms despite all of her best (feigned) efforts.

They made a turn left into another deserted corridor and Maka reached blindly for the switch to turn on the lights; the darkness and stark quietness was getting to her, settling deep within her stomach and sending little waves of unease into her body. She gripped her phone more tightly, the dull display staring uselessly back at her, blank and empty. Regardless of how often she pressed the on-button, it remained a useless chunk of ancient technology. Their steps echoed hollowly through the hall, the noises of their breaths seemingly amplified as the only other sounds in the world. A shiver ran down her bare arms, which didn't go unnoticed by Soul.

"Are you cold?" he asked, already in the process of removing his jacket without waiting for her reply, ever the well-bred gentleman.

"Ah, I'm go-ood," she squeaked as he draped it over her shoulders, cursing her feeble heart for throwing what felt like a rave in her chest cavity, and her dumb voice that betrayed her at such a polite gesture. "Thanks," she muttered and averted her eyes to the ground, to the polished points of her only pair of high heels.

"It's cool." He rubbed the back of his head, a move she had come to associate with his nervousness. "You know it's not that bad, right?" he said, trying for a light-hearted tone, "There...I can imagine being stuck here in this weird Twilight Zone with worse company."

"I don't know if that's supposed to be a compliment." She wasn't sure if she was trying to sound affronted, or to match his awkward joking tone.

"A compliment. Definitely." And with that she was met with the full intensity of his blazing red eyes. She clutched the jacket more closely to her shoulders, unable to deal with being at the receiving end of such a gaze so full of adoration. At least, she thought it was adoration, even if Soul's unsavory comments about her breasts and hobbies made her more often than not doubt that he harbored any friendly feelings for her. "I really mean it, Maka. I mean, you're really cool actually, so I really don't think it's that bad to be here with you."

Were it any other moment, space, and time, Maka's potential blush would have made her face rival the colour of a ripe tomato, but they weren't in their clubroom, or anywhere close to the real world. They were in a confined space he had subconsciously created. A sudden chill shot through Maka's veins, all blood draining from her face.

"Soul, you-"

A crash cut her voice off, making them flinch; Soul quickly turned around and held a protective arm in front of her.

"It's coming from above, I think," Maka said calmly, keen eyes eying the end of the corridor, where the stairs were that they had just descended. Soul made a jerky nod, his shoulders tense as his outstretched arm trembled.

"I'll...I'll go look, maybe there is someone else here," he said, his voice sure and brave as he threw her a look over his shoulder, "You stay here, okay?"

Her lips parted to voice her protests, but Soul would have none of it, and with a rakish grin, he retraced their steps. Maka's heels clacked loudly against the ground, quick to follow, lest something happen to him.

"Maka." She stopped. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to calm her pounding heart as a red, vaguely human-shaped blob of light appeared in front of her.

"Kid? Is that you? What's going on? Why is Soul here in this Closed Space? I thought everything was okay, so why this all of a sudden?" she asked, her voice dropping to a frantic whisper.

Kid held up his faux hands, his head bowed dejectedly as he made a tinny sigh. "This is no normal Closed Space, unfortunately." Maka imagined his striking yellow eyes would have held hers in this moment where he raised his head. "Soul is intent on ending the world as we know it."

Her heart jerked and rattled in her chest only to drop down to her knees. Her fingers were trembling. "Why?" She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyesockets, giving them a good rub.

"I guess this is all my fault," he said, heaving another sigh. "He...he is jealous, has been jealous because he believes that we're more than friends."

"I'm sorry? He is trying to destroy the world because he is having a hissy fit of jealousy?!"

"He isn't aware that he is trying to do that, but yes, reality is reorganizing itself because he wants time alone with you," Kid's voice couldn't have been more dry in that moment.

Maka let out a groan. "So what are we supposed to do now? I mean, what about you and your esper friends? You can get this back to normal, right? That's what you do after all."

"I'm afraid not." She didn't think her heart could have sunken further down her body. "We're already trying all we can, and it wouldn't pose such a problem if this were a conventional Closed Space. It's up to you, Maka."

"But what can I do?" Her blood froze in her veins because she had not signed up for this, for heroics that went beyond the field of academics.

Kid let out another tinny laugh. "Well, if the world does end...you just start to repopulate it. You're the new Adam and Eve."

"Shut up!" she spluttered, red-faced, and raised a quivering fist in a half-assed attempt at a threat. "Besides, you need at least about a hundred people to repopulate the world incest-free!"

"That's hardly...the issue right now," Kid said dryly. "Look, this Closed Space will vanish if Soul wishes it. Maybe the new world he ends up creating will have us in it, too, but perhaps we won't ever know of each other in it. But I do hope we will meet each other again. If it doesn't happen, then..." he let his shapeless head drop, "I'm glad to have met you two, and I wish I could have gotten to know you better."

"H-hey Kid, don't talk like that, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other better." She didn't want to admit that she was on the verge of hysteria right now. Soul would never want to wish his friends away! Even if he butted heads with Kid on a passive aggressive level, Soul was not selfish enough to wish away the entire existence of a person. She shook her head, tried to drown out Kid's goodbye because her throat was clogging up in that annoying way it did whenever she felt she was in the verge of bursting into tears.

"I have messages from Black*Star and Tsubaki as well. She wants me to tell you that she regrets not having been entirely honest with you, and for that she wants to apologize. Black*Star tells you to check your phone. This is it, I suppose," Kid said quietly, and if his face had materialized properly, Maka was sure he would be giving her a faint, resigned smile. "Good luck, Maka." The red shapeless blob grew smaller and smaller as her anxiety grew exponentially higher. Her hand reached out to feebly hold onto whatever was left of Kid in the world that was about to meet its end, but her fingers went through nothing as her friend vanished completely.

Maka choked back a sob and furiously rubbed her eyes, taking a deep breath that did nothing to calm her nerves. What was she supposed to do now? What was going to happen to Kid, Black*Star and Tsubaki? They wouldn't be gone, would they? What about her papa...and her mama? She sucked in a shuddering breath that rattled her ribs, and pressed her palm flatly against her heart. Soul would never attempt to get rid of anyone consciously, but...but how could she be sure if all of that happened on a subconscious level. Her guts churned at the thought as all colour drained from her face, her cheeks pallid.

There was no way to tell how deep Soul's resentment towards the world went; she had never taken him for someone who was nihilistic or hateful of people, and she still couldn't align the Soul she had come to know and cherish with this...entity that seemed to be hellbent on ending the world, or reshaping it at least because Soul wouldn't want the world to end. Who was to say though that he wouldn't like it different; different people, different laws, different everything. But Soul was not destructive, not violent by nature even if he was uncouth and sarcastic. Perhaps...no, she was sure Kid and the others would still be present in the new world, but she might not meet them again. She couldn't let it come to that. Maka had come to respect and love these people, and she wasn't going to give up on them now!

She had to tell Soul! A sudden wave of dizziness hit her; it was so easy! Just tell Soul, tell him that he was the strongest being on earth, strong enough to cause the apocalypse. He'd...He just had to make it all stop. Closed Spaces would vanish in an instant and everything would turn back to normal.

Her gaze fell upon her phone. Black*Star wanted her to check it? She couldn't even turn it on. Tentatively she pressed the on-button again, gasping in surprise when the display was drenched in cheap pale light. She squinted her eyes at the small screen, and saw a little cursor blinking back at her, with the solid letters B*S above.

B*S_ yo nerdlette

In spite of everything, Maka's head pounded with irritation at the stupid nickname Black*Star had given her. Why couldn't he stay serious just for once?! Even though it was tempting to cuss him out, Maka decided to rein her anger in; she took a few calming breaths, gathered her thoughts and sorted her priorities into the right order. Avoiding the apocalypse should be at the top of her list, not bitching at Black*Star.

M_ What is it?

Her fingers danced clumsily over the buttons, and she wished, now more than ever, that she had one of those fancy smartphones instead to make the typing easier.

B*S_ kid probably told u everything u need to know. the world is ending because soul's having a massive angst fest over u.

Maka's eyebrow twitched. Was he trying to blame her for all of this? If those were going to be Black*Star's last words to her in an attempt to say goodbye, he may as well not have contacted her at all. Or asked Kid for the proper the way to do it sans Adam and Eve references.

M_ Right. I think I'll tell him about everything. I don't know how else to stop this.

B*S_ are u fucking stupid? don't tell him! what makes u think it's not gonna get worse? the data overmind believes if soul finds out about his powers and becomes aware of them, he might not be able to control them at all.

M_What else do you suggest I do then? Maka gritted her teeth, the familiar feeling of dread sinking into the pit of her stomach like a fucking boulder. The cursor just blinked blankly, so she tried again. What should I do, Black*Star?

For a moment she thought he was gone, making the marrow in her bones freeze, but then the screen flared back to live again.

B*S_ what do you think sleeping beauty WANTS u to do, just─

And the screen went black. With it her last hopes were flushed down the drain. Her knees buckled weakly, boneless, as she pressed her trembling lips together, abject terror bubbling up to the surface of the frail sense of calm she had been forcing herself to maintain. Maka might have given in to the urge to wail, but a sickening crash made her flinch and jump.

"Soul?" she called out fearfully, her feet moving of their own accord as she retraced their steps, her heart jumping into her throat. He should be okay, right? He couldn't possibly be harmed in a Closed Space he created for himself and her. Yet her legs broke out into a sprint as she gathered her skirts in her hands to run faster, her heels making this difficult. She knelt down and kicked them off, her bare feet noisily slapping against neatly polished wood. She climbed up the stairs hastily, her lungs burning as her hands became sweaty against the satiny fabric of the dress. Almost. "What the hell are you doing, you idiot?" she gasped out, eyes narrowed into tiny slits when she saw him standing there stiffly, dumbfounded and transfixed.

The Demon was there. Maka's eyes widened. The Red Demon, with the giant head and ridiculous horns, she had already seen once in another Closed Space Kid had shown her with his fellow esper friends. Only this time, the Demon was much bigger, its teeth much sharper, its manic grin more menacing. It slowly, staggeringly, turned its ugly bulbous head around, black pupilless eyes glinting with murderous glee, and it was all that Maka needed to make her act.

Her fingers wrapped around Soul's wrist tightly, yanking him towards the door. He put up no resistance, even if he cursed at her for manhandling him without warning. Soul stumbled awkwardly behind her as if his legs were made of soft jelly instead of the firm muscle she knew he had.

"Maka, where are we going?" She gritted her teeth as she pushed open another door, dragging his prone body behind her.

"I don't know, but definitely away from that thing!"

"I-I don't think it's gonna harm us," he panted, his hand still limp in her grasp, but he broke into a deliberate run as well and caught up with her. At her perplexed look, Soul elaborated hastily, "Sorry, I can't really explain it, but I don't think it's out to harm us." His voice wavered at the end as if he himself realized how unconvincing his reasoning sounded. But of course he'd think that, and she couldn't exactly blame him what with the Red Demon being a product of his power. However, she refused to watch passively as the Demon destroyed the world she loved.

She gave a tug at his wrist, lips set into a straight grim line, her muscles alive with adrenaline as her brain was going haywire. What could she do? It was all up to her, but she wasn't anything special like Tsubaki or Kid or Black*Star, so why had Soul chosen her? He never failed to remind her how plain and boring she was, how she needed more exciting hobbies. Yet he had picked her as his...companion, the one constant thing he wished to be in his life, while the rest of the world changed and contorted to his unvoiced wishes. Was that why he was so calm about the Red Demon? Did he somehow know that it was going to do what Soul pleased in the end?

What had Black*Star been trying to tell her? Sleeping Beauty? Black*Star was known for his derisive nicknames and sarcasm.

He's throwing an angst-fest over you, he had told her.

He wants time alone time with you. He is jealous, Kid had told her.

What do you think Sleeping Beauty WANTS you to do?

Sleeping Beauty.

Thinking about it now the answer seemed so simple. Yet Soul had never explicitly expressed any romantic interest in her. She grimaced. Leave it to him to make it known that he loved her by trying to end the world. Her head sagged with dejection. He seriously needed to work on his communication skills. Apparently, so did she. Her bare feet came to a skidding halt in the center of the grand ballroom, the one where they had danced together, however grudgingly. He was yanked back when he registered too late that she had stopped running, his eyes wide and bemused.

"Maka, what?"

Biting her lip, her fingers slid up from his wrist to take a hold of his silky tie. Her brows furrowed as she absentmindedly studied the material of the very thing that had made her skin flush and the temperature in her body double the first time she had seen it on him, her heart beating in a frenetic rhythm. Faintly, she could hear the Red Demon approach them with heavy, destructive steps, could already imagine the manic grin stretched unnaturally over its grotesque face. She raised her head stiffly, scowling as she she looked at him with a petulant glare. This was probably not the ideal expression to sport when she was about to admit to him something she had sworn she would never ever say out loud. She let the crease between her eyebrows smooth over, eased her face into firmly set determination.

"I have a thing for formal wear," she said, only to cringe afterwards.

"Haaah?"

"When you wore that suit, you looked so good it was criminal," she admitted, her cheeks ablaze with embarrassment as her thumb rubbed against his tie.

"Uuuh, I'm not sure what's going on, but don't you think this is not the time to...to say stuff like that?" His gaze flitted over her shoulder, watching the brittle door they had stepped through warily.

Maka shook her head, her grip on his tie tightening as her free arm reached out to wrap around his neck. Soul took a step back, more out of confusion than anything, so she didn't let it deter her. This was it. The culmination of countless mortifying fantasies she had carefully kept buried beneath a thick layer of denial and irritation. Her glimmering stare beckoned his gaze as his mouth fell open to breathe out her name. They both jumped when the door was smashed open, the Demon stepping towards them, but Maka did not look at it.

"I mean it, Soul. You look really handsome with a tie," she said with conviction, and raised herself on the tip of her toes, angling her head towards his, as she pulled him down by his tie.

The moment their mouths met, glaring lights exploded behind Maka's eyelids. Literally. Soul momentarily tensed up in her arms, but welcomed the clumsy caresses of her mouth. His lips were startlingly soft, she thought to herself, as his arms finally found life of their own and wrapped around her, pulling her closer. He breathed through his nose, pressing his lips more insistently against hers.

Even though she couldn't see it, she could sense the lights dancing and squirming together as the Demon vanished, as the red walls dissolved, little particles of light and colour floating in the air before they were sucked out of this reality, the reality that was ceasing to be a reality.

She let out a squeak when his mouth opened slightly, and the kiss became less a kiss out of a fairy tale, but more the kind of...adult kisses straight out of those books Tsubaki liked to read, and had once given her as a present. He nibbled on her bottom lip, and when had their chests molded together like this? She didn't remember stepping closer to him, didn't recall when he had pulled her flush against him, chest to chest.

The tips of her fingers tingled when she let go of his tie to run it through his soft hair, the nails of her other hand digging into a shoulder blade as her skin crawled with heat, making her forget about how the world had almost ended. There was nothing but Soul, Soul and his lips, Soul and his shy hands trying to hold her in a way that was not suggestive. Soul and his-

There was a moment when she felt herself being invaded by blazing red, but then there was nothingness, a vacuum, and she was falling but there was no ground to fall on. Her stomach lurched.

"Ouch!"

She gasped and ripped the blanket that had tangled around her like a freaking octopus off. Her eyes were disoriented from the lack of light, her hair a mess and her pajamas drenched with sweat. Maka blinked. Ran a hand down her pajama pants, studied the big goofy hearts with their smiley emoticon faces, and then looked at her surroundings more closely.

The desk with her neatly gathered writing supplies and the folders she had been looking into was where it had always been, her bed still under the window as the pale blue light of the crescent moon streamed into her room. She sucked in a deep breath. Her room! She almost jumped to her feet in happiness, her lips curving into a bright, relieved smile. However, she merely heaved herself back onto her bed, breathed in the smell of her pillow, relished in the feeling of familiarity, of normalcy and the thought that she had to wake up for school tomorrow. She grinned.

She did it!

It was as if absolutely nothing had happened. There were no signs, that the world had barely managed to avoid the apocalypse, and Maka guessed it was perfect that way. The sun was hanging bright and merry in the cloudless blue sky, the people were chatting happily with each other. Clearly, the great weather was having a positive effect on their mood, too.

Maka inhaled deeply through her nose, enjoying the mild fragrance of flowers when Tsubaki bumped against her shoulder, sporting a bright smile. She didn't even bother with the usual pleasantries, but cut right to the chase.

"That was a close call, wasn't it?" Tsubaki said with a tinge of nervousness in her voice. Even though it had been pretty scary, Maka giggled into her palm, feeling lightheaded and full of relief.

"You could say that. Stupid Soul," she whispered without a trace of contempt for her classmate, her cheeks tinting pink.

Tsubaki elbowed her slyly, her mouth curling into that devious smirk she had whenever she was reading one of her weird M rated books or comics. "Soooo, how did you get him to stop wanting to change the world, Maka?"

"N-none of your business," Maka spluttered and bowed her head, stubbornly refusing to look at her friend. It was silent for a few minutes, and it was only when they were leisurely strolling through the overcrowded corridor to their classroom that Maka spoke up again. "It makes me wonder though...if he wanted me why didn't he just...I don't know, use his powers to make me want him?"

Tsubaki made a thoughtful hum. "I think deep down he wants you to genuinely return his feelings without manipulating yours."

Maka nodded. "I see, though wanting to end the world as an alternative is rather drastic, don't you think?" she laughed, making Tsubaki giggle.

"Who knows though," Tsubaki said as her laughter subsided and her voice dropped down to a serious whisper. "This actually might be the new world Soul decided to create for himself, but we are none the wiser." Maka let that sink in for a moment and even though Tsubaki had a valid point, Maka doubted it. She didn't feel any different, but then again how reliable was that conclusion if her classmate had the power to rewrite the universe, including her memories of a world long gone?

When they stepped into their classroom, it was like any other Tuesday morning, except that Soul was wearing a finely pressed, pale blue dress shirt with a matching tie. That really shouldn't have made her heartbeat increase the way it did! She sat down on her usual seat in front of him and straddled her chair, looking at him inquisitively.

"Hey, Soul?" she beamed at him, noticing only now how tired he looked. And he had still taken the time to dress so nicely.

He cracked one eye open and pulled an earbud out, the sound of relaxing jazz just audible. "Hey," he smiled only to break into a yawn. "Ah yeah. I barely got any sleep, because I had this weird ass dream," he blabbered on, and maybe he would have continued if he hadn't realized that the very star of his dream was sitting right in front of him. He awkwardly coughed into his hand and folded his arms behind his head, leaning back. "Anyway, how are you?"

"A dream, huh?" She smiled coyly, thoroughly enjoying the flush that crept up his cheeks. She played with her bangs in an attempt to hide her own blush, and mumbled towards the corner of his desk, "You're looking really good today."

Soul almost fell down backwards in an ungraceful heap of legs and limbs, but caught himself before his chair could tip back. He let out a sigh, only to shoot her a half-hearted glare when she started to laugh.

"Shuddup, this isn't funny!", he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly. Grumbling under his breath, she didn't catch the words his gruff voice hid, "You too, I guess."

"Pardon?"

He shot her a glare and clenched his fist as his face took on a curious shade of red, almost matching his eyes. "I said you look good, too," he huffed and averted his gaze out of the window as his compliment registered in her brain, making her clutch the backrest of her chair for support.

"A-ah, thanks," she mumbled, feeling, much to her embarrassment, her face flaring with heat as let her head sag to her folded arms atop the backrest.