Maka was dressing in her room. She was putting on a black silk spaghetti strap dress with a tight fit. She slipped on her cherry-red heels and added the finishing touches to her make- up. After at least an hour or two of preparation she finally felt ready. She ran her hand through her hair, which was down, and opened her door.

She saw Soul in the kitchen, standing by the open fridge, and walked over to him.

Still searching the fridge he said, "I thought you'd never be ready; took you long en—"

He had finally turned to see her and he looked surprised. "You—Wow, Maka, you look… Really great."

Maka smiled and curtsied. "Thank you." She looked at him in his pants and button up shirt. "Are you ready, then?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Uh, yeah, I think so. Let's go," he said. When they were heading out the door, he put his hand on her back to guide her and held her hand so she could balance as she walked down the steps in her stiletto heels.

Soul got on his motorcycle and held out his hand to help Maka up as well. When he was sure she was securely seated he revved the engine and backed out of their driveway.

He could feel Maka's hands slide around his torso as he sped up, zooming through traffic and between cars, and her head rested on his back.

They were heading to a party that a student from the academy was hosting. It was someone they didn't really know but Black*Star and Tsubaki did, and they had invited them along for the fun.

Within a few minutes, Soul and Maka were already pulling up to the driveway of the party. Soul got off the bike and again held out his hand to help Maka, which she accepted graciously. Then he put his arm out like he wanted to escort her. She gave him a questioning look.

"Just thought I'd try to be a gentleman," he said giving one of his twisted, teeth-barring smiles.

"Oh," Maka said. "Well, thank you." She grabbed his arm around the bicep and they started walking towards the door.

Before they had even reached it, the door was opened by a kid wearing a leather jacket who looked at them and said, "You must be the guys Tsubaki and Black*Star invited." They stared at him blankly and he sighed. "Well, come in, then." He left the door open and walked back into the house. Inside they could hear loud music and laughter.

Soul looked at Maka. "Ladies first," he said gesturing inside. She blushed slightly and walked in as Soul followed close behind…

The party was in full swing when they entered. Some people were dancing, others were talking and laughing loudly, and one kid had passed out from drinking too much. Maka and Soul anxiously searched the boisterous crowd for their friends.

When Maka spotted them she grabbed Soul gently by the arm and pointed, feeling the overly loud music would drown out her voice. He nodded and held her hand to lead her through the thick crowd. They waved at Tsubaki and Black*Star, who finally saw them.

Black*Star raised his eyebrows and looked at Soul, who was still holding Maka's hand. Soul shook his head at him and he frowned.

Confused, Maka glanced at Soul who smiled and leaned over to whisper, "Don't worry about it," in her ear. She frowned slightly, but let it go as they reached their friends.

The boys high fived and then Black*Star grabbed Soul's shoulder and said, "We'll be back in a second," and they walked off.

Soul was not looking forward to their talk. He looked back to see Maka and Tsubaki starting a conversation of their own and turned back to his friend.

"What do you want?" He whispered aggressively.

Black*Star laughed. "When are you gonna make a move on her?" He asked loudly.

"Be quiet, you idiot!" he said. Then whispered, "… I'm working on it, okay?"

"Not fast enough. Someone could steal her right out from under you."

"What are you talking about?" He looked angry. "Does she like someone else?"

Black*Star shrugged. "How would I know? I don't spend all my time with her. And I'm just saying…"

"Damn it," Soul mumbled.

"Hey, don't get all pissed off about it, just ask her out and you wouldn't have to worry."

"She might say no."

His friend laughed again. "The only star nearly as big as me is you, Soul, she won't turn you down!"

"Agh," Soul rolled his eyes. "Fine… I was hoping to do it tonight—"

"Do it!"

"Shut up! I'll do it, okay! I just need to find the right time…"

"Whatever you say, just as long as you don't wuss out or anything." He started walking back to the girls. After a second longer, Soul followed.

Tsubaki and Maka turned and smiled as their partners came back. Soul smiled awkwardly back at Maka and stood next to her.

Damn it, I feel like such a looser, this isn't cool. I need to talk to Maka…

He tried to think of words that she might find amusing but nothing really came to mind. Suddenly a soft, slow-ish song started playing and he had a good idea. He looked at Black*Star who winked at him. He turned to his partner.

"Maka…" he began. She looked at him and smiled. "Would you… like to dance?" The words came out slowly.

She nodded. "Sure, Soul."

She turned to start walking to the dance floor and he put his hand on her lower back to lead her. He turned around and glared at Black*Star who smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

Once they had reached a clear enough space, Soul put one hand on Maka's waist and his other held her hand. They started dancing slowly.

He felt like he should say something to her, but he wasn't sure what would sound good. He wanted her to have a good time and to laugh but he had no inspiration. He felt like such a loser that he actually wished Black*Star could be there to give him a pep talk. After a few seconds of staring at her, he thought of something decent to say.

"You look really beautiful tonight, Maka."

She blushed slightly and looked down. "Thank you, Soul." She seemed to come a little closer. Their faces were very close together, and Soul felt like it might be a good idea to kiss her, but suddenly the song ended and the people around them became noisy again; the mood was ruined.

Frustrated, but still determined, he asked, "Would you like to go somewhere a little quieter? Like outside, maybe?"

"Yes, that would be nice," she said.

She's so hard to read… I can't even tell if she likes me or not…

They went out the front door and as Soul held it open for her, he looked back at Tsubaki and Black*Star and nodded. They waved and he followed Maka out.

When he shut the door, the noises from the party seemed to vanish and he and Maka were alone. They started walking.

He could hear her breathing, calm and cool, but she could also hear his, which was quick and heavy.

"Are you okay, Soul?" she asked.

He was startled by the question. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just… Well, there's something I wanted to tell you…" He scratched the back of his head.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" She sounded concerned.

"No! Nothing's wrong, I just…" They were standing face to face. Nervously, he reached out and held one of her hands. With his other hand, he wrapped his arm around her and held her by her back. She looked at him with slightly surprised eyes. "Just…" He rested his forehead against hers.

He gently pushed her body closer to his, turned his head, and kissed her.

"I think you're wonderful, Maka."