Look out the window.

Tell me what you see.

—

"Hello. My name is Maka Albarn." This was said with confidence, spoken with pride. The new student held her head up high as murmurs and whispers broke out amongst the students seated before her. The teacher turned his gaze from the classroom to her with an open file in his stitched hands. "Miss Albarn, your seat will be in the last row, fifth aisle." Her eyes quickly scanned the seats until she found the one that was soon to be hers. Upon finding it, Maka swiftly made her way over to the empty seat. She wasn't in love with it's location but she didn't completely dislike it either. Yes, it was in the last row but she was an aisle away from the windows. No doubt, she should be able to see some beautiful scenery at least once or twice this school year.

As she settled down in her chair and pulled out a brand new notebook and a pencil, she noticed that the teacher had already begun his lecture. About dissection. Wait, was she in biology? That can't be. Her schedule clearly says that this class was her homeroom. Mildly perplexed, she turned to her left, mouth open ready to ask her neighbor if she was in the right class. But as her eyes fell upon her classmate, Maka was stunned to the point that her voice did not cooperate. The boy that she was stationed next to was, simply put, gorgeous. His odd white locks beamed from the sunlight pouring in from the windows. It made her curious as to what eye colour he could possibly possess. A striking ice blue? A shining gold? A hypnotizing hazel? A stunningly bright green? Or possibly a deep, rich brown?

By the time she finished running through the possibilities in her mind, Maka noticed that she had come to mimic his pose. Torso leaning forward, elbowed propped on the desk, her cheek resting in her hand as her arm held up her head. The difference between Maka and the boy was that she was busy staring at him, while he was busy gazing at something outside of their classroom walls. Maka found herself wondering what he was looking at. She moved her gaze from the head of ivory hair to the bright outdoors. Was he staring at the flowers and the bees and the butterflies? Or was he gazing at the trees and the birds and the squirrels? There were endless possibilities of what he could be looking at through the crystal clear windows.

Maka Albarn, the new student at Shibusen Academy, ended up pondering the infinite choices for the rest of class.

By the time the last bell rang, Maka had to peel herself out of her chair and reluctantly headed for the exit. But still, the boy sat there. On her way home, Maka mentally started to nag at herself. Not only did she not take notes but she doesn't have a single clue what the homework was. Not to mention that she was seriously starting to regret not asking that boy for his name.

—

The next day, as Maka entered the classroom, she was positive that she would have been the first to arrive. It was still really early and she doubted that even the teacher was there yet. But as she opened the door, she found that she was not the first student to arrive. Rather, she was the second. The boy had gotten to school before she had and positioned himself in the exact same pose as yesterday. Quietly, she made her way over to her seat. Settling down, she pulled out her empty notebook and a pencil before leaning back in her chair. Turning her head, she focused her eyes on, once again, the boy. Something about him truly intrigued her. Maka found herself brushing it off as nothing more than the fact that he had pure white hair that had drawn her in. Once more, she opened her mouth with the intent of sparking up some idle conversation only to discover that her voice still did not want to work. Closing her mouth, she found herself pouting at her peculiar situation.

Softly, Maka cleared her throat. "You're here early," her voice did not sound the same as yesterday. The once confident voice was replaced with a meek tone. Maka almost felt her eye twitch due to annoyance at herself. The boy did not react. He didn't even move an inch. So Maka tried again. "You're here early." Her voice was a bit louder and she felt as though it had gotten a little easier. But still, he did not reply. After two more tries, she was finally able to get the boy to hear her. He slowly turned his head just enough to see her before giving her a simple "Hm." She couldn't even get a glimpse at his eye color; his hair had foiled her.

"So, what's your name?" she asked. "I'm Maka." She smiled, waiting for the boy to turn around and tell her his name. It took a few seconds but eventually he turned towards her. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" His voice held no sarcasm, but she had barely even heard him. She was too lost in the color of his eyes. It wasn't a striking ice blue. Nor a rich brown. Rather, it was bright crimson. Pulling her attention away from his stunning eyes, she tried to remember what she was suppose to be saying. "Yes, I asked you what your name was," Maka hastily said before she lost his attention. "Soul," He merely said. Maka was taken aback, 'Soul? Seriously?' Sitting back in her seat, as more students arrive, Maka couldn't help but over think the whole thing. 'What kind of name is Soul?'

She kept thinking about it even when the teacher came in and began to, well, teach. Too lost in her own daydream about 'Soul', she didn't notice when the teacher stood right in front of her and her neighbor until he slammed his books onto their desks. Snapping out of her daze, Maka looked up to the upset teacher, Mr. Stein. "Maka Albarn, I understand that you are a new student but that should give you all the more reason to pay attention," he lectured sternly before turning to 'Soul'. "And you Soul, you should show Maka the proper thing to do; not pull her down with your antics." And with that, the teacher walked back to the front of the room. People still stared at Maka for a few more seconds before turning their attention back to the teacher, but those few seconds were enough to make the girl's face acquire a faint pink blush. Turning her head slightly, she looked over to her partner in crime. 'So his name really was Soul,' Maka thought to herself. Everything about him continues to peak her interest more and more. Discovering his eye colour, finding out his name, all of that did nothing to satisfy her curiosity. If anything, it compelled her to find out even more. Focusing on the board, Maka began to diligently take notes as Soul simply went right back to staring out the window.

—

After a few more days of minimal word exchange, Maka was able to pull a conversation out of the white haired boy. "Hey Soul," Maka started, like she always started, "You don't talk a lot, do you?" Soul, still facing the window, mumbled, "Yeah." His habit of constantly staring out the window, even when talking to her, was beginning to really piss Maka off. "Why won't you look at me when I'm talking to you?" Maka suddenly blurted out on accident. Slamming her mouth shut, she waited to see what Soul would do; after all, it was too late to take it back. In reply, Soul turned away from the window and looked at her. With his red eyes pinning her down, Maka couldn't help but notice just how awkward the situation got. "Uh, nevermind. Forget it," She spewed in a desperate attempt to ease the awkwardness in the air.

Turning back, Soul returned to his typical position before he grumbled, "That's why I don't look." Barely catching what he said, Maka repeated it out loud, "That's why you won't look? What?" Thoroughly confused, she scooted closer, just in case Soul was going to mumble his reply again. "I meant what I said," He spoke a little louder. Satisfied with the volume of his voice, Maka leaned back, "I still don't get it." For a straight-A student, Maka was pretty dumb at the moment. "I don't look at you when you talk because when I did look at you, you got scared," Soul said. Maka blinked a few times while her brain processed what he just said. 'He thought I was scared?' "I wasn't scared!" She shouted. "It just got a little awkward and I didn't know what to say!" Soul, not believing, continued to stare out the window, "Right."

Determined to show him that she wasn't scared, Maka stood up and walked around Soul. Stepping in between him and the window, she looked right into his burning red eyes, and huffed, "I said, I wasn't scared." They remained in the same position for a minute or two, having started a staring contest with one another. Without blinking, Soul said, "Then why do you stay quiet every time I look at you?" Without thinking, she blurted, "Because I like your eyes." It took a few seconds but as she saw Soul's face change into slight surprise, Maka realized what she had just said. Once again, awkward. With a very small smile, Soul chuckled a "Huh."

Their conversation was cut off as soon as more students began to enter the class. Maka and Soul always seemed to stop talking whenever there were other people in the room. She returned to her seat and Soul being Soul, he resumed his habit.

—

The instant the last bell rang, everyone flooded the exit in their attempt to get out before others. Maka slowly began to pack her things, refusing to get mixed up in the mob at the door. Before she knew it, the classroom was empty except for herself and Soul, who as always, remained in his seat in the same old pose. "Soul?" Maka questioned. "Hm?" Soul answered. "Aren't you going home?" Maka inquired. Without looking at the blonde girl, Soul replied, "In a bit." Okay, now she just had to ask. "What are you always looking at?"

Soul didn't answer. Walking over to Soul, she tried to see what he was seeing. After all, this was the question she had been asking herself since the very first day of school. Sensing her presence, Soul said nonchalantly, "Look out the window. Tell me what you see." Blinking, Maka did as he said. "I see busy streets filled with crowds walking and cars flying past them," She told him. He replied with his usual, "Hm." Maka then added, "What do you see?"

After a few seconds, Soul mumbled under his breath, "Living hell."

Before Maka even had a chance to blink, Soul had already stood up with his bag in his hand and was walking out of the classroom.