Hello Readers! This is my first fanfiction I've ever had the guts to post on here. Just a few little things before we get started: This is part one of a three part series I've been working on for some time now. I already have the entire thing written, so it will probably all make it on here eventually. Also, because I wrote this before joining the website, there is one thing I should explain. Apparently when you copy and paste your document the italicized letters don't come out that way and you have to go through and redo the entire thing. Well...I don't really want to do that. Also, by slight alternate universe I mean SLIGHT. I use elements from both the anime and the manga, but mostly the manga. I hope you all enjoy! :)

Soul Eater manga and characters (c) Atsushi Ōkubo and Studio Bones

All Original Characters you don't recognize (c) Me

PART ONE

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Mr. Evans

Soul tapped his foot repeatedly on the pavement as he waited for his partner, Maka, to get home. She now was having weekly dinners with her father, which Soul thought was nice for a change. In spite of everything she said about him, he could tell that Maka was aware that her father loved her. Soul sighed, thinking about the mission he was on. He was sweating through his black leather jacket all day. Today wasn't going to be cool.

"Hey Soul. Sorry I took so long," Maka said with a smile. "Papa wouldn't stop blabbering again so I had to...are you okay?" Soul snapped out of his daze.

"Who, me? Yeah, I'm fine." His partner plopped herself onto their cream-colored couch.

"You don't look fine," she said, but she quickly shrugged it off.

"Maka," He cleared his throat. "Are you...doing anything this Sunday?" The question came as a complete shock. Maka sat up a little in her seat.

"Not that I know of. Why?" Soul shut his eyes and tried to act casual.

"We were invited to dinner," he spoke hesitantly. "6:00, Sunday evening." Maka cocked her eyebrow. It wasn't every day the two were invited to go somewhere.

"Oh, really? That's exciting! Who invited us?" The room was silent for a moment. The air whizzed around with a dull humming sound. Soul opened his eyes and sat up but didn't look at her. Letting out a big sigh, he uttered.

"My parents."

"Your...parents?"

"Yeah. I got this last week in the mail." He handed her a folded piece of paper.

"I've never even heard you talk about your family..."

"You don't have to go."

"No! I want to go!" She said cheerfully. Soul looked at her, half shocked, half annoyed. "I think it's wonderful that your parents still want to be involved in your life."

"I think it's stupid. And anyway, I don't think it's such a good idea for you to visit their place. Especially if..." His voice trailed off. One face bled into his mind as he shivered at the thought.

"Soul. You deal with my Papa on a regular basis. Your family couldn't possibly be worse than that, could it?"

"You shouldn't assume things. That's how you get disappointed." Maka's face churned into a distorted scowl.

"I'm going to have to find out for myself then."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"I want to go, Soul!"

"I would prefer if you didn't."

"I want to meet my partner's family! I know absolutely nothing about your past, yet you know everything about mine! Isn't it time I learned?"

"I...I don't want you to meet them."

"Why?"

"I just don't! That's all. I would rather stick my hand in a blender than sit at that stupid awkward dinner table! You don't know them like I do."

"But Soul..."

"I'm telling you it's best to just forget the whole thing! I promised my mom I would ask you, but really it's a bad idea. I'll just tell them you're sick or something. Or better yet you got injured in battle, that'll get you off the hook for a few weeks."

"You don't think I can handle it?"

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?! Why can't you just let me come see your family once? Please Soul. I feel like I know absolutely nothing about you!"

"You didn't care so much when we first met!"

"But it matters! I have a right to know the people you grew up with! It will only make us stronger!"

"I don't want you to go."

"But..."

"You're not going, Maka!" His outburst struck a chord with her. She sat down trying to suppress her anger.

"Why? Give me one good reason." Soul was still.

"Because...if you do, nothing will ever be the same between us. No matter how hard you try to stay the same, your opinion of me will change. And that's not cool."

"I thought you were over being cool." Silence. "Come on, Soul. It's just dinner. How bad could it be?" Soul stood up and made his way over to his bedroom.

"Bad," he whispered as he shut the door behind him. He knew he would have to fight hard for her to listen to him. Maka fiddled with her fingers. What was Soul's problem? Was his family really that horrible? She didn't think so. Nobody really likes their parents. It was probably just him being obnoxious. Still...his resentment for them seemed to be rooted in something deeper. The door creaked open and Soul stepped out. He glared at Maka for a long time before speaking. "We'll need to go shopping, get you something suitable to wear." He watched as Maka's face brightened up with a grin from ear to ear. Her cheeks flushed with excitement.

"Really?! You mean it?" She asked running towards him to give him an embrace. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck in a perfect fit. Soul stiffened his body before rolling his eyes playfully.

"But you're cooking and doing the dishes all next week."

"It's a deal!" At last, Maka thought, I'll finally be able to meet Mr. and Mrs... "Hey Soul? What is your real last name anyway?"

"Evans." The word brought a chill down his spine. "Soul Evans."

"Cool," she said. He grimaced. No Maka. Not cool at all.

"Whoa! Are you seriously going over to Soul Eater's house for dinner tonight, Maka?" One of the girls in Maka's class asked. She smiled excitedly.

"Crazy, right? Soul never talks about his family. Then all of the sudden one day we're invited over for dinner. Probably as a congratulations on becoming a Death Scythe, huh?"

"It's strange. No one knows anything about who he is or where he comes from. You're his partner and even you don't know everything about him."

"It sounds suspicious to me."

"Let's all calm down now," Tsubaki entered the room. Her long black hair tied perfectly in a bun. "Are you ready to go, Maka? Black Star and Kid are at the arcade so we can have time to get you ready."

"Right." They said goodbye and headed down the street to where Tsubaki lived. "Hey Tsubaki..."

"Yes?" Maka looked down at her feet as they walked.

"Do you know anything about Soul's parents?" She looked startled by the question, but simply smiled in her cheerful way.

"No. Not even Black Star really knows what happened between them. He just said that Soul is really sensitive about his home life so he doesn't talk about it much. Why? Are you nervous?"

"Soul said he didn't want me to go tonight, but I insisted. It'll be rough, but I feel it's necessary. There's so much I don't know about him, even though he's my weapon. He's so mysterious and to himself when it comes to his past. It bothers me a little."

"Just one dinner won't be so bad."

"Also, he said...after tonight I won't view him the same way. I wonder what he meant by that."

"I'm not sure." They arrived at Tsubaki's house and went directly up to her room. When they got there, Liz and Patti were already there. Maka jumped.

"What are you two doing here?" Maka stuttered.

"Makeover time!" Patti exclaimed as Tsubaki lead a shocked Maka into the room.

"Kid told us you were going to Soul's Parents' house for dinner. That's a big deal. So we decided to help you out!" Liz explained. "First impressions are always important! You don't want to screw this up, Maka!"

"Don't worry," Tsubaki said sweetly. "You're already beautiful so we don't have to do much."

"So here! Put this on!" Liz shoved the black cocktail dress into Maka's hands as Patti lead her to the bathroom to change. Liz unraveled her lipstick almost menacingly.
"You're not leaving here until you sparkle!" The other girls backed up nervously. Liz was quite scary when it came to looks.

Soul stared at himself in the mirror in Tsubaki's bathroom. His sharp black suit and red tie made him look much more sophisticated than he actually was. But despite his dashing appearance, his face was twisted into a distasteful frown. It didn't matter how good he looked, he was going to see his parents again after 2 years. And what was worse, this time he couldn't protect Maka from the truth. She would eventually discover everything about his past, everything he did and resented. Soul growled. Whatever happened that night, he would remain by her side. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"Soul?" It was Tsubaki. "Soul, are you almost ready to go? Kid says he will give you two a ride in his car so you wouldn't have to take the motorcycle. Would that be okay?"

"Yeah, hang on." Soul straightened his tie and checked himself in the mirror one last time. Perfect, he thought. I look just like an Evans. He opened the door revealing not a shy, sweet Tsubaki, but a bubbly excited Patti.

"Sh! No peeking!" she exclaimed placing a finger over her mouth. "Maka! Come on out." A muffled voice came from up the stairs.

"Oh...okay," the voice quivered.

"No! Maka!" Another louder voice came booming out. "You're not done yet! Your blush isn't the right shade! I need to finish curling your hair! Please! Maka!"

"Liz! I'm fine! It's just dinner." The door swung open as the girl stepped out. Soul had to take a double take. Her hair was no longer in their usual pigtail form, but fell elegantly down from her head, framing her face. Some strands of her hair were curled but most of it looked natural. Her dress was a simple, black dress but it had a nice flair that fit Maka's personality. But that wasn't what Soul was looking at. No, what he couldn't get over were her bright green eyes that seemed to sparkle with innocence. "Do you think this is nice enough?" The boy cleared his throat.

"Yeah. It's perfect," he said trying not to daze. This wasn't going to be a fun night, he reminded himself. It didn't matter how nice Maka looked with her hair down.

"Great! Let's go then!" She took hold of Soul's wrist and whisked him out the door. Tsubaki and the other girls giggled. Perhaps it wasn't going to be as bad as Soul was imagining it would be. Only time would tell.