Intro
"Thank you, have a great day!" Maka said with a smile. Maka hands the woman her bag, and she walks out of the store. Maka sighs happily, placing her hands on either side of the cash register and looking out the window. Unlike most people, she actually enjoyed her job. How could she not? She works in a music store with her closest friends. Who wouldn't enjoy that?
But of course, every rose has its thorn. And the thorn that stuck Maka everyday all day was none other than Soul Eater, one of her coworkers. Not only did he not care about work, he constantly teased Maka and his attitude sucked. Maka never thought it was possible to dislike someone as much as she disliked Soul. But never hate; hate was too strong of a word.
The sight of him walking through the door sent an angry tremor through Maka's body. He was late, like always. But Maka willed herself to be calm as he walked by with a smirk. I love my job, I love my job, I need the money, I need the money...
Maka
The worst day of my life started with me being early, because I would never be late to work.
I was opening the store today, so I usually get there early to make sure everything was in order. I lock the door to my apartment and walk down the street, inhaling the fresh morning air. I love living so close to work.
The walk to the mall was quick, like usual. I see a long black ponytail standing next to the music store door, waiting. Tsubaki turns and smiles at me. I smile back.
"Good morning!" I said, skipping over to her. She laughs at my childish antics, her clear blue eyes shining in the sunlight.
"Good morning, Maka. How'd you sleep?" She asks politely.
"Good! What about you?" I ask. She nods, smiling. We had to wait for our manager, Justin, to come unlock the building for us, so we began to chat to pass the time.
"How's Black Star feeling?" I ask, referring to her sick boyfriend. She gives an exasperated sigh, making me laugh.
She chuckles slightly. "After much harassment for me to care for him, he's doing much better. He'll be coming in a little later." She said. I nod, smiling. Just then, I saw a blonde haired boy with earphones walking up. I smile and wave at Justin, who reciprocates my action.
"Good morning, girls." He said kindly, unlocking the door. We say good morning, but judging by how loud his music is, he probably didn't hear us. He holds the door open, and we walk in.
"Do we need to put the sign out again?" Tsubaki asks, referring to the promotional sign advertising our current sale. Justin nods and walks to the back of the store. Tsubaki and I grab the sign together and pull it out, its size too great for only one of us to move.
Once out neatly, Tsubaki and I go back into the store. She assumes her role behind the cash register, and I begin rearranging some CDs. I didn't mind working on the floor; I got more interaction with customers.
The store music comes on. I begin dancing around to the beat, making Tsubaki laugh. I laugh too, grateful for what my life was like now.
Although I shouldn't be so unfair to Papa. He was providing payment for me to finish college, but his constant flings with women hurt me. It wasn't until Mama left that I'd been driven over the edge. I'd begun making preparations to leave. Tsubaki had been my life-line, helping me pack and find a new place to live. When college let out last month, all I needed was the key to my new apartment.
I'd left in the middle of the night on my bike, leaving nothing but a scribbled note saying that I'd call later. Once at the apartment, I'd unpacked all night, too riled up to sleep. Papa called around 8 the next morning, crying into the phone and begging me to come home. I'd calmly explained to him where I was, why I was there, and that I'd most likely not be coming home. He wailed at the sound of this.
Before I'd hung up on him, I gave him my address in case he wanted to visit. He's visited a few times, and they all usually end with him begging me to come home and me throwing him out. Did he really think I'd want to live with him forever?
"Excuse me, ma'am?" A small voice asks. I snap back to reality, and see a young girl and her mother standing before me. I smile.
"Yes, how may I help you?" I ask politely, bending over more to be eye level with the girl. She looks at her mother, who gives her an encouraging smile. The girl's eyes wander as she asks her question.
"Do you have the, um, new Taylor Swift album?" She asks quietly.
I beam at her. "Of course we do! Here, let me show you. I've already listened to some of it, it's so good." I said, guiding them over to our new releases section. I pull a CD copy from the rack and hand it to her. Her face lights up.
"Thank you! I'm going to listen to it the minute I get home!" She promises. Her mother laughs, walking her daughter towards the cash register.
The girl looks at me with hopeful eyes, and I walk them towards the register. "And when you come back to the mall, make sure you stop in and tell me your favorite song on there, okay?" I ask. She nods, her smile stretching even further. Her mother gives me a thankful smile, and turns towards Tsubaki to check out. I wave goodbye to the girl and walk towards some new people that just entered.
"Where is he, Black Star?!" I demand, standing angrily with my arms crossed. My shift had ended 30 minutes ago, and my relief has yet to show up. I wouldn't care as much as I normally did, since him being late wasn't new, but I'd already clocked out, so I wasn't getting any pay.
Black Star shrugs. "How am I supposed to know, Maka?! You think I would waste time on something as stupid as knowing where Soul is?! I am a GOD, woman! I have to focus on..." He begins rambling, waving his arms in a crazy manner. I'm thankful there aren't many customers in the store to listen to this.
I walk away from Black Star and his outburst, and over to Kid at the cash register. Kid was hunched over the it, reorganizing the money drawers. I sigh to myself; he does this every day. "I guess I'm never going home." I sigh, leaning against the counter.
Kid looks up from the register, motioning towards the door. "Have no fear, Maka. He's here now." I look out the glass doors and see none other than Soul Eater, strolling lazily towards the building. I clench my fists; the nerve of this guy!
He walks through the door, his messy white hair falling in his face. He gives a nod to Kid, ignores me completely, and walks over to Black Star. I feel my blood boil as he begins a conversation with him. I wander towards them, eavesdropping on their conversation.
"I didn't even think I'd be able to come in today." Soul said. His eyes flick over to where I'm standing, but I pretend to be occupied with my shirt. When I look at him again, he's smirking.
"I'm probably still high right now." He said quietly, but I hear it. I gasp, not even trying to hide my expression as I look at him. Black Star is laughing, and Soul chuckles. I walk quickly away from them and towards Kid, who's attention is back in the register.
"Kid, I think Soul is high." I said sternly. Kid looks over at the two laughing boys and frowns.
"What makes you say that?" He asks.
"He just told Black Star! He can't be here if he's high! I'm going to tell Stein." I said, turning towards the executive's office. Suddenly, Kid reaches out and wraps a pale hand around my arm.
"Maka..." He begins. I turn and look at him, confused at his actions. He sighs and shakes his head, letting my arm go. "Don't do that." He said.
"What?!" I ask, taken aback. Next to Tsubaki and I, I thought Kid cared about his job the most. Why would he hold me back from doing the right thing?
I raise an eyebrow, awaiting a response. "I don't think he's high." He said. I scoff, but Kid's face is serious.
"You've got to be kidding me." I mutter. I walk away from Kid, ignoring his calls. I dodge customers as I storm to the back of the building, knocking on Stein's office.
"Come in!" I hear through the door. I turn the handle and walk into the office. It's pretty bland, no attempt at decorating. All of the furniture is gray or white, with odd stitch mark designs on them. Stein himself sat at a desk, reading from a computer over his glasses. The only other time I'd been in this room was my job interview.
"Mr. Stein." I said sternly. He looks up from his computer, and a slow smile spreads across his face.
"Ah, Maka! Pleasure to see you. How's your old man doing?" He asks. He and my father have been friendly since college. I refrain from telling anybody this for fear they'll think I was only hired because my father was his friend, even though Stein assured me I'd earned the job all on my own.
I wrinkle my nose at the mention of my father. "Erm, fine I guess, I haven't seen him lately. But Mr. Stein I-"
"He hasn't dropped by? I guess that's expected, he's always so sad when he leaves your place."
"Well, yes he isn't always in the best of moods when he leaves, but that's not wh-"
"Don't blame yourself Maka, he needs to realize you're growing up and-"
"Mr. Stein I am sorry to interrupt but I have something important to tell you!" I exclaim. He raises his eyebrows at my sudden outburst, but he does give me his full attention. I take a deep breath. "I have reason to believe that Soul Eater is here and is under the influence of drugs." I said calmly.
It's silent for a minute. I see Stein squint his eyes at me, and then he finally speaks. "Soul Eater... Is high?" He asks.
"I believe so sir, yes." I said, nodding. He makes a "huh" sound, and sits back in his chair. He pushes his legs off of the ground and rolls away from his desk. The chair nearly flips over a wire on the ground, but he manages to keep it in place.
"Well, then. I'll be out in a moment to investigate." He said, standing from his chair. I nod and walk out the door, an odd sense of satisfaction filling my stomach. I did the right thing. He shouldn't be here if he's used drugs recently.
"Well, I guess I'll add tattletale to my list of nicknames for you, pigtails." I hear someone say. I turn and see Soul leaning up against the wall, his hands in his pockets. The sight of him makes my face turn into a scowl.
"Say what you want, Soul. You're in the wrong here." I retort, spinning on my heel and beginning to walk away. Until I hear laughter. I look back at Soul, who is in hysterics. "What's so funny?!" I demand.
He shakes his head at me. "You're so stupid, Maka." He said. I gape at his words as he steps away from the wall and walks over towards me. He towers in front of me, but I don't let his height intimidate me. I puff my chest up and look him right in the eyes, emerald meeting ruby.
"Excuse me?" I demand.
"You shouldn't eavesdrop on conversations you're not involved in. Not only is it totally uncool, but you also miss things. And you can't always tell what the truth is." His lips curl into a smirk as I realize what he's saying.
Was Kid right? Was he really lying about being high? To see what reaction he'd get out of me? I try not to let my contradiction show on my face, but judging by his satisfied smirk, it must have. "Whatever Soul." I said, turning away from him.
But he's quick. He shifts around me and stands in between myself and the door. I sigh and cross my arms. "Move out of my way, I've had to stay here long enough because of you." I spit, trying to move past him. But he won't let me.
"C'mon know-it-all, have some fun!" He said, grinning. I glance to Kid for help, but he's too occupied in the cash register. I glare at Soul.
"Move." I said through gritted teeth. My heart begins to beat quickly, my legs go numb, and my hands clench and unclench. I know this feeling; true rage.
"Why?" He tests.
"Soul." I demand. The dam holding my emotions is cracking. I need to get out of here. He needs to get out here. Before I break his nose.
But he does the opposite. He leans his head in closer to my face. "Why?" He asks again.
The dam broke. The emotions ran through my body like ocean currents during a storm. "B-because," I begin, trying to keep it all in. But when he smirks, I know whatever I try is futile. "BECAUSE I HATE YOU, SOUL EATER! I never thought I could hate anybody, never thought I was capable of such negative emotion, and then I met YOU. I don't care about your JOB, I don't care about what you say or think of ME, and I CERTAINLY do not care about YOU!" I scream.
Soul's face held a look of surprise. I stand before him panting, realizing I attracted the attention of every customer and employee in the store. My eyes widen in horror as I realize what I'd just done. And then, from the back of the building, I hear a voice that makes my blood run cold.
"Well. I think I'll need to meet with the both of you now." Stein's cool voice said. My body trembles as I turn and take the walk of shame towards Stein's office, Soul following close behind.
Stein laces his long fingers together, his eyes shifting between the two of us. Soul sat back in his chair, his hands behind his head. I sat pin straight, blinking furiously to prevent tears from spilling. "So, uh, what just happened?" Stein asks hesitantly.
Soul rolls his eyes and raises an arm in my direction. "She lost her cool in front of everybody." He said.
The humiliation I felt leaves my body as he says this. I turn to face him, eyes blazing. "Oh, and you were just so perfectly innocent, Soul. I told you to leave me alone... Twice!"
"Whatever Maka, you were still the one to flip out on me."
"Well maybe because you're one of the most aggravating person I've ever met!"
"Oh, like you're any better?"
"I'm not a nuisance!"
Soul shakes his head. "Keep telling yourself that, pigtails."
"And I hate your stupid nicknames for me! They're demeaning and rude!"
"What's so wrong with pigtails?! You wear your hair like that all the time."
"Tiny tits? Baby boobs? Know-it-all? Tattletale? Nerd? You think those don't hurt?" I ask, biting my lip. Soul turns away from me, muttering something under his breath. I begin to stand from my seat when Stein puts a hand up.
"Stop. The both of you." He commands. I cross my legs and arms, glaring at the side of Soul's face. His arms were crossed as well, his eyes trained on the wall. Stein sighs. "I've been getting quite a few... Notifications, I guess you can say, from other employees on the hostility between the two of you in the workplace. Now, let's dissect the situation.
"You aren't always going to get along with your coworkers, but you have to be able to work with them. From what I've heard, there have been multiple run ins with the both of you not being able to work together. I've been meaning to pull each of you in separately to discuss it, but after what happened today... I'm afraid I have no other choice."
"M-Mr. Stein? What do you mean?" I ask, my voice wavering. Even Soul's attention is now fully on the man in front of us. He takes a deep breath.
"Maka, Soul, I'm sorry to say that you both are fired. Please take all of your belongings and go home. You can come collect your final paycheck tomorrow afternoon." My heart stops. I can't remember how to breathe. My eyes were probably bugging out of my head, my mouth agape. This couldn't be happening. No! This couldn't be happening! I put so much into this job, worked so hard, to be fired for something as stupid as this?!
Soul stands from his chair and gives Stein a curt nod. He gives me a look, and then walks out the door. "Maka.." Stein begins, but I cut him off.
"Are you kidding me, Stein?! I'm one of your best workers! I work- worked so hard these past few months!" I exclaim, tears rolling down my cheeks. Stein sighs, standing from his seat. He walks over to my chair and rests a hand on my shoulder.
"Maka, I can't just fire Soul when you played a large part in it as well. Especially today." He explains. I continue crying, wiping my eyes with the back of my hands. "Listen, I'll tell you what. If you and Soul can become at least civil with each other, can work together without having fights or name-calling or having feelings get hurt, then I will take the two of you back." He promises. I look up from my hands, sniffling.
"R-really?" I ask. He nods. "Thank you so much, Mr. Stein. I-I'm gonna work on it. I'll make things right."
I run out of Stein's office, looking for Soul's whit head. Stein had given me a golden opportunity, and I just need Soul to get onboard. I see him walk out the front door, and I quickly follow him.
"Maka! You got my best friend fired! I'll teach you what happens when you mess with Black Star's friends!" Black Star shouts at me.
"Black Star, stay out of it!" Kid scolds. I give him a grateful smile and push out the doors. It was hot for being so late in the afternoon; I could already feel sweat forming on my face.
"Soul!" I cry, running after him. He stops walking and turns, his face wrinkling when he sees me. I reach him, out of breath. He chuckles.
"What do you want, Usain Bolt?" He asks. I ignore his comment as I try and catch my breath. Once settled, I look up at him.
"Stein said if we learn to be civil and work together, he'll rehire us!" I exclaim, smiling. Soul gives me a look, then rolls his eyes.
"Looks like you have a lot of practicing to do then, Maka."
I frown. "Excuse me?"
"You're the one always acting uncool towards me. I usually just ignore you." My frown turns to a scowl, but I quickly shake it off. It's probably not a good idea to get into a fight with someone you're trying to become friendly with.
"We have to work together on this. We should probably get together a few times during the week and have, you know, bonding time!" I said, smiling. A list of ideas fill my head: we could grab food, we could take a walk, we could go to the library... The options were endless as to what we could do to bond.
"Yeah, no. I don't want to do that." Soul said. My shoulders slump.
"What if it's only... Once a week? And I make all of the plans, and we only pay for ourselves, and it only has to be an hour or an hour and a half." I suggest. He gives me another look, and I sigh. "I'm trying, Soul. I'd appreciate if you would to." I said. I realize how pathetic I sound, how much I'm relying on somebody who doesn't like me.
As if by some sort of miracle, Soul shrugs. "Fine. But plan some cool stuff. No book clubs or volunteering crap." He instructs. My face lights up and I nod.
"Okay! How about tomorrow after we get our checks?" I ask. He thinks for a moment, then nods.
"Not long tomorrow, I have plans." I nod, and he walks away. A new sort of hope fills my chest, and I feel like I can run a marathon. I can become cordial with Soul. I can get my job back. I can continue living on my own. I'm putting so much faith in somebody who I just finished telling I hate... I pray he'll come through.
This is the first installment of Tied Together, a SoulxMaka fanfiction. All reviews and favorites are appreciated!