A/N: So here we are, chapter two of Mama, I'm in love with a criminal! I'll cut the intro short, so let's get into disclaimers so we can keep it pushing! (: DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER! There ya' go! Happy reading, my friends! (:

CHAPTER 2:

MAKA'S P.O.V

"Soul," I whispered gently. The man's eyes snapped open wide with the grin disappearing almost immediately. He obviously wasn't expecting me to know who he was, but when I said his name, it all came to me. This is Soul 'Eater' Evans… that's the only person he can be… there's no one else he could be, but… why is he here? Why is he in my apartment and what does he want with me? Last time I checked, he used to pick on me and call me 'Tiny tits' or 'bookworm' or something demeaning like that! I hated it more than anything! I hated HIM more than anything! Yes, all the memories were slowly coming together when I heard his voice. All the memories of how he used to embarrass me in front of the whole class, how he used to ignore me and only acknowledge me when it suited him, how he used to flirt with me as a joke… I hated Soul 'Eater' Evans and I don't see any reason why I shouldn't!

Soul's sly grin and lazy eyes returned, his gun never leaving my face as he stared into my eyes. "So you know me, huh? Can't say the same for you, baby," he teased. He tried touching my chin again, but I whipped my face away from him with a mean scowl, disgusted by the nickname that he addressed me with. Soul cocked an eyebrow and paused for a minute, but then he forcefully took my chin into his hands, getting closer to my face this time, now wearing a bored, almost uninterested look on his face. My cheeks began to burn up from him sitting so closely to me, but I couldn't fight him, so I just scowled back at him.

"Listen, I don't want to hurt you. Killing people's not cool and killing a woman is even worse, so if you're quiet and you cooperate, we both stay safe, got it?" he propositioned. I scoffed at him.

"Go to hell, Eater. You're nothing to me, why should I care what happens to you?" I spat. Soul seemed a little taken aback when I used his nickname, but when he realized what just happened, he scowled back at me this time and placed the gun on my forehead, getting even closer to my face this time. At this point, he's pushing me up against the window and holding my arm tightly as if to not let me escape.

"What the-! How the hell do you know who I am? I don't like people who I don't know to know me, so spit it out! Where did you get that name?" he demanded to know. His fluster made me feel like I had one over on him, so I decided to tease him a little bit. I smiled up at him with a cocky look in my eyes and I leaned in close to him, our lips almost touching from such a close proximity. Now it was his turn to blush and pull the gun back to his side, now pointed at my stomach.

"I'm not surprised you don't remember me. I'll be honest, I wouldn't have remembered you if it hadn't been for Liz and the others. In fact, I'm the last person you should remember. 'Tiny tits', 'bookworm', 'teacher's pet'," I reminded him of all his little nicknames that he used to give me and he gradually began to remember it all himself just as I had. When he finally pieced it together, he seemed a little off, like he didn't really believe his own suspicions, but he was damn right. I let him know that he's got the right idea by cocking my eyebrow up at him and smiling slyly at him as he did to me.

"Maka Albarn?" he whispered as if unsure of his conclusion, but I only pulled his ear closer to my lips, almost grazing them slightly as he was taken off guard completely.

"Bingo. It's funny, really. All those horrible names you used to call me, yet here you are calling me, 'baby', 'dollface', and 'beautiful'," I giggled into his ear. He looked into my eyes once again to see if I was really telling the truth, but there were no lies here. Not unless he was tellin' 'em. He then retreated further back, releasing me and lowering his gun. It was silent for a minute as he eyed me up and down. His gaze brought the heat back up to my cheeks and I turned away from his for a minute to compose myself, but curiosity got the best of me as well.

I walked up to Soul, boldly and he jumped at my sudden movement, holding his gun back up to me. I gently took hold of his hood and pulled his hood down to see his crazy, messy white hair underneath. That's when my thoughts were confirmed. This was the one and only Soul Evans. I'd know this look anywhere… Huh, isn't that funny? The night of the reunion and I get to see the one guy who no one expected to see. When Soul realized that he wasn't in danger, he lowered his gun again and just looked away from me, seeming a bit guilty. I crossed my arms over my chest and chuckled a little, causing him to look back up at me.

"What's so funny?" he asked. I shook my head and looked to the floor.

"It's just… Tonight was the night of our high school reunion. I don't know if you got the memo or anything, but yeah, I just came from it," I informed. Soul shook his head.

"Nah, I didn't. That's to be expected though," he said, shrugging his shoulders at it. He looked quite bored talking about the reunion, but the conversation brought back to conversation from before that I was having at the café with the girls.

They were talking about how he disappeared and never came back to school. I guess I could ask him what happened, but I doubt he'd tell me. This isn't the time to be bringing it up anyway!

I glared back at Soul and asked him, "Why the hell are you here right now? What do you want from me?" It was demanding, but he did just break into my apartment. I wasn't just going to let it go because I was curious. Soul shrugged his shoulders and sat on my couch without even asking. He slouched down, much like Black*Star would do and he started.

"Look, I'm kinda on the run right now. Don't ask why and you'll be safe, but long story short, I need a place to hide out for the night or at least for a few hours," he explained. When he said he was on the run, it reminded me of the guy from earlier who was dressed in all black and running from that cop. Now that I look at Soul, he actually looks exactly like the guy from earlier. Jeez, he's been causing me trouble all day, hasn't he? I shook my head and snapped myself back into the conversation.

"What do you think this is?! You think I'm just gonna let you into my home after all you've done? No way!" I stood my ground. Soul stood up from the couch and walked over to me until he stood right in front of me. He was still extremely close, but I couldn't tell if he meant to be or not.

"Maka, I know I haven't been the greatest guy ever, but I really need this right now. I'll find a way to make it up to you, okay? Just let me lay low for a little while and I'll be out of your hair for good, alright?" he asked, his eyes begging me. I wanted to stand my ground, but he really seemed desperate. What could he have done to be wanted by the police? He's not a… criminal, is he?

"Soul… What did you do? Why are you wanted by the police? If you murdered someone-," I started, but he cut me off.

"I already told you when I came in, killing people's not cool. I may not be the best guy out there, but I'm not murderer," he assured.

"Then what is it? What did you do?" I asked. Soul slumped his shoulders and looked down to the ground, while heaving a sigh.

"I was framed, but that's beside the point! Are you gonna let me crash here, or are you gonna leave me out to die? Those police aren't above killing a man like me. If you let me go, that'll be the end of it," he said, now sounding like he's pleading with me. My strong hold was slowly dissipating, but I had to get a grip.

"Why should I care about what happens to you?" I almost whispered as I asked.

"Because I saved your life once and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Maka," he said, seriously looking at me with these distant eyes with a dead serious expression to back it up. This certainly caught my attention and my eyes snapped open wide as my breath hitched in my throat. I vaguely remembered something along those lines, but not enough to know what he was talking about. I nodded my head slowly, believing that somewhere deep inside me, he was telling truth, though this was a stretch. I had no idea what he meant by 'I saved your life once', but by that look in his eyes, I could definitely see that he was telling the truth about whatever he was talking about… so I hoped. I hoped that my instinct was correct.

Soul's expression lightened up a little and he sighed in relief and smiled up at me. I rolled my eyes and smirked back at him, still a little uneasy about before when he broke into my home. "Hey, Maka?" Soul said out of the blue. I turned to him and bobbed my head up, urging him to speak up.

"You know, you do look pretty hot in that getup though," he winked. I rolled my eyes, uncrossed my arms and walked over to the kitchen saying, "Shut up."

I handed Soul a mug of tea and took a seat on the other side of the couch, sipping my own tea when he whispered a mere, 'thanks'. We were silent for a little while as I stared inside the mug, absentmindedly. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but it did feel a little off to be sitting in the same room as someone that I hadn't seen in 7 years after all the bullying and stuff. I felt Soul look at me from the corner of his eye, but then he sighed, catching my attention.

"Maka, I'm sorry about all this, alright? And for what I did to you in class back then. I'm older now, so I know when to admit that I'm wrong, but back then, it really wasn't anything against you. It's not like I hated you or anything," he explained. I felt a little bit of closure listening to him apologize after all this time and deep down inside, I knew. I knew that he never hated me and I knew that it was nothing personal; I just wanted to hear him say it, I guess.

"It's alright, I get it. Holding a grudge against someone I barely remember seems a bit pointless anyway," I said, sipping more of my tea. Soul sweat dropped and pouted at my response.

"Well, that's not very nice! You don't remember me? I remember plenty about you!" he whined. I laughed a little and smiled genuinely up at him.

"Oh really? Like what?"

"Well, I remember how you used to wear your hair in pigtails all the time."

"That doesn't count."

"Well, I also remember how you used to answer all the questions the teacher asked."

"Easy."

"I remember how you used to balance a pencil on your upper lip like a goof when you got bored."

"So did you!"

"I remember how you used to stare lovingly at me from time to time."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"…"

I have to admit, it is true that I used to look at him every now and then, but the part about gazing at him lovingly is a total lie! I hated the guy's guts back then for making my life a living hell! I only looked at him because he was always staring off into space. He was either glaring out of the window or staring at his desk with a distant look in his eyes; it was always so intriguing and I wondered what went on in that big head of his.

"Not fighting back?" Soul chuckled, breaking me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and sipped more of my tea, causing him to laugh even more.

"It's not that! You wish I'd gaze lovingly at you! Oh please!" I said, furrowing my brow and crinkling my nose in disgust. Soul shrugged his shoulders and sipped more of his tea. We stayed silent for a little while, but then I figured that maybe if we talked about it more, then maybe my memories would come back. It was still a little foggy when it came to Soul since it was such a long time ago, but I'm sure that all the memories would begin to flow like a waterfall once we got to talking.

"I remember how you used to flirt with every girl just for the fun of it. Not typically because you liked them, but it was more for their entertainment," I said, smiling down into my cup, remembering all those times where he made the girls that used to love teasing me cry and how happy it made me feel to see the tables turned on them.

"Ha, yeah, I was always messin' with someone's heart one way or the other. Not exactly something to be proud about, but looks like it certainly made you happy over there," he said, watching me smile, slightly confused.

"It's just… It made me happy seeing that bitch, Angelica crying after all she did to me. I remember you made her cry right in front of the whole class!" I said, laughing at the thought of her tears and snot running down her face like a child.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, you were laughing harder than anyone when she ran to the girls bathroom with her stupid posse running to her rescue," he recalled. That made me laugh even harder as I nodded my head.

"Hey, you know what I found out about them tonight? Angelica slept with both their husbands, had a kid with one of 'em and is now pregnant with the other! She didn't even show her face at the reunion. Probably too scared to face the hate from her old classmates," I informed. Soul shook his head and tsked at her.

"I never knew she'd stoop that low. Kinda glad that I wasn't actually serious about liking her. I mean, yeah, she was hot and she had a nice body, but she was nothin' special, personality-wise," he said, thinking back on it. This was good. Talking with him about the past, I mean. Remembering all the things that used to make us laugh, the things that used to make us cry… This was good. It meant that we were learning about each other; though I'll be the first to admit that it wasn't really my intention to learn all this information about him and what he liked and disliked, but it was better to know. I don't think I would've been able to trust him so easily had we not talked that night.

The whole night on, we talked about the past like I did with the others at the reunion and the whole time, I thought to myself how I would've never pictured this moment in a billion years. Never would I ever have thought that I'd be sitting here, drinking tea with a man I used to hate, letting bygones be bygones. Never would I ever have thought that I'd be so forgiving towards him like this. The whole time, I thought, now this is a real reunion.

A/N: And there you have it, folks! So I hope that this second chapter gives you a bit of an idea of what this fanfic is really going to be about! Again, for all you SoMa: Burlesque lovers out there, I am currently working on the next chapter, but not only that, I will also be working on this new series from time to time while I finish up my Burlesque series. If you haven't already checked it out, I suggest that you do if you like the movie Burlesque and obviously, if you love SoMa! You won't be disappointed! Anyways, I'll try to crank out one more chapter for Mama, I'm in love with a criminal either tonight or tomorrow afternoon so that I can let you guys get a taste of what's to come! (: I will see you guys soon so stay beautiful and happy reading! :D