The next morning when Maka pissily leaves the house she finds Soul sitting on her front porch.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She growls out lowly.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I maybe yelled too much."

"Go to hell!" She clenches her fists and tries to brush past him.

Soul stops her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm serious. I just met you, I shouldn't have said all those things about you."

"Whatever. I'm over it. But you can still go to hell."

"Maka, let me make it up to you."

"You can't."

"At least let me try. Please."

"Screw off. Just leave me alone!"

"I like you. A lot. I want t be friends with you."

"You sure have a way of showing it!"

"I admit I'm an idiot and know nothing about girls."

"So, you really are Mr. Virgin-boy."

"Yeah, fine. You got me. But it's not like I couldn't get any if I wanted to!"

"Then what's holding you back?!"

"I haven't found the right girl yet!"

"Why should that matter? It's just sex."

"Maybe to you it is, but not to me. Wouldn't be cool to pretend sex doesn't mean something. Wouldn't be cool to toy with a girl's emotions like that."

"Whatever. I'm going to school now. Bye."

Soul lets Maka go and she takes off on her bike. He gets on his own and heads off in the same direction as her.

Maka is still fuming when Soul gets into class and he almost cringes at the intensity of the glare she gives him.

"Soul, what the hell did you do?" Tsubaki stops him at the door.

"It's better not to know."

"She looks madder than she was during your first fight."

"She is. She's a lot madder."

"Well go apologize you idiot!"

"I tried already."

Tsuabki sighs and shakes her head.

"How are you friends with three girls and can still so easily piss her off?"

"I don't get any of you and she's a hundred times more complicated. At least I know Liz likes shoes, you like cooking and Patty likes giraffes. With Maka, well, she hates everything. The only personal thing I can get out of her is that she plays music but she hates it."

"Hm, sounds like someone I met a long time ago."

"I know. She's just like I was."

"That's why you want to help her so much, isn't it?"

"You guys were there for me when I needed it. She has people too but no one can get through to her. It's like so many people have failed her that she's afraid of everyone now."

"There is no maybe. She is."

"Let's just go sit. I need to think."

"Okay."

The two make their way from the door and take their seats on opposite sides of Maka.

"Morning, Maka."

"Mm."

"Glad it's Friday?"

"Mhm."

"Me too. Have any plans?"

"Nhn."

"We should do something together!"

"Nhn."

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

"No."

"Oh, alright then."

Tsubaki pouts dejectedly.

The rest of the day goes on quietly. Maka ignores Soul and everyone else and speaks little even when Stein asks her to answer questions in class.

She plays along in music though any small flourishes she usually adds are absent from her songs.

She sits out again in gym and Nygus leaves her alone to figure herself out.

Maka rushes when the bell rings and quickly changes and leaves before anyone has the chance to catch her.

She goes straight home and locks herself up in her room when Kami tries to talk to her.

"Maka, what do you want for dinner?"

"Not hungry."

"You haven't been eating all week, you need food."

"I'm fine."

"You're eating or so help me-!"

"Fine. Just soup or something is fine."

"Good. I'll call you down later then."

"'Kay."

Maka lies in bed for a while and starts to nod off.

"Maka!"

"Coming!"

She shakes the grogginess from her head and gets up out of bed. She goes and swings open her door and comes face to face with Soul.

She jumps back. "Holy fuck! You creep!"

"I was going to knock but you're mom called up instead and then sent me up anyways."

"Why are you here?"

"Are we going to do this every night? I'm here to see you."

"Now you've seen me, so go."

"Maka-"

"Leave."

"Give me a minute to explain why you should let me stay and talk to you."

"I'm going to regret this…but go, you have one minute."

"Thank you. I'm an idiot and I can't help what I say. I get all weird around you and the words in my head just don't come out right. You're frustratingly emotional and smart and hard to deal with. Even though you're hard to deal with, I really, really, really want to."

"Why?"

"I can't explain it. There's just something about you that I want to be a part of…geez, I told you. Words aren't coming out right."

"You can stay. Just don't piss me off. That's all you seem able to do."

"I won't piss you off."

"Come on in."

Maka steps out of the doorway and closes it when Soul steps through. She walks over and hops up onto her bed and Soul stands awkwardly in the middle of the room.

Maka shakes her head before patting the top of her bed.

"You can sit down y'know."

"Uh, yeah." He walks over and sits on the opposite end of the bed as Maka.

Maka leans back and flops onto her back.

"So, what are we suppose to be doing?"

"I don't know. I didn't think you'd let me in to be honest."

"What do you do when you hangout with Black Star?"

"We play video games and stuff."

"Oh. I don't really have any."

"We could just talk. I mean, I don't know a whole lot about you."

"Yeah, okay."

"Again, I'm really sorry about last night. I say things I don't mean a lot…it's like verbal diarrhoea or something."

"Just stop talking about it."

"Uh, okay."

Maka turns on her side to face Soul and draws her legs up a little. Her baggy sweater has risen up a bit so her black shorts just peak out the bottom.

"What do you like that I don't already know?"

"I like tattoos."

"I figured that. I saw yours on Wednesday, kinda."

"Do you have any?"

"Nope, though I'll probably get one eventually. Cool bike guy like me should have one."

"What would you get?"

"I don't know. It would probably end up being something stupid that I chose on a whim."

"When I picked mine I had them draw it out then I stuck it up on my wall for a few months before I went and got it done."

"Can I see it again?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's really cool."

"I guess."

Maka sits up and turns her back to Soul. She pulls her sweater off over her head and she clutches it to her chest.

"Hey! I didn't say strip down!"

"How else were you going to see it?!"

"I don't know! I guess I didn't realize it went so far down. I thought maybe you could just put another shirt on like the one you were wearing Wednesday!"

"Nope. You wouldn't be able to see it all. And don't get so worked up! A bra covers as much as a bathing suit."

"Doesn't matter! There's just something sexual about lace and this," he gestures to the bra despite Maka having her back turned and not being able to see him, "has a ton of it!"

"You're such a baby. If you were looking at the tattoo none of this would matter."

"I'm looking but your bra goes over the tattoo!"

"Fine then!" She moves her hand back and quickly unclips the strap.

"What the hell! Not what I meant! Put it back!"

Make sighs out heavily before doing her bra back up and pulling her sweater back over her head.

"You said you wanted to see it. Not my fault you're so immature about it."

"I can't believe you'd just take it all off like that!"

"How the hell do you think I got it on? I had to sit with no shirt on in front of a complete stranger for random hours at a time. You didn't see my tits. It's no big deal."

"Can we just change the subject…?" Soul groans with his face buried in his hands.

"Sure." Maka lies back down facing Soul. "Uh, but you have to start."

"Hm…what sports do you like?"

"Anything with a stick."

"That sounds so-"

"You're a pervert. I'm good at lacrosse and hockey and stuff like that. What about you?"

"Well, I already told you basketball but I'm good at football and I'm good at hockey and lacrosse too."

"Do you think we'll be doing them in gym at all?"

"Well, we switch sports every week so probably, though hockey would just be floor hockey or something."

"Should be fun."

"We'll get to see who's better."

"Yeah, we will." Maka narrows her eyes at Soul but there's no coldness to them and they even seem almost playful.

"So, what kind of things do you read?"

"Everything."

"Really? I find that hard to believe. Even manga?"

"Yes, even manga."

"That's, like, the slacker version of reading, I definitely can't picture you sitting down taking in a comic."

"Oh, you have so much to learn. Pick a manga, any manga."

"Boichi."

Maka leans off the edge of the bed so she can peer underneath it. She shuffles around until she pulls out all four volumes.

"Problem?"

"World Embryo."

She goes back down and swaps the manga.

"Here."

"Gunslinger Girl."

She pulls it out after some more digging.

"That's sick."

"I assume you've read all three of these?"

"Yeah, more than once too."

"Me too."

Maka settles back onto the bed.

"So you watch anime too?"

"A guilty pleasure." Maka purrs.

"Awesome."

"Favourite?"

"Too many."

"Watching any right now?"

"A couple. Fairy Tail whenever the hell it starts up again."

"I know right? They left it right in the middle of an arc and the next episode isn't even announced yet!"

"You watching anything else right now?"

"I shamelessly admit to watching Highschool DxD and Hyperdimension Neptunia every week when they come out."

Soul's jaw drops. "You watch DxD?! But you're a girl!"

"I bet you watch it too!"

"For the plot! Only for the plot!"

"You lie! You so don't watch it for the plot! Bet you though Gasper was a girl first time you saw him in the credits too!"

"You too!"

"No! I knew a cross dresser was coming. I could feel it. And they purposely didn't say the gender the episode before!"

"You're too damn smart! No fair!"

Maka starts laughing and rolls over to her back.

"Totally for the plot."

"Bahaha!"

"Stop laughing! You watch it too!"

"I want to be the Harem King! And fondle Rias's tits! Hahahaha! I can sooooo picture you as Issei!"

"No! Not cool! But you could totally be Koneko!"

"Haha, I can see that!" Maka has a couple tears rolling from her eyes and she's clutching her stomach. "Stop making me laugh! It hurts!"

Soul stops suddenly and stares to Maka.

"Maka-"

She calms down and wipes her face as she looks up at him.

"You're laughing…like, really laughing."

"I guess I am. It's weird, huh?"

"It is. But it makes you look prettier- damn it. Words just seem to come out on their own so-"

"Thank you."

"I- y- you're welcome."

Soul slumps down onto the bed beside Maka and lets out a heavy breathe.

"Maybe we could get together and watch it together on Sunday."

"I guess we could. I'm gonna be watching it anyways."

"So, wanna watch it here or at my house?"

"Uh, wherever. You pick."

"Come over to my place then? I'll come pick you up."

"Okay. That works."

"Cool."

They lie in silence for awhile until they both turn to face each other at the same time.

"Still hate me?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Good. It would suck if you did."

Soul and Maka continue to talk late into the night. Kami comes to the door a few times the check on them and leaves again with a smile every time when she hears soft talking and light laughter.

The two grow tired and keep talking through yawns and droopy eyes and soon they fall asleep facing each other from opposite ends of the bed.