Hey, guys...did I already mention I absolutely love the Halloween season? I really do :p

(*P.S - I've combined chapter 2 and 3 and made some slight changes...)

Chapter 4:

(Maka)

Outside the large glass windows separting the sets of lockers, trees burned a fierce red, scattering their crismon leaves on the yellowed grass.
Clouds scattered in the sky and the scant amount of sunlight pouring through the patches gave little to no warmth, especially against the chilly October breeze.

Maka hurried along down the crowded school hallway to Professor Stein's class, passing tired faces of students who certainly did not enjoy Monday mornings.

Turning a corner into an open foyer area of the school, Maka noticed students looking over their shoulders and snickering, pointing something out to her friends.

Maka glanced over and saw Kim angrily throwing her books in her locker and then slamming it shut. "DYKE" was sprawled across her locker with thick, permanent ink.
As Kim stomped off, pushing a few kids out of her way as they teased her, Maka noticed Jackie leaning against one of the nearby lockers with a clear, sorry look on her face.

Maka also noticed a boy with snow white hair lounging around close by with a clear grin on his face stretching unusually wide…

Construction paper cut-outs of pumpkins and ghosts were stuck on the cafeteria walls along with winter sport try-out notices and fliers encouraging students to donate canned goods for a food drive.

A few hours later, Maka sat at lunch alone with Jackie, an untouched chicken salad drenched in caesar dressing sitting in front of her.

"She won't talk to me as she usually," Jackie said, fiddling with her manicured nails which were now a deep mauve color, "After she didn't come back that Homecoming night…" she trailed off.

"Why does anyone care if she's a lesbian or not, anyway? Aren't there more pressing matters to think about?" Maka asked, munching on an apple and skimming through pages of her history textbook.

"Because sometimes people like to be jerks," Jackie said angrily, stabbing her salad with a plastic spork.

Maka sighed. "Speaking of jerks, here comes the asshole who probably scribbled on Kim's locker…"

Jackie glanced up to see Soul making his way through the lunchroom, unaccompanied by his blue-hair friend.
He pulled out a chair at a crowded table and lazily plopped down in it, smirking at a junior with honey blonde hair and shiny lips. Next to her sat her boyfriend who was flipping through pages of a dusty novel, scanning the pages with his unusual yellow eyes.

Maka puckered her lips as if she tasted something sour.

"Tch," Jackie said, furrowing her brows in anger and stabbing her salad once again with her plastic utensil, "You can't keep blaming him for every single petty prank that gets played on her by students!" she said fiercely, shooting Maka a dagger-like glare.

"Jeez," Maka said, taking a bite of her apple, "How can you defend him like that? He played that awful prank last time," Maka said, failing at trying to conceal the annoyance in her voice.

"That was different; he was just joking around; everyone plays dumb pranks on Crona," Jackie said fiercely, "He wouldn't go as far as to do something like that!"

"How would you know that!?" Maka said, obviously pissed off as Jackie sharply stood up, "You're being completely blinded by a Class A douchebag!"

Jackie spun around on her heels and balled her hands into fists. "Why do you always assume you know everything Maka? Because you think you're so smart with your perfect grades and crap?!" Jackie said angrily as a few nearby tables quited down and looked.
"I know he didn't spray-paint Kim's locker this morning because he was with me!" Jackie spat hotly, looking as if she wanted to keep yelling but instead grunted in frustration before taking off.

Maka watched as Jackie stomped out of the cafeteria, kids snickering all around her as her cheeks burned red from anger. Or maybe it was the embarrasment, or the tears she felt welling up behind her lashes. Maybe she just had to vomit.

Looking over she noticed Soul sitting a bit too comfortably in his lunch chair with his arms crossed behind his head.
He was smirking at her with a devilish gleam in his eyes as the blonde girl giggled something into his hear, probably smearing a bit of her lipgloss on his earlobe.
Kid was watching her too, his face deviod of any emotions due to his grave, serious gaze.

Maka grabbed her history textbook and marched through the cafetieria, feeling a chill go down her spine eyes burned on her back as she passed by Soul's table, hearing a few giggles which made her cheeks turn pink once again from wanting to run away, scream, cry, and most likely vomit.

(Soul)

Students shuffled along in the halls making their way to last period with an unrestless air about them, the hallways scented of sweat and floral body spray.
A janitor with shaggy red hair stood scrubbing away at Kim's locker as some screwy biology teacher stood nearby chatting away with him, smoking a cigarrette even though it was probably against school policy.

"Sorry I missed you this morning and your freak meeting, I had some studying to catch up on," Soul said casually, leaning against a beige locker.

"We're not freaks," Black-Star mumbled, fiddling with his lock.

"Yeah, I was just messing around with you, dude" Soul laughed to himself, checking out a few blonde babes walking past him in the hallway.
"Oh, and I can't make it to hang out with you guys in the basketball court tonight, I've got plans."

"I figured," Black-Star mumbled.

Soul glanced over. "Hey, you feeling alright, man?" he said, "You've been awful quite lately, not yourself…"

"Because I feel so fucking lously," Black-Star said, slamming his locker and leaning up against it.

"Ah, you're still not over that dumb prank?" Soul snickered, "C'mon, we never got caught; no one knows about it expect that tiny blonde chick, what's her name? Molly, or whatever?"

"That's not what I'm worried about," Black-Star said, wearing a concerned expression, "We really hurt that kid alright? I've never seen him get like that before."
Black-Star sighed.
"And you've really changed since you first began classes here, you know that?" he said.

Soul furrowed his brow and met Black-Star's eyes.
"What do you mean?" he said wearing a confused grin, "I'm a cool guy, Black-Star, I don't freak out over little things like library books or over anlalyze petty crap. I can call up any female chick in this school to do it for me."

Black-Star shook his head and laughed, "A cool guy…" he said, walking away from Soul and to his next class, "I'll say…"

(Maka)

Despite the chilly weather outside, the air conditioner inside th library still hummed at full blast, causing the paper curtains to billow in the breeze.

Maka sat tapping her fingernails against the mahogony table in as she stared blankly at her computer screen.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't focus on her homework or shake the frustration of what happened at lunch.

"How could Jackie be so shallow just for a stupid boy?" Maka thought, furrowing her brows.
Maybe she did have anger issues, or at least a difficulty in taking a deep breath and letting things go.

Maybe Maka just wasn't cool like that.

"How are you feeling?" a voice said, waking Maka up from the swirling thoughts and feelings that were drowning her in annoyance.

"Oh, hey Kid," Maka murmured with a light tint of pink appearing on her cheeks as she remembered him being one of the people witnessing her little "issue" with Jackie during lunch.
"You need something?"

He shook his head. "I saw what happened between you and your friend today in the caferia," he said, "I assume you and Jacqueline are no longer on good terms, am I correct?"

"I guess not," Maka said, shrugging.

"Don't feel so down," Kid said, nodding and allowing a slight gri to appear on his lips, "Soul Evans is definitely a Class A douchebag."

Maka allowed a small smile to stretch across her cheeks.
"Evans…," Maka wondered aloud, "Where have I heard that last name before?"

Kid began to speak when a clattering of heels came down the smooth marble hallways of the library.

"My library is an area of studious silence!" Ms. Leech snapped with a strict, bitter tone, "If you must be intrusive and disrespectful, do so elsewhere!"

"My apologies," Kid said to Ms. Leech quickly with his usual tone of formality. He glanced over at Maka.
"Why don't we head off to somewhere more private?"

(Maka)

The air had definitely warmed up since the morning, but it still had a chilly bite to it.
Leaves crunched under Maka's feet as she and Kid strolled the nearly deserted sidewalks of Death City that Monday afternoon.

"I've never seen Death City so quite…" Maka commented, remembering the day she arrived and the bustling crowds of people and automobiles.

"Most places around the main streets here are tourist attractions or cafes," Kid said, "It's usually pretty empty during the weekdays, especially when it begins to get cold."

He cleared his throat; a gentle breeze causing more leaves to lightly drop from their branches as those beneath them to swirl in a circle around their feet.

"I actually came to talk to you about your friend, Jackie," Kid said, "I see she's completely head over heels for Evans."

Maka nodded slowly, wanting to stay with Kid and have him talk to her, but also wanting to drop the subject of Jackie and Soul.

"I was hoping you would be able to get her to forget about Soul," he said, "however; I guess it's a bit too late for that; were you even aware they were seeing each other?"

"I wasn't," Maka said, feeling more betrayal seep into her, "she hasn't even brought him up since Homecoming last month; I didn't think she had such strong feelings for him."

"I didn't think she was such an idiot," Maka thought bitterly.

Kid took a sharp inhale of breath and motioned towards a bench where they then sat.
"Do you know my girlfriend, Maka?" Kid asked, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Not by name, but yes," Maka whispered, really wanting the subject to change now.

"Elizabeth Thompson," Kid said, pursing his lips and gazing off into the sky. "She has natural honey blonde curls and loves the scent of strawberries. She can't stand chipped nail polish and acts tough but is actually horrified of horror stories and the dark…" Kid trailed off.

"Why is he telling me this?" Maka thought to herself as she picked at a stray string hanging from her uniform skirt, once again unsure if she had to scream, cry, or possibly vomit.

"Sounds like you really love her…" she murmured.

"She doesn't love me back," Kid said as a sad smile remained on his face.
"The night of the Homecoming dance," he said, staring down at his perfectly polished shoes, "she was with Soul."

"She was...?" Maka said quietly, still not fully understanding where this conversation was going and not wanting to upset Kid any further.

"There's videos she sent me; she must have been drunk beyond belief for sending them," he said, twisting a ring on his finger of the school's emblem.

Maka nodded. "I'm sorry."

Kid laughed.
"Fool me once, shame on you," his expression hardening as he finally caught Maka's eyes.
"Fool me twice, shame on me."

(Soul)

A bulky, old portable radio sat perched on the edge of a log as music quitely flowed through the surronding trees of the forest bordering Shibusen.
Cigarette buds and cracked beer bottles littered the forest floor.

"Polarize is taking your disguises,
Separating them, splitting them up from wrong and right…"

Soul leaned lazily against the log as Liz rested her head on his shoudler, blowing a thin stream of cigarrette smoke from her mouth.
Jackie sat giggling away as Hiro told an endless supply of jokes and stories about past girlfriends and insane parties.

"It's deciding where to die and deciding where to fight,
Deny, deny, denial…"

"Hey, you're a pretty cool girl, Jackie," Hiro said, taking a swig from a bottle wrapped in a paper bag, "You wanna go chill with me at my brother's apartment?"

Jackie's cheek turned a bright pink as she glanced at Soul.
"Oh, I don't know...it's a school night and all…"

Liz took a huff of her cigarette.
"Don't worry about hanging out with Hiro just because he's Kim's ex-boyfriend," she said as she sluggishly played with a frayed strand of her hair.

Jackie gasped. "Oh, n-no," she stammered, waving her hands, "it's not like that at all, I swear!"

"Then what's the problem," Liz laughed, catching Jackie's eyes, "You're just so innocent…"

Jacke picked at her manicured nails.
"I'll go with you, Hiro," she murmured.

Hiro stood unceremoniously and cracked his back, letting out a long yawn.
"Well, let's head out before Liz runs out of her cancer sticks and turns into a total bitch."

"Psh," Liz said as she smiled.
"At least I don't get so drunk that I piss my own bed!" she teased back as the clink of Jackie's necklaces and Hiro's laughs could be heard fading away as they walked off.

"Help me polarize, help me polarize, help me down
Those stairs is where I'll be hiding all my problems..."

"You're terrible," Soul laughed, laying his head back so he could watch the clouds float above the treetops.

*buzz! buzz!*

Liz slipped her phone out of her pocket and cursed under her breath about the signal before she stood abruptly.
"Follow me," she said as she began to briskly walk off.

"Help me polarize, help me polarize, help me out
My friends and I, we got a lot of problems..."

Soul groaned. "What is it?" he said, having to jog to catch up with her.

She turned around and grabbed him by the collar and swung him against a thick maple tree, setting a deep kiss onto his lips, mixing the taste of strawberry gloss and nicotine.

Soul smirked. "You're boyfriend will be pissed."

Liz scoffed and took a step back before grabbing her phone and flinging it against a nearby tree, shattering the screen.
She lit the last cigarette in the carton and took a long huff.
"I don't have a boyfriend."

(Maka)

"Liz had a younger sister, and she loved her more than anything," Kid had said to Maka as they watched the leaves fall from their trees earlier that day, the sky turning to a pale orange color.

"...I had an older brother," he had said with a more grim tone. Maka noticed the deep look of disgust that had set into his face. "And I hated him more than anything on this Earth."

Maka and Kid now back at Shibusen stood on a stone balcony that overlooked the city, gleaming and peaceful in the autumn sunset.

"Are you okay?" Maka asked as Kid held his cell phone, gazing blankly at the screen.

Kid nodded, slipping the phone in his back pocket.
A small smile appeared on his lips. "It's something I should have done a long time ago…"

He took a deep breath and gazed out towards the sky.
"My father accepted Patricia Thompson into Shibusen a year earlier than usual on full scholarship," he began, sounding pained, "she was exceptionally gifted in the arts; painting, drawing, sketching…"

"And Liz?" Maka asked, suddenly yearning to know the whole back story.

"She worked part-time in a Starbucks near the railroad," he said, gesturing towards the city, "the girls both lived in a crowded foster home in a poorer part of town; Liz was saving up to move out of Death City with her sister."

He messed with the rings on his fingers.
"My brother was eighteen years old and completely infatuated with Elizabeth."

"They dated?" Maka asked.

Kid shook his head. "Liz didn't like him back, she thought he was just some stuck-up rich boy,"
"But my brother was persistent."

"Persistent how?" Maka questioned, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"He was unstable, very controlling" Kid said, once again refusing to meet Maka's eyes, "He would want things one way and wouldn't accept anything else."

"What did he do?" Maka pleaded as a sinking feeling pulled through her stomach.

"An independant senior prank," Kid laughed bitterly, "The Freshmen rooms for the girls were placed on the top floor of the dorm…"

Flashbacks of the burnt, molded attic flowed in Maka's mind, causing her to feel sick.

"He knew what Liz loved more than anything was her sister, he was so jealous; I want to believe he didn't intend to create as much damage as he did…" Kid sighed.

He lightly gripped the railing and caught Maka's eyes.
"A firecracker," he began, "he set off a firecracker in the Freshmen dorm."

"What happened to the girls?" Maka asked, stunned.

"Almost all of them got out through the emergency exit, but Patti and her room got caught behind the flames," Kid said.

Maka bit her lip and broke eye contact, deciding to stare out into the city instead.

"By the time the firefighters and medics got inside Shibusen and onto the top floor it was too late," Kid said barely above a whisper.

"But," Maka began, "How does that link Liz to you? Why did she end up coming here after that happened to her sister?"

Kid laughed despite the sadness in his eyes.
"You'd have to ask her…"

(Soul)

"So why'd you come after all the crap happened?" Soul asked, sitting on his bed in just his boxers as Liz observed the posters on the wall.

She took a swig of a flask.
"It was complicated," Liz said stumbling a bit on her words, obviously drunk, "I had just lost my sister, and the last place I wanted to go was back to our room in the foster home."
"Headmaster Death reached out to me."

"To come here?" Soul asked.

"He offered me a full-scholarship," Liz said, "he was apparently heartbroken over what happened, I think he really does care for all the scumbags that walk through the door, or at least he cares about his reputation and bank account."

"So he offered you a full-ride here so you'd keep your mouth shut about your sister?" Soul asked, slightly pissed off, "to protect his reputation and son?"

"He couldn't protect his son," Liz slurred, "he's locked up somewhere now, everyone think he's some sort of psychopath."

Soul nodded.

"Death told me how he wanted me to have a future, didn't want this whole thing to destroy me," Liz said, taking another drink, "He knew I wanted to get far away from Death City more than anything; this was supposed the be his way of trying to make it up to me."

"Why didn't he just pay for you to be sent somewhere else?" Soul questioned.

"There was only so much he could do," Liz said, leaning against the wall and meeting Soul's eyes. "Just having a diploma saying I graduated from here could get me a lot of places."

"You're not exactly the teacher's pet kind of person, though," Soul laughed.

Liz shrugged. "I had to drop a year," she began, "So right now I'd actually be a senior if I kept attending public high school; I'll be eighteen next month."
"And besides, they offer a lot of classes here that offer job experience: psychology, marketing, forensics…"

"I didn't know you took any of those courses," Soul said, walking over and leaning next to her.

She nodded. "A few, they don't really feel like classes, though," Liz said, "I don't do any of the homework, but the teachers don't really mind me because I do so well in class."
"I wanna be a psychologist, to help people like his brother," Liz whispered, "but I'm afraid if Death knew how much I drank or how many parties I went to he'd throw me out, thinking I'm really not that worried about my future."

Soul snorted. "Surprised he hasn't caught on," he said, snatching Liz's flask and waving it in the air before taking a sip. "You must of used your 'charm' to get onto his blind side," he teased.

"Yeah," Liz said, crossing her arms and looking at her feet, "I did it by dating his son."

(Maka)

Outside, the orange-tinted sunset began to fade to a deep purple as night began to take over Death City.

"You sure you're not going to get in trouble for walking me to my room?" Maka asked as she and Kid made their way down the corridors of the girl's dorm.

"Nonsense," Kid said grinning, "I know the faculty and staff quite well, they certainly won't mind at all." He snickered, "You should see how 'well' Professor Stein guards the boy's dormitory."

Maka allowed a small smile on her face as she watched her shoes.
"What are you going to do about Liz?" Maka asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper, curious to know but afraid to put Kid in a bad mood.

He coughed and adjusted his collar.
"Nothing," Kid said bluntly, "I won't try to protect her, I won't try to protect her."
"Maka, I care about her, I really do," he said, "I had the willpower to fight for her, but not actually fight her."

"What do you mean?" Maka asked.

"The drinking, the smoking, the parties," Kid laughed, "Liz," he began, "she just wanted to be a normal teenager, live a little, even if things sometimes got out of hand."
"I was never interested in those things," he said as they reached Maka's room, "I didn't understand her, we weren't meant to be together."

Maka nodded.

Kid pursed his lips in a sad smile.
"I know she's kind of rough and a bit of a bitch," he laughed, "but she really does care, I promise. She just does the wrong things to try and make her feel right."

"Thanks for talking to me, about all of this," Maka said.

"Thank you for listening," Kid chuckled, "You're a really good person to just open up to, Maka."

"Most people think I'm harsh or overwhelming," she giggled.

"Sometimes it's good to talk to someone who's persistent, someone who isn't afraid to share their opinion," he said, "Most people tip-toe around me as if I'm a ticking time bomb."
He sighed. "Ah, I don't really blame them."

Maka laughed.

"Well, sorry for keeping you away from your homework, I know how important that is for you," Kid said.

Maka shook her head. "Don't worry about the homework, I'm glad we talked," she smiled, "Goodnight, Kid."

"Goodnight, Maka."

(Soul)

Soul wandered around the lobby of the boy's dormitory after recently slamming the door in Black-Stars face when the argument of "why the hell does our room smell cheap tequila" and "why the hell do you smell like cheap cologne" ended on quite a sour note.

A few of Black-Stars friends were coming in, carrying their cases of instruments from practice.
They waved, but Soul just sneered and kept walking by.

"Freaks," he thought.

A janitor with red shaggy hair stood on a step stool as he was fixing a wall lamp that had busted.
"Hey, can you pass me that screwdriver?" he asked when Soul walked pass.

"You're the new janitor, aren't you?" Soul asked as he handed over the tool, shocked at how young the janitor sounded.

The janitor nodded. "The names Spirit, I graduated here too long ago quite some time ago," he said, "I'm old friends with the Headmaster and a few of the staff here."

"You're from Death City?" Soul asked.

"Born and raised; I moved more out east after getting married," he began, "but, you know, things didn't work out and here I am again," he chuckled.

"Sorry to hear that," Soul said, bored with this conversation.
Spirit turned to face him. Large eyes, small nose, thin lips. Why did he seem so familiar?

"Thanks for you concern," Spirit said sadly, "It's so hard to be separated from my family, my daughter really but…" he trailed off.
"Ah, sorry to bring these things up to you," he said stepping off his stool and grabbing his toolbox, "I'm here for a fresh start!"

He began walking off when Soul called out, "You have a daughter?"

"Mhm, probably around your age!" Spirit said, turning his head, "Her name is Maka, she was the sweetest little girl you'd ever see!"

(Maka)

"They're really beautiful, Tsubaki," Maka said, admiring a small bouquet of white tulips that sat on her desk.

"I know, he's such a sweet guy," Tsubaki said, coming out her long hair.
"I promise I won't be too long in the shower," she said before grabbing her towel and locking herself in the bathroom.

The sound of rushing water was faint in the room as Maka open the desk drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors.
With one quick snip, Maka had cut off one of the tulips and a bit of the stem.
After slightly organizing the bouquet to make sure the missing flower was unnoticeable, she dropped the scissors back in the drawer and left the room with the tulip in hand.

The hallways were dark with only moonlight illuminating Maka's path as she made her way down the hall to the large wooden doors that lead to the top floor.

Climbing the stairs and making her way down the depleted corridor of the scorched floor, goosebumps ran down Maka's back.
Shadows danced along the walls from clouds passing in front of the glowing moon.

She stopped at window where a bulky old stereo sat on the sill, cigarette buds and a few empty beer cans littered by it.

"Liz," Maka thought.

The tulip, whose petals were already beginning to curl and brown, sat peacefully on top of the radio as Maka made her way back down to her room so she could finally finish her studies.

To be continued…

Wow... totally power wrote this chapter, haha! I love long weekends, but I'm absolutely bored out of my mind :( I'm planning next chapter to be a Halloween special kind of chapter, so I hope you guys will enjoy that...thanks again for reading :D