"That's what makes them so dangerous."

What he had told her only made her even more confused about what was going on. Infuriated, she let out a loud groan, right in the middle of the hallway. Several students backed away from cautiously.

Throughout the rest of the day, she wore a frown on her face, trying to make up a theory, any theory, as to the Gorgon Empire. She even scribbled down a few ideas, though crossed them out just as quickly.

It just didn't make any sense to her.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Soul asked, when all of them were sitted around the empty classroom, the table filled with Maka's flyers in the middle.

Patty stood up, walked to the middle and emptied out the contents of her bag. Bottles of glue fell out, and she grinned.

"We gotta paste all the flyers. And talk to people."

"We'll go as twos, and threes," Liz said, "Patty, Kid and I. Tsu with Black Star, and Maka with Soul. So we got the persuasiveness of this," she flexed her biceps, "and this," she fluttered her eyelashes.

Maka laughed, "Very persuasive."

"I know right?" Liz grinned, passing them a stack of flyers. Then, she smirked at Soul, "I bet if you did that, Maka, boys will be lining up to protest with us later on."

As Maka blushed, Soul frowned, not liking the sound of that. As Liz was walking over to the others, she winked at him, and flexed her biceps again. He could see her mouth, "Use them."

"Soul."

"Huh?"

"You okay?" Maka asked, leaning closer to him. It suddenly felt a little too hot. He chuckled nervously, pulling at the collar of his jacket.

"Yeah, totally fine. Very fine. Super fine," he answered, edging back from her a little. She frowned, looking not very convinced at all, but then shrugged.

"Okay…" Maka stood up, dusting off her skirt, "We should get going."

Before they even took a few steps from out of class though, Liz's scream brought them back.

"What happened?" Soul asked, and Liz pointed at the poster on the wall silently. Kid sighed, then explained.

"We were going to put this flyer, and she saw… this," he gestured at the poster, and Maka and Soul moved forward to look at.

In big, bold, blue letters, prom was calling.

Maka just sighed, patting Liz before she pulled Soul away with her.

For the next two hours, they handed out flyers to their fellow peers, and even to Professor Stein, who took one look at the piece of paper and smiled.

"Biting more than you chew. This will be interesting to witness."

As they watched his retreating figure, they both turned to each other.

"Cryptic," they said together.

As they wandered around the school, they noticed how mostly every corner of the school had been covered by the flyers – probably Patty's doing. It seemed to be gaining attention, as they saw people stopping by to read it.

Maka grinned.

"Hey, do you think they went to our own library to hand these out?" She asked Soul, who shrugged, "Cause who else would be more concerned about the library than librarians, right?"

"Makes sense." Soul agreed, and they both made their way to the school library.

Turns out Maka wasn't right; the librarians didn't seem too enthusiastic about the protest, though they did manage to convince their fellow classmate, Kilik, to join them. It seemed he had two young cousins he always brought to the library, so he definitely didn't want that tradition gone.

"Well, at least we have one confirmed attendance," Soul attempted to lighten the mood.

"I guess." Maka pouted, walking around the library, picking out books at random and skimming the summary. Soul looked at her blankly, but decided against saying anything lest he get hit on the head by one again.

They weren't really looking where they were headed, and Maka gasped when she realised they were in a section she had never visited before. Soul just watched amused as she took book after book off its shelf, nodding his head in when she ran up to him and excitedly told him it was a whole section full of historical romance.

In fact, she was so engrossed in the books and he was so engrossed in watching her that they both didn't realise they were being watched until they turned around and saw someone staring at them.

"Geez." Soul said, rubbing his chest where his heart had nearly jumped out of, "Don't just sit there and stay quiet would you? Nearly gave me a heart attack back there."

The person sat in the corner, one page open in front of her. Or him, Soul couldn't really tell. She wore a gloomy expression and a long black dress. In fact, if it weren't for her brightly coloured hair, Soul would have thought she was on her way to a funeral.

That weird person opened her mouth, "Well, this is a library."

Maka burst into laughter as Soul flushed, saying "She's got a point." Grinning, Maka made her way over to the strange person, sitting down across from her.

"Hi, I'm Maka! And that uncool dude over there is Soul," she held out her hand, "We're both sophomores. I don't think I've ever seen you around before. What's your name?"

"C-Chrona." The kid stammered.

"Cool name." Maka complimented, and Chrona blushed. Soul just rolled his eyes; she was completely misusing the word 'cool' again!

"So… Chrona," she continued, fishing out a flyer from the think stack she had left, "I see you like books. Which means you like libraries, right?"

"I- I guess so." Chrona didn't seem so sure when she said that though, and Soul just shook his head. Maka was just way too friendly sometimes.

Maka smiled as she handed Chrona the flyer, though she didn't notice her eyes grow marginally wider as she read what was on it. Chrona was gripping the piece of paper so tightly she teared up the edges a little bit.

"… So I hope to see you there!" Maka finished, and Chrona just nodded slowly.

"I'll try and make it."

"Awesome. Now I'll leave you to read in peace." Maka held out a hand to Soul, who grabbed it and pulled her up. Smiling, she turned around before they rounded the corner, "I hope to see you on Saturday, Chrona!"

Saturday came faster than any of them expected, the week just passing by in a blur of pop quizzes and homework.

Maka lay nervously in her room, scratching Blair's head more fervently as the hours ticked by. At five to nine, she got dressed, and patted her cat one last time for good luck before leaving. Her father had the late shift so she didn't need to explain where she was going; she was also nearly a hundred percent sure that he wouldn't let her leave the house if he knew what she was planning to do.

Soul picked her up, and they drove in silence to the Gorgon Empire, a huge tall building in the middle of the city.

They were the last of the group to arrive, and Maka was more than a little disappointed to see that only five others had turned up, all of them sophomores as well; Ox, Harvar, Kim, Jacqueline and, as promised, Kilik.

"So, just remember this is a peaceful protest," Tsubaki reminded them all for the umpteenth time, handing out their signs, "We just try and get our point across, if not, we just leave, alright."

"Alright mum." Liz said, and Tsubaki swatted her with the sign.

"Okay," Maka said quietly, "Let's do this."

Together, the twelve of them marched to the entrance of the Empire, and stood outside, chanting 'Don't demolish the library!'.

From above, Medusa looked at the scene on the ground. Turning around, she asked, "What should we do, sister?"

In the shadows, Arachne smiled, "Don't worry. I've sent someone to deal with those little pests.

About half an hour of chanting later, Black Star let out a groan, and threw his sign on the floor.

"This is complete crap!"

"Hey, pick that sign back up!" Maka ordered, and he just rolled his eyes.

"What for?"

Soul sighed, putting his own sign down as he stretched his arms, "Star's right, we're not getting anything done this way. No one's even here to see this."

Liz put down her sign too, "I hate to admit it, but really Maka, it's not working out. We need to think of a better plan."

"Fine, I know that. But right now," she knelt down herself, reaching for the sign herself, "Just take your damn sign and hold it up."

Before she could grab hold of his sign though, a shadow loomed over her, stepping right in the middle of the sign.

"Your friends are right, girlie," a low voice

A man towered over her, sharp teeth pulled back in a malicious smile. Despite his appearance, Maka didn't seem fazed. Instead, she scowled, "Excuse me, you're standing on my sign."

"Maka," Soul warned, taking a step towards her, glaring at the man, who spared him a glance before smirking down at her again, "Stand up."

The others tensed up, knowing right away something would go wrong. Black Star's fists were already clenched tight.

She turned her glare to him, "You don't tell me what to do."

"No," the man said, grabbing her arm, "girlies should listen to their boyfriends."

He was on the ground before he even realised what was happening, Soul grabbing his collar.

"Don't you fucking lay a hand on her!" He shouted, punching the man in the face. However, he completely underestimated the strange man, and got socked in the face too. Despite a bleeding nose and torn lip, Soul didn't let go of his collar, and they rolled around on the ground.

"Soul!" Maka cried, but Liz held her back.

"Maka, don't! Look! That fucker brought friends." It was true, there were more men joining them. Black Star and Kid were already brawling, both working back to back, taking down one person after the other but there were more joining the fray.

"Shit." Patty swore, "Tsu behind you!"

Without even thinking Tsubaki turned around and punched the guy right in the face, and then covered her mouth in shock.

Ox, Harvar and Kilik were also trying to take down the men, but there were just too many of them. Kim looked like she was going to help them, but Jacqueline held her back.

Soon enough, the twelve of them were sitting in a pile. The boys were all nursing bruises, though Ox seemed to enjoy it since Kim was fussing over him.

Maka sat beside Soul, who was pressing a handkerchief, courtesy of Kid, against his nose, trying to stem the flow of blood. He had refused Maka's help when she offered it, but held on to her hand to show that he wasn't that mad at her.

"My parents are going to be so fucking pissed when they see me," he muttered, and Maka squeezed his hand consolingly. Liz scooted over to where they were, pulling out her make-up kit.

"I can help with that."

Ten minutes later, he looked, even if he didn't feel, as good as new, and was staring at the powder in wonder, "Magic."

Maka's laughter was cut short when police sirens blared through the night. She groaned, and hid her face in Soul's shoulder. Knowing her luck, the first person who would be there would be…

"Alright kids. Didn't your parents ever teach y- MAKA?!"

… her Papa.

"This your stop?" Spirit asked, looking over his shoulder as Soul.

After spending the past few hours in hold-in, and being bailed out by someone, the teenagers were exhausted. Spirit and Sid had taken pity on them, and split the kids between themselves, sending the other five home first before they went back for their own kids.

Soul nodded, saying a curt thank you to Spirit, and bidding goodbye to Maka and Tsubaki, who watched him go wearily.

Watching Spirit drive off, Soul sighed, walking up to his front door, filled with dread. Taking a deep breath, he opened the front door of his house quietly, hoping with every fibre of his being that his parents weren't still awake.

Of course, as usual, luck was never on his side, since he saw his parents' silhouetted by the dim light in the still on in the dining area. He groaned quietly, half-thinking that it would be much easier if he just pretended he didn't see them, and went on upstairs to his room.

He was tired, he was pissed, and he was hungry.

That was never a good combination to have a conversation with his father with.

Of course though, he had no choice but to walk towards his parents, knowing that delaying the inevitable verbal lashing would only make things that much worse.

Maybe he could just apologise; sure it would be half-assed, but he thought it was better than nothing. It always worked for Wes whenever he got in trouble… which was never at all. Damn it.

Dragging his feet across the floor – as he had always been specifically told not to by his mother – so as to alert them of his presence, Soul stopped behind their red, velvet sofa, that was actually a replacement to the one Soul had destroyed, in their words, by spilling soda on.

The lights flickered on, and he had a moment to appreciate how dramatic the lighting was – what with the chandelier and the moonlight and whatnot – before his father's voice boomed in the empty room.

"Where have you been?"

"Thought I already told you, old man," Soul drawled, leaning on the sofa. He knew he was riling the guy up, and really, he knew he shouldn't, but somehow his mouth never cooperated with his mind on that aspect.

"Got into a fight while we were doing our protest, got thrown into jail, got bailed out," he shrugged, "Y'know, the usual."

"Soul." His mother's voice warned him. Her bright, red eyes, the only thing either son had inherited from her, flashed dangerously, and he deflated a bit. His father was one thing, but he did respect his mother, and had no desire to make life more difficult for her than he already had.

But usually he still did.

He really was a useless son.

"Got into a fight, you say?" His father repeated, a mocking tone in his voice. There was a pause, before he said, "Come into the light, boy."

Soul stiffened. The light coat of makeup Liz had tried to apply to conceal his bruising face while they were in their cell had already worn off, he was sure of it. He clenched his fists; he really hadn't wanted to worry his mother.

"I said, boy, come into the light." Soul could practically hear the sneer in his father's voice, "I would like to see your face."

Baring his teeth slightly, he stepped forward. His mother's gasp of horror was a huge blow to his heart.

He knew what they saw; red, angry throbbing skin, courtesy of the guy who had socked him in the face.

"Oh, Soul. Why? Did we not raise you better than this?"

He shrugged, looking down. That look of disappointment on her face hurt more than his throbbing face.

"Well, I hope that managed to beat some sense into you."

Huh, so that's where he got his sense of humour from.

Who knew.

"Dear," His mother's voice was firm, looking at her husband sternly. Then, she turned to Soul.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean though. What protest?"

Oh right, he hadn't actually ever told them about the whole Maka-library fiasco. Well, better late than never. Grudgingly, he summarized what had happened over the past week, making sure to skip over the parts he didn't think they'd need to know, and avoiding mentioning any names apart from Maka and Black Star – the only ones they actually knew.

There was a moment of silence, before his father laughed.

Both him and his mother stared at him, wondering what he found so funny. Soul for one didn't find anything he said even remotely funny.

"Ah, after all this time wondering what was wrong with you," he addressed Soul, "It was really just your friends this whole time."

Soul immediately felt his body go cold.

"What are you trying to say?"

"It's fairly obvious, I believe. You need new friends."

He turned around as if the conversation was over, and although his mother looked at him sympathetically, she didn't say a word, instead standing up to follow her husband.

Soul stood rooted to the spot, fists clenched by his side.

"No."

That stopped them in their tracks, "What?"

He remembered the first time he had met Maka; it had been in middle school. It had been his first day, and really, those first few hours had been a nightmare. He had never been the type to easily make friends. So during recess, instead of socializing with the other kids, he had wandered around the school, until he accidentally came across a room with a piano in it.

He guessed it was the music room, looking at all the other musical instruments that were in it as he wandered in. Unable to help himself, he sat down on the small black bench. It squeaked a little under his weight, and as he lifted the case on it, a layer of dust coated his fingers.

As his fingers pressed against the cold keys, a wave of quiet calmness washed over him, and unconsciously, he began to play a melody he had composed in his head – a melody he had been too afraid to show his parents because they never liked it when he played anything other than what he was taught.

He was barely aware of anything other than the music, so wrapped up in his own little bubble he had nearly jumped ten feet into the air when instead of the silence he had come to expect, there was thunderous clapping.

Turning around, he saw a girl he recognized from his class – the pigtails and green eyes making her easy to remember. She was clapping enthusiastically, face bright, smile wide.

"That was so good!" She told him, stepping forward, and Soul immediately leaned back slightly. It seemed like she noticed, but instead of being offended, she merely stayed where she was and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Who was that by?" She asked, tilting her head.

Ears burning, he rubbed the back of his head, not meeting her gaze, "Urr, me. I know, it sounds really uncool bu-"

"Are you kidding? It sounded amazing!" She took another step towards him, "You're talent is the real deal!"

Soul stared at her. She probably didn't have any idea about music, from the way she highly praised what he himself thought a very bad composition. And yet…

"Thank you." He told her, turning around to face her again. As if knowing he meant that as an invitation, she beamed and walked towards him, holding out her hand. He took it.

She nodded to herself as though satisfied with something, "My name's Maka Albarn."

"Soul Evans."

Soul looked up at his parents, eyes blazing. "No. She's not someone I can lose."

His father stared at him, before he shook his head, "Has nothing gotten through your thick skull in all these years? You live under my roof, you live under my rules. Case closed."

The words left his mouth before he could even think about what he was saying, "Guess I can't live in this house anymore then."

His mother gasped, while his father glared at him, chest puffing out, the challenge clear in his voice, "Are you going against me, boy?"

The younger boy didn't back down. "Yeah," he smirked, "I am."

There was a heavy silence as father and son stared each other down, before the former shook his head slightly. "Very well. You have twenty minutes to pack up your things."

"Dear!" Soul heard his mother shout, but he was not willing to back down now.

"I'll only need ten." He said as he walked past them, ignoring his mother as she reached out for him.

In his room, he grabbed the duffel bag he kept below his bed, and started stuffing clothes into it, not really caring what they were. The leather jacket he always wore was on his back anyway. Very carefully, he placed a couple of his favourite CDs and games on the top of the pile before zipping the bag up.

Of course, he didn't forget his guitar, and after making sure he had enough picks in its case, he stood up. Soul took one last look at his room, regretting slightly over the fact he couldn't bring along the posters he had plastered all over his walls, and then opened the door and walked out.

He made a quick detour the bathroom and grabbed all his toiletries.

As he descended the stairs, his mother's teary face came into vision, and he had to resist the urge to just turn back around and unpack and pretend none of this had happened. But he couldn't though.

Like Maka had told him, it was more than the action itself – it was the point they were trying to get across through those actions.

No more would his life be dictated by his father. He would have the friends he wanted to have, play whatever he wanted to play on the piano…

"Soul dear, please don't go," his mother pleaded, holding out her hands to him. He carefully placed his guitar against the sofa before he walked over to her and engulfed her in a big hug; he was much taller than she was now.

"Sorry ma, but I just can't live here with the old man anymore." Gently, he detached himself from her, gripping her shoulders firmly, "You take care, alright? I'll call you."

She placed her hands on top of his, squeezing them. "Where will you go? You're underage, and you can't rent an apartment without any money." At that, she straightened. "Do you need money?"

Soul shook his head firmly. "Nope, I've got enough in my bank to hold me out for a while. Don't worry about me, Ma. I know what to do." It's not as if this was the first time he was thinking of how he would go about things if he ran away, though this was the first time he was actually going through with those thoughts.

He kissed his mother on the cheek, mumbled a quick 'I love you' and just like that, he walked out of the place he had called home, feeling freer than he had in a long time.

After walking a while, Soul stopped on the sidewalk, next to a dark, empty road. Guitar firmly in one hand, bag on his back, he pulled out his phone. Scrolling through his contacts, he stopped at the one he was looking for, took a deep breath and pressed the green button.

The other line rang for several seconds before a gruff, deep voice burst through the line.

"Who is this?" His voice was thick with sleep and annoyance, "And why are you calling at two in the morning?" Soul grinned.

"Rise and shine, big bro."