She was absolutely exhausted. Work ended pretty late last night. Maka had to close up by herself, resulting in her not getting home until about eleven. Her classes forced her to crawl reluctantly out of bed early and now that they were over for the day, her weariness really set in. The moment she got back to the apartment, she threw down her bag and plopped herself onto the couch, sighing contently as her muscles finally got some rest.

"Hey," Soul greeted.

"Hey," she mumbled in reply, turning onto her side to get more comfortable.

"Don't tell me you're gonna take a nap," Soul groaned, "We've got that party thing today!"

"Relax, I don't have to get ready for another few hours."

"No," he growled, "C'mon, get up, we need to make a plan."

"Soul, just rela-"

"Maka, I swear if you don't get up right now, I'm gonna make so much noise you won't be able to fall asleep anyway."

Maka snapped up, meeting his fierce glower with a dark look, "Just what is your problem, Soul?" she asked menacingly, unhappy with his tone. Her sleepiness and stress weren't helping her mood either. There had been a lot on her mind today. The rent payment (which she would barely make), the three essays she needed to write by the end of the week, the cable bill (which would probably end up going through the roof thanks to Soul), and on top of all that, the Thompsons' party. The last thing she needed right now was Soul's agitation.

"I'm trying to get us ready for the plan," he answered.

"You could just talk me through at the party."

"No, we have to plan right now," Soul retorted stubbornly.

She seriously did not need this right now. All she wanted was to take a stupid nap. An hour would do. But, no, this stubborn bastard wouldn't have it. "I just want to take a nap, Soul. Why don't you take your ghostly ass outside and bother some people or whatever it is you like to do," she spat.

Soul's eyes sparked with rage, "What did you say?!"

"I said," Maka started bitterly, "go out and bother people, since you seem to like it so fucking much. You know, go fly around town, float through things, get pissed off at everything."

"What?!"

"You know what, Soul? Why should I even be helping you? You're being a total jerk about everything. I mean, I take the time to search for articles online and you get mad that it isn't enough. We see your friends, which, mind you, I've never met in my life, and you yell at me for not talking to them," she huffed, shaking her head, "Maybe you should just stay this way. You don't have to deal with anything, you don't have to work your ass off just to get by, you don't have to stay up all night studying, you don't have to deal with your stupid alcoholic, sex-addicted father, you don't have to deal with your mother being missing!" she exploded. "You can just float away from it all."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Soul snapped, his blood-red eyes flaming with fury. "Do you even fucking know what it's like to be like this?! It's not all fun and games. You can't touch anything, nobody sees you, nobody hears you, nobody gives a fuck. Do you know what it's like to not be able to sleep while everyone else does? Do you know what it's like to forget everything about yourself? All you do is exist. You can't do anything for yourself. You can't do anything for anyone."

By this point, angry tears were streaming down Maka's face, her teeth clenched, "Well I'm so fucking sorry I'm still alive and I don't understand, Soul. But, you don't have to be an asshole about everything!"

"Yeah, well, why don't you just take that stupid-ass nap of yours so you can finally shut up, bitch."

"Fuck off, Soul!" she roared, "You're such a dick."

"Don't mind if I do. I'll just float around 'cause I apparently love it so fucking much."

"Fine!" she cried, stomping over to her room and slamming the door as Soul disappeared through the wall of her apartment. Maka curled up on top of her bed and let her tears flow silently until she nodded off to sleep.

Later that evening, after having taken a short nap and changing into something more suited for a party, Maka met up with Kim so they could arrive together. Soul hadn't returned after their heated argument. She felt bad. She'd said things she didn't really mean, but her accumulating stress and frustration finally made her snap. But now, Maka had to concentrate and make her own way since she didn't have Soul around to help her. The thing was, her surroundings were pretty damn intimidating.

She stood before a gorgeous mansion, which must've cost a fortune to live in. Statues decorated the small area in front of the house and its heavy, tall doors were ornate with brass handles and knockers. It wasn't until Kim called out her name that Maka snapped out of her observational trance.

"Maka, c'mon, let's get inside, it's cold."

"R-right," she stuttered, following Kim up the stairs. The pink-haired girl pulled open the door and let Maka in. Inside, the house looked much bigger and it was already filled with drunk college students.

"Kim!" a voice shouted from the crowd. Liz Thompson emerged and made her way towards the two girls, a beer can in hand.

"Liz!" Kim squealed, giving the girl a tight hug before turning to Maka. "Maka, this is Liz. Liz, Maka."

"Oh! ID girl!" Liz exclaimed in recognition.

"Nice to see you again," Maka greeted with a smile.

"You guys know each other?" Kim asked.

"No, she just dropped her ID on the street the other day and I was able to catch up and give it back to her," Maka explained.

"Well, come on in, grab a beer," Liz ushered, leading them to a staircase at the end of the room. "Patty and the rest are up on the balcony."

Maka stayed close to Kim. She was literally her only ticket into the group and she couldn't risk losing that. Otherwise, she'd have to fend for herself in this jungle of strangers.

Liz led them to the balcony, which held a stunning million-dollar view of Death City. Maka looked around in awe. Just how rich were these people?! Soul certainly had his connections. She scanned the sitting areas spread in a few small bunches around balcony. There, Maka saw the rest of the group she'd seen the other day.

"Guys," Liz addressed, "Kim's here and so is ID girl, her name is Maka, be nice."

"Kim!" the younger of the two sisters called, attacking her friend with a hug. Maka suddenly felt alone. Kim was being pulled over to their sitting area while she stood alone and awkward. But this was no time to be timid. Maka walked to the nearby cooler and grabbed a bottle of beer, some fancy-looking brand she'd never heard of, and made her way to the group.

"Hey, Maka, you can sit here," Liz grinned, offering her a chair.

Maka paused for a split second, surprised at her consideration before taking a seat with a grateful smile. "Thanks," she said meekly.

"No problem. I guess I'll just introduce you to everyone," said Liz, "Over there's Black Star, he's a dumbass."

"Hey, what did you say about me, bitch?!" the blue-haired boy roared.

Ignoring him, she continued, "That's Tsubaki." The black-haired girl waved. "And that's my sister, Patty."

After introductions were made, Maka began to relax and joined in on conversation. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. She didn't need Soul, after all. His friends were really nice, very welcoming and fun to be around. After a while, however, Liz and Patty went off to continue hosting their party, Kim went back downstairs, and Black Star left when some guy challenged him to a game of beer pong. Maka was left with Tsubaki, a polite kind-hearted girl, who, by this point was a bit buzzed.

"I really like your dress," Tsubaki complimented, eyeing Maka's golden sundress that could be seen through her open trenchcoat, "it reminds me of my cat's eyes," she giggled.

"Thanks," Maka smiled, "You have a cat? I've always wanted one."

"Yeah, her name is Blaire. I've only had her for a month, but she's not actually mine. She belongs to my friend, Soul."

Ding ding ding! She was onto something now. The fact that Tsubaki was already mildly affected by alcohol would only make it easier. "Did he give her to you?" Maka asked as casually as she could manage.

"No," Tsubaki sighed. "He got into an accident."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Ah, no, but he's not dead! He's in a coma, actually, so I took Blaire in so I can take care of her until he wakes up," she explained. Tsubaki gave Maka a sad smile. "A drunk driver hit him and Soul fell off his motorcycle. We visited at Tezca Medical Center in Las Vegas right after the accident, but only once since it's so inconveniently far from Death City. But, thankfully, he was moved to St. Justin's Hospital, so we're able to visit him more often. I hope he does wake up, we all really miss him."

"I see."

"I'm sorry," Tsubaki apologized, "You probably didn't want to hear all about that."

"Oh, no it's okay." Perfect, actually, exactly what I needed. "It was nice meeting you, Tsubaki, I'm gonna go back down."

"Nice meeting you too, Maka," she said with a smile and a slight wave.

Maka hurried downstairs and rushed out the door. She had to find Soul. Their search was basically over. Now all they had to do was go to the hospital together and it'd be done. If she could find him right now, anyway. Buttoning up her trench coat and tightening her scarf, she hurried down the streets, checking places he might've been at. She checked the apartment and the café, but he wasn't there. It was hopeless. He was literally a ghost, he couldn't be found so easily, not in a city as big as this one. If he wanted to disappear, he certainly could. Even so, Maka walked around a while longer in hopes of spotting him, but it was fruitless.

She decided to return home, taking her favorite shortcut through the park. Her feet were killing her after walking around for so long in heeled boots. The city streets weren't very forgiving to pedestrians. The uneven cobblestone path wasn't any better, and it made her tempted to take the horrid boots off, but she knew having her feet exposed to the cold would be worse and could possibly end up with her catching a cold. She turned to a nearby bench and sat down, sighing in relief to be resting at last. But her relaxed state didn't last long. Maka started up when she saw something glowing out of the corner of her eye. Turning to it, she saw Soul's suspended figure emitting a faint grey light through the bare branches of the trees.

"Soul?"

He turned around but his eyes darted down when they met hers. "What?"

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Geez, don't do that to me again, Ghost Boy," Maka sighed. Seeing that he didn't respond, she approached him cautiously, " Listen, I'm really sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean it, I was just really stressed out and tired and I feel really bad. Soul I-"

"It's okay," he turned to her, a gently smile gracing his lightly illuminated face, "I'm sorry, too. I was being an ass."

"I was being a bitch."

"Damn straight," he smirked.

"Shut up!" Maka grinned, happy he'd forgiven her. "I've got news!"

Soul cocked his head curiously, "Like what?"

"I know where your body is!"

Soul's eyes lit up instantly, lips parting slightly in surprise, "You mean you actually found out?"

"Yeah, from your friend Tsubaki," she beamed proudly.

"I have to say," he started with a light chuckle, "I'm impressed. So where is it?"

"St. Justin's Hospital. It's in the next town over," Maka explained, "Oh yeah, by the way, you apparently have a cat named Blaire. Tsubaki's taking care of her now," she added.

"Really? Cool."

The two made their way back to the apartment laughing and joking around, but Maka couldn't help but feel a knot of dread in her chest. Their time together like this would be over soon, and she couldn't bear the thought of it.

A/N: It's a miracle I was able to get this up today. I got sick over the weekend and I just wasn't in the mood for writing, but thankfully I finished it on Sunday. I didn't think I'd make my own deadline since musical practice was supposed to end late, but we ended up getting out early, so I got to edit it! Yay!

I don't think the next chapter will be up for a few days since we're having tech week for the musical and practices are gonna go late. But I'll try to possibly get it up around Thursday, but no promises.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are nice. I like reviews.