Him: 2

Soul is starting to think that he overstepped her boundaries, again. Which, is crazy because he's not the kind of guy to care about another person or bother about their problems. It's not cool to snoop into other's personal business. Yet, he finds that Maka is different, and that doesn't bother him as much as it should. He has no explanation for why he cares about a girl he just met in the last 4 hours. That doesn't seem like a problem to him either. The problem isn't so much that he met the girl by chance one night. Nor is it the fact that this chance encounter involved him pulling her over the ledge of a bridge she had slipped over. The problem is that she's complicated in a way he doesn't even understand, but he wants to understand.

He knows something's wrong. She didn't like him being too close to her, she didn't want him to touch her unexpectedly, and she was suspicious of him half the night. He gets they were practically strangers, and that as a stranger he had insisted on taking her for a drive, but somehow it still feels like he is missing something. She's a lot more reserved than any other girl, for a reason he doesn't know, and the more Soul thinks about it the more he wants to know. He wants to know more about Maka.

Specifically, right now, he wants to know why she was so scared of going home.

He had felt bad about it the moment he realized she didn't want to go back to her house. Only an idiot wouldn't notice that every problem she has is centered around the one place she should feel the safest. However, he really was exhausted and needed to sleep before class. If it wasn't for the stupid project he has due today he would have gladly ditched and stuck around Maka.

The truth of that statement almost has him worried, but Soul shrugs it off because he never was the studious type anyway. He ditched all the time in high school, and in college they were so much more lenient about attendance he almost never went.

Might as well spend that time trying to help a girl who can't seem to help herself.

But she's really too cute and is a complete nerd and he can't help but think that pushing her buttons is the best way to spend his time. Yet, even if he thinks so, it may have been way too forward to suddenly thrust his number on her while she's busy having a psychological crisis. He didn't mean it in a brash way, but with her it's hard to say how Maka will respond to any attempts he makes at befriending her.

Soul worries the whole way back to his apartment. After returning his neighbors car, he wanders up to his room, then bed. Sleep is a struggle because all he can see is big, green eyes with dirty blond hair disappearing into a void that he can't pull them back from. He ends up waking an hour earlier than he needs to, and it shows all over his face. He showers, then makes lunch. A sandwich.

She still hasn't texted him yet, and he's worried because she might never try to contact him again. She may think he's some sort of creep trying to take advantage of her while she's frazzled and scared. There is a chance Maka might not believe in him or his letter at all, even though he means ever word in every sentence. He wants her to have confidence in herself, he wants her to talk to people instead of just trying to solve it all on her own—God knows where that got her.

More specifically, though, he wants her to text him whenever she feels alone, because he's here for her. Even if he isn't the most functional person himself. He thinks that he could be though, if Maka wanted it. Is that weird? Soul isn't sure.

He finishes lunch with these thoughts clouding his mind. Soul spends the next odd number of minutes staring out into the void of his apartment, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. One depressed girl at four in the morning has him a complete mess and he isn't even upset with her for doing it.

Then his phone goes off. Soul leaps out of his chair and scrambles for the kitchen counter, where his phone charges next to his wallet. His heart is thudding for several reasons—none of which he is proud of—but it halts when it's just his usual alarm, telling him to wake up. The realization hurts way more than it should, and that's probably what has him the most upset at this point.

Soul wonders over to his couch, only to collapse upon it from disappointment. He's gone over the situation a million times in his head; there is no reason for her to text him, to trust him. In reality, despite saving her from that fall, he is still a stranger to her. He wonders if it would have helped if he at least looked normal, with brown hair and eyes. She may have smiled with him more, if not for his shark teeth. It's a wonder she didn't accuse him for being a demon from hell, sent to mock her struggles. The thought makes him snicker, because he knows that she would have probably turned around and kicked his ass instead of jumping, if that were the case. She seemed like the type to stick her ground and fight, rather than run away.

Which, when he considers it longer, makes her suicide attempt seem very out of character. That thought makes him worry more.

"Damn it." He wants to go back to her house and growl his annoyance at her in person. But he can't, for many, many reasons. Why won't she just text him? It's not for her sake anymore. He needs the confirmation that she's okay.

It's so uncool. He blames Maka.

Soul decides he's had enough of this, so he does something he never once tried before in his education career. He's going to school. Early. Almost a whole thirty minutes after the ride on his bike. Following getting his backpack together, Soul left his apartment feeling less dejected about the situation and more angry. He's being so uncool right now. Even if he looks badass in his leather jacket while riding his Harley, on the inside he feels like he's lost so many cool points. He's never been so low before.

This is also Maka's fault.

He spends the whole day at classes trying his best to be distracted; he pretends even harder to pay attention in class. The report that took him away from Maka is shitty, partly because he's still a little pissed, but mostly because he threw the thing together Sunday night when he happened to remember it was due.

This is probably not Maka's fault.

He's about to leave campus for home when he spots his best friend. It's not hard to do, considering he's loud, full of himself, and has spikey blue hair. Oh, and is running towards Soul like a maniac who just escaped the ward. Soul braces himself for the inevitable, expecting whatever to happen next to involve some sort of violent contact.

He is not disappointed, as his friend nearly tackles him to the ground. "Soul!"

"Yeah, Black*Star." Soul replies, "What is it now?"

"I've met someone." The guy is grinning like mad, "She's gorgeous, man. A goddess; perfect for a god like me."

"How long?" Though he isn't really interested, Soul knows he has to at least let the guy get it out of his system.

"Almost a month." Black*Star grins as a surprised look flashes across his friend's face. "Try not to be too jealous, Soul. It's no good if my followers feel envy for their god. You should just admire me for being the great god that I am. Who knows, maybe I can find you a fine lady too, as a gift for being such a loyal lackey."

Soul rolls his eyes, "Shut it, Black*Star. I do not need your help finding a girlfriend."

His best friend looks unconvinced, "Oh please Soul, you may look cool on the outside, but the real you is—"

Soul's phone goes off. It's two simple dings, plus the soft noise of his phone vibrating inside his pocket. The reaction is Soul throwing his bag off in one violent motion, his hands going for his jean pockets. The phone is not there. Then he remembers he stuffed it in his jacket so he could hear it if the thing went off. Soul finds his phone, and can feel Black*Star staring at him as he unlocks the device. The number is unknown, but they write in complete sentences, with punctuation.

Hi Soul, it's Maka! Thank you again for earlier.

She's such a nerd.

Soul can't tell if he should laugh or cry, but the happiness he feels makes him grin wide and hard. He can feel Black*Star growing antsy beside him, but Soul doesn't have time to explain himself. He adds Maka to his contact list before trying to think of how to reply. He knows what he wants to say: something akin to "Finally!" or "Why did you take so long?" but he's worried that she'll figure him out. Everything he wants to say it just too obvious.

Soul settles for something very casual: Hey pigtails whats up

Soul doesn't bother to put his phone away, choosing to stare at the screen until she replies. He doesn't wait long. She's so punctual. It suits her. Her reply is resentful at his nickname for her, but she admits she just wanted to test the number. The whole thing is so Maka, Soul worries that his face might split in two. It's amazing how much better he feels from just two little messages.

He wonders if she can read his mind no matter where she is, because she sends a third text before he can even reply. It explains that she's been sleeping all day, and she feels lazy because of it. It's a crack from earlier, something parallel to their pre-breakfast conversation, and Soul is beyond pleased because that means she's still in good spirits. Her ability to read him is turning out to be pretty convenient, and is saving him the embarrassment of asking any worrisome questions. Some coolness points may be salvaged yet.

He decides to reply with his own quip: Xtremely lazy

Shut up, Soul.

He wants to laugh because he can hear her saying it, down to the little whine she puts onto the vowels of his name. It's so cute he might just let out a real smile. This whole thing is just ridiculous. He's acting so very uncool right now, and he doesn't even care.

Is that Maka's fault or his? Soul isn't sure.

He's about to text her back when there is a grunt near him. Soul looks up to see that his best friend is still there, and strangely quiet. That is not a good sign.

Soul prepares to wave the last five minutes off; he prepares to salvage his cool card before the other male can shred it to pieces. But, Black*Star just grins wider and wider the more Soul tries to explain that he was waiting for a text from someone about an assignment. That's all. It's no big deal. Totally doesn't matter to him either.

Black*Star is cackling like a psycho by the time he gives up his integrity, leaving Soul to wonder how he can blame Maka for everything that has gone wrong today.

"Looks like you don't need my godly help after all, Soul."

(^~^)

So... Part 2. I just couldn't wait. I doubt I could ever post so quickly in the future, but I had these on reserve. Everyone was being so nice, I wanted to share more.

This is by no means the end. I'm still building this plot up, after all.

Thank you all so much for reading! Please look forward to more!