***Important A/N***: Hey guys...Happy November... I wrote this short 'one-shot' kind of backstory to Soul before he came to Shibusen and I might begin referencing his life before Shibusen in this story...so I just wanted to give you guys a heads-up...you can find it under my stories... :)

Chapter 7:

(Maka)

"Maka, did you not see me have that huge meltdown in the library? You should see me at my worst, when I can't control myself because I can't control what's around me…" he had said to her that one day, staring at her intently with those sad golden eyes.

She could just imagine those sad eyes staring up as those cops busted into the apartment building, eyeing him lying on the floor near the shattered glass with a pistol tucked into his pants.
He wasn't a monster, was he? The boy who had danced with her all Homecoming night and talked with her all day on the school balcony as they watched day turn to night.

"Maka, it's just me... " he had pleaded to her yesterday night, gripping her wrist with impossible force for such a lanky teenager.
"Maka…?"

"Maka? Hey, Maka, are you listening?" a voice called out as a hand rested on Maka's shoulder, causing her to nearly leap out of her chair and almost spill her untouched cup of chamomile tea that had long gone cold.

"Tsubaki," Maka asked breathlessly, clutching the edge of her desk chair as she sat in her green and yellow striped pajamas.
"School already ended?" she murmured to herself, unaware of how much time had passed.

Tsubaki nodded.
"It isn't like you to miss class, are you feeling fine?"

Maka shrugged.
"Too much Halloween candy, I guess…" she lied, staring idly at the dust particles that drifted in the beams of afternoon sun that glistened in from the nearby window.

"Kid says he wants you to drop him a call," Tsubaki said, crossing her arms and following Maka's gaze to the window, "Wants to make sure you're feeling okay."

"What?" Maka said as a sharp shiver ran down her back.
"Kid was at school today?!" asked, furrowing her brows dramatically.
How did he avoid the cops? She could swear she knocked him out pretty hard with that book…

"Yeah," Tsubaki said with a concerned look. "Everyone was there except you and Jackie…"
She shrugged and chewed the inside of her cheek.
"Hey, did something happen between you two last night?" she asked, "I mean, I heard about Kid and Liz…"

Maka bit her lip and stared down at the painted wood of her desk with a somber expression.
"He told you about last night…?" she murmured.

Tsubaki sighed.
"I know Liz can be a not-so-nice person, Maka, and Kid knows he acted stupid last night, but you know he's not a bad guy…"

"Just forget it," Maka shrugged glumly, shaking her head.

"Maka, Kid said he didn't mean to hurt you, he wanted me to tell you that-" Tsubaki began, staring hard into Maka's eyes.

"This isn't about Kid and Liz getting back together!" Maka half-lied, slamming her palm against her desk and causing her tea to slosh about in it's cup.

Tsubaki nodded slowly and broke her gaze, deciding to stare at her school flats instead.

Maka sighed.
"Sorry," she murmured, "I'm just cranky, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night…"

A small grin broke out on Tsubaki's face.
"Why don't we all go out to get some coffee tonight? Us, Kim, Black-Star, and Kid? You could use the caffeine and fresh air!"

"Oh, I don't know, I've got a bad migraine and tons of works to catch up on…" Maka said, feeling goosebumps rise on her arms at the idea of having to see Kid after last night.

"C'mon, it'll be good for you," Tsubaki giggled, "You can't avoid Kid forever!"

"I told you this isn't about him!" Maka said.

"Then I'll be seeing you tonight!" Tsubaki laughed as she turned and walked off to her side of the room.

Maka scoffed and buried her face in her hands, suppressing a smile that always seem to come with Tsubaki's sweet nature.
She took a deep breath as she studied the bruise that wringed around her wrist, rubbing her thumb against the deep violet of the mark.
"Hey, Tsubaki?" Maka murmured, not taking her eyes off the blemish.

Tsubaki stood in front off a small mirror that hung against her wardrobe, brushing out her long, silky black hair after undoing her tight braid.
"Mhm," she said, working through a tangled strand.

"What did Kid want you tell me?" Maka questioned.

"Oh, yeah..." Tsubaki hummed as she tucked her hair behind her ears with a soft smile.
"He wanted me to let you know that he knows you're a good friend and will understand why he did what he did last night, and he hopes that you can forgive him for it."

(Soul)

"...Now is the climax to the story
That gives the demons and angels purpose
They fly around while we are walking
And mold our emotions just to please them…"

"Hey, what's up?" Black-Star asked into his phone, holding it between his cheek and shoulder as he typed fervently with his hands, the familiar sound of the keyboard clicks loudly filling the dorm room and mixing in with the music blasting from his stereo.
"You never came back last night and I didn't catch you this morning, you alright?"

"I don't know, man," Soul said on the other end, his bad phone connection nearly blurring his words incomprehensible.
"Was Kid at school today? And Liz?"

"Yeah, I think," Black-Star asked with furrowed brows, "Everyone but Maka and Jackie…"
He paused his typing for a few moments and scanned the screen before picking up his pace once again.
"Where are you anyway? You're phone signal sucks, I can barely understand you."

"Some motel off the edge of the city," Soul explained, the sound of him puffing a cigarette and taking a shaky breath interrupting his sentence midway.
"Look, Kid has it out for me," he said, "It's this insane story, but you gotta believe me…,"

Black-Star sneered and pounded away at his keyboard.
"I think I'm good, Soul."

"What?" Soul questioned, the sound of confusion evident in his voice.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a dick," Black-Star said, shifting the phone to his other shoulder and cheek, "But Kid is my bro, you know? I've got his back…"

"I'm not following what you're saying," Soul stated bluntly.

"What I'm saying is that Kid proved himself to be a pretty cool and trustworthy guy, unlike someone else I know…"

"No, please," Soul said, "If you've something to say, just say it. No need for euphemisms."

Black-Star scoffed.
"Soul, you're a jerk and you've been a jerk to Kid ever since you wanted his girlfriend.
Liz dumped you and got back together with Kid, and know you suddenly have this whole, horrible story about Kid conceived."

"Dude, this isn't about Liz dumping me, okay? Kid is fucking psycho!" Soul shouted into the phone.

"You're just a jealous prick, alright? I know Kid has some problems…" Black-Star began, shaking his head.

"Listen to me," Soul said, "I realized last night with Liz leaving me how fucked up I've been, okay? I swear man, what I have to say is one hundred percent true, and I need to tell you because I'm seriously losing my fucking mind over it."

"Then tell me," Black-Star said, "I'm listening."

"No," Soul began, "Not over the phone, this reception sucks.
Come meet me outside the cinema tonight, the one near the railroad tracks? It's not too far from here…"

"Fine," Black-Star said, "But I'll be there in a little while, I promised Tsubaki I'd go get coffee with her tonight…"

"Alright, don't forgot," Soul said.

"Won't, see you then," Black-Star sighed before clicking his phone off.

He set his phone on the desk as he scrolled through his document for a few moments before his phone buzzed once again, displaying a new message on the screen.

* New Message *
Death the Kid: You're coming with us to get coffee tonight, right? There's something insane I have to tell you.

(Maka)

"...I disguise
And I will lie
And I will take my precious time
As the days spent away…"

His golden eyes shimmered in the yellowed light glowing overhead as his outfit of a stark white polo and black slacks contrasted with the deep green walls, causing him to stand out even more than ever.

"...As I stand in line
And I die as I wait as I wait on my crime
And I'll try to delay what you make of my life…"

He stood and walked over to Maka before she could take her seat, the coffee in her hand warming her frozen fingers whose cold was probably caused by the chill outside, but also maybe by the shivers his stare caused her to feel.

"...But I don't want your way
I want mine
I'm dying and trying…"

"Hey, can we step outside for a second?" he asked her, his soft expression conflicting with Maka's memory of the wild one she saw last night.

"...But believe me I'm fine
But I'm lying
I'm so very far from fine…"

Maka looked over at Tsubaki, who sat next to Black-Star and Kim as they both carried an animated discussion even though they could barely hear each other over the loud indie music playing from the speakers.
Tsubaki shrugged with a smile, motioning with her chin for Maka to go.

"Sure," Maka said with a tight smile, clutching her cup so tightly her fingers turned even paler than before.

Kid smiled. "Let me get the door…"

(Maka)

"I like your boots," Kid murmured sheepishly as they stood outside the Starbucks, leaves rustling in the wind.

Maka stood and stared at her boots, the cherry-red color blending in with the fallen leaves and the scrape left on her knee from scaling the side of the apartment building last night.
"Why aren't you in jail?" she blurted out, forcing herself to meet his eyes.

He chuckled.
"Don't you know buildings like those are required to have a fire escape?"

Maka shook her head.
"How are you laughing?" she said furiously, "You shot a gun last night, you could've killed somebody!"

"I know," he said tears forming in the corners of his eyes, wiping at them with jacket sleeve.
"Trust me, I know…"

Maka sighed and leaned against the brick wall of the building.
"Why?"

"I was drunk and, and this fight broke out with Soul," he stuttered.
"He was there, too, you know? He got me so angry, I couldn't control myself."

"But you weren't drunk or fighting before the party," Maka said harshly, "Why did you bring it in the first place if you didn't have the intention of using it?"

"I don't know…" he whispered, chewing the inside of his mouth, "It's not my gun…"

"Who's it is?" Maka murmured.

"It was my brother's…" he said as tears rolled down his cheek, gleaming in the setting sun whose rays peaked through the clouds that formed around the city.
"I'm going to turn out just like him," he said.

"Kid…" Maka said, feeling a pang in his chest.

"Remember that day you told me I wouldn't turn out like him? Do you?" he said in a rushed tone.
"Now you've seen the real me and don't lie to me that you don't see a psycho like my brother inside of me."

"I don't! I said I didn't and I still stand by that!" Maka said, reaching out and squeezing his free hand, "Kid, you know what you did was wrong and you want to fix yourself. You have reasoning."

"Please, you can't let me go to jail," he pleaded, squeezing her hand back and holding her gaze intently, "I promise, I'll change."

Maka nodded.
"You're not going to jail, Kid," she began, "The cops didn't catch you and no one has turned you in."

Kid stared at her deeply.
"Soul will."

"He hasn't yet," Maka said with a sad stare, "Maybe he won't…"

"Maybe isn't good enough," Kid said as he gripped her hand.
"Maka, I have a plan, please trust me, but it stays between me, you, and Liz."

"A plan?" she said, furrowing her brows.

"We're going to get Soul arrested for that crime."

(Soul)

The sky settled in a deep midnight blue as the thick patches of clouds faded into scattered pairs, revealing the glittering moonlight that illuminated broken glass and discarded aluminum cans that littered the sidewalks.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Black-Star said as he suddenly appeared next to Soul who was leaning lazily against a movie poster plastered on the cinema's wall.

"Shit, dude you scared me," Soul chuckled as he stepped off the wall, "You walked through the alley at this time of night?"

Black-Star shrugged.
"So this thing you have to tell me, it's pretty urgent right?"

Soul nodded.
"Yeah, man, it's fucking nuts. So I was at this Halloween party last night with Liz, okay?"

"You were at a Halloween party last night?" Black-Star questioned. "With Liz?"

Soul raised a brow.
"Yeah, that's what I just said?"

"Where was this party at?" Black-Star asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Not too far from here actually," Soul shrugged, confusion evident in his voice.
"Near that cluster of two-story apartment buildings by that alleyway where they caught those kids smoking weed not too long ago…"

"47th street?" Black-Star said.

Soul nodded.
"Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, I was there with Liz…" he began.

"What were you wearing?" Black-Star asked with a hardened look on his face.

"Dude, why the hell are you asking me all these fucking questions? You prosecuting me or something?" Soul said.

"You're nerves seem pretty shot, Soul," Black-Star said, squinting his eyes and pursing his lips, "Something about last night is really bugging you, huh?"

Soul threw his hands in the hair.
"Dude, let me finish my fucking story and you'll understand!" he shouted with a confused laugh.

"First answer my question…" Black-Star said firmly, "What were you wearing?"

"I was fucking Scream, okay? I had a Scream mask on and probably a pair of skinny jeans or something!" Soul yelled.
"Can I tell you my damn story now before I literally rip the hair out of my head?"

"Sure, you can," Black-Star said with a smirk, "But I'm not the one you're going to be telling it to," he said as two men dressed in police officer uniforms stepped out from the alleyway.
The metal of a pair of handcuffs glinted in the moonlight.

"Black-Star, what the hell is going on, bro?" Soul asked before one officer grabbed his by collar and slammed him against the wall, patting him down before handcuffing him.
"Soul Evans, you are under arrest…"
A crowd of people then wandered out of the theatre, watching with curious eyes as a few glares from flash glinted of off people's cellphone cameras.

"A good good friend doesn't snitch," Black-Star said, watching the fear in Soul eye's as the handcuffs clicked.
"But right now, you aren't exactly a good friend to me."

(Maka)

"See, you even heard him admit it!" Liz shrieked as she stood with an arm lazily placed over Kid's shoulder.

Maka stood with her arms wrapped around her, the chill of the police station lobby seeping through her thin jacket as the heater against the wall seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dust.

"The results came in," an officer with a bulging belly said as he stepped through the door, carrying a folder containing a few files.
"The DNA on the Scream mask left in the hallway where Elizabeth Thompson claims to have been threatened matches the DNA of Soul Evans."

Liz nodded.
"See? He dropped it before he ran off with the crowd when the police sirens sounded!"

"We still haven't found the weapon, yet," the officer responded, looking at the results with furrowed brows.

"What's Soul saying?" Kid questioned, "Is he being interrogated right now?"

"Did he say anything about Jackie?" Kim butted in, "Does he know where she went after the party?"

"That's confidential information," the officer said without moving his eyes.

The other officer, a leaner, younger-looking man sighed loudly.
"Why don't you kids leave and get some sleep?" he chuckled, "You're going to have to stay here for a little bit longer, Liz. Gonna be a long night for you."

Liz nodded.
"Thanks, Daniel," she said with a small smile.

"Can I stay here with her?" Kid asked, tightening his arm around Liz.

Daniel shrugged.
"If you want, but I'd really prefer you go home and get some sleep."

"I'm staying," Kid persisted.

"As you wish," Daniel sighed as he picked up a foam cup that emitted steam from the hot coffee inside.
"Goodnight to rest of you, then," he said before taking a sip.

The group bar Kid and Liz shuffled into the night, making their way down the deserted sidewalks to a nearby bus stop with their only source of light being a few scattered street lamps and the neon signs of a 7-11 across the road that contained advertisements for bags of ice and booze.

"I'm sure Jackie is fine, Kim," Tsubaki sighed with a subdued grin, "She probably just spent the night at someone's house and felt too hungover to come to class."

"She hasn't answered any of my calls or anything…" Kim murmured, "She's never been gone this long without saying anything to me…"

"I'm sure she's alright," Black-Star said, holding a protective arm around Tsubaki's waist.
"I can't believe Soul owned a gun and fired it…" he said breathlessly. "He seemed like a pretty cool guy at first…"

Maka frowned.
"What do you think is going to happen to him?"

Black-Star shrugged.
"Shibusen has a strong policy against weapons. He'll probably be expelled."

Maka nodded slowly. "Do you think he'll go to prison?"

"Probably not," Tsubaki said as they neared the bus stop with fluorescent lights of the kiosk illuminating the dark sidewalk.
"He's only 15…He'll probably just go to one of those juvenile detention centers, I doubt they'd think he actually wanted to kill someone…"

"Well, he did fire a gun," Black-Star said matter-of-factly.
"Some people just have no control," he sighed before turning to Maka with a grin.
"Don't worry too much about him, though, okay? He won't be around anymore to bother us anymore."

Maka plastered on a fake smile.
"Great."

(Soul)

"I swear to God, that little punk is twisting this story!" Soul shouted, slamming his fist against the steel table, the sound of impact reverberating in the small, sound-proof room.

The officer tapped his fingers against the table and looked over the files, clicking his tongue.
"There's a lot of evidence against you," he began.
"Why don't you just tell me the truth, okay? Lying isn't going to make anything better."

"I am telling the truth!" Soul yelled, "Kid had the gun! He's the one that fired it at me!"

"Do you have anyone else rather than yourself who can vouch for that claim?" the officer asked.

Soul nodded.
"That girl," he began, "Her name is Jackie Dupre. She'll tell you that Kid was there!"

The officer shook his head.
"Well, as of now we have no clue to her whereabouts, which means Kid has a witness to defend his claim and you don't."

"This is fucking rigged!" Soul shouted, desperately wishing for a cigarette.
"Liz is just protecting his ass because she's his little slut!"

"Hey!" the officer said, furrowing his brows.
"Calm down right now! Liz isn't anyone's little slut!"

"Officer Daniel," an older, heavier cop said as he opened the door, bringing in the scent of donut frosting and coffee.
"We've got the kid' grandparents on the phone."

"You called my grandparents?" Soul said.

The older cop chuckled.
"You didn't think we would?"

"We'll be done in five, Chuck," Daniel said, shuffling files back into the folder and scribbling something down in his notepad.

Chuck nodded and shut the door behind him.

"Death fought like a real bitch when it came to the case of his other son…" Daniel sighed.

Soul nodded, feeling a slap to his face when the guilt of teasing Kid about his brother and his mental illness hit him.
"Death really cares about his kids…" Soul murmured.

"And Liz," Daniel added.
"Death really cared about her and her sister…"

"You know them?" Soul questioned.

"Mhm, we grew up in the same foster home," Daniel nodded, "We go way back…"
He paused for a brief moment and stared hard into Soul's eyes, rubbing the small stubble on his chin.
"You understand how hard this is going to be for you, right?" he suddenly asked.

Soul furrowed his brows.
"What?" he said.

"Headmaster Death is a very highly valued person in this state, in the whole country, I mean," Daniel said, shaking his head, "And I really meant it when I said he fought like a bitch for his other son."
"It's going to be impossible to get his other son behind bars, especially with the kind of lawyer he'd be able to get…"

"So no matter what I say, I won't be able to get myself out of this?" Soul asked.

Daniel shrugged.
"Without hard evidence like the weapon in question, I'd say you'd better start packing your bags for a nice, long stay at the Juvenile Detention Center a few towns over."

Soul shook his head.
"You don't even believe I'm innocent do you?" he said.
"It probably doesn't even matter, you'll be on Liz's side no matter what."

Daniel laughed. "I am very protective of Liz you know," he said, twirling a pen between his fingers, "I'd do a lot to help her. However, it's part of my job to not let outside relationships interfere."

"Bullshit," Soul whispered fiercely, shaking his head.
"I'm gonna get out of here," he said determinedly to Daniel, "When Jackie gets back here this whole thing will get straightened out."

Daniel chuckled.
"Hopefully Jackie will be back soon then..."

(Maka)

"I have to go in again tonight to the station," Liz complained, applying another thick layer of artificial cherry lip gloss as wisps of her blonde hair fluttered in the chilly breeze.
"Ugh, this whole thing is making my undereye bags so dark."
Kid chuckled and tightened his arm around her shoulder, tapping his his free hand fingers against the cold metal of the picnic table underneath the ceiling of Shibusen's pavilion.

"Did you hear anything about Jackie?" Maka asked, trying to not to stare at Kid's arm around Liz.

"Nuh-uh," Liz said, picking at a frayed lock of hair.
"Kim ran off earlier today, I think she's checking out some places where Jackie could have run off to. She's real worried and stuff."

"I'm sure everything will straighten out," Tsubaki chirped, "In a few month, we'll just forget this whole thing happened."

"This situation is just shit right now, though," Black-Star complained, popping open a can of Dr. Pepper with a clean *snap!*.
"But hey, maybe now Soul can learn a fucking lesson about consequence."

Liz chuckled.
"Damn, the kid has a strong sense of profanity," she laughed.

"It's just this whole thing is really messing with my head," Black-Star said, offering a sip of his soda to Tsubaki.
"I mean, I know Soul was a jerk, but this?" he shook his head.
"Did he really aim the gun right at you? As if he was really going to shoot you?"

Liz nodded.
"Oh yeah," she said, "He got so angry when I dumped him for Kid, I just couldn't take his fake 'cool-guy' persona anymore, you know?" she said, shaking her head.

"So that's why he did it?" Black-Star asked, "Out of jealousy?"

"I think he's just insane," Liz said with a too-serious expression, "The whole breakup just threw him over the edge."

"Psh," Black-Star said, throwing his hands behind his head.
"They better throw that kid behind bars, he deserves it," he said as Maka stood up and walked off.

"Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Black-Star asked, turning to Tsubaki as everyone else watched Maka make her way down the field to the brick wall on the far side of the school lot.

"I'll go talk to her," Kid said, sliding his arm off of his Liz and chasing after Maka.

"This isn't going to work, Kid!" Maka said standing with her arms crossed in front of the brick wall that separated school property from the thick forest that dominated the rest of the area.

"It will work!" he whispered fiercely with clenched fists.

"Kid, listen to me," Maka pleaded, "When Jackie comes back…" she began.

"No!" Kid said, gritting his teeth.
"She was so drunk Halloween night, she probably won't even remember the name of the sleeze she went home with that night!"

"How do you know that!?" Maka shouted.

"Just don't worry about Jackie, alright?" Kid begged with a harsh tone.
"She doesn't matter right now."

Maka gripped her arms and chewed on her lip.
"Where is she?"

Kid looked off to the side. "Where's who?"

"Jackie!" Maka yelled, "Where is she?!"

"I don't know!" Kid yelled back with anger rising in his voice, "Why the hell would I know where Jackie is?"

"Because I know you!" Maka shouted.
"If Jackie would've posed as a threat to Liz's alibi, you would've done something about it. You never just let things float in the air unknown, you strike down what endangers your 'order' or 'plan' to ensure everything turns out the way you want it to!"

Kid huffed and shook his head.
"You're talking nonsense," he whispered.

"Am I?" Maka questioned with a scrutinizing stare.
"Because it's the exact same thing you're doing to Soul!"

Kid chuckled.
"If you believe I do away with what threatens my plans, then you'd better shut the fuck up," he said before turning around and making his way back over to the pavilion.

Maka grunted and turned to face the brick wall, refusing to walk back over with him and instead choosing to hoist herself over with a sound *plop!* as she hit the ground on the other side of the wall.

"Do you really think he has Jackie?" a voice said.

Maka whipped her head to see Kim, curled into a ball against the wall with tear-stained cheeks and a hardened expression.

Maka shrugged.
"How much of that did you hear?" she asked.

Kim stood and brushed pieces of grass off her pair of jeans.
"Everything," she murmured.

"What are we going to do?" Maka said.

Kim walked over and stared hard into Maka's eyes.
"We're going to put Headmaster Death's son where he belongs."
"Behind bars."

To be continued...

Haha, thanks for reading...sorry this chapter was a bit shorter than the rest, I just decided this would be a good place to break it off or else the chapter would've ended up being waaaay too long...anyways, please R&R and I'll see you guys next chapter...Have a good one :)