November 1st
She wakes up with her tongue feeling like dirt and tasting like socks. Ugh.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." A glass of water and some pills appear in front of her, she looks up to see Soul sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I have to go to work," she grumbles and sits up, bad idea, she feels sick.
"I called in for you already," Soul says and stands up to refill the water glass.
"What? How did you get my phone?" she's confused and groggy and feels altogether disgusting.
"It was in your purse for last night, I just called the weekend work number."
It finally sinks into her head, "What?! What did my boss say?"
"I just told him you were sick and he said something like 'thank god someone finally got that girl to a party,' and that he's expecting you to be there tomorrow." Soul pulls his shirt off and digs around his drawers for a clean one; she can't help but be surprised at how lean his back is and then hit herself mentally for noticing.
"I need coffee," she grumbles and curls back into a ball. She feels terrible for inviting herself in and usurping his bed, but the thought of listening to Tsubaki and Black Star doing who-knows-what eases her guilt.
He hands her another glass of water. "Water first, coffee later."
She ignores it to wander to the bathroom instead. It comes to her attention that she's not wearing pants, but she can't really be bothered at the moment. It doesn't really matter anyway; Soul's T-shirt, that she doesn't remember putting on, is long on her anyways. She knows she should go back to her own dorm, but the thought of walking in on Black Star and Tsubaki, mixed with the fact that her two options for clothing are her costume and Soul's shirt, makes her stomach feel even worse. She emerges from the bathroom, still feeling trapped.
"I trust you don't want anything to eat." Soul is slurping cereal from a bowl.
"Don't even mention food to me." She dives back into his bed.
"You can sleep in your own dorm you know, not that I'm trying to get rid of you."
"Walk of shame," she mumbles under her breath.
"Our buildings are right next to each other, it's just not a big deal," he sighs exasperatedly and shoves his hair out of his face. "I guess I can go get you some clothes," he concedes, "but I don't owe you anymore, where are your keys?"
"Wherever the rest of my stuff is?" She's honestly really not sure where anything is, except for her costume which is in a pile on the floor. He digs through her purse and pulls her keys out, twirling them on a finger.
"I'll be back in a few," he says on his way out the door. She wraps as many blankets as possible around her, mourns her hangover, and thinks of all the possible time she has todayl It's been a couple months since she's had a whole day to herself.
Soul opens the door and tosses her a shirt, sweater, and skirt, "Tsubaki left you a note, she and Black Star went out for breakfast."
"That happened quickly," Maka comments, sorting out her clothes. "I'm gonna go change." She's getting increasingly self-conscious about the fact that she's wearing his shirt; she pulls her the hem down as she makes her way to the bathroom.
She emerges, dressed but still with a birds nest for hair. "I'm going to go hide in my room and watch TV on the internet," she yawns and heads for the door.
"Wait just a second," Soul says, "I made a copy of this yeah yeah yeahs CD for you, I realized I've been neglecting indie rock."
"I swear there's something illegal about this," Maka grins and takes the CD, "I'll listen to it when my head stops feeling like it's going to fall off. Anyway, sorry for stealing you bed."
"Sorry for not watching out for you."
November 11th
Maka realizes that it's been almost two weeks since she last talked with Soul, an oddly long amount of time, since she had crashed in his dorm-room after getting too drunk at the Halloween party. She's anxious and starting to worry about whether he's avoiding her. She's caught glimpses of his white hair as she's been walking to class, but he's always had his headphones on and his eyes to the ground.
He's at the door now though.
She looks up from her homework and he waves through the glass door to the bookstore.
"Long time, no see," she says as he opens the door and walks in.
"Believe it or not, I've been studying for mid-terms," he says sheepishly.
"You? Studying?"
"Well, it's for music theory and I actually care about that class. Anyway, are you free tonight?"
"I'm always free Friday nights," she says, only slightly sarcastically.
"I finally got a solo spot at that club I've been playing at."
She nearly falls over her chair. "Really? That's so exciting, congratulations!" She doesn't really understand how it may be for him to have a solo slot, but she can tell that he's secretly proud and excited.
"Yeah." He rubs his hair and she thinks she can see a faint blush creeping up his neck, "so I thought you might want to go."
"Of course, it's been awhile since I've heard you play, and now I can go in legally." She beams excitedly.
"Cool, you want a ride?"
"I feel like I should get my own helmet."
"I have an extra one in my room; I just didn't have it with me that one time." He replies.
"Okay, I'll see you then I guess."
November 13th
"Are you going on a date or something?" Tsubaki calls from her bed where she's sprawled out surrounded by papers. Maka brushes on a little mascara and fixes her hair up.
"Soul has a show at some nice club, I don't want to look awful," she says, pulling on shorts under her dress, preparing for the motorcycle ride.
"Sounds like a date to me," Tsubaki scoffs. Maka ignores her, yanking on her boots over her tights as she hears a knock at the door.
"Hey, you ready?" Soul is at the door in his signature suit, hair a little tamer than usual.
"Yeah, let's go," she says, he hands her an extra helmet for the ride. She follows him down to the motorcycle as he adjusts his own helmet. "I even wore shorts this time."
He holds in a laugh, "you're too much sometimes." It's a quick ride into town; Soul parks the motorcycle in the lot behind and takes her helmet. "I gave them your name at will-call, so you should get in fine, unless you want to sneak backstage."
"I'll go in like a respectable adult." She smirks and walks around to the front to get her ticket.
She found a seat at an empty booth where she could see the piano, there was another combo playing at the moment, but it was getting close to eight. The combo ended and there was a smattering of applause around the room. Soul walked out, shoulders slouched as usual, and sat at the piano bench. She recognizes the song from the jazz CD he'd given her, but she can't quite remember the name. She relaxes, listening to one song run into the next. With his too cool for life attitude, she sometimes forgets how passionate and talented he is.
"You should go introduce yourself afterwards," she hears one girl whisper to another; she turns around briefly to see two girls sitting in a booth watching him. "I know I've seen him around campus." She feels a little stab as she remembers that Soul must have other friends besides her. He sees him come out from backstage and glance around, tie loose, face a little sweaty. "Now's your chance." The two girls trot over and Maka follows behind to say hi. He catches her gaze and waves but the two girls demand his attention.
"W-we really liked your set," the second, shyer girl said.
"Uh, thanks," he fumbles for words.
"My friend thinks you're really cute, do you think she could have your phone number?" the bolder girl speaks up.
"Uh, hey Maka," he waves her over frantically.
"Hey, that was really fantastic, I recognized that song from that CD you gave me." She hadn't really taken him seriously she he's said he had issues with girls, but it's now clear he wasn't lying.
"Autumn Leaves?" the girls look a little aghast at being ignored.
"Yeah, that one." She's gotta help him out a little. "Your tie is crooked you know, probably from the ride over." She reaches up to straighten it, ignoring the two girls behind her. She's not sure if he'll react to the invasion of personal space.
"Thanks," he mouths under his breath, "I have to go start the second set, I'll meet you out here afterwards." He returns backstage and the two girls scowl. Oh well, Maka thinks, she figures if the girls think they're dating, it's a sacrifice she can make for him.
He hands her the extra helmet. "Ready to go?" She can feel the looks of two very disappointed girls burning into the back of her head. She follows him out to the motorcycle and shivers. "Thanks for earlier."
She laughs, "I didn't realize how serious you were about your girl issues."
"It's a problem."
