GlassAlice: It's here! Anyone more excited than I am that it is? 'Cus I know my heart is thumping really fast right now! Thanks for the support everyone!
Another chapter of Wonderful Nightmare.
Happy summer!
Chapter 8: Winning Back Happiness
"Would you like some tea?" Maka asked from the kitchen of her apartment.
"Coffee." The man with glasses pointed at her swiftly.
"I don't have any coffee," Maka mumbled back.
"Then go get some," The man said nonchalantly, hearing her even though her voice was that of a whisper. Maka flinched and turned back towards him, eyeing him and assessing the situation.
Is he serious? "Go get some"?
"And yes," The man turned towards her, making light reflect off his glasses in a most annoying way, "I'm serious." Maka turned back towards the kitchen sink and picked up a cup, having the urge to fling it at his messy head of white hair.
He's your superior Maka. The vice president of Shibusen Talent Agency. Stay calm.
Maka started to make clanking sounds in the kitchen, picking up and dropping cups as loudly as she could.
"U-um," Marie struggled to talk over all of the noise, "Why have you come to visit Maka today Dr. Stein? Oh, lemme guess, the pictures right?" Marie was practically bouncing in her seat at the table.
"Yes that's right, they were most interesting to say the least." The man, Dr. Stein, started to crank his headpiece screw, making the most eerie sound a person could imagine, "And quite hard to ignore when a certain red headed father is waving them in everyone's facing and posting them onto the company blog."
"Oh my, sorry about that. It must have been such a pain." Marie bowed to Stein apologetically, interrupted by Maka's swift footsteps to the table before the loud clank of the cups when she set down the tea. "Thank you Maka." Marie grabbed a cup and sipped it, "Delicious as always." Maka hid the smile that she would have given if they were alone in the room, and she passed another cup to Stein with a loud clanking sound once more.
"Such a rude child," Stein picked up the cup and sniffed it, "And I if I remember, I asked for coffee." Stein put his cup down and turned his attention back to Marie, but not before giving a mocking smile towards Maka. "I really don't see where she gets this foul attitude from."
That's right, this man, as was learned earlier by Maka, was the Vice-president of Shibusen Talent Agency. Learnt after Maka almost threatened to chop of his hand if he didn't let go just earlier in front of the Apartment gates.
Marie was about to answer when Stein abruptly stood up, grabbed his coat and started to make his way towards the door.
Maka stood up and followed him, eager to see him leave. He stood next to the door and waited for her to open it for him and escort him out.
Of course, even this rude child will open your door for you.
Maka smirked at her thought before opening the door and waiting for him to step out. Instead though, he just stood there, and stared at Maka. Eyeing her up and down. Checking her every facial expression and body language.
What seemed to last forever finally ended when he gave an almost sarcastic smile, "Shibusen looks forward to your future works and bright future." Stein nodded to Marie before stepping out of the doorway and walking away.
"I-I'll get going too then, I'll call you tomorrow Maka." Marie hopped up from her seat on the orange pillow and ran to the door, slipping on her shoes quickly while at the same time, putting on her jacket. "Bye Bye!"
Maka peered out of the doorway and watched as Stein stepped onto the elevator that had apparently just arrived and as Marie jumped on after sprinting to make it in before the doors closed, smiling happily at Stein who just looked at her curiously.
Maka stepped back into her apartment and shut the door behind her.
So that's the famed Vice-president whom Marie can only look at from afar?
She sighed outwardly and took a few steps into the room before remembering that she was planning to go on a jog after she had gotten back from the Chocolate Ad conference. She took a glance at the clock, "10:23." Maka sighed again than stopped when her phone started to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out from underneath the ruffles on her clothes and took a glance at it. "Tsubaki?" Maka flipped it open saw that it was a text message from her new friend, whose phone number she had gotten just earlier that evening. She read it out loud on accident,
"You're on your jog now, yes? Remember that every single time you sigh you lose a moment of happiness. –Tsubaki"
Maka froze as she stared at the screen before quickly covering her mouth with her free hand, trying to hold back a laugh that would have been loud enough to wake up everyone who was asleep in the surrounding apartments. She looked at the text a bit more before running her hand through her let down hair grumpily. "I've lost to psychic Tsubaki." She chuckled before glancing one more time at the clock on top of her television. She nodded to herself before walking to her closet and taking down her track suit.
She changed quickly, tying her hair into a ponytail, but not bothering to tie up her bangs with it. She stepped towards the door in her green track suit that was matching jacket and sweat pants with two white lines going down each pant leg and arm. She slipped on her running shoes and slipped her hand around the doorknob of her apartment when a knock all of a sudden made her flinch and almost trip backwards. She opened the door and was not surprised at all to find a certain white haired, red-eyed celebrity behind it.
Excuse me sir, can I exchange what's behind door number one for what's behind door number two?
Maka stared at him, at first he simply returned the favor. After a moment, he got over his shock and managed to break the silence.
"Telepathic Twins separated at birth?" Soul grinned at his imitation of Black Star's attitude while Maka stared at him even longer, making sure not to laugh so that he could get any satisfaction. However, on the inside, she couldn't stop the rampant laughter. Maka wrote it off as just being funny because she was still holding back her laughter from Tsubaki's earlier text.
"Perhaps," Maka replied stoically before slipping past him and locking the door behind her. She leaned over and put her apartment key in the sole of her shoe.
A little discomfort in exchange for safety is fine with me.
She began to leave the dumbfounded Soul behind when he grabbed her by the shoulder and made her turn back towards him. "Where are you going this late at night?" He questioned her, a slight look of discomfort on his face.
Maka grunted as she shrugged him off of her, "You don't have to worry about me if it makes you this uncomfortable. I can take care of myself."
"Oh really?" Soul smirked, his usually tone had been switched on, and Maka was glad he was back to normal. "Well then, I would like to know where the puppy is going on such a late night."
Maka titled her head to the side, wondering what she should say next.
It really is late.
Maka's mouth twitched as she wrapped her mind around the ideas in her head.
He wouldn't leave a girl to go out on her own at a time like this would he?
Maka thought back to what happened at the photo shoot when she had finished modeling with Death the Kid. She inwardly grinned, "I'm going to Kid's House." She added a small heart to the way she spoke, along with a cute voice to emphasize the word 'house.'
Soul shifted uncomfortably for a second, "Hey, you're not going to tell about my cat if you get caught in Kid's room this late at night right?"
No. Now I am though.
Maka titled her head the other way and looked at him blankly, "Huh? But aren't we partners? If I go down, so do you right?"
Soul looked down at his feet, grumbling, "Shinigami is a stickler for the rules for sure. I'd never hear the end of it."
oOo
"Where are you going?" Soul followed Maka, dragging his feet on the concrete.
"That's the," Maka inhaled, "29th," Maka exhaled, "Time you've asked that."
Soul looked at the passing houses, "So accurate." He mumbled softly and angrily.
"Hmm?" Maka managed between her paced breathing.
"It's nothing." Soul sighed.
Maka stopped dead in her tracks and turned back towards him, remembering to jog in place to keep up her heart rate, "You just committed two wrongs there!"
Soul raised his eyebrow. "Cool guys always commit wrongs, get over it." He passed Maka even at his walking pace.
Maka turned back towards him, jogging up to him, "You see, not only did you sigh, which caused you to just lose a potential happy moment of your life. You also answered, 'Nothing.' This means that you had something to say but you're too scared to say it because it might drop your coolness level." Maka took a breath, almost forgetting she had to keep up the pace.
"The first one sounded admirable but the second one," Soul glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "You made it up right?"
"So what if I did?" Maka laughed, out of breath, with sweat running down her face.
"By the way, what are you doing? Not only did you say that you were going to Kid's but you drag me out on a jog with you. And now you are bouncing up and down like you're running but then you're not really going anywhere. It's been thirty minutes you know?"
"Oh! That would mean that one more 'Where are we going?' and it would have been one per minute." Maka smirked.
"Maka." Soul glared at her.
"Okay first," Maka took a breath, "I lied about going to Kid's house. And second, It's called building up endurance." Maka let out her held in breath.
"Why did you lie?" Soul directed at her, despite staring at her hair the swung back and forth in the cool breeze of the night.
"Because I knew you'd come," Maka still had her back towards him, so he couldn't tell what her expression was, he just continued to stare at the frame of her shoulders and the slim neck that held up a perfectly shaped jaw line.
"Secrets must be protected," Maka stopped in front of the mini-mart, apparently where she was headed the entire time. She turned towards Soul and got some sweat out of her eyes before pursing her lips together into a soft smile, "Right Partner?"
Soul was taken aback by the way the light from the sign of the store made her face glow. "Definitely." He held out his hand for a hand shake, Maka reached out but then paused and thought about the last time that she tried to touch Soul's hand. Slightly impatient, Soul took the initiative and grabbed her hand before she could pull back, shaking it carefully.
"What's with you?" Maka titled her head, "Not enough fruit girls around today?"
Soul smirked, "I prefer Strawberry size." Earning him a swift kick in the knee. "Your bite really is bigger than you're bark." He limped into the store with Maka before walking her back home.
oOo
Maka walked to the back of the set for her quick break during her photo shoot.
"Maka, Maka! Take a look!"
Maka turned to the television that the make-up artist was directing her to. "Hmm? What's this?" The television had a press conference regarding the recent chocolate ad decision. "They're still on this? It's been almost a week since they decided." Maka scratched her head in wonderment before shrugging and grabbing another sip of water.
"Ten more minutes for the break Maka!" Maka heard Marie yell from the set.
"Alright!" Maka yelled back, "I can start now if we have to-" Maka began to yell but was cut off by the make-up artist, Saki, yanking her back towards the television. (A/N: Same Make-up artist from the extra chapter about Black Star.)
"Look Maka!" Saki stared at the television, bright eyed, "You know I would've killed to work with Soul's hair during that shoot." Saki started to drool slightly.
Maka nodded, "I'm sure you would've-" Cut off again by the sudden increase of the volume on the television by Saki.
Soul and Tsubaki were seated next to each other at a table, in front of them, a large amount of reporters, standard conference style.
"Congratulations on the new commercial Miss Tsubaki!" One reporter, clearly a fan of Tsubaki, yelled from the back of the crowded room. Tsubaki, a professional at heart, simply smiled and waved to the praise.
"Can we expect the two of you working together in the future on such a product?" A reporter called.
Soul leaned forward towards the microphone in front of him, "Maybe." He said with a toothy smile, making the reporters all burst into full question mode. A riot began to form.
"Don't tease them Soul." Tsubaki put one hand over her mouth and chuckled, soothing the outburst of questions. "I'm sure we will be provided with many opportunities such as this one in the future. It was a pleasure working with Soul Eater."
A single reporter raised their hand amidst all the rest.
"Yes?" Tsubaki gestured to the male reporter.
He cleared his throat before speaking, "In various magazines, the photos which were taken during the photo shoot prior to the commercial were featured, correct?"
"Yes." Tsubaki nodded as a soft smile played onto her lips.
"In these series of photos," the reporter continued, "featuring Soul Eater and yourself, beside them, although small, were a series of photos taken during the photo shoot. 'The making of' if you will." Tsubaki nodded, while the rest of the reporters stayed silent, feeling that the next few words could be of some worth. "In one of these photos, we see the popular model, Death the Kid, and another rising model Maka Albarn together. It is common knowledge that there was a competition before the decision for the casting of this commercial. In which the models were required to take a series of test shoots with both Death the Kid and Soul Eater. So if I may, Soul Eater, what was your opinion of Miss Maka Albarn, who was the only other model to be featured in the series of photos in these various magazines?"
"That's one good reporter. Kudos to the company he works for." Saki clapped her hands in excitement. Maka stared at the television now, paying more attention than before.
The crowd of reporters went silent, only a few whispering things amongst themselves. Soul sat up straight from his usual slumped over position when he sits and glanced over towards Tsubaki, who nodded at him before turning back towards the reporters.
"It's no wonder they're quiet," Saki nudged Maka several times, as if Maka wasn't paying attention.
"Ow," Maka mumbled, only to earn a shush from Saki, who was nearly at the edge of her seat to hear Soul's response.
Soul grabbed the microphone in front of him and spoke, "She's cute."
Maka nearly slipped out of her seat, as did nearly all of the reporters sitting in the room on the television. Saki got a huge grin on her face while Tsubaki continued to smile at the reporters, as if expecting what he would say.
"Completely cute." Soul reiterated to the crowd, completely cool with the words coming out of his mouth, "Utterly cute."
"If I might add," Tsubaki smiled,
"Like a puppy." Soul and Tsubaki both spoke at the same time.
The crowd went silent before similar phrases began to be passed along,
"That's right huh?"
"I thought I was the only one."
"That last poster she came out with for the shampoo made my children want me to buy it so that I could look as pretty, you know?"
Another reporter yelled, "Than does this mean that Miss Maka Albarn and yourself have potential together?"
"No." Soul replied quickly and just as blank faced as he had just complimented her.
"Oh Maka! Make-up shall soothe the broken heart," Saki got up and add some touch ups to Maka's make up.
"It really doesn't bother me in the least." Maka shrugged.
Slightly irritated that he replied so quickly though.
Back on the TV, another reporter popped a question, "How does Miss Tsubaki feel after hearing this stunning confession?"
Tsubaki paused before leaning towards the microphone, "I won this round Maka. Fighting!" Tsubaki smiled.
"Let's turn this off," Saki clicked the power button, thinking she had somehow upset Maka in some way. "There, all done." Saki looked up towards the person walking towards them, "Oh, Miss Marie. She's ready to go!" Saki turned Maka toward Marie and turned to pack up her make-up kit.
"Maka!" Marie air hugged Maka in order not to mess up her clothes and hair, "You've been recognized by the pros of the business! You're going places!" Marie grinned, which Maka returned. "Ah. But you don't still model for 'that' do you?" Marie's eyebrows lowered, realizing that her wording may have gone a bit too far.
Maka looked up at her, "I-"
"Maka! On set!" The crew yelled from the set behind them.
"Ah, I'm up." Maka walked swiftly passed Marie towards the garden themed set. Marie watched her as she walked off in her heels.
"I'm impressed." A voice called from behind Marie. She turned towards it, startled for a moment before realizing who it was.
"W-what are you doing here?" Marie had suddenly become docile, unlike her usual self.
"I'm interested in your talent, but not before some coffee, yes?"
Marie nodded and directed him to the meeting room.
(A/N: when he says, 'I'm interested in your talent,' he means Maka, not Marie's skills.)
GlassAlice: So that's the end of that Chapter, which took me forever and more time, though I'm slightly happy with how it turned out more so than the others. Slightly filler while still offering some more questions.
Review because that's what makes Soul and Maka happy, as always!
