DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Soul Eater'. All rights belong to Okubo Atsushi. I also do not own any of the songs referenced. All rights belong to their respective owners. I only own this fanfiction. Thank you.

Boris The Spider

Maka wasn't really sure what to expect once she'd arrived home. After her harrowing-and confusing-adventure at the bookstore with Giriko, the rest of her shift had been pretty dull, though every so often she'd find herself looking around, just in case anyone else had decided to follow her. She didn't want to be caught off-guard again. Thankfully, she wasn't.

During that time, she had found herself mulling over what that little spider represented, and why on Earth someone like him would have a charm in his pocket in the first place. Maybe he just liked spiders? If so, he'd probably be very upset if he found out he'd lost it. She should consider returning it to him.

Then, she'd find herself facing that looming wall of an inquiry: was she going to take Giriko up on his offer, and track him down? Did she even really want to know where he lived? She knew it was by the college, a good few blocks away, with a hill in between them. Go figure. That was about it, though. She hadn't bothered taking note of street signs, she was sick to her stomach and had just wanted to find somewhere she could lay her head.

She wouldn't worry about that right now. She had Soul to deal with, and that situation required her full attention. She couldn't let slip that anything had happened, she had to pretend that, once again, everything was simple and pretty and easy to understand. Sweet. It was sweet. Maka wasn't all tangled up in a series of bitter lies, she really wasn't...it was just perception, imagination, all in their minds...

This info, this dirty little secret, it weighed on her as she headed up the stairs sluggishly, one at a time. Who was she kidding? The situation reeked to high heaven. It stank, like a toilet that needed to be blown up. Not flushed or cleaned. Obliterated. It was that bad. Soul didn't realize that she knew his secret: he had a lover. And he was straight up in the dark about the fact that she'd slept with Giriko. Also, that he had pursued her to her job. It was even debatable if Soul had ever had any inkling about Maka's feelings for him.

Arriving for the second time back at the familiar door, she tried the handle once again, and like before it gave way under her touch. She stepped inside, closing and locking it behind her. As nice as it was to know that Soul was so trusting as to leave the door unlocked for her, it was obviously not that good an idea in practice. A deep-rooted fear was at the heart of this: she didn't want to risk Soul getting attacked a second time. Once was enough.

Making her way to her room, Maka managed to place her purse on the chair in front of her desk, before flopping onto the bed. Her overnight bag remained on the floor where she'd dropped it earlier in the day. She still didn't feel like picking it up.

A shower. She'd take a nice, hot shower, settle into bed, and then-

There was a knock on her door. Maka sat up, thoughts instantly dismissed as she looked over to see Soul standing in her doorway, like earlier. He had a bundle of clothes in his hands-obviously, he was going to take a shower. Even when apart, they still shared the same thought patterns here and there. "Welcome back. How was work?"

"Erm, uneventful...?" More like the exact opposite. But Maka didn't feel like correcting herself. It was the first response that had come to mind. It was getting so much easier to lie, wasn't it? Dear oh dear. Soul nodded, and pointed towards the direction of the kitchen. "I made some curry tonight for dinner. There's a good amount left over. Feel free to help yourself. Don't worry, I didn't burn it this time. Promise."

He gave her a slight, teasing grin, and Maka was reminded of the early times, when things were peaceful between them. Why? Why couldn't she still have those good times, even if she couldn't have that love?

Maka found herself smiling, warming up in spite of herself at Soul's generosity and the fact that he'd cracked a small joke with her. This meeting, while still troubled in its own ways, was going better than the first one had, and Maka had been certain that it wasn't going to get any better than that-not for a while, anyway. If she was successful in repairing the rift between them...

"Thank you," she told him, and proceeded to stand. Her stomach was actually starting to growl; she hadn't picked up dinner this time around, and unburned curry sounded pretty darn good to her right about now. "I'll make myself a plate, then. Enjoy your shower." Huh, the words flowed more smoothly. And she meant them.

Soul waved a hand and turned to continue on down the hall. "Thanks, enjoy the food." But he stopped after a few steps, and looked back at her. She couldn't help that she was still staring when he did so. An introspective expression was on his face, as if he were pondering something carefully. The words came out of his mouth haltingly. He was putting this together on the fly.

"Hey, Maka...I know this might seem kinda sudden, but can we-could we hold a get-together here? Like, not right away, maybe...in a week or so's time? Just our friends? I was thinking, after what you told me today, that you went to visit the girls. We haven't all gotten together in a long time. So...we should." He was holding his arm and looking away, trying not to fidget. The sight piqued Maka's interest.

Usually, Soul was cool and calm. He didn't have any problems with standing still. There was something about his words, too...somehow, she got the feeling that there was more to what he wanted than just what floated on the surface. He wanted to have a small party, but the reason why extended further than just "We should all hang out again."

Her brow furrowed slightly. Most of the time, he wasn't the one to invite others over, she was. If he was planning something bigger...what could the real motive for this party possibly be? Should she force it out of him right here and now; end all this scurrying around in the shadows, only offering up half-truths when caught in the light?

Maka had to mentally order herself to calm down then. Her thoughts were running away with her. No. Even though she wanted this all to be over, she couldn't make him do anything. She knew that if she were in his position, he wouldn't be bugging her to tell him more than this. He'd just let her go, trust in her that when it was all over, it would make sense.

Trust. He trusted her. After all they'd gone through, the many secrets that were still stashed around them, he still trusted her enough not to put her on the spot. He believed she would still come to him if she needed to talk, or a shoulder to cry on. Such a revelation was definitely a good sign of progress.

She would return that faith, and allow him to have his shindig. No matter what the reason, she believed that things would fall in place soon enough, and scared as she was she was willing to take the plunge. Giving him another smile, though this one was admittedly smaller, she offered up a nod.

"Sure, I think it's a great idea. You pick the date, and...I'll spread the word where I can."

Soul seemed so relieved. "Thanks, Maka. I owe you one. And don't worry-it'll all turn out okay." He didn't let her see the worry that crept into his face as he turned away. He'd gotten over the second big hurdle; now, the last step was to actually plan the party, and grow a pair by the time it arrived. He had to get this monkey off his back. He was sick of hiding, it wasn't cool and it wasn't him.

You can do it. Focus. Breathe! There's still something left to salvage. Attention on nothing but the sound of his breathing, Soul resumed his trek down the hall. A shower sounded really good right now.

Maka was watching him walk off, just like before. That lean figure, slightly taller than her. The messy hair, the shocking color, the laid-back, humorous, cooly playful attitude, the very way he moved. All of it, she couldn't not notice. Just like when she was younger; she'd used to watch him from a distance when she'd thought he wasn't looking. He'd never caught her, as far as she could recall.

And then, the image changed. Once again it was replaced, with a much larger figure. That spiky auburn hair, the cocky, just barely held-in-check demeanor, the sharp gaze, muscles, all those muscles. Giriko. He was settling himself in Maka's head, having fun with all the emotions she was dealing with. She couldn't decide what to do with him. He was there to tease and taunt and goad her into the response he wanted. He wanted her to take the bait, and play with him for a while.

The girl sighed. That curry was going to get colder if she didn't go and make a plate this moment. She needed to eat. Maybe after she ate, she could really think the idea through, of a purely physical relationship. Well, technically it wasn't labeled as such, but it was assumed to be, just because she was so certain that Giriko's interest in her didn't extend beyond that. And she could ponder to herself the many reasons why Soul wanted to have a party at this point in time. Hmm, was he going to try and bring Blair, too...?

Her heart thudded painfully, and she shoved the thought aside. No. Curry time now. Thinky-think brain time later. A lot later. Maka was looking forward to her meal with relish. She wasn't going to dwell on Soul or Giriko now.

Later, after she'd comfortably settled into her food coma.

…...

Roll, roll, roll. This thing...

Tap, tap, tap. What do I do...with this?

Roll, roll, roll. Hmm...it's cool to the touch.

Tap, tap, tap. Damn him...

It was Friday. A whole day and a half had passed since Maka's last encounter with Giriko, and the request from Soul. He hadn't gotten back to her with a date yet. But that wasn't at the forefront of her mind right now. No, at this moment Giriko was hogging the stage. Him and his blasted spider charm.

Maka was sitting at her desk, one hand tapping a finger against the smooth wooden surface, the other holding the little figure between her thumb and index, rolling it around. She had nothing to do today, yesterday she'd only had another shift at the bookstore-that had gone well, she wasn't mauled while on the job. But today, she was completely free. No work, and no classes. Just the morning routine. She'd make up for it tomorrow though, she had two lessons.

It clicked in her mind, vaguely, that tomorrow's arrival would officially mean that a week's time had passed since the party. A week since she'd first discovered Soul's secret. And by Sunday, it would've been a week since she lost her virginity. Hmm, was she really supposed to be marking these things down, giving them such significance?

The blonde stared once more at the little spider. It was...kind of cute, if she held it just so and looked at it in a similar fashion. She had to be careful though-gazing at it too long caused a familiar kooky tune to waft through her mind, which in turn set her imagination off like a rocket through space. Now was not the time for classic rock and Boris. She wasn't about to nickname this thing, no siree.

Either Giriko had found it somewhere, and pocketed it for himself, or it was well-loved. Somehow, Maka couldn't really see him as any sort of collector of junks, or a pack rat. It had to mean something to him. Had somebody given it as a gift?

She began chewing on her lower lip. If that was the case, then in all good conscience, Maka couldn't keep it. She didn't want to admit it, but the universe had just given her an applicable reason to go searching for that demon. Had he done it on purpose? Maybe, he was pretty crafty. Not a genius, just...he did like to toy with her.

Then again...I don't see why he'd use something that means a lot to him just to lure me in. I mean, what if I hadn't seen it or picked it up? Bye bye, little spider. So had it been unintentional? Had it just happened to slip out while he was caught up in the middle of his grand exit?

"Rrgh..." Maka clutched her head in her hands, digging her fingers into her tightly pulled hair. It was styled into her usual do of pigtails-she didn't think she'd ever grow out of it, no matter how it looked-and a few strands were beginning to loosen as she continued to grab at her skull. What else could she possibly do here? Whether or not she wanted to go, the universe was commanding her, her conscience was ordering her, to be the good girl and return the stupid spider to its owner.

And the biggest problem with this? She actually did want to go. After all that had taken place on Wednesday, she shouldn't have wanted anything to do with him. But the fact that her good Samaritan spirit was willing to go so far as to extend to someone like Giriko...that was interesting, even if it were in her best interest for it to be otherwise. She couldn't deny it: when they were together, for whatever reason, there was a pull. A connection. Maka found herself engaging him, following him, confronting him, playing with him...

Shit. Maybe I need to go to the loony bin, get my head examined. She stood up to look at herself in the mirror above her dresser. She was clad in a light white coat, over a green sundress that reached her knees. Her hair was alright, a few stray locks but nothing criminal. No, the hospital wouldn't be able to fix me. It's not my head, it's my heart. I should've been born a tin man.

Pocketing the charm, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. Tin wo-man. Sorry. She had no idea who she was apologizing to. Herself? An invisible audience?

Curse you, Giriko, you devious bastard. I hope you appreciate this. She didn't even know exactly where he lived, but she was willing to go searching around under the noonday sun, just because. Was she really so desperate? At least Soul isn't here to see me like this. The male had left the house a while ago; he had plans with Black*Star. Guess they were going to try a boys day of sorts? She wouldn't dwell on what that entailed. Mischief, and boys being boys, she supposed.

Slipping her feet into her sandals, Maka unlocked the door and stepped outside. She was such a bleeding heart. That was going to be her downfall one day...

...unless that day had already arrived.

A/N: Happy New Year, one and all! And welcome to Chapter Ten, of 'My Favorite Mistake'! Hope you're all doing well! Can't believe it's 2015...dang. Time flies.

Moving right along, this update. I apologize for the shortness, but I can promise you-next Chapter will more than make up for it. :3 Until then, we have more introspective!Maka, now having to not only deal with Giriko and his baggage [i.e her feelings and his wants/spider], but a new proposition from Soul. A party, huh? I wonder how that will all turn out...

In due time, my dear friends. In due time. Though I am hoping that this is at least believable interaction between everyone so far here. It's not easy, trying to figure out what each character is 'capable' of, based on their characterization in canon. However, you do take into account a few things in the AU setting, though ultimately, canon trumps it. So it's a balancing act.

I know Soul isn't one to let his nerves show-or he tries not to, anyway. And Maka tries not to look 'weak', which I could see translating into keeping certain things to herself. These two traits were exacerbated to this extreme after everything that happened w/Crona. Throw in Giriko and that little pendant, and you get, well...this! Maybe? ^^;

Also: that spider! We know that Maka is on her way to return it to its owner; the question is, how will Giriko react upon its return? Will he even have a reaction? Ahh, more questions! I hope next week comes soon enough-even I'm getting antsy for the answers, and I wrote this damn story! XD Will Maka even be able to find her way back to Giriko's place, and how much trial and error will be involved?

As always, feedback is welcomed, encouraged and appreciated. I treasure all of it, be it in the form of reviews, Alerts, Faves. As long as people are enjoying this, I'm happy. It means I'm doing my job. :)

Next time: Field Trips and Chainsaws and Lemons, oh my~! See you soon, everyone! Take care!