In this chapter: Ox Ford is a dumbass, Aless gets physical, and Crona... meh, he's just Crona.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Soul Eater.

Chapter 9

"How do you feel today?" asked Rikita. "Any pain? Confusion? Do you think it'll happen again?"

"Calm down, girl. I'm fine. More than fine, actually." She recounted the events of the night before to her friend, leaving out the part about the betrayal. "Looks like I have myself a boyfriend. Aren'tcha proud of me?"

"Mm. I'd be more proud if you put that much energy into your homework."

"Oh, calm down. I do good in class. I'm no Maka Albarn, but at least I'm well-rounded!"

They were sitting in Battle Techniques, Ms. Marie's class. The blonde death scythe was telling them about the events of the battle.

"As you have probably heard, the Brew was stolen by Arachnophobia. While we have suffered a great defeat, it's important that we keep our morale up. I suspect that we'll need all the help we can get in the coming weeks."

After that day's lesson, Aless gathered up her books and waved goodbye to Riki. But as she was leaving class, she was ambushed.

"Alessei! Hey, Aless?"

She stopped in her tracks, setting her shoulders. Now what the hell does Ox Ford want to talk to me about? Turning around, she forced a smile.

"Yes, Ox? Is something wrong?"

"Aless, from the first day we met, I've thought you were beautiful. I've seen you in practice. You're a great fighter, and judging by what I see of you in Battle Tech and Biology, you're almost as brilliant as me. Almost. So, um, what I wanted to ask…" The bespectacled meister was sweating now, shifting his weight from his toes to his heels. "Um, I wanted to know if you would like to go on a date with me?"

Aless blinked at him, dumbfounded. Why would the smartest boy in school want to go on a date with me? Is he nuts? Oh well. The truth hurts, but I should be honest. She cleared her throat.

"Well, Ox, I'm very flattered by your offer, but I am actually seeing someone, so I'll have to say-"

"Are you kidding? Who is it? Is he smarter than me? No, that's impossible," he muttered to himself. "Who is this guy?"

Aless winced.

"Well, I'm not sure how public he wants the relationship to be-"

"I'll prove myself to you! I'll beat in him a battle! A battle of wits, perhaps, or a good old-fashioned fight! Just give me a chance!"

"Look, I'm sorry Ox, but I said no. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to lunch." She waved him off and sprinted down the hall, ignoring his calls. As if I'd ever date him anyway. He's so stuck-up.

Aless slipped through the crowd into the set her books down at a lunch table and joined Rikita in the snack line.

"Hey, partner. Why are you so late?"

"You are not going to believe this, Riki," Aless laughed. "Guess who just asked me out? Ox Ford!" Her friend giggled. "I know! Is he really that convinced of his own greatness that-" Rikita's chuckling stopped as she looked at something behind Aless. "What? What's up?"

"It looks like you've been followed."

Bracing herself, Aless turned around and saw Ox striding towards them.

"Aless! I wasn't done talking to you! I demand to know who beat me to your courtship!"

Alessei took a step towards him, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him down to her height. She bared her teeth.

"It's none of your business," she growled, "so go away. It was nice of you to ask me out, but no means no, and I'm not jeopardizing my relationship just for a date with the almighty Ox. Now please leave."

"Only if you tell me who you're dating."

"No. I don't need you harassing him as well. Now get."

"But-"

"I told you to leave!" Aless elbowed him in the chest, sending him tumbling into the crowd of hungry students. As he stood, he grimaced.

"So that's how it is, huh?" he said. "And here I thought you were worthy of my affection. For once, I was wrong. You're just like everyone says: a common little street rat!" Brushing himself off, he stormed away. Aless was conscious of the stares of her peers, and tried to blend back into the crowd, but by shoving Ox, she may as well have put a blinking neon sign on her head screaming "LOOK AT ME!". So she settled for trying to hide behind Rikita. Her friend put a protective arm around her as they bought their lunch, and didn't remove it until they sat down. Even then, people were staring and whispering.

At one point, a girl named Lissy came up to the table. Lissy was friends with Rikita, and was thus Aless's friend by association. She was a girl of average looks, but superior intellect. She sat down next to Aless.

"Aless, are you alright? I heard that creep Ox was coming on to you. But from the rumors, you took pretty good care of yourself. What happened?"

"The bastard asked me on a date and refused to take no for an answer. He kept bugging me to tell him who my boyfriend was, so I sort of pushed him. I didn't mean to shove him that hard, but I guess I didn't know my own strength."

"Please. You just did what nearly everyone in the school has wanted to do since he enrolled here." She paused to take a sip of her fruit smoothie. "But you got a boyfriend now? Good for you. Is it supposed to be secret?"

"Well," sighed Aless, "now that Ox made such a big deal, I don't think I have much of a choice on that matter, you know. If I can find him, I'll - oh, there he is. Yo!" she called. Crona made his way over from across the cafeteria, ducking in between people and somehow managing to look very small and scared in the crowd of whispering students. He stood next to Aless, but didn't sit down.

"Hi, Aless. Why's everyone talking about you?"

"Long story short, Ox Ford asked me out. Don't worry, I said no," she added at his look of horror. "I just said it in a more… physical way."

"Yeah, people are saying that you punched him out."

"Oh, Lord, I did not punch him out! I elbowed him to the side! Geez, if people are going to talk about me, they may as well get it right. Anyways," she said quietly, "the whole thing happened because he asked who my boyfriend was and I wouldn't tell him. Are we going public?"

"Um, yeah, I guess… if you want, that's okay."

"Good." She turned back to Lissy and smiled sweetly. "Lissy, this is my boyfriend, Crona."

"Nice to meet you, Crona. But I actually have to get back to my table. I just wanted to check up on you. See ya!" She grabbed her stuff and left. Aless motioned for Crona to sit in the vacant seat, and, reluctantly, he did.

"Look at the happy couple," Rikita said drily. "Although neither one of you looks very happy. Aless is pissed because people are talking about her. I don't know what his problem is."

"Oh, hush," said Aless. "Don't be rude, Riki. For someone who preaches to me about manners, you certainly don't have them yourself."

"I'm just sad," Crona muttered. "And I don't know why."

"One of those days, huh? Don't worry, I feel like that sometimes, too. It's normal." Aless put an arm around him. "But you're gonna get through it. I promise."