Chapter 11

I was torn. I wanted to be with Maka, but I didn't want anything to happen like before. Blackstar might have been terrible with emotions and feelings but he had beaten me to the punch once again. I hadn't expected him to try and get her back so soon. I thought I had more time. We were repeating events and conversations. Maybe life was giving all of us a second chance. We definitely screwed up the first time around.

The walls of the apartment were thin and I could hear Maka crying in the other room. I plugged my headphones into my keyboard and turned it on. Taking my frustrations out on the black and white keys, I lost myself in the dark tune. No matter how hard I tried, Maka continued to dominate my thoughts. I was so preoccupied with the music and my thoughts that I didn't hear her come into my room. She tapped me on the shoulder. I glanced at her. Her eyes were red and a little puffy. I removed my headphones while not quite meeting her eyes.

"Why do you blame yourself for all of the terrible things that have happened, Soul?"

"None of it would have happened if I had kept my feelings to myself."

Maka sat on the edge of my bed as she picked at her finger nails, a nervous habit of hers. "You keep forgetting that I fell for you too. That kiss wouldn't have occurred if I hadn't been willing to let it. You didn't force yourself on me. I made my choice and I chose you."

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. "It's not only your choice."

She gave me a puzzled expression.

"I want to be with you, but I can't."

"Why not? Blackstar will get over it."

"It's not just about Blackstar. You don't just walk away from a gang. There is no leave of absence. They're probably still looking for me and it's by sheer luck that they haven't found me yet. I don't want you involved in any problems that I've caused. Blackstar's rampage just proves my point. You got hurt because of something I did."

Maka shot off my bed, her face tinged scarlet in anger. "None of this is your fault! You can't just put your life on hold because something bad might happen! Do you love me or not?"

I sat back in my chair and stuffed my hands in my pants pockets. "My love for you was never in question. The problem is that I can't always be there to protect you, and let's face it; you are a magnet for trouble. I hate seeing you beaten and broken. All I remember thinking while you were in the hospital was that as long as you were alive and well, it didn't matter if you never remembered who I was."

She moved towards me and brushed the hair out of my eyes. "Is my safety your only objection to our relationship?"

"Yes."

"Then teach my how to protect myself."

I smirked. "Fine, but we will do this my way. No objections."

It took the entire six months we had been dating to get Maka used to the idea of using a gun. I got her a .38 special and took her to the firing range three times a week. For the first month, she wouldn't even pick up the gun. She eventually stopped resisting when I taught her some self defense moves and explained that pepper spray would just anger her attacker. Once she realized that I saw the gun as a last resort in her protection, she was much easier to work with. By the time we'd been together six months, she was hitting eighty percent of her targets and carrying it with her on a daily basis.

Everything was going well, even Blackstar was behaving. Well, at least when Maka was around. When it was just the guys, his animosity towards me would seep through. The night before my six month anniversary was designated as a guy's night. Wes, Blackstar, and Kid came to my place for drinks. Of course, the topic of conversation turned to the girls.

"So Kid, have you decided between Liz and Patty yet?" I asked.

"I'm still weighing my options, but I'm leaning towards Liz."

The conversation went on for a while as we discussed the pros and cons of both girls. Everyone was getting along pretty well until my brother had to ruin everything.

"What are you and Maka doing to celebrate?" Blackstar tensed and Kid visibly looked uncomfortable.

"She has something planned for this weekend."

"Letting the woman plan everything. You were clearly the better choice." Blackstar growled as he downed his shot and smashed the glass on the table. Luckily, it didn't break.

"Now now, Blackstar. This is the kind of behavior that caused Maka to leave you in the first place."

"Shut up Wes. You don't know anything about my relationship with Maka."

He chuckled as he took a sip of scotch. "You don't have a relationship with Maka. As a matter of fact, you barely have a friendship with her."

I decided to step in before Blackstar trashed my apartment trying to kill Wes. "How about we drop this topic?"

"No. Since everyone thinks you are the better choice, tell me how you plan to protect Maka from Gage?"

Just hearing the name made me want to run, but I wasn't about to show fear in front of Blackstar. "I haven't seen Gage in years. I doubt that he even knows where I am."

"Who is Gage?" Kid inquired.

"The leader of the gang that Soul belongs to." The expression on Blackstar's face showed just how much sick pleasure he was getting from this. "You know you don't just walk away, Soul. The only way Gage would let you go is if you were dead."

"And yet I am still here."

"For how long?"

As long as I kept a brave face, Blackstar would achieve nothing. Besides, I already knew what he was saying. It was only a matter of time until Gage tracked me down and I would gladly die to keep Maka safe, I was just hoping I wouldn't have to.

My vibrating cell phone woke me up later that night. I glanced at the clock and inwardly groaned.

Who the hell would be calling me at five in the morning?

I disentangled myself from Maka's limbs and answered the phone as I left the room.

"This is Soul."

"Eater, it is so good to hear your voice again. It seems like it's been ages." My entire body froze. "Do you remember me, Soul? We used to be such good friends."

"What do you want Gage?" I was surprised my voice sounded so steady.

"That's no way to talk to a friend that has been worried about your well being."

"Last time I checked we weren't friends and you were trying to kill me. How did you get this number anyway?"

"Your buddy, Blackstar, was kind enough to inform me of your whereabouts." I can't say I was astounded to hear that, but it still pissed me off.

"What do you want, Gage?"

"I want you to come back."

I scoffed. "And what if I say no?"

He snickered. "Your adorable girlfriend will pay the price for your unwillingness."

My heart stopped. This was my nightmare stepping into reality.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Meet me in the old boating warehouse at the edge of the city at three o'clock in the morning. I look forward to seeing you again."

The line went dead and I stood rooted to the floor. Maka was in danger because of me again. Only this time, I would end it once and for all and take that dirty, double crossing bastard, Blackstar, down as well

A/N: I'm extremely sorry that this took so long! Please forgive me! So what did you think? BTW, the tenth like on my facebook page gets a one-shot and I'm already at 9 so the next person wins. Also, we are 28 reviews away from 100 and the 100th review gets a story as well. Remember, reading is great and reviews are love

~Dawne