SE: A Tainted Soul, A Pure Promise

Chapter 12: Hype Up


...it made me feel faint. I was woozy and it was getting hard to stand.

"So does this mean...?"

Maka sweetly smiled at me. "Mhhm."


When I woke up, Maka was facing away from me and I hugged her around the waist from behind; her delicate hands lay on top of my own. Looking to the window, dawn was just beginning to break and with a peek at the clock, I saw that it was 6am.

What day was it again? "Ngh..." I rolled onto my back with my left arm still under my partner. "Oh, shit, it's Monday." Removing my appendage from beneath Maka's dainty figure, I gently nudged her. "Hey, do you feel alright enough to go to school?"

The groggy girl groaned and stared directly into my irises. Wait...what if she was delirious last night? I'm gonna get a billion Maka Chops now...shit, shit, shit! "What day is it?" She asked.

"Monday."

Her eyes widened and she began to flip out. "What time is it?" Attempting to throw herself to her feet, she cringed onto her back once again and squeaked.

With slight pressure, I held her shoulder down and murmured, "relax, Maka. It's only six. Go take some time to take that rag and bucket bath, okay? Do whatever the hell you do in the morning. I'll cook breakfast and feed Blair."

She was still panicked. "But, you...you cooked yesterday so now it's my turn, a-and it's Monday so we have combat classes and...and-"

Clap. I covered Maka's mouth with my hand and hushed her. "Oi. Go. Shower. I'll take care of it. Let's just go see Nygus-sensei to get a doctor's note before we go to Marie-sensei's, okay?" Her hyperventilation lowered to soft, jagged breaths. The frantic shine in her olive eyes faded as my crimsons stared to absorb the alarm and my hand stroked the distress off of her cheeks.

"Okay...okay, I'll go take a shower." I gathered her bathing materials and helped her stand.

Hollering for her, I caught the olive orbs I enjoyed staring into so much just as the girl who owned them started to shut the bathroom door. "Maka?"

"Hmm?" She peeked round through the crack of the doorway.

"I care about you...so don't push yourself if you can't do something, got it?" And with that, I left to make the morning meal. Listening to when my partner would come back to her senses, it took about 30 seconds for Maka to remember how to breathe and continue with her morning routine.

The halls of Shibusen were flooded as we made our way from the clinic to Ms. Marie's. In Maka's right hand, she held a slip from Nygus-sensei that excused her from physical activity for combat classes today; in the other, was my very own hand. I could feel the glares of envious fangirls at the back of my head, back, and directly on my face, though the begrudging stares were mostly centered on Maka.

She obviously sensed the wary lock-ons as well, because what she said next reassured my worrying mind. "Hey, they don't bother me. It shouldn't bother you either, okay, Soul?" My partner flashed me a grin giving me relief that she didn't mind all the negative attention. We arrived to our first period class where Ms. Marie sighed dreamily at the sight of us.

"Ohh, I wish I could find love..." Both mine and Olive Eyes' faces blushed as she said this. A thought flew through my head, I mean, we're not dating...so this doesn't mean anything...does it?

As we carefully climbed each stair to get to our row of seats, a cold-truthed note raced across my brain. We're holding hands. I slept in her bed with her. We went on a goddamned date and she kisses my face all the time. How does this not mean anything?

Kid, Liz, and Patty had appeared at the doorway at that moment and ran straight toward us like a pack of hyaenas that were half-starved to death for gossip. Great.

"So is it official?" Liz bounced to Maka and went forehead-to-forehead with her. My partner turned away-still holding my hand- and asked her 'is what official?' "Don't play dumb with me, Albarn! Are you and Soul dating? I heard around that you two were strutting down the halls hand-in-hand, and low and behold, look who has their fingers laced together!"

"I have no idea what you mean." Man, Maka knows how to play against the obvious. "We're not dating." Olive Eyes strictly laid down the fact. Though it was the pure truth that we did not actually say we're dating, it was still kinda disappointing to hear.

Patty tilted her head to one side and let out a long 'Eeeehhhh?' before spilling out any real words from her mouth. "But Maka-chaaaan, why are you holding hands with Soul-kun if you aren't dating? Onee-chaaan, does that make sense? I don't get iiiiiit."

Liz backed up from Maka's face and crossed her arms over her chest. "Believe me, Patty, I don't get it either." With that said, the Thompson sisters benched themselves to their assigned placement. My partner went and conjured her book to read and let go of my hand-she sat up against my right shoulder though, which I was content with.

The OCD child whispered in my ear, "so you guys went on that date yesterday?" I nodded. "What happened?" Shrugging him off, he became irritated and punched me in the arm lightly. "Tell me! Before Blackstar comes!" Maka leaned away as a signal to go talk to Kid about it.

"Alright." I turned in his direction and spoke lowly. "We went on the date. After a while, we went for a walk through the park. Then we went to some thrift store and she bought a dress and shoes for the party. While we were walking home, she fainted and I carried her home. I changed her bandages and we ate dinner. Then I brought her to her room..." The chatter and actions of that moment we had in her bed invaded my brain. "She asked me to sleep next to her for the night. In her bed." The young shinigami's golden eyes filled with stars and his jaw dropped.

"Well, did you guys...you know? 'Get busy'?" With a smug, perverted smirk smeared on his face, I grunted at him.

"No. We talked. That's it."

In a tone hinting at dirty thought, he asked, "about whaaat?"

"We talked. That's it. Then she decided to hold my hand through the halls this morning." The deep conversation Maka and I had replayed in my ears. I shook it away, afraid that I might speak my thoughts aloud.

"Alright then. So when will you label it official?" Kid went back to his 'professional' attitude.

"I dunno." And in that moment, Blackstar and Tsubaki entered the class.

"YAHOOOOOOO! SOUL! I SEE YOU! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND TELL YOUR GREAT GOD EVERYTHING!" Damn...today...was gonna be a long day...

"Okay, good Soul. Now, Maka, it's your turn."We had already spent fifth period of this block doing our survival exercises so now Nygus-sensei was teaching us how to wrap ourselves effectively to stop a gaping wound from spilling blood in sixth period. I obviously wasn't gushing my vital bodily fluids, but the nurse made me mummify myself anyway. Maka on the other hand, had an actual injury she could treat.

"Alright, so I hold it here first...then I wrap it around...like this?" Olive Eyes executed the steps Nygus-sensei demonstrated for her perfectly.

"Nicely done as always, Miss Albarn."

The said girl shyly giggled. "I try."

Nygus-sensei closed her only visible eye in praise. I'm sure she would've been smiling under the wraps she had around her face-and not to mention her whole torso. With a glance at her wristwatch, she notified us, "the bell will be ringing any moment now. You can collect your things and wait by the door while I inspect the other students' progresses."

"Thank you, Nygus-sensei!" Maka cheerfully replied while I nodded with a small smile. I picked mine and my partner's pack to stand against the wall and wait for the class dismissal. "You don't have to carry my bag, you know. I'm fine with carrying it, it's not that heavy anyway. Plus, I feel like I'm being a burden to you." Her forest eyes lost their sheen in a frown.

"Maka, you could never be a burden to me." I stared at her not moving a muscle. The shine came back to her orbs after a moment of analyzing the somber appearance in my crimsons. When she came to her senses, the bell rang and once again, her fingers found their way to tie together with mine. So she'll let us be unofficial...so that if I hurt her...she won't have to break anything off? Well that's stupid...it'll only make things awkward for us. No wait, that's not the case here. She told me she was afraid. But does that mean she's afraid of asking me to make it official? Well, I asked her last night but she refused...maybe she regretted it? Ahh, Hell...this girl is so damn confusing!

I heard Maka humming to herself as we made our way to Asha-sensei's stealth class. "La...la la la...la la la...till everyone is singing..." I liked it when she hummed like that. Her songbird pitch was pleasant like when the sun rises to shine in your face and welcomes you to a warm morning.

"What song is that?"

"You know this song. You're the one who showed it to me. 'If It Means A Lot To You'?" Her curious irises met mine. I can't believe it...she actually liked the song. When I broke out in a hysterical chuckle, it caused the girl's brows to furrow. "What? Why are you laughing at me?"

Staring back at her with watery eyes from the outburst, I spoke in a falsetto, "you're taste in music is just so bad, I didn't think you'd like it!" Trying to hold back any further snickering, I made a 'pfft' noise and cracked up again. The two words you'd never want to hear in the same sentence left my partner's lips and pierced my eardrums.

"MAKA CHOP!" The flustered girl smashed my skull into the tiles of Ms. Asha's class. The last warning bell shouted down the Shibusen halls and the door was shut; Maka peeled me off of the ground and took my hand to drag me to sit over on the floor and away from the gate. Envy-swollen eyes glared in our direction as we knelt down for the lecture still not breaking our bound palms. Hmm...maybe I can learn to out-stealth Maka's surprise Maka Chops...and maybe these stupid glares...

The last bell of the day rang and we booked it out of Dr. Stein's before he could get the chance to threaten a dissection upon our bodies. Maka and I walked around to the backlot locked together like we've been all day to get my bike. We cruised up to the bottom of the Shibusen stairs and met with the whole gang-including the new addition, Crona.

Some people wonder why I allowed her to be a companion of mine. They think that I should hold a grudge against the toothpick of a girl, but I bear no hard feelings toward her. I mean, it wasn't her fault that her twisted mom drugged her. Crona was afraid of her own mother so she did what she had to. Besides, what's done is done, and I can't get rid of the scar. The others thought the same, so that was the end of it.

"So,Crona, how do you like the academy so far? You got to look around today, right?" Maka, legs still split around behind me on the motorcycle, asked the jumpy girl.

Crona was slightly startled by the sudden conversation. "O-oh, yea. It's a big school...I don't know i-if I can deal with it..."

My partner giggled. "You'll be fine. It takes some getting used to." I gave Crona a small, reassuring grin at the moment Maka nudged me. "Oh, so you're coming to Kid's party, right Crona?"

"Uh, well, I-I don't know. S-should I go? A-am I allowed?"

Kid broke in, "of course! You're a friend."

"Ooo! Ooo! Kid-kuuuunnn! I have an idea!" Patty shouted, filled with glee. "You should take Onee-chan! You said yourself, Onee-chan! You told me you wanted to go with Kid-kun!"

The older Thompson blushed madly. "Wha-what? Pfft, I didn't say anything like that! I-I'm pretty sure you said that! No way, not me." By the clueless look on Patty's face, it was obvious that Liz was lying.

A slight tint of pink appeared on Kid's cheeks. "Liz, would you like to be my date?" Speechless and embarrassed, the flushed Thompson nodded her head slowly. "Okay then, who will Patty go with?"

The jubilant girl giggled insanely and linked her arm around Crona's. "I'll go with Crona-chan! I'm dress her up all pretty and everything!" The nervous wreck looked somewhat panicked, yet relieved-if that was possible. "Do you like short dresses or long dresses, Crona-chan?"

"Uh...uh...uahh..." Her pinkish-purplish haired head swiveled to and fro the directions of each of our faces. "We-well, I like lo-long dresses better...it covers me up."

"Let's show off those legs at the party then! I'm gonna find you the CUTIEST dress!" Patty sang.

Crona cried out, "n-no! Don't do that! I can't deal with short dresses! I like the long ones like this gown I wear! D-don't make me wear a short one!"

The youngest Thompson released her grip around Crona's arm and jumped around on one foot. "Come oooooon, Crona-chaaaan! You'll look so good in a short dress!"

Liz cut into the conversation. "Now, Sis, you'll make her cry."

That only made the bubbly girl cackle. "Crona-chaaan! Don't be a baby! Be like Onee-chan! She's the bravest, strongest girl I know!" With declaring that statement, a determined expression crossed the younger sister's face.

Nervous laughs escaped the elder sibling. "I wouldn't say that I'm the bravest...or strongest...hehehe..."

"Oh, Onee-chan, look at you being all sheepish!" Patty smacked her hand on her sister's back a couple of times while giggling herself away.

"Well, I think that we should get going now." Tsubaki interrupted. "Look. Half the students are gone already and here we still are!" A modest grin was flashed and she grabbed Blackstar's wrist. "See you guys tomorrow!"

"BOW DOWN TO YOUR GREAT GOD AS I LEAVE TO RAIN MY GLORY ELSEWHERE! KYAHAHAHAHA!" Everyone mumbled 'whatever' to the remark the arrogant boy chanted. As they sauntered off, I swore that I could see Blackstar's hand grope the cammelia's rear.

Liz seemed to take notice of the perverted action the Big Star made toward Tsubaki. It was consoling to know that I wasn't just imagining it. "Hey, did you see that? Do you think Tsubaki and Blackstar have something going on?"

"What happened? What did Blackstar do?" Kid impeded with sudden interest.

Not wanting to be a part of their gossip circle, Maka and I said our farewells to the rest of the group and rode off. My partner's arms took their spot around my waist and we zoomed away to our apartment.

"So...not to be all gossipy or anything, but what did Blackstar do?" Maka, with nothing but pure curiosity embedded in her voice.

"Eh..." I said. Olive Eyes huffed into my ear, irritated, and stayed quiet the rest of the ride. When we had finally arrived at our destination, I eased my passenger to the ground and led the way to the innards of the complex. The both of us climbed to the top of the steps and made our way down to the end of the hall where the door to our apartment was. Bobbling to get my key, I finally managed to get us into the cubicle. Maka went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and I threw myself on the couch to greet Blair and watch some T.V. "Oi, Maka?"

"What?" She snapped. I waited until she brought the water to her lips.

"Blackstar grabbed Tsubaki's ass. That's what I saw." Within seconds of admitting that, my astonished roommate blasted the aqua from her mouth.

"He what...?"

"Blackstar. He grabbed Tsubaki's ass." I clarified.

Jaw-dropped and wide-eyed, Maka squeaked, "yea, that's what I thought you said." She took another sip of her water and tossed the rest out into the sink. She then sauntered over and cuddled up to me on the sofa; throwing my arm around her, I slowly worked my way down her shoulder, then her down her side and her waist. Just before I could palm her bottom, "MAKA CHOP!" A book was mashed together with my skull.

"Ow! Damn, I'm sorry." I grunted and set my hand down on her hip, which for sure wasn't a danger zone. To my discontent, Maka slid my hand off of her side and onto her tush. "What the-! If you were gonna let me do that anyway, why the hell would you Maka Chop me?" Her arms immersed me in their caress and she poked her tongue out to produce a flatulence noise from her mouth. "So not cool..." We continued to observe the cartoons flickering on the screen before us.

*Saturday*

"Maka! Hurry up! Quit hogging the bathroom!" I yelled. Dressed in standard black and white, my tie hung limp around my neck and nowhere near being knotted.

A muffled grunt was aimed at my presence. "Wait. I'm almost done."

My face morphed into a deep, displeased grimace and I retorted, "you said that same thing, what, twenty minutes ago? You're not almost done." I leaned on the door and jammed my fists into my pants pockets. Listening to the faint breath coming from the girl on the other side of the door, I realized that my own inhalation was matched with hers.

Then something in my chest...something like a...

pull.

"...the fu...?" At the moment of my astonished reaction, the door was opened and I fell into Maka but caught myself before I could knock her over.

She was holding one palm to her chest and another on the door handle; her delicate face was twisted in a confused visage then suddenly relaxed into scowl. "I'm done." When I looked her over, my vocal chords shut down. The way the fabric bedecked her dainty figure was flawless; she may be flat as a board, but that dress was amazing on her. Maka's hair was semi-pigtailed with most of her hair hanging around her shoulders. The twin-tails were loosely curled. "That pull...are they...?" A whisper from Maka's lips broke my daze and caused me to bring my eyes to a deadlock with hers.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh nothing. You, uh, tie your tie. I'll go touch up in my room." She skipped off barefoot and shut her bedroom door.

Upon arrival with Crona trailing nervously behind us, Maka and I were greeted by the hosting trio at the entrance of the Shinigami mansion. Following up after us were the ninja duo with the suspicious, unofficial sexual affair.

"Blackstar...why can't you ever..." Kid complained. "Look at this! Your jacket is unbuttoned and hanging off of your shoulder...shoes are untied...your tie is just drooping around your neck! Good Lord...you're so asymmetrical!" The OCD boy teared up and fell to his knees in defeat.

Mr. "Big Star" threw back his blue-haired head in a hysterical cackle. "KYAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The great Blackstar can dress however he wants! He's amazing! He's GOD!" With the usual third-person speech leaking from his mouth, we all shamefully sighed at his arrogance.

Still stagnate at the gate to the villa, we observed as a few more couples sauntering into the party arm-in-arm and smiles sheered across their cheeks. As I peered into the commotion going about in the home, I screamed throughout my mind, these are all Kid's friends? How the...? Maybe they're just random students from the Academy. My baffled thoughts were soon put to rest when the young Shinigami declared that yes, all these people are his friends.

A clearing throat was heard from outside of my daze. "Well!" Then, dainty arms had suddenly squeezed around my waist, "let's go inside and party!" The curls that charmingly flowed down Maka's head bounced when she giggled and then she scurried herself and I into the chaotic enjoyment. The others raced right behind us and we dispersed into the crowd, ready to indulge in the night ahead.