(A/N: I can't remember who, but SOMEBODY asked me to make a jealous!Soul Chapter. So WHOOP! THERE IT IS!)
Jealous?
Maka is probably around 500% done with Soul's shit right now. She glares at him from across the familiar, lecture-hall-style classroom and he glares right back, crimson eyes burning holes in her. She harumphs and sticks her nose in the air, turning away from him before looking down at her meticulous notes. He growls on the other side of the room and his fists clench on the desk. Maka doesn't really know the people she's sitting by, but she would rather be with strangers than Soul right now.
It wasn't like he had done anything specific. She would have punched him in the face to be done with it a long time ago if it were only one thing. It was more like Soul had been acting like a grouchy asshole lately, even more so than usual, and Maka was pretty sure that merely punching him wouldn't completely satisfy her. It was for his own good, really. If she was near him at all for the rest of the day, she'd probably bop him real good the next time he opened up his stupid, sharky mouth.
She is snapped out of her thoughts when she hears the distinctive drawl of professor Stein as he spins idly on his wheeled office chair. She shoots Soul another heated glare before she looks down to the nutty professor below.
"All right kids," The grey-haired man said softly, his voice deep and calm as usual. "We're going to start a project today. Work on a presentation on the science of soul resonance and turn it in by the start of next week."
Maka scribbled down the specifics of the project and she could feel Soul's eyes on her the entire time. She would definitely not look at that loser. Then, she heard the words "find a partner" and couldn't help but flinch. She felt Soul's glare intensify and his soul prod her's from across the room. It didn't have quite the "forgive me" attitude she had wanted. So, she tapped the shoulder of a boy with light brown hair and calm, yellow eyes. He looked up in surprise and Maka smiled sweetly at him. "Hey, want to be my partner?"
.
.
.
Soul nearly imploded as he watched Maka smile at the strange boy. He looked a little like her, Soul mused amidst his fury. He dressed a little nerdy, what with his DWMA sweater over a white, button up shirt. But there were things about him (his shirt was wrinkly and untucked, his hair messy and ruffled) that were so boyish and undeniably male that Soul felt his gut clench in fear. There was another guy sitting where he should be sitting. There was another guy touching her. It was merely the polite shaking of hands, but Soul saw only skin on skin and his blood was boiling.
Black Star punched him on his shoulder and shouted something about being partners, but Soul only mumbled a grunt of assent, his eyes never leaving his meister and the strange boy he had never really seen before. Well, that was a lie, he had seen him around, hanging out with a very odd mix of friends. The strange boy seemed popular, however, something that Soul wasn't. And even if Soul were popular, he certainly wasn't outgoing and that was something the stranger definitely seemed to be.
He honestly didn't even recall what he had said to Maka that made her so mad at him. He had probably just called her "tiny-tits" one too many times, but it still felt like a trivial matter compared to the heartbreaking scene of her laughing with that blondish dude. That boy was everything Soul wasn't and it made him feel so inadequate, even as she shot him an especially icy glare as she left, new partner in tow.
He followed Black Star and Tsubaki out of the classroom, distracting himself with the obnoxious blue of his friend's hair. But then his thoughts trailed back to Maka again when Tsubaki grabbed Black Stars hand and squeeze in a comforting gesture. It was probably just an attempt to quiet his useless ramblings, but Soul was nevertheless reminded of how he often held his own partner's hand and how it had held the hand of another mere moments ago.
He sighed to himself and continued after his friends, thinking of anything besides a certain pig-tailed meister.
.
.
.
His name was Nathan, Maka had learned, but he insisted that she call him Thane, so she did. She had also discovered that he was quite diligent and serious when it came to schoolwork despite the fact that he seemed so popular. Maka had never thought it possible to have time for a social life and a decent GPA, but it seemed that this kid made time. She also discovered that Thane had an interesting gaggle of friends, ones that she never thought would mix with someone like him. She felt like a judgmental, stereotyping bitch every time she was proven wrong, but hey. She was learning and that was all that mattered to her.
They parted ways at the end of the school day, with him getting into the back of a crimson 1968 Cadillac to join three other people she had never met. The color of the car made her think of Soul's eyes, but she pushed those thoughts aside.
"Maka," Thane said, "I'd like to introduce you to my friends. This is Seven," He said, gesturing to the tall, dark-haired man at the wheel. He puffed grumpily on a cigarette and nodded a greeting. "Caleb," Thane continued, jabbing a thumb at a grinning boy with pink hair and multiple piercings. He waved idly, one hand wrapped around a gameboy that steadily pumped out pokemon theme music. "And Lake," Thane finished, pointing at a scrawny girl with blue hair and round sun glasses.
"Hey," the girl said, smiling.
"Hi," Maka waved in reply.
"Hurry up, Thane. Say your goodbyes. We need to pick up the twins from football and Friday from art class," Caleb said loudly, not looking up from his game. He reminded Maka a little of Black Star, especially when he kicked the front seat and Seven whirled around to punch Caleb in the arm, growling something about "damaged upholstery".
"All right, all right," Thane said, laughing At Caleb's pained expression as he rubbed his wounded shoulder. "Well, Maka, I guess I'll talk to you later. We'll meet up at your house tomorrow?"
"Yup! We can figure out the specifics of the project then," Maka replied, sobering under the topic of school projects.
"Cool," Thane grinned. Then the group of oddly-matched friends sped away down the street with a few goodbyes.
.
.
.
When Maka returned home, she found Soul sitting on the couch, chewing on his fingernails with a ferocity.
"Soul!" She hissed, gently smacking his hand from his mouth. "Your teeth are too sharp for that! You'll bleed!"
Soul did not reply. He merely looked at her with an odd expression, one that Maka could not place. She sighed and walked away, calling over her shoulder. "If you think you are the only one who should be mad, then you can make yourself dinner. Her bedroom door slammed shut behind her.
Soul felt like crying.
.
.
.
After school the next day, Maka returned home, new lab partner in tow. She opened the door once more and found Soul sulking there again.
"Is this your lab partner?" He asked gruffly. He stood up from his place on the couch, straightening to his full height to try and be intimidating. He was indeed taller than the new-comer, but...
"Dude, you can try. But my brother's six-foot-seven and twice your weight in muscle. I'm used to it," Thane chuckled. He was trying to be joking and friendly, but the scowl on Soul's face told him it wasn't working. He glanced at Maka and she in turn shot a glare at Soul.
"Soul, you better be nice to him or I won't cook you dinner tonight either!"
How dare she?! Did she think that was all he cared about?! DINNER? Soul opened his mouth to shout, but Maka quickly saw it coming. Unfortunately for Soul, he did not see her retaliation.
Maka and Thane left him curled on the carpet, felled by an infamous Maka-chop.
Soul regained consciousness to the sound of whispers and giggling. He heard Maka say something about colors choices for a poster, followed by a suggestion from Thane. There it was again, that sensation in his gut that felt like a pot boiling over. Soul scrubbed his hands over his face and moved from the carpet to the couch to think.
He'd been carrying a torch for his meister for years, really. Perhaps longer, if he could ever admit it to himself. He didn't know what he should do. Maybe ask her out on a date? Perhaps take her for a romantic drive on his bike? Oh. Maybe profess his undying love and proceed to make passionate love to her the nearest, available flat surface. Yeah, that one sounded like a good plan. Definitely.
He got up from the couch and walked over to her room.
"Maka?" He asked softly, knocking on her doorframe. The two inhabitants looked up from their neat and meticulously halfway-prepared poster board and Soul creaked the door open just wide enough to poke his head through.
"Yes, Soul?" Maka asked warily.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Maka mumbled something to Thane and then she giggled and opened the door so she could slip through it and join Soul in the hallway. He felt his blood boil. What, had that guy said something to her? Did he make a joke? Was he flirting with her?! Soul contained himself only by biting the inside of his cheek. Though in hindsight, that was a bad idea too. He swallowed the tiny bit of blood that formed there.
"What is it, Soul?" Maka sighed.
"I want to know if you can come home without your lab partner tomorrow, I want to talk to you alone."
"We're alone, now," Maka said, gesturing to the space around them with the cock of a hip and the swish of a hand.
Soul succeeded in not getting distracted by the flutter of her skirt against her thighs and said, "Please, Maka?"
"Fine," She grumbled. "But you better not start acting like a total dick," She said, jabbing a finger at him accusingly, a tiny smile on her lips as she stepped back into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
He really hoped he could manage that.
TBC
(A/N: MWAHAHAHAHAHA I'VE MADE A TWO PART STORY. Doesn't that "TBC" just make you cringe? I shall have the next installment up soon, perhaps interrupted by some good, ol' fashioned PWP.)
