HUGE update with a very much needed injection of drama to replace the constant romantic drivel I've given you. Trigger warning for sexual assault, self-injury.
"Come on." Maka was tugging on his hand like a kid at the park, dragging him across the lawn to yet another building that looked just like all the rest to him.
It had been her idea to show him around campus again, somehow trying to smooth out the feelings left behind from his last visit. That same old bitterness was still at the back of his throat, but Soul was trying to focus on the feeling of her hand, to steal the exuberance right from her fingertips. "Slow down, it's not going anywhere."
"But if we get there early enough Professor Mjolnir will be there, and she could open one of the studios!" Maka kept urging, bringing him through the door into the much wished for air conditioning, letting him breathe a sigh of relief as he pulled at his t-shirt to billow in some of the cooler air.
"Maka, I don't have to see a studio, I'm guessing it's-"
"It'll help," she chirped. "I've seen the way you drool over equipment."
"I don't drool," he grumbled out the lie, unconvincing to both of them. "And why is a Professor here over the summer, anyway?"
"Well, summer classes, but she has a toddler at home, too," Maka laughed. "It's a little peace and quiet."
He tugged at her hand, getting her eyes to focus back on him as they paused in the stairwell. "How do you even know that?"
"People tell me things," Maka shrugged. "I always thought it was because I talk a lot, so people feel like they have to talk back, but Liz has always said that people just talk to me."
That sent his mind churning, especially as she guided him down the stairs to the basement offices. Why had he talked to her? The history was there, but it was 15 minutes worth of past so it's not like she wasn't a stranger the first time he'd spilled a tidbit about his problems. He was coming to the slow decision that it was a quality in her, something that pulled anyone's darkness out for display, but not just to show but to soothe. He was lost in that thought when she stopped short at a door, sending him squealing to a stop on his heels.
"Professor Mjolnir?" Maka punctuated the coaxing quality of her voice with a soft knock.
"Come in," came a tired voice from within.
Maka happily opened it to uncover a blond woman lounging back in her office chair, a cup of coffee clutched protectively to her chest. With a strange kind of wonder, Soul noticed the different colors of her eyes, one a light brown while the other shone almost golden. "Hello, Professor Mjolnir!"
"Maka," some of the exhaustion slipped from the woman's face. "And I thought I told you to call me Marie."
"And I told you I'd definitely wouldn't be able to," Maka laughed softly before waving her hand towards Soul. "This is Soul Evans. He's starting here next semester. Do you mind if I show him one of the studios?"
"Evans…" Marie was not only scanning him but their connected hands, gathering a plethora of tantalizing information.
"It's a common last name-" Maka twittered.
"But it is the one you're thinking of," Soul finished for her, squeezing her hand. "Scott and Serena Evans are my parents."
"Well, welcome, since you're with Maka I'll assume that a big name doesn't mean a big ego." Marie slowly rested her coffee on her desk before she stood. "So I'll let you into one of the studios." She squeezed past Maka, using the closeness to send a playful smile her way before starting down the hallway.
Maka dragged Soul after as the last conversation replayed over in her mind. He suddenly hadn't been afraid or worried about the implications and while she found herself slightly jealous of the openness there was also a strange elation. It's like he's alright with himself. Like he doesn't have to hide what or who he is anymore.
Marie slowed at one of the doors, taking a set of keys out of her pocket before shuffling through for the right one. "I'm going to keep it locked, so when you leave just make sure no one sneaks in behind you. If another Professor or adjunct comes along they might kick you out though."
"That's fine, really just letting him pine over the equipment," Maka grinned.
"I'm not in love with electronics," he grumbled but as soon as the door opened squeezed past, actually eager to set his hands on the mixing board.
"So he says," Maka shot over her shoulder to Marie, earning a laugh before the other woman turned back to the hallway and let the door shut the two of them in.
"This is fine," he attempted not to coo, to give into the oohing and aahing that Maka was waiting for. He still had a little dignity left.
"Fine," she huffed. "Just fine?"
"Fine," he repeated as he tried to tramp down the smirk that was curling up his lips.
"You're impossible!" Her added hands thrown in the air were completely missed as he focused again on the board, fingers running along knobs and keys. Maka amused herself with going into the sound booth, tinkering around with the various stands and papers left behind. Absently, she started to sing, letting that song she'd written for him make another appearance.
"Hey," Soul called between the glass. "Little louder, can't hear you out here."
Maka smiled as she turned in his direction while belting louder, the song reverberating through the room. Maka paused the song, calling out to him, "You know, Black Star never did write his part."
"Then sing the ending without it, I want to hear it," he grinned.
She obliged, her swelling voice hiding the sound of the door opening, keys unlocking but relocking, along with the heavy boots that tramped in through the doorway. The look of fear on Maka's face, or the look that flashed there before she quickly covered it with a grimace, was what made Soul turn his head first before the sharp finger even poked him in the shoulder.
The man's hair looked even more out of control than Soul's and it should have been laughable except for how it simply added another level of sharpness to his features. His brown eyes looked like they should be calming, soothing, but instead, there was nothing but coldness in them. "So you're the new one, huh?"
"New what?" Soul tried to keep that even, cool temper to his voice.
It was as if he hadn't asked the question, the man more of the type that liked to hear himself talk than enjoyed being spoken with. "She's beautiful, isn't she? Really, just the sweetest little thing on two long, luscious legs. Though we probably can both admit that the studio isn't where she's her best."
Soul looked back at the booth, his eyes narrowing at Maka's frozen posture, her hands clenched into the stand. He started a slow stand from his seat, his eyes focusing back on the man. "Who are you?"
"Giriko," he answered simply. "Just started adjuncting this summer, but spent plenty of time at those record parties your girl used to frequent. Guess she never talked about me, huh? Not a surprise, probably got lost in the mix of all the others along the way." Giriko broke into a bout of laughter, a hand clenching his gut as if it would burst before turning a sharp smile Soul's way. "She fucked you yet?"
Mostly numb was probably the best way that Soul would describe himself when it came to day to day emotions. It was the big waves, like the day in the closet or that night Maka drove him home, that proved there was something still there, and it was usually something that Soul had very little control over. There it was: a deep, seething hatred, a black, spitting anger. Like always it was out of his grasp, a thing that swallowed him whole and all he could do was watch as his fist swung back before pistoning forward, striking Giriko right below his left eye.
That moment finally breathed life into Maka who until then had been trapped in the incessant screams of her own mind. She had been watching everything she built with Soul crumbling in front of her, knowing the words Giriko was going to say before he said them. Now he knows, there's no hiding, and the fact that you kept the truth from him will be enough. She had never expected Soul's swing, and as soon as she saw the connection, the way that Giriko's head lurched back, her feet launched forward, bringing her through the door and into the tech room. "Stop!"
That call fell on deaf ears, Soul taking a second swing before Giriko could even right himself. It didn't matter whether or not it was the truth, but as far as Soul was concerned this was him, the guy that she flinched from, the one that swelled up in her mind that kept her poisoned with fear and he was going to make him regret it. But two punches were the most he could get in before Giriko was stable enough to hustle around the room as if this were some kind of boxing ring. They had switched places and Soul made the idiot mistake of looking for Maka, to make sure she wasn't trapped on Giriko's side.
The gut shot hit Soul hard, catapulting all of the air from his lungs as he struggled not to double forward. Instead, he felt hands pulling him back, throwing him off balance and almost on to the floor of the hallway as he realized the door was open. The last thing he saw was Maka on the other side of the door as it slammed between them.
"Idiot," Giriko spat before turning his eyes to Maka. "What, got a little guard dog now? He think you're some kind of pretty little princess? You didn't tell him how you spread your legs for-?"
"Stop!" Maka screamed again, her hands coming to Giriko's shirt as she started to push him back away from the door. She sent one glance back at it, watching as the knob rattled uselessly. It was hard to pretend Soul wasn't screaming her name on the other side, but she sucked in a deep breath of air and turned back to Giriko.
"What, don't want your boyfriend to hear?" Giriko cooed before gripping a hand to her waist. "Or maybe you want a little something before I go?"
Maka slapped his hand away as the words viciously spat from her mouth. "Stay the fuck away from me, from him, from my fucking school."
An amused smile parted his lips. "I can't do that, and, you know, I'm feeling awful compelled to go to the Dean's office where I can discuss how some upstart wimp thought punching me in the face was going to make up for his girlfriend being a slut."
The word made her stomach roll but she forced herself to swallow it. "Don't you remember?" Her voice was soft but not delicate. "What happened our night together?"
"What?" His smirk remained untarnished. "Gonna spread some lie about my size? Please, like anyone-"
"No, no, no," Maka shook her finger. "Like most guys you love that proof of conquest, right? That's why you had that little idiot friend of yours record us, right?"
The corner of his mouth ticked before he forced the smile more. "So what?"
Maka slipped her phone out of her pocket, starting to scroll through. "He was a really nice guy, that friend of yours. Stupid enough to send me the video in some attempt at blackmail." She found what she wanted, and brought the clip up on the screen, turning it to him. "See?"
Giriko attempted to grab the phone but Maka's hand was back to her pocket. "Not my only copy, anyway," she punctuated that with a dry laugh. "But, see, that went nowhere for him since, well, do you remember how old I was?"
"Eighteen," Giriko scoffed.
"Almost eighteen," Maka let another laugh tumble from her lips. "And, see, the cops don't actually care about the almost, not when video is involved. Do you see where I'm going with this? Your idiot friend definitely caught on by the time I got here."
"You were eighteen!" Giriko hand shot out, grasping the front of her shirt. "You're full of shit and you wouldn't dare anyway. As soon as that video got out everyone would see you like the little whore you are."
"I don't care," Maka hissed as she put her hand over the top of his. "And I fucking dare you to test me. Go ahead and test how far I'll go to protect him." Giriko ripped away his hand, releasing Maka. She didn't waste the energy on another response, just turning and finally moving the knob, giving Soul enough to almost crash the door open on her.
She barely got out of the way, pushing him in the process back into the hallway, trying to leave all the pain and tumult behind. Going back through the door was like walking on sand, his feet not able to find purchase as she rammed him back, the door snapping shut behind her. "Maka-"
"You idiot!" She couldn't stop it from being anything more than a wild scream, her hands digging into his shirt so she could shake him. "You complete fucking idiot!" The tears burned down her cheeks, the second scream choking off into a wild sob.
"Maka…" He grabbed her elbows, trying to steady her as she stopped shaking him.
Maka brought her hands back to clear her face, breaking the grip on her arms as she took a shaky step back. "You can't just punch someone! Do you know the amount of trouble you could get in? Kicked out of school or what if he called the cops? Why, why would you do that?"
The deep breaths he attempted did nothing, that burning ball of rage still not satiated, "I was protecting you! I wasn't going to let him say those things about you!"
His tone hit her like a shockwave, snapping herself out of the moment, finally seeing the broiling fury under the surface of his crimson eyes. "You shouldn't," it was a whisper, almost silent in comparison to the screams. "It's just… I'm not worth ruining your future over, Soul. You can't do that, not for me. Not just to stop someone from saying what's really just the truth." She wished that stabbing feeling was real, that this was what bleeding out was like.
"But you're…" One of the most important people in the world to me, but the words plugged up in his throat.
"I'm nothing." The emphasis sent another twist of pain in her gut, another wash of tears down her cheeks. "And you put everything on the line for that. You can't. I took care of it this time but, Soul, you can't."
Soul reached for her again, unsure of what he would even do with his fingers when they did meet her, tempted to just pull her as tightly as possible. "But, Maka-"
"No," she groaned as she side-stepped his touch, getting closer to the stairwell, closer to getting out of this moment entirely. "I just… I'm going to go. I'm going to go to Liz's and…" she choked on the idea as another horrible thought flashed in her mind.
"What? I can take you home. We can go home," Soul spat, the reality of it hitting him harder than Giriko as she took another step back, her head shaking.
"I… I took so much of your time," Maka murmured. If she hadn't turned, Maka would have seen the desperation on his face, his hands reaching for her with the intent to pull her in and refuse to let go, but she did. The door to the stairwell was in front of her and she took it, breaking into a run as soon as she heard the metal clank behind her.
Maka didn't stop when the sun hit her face or when the stifling heat instantly made the sweat spring from her brow, just kept running until she hit the next building. She slipped inside, hoping for the cool air and to not hear him scream her name. All she could do was duck into another stairwell and crouch, letting the horrible moment all come back to her along with that final, terrible thought that had finally crossed her mind. She swallowed thickly, taking out her phone and feeling it already start to buzz, his name already on the screen.
She hit decline. It made her gut tremble and the tears that she wasn't even considering yet stream down her cheeks. She had to decline it three more times before she could reach Liz's name, listening to the ring with the beep of his call waiting in the background echoing it. "Hey, I thought you were with Soul today," Liz's voice gave away an honest surprise.
"Come get me, please, Liz," she murmured.
"What? Where are you?" That mild surprise was now a full-blown panic and Maka could hear the frantic movement starting on the other side.
"I'm at school. And call Black Star, please. Soul needs him because I can't-" A sob choked out the rest of the words, Maka struggling for a rattling breath to replace it.
"Maka, where's Soul? What happened?"
The only answer was the line cutting out, Maka's breath for words completely overrun with sobs.
Soul could hear the cursing from his bed, the panicked struggle with his front door that told him it was Black Star using his extra key. He flipped the razorblade in his fingers and sighed, waiting for the lock to unlatch. "Soul fucking Evans!" came booming after the click and pounding feet made their way down the hallway. Soul waited until he saw the sneakers in the doorway, tossing the sharp piece of metal from his hand to the floor in front of them. The blue-haired boy knelt, picking up the blade and sucking his teeth at it. "Do we have to go to the hospital?"
"I didn't do it," Soul muttered, moving his eyes from the shoes to the ceiling as he threw himself back on the bed.
"At least this day isn't a total shit-show." Black Star carefully pocketed the razor letting out a long, low sigh and sat on the bed next to Soul, looking down at those red eyes. "Called you like eighty times, dude."
"I know." The words barely left his lips, the effort of talking feeling like a marathon he didn't want to run. He wanted the blade back, he wanted that easy short release to this whole muddled mess he was going to have to bury inside.
Black Star wasn't one to mince truths so he threw the words out, "Maka's with Liz."
Soul's only answer was the wince of that name hitting him like a baseball bat.
Black Star put a solid hand on Soul's shoulder. "She told me-"
"She's not coming back so there's no point," Soul suddenly spouted as he sat up from the bed, his voice hoarse. "So just shut up about her. I don't want to hear it."
"Hey," Black Star put his hands up in defeat. "Chill out, Soul, it's going to be OK."
"OK?" He shrieked. "This is OK? That asshole, what he said about her, what he probably did to her and she-"
"Didn't want you to fight that battle for her, man," Black Star sighed. "I can't say how she handled the aftermath was any good, but I don't think Giriko's bothering her or you again. And that's at least something she can be proud of. You were kind of stupid, throwing that punch."
"He hurt her," the words ground against the back of his throat as a guttural growl.
Black Star's laugh was short but still definitely tickled with amusement. "Guess you never grew out of the overprotectiveness, it was just hiding." Soul sent him a glare still saturated in the leftover rage. "I told you to chill out. Look, it's going to be fucked for a little, but… let's just wait for Liz, OK?"
"She shouldn't leave her," Soul muttered as he wiped the glare from his face with his hand. He let its mate join in, trying to rub away all the idiotic thoughts clouding his mind.
Black Star took his phone out of his pocket, absently checking the screen for the text. "She's just waiting for Spirit, then she's on her way over here."
"Her dad?" Soul tried to press but he knew that look on Black Star's face, the mouth taped shut. "What's going on?"
"Let's wait for Liz," Black Star repeated. "I was more worried about what I almost found you doing, man." Black Star's voice was soft and his hand hesitantly came to Soul's shoulder again. "I know it doesn't mean shit but I'm glad you didn't. You haven't in a while, right? Since the hospital?"
"Yeah," Soul murmured, throwing a tentative glance at Black Star. "And I shouldn't have been thinking about it now."
"Man, you were at an all-time low. Easy time to fall back into old habits." His grip tightened on Soul's shoulder. "But it's going to be OK."
"You keep saying that, but…" Soul felt the sting and rubbed at his eyes, preempting it, trying to keep the full-blown tears from erupting. "I don't know, the last thing she said, she said she was nothing, that she took so much of my time, doesn't that mean…?"
"That she's totally in you-grade self-loathing mode, yeah." Black Star patted at his shoulder again. "Like I said, didn't handle the aftermath well, but you get it? She fucked a lot of guys-"
"Don't say it that way," he snapped. "And like I fucking care. She… none of that matters to me."
"I know," Black Star shrugged before glancing at his phone again, feeling it vibrate just as he flipped his wrist. "OK, Liz is on her way. Let's make some tea or some shit she'll like. She's going to be in a bad mood."
Soul sighed in reply, slinking from the bed achingly slow as he started for the kitchen. Black Star followed behind him, tapping on his screen and sending the obligatory, 'see you soon' message back to Liz. He took another second to shoot something borderline scandalous to Tsubaki, trying to even out his mood about this entire endeavor. He'd need her tonight, just to clear away all the old shit that the first moment at Soul's apartment door brought flooding back. He also just needed her in the purest form of the word.
Black Star watched Soul perform the domestics from the doorway of the kitchen. It was smart to give Soul something to do, but even more so to have a peace offering for Liz, spurring the last bit of pride that Black Star was going to have for the day. He knew possible paths this could take and watching his best friend have a mental breakdown was not what he had slated for tonight. If he was the kind of guy to cross his fingers, he would have, but instead, he strung along a list of curses in his head, threatening Maka from afar. Don't hurt him. Do the right thing. Get your shit together.
By the time they'd moved into the living room and Black Star was about to compliment, or maybe closer to mock Soul on his tea ceremony arrangement skills, the door popped open, Liz sighing with the weight of it and the moment coming. "Everything OK over here?" she called out hopefully from the hallway.
"We were at a level 3 meltdown, down to a 1 right now," Black Star replied as Soul hmphed.
"Good." Liz appeared, pausing in the doorway to appreciate the at least normal look to the both of them, no tears, no freshly punched faces, no blood. "Is that for me?"
Soul managed to roll his eyes, pouring the amber liquid in the cup for her before offering it up. Liz sat next to him first, forcing him to bring the cup back to her level. Liz took it, blowing thoughtfully before tentatively taking a sip.
Soul was careful not to tip that cup when he grabbed at her free hand. "What's going on?"
Liz let her sigh cool her tea before bringing it away from her lips. "I'm supposed to give you this first." She sunk a hand into her pocket, taking out a slightly crinkled envelope.
"What's going on?" This time he was only a hair below a yell, snatching the letter from her fingers but wrinkling it further into his fist.
"Hey, hey!" Liz put her tea down, instantly going to unfold his fingers. "That's her letter to you. But fine, OK, let me sum up I guess the rest of it before since you're insane: she's sorry, she wants to be here, but the best idea right now is that she goes away for, I don't know, I hope a little bit."
"Goes away?" Soul couldn't stop himself from crumbling the letter further, his nails digging into the skin of his palm.
Liz brought her hand to his face as she gently patted his cheek. "Yeah, not the year like you, but maybe a week, depending on what the doctors say."
All of it withered away from Soul, the rage, the confusion, just to leave behind an ache so great that it filled whatever space was leftover. "What?"
"Well, she was hurting, you knew that," Liz had brought the volume down to a whisper. "She finally realized she needed more help than she was asking for, you know?"
"Oh, fuck," he moaned out as his hands relaxed, letting the paper fall from his palm so he could bring it to his face to hide the tears that weren't just threatening anymore.
"Hey, it's a good thing," Liz murmured, moving her hand to smooth his hair. "She wants to face it all. That's good, that's healthy. And the rest, well, I think you should kind of read the letter."
Soul felt the couch move and he brought his head from his hands in time to see Black Star sink in next to him. They pressed him between them shoulder to shoulder as Liz untangled the mess he'd made of the letter and handed it back to him. Maka had this perfect type of writing, like one of those fancy fonts on the computer that somehow always stayed straight even without lines on the page. He stared at his name on the front for a while, feeling the two of them squirm next to him, Liz bringing back her tea and Black Star throwing an unnecessary but begrudgingly appreciated arm around his shoulder. He tore open the back of the envelope carefully, pulling out the wrinkled paper inside.
"I don't know how convincing I can be on paper, but I hope you'll listen (not that I feel like I deserve it right now)."
He stopped for a second, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, overwhelmed by the fact that he felt like he could hear her in his head like this wasn't some written thing but her whispering in his ear. Soul wiped at his eyes again before turning them back to the paper.
"I know I should start off with the 'I'm sorry' part, the 'here's the real truth' part, but I want to beg first. Please extend our deal. I might miss the month mark, but I have to do what you said, I have to work for this, too. You've been exactly what I always said - the best - but I've been hiding. I need to do better, and this is the only way I can."
"Now, the 'I'm sorry,' which really isn't enough. The only thing I can think to say to even make it remotely better is that while idiot me didn't have the right thing to say when I left you, I can say it definitely now: I don't want this to be over. I just let all the fear get the better of me and took it out on you. Again, not fair, and I need to do better."
"Finally, I want to fulfill what I can of our deal, maybe like a downpayment before you get the real thing whenever this blows over. I told you what Giriko said wasn't a lie, and that's the truth. I just started trying to find what we had at each one of those parties, but all of those men weren't you. The first time I didn't want to. The second time I didn't want to. By the third time, I guess I figured that wasn't a choice, so I just hoped that the next one would mean it, would want me. I hope that makes sense, even though I'm sure it doesn't. For the rest, I had to ask Liz to be my mouthpiece since I don't actually remember everything, and maybe I never will. She'll tell you whatever you want to know since she and Black Star have a clearer memory than I do."
"I know I'm about to do another thing that's not entirely fair, but I'm desperate. You promised me that you wouldn't leave unless I told you. I'm begging you to stay with me, please. I'll call you as soon as I can."
His fingers were trembling at the edge of the paper. "Take me, let me see her, please, I'll wait with her at intake, I don't care, just, Liz, please-"
"Nope," Liz added a second arm to his shoulder. "The smartest thing she said tonight was that she couldn't see you. She'd fold. She'd want to stay out here with you and go the easy route. So, no, Soul. We're staying here. She's going and you'll just have to wait."
Soul dropped the letter to his lap, his hands coming back to fists. "Then tell me, Liz. Tell me what happened to her."
"Hey," Black Star balked. "What? It's not a good time, man. Not for you. You can't hear that and-"
"She told me it was OK to tell him about that night," Liz murmured as she locked eyes with Black Star, Soul suddenly forgotten in the middle.
Black Star's brow furrowed, an accusing finger dangling in front of Soul. "Which is bullshit because she should tell him, and now he's just-"
"You know she doesn't remember," Liz snapped. "Only we do, and she promised."
"Let me get this goddamn sentence out, Elizabeth," he warned. "I get it, we're the eyewitnesses, but he's fucking fragile right now. I don't even want to hear the goddamn story again."
"Can we stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Soul muttered.
"I'm protecting you," Black Star spat.
Soul swallowed hard, "And I was trying to protect Maka and look how that ended up."
"Fuck," Black Star muttered. "You have to promise me. If this sends you into some kind of fucking tailspin you have to be honest about it. And, I don't fucking know, you have to stay with Liz or me tonight."
"You can drop me off at my Mom's after," Soul outstretched a hand, fingers still trembling slightly.
"With Serena?" Black Star narrowed his eyes again before awkwardly taking the shake with his wrong hand, the right one refusing to budge from Soul's shoulders. "Fine. Serena. But I swear to fucking God-"
Soul was already turning his head from Black Star. "Tell the story, Liz."
Liz took a long sip of her tea, trying to focus on the warmth running into her belly rather than the chill starting to trickle up her back. "I met Maka at a party, one of the record parties your parents got me on the guestlist for. I remembered her face from class and as soon as the guy looking to bring her home told me to fuck off when I tried to talk to her, well, I almost castrated him right then and there. I took her to my place, sobered her up, and she stayed with me that night. Not that that changed the behavior since next time it was me and Black Star, not at a record party but one of the house parties right off campus but that time…"
While Liz couldn't imagine that it'd match the trauma of Black Star finding Soul, there was always going to be a deep pain in the memory of finding Maka like that, a wound for her friend that wouldn't heal. "I was trying to find her, you know? I'd seen her at the beginning of the party and I knew she wasn't… She wasn't taking care of herself. I had seen her already drunk when we got there and when she disappeared I was worried. I made Black Star look for her with me."
"Where was she?" The words felt like gravel against Soul's throat.
"Upstairs. I was checking all the rooms one by one, and of course, the last one I checked…" Liz stuttered out a breath, her eyes growing hot with tears. "He had her pressed into the bed, her face, and I thought for a second that she couldn't possibly be alive, be breathing." Liz blew the air between her lips. "You know, I think Black Star is the strongest out of all of us because when I saw that, I froze, but when he saw that, he cold-cocked the guy without a second's hesitation. He never hesitates, even with complete terror in front of him."
"Duh," Black Star croaked.
Soul couldn't find the humor in it, erupting from the couch, trying to find some comfort in moving, feeling the absolute pain of the mental picture. "Who was he?" He was pacing, hands gripping tightly into fists at his side.
"Some guy," Liz answered quickly. "No one we knew and I can promise you, Black Star didn't leave him with the same face he came in with." That memory of that blood was at least partially joyful, a well-deserved beating as payment for the horror he created. "When I picked her up, she barely opened her eyes, couldn't put a sentence together and just managed to avoid puking all over herself. Did a number on the carpet, but so did Black Star's beating."
"That fucker deserved that and more," Black Star hissed, stealing the words right from Soul's mind. "What he did to her, her clothes…"
"Her clothes?" Soul gulped for air.
Liz tried to hold back nausea, having to cover her mouth as it waved up her to her throat. "They were all ripped, torn. So Black Star lost his shirt and I ran out to the car and got my emergency gym shorts. After some arguing, she let me take her to the hospital but other than that… I think she tried to pretend it never happened."
He let out a low, guttural growl as he threw up his hands. "How could someone do that to her?" It was an anguished scream and he threw it at Liz. "How could they hurt her like that?"
"I don't know," Liz murmured back, raising her hands in an attempt to placate. "But I don't think he was the only one, Soul. Just probably the worst one."
"What?" Soul was almost shrieking.
"Yeah, I don't think so either," Black Star joined with little enthusiasm.
"Not that she's said anything," Liz sighed deeply. "But I have a feeling, except, again, she mostly tries to pretend that none of her life's happened."
He sucked at his teeth, tightly running his hands through his hair. He tried to replay what he had of her life in his head, finding the glaring gap from the piano bench until Liz's rescue. Again, that dangerous fantasy started to play, the idea that there was another timeline where the two of them had stayed together after meeting at the piano. She would have become happy, dangerously courageous, free-spirited with a strong will but now all of that was hidden, muddled by all the pain. He only let that dream exist for another moment before focusing back on Liz. "What happened after that?"
"Nothing," Liz half-heartedly shrugged. "She banned the idea of parties all on her own after that. Definitely encourage by the rest of us. For the next year, the closest she got to socializing was when we all hung out, Black Star, Tsubaki, her and I. Then you."
"Look," Black Star stood up, cutting Soul's pacing. "Don't hear this the wrong way, but when you came along it mixed all that shit up. The past year she'd done a fucking fantastic job of just pushing it under the rug, but having you made her look at it, made her see it was dragging her down. This shit that happened today was long overdue. She needs this just as much as you needed it last year, OK?"
"So it's my fault," he laughed bitterly.
Black Star's hand connected with the back of Soul's head, jutting his chin forward and flipping his hair. "It's not your fault, but it sure as hell is partially for you, dude. She wants to be better so you can make this work. So don't give up on her. Chill out and wait it out."
"Like I'd ever leave her," Soul sighed out painfully. "It's just, I-"
Instead of another hit, Black Star brought his hand back to fluff Soul's hair. "You already miss her, I know, you big powderpuff."
"Don't call me a fucking powderpuff," Soul grunted as he struck away Black Star's hand. His eyes trailed back to Liz, seeing her own shell shocked face, the weary smile over the edge of her teacup. He made a mental note then to remind Maka of the thing that was hitting him in the face right at that moment. It wasn't just them, not some isolated little romance, but it was all of them, a web caring for one another and it was the two of them that were doing a shit job at reciprocating. "Why don't we all go to Mom's? She'd be over the moon if both of you showed up."
"I am her favorite," Black Star cooed. "Guess I'll give Tsubaki the night off."
"Nah, have her come," Soul shrugged.
"It does save me the trip back to the apartment to pack overnight stuff," Black Star grinned before unpocketing his phone.
"And I deserve some fucking pampering," Liz grumbled. "I'll call out of work tomorrow."
Soul nodded before moving around the apartment to pack all the necessaries. It was all catching up with him, his limbs starting to feel drained, that emotional battery running out. Everything had been chaotic: holding that razor blade in his fingers again and feeling like his world was toppling in on itself. Even with that, he could feel at least a modicum of surety, some kind of focus coming to his mind, maybe even a smidge of hopefulness as he let his mind drift to the idea of a Maka without fear.
