"What?!" Soul gasped, recalling what Black*Star had just said. The words that had slipped smoothly out of his mouth had caught Soul off guard. By his guess, Soul was the bigger man in that room. Of course he had a better attitude and he wasn't the one crying. In fact, he didn't exactly know what Black*Star was crying about in the first place.
"Please, don't make me say it again... My breath doesn't deserve to be wasted in this world. I'm worthless, I should just die!" Soul's mouth dropped to the floor. The usual energetic, rude, and selfish big show said 'please'. Never in Soul's, not yet finished, life had he heard that magic word flow from Black*Star's mouth.
"Would you just... Shut up?! You're pathetic! The least you could do is waste your breath by telling me what the hell happened." Soul crossed his arms and towered over Black*Star.
The boy before him looked completely alien to the Black*Star that he had once known and loved like his own brother. The best damn brother that he had never had. He had practical grew up with the boy, they just lived in different homes and were raised by different people.
Soul was always being served by maids and was always made sure to be attended to. He was always stuffed in the huge mansion that was stationed out in the outskirts of Death City. It was rare for him to see the sunlight, breathe fresh air, and actually fill the grass tingle in between his toes. At the age of six he was already carrying around large amounts of death bucks that only a hard working man deserved. He did nothing to get the money that so many people needed. And he hated that. He hated the fact that the money that he had could have been used to save people and animals.
A simple commercial about homeless and abused animals in pounds would set him off. But he used the money anyways by buying the newest things available. Then some sense kicked in. Soul would try to be the coolest guy alive, even if his love for the piano got in the way of that. So he also bought the clothes to match his idea of a 'cool guy'.
Soul had been avoiding the piece of wood for a long time, even until just thinking of it made him want to throw up. His parents didn't help much either. They would basically force him to play and that's not how it worked for Soul. He wanted freedom to express himself, not the constant pressure as if he had to play or else. They wanted the whole Evans family to be the most successful family ever in the music business.
But they couldn't get it through their heads that Lord Death's family had already achieved that goal. Each member would have an instrument, even grandma Evans played one, the harp. But Soul couldn't take it. It made him feel sick, even if he had enjoyed the feeling of his fingers trailing over the black and white keys. In the past, if Soul was in a terrible mood and he played the piano then his whole attitude would change. Watching him play so gracefully was quite a scene. Frightening to most, but probably not to a certain pigtailed blonde. Even though he'd never play for her. And she was a Albarn, the one family that his family definitely hated. That Albarn wouldn't mind it though, Soul could feel it.
Black*Star on the other hand grew up in a well built house. It was pretty sturdy for it's age. Even if his childhood was a lie, he would say that he had a good one. He had three best friends, one being very rich. The one with OCD and three thick, perfect, and white stripes in his hair that stopped on one side of his head. People would always ask his why he had two twins following him but Black*Star didn't. Instead he slapped a hand onto his shoulder and greeted him into the school. Of course, back then Black*Star wasn't obsessed with becoming an assassin or being the center of attention. He might have had moments but other than that he was a normal blue haired boy.
He was quite popular and would be invited to parties and other get togethers. But never by Soul. His best friend never invited others to his house, nor did he have birthday parties until he was thirteen and living in an apartment by himself. Black*Star had been in Lord Death's custody for going 'mad' about becoming an assassin and killing so he had been ordered to stay with someone. He couldn't face Sid and Nygus so he asked around for a place he could call home. Soul told him that he had room in his apartment, which was surprisingly well furnished, and from there they grew closer. They were the pair that no one could separate. They knew everything about each other, or at least Black*Star thought he did. But things started to change when a certain daughter of the cheating death scythe showed up. If anything happened between Soul and Maka, then Black*Star wouldn't approve. He was sure of that.
"Tsubaki she... She... Tsubaki!" Black*Star was barely speaking. He was choking as the steady stream of tears flooded into his mouth. He didn't want to think about the older weapon at that moment. She was part of the reason why his face was completely wet.
Soul sighed and decided that they wouldn't be getting anywhere anytime soon. He took his beer and Black*Star's before shoving both of them into his face. "Here, see this? It'll make you feel better, I'm not sure really. Saw Wes drink a couple of these before and he was up and running. Drink it and think of happy things." He brought his back and placed the other in Star's lap. At the same time they took a sip. Soul's face was rushing with different emotions while Black*Star gagged.
"W-Why did we buy this? It's t-terrible!" Black*Star said still trying to recover from his waterworks. He set the beer on the coffee table and proceeded to wipe his mouth clean of the taste.
"Maybe it just the dip that made it taste like this?" Soul was examining the can just to make sure that the drink was for humans. He shrugged his shoulders and tipped the can. He chugged the Bud-Light until the last drop ran down his throat. He opened and close his mouth as he tried to decide on how to explain the taste.
"Well?" Black*Star sat in awe, hugging the pillow that he had used in his failed attempt to suffocate himself . In his mind Soul had just accomplished something that not even Lord Death could had done.
Soul eyed the can and tossed it behind him."I'm getting another, maybe it will taste better now." He said bluntly and speed-walked towards the kitchen.
Black*Star sighed and grabbed his can. It was just a drink, he could handle that, right? He took another sip and it didn't taste as bad as the first. Soon he was finished with the still bitter tasting beer and asking for another, just so Soul wouldn't think lowly of him.
It was late. Too late for the two drunken boys. They would have to go to school in a couple of hours and waking up with a hangover would make things even worst for them. A total of twenty beer cans were grouped on the floor along with Black*Star.
"H-Hey! What time is it?" He hiccuped and rolled onto his side.
"Half past my foot up your ass!" Soul laughed and finished off the last of the beer. He grumbled in annoyance and threw it at Black*Star, who failed to catch it. His usual sharp reflexes were as slow as ever.
"I bet that bitch of yours is worrying about you." He smirked and stumbled to his feet. He was swaying as he made his way to Soul. When he finally stood in front of the older boy he grabbed him by the collar. Black*Star tried to lift Soul up and stared into his eyes. "Feed me." He growled and let him go.
"M-Maka ain't a bitch." Soul stuck his tongue out at Black*Star and crossed his arms after he fell back in the couch. "If anything it's you, Mr. Bitchy Mac Bitchy Pants. Feed yourself!"
"You sir, are being... A douchebag." Black*Star hissed back.
"How dare you!" Soul yelled. His blood red eyes were narrowed and set on Black*Star. Target locked, fire when ready. And he did. The next thing he knew, he was on top of Black*Star, slapping him like a little kid. One could say that they were having a cat fight.
The poor house smelled like there had been a party going on inside it that only adults were allow to attend. The living room was a mess. The two teenagers were a even bigger mess. What was suppose to be a little comforting time and a Dr. Phil hour turned into a idiotic drinking contest. But during all that time, Black*Star had been thinking about his parents and Tsubaki while Soul had been thinking about one thing, Maka.
"Don't worry Tsubaki! Everything won't crash and break just because of him." Maka was left to comfort Tsubaki after Soul left. They were still at the restaurant waiting for the heavy rain to stop but Crona wasn't. Even if she now lived with Kid it was still weird to see her leave with him. The group could had at least offered to take Maka home but apparently there was no more room. She was sure that they were lying but then again she felt like someone told them to.
"Don't worry? I can't help it Maka! We don't have a way home... I can't even get into my home." Tsubaki sighed and laid her head against the cold surface of the table.
"Don't have a ride?" Hiro's voice was heard, his shadow covering part of the table. "You're lucky, Excalibur demands to ride in a huge vehicle, so we have some room for you two." He smiled, mostly at Maka, and thumbs behind him.
Maka cringed. "Stop popping out of nowhere! Thanks for the offer but we need some exercise." She narrowed her eyes and looked away from him. She wasn't being mean to him because of what happened at the party, she didn't remember what exactly happened that night. He was popular and unfortunately for Maka, the popular kids would always mess with her.
"But Maka, it's getting late..." Tsubaki sighed again. She looked up at Maka with her big eyes.
She frowned as as wave of pity overtook her. "Soul did tell me to go home after he left..." Maka said, accepting defeat.
"Soul huh? How nice of him." Hiro's smile was wide and he seemed happy. But the aura that came from him said another. He took a quick glance at his cast before beckoning the two girls towards the door. "Come on! Excalibur is already in the car. Hey, don't be scared, I can tell that you are Maka." He smiled again.
Maka looked at him and Tsubaki before removing herself from the booth. She helped Tsubaki with her bags and followed Hiro out.
Hiro pretended to be a butler and opened the back doors of the black vehicle for the girls. Tsubaki allowed a small smile to slip onto her face while Maka grunted. Apparently Excalibur needed the finest driver in Death City to drive him everywhere. Charles was his name and he didn't seem to own a mouth. Of course it was there but he never spoke.
"So, care to explain why you two are alone on a wet night like this?" Hiro said as he slid in beside Maka.
"Well-" she began.
"Fool! What you meant to say was that my story dates back in the twelfth century. Care to hear it? It began..." Excalibur jumped up from front seat as the car pulled off.
"Ignore him." Hiro shook his hands towards Excalibur's direction and turned back to Maka.
"It's kinda hard not to." She sighed. She wanted to go home. Why all of a sudden did people start noticing her? All her life she had been in the back, hidden by the shadows of those who didn't even deserve the spotlight. People would pick on her, that was the only time that she was seen. To people she was a punching bag and a cheat sheet, nothing more.
But now they were actually being somewhat nice to her. It was like her dream had came true. It was a miracle. It confused Maka too much and often gave her headaches. But how long would the miracle last? It creeped her out being as she wasn't just some main protagonist of a story, she was Maka Albarn, the ignored..
"Well, here. Focus on me and I'll focus on you. See? Simple." Hiro was at work at adjusting Maka's face, making sure that he had all of her attention. He was blushing lightly at the fact of being near Maka without getting any bones broken.
Maka frowned, she left her book at home. Sure enough, her attention was on him but just on his cast. "How did you get that?" She cocked her head and pointed to it. She was afraid that if she touched it again then she would accidentally break his arm even more.
"This? You were there! How could you forget? It happened not too long ago, yesterday actually. But fine, I got it when," it started to rain even hardier. It was hitting the roof of the truck and blocking out Hiro. Excalibur was helping as he went on about himself in the background. He reminded Maka of Black*Star in a way. Maka made a questioning face as Hiro spoke silently. "And that's how I got this."
"But-"
"Maka? Are you coming? I need the key." Tsubaki yelled. She was already out of the vehicle and under the overhang of the house.
How did they end up there so fast? Sure they say that when you're having fun then time flies by, but Maka wouldn't exactly say that she was. And how did they know where Maka lived?
"Yeah..." Maka said and fumbled in her pockets for her keys. "Here." She said and tossed the keys out to her. She then hopped out and rushed to the door.
"Wait!" Hiro practically stumbled out of the car. "That was rude, you didn't even say goodbye."
Maka looked at him for a second and set a questioning expression on her face. "It was you. You told Kid to lie." the other blonde stopped and stared at her. He cocked his head, sighed, and clapped his hands.
"How did miss Maka know?"
"I never asked for a ride, he would have offered so he would have a symmetrical amount of passengers. Or a closer amount to eight. But he didn't because of you." She gave herself a mental pat on the back.
"Yes, yes good job. You know you're very smart. Maybe you could help me on my homework one day." He gave her a pair of lazy eyes, completed with a sly smirk.
"As if!" Maka was starting to show hostility towards him again. She seemed to have forgotten just how wrong Hiro had done her over the years.
"Oh how scary. I'm sorry but you don't really scare me, actually you quite do the opposite. You amaze me. I'd say more but alas, I can not stay. Goodbye Bunny." Hiro grinned and gave Maka a quick peck on the cheek. He quickly stepped out into the rain and headed towards the car, leaving a very angry and flustered Maka in front of her door.
"Whoa, whoa wait!" Maka yelled out after him. "Never touch me again! You... You disgusting freak!"
"Bye Bunny!" Hiro yelled back and then he was gone. He had been swallowed up by the rain.
Maka's mind was buzzing. She should have been thinking about what Hiro had just done but she couldn't. Instead images of Soul flashed in her mind. Had the little peck reminded her of Soul? Was he thinking about her at the same moment? If he was, then he was mad and he probably didn't know why.
Their special connection was at work, if Maka was thinking about him then Soul had to be thinking about her. That's how they worked. They were becoming closer and their soul resonance was becoming stronger. It didn't take much to get the result, just that Soul and Maka would have to be enjoying each others company and they slowly were.
"Maka? Are you coming in or not?" Tsubaki said as she poked her head around the door frame.
"Yeah..." Maka nodded and walked in. She was going to have another Soul related dream tonight, and maybe Hiro would be involved.
Hiro never got his goodbye.
"So, what were you doing out there?" Tsubaki asked once they were settled in the living room.
"Talking to Hiro..." Maka said bitterly. She wasn't going to lie. That would just cause problems and Maka didn't need any more than she already had.
"Oh, Hiro? Didn't you think that the ride here was awkward? I mean, how did Charles even know where you live?" Tsubaki was curled up under a blanket. Maybe it had powers to make her hurl questions at Maka.
"Yes? Why would it be weird? It was just a... Friendly conversation. But I don't know how he did, lucky guess?" Maka said and brought a hand up to the cheek that Hiro kissed. She still couldn't get over the fact that it all felt familiar and that Soul was the one to
'Soul kissed me. No, Hiro did! Soul would never...' She let her thoughts fade. Maybe Hiro told Charles. And if he did then how did he know?
"Wait, you two are friends now?"
"No! We just talked!" And she got another nickname. Bunny. At least it wasn't as bad as bookworm, nerd, dork, and idiot. Actually it was cute. The annoying kind of cute. It was adorable but not when certain people would use it.
As far as Maka knew, rabbits were soft, cute, nice, and quiet. She was none of that but apparently Hiro thought she was. But then again it could be her pigtails that hinted the name.
"Then why did you-"
"I couldn't think of another adjective to describe it."
Tsubaki sighed and placed a hand over her heart. "Oh, well then that's good. Soul would freak out if you were friends with him."
"What? How come?"
"How come? Maka, you really don't remember what just happened do you?" Tsubaki said quietly and leaned forward. "Do you?"
"No..." Maka looked at her friend. What did she know that she didn't?
"I guess that explains the hangover you had this morning. Soul must had made you drink so you wouldn't remember what happened."
"He did what?!" Maka screeched. Just he wait, when he came back or whenever Maka saw him again then he would get the biggest Maka Chop he had ever seen. Maka would make history.
"Wait, let me explain what happened. At the party Hiro cornered you after you refused to speak to him. He started to kiss you and-"
"Why didn't you guys stop him?!"
"You looked like you were enjoying it!" Tsubaki lied. "Anyways, Soul returned and he looked angry. We found out they you two were partners and Soul attacked Hiro. We pulled you aside so that you wouldn't get hurt while they, well only Soul, fought. He ended up throwing Hiro into the pool and he would have drowned if some people didn't jump in to get him. He received a few broken bones, which explains the cast. Soul took you and walked away. He really didn't like the fact of Hiro touching you."
Maka blushed lightly and nodded. She took what Tsubaki said and broke it down. Soul beat the crap out of Hiro for kissing her and got her drunk to forget that. They were new partners so why should he hide that little fact from her? Did he feel like he couldn't trust her or something? If that was the case then she would have to hang out with him more even if she hated it.
Then she thought about the scene outside. Hiro had managed to steal another kiss from her, luckily it was on the cheek.
"Did Soul say anything else?"
"Not really, he just answered Hiro's questions. But I'm sure he was saying quite a bit in his head."
Maka sighed and slumped down in the couch. She needed to get her mind off of boys. She needed books, math, and her trusty science. Bunny turned on the tv and handed the remote to Tsubaki. "You can pick, but please, nothing with romance."
"Oh, agreed." Tsubaki rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh.
"Seriously, I just might barf."
Tsubaki hummed her approval and surfed the channels. Maka went to get some snacks to hold them over for the night. They would be hosting a sleepover. A accidental sleepover that only happened because of a false accusation. But something good did come out of it.
Tsubaki wasn't worrying about Black*Star anymore.
|I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER|
In this story Crona is identified as both she and he.
