"Hello everyone" to all my new readers and "wassup homies" to all my returning readers. Sorry this chapter took so long. I had to redo a lot of my writing, but I'm satisfied with the end result and I hope you are too. I want to say a quick thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story so far. I'm nothing without my fans. Love you all. Ok, now to the fanfic.

I still didn't want to go. Any energy I may have had was sucked away when my dad left me alone with a relative stranger without a second thought. I wanted to be mad or shocked or hurt but I didn't. It was the same empty feeling of getting what I expected and nothing more or less. Even if this wasn't the most ideal situation, going out provided me with a distraction and that was something I could appreciate. I throw on some jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. I stepped into my Converse and went back downstairs.

"Wow, you look hot!" Soul said.

He was at the bottom of the stairs like the prom dates in movies. Though I knew he was only being stupid and didn't really mean it the comment still made me blush. I had my hair in a messy ponytail and didn't bother using make-up. I knew I was decent looking but I was nowhere near the 'hot' level.

"Yah, whatever. Can we just go?"

"Ooh, someone's excited," he said opening the door for me.

I passed him rolling my eyes. I stopped on the first step. I had forgotten about his bike.

"Come on," Soul said taking my wrist and dragging me with him. He climbed on and grabbed a leather jacket from the storage unit. He glanced at me.

"Climb on Maka."

I stood still. I'd never been on a motorcycle before and I had seen enough videos on the internet and TV that I knew the numbers of ways to get maimed on one was astronomically large. I looked down the sidewalk. If I took off now would he be able to catch me?

"What? Are you scared of motorcycles?" he asked raising an eyebrow at me.

I crossed my arms.

"No. It's dying that I'm scared of."

He laughed. It was oddly not rubbing my nerves raw.

"Don't be scared. It's me."

"That doesn't help," I muttered.

However, I still moved behind him and gingerly got on.

"You set?" he asked.

"No."

"Perfect. Hold onto me."

If there was one thing I never wanted to do again it was touch Soul. He seemed to sense this.

"Look, you either hold onto me, or the bars on either side of you."

I looked down and by my thighs on each side was a chrome bar. I slid my fingers around them and said,

"Ok."

Soul started the bike and pulled out to the street. I was probably having an asthma attack with the way I was breathing. My fingers were curled so tightly around the bars I was afraid I would break my hands. Or the bars. Whichever gave out first. At a stoplight Soul turned a little and said over his shoulder,

"We'll be hitting the highway in a minute. You sure you don't want to hold onto me?"

"Very," I replied.

He shrugged and turned back around. As we passed the abandoned house I saw the highway and started to rethink my decision. After taking in the speed of the cars I reasoned that if it was between Soul and death, Soul would take the cake. I let go of the bars and loosely wrapped my arms around his waist.

"You'll need them tighter than that," he yelled at me.

Before I could say anything he floored it onto the freeway. Well, they were tighter now. In fact they were so tight I wondered if he was still able to breathe. I was digging my nails into his shirt and I was pressed completely against his back, eyes squeezed shut because if we were going to crash I didn't want to see it coming. My hair was being whipped around behind me and the sound of all the traffic around us was freaking me out. How did Soul enjoy doing this on a regular basis? Did I ever think I would willingly put myself in such a position? No. But, did I want to be thrown from the bike and suffer a horrific death? That was a bigger no. So, I clung to Soul like a drowning man to a life preserver and just prayed we got there quickly. My prayer was answered 10 minutes later, although it felt more like an eternity.

Soul pulled off at an exit and turned onto a dirt lot filled with cars. He slowed to a stop but I didn't let go of him. He shut off the engine and I was still stuck.

"Uh, Maka?"

I didn't answer.

"Maka, you alive back there?"

I loosened my grip.

"Maaakaaa?" he sang.

I let go completely and slapped his shoulder.

"Soul you idiot! I almost died back there!"

"I'm pretty sure you didn't."

I leaned my forehead on his back.

"But, I could've."

"Yet, you didn't," Soul said climbing off the bike and helping me down.

"I'll take care of you ok? No worries."

"Humph," I snorted. "Funny. This coming from the guy who was harassing me in a parking lot yesterday."

"Touché," was his reply.

He started walking towards the gated entrance and I followed. He paid the lady in the booth and she wrapped a red tag around his wrist. He motioned for me to let her do the same to me. Inside I asked,

"What are these for?"

He pointed a finger ahead of us.

"So, we can ride those."

I look up and for the first time take in everything. Large, monstrous, machines were flinging people into the air, twirling them round and round, or flipping them in fluid movements. The riders were screaming in delight or terror or a mix of the two. I'd been to an amusement park once before but I was too young to get on most of the rides. I'd also been too young to have many memories. I only remembered being crowded around by a lot of people. Now, that I was older and taller I could see what I had missed out on. Light, colors, sounds, smells. The excited yet relaxed frenzy everyone was in. It looked like so much fun and it made me question my anti-leaving-the-house nature.

"You look like you're about to faint. You ok?"

I had grabbed onto Soul's sleeve without realizing it.

"Uh, yah. I'm just fine," I said releasing him. "So, what now?"

"Now, we ride!" Soul exclaimed loudly.

I followed him to ride after ride. On one we were being spun at an almost supersonic speed and the force was throwing me against him. The next was a sort of sideways rollercoaster that went up and down in a circle. However, the next one was another speed demon that forced me to be completely against Soul against my will. I was sure he was picking those types on purpose. As much as I wanted to stay bitter at my father and furious with Soul, I couldn't. I couldn't stop myself from being thrilled and laughing and having a genuinely good time.

"Oh my gosh. Next time you tell me to get on the swings with you, it's going to be and automatic no," I promised.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad."

"You kept kicking the guy in front of us!"

"It was his fault for throwing nachos at me in the first place."

"Because you tripped him!"

"I said I was sorry. It was an accident anyway."

I rolled my eyes and asked for napkins from a lady selling deep fried something or other. I sat Soul down at a bench and proceeded to wipe some leftover nacho cheese from his hair.

"They didn't charge you for these?" he asked pointing at the napkins.

"No," I answered. "Do they usually?"

"Well, no," he admitted. "But, I wouldn't be surprised if they did, Any place that sells stuff here is usually selling them for a few bucks more than they should be."

I paused my cleaning momentarily. I hoped that Soul hadn't spent too much on me. I noticed Soul's gaze on me and immediately se to work again. After another once over I deemed Soul dairy-free.

"Geez, the next time I trip someone I better make sure they're not armed with food," Soul grumbled rubbing his hair.

"So, you admit to tripping him!" I exclaimed.

"On accident!" he insisted.

"Whatever," I conceded.

I picked up the used napkins and walked away to a trash can. No sooner had I reached it when two guys hanging around it began giving me catcalls. I ignored them and threw my stuff away; only they didn't feel like ignoring me. One of them followed me and ran his hand across my thigh. I turned around ready to smack him. The first thing I noticed was that he was way taller than me, not including his black hair that was spiked on top. The second thing I noticed was that one eye was dark while the other had some sort of symbol in it. It must've been a contact.

"Now, now. Don't be mad. Take it as a sign that I think you're hot," he said.

His blond friend behind him smiled lecherously. I began to reprimand myself for not bringing a book with me. If I had I would've buried it in his skull by now. I was about to make a run for it when Contact Guy looked behind me and frowned. A second later an arm draped itself around my shoulders. I was ready to attack again but didn't when I saw who it belonged to.

"Oh. She yours Soul?" Contact Guy asked.

Soul didn't answer. Instead he turned us around and led me away from them.

"What happened to staying single Soul?" one of them called out.

Beside me, Soul growled. Like, an actual animalistic growl. It was kind of scary. We didn't stop walking until we were in another line. Soul broke the awkward silence.

"You ok?"

"Yah," I answered looking at his fingers brushing the tip of my collar bone.

He seemed to notice my gaze because he promptly took it away. To my surprise, I hadn't really minded it all that much. I looked up at him.

"They knew you."

"Yep," he agreed not meeting my gaze.

"Do you know them?"

"Wish I didn't."

We moved up in the line. I was grateful that Soul had sort of come to my rescue. I was expecting him to watch from afar and be entertained at my expense. After all, that seemed to be one of his favorite activities. So, he had a non-jerkish side. That was good news. I looked ahead at where the line was headed. It was a large ferris wheel that stretched high into the sky, its colorful lights blinking on and off in various patterns. I didn't say anything else until we reached the front and were escorted into our car. As soon as the doors closed I had a horrible thought.

The events had aligned themselves so perfectly it was almost as if they had been planned. There was no way it was all coincidence. I looked at Soul who was sitting across from me looking out the window, and gulped. I had ready many romance novels over the years and I recognized my current situation so clearly it may as well have been written in lights above our heads. First the male love interest and the female love interest look like they would never work out. Then they got friendly. Then one of the interests reveals something about themselves that the other interest likes. Normally something like bravery or loyalty. Then after all that the couple has a ferris wheel scene.

The day was now straight out of one of my novels. Our friendly moment was when Soul was cheesed. Then I learned that Soul was protective, which isn't a bad quality to have. Now, we're on the fateful ride. The girl is supposed to be scared of heights and the guy comforts her. Or, they sit next to each other and accidentally place their hands on top of each other. Or, worse. The wheel stops with them at the top and suddenly the guy confesses and the girl can't do anything about it because she's stuck a mile in the air.

I was panicking. 'Ok, ok, just think about this,' I told myself. 'You're not scared of heights and he's sitting across from you. That rules out two of the possibilities.' I closed my eyes and prayed very hard that the wheel wouldn't freeze.

"Maka?"

I opened one eye and found Soul staring at me.

"You afraid of heights or something?"

"Ahh! No no no no no! I'm not! I'm just fine with heights!"

Oh my god it was beginning! Soul didn't seem to grasp the severity of the situation.

"Whatever," he shrugged.

I looked out the windows and saw the whole fair from above. It was very pretty. We were almost at the top. Right about now the girl would open the door for something cheesy and say something like, 'It's beautiful isn't it?' and the guy would reply, 'yes it is' looking at her. Soul however wasn't cheesy. Not anymore at least.

"So, what'd those guys say to you anyway?"

He kicked his feet up onto the seat and looked up through the glass ceiling.

"Nothing really. He told me to take his groping as a sign that he thought I was hot," I said gritting my teeth at the memory.

Soul chuckled and I looked at him. He looked back at me and said,

"I told you, you were."

I felt heat immediately rush to my face and I stared back at the window hoping Soul couldn't see the expression I was making. Of course he would find a way to fit the compliment in. I couldn't believe I was foolish enough to think this ride wouldn't have any consequences if I prayed for it to be so.

We made it to the top of the wheel… and didn't stop. I was eternally grateful.

"Hey," Soul said.

I glanced at him.

"Try this."

He motioned for me to lie down the way he was. The pinnacle point of the ride was over so I was sure nothing could happen now. I lay down and looked through the ceiling. We were still high enough to where the fair's lights couldn't reach us. The result was a clear night sky with stars sprinkled throughout it.

"Wow. It's so pretty," I said without thinking.

"Sure is," he responded.

I didn't dare look over. If he was looking at me I was sure to flip out. Soon enough we came back down and we exited. I breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing horrendous had happened so I took it as a good omen of things to come. Wrong. Soul dragged me to a game booth that involved shooting moving targets.

"What are you doing?" I asked him out of breath from running.

"I have to win you something," he declared.

"What? Why?"

"Because when you go on a date to the fair the guy has to win the girl something," he said aiming his gun at the swinging targets.

"But, it's not a date," I said.

Soul rolled his eyes over to me.

"Did I ask you to be my date to the fair?"

"Yes, but…"

"Did you say yes?"

"Well yah but…"

"Then it's a date."

I huffed. He was so stubborn. It was really quite childish. To my surprise he shot down everything he aimed at. The guy running it said he had never seen someone with such good aim before.

"Close your eyes Maka," Soul said when he was told to choose a prize.

I acquiesced.

"Ok, hold your hands out," he said.

I sighed and did so. The next thing I knew something fluffy was in my arms. I opened my eyes and found a zombified black rabbit in my hands. It looked as if a kindergarten girl and a horror junkie joined forces to create this creature that had half-eaten appendages. I waited to be repelled. But, it wasn't. It was sort of cute in a dismembered sort of way. It was more original than a pink teddy bear which I appreciated. Soul waited patiently for my response. I hugged it to myself.

"Thank you Soul."

He was clearly pleased and gave the game attendant two thumbs up. The attendant returned the gesture.

"Ok, now that that's done I've got to take you home," he said turning towards the exit.

"Not like my dad will be there," I mumbled.

Soul caught it.

"Don't want to go home? I can feel that."

For a moment I almost wanted to talk to Soul. Really talk to him. But then I remembered why I was here and everything that had led up to it. Soul was manipulative, pushy, stubborn, annoying and would probably take whatever I tell him and use it against me. He was that kind of person. I had already seen that firsthand. We walked out of the gates and I sighed in relief for what felt like the 10th time that day. It was over. Now Soul really could move on and so would I.

"What are you looking so relaxed for?" Soul asked.

"Huh?"

"You still have the ride home to look forward to."

His motorcycle. My fear of death. The horrible need to be completely against Soul even though I should probably be used to that by now what with all the rides we went on.

"Ugh," I grumbled.

Soul laughed.

Soul pulled into my driveway and I quickly got off the bike.

"Jeez, I don't think I'll ever get used to riding with you," I said squeezing my rabbit to me.

"You will," Soul said smiling.

"What?"

Soul leaned forward resting his arms on the handle bars, the streamers fluttering in a slight breeze.

"Well, your dad said you were home alone a lot. So, I'm coming to kidnap you."

I inwardly cursed my father for literally rolling out the welcome wagon for, again, a relative stranger.

"Yah, I don't think so," I said.

"You'll change your mind," he predicted.

I took a breath then said,

"Thank you Soul. For taking me, and saving me from those creepy boys and for this little guy," I said pointing to my zombunny.

I really didn't want to admit it but the fair had been fun despite the godawful way I had been invited.

"Sure," Soul said.

I turned to go but Soul stopped me again.

"So, what are you going to name it?"

I turned around.

"Name what?"

"Him," he said pointing at my rabbit.

"I haven't named any of my stuffed animals since I was 8."

"You have to. He deserves one," He insisted.

I knew I better go with it or he'd never get out of the driveway.

"Ok. Any ideas?"

Soul looked thoughtful for a moment then said,

"It's a zombie. So, it's a mix of two things. A rabbit and a monster. So, his name has to be a mix too."

So what are we mixing? Our names?" I joked.

"That's perfect," Soul exclaimed.

Oh. Well, then. I tried out the first name combo I came up with.

"What about SoMa?"

Soul looked at me very seriously.

"That, is genius. I like SoMa."

I looked at my deformed toy. I sort of liked SoMa too.

"Ok, night Maka," Soul said as he backtracked into the street.

"Night, Soul," I replied.

I went inside the dark, empty house as Soul roared down the street. Soul was an enigma I couldn't figure out. Sometimes a jerk, sometimes a nice guy. It was strange. I put off any more thoughts about him and crawled into bed, SoMa under one arm.