He's into you

He's just not that into you AU. Signs are misinterpreted once again and Maka's thrown back into the endless cycle of discovering he's just not that into you. Although this time it hurts like a bitch.

…

Butterflies. It's butterflies. A smile stretched on her face as she skips up the steps to her apartment. This time it was right. It was finally right! After months of failed dates, she finally went on that one date that could lead to a date number two. She squealed and twirled on her heels.

This was it.

No more failed dates.

She ran up the lasts steps, throwing her coat, twirling and catching it, squealing with joy.

"Maka."

Her smile shattered and the euphotic sensation turned to a sensation of a ball cuffed to her ankle dragging her to the bottom of the sea. The one person she never in a million years wanted to see hurried up from his seat on the floor, brushing the dirt from his jeans like she always nagged him about.

"What are you doing here?" She snarled threateningly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Um," He took a step toward her and tried to close the thirty feet between them. "Look, I―" She gave him her bare palm and instantly he came to a stop. "I'm a jerk."

"No shit."

He nodded absentmindedly, shoving his hands down his pockets. "You weren't answering my calls."

"That's what people do when they're ignoring you."

His red eyes evaded hers and he stared down at his black combat boots for a moment before he faced her with new found courage. "I'm an idiot. A cynical idiot." His sharp tooth sunk into his lower lip. "And I realized you actually forgot your pen." He fished up a very expensive ball-pen that she would never even think of buying. A pen she recognized as the signature pen of his family's music company, the same model she'd admired over once she visited him at work for some dating advice.

She rolled her eyes and involuntarily she thought back to the moment they met. She making excuses to stalk another guy who didn't call back because she was just as pathetic as her father in the love department, and she started waving around her pen, saying it belonged to her date.

It was the night she was faced with the ugly truth.

"You know I would never buy such a pen."

He nervously started to beat the pen rapidly against his pants. "Well, since you helped me host the company party, I thought you deserved it."

Urgh. The company party. The one night she'd spent countless nights after watching horror movies and eating buckets of ice-cream, bawling her eyes out and smothering her cat with hugs. After getting her hopes up that Soul could possibly like her as much as she liked him, after hosting by his side and truly feeling like she stood like his partner, but in reality she was never even an option. She predatorily protected him from other women and when she kissed him, he rejected her in front of five-hundred people. Humiliated and hurt, she threw her champagne at his face and stormed out.

"I don't want it."

"I thought you would say that." His beat came to a stop and he tightened his grip on it to the point his knuckles turned white. "Maka I―"

She shook her head and backpedalled from Soul. "I just came back from a date with your friend Hiro." His face instantly fell and his bangs covered his eyes. "I'm going to be honest with you. I had a really great time tonight. He was nice, he followed all the rules, and I truly think this could lead to something more."

"But what about us?"

"What about us?"

His shoulders pulled up to his ears as he faced her. "I want to take you out on a date."

She shook her head. "No Soul. We're not the rule."

"The rules can suck it."

She rolled her eyes as her nails painfully dug into the thick fabric of her jacket, hugging it close to her chest. "The rules work. Thanks to your rules I've evaded having my feelings hurt by guys who're only interested in my vagina." Her throat swelled with familiar hurt she'd tried to move on from. "Your rules showed me I was crazy for thinking you were into me and I really should stick to the rules rather than jump to conclusions."

"I am. I've missed you so much these past couple of weeks." He dared taking a step toward her. "You were right. I'm cynical. I was running away from my feelings. I like you more than a friend and I fucked up. I know I did. These past weeks without you showed I really do care about you more than just as a friend. I can't stop thinking about you and I'm nervous. I'm hoping we could maybe start over?"

She sighed and her eyes fluttered closed. "You weren't interested when I kissed you. You always told me a guy would never change. That was the rule. Hiro's a really good guy as you said. He's kind, he leaves cute messages and―"

"I could do that too." Footsteps echoed in the corridor and she opened her eyes, catching Soul moving toward her slowly. "I can be like that."

"Soul." She groaned with frustration. "Here's the rule again, a guy won't change for you."

"But if a guy likes you, he will make sure you know it." He came to a stop in front of her.

"That rule doesn't apply anymore, don't you see?"

He came to a stop in front of her, his vibrant red eyes bravely stared into her eyes and she dug her nails into the fabric of her coat. "I really like you. You were totally right about me. I was too blind keeping all women away from me I didn't realize I liked someone. I didn't realize it when we kissed. Only these past weeks without that overanalysing brain of yours did I realize that I really like you. I want to take you out for dinner and see if we could become something more than just best friends."

Her tooth sunk into her bottom lip and she avoided his eyes. Her heart betrayed her and she hugged her jacket to her chest as if it could protect her from the bubbling sensation growing in her stomach.

"But Soul, I'm going out with Hiro. He follows the rules and he's drama free and―"

Her words came to a shrieking stop when he cupped her cheeks, unbearable red eyes staring into her soul with so much affection she'd never witnessed before. Slowly he leaned down, allowing her time to reject him.

But she didn't.

His lips brushed hers cautiously. Heart tumbling and twirling in her chest, blood running warm and fingertips tingling pleasantly. Her jacket slipped from her grip, hitting the floor and her hands climbed up his chest, around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Lips on lips moved and her nails dug into his jacket, enjoying the cinnamon taste of his rough lips.

She pulled away and he rested his forehead against hers, nose brushing. "You're my exception." He whispered. Lips feathered over hers, goose bumps appeared on her bare arms.

She swallowed trying to wet her dry throat. Her minds screamed to let him go, to run away and to block his number. The rules she'd been taught by the same person waved red flags and warnings signs in bright red with flashing lights, but her heart longed for him. Fingers tingled with the desire to bury themselves in his thick untameable hair and mouth kissing him eagerly.

Neither option was right.

"Really?"

"Yeah." His warm breath hit her lips. "If you weren't precious to me, I wouldn't have waited here for five hours for you to return."

She bit her lower lip and entwined her fingers in his hair. "Fine." She wet her lips. "One date."

A wide smirk infected his mouth and he pulled her face to his, quickly she placed her finger on his flushed red lips before he could kiss her again.

"One try." She pointed out.

His hands slid from her cheeks and settled on her biceps, leaving a trail of goose bumps behind. "One try is all I need."