Okay, just a quick FYI: this chapter takes place at about the same time as last chapter, but more from Maka's perspective. There's a method to my madness, I assure you ;) After all, I'm sure you want to know why Kid was acting so strange…

…

Maka's shoulders were shaking viciously, the warm and gentle arms around her the only things that kept her from falling apart completely. What had she just seen? Why had it been her to see it? It hurt. It really, truly tore at her. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the same scene again, right outside the school building, where she'd been waiting for her weapon partner so that they could ride home on the bike.

"Maka?" murmured her companion.

She sniffed and pulled back. Kid looked down at her with concerned, compassionate gold eyes. He had been the first friend she'd come across as she fled the scene, and she had flung her arms around him without so much as a hello, burying her face in his chest. He'd asked her what was wrong, of course, but he only got a sob in response, so he steered her to a secluded corner of the library—duh, where else would she go?—and just held her as she cried and cried.

"Maka, what happened?" he asked, gripping her biceps tightly. "You never cry. What on earth happened?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't—"

"Don't tell me it isn't anything. I repeat: you never cry. So why are you, now?" he said, shaking her slightly for emphasis.

Maka looked away and took a deep, shaky breath, attempting to steady herself. When she looked back at Kid, she was only a little more composed.

"Soul…S-Soul was…He…"

"Soul? Has something happened to him?" Kid said, alarmed. "Is he alright?"

Maka chuckled darkly; a sound almost as disturbing as the sound of her tears.

"Oh, he's fine. I'm sure he was enjoying himself just fine."

Kid frowned and leaned down, looking Maka straight in the eyes. Her emerald gaze locked onto his topaz one, his unerringly fierce, hers unbelievably fragile. Like threads of emerald colored glass, or maybe olive tinted ice—her gaze was so delicate.

"What was he doing, Maka? What did he do?" She grimaced and looked away again. "Maka."

"Him and Jackie were playing tonsil hockey outside the school," she mumbled.

"Uhm…playing what?" Kid asked, confused. She gave a weak try at a giggle.

"Tonsil hockey. They were sucking face, French-kissing, making ou—"

"Okay, okay, I understand!" Kid exclaimed, clapping a hand over her mouth to stop the stream of elaborations. "Spare my poor ears!"

Maka sighed and leaned back against him, forehead resting on his chest; Kid fiddled idly with one of her pigtails.

"So, basically, they were kissing?"

Maka gave a noncommittal "Mm-hm…"

Kid snorted.

"Idiot," he growled. "Complete, total moron."

"Insults aren't exactly appreciated right now, Kid," she said, attempting an angry tone but failing soundly. "Totally not necessary."

"I'm not insulting you, Maka," he said patiently. "I'm insulting the scythe that's too stupid to see how you feel about him."

"Should I feel proud that I managed to keep it from somebody?" she attempted humor; again, without success.

Kid sighed and rested his chin on the crown of her head. "I shouldn't think so, Maka. Out of everybody that should know, Soul would be at the top of the list. Besides, you shouldn't feel like you have to hide these kinds of things. It's all part of adolescence; it definitely isn't something to be ashamed of."

"But it's just so cliché!"

"So? What if he liked you back?"

For a moment, Maka had nothing to say to that. Then another problem slithered into her morbid thoughts.

"Yeah? What if he did? What if we got together, got married, had kids, whatever, and then ended up like my parents? Cheating on each other, splitting up, and leaving any kids we had to flail around alone and figure things out for themselves?"

"Whoa, whoa, there, Maka. Nobody said anything about you two getting married!" Kid almost laughed. Almost, but he restrained himself. "You could just try the dating thing, and see if that worked out. If he cheats on you, you end it. But Soul…well, Soul's got a lot of problems, doesn't he? But loyalty isn't one of them. He at least has got that figured out."

Maka shrugged.

"All this hypothetical talk is great and all, but that's all it is: hypothetical. Loyalty notwithstanding, Soul's got no feelings for me. I'm his friend, that's it. He treats me like a little sister. He would never go for someone as plain and flat-chested and boring as—"

"Damnit, Maka, you need to quit taking those things he says to heart!" Kid snapped. Maka blinked in surprise. "That's just Soul being Soul! You should know better than anybody how he gets—says whatever he thinks makes him seem cool. You know he doesn't mean any of those things. Aside from the violent bookworm quips. Hey!"

Maka had just been about to impale him with a dangerous-looking corner of a thick book. Kid caught her wrist to prevent any damage, but another book slammed into his skull so hard that he saw stars and planets circling around his head.

Pointing out simple facts about Maka that aren't altogether complementary, thought Kid blearily, while in a library is just asking for punishment.

"That wasn't an insult, Maka. That's a simple fact that you just proved," Kid couldn't resist that as he dislodged the thick tome and rubbed the sore spot gingerly.

"Whatever," she grumbled, pulling away from him. Her emerald eyes, usually so bright and lively, were hidden in the shadow of her bangs. Kid reached forward and brushed her bangs back; her eyes were downcast. He tapped her chin gently.

"Hey, chin up. There's no point in getting depressed about it. Figure out a way to solve this dilemma."

"Hmph. How am I gonna do that?"

"You're a great problem-solver, Maka. You'll figure something out," Kid assured her, wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders and tucking her to his side.

…

"Not exactly what I meant when I said you should fix this," said Kid, looking between Maka, who was sitting beside him, watching Blackstar and Pati go one-on-one on the basket ball court, and Soul, who was talking sullenly to Liz on the other side. The tension that had developed between them was nearly visible; it crackled between the pair like electricity. Soul didn't know this, of course. He just knew that Maka was basically ignoring him, or else giving him the same level of attention as she gave Ox or Kilik or Harvar normally.

"Yeah, well, I think this is the best thing for both of us," she sighed, leaning back against his knees.

Kid was sitting on a bench; Maka sat in front of him, allowing him to play with her hair. He'd already managed a "beautifully perfect hairstyle that was entirely symmetrical in every conceivable way", which looked a lot like rope braid, and he'd put her hair into a fishtail as well, with reasonable success. She hadn't even known her hair was long enough to permit these kind of hairstyles. Now he was working on something that, if Maka had to guess, was a Dutch or French braid wrapping all the way around her head.

"Do you really think that?" Kid wondered. "Or is this just easier for you?"

She huffed indignantly, but said nothing to the contrary. "So what if it is easier?"

"That would mean you're just running from the problem, not solving it," he said passively.

He released her hair when she whipped around to glare at him; her carefully styled braided crown came undone and her loose hair cascaded down her shoulders.

"Shut up, Kid!" she snapped. "I'm not running from anything. I just think it's better for both of us if there's nothing more than a weapon-meister relationship going on."

"Have you at least talked to him about it?" asked Kid calmly. "Because it certainly doesn't seem to be doing him a world of good. He's been even more surly than usual these last couple weeks, and you haven't exactly been a ray of sunshine. Are you quite positive that this is better for both of you?"

She rose to her feet in agitation, fixing him with a withering stare. "Yeah, I am, Kid. Butt out, seriously. Just leave well enough alone for once." And she stormed off, calling something about studying to the others. Soul's eyes followed her, then slid to Kid, then back to her. Hurriedly he said something to Liz and then hastened after his meister.

Unseen by anyone else, Kid shook his head. "Those two are more blind then anyone has any right to be."

…

Kid sighed. Maka was falling deeper into that depression. She had continued to alienate Soul, whose own emotional health was taking a severe downward spiral.

Why can't she see? He wondered sadly. Soul was as ignorant as ignorant could get. He was arrogant, he was lazy, and his grades were less than shining. How he held a girl like Maka's affections was anyone's guess, but it grated on Kid's nerves. Soul didn't deserve Maka. Sure, he had his moments of extreme profoundness, but those were few and far in between.

But Kid was smart, he was neat, he was considerate, and he was smart. He cared about others, he kept himself and his space clean, his grades were high. He was perfect for Maka. But she just couldn't see how he felt. It was unfortunate, really. He was sure he'd be able to cheer her up.

Oh, well. You can't win them all. That's what Kid's father would tell him. Who knew? Maybe Soul and Maka would work out. It wasn't exactly a secret that Soul cared for her. It's just that no one was sure how much he cared. And it was common knowledge how much Maka cared.

Their friends were sure that they'd figure it out eventually.

…

Liz and Tsubaki's parting words to Soul on their latest group outing came in the form of a slap and a muttered pig. They'd gotten the story out of Maka at last. Pati couldn't care less what it was about; she hit Soul just because she could. Blackstar didn't get what was such a big deal. Kid just remained silent and listened passively to Liz's rant on how some guys were just so clueless and arrogant and disgusting that it made her sick.

…

The next day, neither Soul nor Maka showed up at school. Students were taking bets left and right on whether the pair had finally gotten into a full-out fight, whom was mostly likely to kill whom, and how badly hurt they'd be when—if, some said—they came back. Ridiculous. That was the gang's opinion. Others just needed to grow up and keep their noses in their own business.

Besides, who was to say they had gotten into it with each other? For all they knew, the partners had simply slept in, or one of them had fallen ill and the other stayed back to take care of them. Hell, maybe they'd just taken a mission without telling anyone. That sounded like something Soul Eater would do, after lying to Maka that of course he told their friends. It wouldn't have been the first time, that was certain.

But, as all the students had to go on were guesses, each one more wild than the last, it wasn't like anybody knew for sure why the truant partners were, well, truant. Tsubaki suggested that they all visit their apartment after school, and see for themselves if any of the rumors were true. Everyone willingly agreed.

So, when the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, they all packed up and headed for the flat. Blackstar, being ever impatient, bounded ahead until they had lost sight of him.

"Don't worry, Tsubaki," laughed Liz. "What's the worst that could happen with him out of sight?"

They all thought about this for a moment, and doubled their pace. But, they needn't have worried. There was the blue-haired ninja now, barreling toward them with all the force of an eighteen wheeler going a hundred miles an hour. He was shouting at the top of his voice, babbling so fast that even Pati couldn't understand him.

"Whoa, whoa, Blackstar, slow down!" Liz shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders. "What the Hell are you trying to say?"

A huge, evil grin was threatening to split his face in half. His blue eyes glinted with mischief.

"Soul and Maka were sucking face on their living room couch!" he cried. "I saw them! I went to the window, and I saw them French-kissing the Hell outa each other!"

They all froze. Looked around at one another. Looked back at Blackstar.

"Are you sure?" asked Tsubaki. "You tend to make mistakes when you're excited—"

"A god like me would never make a mistake like this, Tsubaki!" he shouted gleefully, doing a flip in the air in his enthusiasm.

Liz vanished. By the time the others could pinpoint her, she was a tiny figure sprinting for all it was worth toward the small apartment complex with their two-and-a-half bedroom flat.

"Uh-oh…" murmured Pati.

"Those two are never going to hear the end of it," Kid agreed.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" asked Tsubaki concernedly. "So she doesn't do anything too…drastic?"

"What's the rush?" asked Blackstar.

"I'd rather not pay for their funeral just yet, Blackstar," said Kid coolly. "And as excited as Liz is, she'd likely either hug them until they couldn't breathe, or she would topple one of Maka's bookcases on them for not telling her about this new turn of events."

"Eh, they'll be fine," said Blackstar dismissively. "But I'm gonna run ahead and watch, just in case!"

And then he too disappeared, Pati running along behind him.

Kid and Tsubaki sighed and made their way after their overzealous companions.

…

Okay, message or review telling me if you think I should continue this with Kid! I wouldn't mind ending it here, but I wouldn't mind continuing either! Feedback, pretty please with two cherries on top? ;)