Only two days went by in this chapter, but I felt the first day was already way past the length limit in which I first predicted, so I cut the last of the two days short, to be continued next chapter. I felt the need to finish this chapter first (instead of my other story's fourth chapter) because I already had it planned out in my mind. There's some Black Star in here for all of you Black Star fans (a lot more than I thought there would be, even though he's my top number one favorite, tied with Soul), and of course there's Soul in this chapter (gives you something to look forward to). Thank you for reviewing the last chapter guys, you're comments are what gave me some ideas for this chapter.
Chapter 15: To Love You
"I don't understand! Why are you doing this?"
"Why am I doing this? You make it sound as if there's something wrong with me."
"There is, I can tell!"
"Just go home."
"I can see it! You love me, don't you?"
"…And what if I did? If I loved you, what would you do?"
"I'd say that I-"
A clicking sound stopped the sentence short.
"No!" A certain black haired individual gasped at the television in front of her, turning back to see the perpetrator of the crime, "Liz, you said I could watch it. There were five more minutes left!"
A sandy blonde flipped her hair back behind her shoulder with one of her freshly manicured hands, "I told you ten more minutes. Besides, I really don't get what you see in that sappy love drama, Tsubaki."
Tsubaki huffed at Liz, "She was going to answer him after six seasons!"
Liz pointed at the now turned off television scream in the living room and shouted, "He should've died when he fell into that ditch three seasons ago!"
Tsubaki gasped again, this time in more shock then before, now completely mortified by the words Liz had just uttered. They both continued to bicker on about how season six of the long running drama 'Beautiful Lover,' should or should not have been scrapped after they got engaged in season five. Maka, the innocent bystander, watched them. The three of them had decided to meet up in Liz's apartment, which had been on the fourth floor, just three floors underneath Maka's apartment. Apartment 416. Maka was at first shocked when she learned about Liz's whereabouts, then thought about how much she actually walked around the building when she was there, which got her thinking it wasn't impossible to miss Liz. Liz's apartment was modern, with wooden floors and beige walls, as if it was the standard in the apartment complex. Though now was not the time to think about these things. They had met in order to go to the concert together, and the bickering going on in front of Maka right now was hindering their progress, no matter how friendly a conversation it seemed to be. She stepped in front of the both of them, cutting off their argument, "It should have ended in season one when he kissed her."
Both Tsubaki and Liz stayed silent for a moment before Liz broke out into a laugh, Tsubaki chuckling after she did so. Liz reached into the bowl on the kitchen counter and grabbed her keys. She put her finger to her lips, thinking, "Maka's right, if it had ended there then I would've been satisfied." She walked over to the front door, still in deep thought. Tsubaki followed her after smoothing out her black spaghetti strap, V-neck shirt, which looked like a dress since it went a little further down their her hips. She had matched it with jeans that had slight rips in them. She threw on her leather jacket, making sure pull her hair, which was braided down her back, out of the way. She put on a pair of dark shades, hiding her face. Liz had the same idea, as she wore black as well. A black pair of skinny jeans and a lose black tank top that had loose fabric at the top that folded over itself with the words 'Star' in red block letters on the front, her hair slightly curled at the ends. She slipped on her red shaded glasses at the door, letting Tsubaki out first, who clanked by in her high heels. She turned back to Maka, waving a hand at her to come, "Let's go Maka!" She grinned at Maka and stepped out.
Maka, who felt less than adequate in her slightly frilled black dress that went a little bit above her knees, followed her. She had borrowed it from Liz, who promptly said it was a mini-dress; going up the middle of her upper thigh when she wore it. She had matched it with some white cowboy boots with black inlying designs and stitches on it. Her hair was combed straight by Tsubaki and curled at the ends by Liz. She felt done up despite not wearing any make up besides the clear mascara and light pink lip gloss. The long gray, white and black beaded necklaces she wore accentuated her outfit, which she didn't feel it needed though was a 'must' as Liz put it. She didn't bring any sunglasses, figuring she wouldn't be mobbed if someone saw her as Tsubaki or Liz would have been. She grabbed the gray leather jacket that Tsubaki let her wear before she stepped out. Tsubaki and Liz admired their work as Maka stepped out of the apartment. Tsubaki smiled and pressed her hands together, "Oh! It's so fun dressing you up Maka."
Liz laughed as she locked the door, tossing her keys up into the air as she walked to the elevator. Tsubaki pivoted, following behind, "You know, I agree. If it had ended where he kissed her, then I would have cried out of joy."
Liz snapped her fingers, looking back at Tsubaki, "Right Right! Exactly!"
Maka laughed as they continued on with the small talk and waited for the elevator to arrive.
oOo
The car ride there was uneventful. Liz drove with Tsubaki in the passenger seat and Maka sat in the middle of the both of them, crammed inside the three seater red pick-up truck that Liz acclaimed to as her 'baby.' Tsubaki had a smile on her face the entire time. If asked what they talked about, Maka wouldn't be able to answer and although she wasn't used to having an evening drive with a couple of friends, she didn't mind it at all. When they arrived at the Death City Central, Liz luckily got a parking across the street at a local mini-mart.
Maka pulled out her ticket as they got to the entrance, giving it to the one of the security men who was guarding the entrance. He didn't realize who Maka was, not at all surprising. Both Tsubaki and Liz got by without a hitch. The fans were loud with anticipation. The concert was going to start in thirty minutes and they were all trembling. Liz ran into the crowd, all the way through the bustling fans moving back and forth. Maka and Tsubaki pushed their way to the front, not at all keeping up with her but every now and then, they spotted a hand waving in the distance. When they arrived, Liz stood in the middle of the large group, completely doing the opposite of the people who all crowded to the middle area in the front. Tsubaki pushed Maka forward, who was tired of saying the word excuse me and was now just shoving people out of the way. A lot of them could care less, as their main focus was on the stage. As they got closer to where Liz was standing, the crowd started to thin slightly, however, it was still pretty packed. Liz laughed when they got there and yelled over the screaming of the crowd, "Took you long enough." There were not a lot of people here, much to Maka surprise, "The key is to get as close to the center as you can because at Black Star's concert, there are always people crowding in the front to look at his face. As long as you stand in the center, where the more sane people are, nobody is going to sucker punch you in the middle of it." Tsubaki got shivers behind Maka, as if reliving a memory in which Maka wanted no part in. She accepted Liz's words.
Liz chuckled, pointing at Tsubaki with her thumb, who was more than excited as far as Maka could tell. Maka breathed out, preparing herself for the 'awesome' that was Black Star. Five more minutes and it would start. Maka turned around and looked at the sea of people around them, all yelling as the lights began to change color, signifying that he was about to appear. People pushed back and forth rapidly now. If the center was, as Liz put it, less crowded, Maka didn't want to think about how it must have been in the front. She looked forward as the music began to play. Her heart raced as she saw the familiar blue hair come into view. Roars from the crowd, all screaming his name. It was almost unbelievable that he was the boy who always visited her on Saturdays, or just whenever he was bored and chilled in her apartment. Seeing him up on stage put the whole 'show business' in prospective for her. Here she was, in the sea of fans, and there he was, on the stage, commanding the attention of all spread out in front of him; sending shockwaves through the sea with every move he made. It was surreal, and he hadn't even begun to sing yet. Just his movements as he danced seemed to make everyone intoxicated. Liz screamed loudly as he began to sing.
The thumping of the bass and guitar did not make it harder to hear his voice, it cut through the crowd like a lightning bolt. It sent shivers down her spine to see him like this. His lips moved close to the microphone and she felt like running to him. Felt like running through the crowd, not caring who she had to hit to get there. She yearned for his voice, and so did everyone else. The screaming, the chanting, the repeating of lyrics as he sang, all of it melted together. All drowned out by his song. Tsubaki next to her smiled ecstatically. Liz, who from the beginning was calm enough, was jumping up and down, her arm in the air. Right now, it didn't matter who they were outside of this concert. Maka looked to Black Star again, who seemed to look back at her. Her heart froze, just him looking around the crowd had enough of an impact, but to see him look in her direction, even if it wasn't at her, made her skin hot. The song faded out, another tune following it up. If that was just one song, just four or five minutes long, an hour long concert was going to be even more heart-thump inducing.
Maka lifted her hands and yelled as loudly as she could before the crowd around her swarmed inward again.
"Black Star!"
oOo
Maka swayed her legs back and forth as she rested on the railing. Most everyone had left now since the concert ended around an hour later than it was supposed to, all due to a more than expected encore. Tsubaki came walking from the direction of the bathrooms, smiling as soon as she saw Maka. She looked as beautiful as ever and now, not caring if people recognized her or not, she had taken off her sunglasses. She backed up into the railing and hopped onto it, sitting next to Maka. "Well that was exciting." Maka grinned at Tsubaki, waiting for her response.
Tsubaki, who had been quiet ever since Black Star began his encore, bit her lip. Her eyebrows creased together as she looked down at her feet, worried, "He seemed odd after the second song during the encore." She turned to Maka swiftly, making her bangs flutter in the light wind, "What do you think Maka?"
Maka, who was too busy watching him move than listening to his voice, noticed the same thing, but had decided to put it off as him being tired. After all, he had danced an entire twelve songs, then had been forced to dance the next twelve songs again, for if he didn't it would have upset the fans. Despite him looking odd however, Maka knew that he was putting up with it, so she had decided to let it go. The fact that Tsubaki openly revealed her knowledge of when he feels tired made Maka's heart clench a bit, as if it was hard to breathe. Tsubaki knew Black Star personally much more than Maka had originally thought and if she wouldn't admit it bothered her, she'd be lying. She dismissed her thoughts against her good friend and put her finger to her lips, "Yeah, he was sort of odd wasn't he? But that's just Black Star for you. Bringing it up to him will only make things awkward." She turned to Tsubaki, who stared at her wide eyed before looking down at her shoes again, disappointed. Maka mentally smacked herself for saying that it was awkward to bring it up, "I mean, an awkward situation you know. I didn't meant to…" She stopped herself, noticing she was only making it worse. She winced as she looked down to her feet, taking an interest in her boots. She looked out of the corner of her eyes to Tsubaki, who flipped back her braid before smiling to Maka enthusiastically.
"That sure let out a lot of steam huh?" She stood from the railing, pumping her arms in the air happily, "Feels great!" She laughed as she turned to Maka, who was given a boost by her enthusiasm. Maka stood from the railing as well, patting off the borrowed dress. She took a stand next to Tsubaki and pumped her fists into the air in the same way she had, turning her head to Tsubaki slowly after she did, grinning widely.
"What's with you two?"
Maka and Tsubaki jumped at the voice only to find Liz standing behind the railing they once sat on; looking at both of them quite quizzically. She jumped the railing and you could see the grace she emitted as she showed Maka a display of her being light on her feet. "Kilik told me to meet him behind the stage. Are you guys going to come see Black Star or not?" Tsubaki pivoted quickly to follow Liz. Maka, seeing how enthusiastic her friend was, made her feel guilty about what she had said earlier. She ran up to Tsubaki, who was almost near the stairs up the stage that lead to back stage,.
"Sorry Tsubaki." She whispered as she climbed the stairs quickly. Tsubaki, who was halfway up the stairs, looked back at her, mouth parted as she processed what Maka had just said. Tsubaki smiled and nodded to Maka silently.
"Really now," Liz patted Tsubaki's back with a bit of force, "You can't expect me not to be curious." She grinned than began to push Tsubaki up the stairs. Maka smiled back at her.
oOo
It's like meeting your idol and then forgetting to blink. Nerve-wracking.
Maka stood dumbfounded, slightly star struck from just seeing him on stage and then right after, seeing him face to face. He poured water onto his head, making the sweat on his face become nonexistent. His hair, which had remained spikey, was straight once more. Just like the day at the beach, which brought back quite a few memories Maka had rather remember alone than in a room with the very person. He turned his attention to Tsubaki first as she handed him a towel. Maka held onto her chest, trying to get the beating to stop.
What's with me? Acting like a school girl with her first crush. It's just Black Star.
Her heart calmed and her breathing returned to normal. She upturned her eyes to Black Star, not expecting him to be looking straight at her, which made her wonder exactly how long he had been looking at her. He laughed triumphantly, "You screamed the great mes name didn't you." He was teasing her, and she responded as how she usually would.
"You sure you weren't drunk off your own awesomeness?"
Black Star was stuck on her question for a moment before answering, "The great me was wrong?" He pondered it, wondering if he had heard correctly. The grin he presented her was no longer there, which made her think that maybe he was somehow happy she had yelled his name. She laughed.
"Of course I did. Don't doubt your greatness." She patted him on the back, a sort of friendly pat that was normal. Her heart remained steady, more to her pleasure. Black Star smoothed his hair back out of his face and grinned.
"To Trick the Black Star, how dare you!" He wrapped his arm around her neck and rubbed his fist on her hair. Maka half laughed half yelled as she struggled to get him off of her. Liz smacked Black Star's head, making his grip loose enough for Maka to escape.
"Surely he was just dreaming." Liz laughed at his antics. Tsubaki, who was worried about his hair drying unevenly, began to promptly dry it off with the towel. Maka didn't know where to look as she did so. It was awkward to even look at all. Black Star accepted the help like it was normal. Maka shifted her eyes away from the two, who were discussing small talk and laughing with each other. She turned to see Liz talking to one of the dancers. She shifted in her boots over to her, trying not to make it obvious that she was avoiding the situation. When she came within ear shot, she caught the last of Liz's sentence.
"-not here?" Liz looked down at her feet and bit her lower lip. Maka wasn't sure what had happened to make her look so dejected. She flinched and looked up when she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. They belonged to the dancer Liz was just speaking with; a guy with baggy white pants and a navy blue tank top, a lime green towel around his neck that was a bit wet with sweat. Liz's act of stomping on the ground made Maka jump, snapping her out of observance mode. "She's always on the move, I swear!" Liz hadn't even noticed that Maka had crept up next to her. "Hey! Weren't you-?" Liz turned and looked over her shoulder to see Black Star and Tsubaki in one of their moments, "Oh, I see." She laughed a bit at the disappointed, for whatever reason, Maka. She slung her arm around Maka's shoulder and made it her job to introduce the guy who stood in front of them at this very moment. "This here," she pointed her thumb at him, "is Kilik."
Maka made a non-verbal 'oh' with her mouth. This was the one that Liz had told her about.
"Narnia guy." She couldn't help but say it out loud which made him just that more curious about her, seeing as how he stared more intently now. He snapped his fingers, as if remembering something.
"Makato?"
Maka felt like crawling into a hole and hiding there until the Makato incident passed over. She rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "That's me."
The guy, Kilik, almost jumped back in shock, "whoa." He stared at her for a moment longer, "If I hadn't seen that last picture at the end of the section, I would've never thought you were a girl." He turned his attention to Liz, "You should be wary of her Liz, she's a pretty good actress." Maka started thinking this guy wasn't that bad, part of this was definitely due to the compliment he just gave her. While it was true that she didn't know how she felt about people remembering her as Makato instead of Maka, she was proud of her work and was thoroughly pleased when someone mentioned it. "I personally enjoyed that bit with Kid. You don't know how many laughs I got out of that one. And that one with DeathCityMetal fashion-" Maka found herself swaying back and forth with excitement as he told Liz how good of a model she was. She stared at him, not really paying attention to what he was saying, she felt like she had a fan, and she loved it.
Maka was nudged on the shoulder by Liz, who was grinning from ear to ear, most likely catching on to why Maka's mood was suddenly better. "Kilik," Kilik stopped talking as he voice was called from Liz's lips, "You know Ox don't you?"
The look on Kilik's face as soon as she mentioned Ox made Maka want to laugh triumphantly, though now was neither the time nor the place. The time was when she got back to her apartment and had some alone time. Kilik, who was enthused about the previous topic, became silent, looking at her with a sort of 'Why are you even asking? Trying to rub it in my face?' face. He scowled before answering, "Yeah. So?"
Liz laughed at him, pleased with his reaction, "Just wondering if you knew Kid's schedule. Ox had his manager to shadow this week and I've been wondering why he…well never mind." Liz laughed again, though this time, it was of slight embarrassment of the way her reason sounded. Kilik scratched his head, confused, still not getting why she stopped.
He answered anyway, "Yeah, I heard Ox talking about a late night talk show with Kim and Kid. Some nonsense about how Kid didn't deserve to stand by her, let alone talk to her." Kilik frowned, as if realizing exactly how much people must have labeled them as 'friends.' Maka could tell because the amount of staff who believed sincerely that Ox and Maka were the best of buds was too large to count. As if just talking to him constituted of you being his friend, since not a lot of people actually do. Maka felt a tug on her stomach.
No. Ox is good guy.
She nodded to herself, thinking it wasn't so bad to be seen that way with Ox. She saw Kilik ruffle his hair in frustration, as if he just realized what she did.
Great, now I feel obligated to make it up to him.
She grunted in frustration, gaining the raised eyebrow look from Liz and a meaningful glance from Kilik. She felt almost connected to Kilik on this issue and something was telling her he was just like Black Star.
He opened his mouth after a brief moment of silence, "You live in the apartments like everyone else right? Heard from Black Star that you live right below him. He sounded excited when he told me, what's he to ya?"
Yep, straightforward, exactly like Black Star.
Liz immediately got into the conversation, showing a more rumor drawn side of herself, "Oh, he was talking about you?" Maka looked at both at them, back and forth, as they waited for her answer. How was she supposed to answer anyway? She didn't know if she could call them just acquaintances. The day at the beach proved that. More than strangers. She paused.
Is Black Star my friend?
All kinds of questions ran through her head.
Can we even be considered friendly to other people? I'm 'friends' with Ox, so I'm sort of friends with Black Star right?
What do I think of Black Star as?
She bit her lip.
What does Black Star think of me?
She jumped forward from the sudden impact of a fist onto her shoulder. She turned around to find Black Star, spiky hair and all, grinning at her, "What's this? A conversation about the great Black Star?" Liz and Kilik looked at each other, not sure if they should tell him what the discussion was about. Black Star furrowed his brow, "Keeping secrets I see," He wringed Maka around the neck as he had done earlier, "Let's see how long that lasts." He laughed as he began to torture her. She panicked, seeking help from Liz and Kilik, who were at this point laughing from the absurdity in front of them. As for Tsubaki, Maka's last hope, she was chatting with the staff. Maka couldn't tell how Black Star looked right now, making her mind wonder again.
We're friends.
Right?
oOo
Dammit, this can't be happening.
Her facial expression didn't change as she put her apartment key back into her bag.
Just a morning stroll.
That's all I wanted.
She huffed in anger.
Can't even give me that can you?
"Mornin'."
Maka's heart pounded in her chest, a single, large, thump. She readjusted her bag strap onto her shoulder. The celebration she went to with Black Star, Kilik, Tsubaki and Liz had made her get home late, but she had still ended up waking up early.
Like a cruel twist of fate.
She twirled the ends of her loose, low, pigtails with her index finger, for lack of a better thing to do. "Morning Soul." She walked past, making her way to the elevator. The sound of his footsteps that didn't match hers made her become self-conscious. She didn't turn back as she reached for the elevator, not expecting a hand to reach out in front of her to press it first. The tingling sensation as he retracted his hand back, noticing what just happened, made her shiver. She felt the need to tap her foot, but didn't do so, making herself bounce in anticipation. She could feel him looking at her; either that or it was just paranoia. The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside, nothing at this point would save her from having to look at him. He slumped into the elevator, none the wiser to her inner battle.
The way he was dressed made it seem like he had no intention to leave the apartment complex, maybe just going to the fourth floor for the vending machines or something. His hair was still ruffled, as if he had woken up and not bothered with it. Maka cursed at how she liked it better that way. She stood in silence for a few moments, not knowing what to say. The elevator doors remained open, even though she had pressed the door close button. He obviously noticed her clothes, "Going out?" She flinched at his question.
She turned to look up at him. "Yeah." She looked away quickly, still trying to psych herself out mentally for when he starts to speak her name. She took a deep breath.
"I'm going up to Kid's." She looked at him again, sure of herself that she wasn't going to avoid him. He leaned over a bit; just enough to press the button for floor nine. The doors immediately closed, as if they had a preference for his choice rather than hers. The elevator began to move up. Maka tried to hold back a laugh at the fact that Kid, the lover of all symmetry, lived on the ninth floor. Soul looked at her sideways than smirked as if he understood what she was amused by. "No doubt he'll have a mental breakdown if you mention it to him. He's been trying to convince himself the lobby doesn't count as the first floor for years now." Maka could just see it, and couldn't hold back anymore. She let out her laugh and her muscles relaxed. Soul was being Soul.
She grinned this time, gaining a sly smile back, "How's show business?" The broadness of her question made Soul think for a moment.
"Just finished a shoot with Kid after his talk show. He said he hadn't watched that new drama of his that premiered on Saturday, thought I'd watch it with him." Maka smiled at how he didn't answer the question, but instead told her what he was doing the day before.
"That one with Liz?"
Soul turned to her, leaning against the side of the elevator as he did so, "Yeah, that new series, 'Land Bridge' right? He's been busy lately because of it; Liz has been nagging me about him too." Maka remembered how Liz asked Kilik about Kid's schedule and nodded in agreement. She knew she would be the same way though, if Soul suddenly got busy. She felt her face grow hot as she thought this.
Why did Soul's name pop into my head?
She ruffled the back of her hair indigently, trying to forget she ever thought it, "No work today?"
He shoved his hands in his pockets, "Nah."
The comfortable atmosphere Maka felt in the elevator made her feel better about waking up so early. Even if it was both comfortable and nerve wracking, she found herself enjoying the last moments of silence until the elevator reached floor nine.
Soul stepped out, turning to look back at her before he did, "Want to come along?" Maka felt her mind grow blank for a second before she registered his question.
"Oh, no," She clicked her heels together, "I'm good."
Soul looked down at her with his familiar red eyes, as if he were analyzing her body frame. He took his hands out of his pockets and clenched them, "See ya later then." He turned, waving his hand in the air as he made his way to Kid's apartment. Much to Maka's relief, he hadn't said her name the entire conversation. She pressed the lobby floor button.
Maka stared at him as she saw him standing in front of one of the apartment doors, getting ready to knock on it, as the doors closed. She felt good for a moment, then felt a tug at her gut, making her hand quickly shoot up to the open door button, "Soul!" She saw him turn his head just a little more than a centimeter to the right, towards her, when the doors abruptly closed. The elevator moved its way down, her hand was still raised to the elevator doors open button. She recoiled her fingers back and let her hand drop to her side. She grunted, rubbing at her hair furiously in frustration. She blinked a few times, slowly. The time seemed to go by quickly as the elevator reached the lobby floor. She stared out into the hallway, no one in sight except the security guards at the front doors. She willed her legs to move off of the elevator, but they shook and buckled. She bit her lip and within an instant, her body was in full going mode once more. She pressed the floor nine buttons quickly, almost fumbling to it. She wobbled back and forth as the elevator moved up, going as slow as it possibly could. She clenched her fists, hoping now one was waiting on floor five to get on. The elevator continued up and up, to the point in which, in the back of her mind, she questioned what she was doing. The elevator stopped, reaching its destination. She clicked the door open button over and over, feeling that it was taking forever. When the doors finally opened, she almost had a heart attack. "S-Soul?"
Soul was at the elevator doors, a look of desperation on his face as both of his hands were on either side of the elevator door frame. He stared at her wide eyed, then parted his mouth to speak, but Maka cut him off before he could, she couldn't stand the way he looked right now.
"Changed my mind," She smiled up at him.
End of chapter fifteen! Yay. So I wanted to leave a cliffhanger, didn't want to continue past this just due to the fact that if I did, you would have a Soul and Kid mental breakdown (okay, maybe not that serious, but still). To the person who suggested making Maka drunk, I just couldn't do it! It was too hard to make her so….not Maka! But no worries, your idea will be used at a future date.
Thank you for reading, and as always, review to make Soul and Maka happy!
Tell me what you think.