Sorry this took so long... I basically update when I update. It takes me a while to figure out what I'm going to do, and even longer to write it. Fortunately, I have a decent idea of what I plan to do with this story, it's just taking me a while to put it all together into a feasible order so the story is actually readable and not simple brain vomit.

There are two cameos in this chapter that I couldn't resist putting in, btw. :3

Maka sighed. She'd been right. Blair had all but dragged her to the club this week. She had also made sure that Maka was dressed "appropriately." She looked down at herself. Sinfully short skirt (that she'd put leggings on under just to preserve what was left of her modesty), thin spaghetti strap halter top (which she had put a t-shirt on under for the same reason), and for some strange reason Blair had decided to put her hair up in pigtails with little skull clips, claiming it made her look "cute." She would have gone with "twelve."

She had to admit though, she did think she looked nice when she looked at herself in the mirror before Blair dragged her out of the apartment. She'd drawn the line at the knee high boots that Blair had given her, opting instead to wear her usual combat boots and cringing inwardly when Blair pointed out that they suited the outfit better.

She sighed. The guys at the club seemed to agree with Blair; she'd had to decline a lot of offers this time. Putting her head down on the counter in a weak attempt to draw less attention to herself, she was startled out of her thoughts when a glass was set down in front of her. She raised her head to see her own reflection in a Coke glass, before blinking once and looking up to meet a sharp toothed grin. She couldn't help smiling back a little.

"Hello, Soul."

His grin widened as he sat down next to her, Mountain Dew in hand. "What's up?"

She sighed before taking a sip from her Coke. "Not much…"

He looked her up and down before motioning to her outfit. "Your friend?"

She rolled her eyes. "You should see what she didn't get me into."

He snickered once before shaking his head slightly. "Well for what it's worth, you do look nice."

"Thanks…" she muttered, blushing a little.

"You sittin' here all night, or you feel like moving?"

Maka blinked at him. "Huh?"

Soul grinned a little sheepishly. "I may have mentioned you in passing to the rest of the band over the week, and they all want to meet you now. I've pretty much been sent to drag you back to our table."

He nodded to a large booth off in the corner, and Maka followed his gaze to see the rest of the band sitting there. Kid seemed to be fretting over the sugar packets for some reason, Black Star and Patti were too busy laughing at him to notice anything else, and Liz was trying to calm him down. Tsubaki, however, glanced up, noticed Maka and Soul looking in their direction, and waved a bit with a friendly smile. Maka couldn't help but wave back.

"Sure," she said, hopping off her barstool. "The bar hasn't been a great place to be this week. I'm gonna kill Blair when we get home." She fumed a little as she headed towards the table.

Soul chuckled a little and followed her closely, which both surprised and relieved her. They would have to cross the dance floor to get there, and Soul was close enough that any guy who looked at her saw him and figured she was taken.

She was right. Once they'd left the floor, Soul backed off a little and followed her at a more leisurely pace, one hand holding his Mountain Dew and the other shoved in his pocket. She gave him a small look of thanks, to which he just smirked and gave a half shrug.

Kid, Liz, and Patti were on one side of the table, Black Star sat alone at the end, and Tsubaki sat opposite Kid and the girls, next to Black Star. Maka slid into the booth next to Tsubaki and Soul plopped down next to Maka.

Black Star simply looked from Soul to Maka, then back again, seemingly unsure of what to say, when Tsubaki smiled as soon as she sat down and held a hand out to her. "It's nice to finally meet you, Maka-chan. Soul-kun's told us a little about you. I'm Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, and this is Black Star.

Maka smiled and returned the greeting to both, and Black Star grinned. "Ahh, so you're Maka. Thought you looked familiar. The great me never forgets a face." He continued to ramble on about how great he was for a while before Soul leaned over and muttered into her ear.

"He's always like this. We usually just ignore him. He'll shut up eventually."

Kid rolled his eyes as Black Star continued to ramble before holding his hand out to Maka. "Death the Kid, but you may call me Kid. I, like Tsubaki, have been wanting to meet you since Soul mentioned you. May I also add that your appearance is beautifully symmetrical."

Maka shook his hand. "Uh… thank you."

Kid smiled and withdrew to introduce Liz and Patti.

Liz nodded with a friendly smile before reaching over to bonk Black Star on the head, trying to shut him up, but he just went on, unfazed by the hit entirely. "Sorry," she sighed. "I tried. He'll shut up under his own power eventually."

Patti was a little more enthusiastic with her greeting, and ended up knocking over the sugar packets when she exuberantly reached over to shake Maka's hand. What happened next left Maka a little speechless.

Kid had a conniption.

"Patti! What have you done! The packets!" He immediately collected all of them, trying desperately to put them back exactly how they were. "No… Oh no… I can't make them as wonderfully symmetrical as they were!" Almost in tears, he immediately collapsed to the table, his head in his arms. "They're ruined! I ruined them! I'm horrible! Useless! I can't even put sugar packets back the way they were! Dammit… So depressed… Let me die…"

As Liz sighed and recruited her sister to cheer Kid back up, Maka blinked and looked to Soul, who was sipping his soda and watching the dance floor in detached interest like nothing was going on. Black Star continued to ramble, unaffected by Kid's outburst, and Tsubaki was gently trying to quiet him, also seeming not to notice.

Seeming to feel her stare, Soul turned back to her, raised an eyebrow, then glanced over at Kid. "Oh. He does this a lot. It's normal. Black Star used a sugar packet for his iced tea earlier, and he threw a fit then too, because that made an odd number of sugar packets. He ended up eating one himself to make it even again." He rolled his eyes before leaning close to her again. "He's a liiiiitle OCD over symmetry," he muttered in her ear. "That compliment he gave you earlier about looking symmetrical is the highest you could ever receive from him." He chuckled a little. "Feel honored."

Maka could feel her face heating up, and struggled to convince herself that it was because of Kid's earlier compliment, and not at Soul's closeness and the feel of his breath on her ear as he spoke.

Black Star finally shut up once he noticed that his tea was gone, and got up to go order another one. Everyone at the table glanced at him, and Tsubaki suddenly looked stern. "Black Star…" She said, the warning in her voice almost tangible.

He grinned sheepishly "I know, I know… Don't worry, just getting another iced tea. No long island involved. I'll even let you check."

Tsubaki still looked dubious, but nodded for him to go. Maka looked to her in question, but she simply smiled a little sheepishly and shook her head. Kid, who had calmed down when Black Star had gotten up to leave, nodded in the blue haired boy's direction.

"Because of his little… spectacle… last week, Black Star's grounded. No alcoholic drinks before or after playing for the rest of the month."

Soul rolled his eyes. "Good God. He's heavy when he's loaded. How bad was he, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki shrugged. "Not at all. By the time we all got him home, he passed out shortly after you all left."

Liz snorted. "Figures. The second we no longer have to deal with him, he passes out like a good little drunk for his fiancée."

Maka blinked at Tsubaki. "Fiancée?"

Tsubaki smiled. "Our parents set it up for us years ago."

Maka raised an eyebrow at the other girl. "An arranged marriage?"

"Our families are very traditional. They did ask for our approval first. We both grew up together, so neither of us had any objections to it."

Maka blinked. "Wow. You guys have it easy, I guess."

Tsubaki chuckled. "I suppose that's one way to put it."

"Now if only they'd just set a date." Liz grumbled.

Tsubaki blushed. "We… haven't really had the time to think about it yet. Our parents are leaving all the planning to us, and neither of them seem to be in much of a hurry to rush us."

Liz rolled her eyes. "That's because you already live together. You're practically married already."

Soul smirked at Liz. "Then what does that make you three, hm?"

Liz scowled playfully at Soul. "Shove it, kid."

Soul stuck his tongue out at Liz in response. Patti cackled hysterically at his response while Kid blushed a little.

Black Star chose that moment to return, plunking his tea down in front of Tsubaki as she took a sip to check for alcohol. Seemingly satisfied, she gave it back to him. He glanced between Kid and Soul before grinning over at Soul. "Oh come on. You embarrassed him while I wasn't here? That's not cool."

"Just talking about their living situation again," Soul replied, gnawing on an ice cube as his soda was long gone. "Nothing new."

The conversation went on for a while. Maka learned that in addition to Black Star and Tsubaki being engaged, Kid actually was going out with both Liz and Patti, neither of whom seemed to mind sharing him, and they both lived with him. She also was a little surprised to learn that Liz and Patti had practically raised Soul, who had been living alone from a very young age. Later on they'd met Kid, and through him Black Star and Tsubaki, and once they'd all finally pulled Soul out of his antisocial shell enough to share some of his music (Soul had actually seemed a little embarrassed at that), they'd decided to try and start a band, and here they were.

Black Star immediately asked if Maka sang or played anything, and she had immediately responded that while she loved music, she was practically tone deaf. The conversation would have gone on from there if Soul hadn't pointed out that they were due up on stage soon. Maka offered to hold the table for them, and they'd agreed.

She scooted back into the middle of the booth, where Black Star had been sitting earlier, and watched them tuning their instruments and setting up. Soul only had to plug his keyboard in and turn it on, and after checking a few settings of God Knows What, he got up and trotted to the bar. She was confused for a minute until she saw what he was getting and rolled her eyes at him as he slid another coke across the table to her before running back to the stage before she could say anything.

After another round of Black Star screaming into the mic, they began to play. The music was the same beautifully dark rock music as last week, but the songs were different. There were a couple more upbeat songs that she guessed were written by Tsubaki, as she had shyly mentioned writing a song or two, but Soul's style seemed to be woven into every song.

She was a little surprised when a man with spiky brown hair sat down next to her and asked her to dance. She politely refused, but the man, who was not quite drunk but also not quite sober, kept insisting. Just as she was about to get up and leave, a boy with large blue eyes and short blonde hair grabbed his shoulder.

"I believe she said no, Giriko. Come on, we'll find you another girl."

The other man grumbled a little, but got up and followed him.

The blonde boy smiled at her as he lead the other man away. "Sorry about my friend. He's more than a little drunk at the moment."

Maka nodded. "Thank you."

He grinned back. "No problem. I'm pretty sure he was just waiting until your friend from the band left you alone. Sorry again!"

He was gone before Maka could deny anything.

Blair showed up shortly after, also a little tipsy, but at least coherent. "That was interesting."

Maka sighed. "Not really. He was starting to scare me."

"Well if that other kid hadn't come in, I would have dragged him off."

"I doubt he's your type."

"Oh he's not, but he also looked drunk enough that I could easily ditch him in the middle of the dance floor and he'd be none the wiser."

Maka chuckled and rolled her eyes before taking a sip of her soda. "You're horrible."

Blair rolled her eyes right back. "Well you don't have to stay very long this week. I found a guy I think I'm gonna go home with."

Maka rolled her eyes again. "I take it you're prepared, then?"

Blair winked before pulling a stack of condoms out of her purse.

Maka sighed. "Again, you're horrible. And you have no shame."

"I'll take both as compliments. I'll text you once I get there and be home by noon."

Maka shook her head and smiled, long used to her roommate's antics. "Whatever. Have fun, don't get arrested."

"Those aren't exactly mutually exclusive." Blair laughed and ruffled Maka's hair before heading back to the dance floor.

Maka was left alone for the rest of the time they were up playing, which was fine with her. After they were done, a lot of people crowded the stage while they were packing up, asking questions. Maka chuckled slightly as she noticed a lot of guys were talking to Tsubaki, Patti, and Liz, and the stony impassive look on Kid's face as he held Black Star back from killing the boys talking to Tsubaki, even though he looked like he was imagining pain for the boys talking to his girlfriends. Soul was largely inattentive to it all, taking his time packing up his own equipment. A few girls came up to him, but he politely declined all of them.

The whole band disappeared backstage with all their equipment for a while before coming back out, probably packing it up somewhere, as this was the last week they were playing here. Maka was surprised at the pang of regret she felt at that. She did love their music, but over the last few hours, she'd gotten to know the rest of the band, too. She'd miss talking to them every week.

She was pulled out of her thoughts with a jolt as an arm was tossed over her shoulders at either side, and she looked up to see Liz on one side and Patti on the other.

Liz grinned. "Me and the girls are gonna have a girls night out some time this week, and you're coming with, no excuses."

Maka blinked in surprise, but smiled back. "Sure. When?"

Liz shrugged. "Not sure yet. Was gonna grab your number so we can get back to you." She handed Maka her cell phone, and Maka typed her phone number in before giving it back. Liz punched a few more buttons and nodded. "Saved. Let's head out."

"Saved!" Patti repeated before letting go of Maka and scooting quickly out of the booth as her sister got out at a more leisurely pace. Tsubaki and Kid were standing beside the table, and Liz reached out and grabbed Black Star's collar before he could head out to the dance floor and handed him off to Tsubaki. Black Star pouted a bit, but stayed where he was. Maka assumed he was also grounded from the floor as well as drinks.

Soul arrived a little later. "Stuff's all packed up." He said to Kid before plopping down at the booth.

Kid nodded. "Good. You gonna hang out here a while?"

Soul nodded.

"Alright then, We'll get the idiot home and then I think we're gonna head home as well." Kid waved once and bowed slightly in Maka's direction. "It was very nice meeting you, Maka."

Maka blinked at the formality, but nodded. "You too."

Patti waved goodbye more enthusiastically than Kid and her sister, and Tsubaki bowed slightly in greeting, promising to see her at whatever Liz had planned. Black Star grinned and waved, only slightly less enthusiastically as Patti, before following Tsubaki, leaving Maka and Soul alone.

Soul downed about half of the glass of Mountain Dew he came with on his way back form the stage before speaking. "So how long before you have to drag your friend home?"

Maka shook her head. "She's… going home with someone else. I'm pretty much free to go whenever I want."

"Ah. You got a ride?"

"We usually just walk."

Soul frowned. "At this hour?"

Maka rolled her eyes. "The streets we take are well lit, and I can take care of myself."

Soul didn't look convinced.

Maka scowled at him. "I'll be fine."

Soul nodded. "Yeah, you will. Because I'm giving you a ride home."

"Wha-"

"I'm serious. Just let me know when you feel like leaving."

Maka scowled at him, and he just gazed calmly back at her. After a while, she sighed and lowered her gaze to the table. "Fine."

Soul grinned and started chewing on an ice cube as he watched the club with detached interest. They fell into a comfortable silence as they both people watched for a while, occasionally commenting on how drunk or how desperate someone seemed to be. After a while Maka decided she'd had enough. She stood and stretched before heading towards the door. "If giving me a ride will make you feel better, come on then."

Soul nodded and threw down the rest of his drink before grabbing his jacket and following her.

Once outside, she blinked as he led her to large orange motorcycle decorated here and there with various spikes. The headlight looked like it even had teeth. He swung his leg over it and helped her up behind him before starting the engine.

"Alright," he tossed over his shoulder as the engine warmed up. "Tell me where I'm going."

Maka was still trying to settle herself on the back seat of the bike, but glanced up at that. "Cottonwood Place."

Soul frowned for a moment, then blinked. "That apartment complex over on Southern and Main?"

Maka nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright then," Soul replied, throwing the bike into gear. "Hang on."

"To what?"

"There's some grips below the seat, or you can hang on to me, whichever works."

Maka blinked at how casually he'd said that, but as soon as he let go of the clutch and the bike took off, she instinctively threw her arms around his waist and held on for dear life.

She felt rather than heard Soul chuckle a little before slowing down a little bit for her sake. She carefully loosened her grip before looking over his shoulder to see where he was going, occasionally giving him directions about shortcuts she knew.

She noticed Soul tensing up slowly as he got to her neighborhood. She didn't blame him. She and Blair didn't really live on the best side of town, but their apartment was cheap, and everyone knew everybody, so there wasn't really a lot of crime in their area.

She had him pull up to the gate and leaned over him to punch in the code to open it, then directed him to where her apartment was. She was surprised when he glanced where she was pointing, nodded, then headed off to find a nearby parking place.

"You don't have to walk me to my apartment. It's alright."

Soul glanced back suspiciously at the stairwell, making Maka roll her eyes. "Going to anyway."

Maka sighed. "If you were any other guy, I'd think you were trying to get into my pants, you know."

Soul chuckled at that. "Good thing I'm not. I'm just worried."

Maka hopped off the bike once he'd killed the engine, digging in her purse for her keys. "I can take care of myself, Soul."

"As you've said." He replied, climbing off the bike and following her, ever alert.

Maka chuckled. "You're acting like a nervous bodyguard. Calm down." A siren wailed in the distance, and Soul looked off in that direction for a few seconds. Maka sighed and smacked his shoulder. "That's at least a mile away. Stop being so paranoid."

Soul followed her closely up the stairwell and through the outdoor hallways until she reached her apartment and unlocked the door. "Blair left it a mess before we left, but come on in if you want." Maka murmured, having long since given up on getting him to stop being so protective.

Soul visibly relaxed once she closed the door behind him, and looked around. There were a few articles of clothing here and there, and he remembered Maka talking about what Blair had tried to get her into before they'd left for the club. Maka wandered around the room, picking up the clothes and tossing them into what he assumed to be Blair's room before closing the door behind them.

She kicked off her boots before moving past him to the small kitchenette and pulling down a glass from the cupboard before glancing back at him. "Thirsty?"

Soul blinked. "Oh. Sure." He wandered into the kitchenette after her and glanced out the window, slightly unnerved that he was still hearing sirens.

Maka sighed, handing him a glass of water. "There's a speed trap on the corner. They catch people there a lot."

Soul nodded, still staring out the window.

She rolled here eyes. "Soul, Blair and I have lived here for years. Everyone in the complex knows us, and everyone here knows everyone else. The last time there was anything remotely resembling a crime here, it was stopped before most of us even knew about it. We all take care of each other. And as I've said before, I'm fully capable of taking care of myself."

Soul made to glance around the apartment again to try to pull his attention away from the window and the sirens, and his gaze fell on a shelf full of trophies. He raised an eyebrow and moved towards it. As he got closer, he noticed that it was a bunch of martial arts trophies, and they all had Maka's name on them.

"Like I said," he turned to see that Maka had followed him. "I can take care of myself."

Soul turned back to the trophies. Kickboxing, kung fu, aikido, judo… "Impressive. Remind me not to piss you off."

Maka chuckled a bit but it quickly broke off into a yawn. Soul grinned. "I'll let you get to bed then." He held up his now empty glass. "Thanks for the drink."

He moved to the kitchenette and set the glass in the sink, glancing out the window once more before shaking his head and tearing his gaze from it, noticing a pad of sticky notes and a pen on the counter.

He grabbed both. "If you ever need anything though…" he scribbled on the notepad before pulling the note off and handing it to her. She looked down at it and blinked upon noticing it was a phone number.

She smirked back up at him. "That has to be the most creative way a guy has ever slipped me his phone number."

Soul rolled his eyes. "It's not like that. Just… call me if you need help with something, okay?"

Maka laughed. "I was joking. But here," she tore off the bottom half of the note and scribbled her own number on it before handing it back to him. "It's only fair."

Soul blinked before taking the number from her and glancing at it, then pulling his phone out and immediately programming it in before shoving both in his pocket. "Well guess I'll see you when I see you then." He grinned up at her. "'Night."

"Good night, Soul. Careful of that speed trap on your way out."

He nodded. "Right. Later, Maka."

Maka waved as he trudged down the stairs to the parking lot. She stood at the door until she saw his motorcycle pull away before closing the door and heading to bed.