Soul reached them in a matter of seconds, panting heavily, "You alright?" He asked her, but Maka didn't respond, to shocked at what she was seeing.
"Chrona, but… why?"
The taller girl didn't respond, merely looking off to the side instead. That pissed Maka off more than anything. Grabbing a fistful of her shirt, Maka lifted her up so that they were eye-to-eye.
"Answer me, damn it!"
"I'm sorry." Chrona whimpered, flinching visibly at Maka's shout, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."
Maka's grip on her dress loosened, and she sighed, "Did someone force you to do this?" Chrona nodded, tears seeping through her eyes, but Maka didn't stop to comfort, "Who?"
The first time she answered, she was mumbling too softly. Shaking her slightly, Maka told her to speak up. Lifting her head up to look at Maka, she whispered, "My mother."
Maka looked up at Soul, who looked just as confused as she felt. "Your mother?"
Chrona hung her head in shame as she said, "Medusa Gorgon."
There was a tense moment of silence in which Soul and Maka just stared at the crying girl in shock, and then, without hesitation, Maka wrapped her arms around Chrona.
Her tears stopped abruptly, and her breath hitched. Maka whispered quietly, "She forced you to do this, right? You probably didn't want to."
At those words the dam broke, and Chrona started sobbing her heart out. Maka just kept on hugging her, and Soul, watching from the back, just shook his head, though he smiled gently.
Maka was really too friendly sometimes.
A few minutes later, her sobs turned to whimpers, and Maka pulled back. "You can still set this right, you know?"
"H-how?"
"Well, firstly you could apologise to Marie-san… Then, Chrona," she took her hands in her own, "You could be my friend. And you could help us, instead."
Chrona shook her head sadly, "I, I don't know. I'm not good at making friends."
She gasped as she felt the hard spine of a book on her head, looking up at Maka, who smiled, "Silly girl. It's not hard. You can start with me."
"N-no, really. I don't know how to deal with people," Chrona said, tears leaking out again. At that, Maka pulled her into a hug, this time tighter, and more sincere, and said words that would change Chrona's whole perspective.
"It's not that you don't know how to deal with people, it's just that no one ever took the deal with you," Maka smiled then, "But you have me now. And Soul. And the rest of my friends too. You're not alone anymore, Chrona. In fact," she stood up, dusting herself off and helping Chrona up, "You should come to prom with us."
"It'll be fun." Soul added, walking up to stand beside Maka.
Looking at her first two friends, Chrona smiled shyly, tears still falling.
"Okay."
On Saturday night, after an intense round of shopping the night before, the girls were all gathered in Liz and Patty's room.
"Patty where'd you put the straightener?" Liz asked, frantically looking around for it. Tsubaki and Maka watched from the sidelines, knowing better than to say a word to Liz when she was in her element.
As the two sisters tried to get themselves sorted out, Maka slowly brushed Tsubaki's hair, smiling at her in the mirror. "You look beautiful Tsu."
The older girl blushed, "You look stunning too, Maka-chan. You'll definitely blow Soul's socks off."
At this point, Maka knew there wasn't any point in denying what they were saying, so she just shrugged and mumbled out an 'I hope so', before grinning at Tsubaki.
"And you'll definitely blow Black Star's socks off."
"Pfft, she's gone way past the point of just blowing socks off, dear, innocent Maka- Hey, I already fixed my hair!" Liz screeched, swatting away the empty tub of lipstick Tsubaki, whose face currently resembled a tomato, had thrown at her.
Maka just blinked, unsure of what they were talking about.
"Maka! Will you help me zip my dress?" Patty asked, bounding up to her. Maka obliged, slowly zipping up the red dress the blonde was wearing for the night; it ended mid-thigh, showcasing her strong legs. The small, puffed-out sleeves ensured Patty still had that lovable innocence about her; and of course, seeing as how her date was Kid, her dress was strikingly symmetrical, patterns perfectly mirroring on each side.
Maka looked down at her own dress. At Liz's insistence, she had worn a dress that ended mid-thigh too. The light green of it made her eyes shine even brighter, Patty had told her, and her platforms made her long legs look even longer than they were.
At the mirror, Tsubaki and Liz stood side by side, helping each other with last minute touch-ups. Seeing as how they were both seniors and today was the last prom they would attend as Shibusen students, they were determined to make sure the other looked the best they could.
And they sure were doing a good job.
Liz wore a long-sleeved dress, the same colour as her sister's though a few shades darker, with a slit in it that started from the top of right thigh. It hugged her waist snugly, the well-placed patch of lace allowing for skin to be seen. Her long blonde hair framed her made-up face.
Tsubaki, on the other hand, wore a sleeveless dress that scrunched up at the top, accentuating her chest. The dress was a deep blue, complimenting her eyes. Hers hugged her waist snugly too, but there was no slit in it. Instead, it clung to her long shapely legs too, leaving just enough room for her to run in short steps if she needed to. Her black hair was tied up into a stylishly messy bun, a few loose strands curtaining her face.
At that moment, Maka's phone vibrated, and she pulled it out of her red clutch, stepping out of the room to answer it. Kid smiled at her as he saw her, and she smiled back, noting that his red tie would go nicely with Patty's dress.
"Hello?"
"Yo, Maka," Soul's deep voice greeted her back, and before she could stop herself, she smiled lopsidedly, "Just wanted to tell you we'll probably be there in about ten minutes."
"Right on time," she told him, and she could hear the smirk in his voice as he asked, "Punctuality's cool right?"
"Very."
He laughed, and then sobered up quickly as he admitted, Maka thought somewhat bashfully, that, "By the way, I didn't want to cram in the limo with my brother and Black Star and later Kid for a whole half an hour, so we'll be riding on my baby."
She rolled her eyes, "Why am I not surprised?"
"Cause you know me inside out," he replied cheekily, and Maka smiled, though she told him curtly that, "It was a rhetorical question."
There was silence on the other end before Soul's spoke up again, this time softer than before, "So… I guess I'll see you soon?"
"Yeah, you will. At Liz's house. Which is where we are. As in, we, us girls."
She facepalmed herself as Soul let out a bark out of laughter, agreeing with her before she ended up hanging up on him since he was still laughing.
"Who was that, Maka-chan?" Tsubaki asked, sitting calmly next to Patty on the edge of the bed, both of them watching Liz freak out in front of the mirror, furiously brushing her already straight hair.
"Soul," she answered, opting to sit beside the two instead of getting in Liz's way, "He says they'll be here in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes?!" Liz shrieked, and Maka nodded slowly.
"As promised."
Liz sighed heavily, finally putting the brush down. "I don't know how you guys managed to convince me going to prom with Soul's brother, who I've never even met, would be a good idea."
"It's better than going alone," Patty pointed out, and Liz frowned at her, saying,
"That's only cause you stole Kid."
Patty laughed, walking over to her older sister. "I asked him first," she said, as she wrapped her arms around Liz, who tried to keep on frowning at her but failed miserably, "Sides, I told ya I wouldn't have minded going with you as my date, but noooooooo, you wanted man candy."
Liz squeezed her back, "Is it too late to take you up on that offer?"
Patty giggled, and Tsubaki and Maka watched as the two sisters helped each other with their last finishing touches.
Tsubaki smiled, "After watching those two, I feel like I want a hug now too."
Carefully, so as to not disturb the perfectly fashioned hairdo on her head, Maka wrapped her arms around the older girl, nuzzling into her side, "Here you go."
Tsubaki laughed, patting Maka's arms. They stayed like that until they heard the familiar sounds of a car pulling into the driveway, and then stood up, looking over each other one last time before they all piled out of Liz's room to meet their dates.
The boys were all crowded around Kid's living room area, at the base of the long staircase that Liz had wanted as their grand entrance, chatting aimlessly. Wes, despite having an age-gap of five years with the other three, mingled effortlessly into their conversation, and even managed to not look scared out of his wits when Kid had pulled him down to eye-level to fix his crooked tie, muttering how everything had to be perfectly symmetrical tonight.
"I still don't get why Tsu couldn't just get ready at our house," Black Star grumbled, "All of her makeup and clothes and shit are all there anyway."
"Liz informed me that getting ready for prom is akin to a spiritual ritual for girls." Kid told them, and Wes chuckled, nodding, "You just have to take their word for it, bud."
"Speaking from experience?" Soul asked Wes, who nodded again, this time more solemnly.
"College prom is one of the wildest things you'll ever experience in your life," was all he said, and the others were left to wonder what he meant by that.
After a moment of silence, Patty's loud voice startled them all into standing up quickly, even Black Star.
"Get ready to have your minds blown!" She announced, hidden in the darkness of an unlit corridor.
"First of all is," she paused, then shouted, "Drumroll please!"
Obligingly, the boys patted their knees, and Soul vowed if they took any secret shots of how uncool they all looked at the moment, he would break their camera.
"Tsuuuubaki!"
At the sight of her, Black Star's jaw dropped, and Soul had to suppress a grin as he pushed it back up, not wanting him to embarrass himself in front of his date (or really, not wanting Tsubaki to feel embarrassed by her date).
As she reached the bottom of the staircase, Black Star pulled out the corsage he had and placed it as gently as he could on her wrist. She smiled as she placed his boutonniere in his pocket. Almost as if he couldn't help himself, he quickly placed a kiss on her lips before they went to stand with the others.
When Patty announced Liz's name, Soul saw his brother stand up a little straighter. He couldn't blame him though; if the roles had been reversed, Soul doubted he would even have agreed to accompany a total stranger to prom at all.
Wes seemed more than a little stunned as Liz made her way down, almost gaping as blatantly as Black Star had. He sent a look to Soul which the latter read as something along the lines of 'you didn't tell me she was this hot', and Soul just shrugged.
Of course, being Wes, he managed to wipe off the look of complete surprise and replaced it with something more like subtle appreciation, which Liz seemed to enjoy, judging by the way they were checking each other out when he helped her put on her corsage (blue, at Soul's recommendation).
"Soul never told me he was acquainted with someone as stunning as you," Wes murmured as he pressed a chaste kiss to her hand, and, despite her own warnings to herself, Liz found herself blushing.
"He never told me he had a brother as stunning as you," she blurted out in return without thinking, and as she blushed harder. Wes blinked, then chuckled.
"Touché."
Soul frowned, staring at the two of them intently as they flirted carelessly. There was no way he was going to let himself end up with Liz as his sister-in-law. It was why he grumbled when Patty announced Maka's name and he had to drag his gaze away from them.
And then he had to stop his own mouth from hanging open.
He wasn't an expert by all means on dresses or make-up, or even what colour complimented the other.
All he knew was that Maka looked beautiful.
And that the green tie he had instinctively decided to wear would go well with her green dress.
When she reached him, she smiled, and nearly knocked the breathe out of him.
"You…" he gulped. She looked up at him, tilting her head to the side, waiting expectantly.
"You look beautiful." He told her quickly, turning away so she wouldn't see him blush, but that didn't work, since she giggled, holding out a hand to him. Still red, he held it and placed her corsage on it. He got her one with mainly red and green flowers, and as she placed his red rose in his pocket, all he could do was stare at her.
"Quit staring," she mumbled, cheeks tinged red as well, hands resting on his shoulders.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, Wes had been watching their entire exchange, and then grinned, bending down to whisper in Liz's ear, "Wanna bet those two will kiss before sunrise?"
The blonde just smirked, patting his shoulder, "Just add your bet to the list, hot stuff."
Patty announced her own arrival, bounding down the steps to Kid, who, stammering, placed the two identical corsages he had gotten for her on both her wrists. Instead of frowning, Patty just beamed, and Kid smiled softly at her.
"Alright guys! Ready to party!" Patty shouted, pumping her fist into the air. Everyone else cheered and then they were off. Soul and Maka waved goodbye as the rest piled into the limo, Wes not so discreetly winking at his brother before slamming the door shut.
Maka laughed, "Your brother's almost as much of a dork as you are."
Soul frowned, "Hey, I'm not a dork. I'm cool."
She just sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. A cool dork."
"That's more like it," he grinned, as he made his way over to his bike. Before he could get on though, Maka cleared her throat, and with her clutch wedged under an arm, held out her hand to him.
"I'll, urm, need some help getting on with this dress."
It took Soul several moments to register what she said, before he jumped into action. "Yeah, of course!"
He took her hand and led her to her seat, and then gently placed his hands on her waist, with her holding on to his shoulders, and lifted her up.
"Your lucky the dress isn't long," he told her, adjusting her dress for her so that her thighs weren't exposed and the ruffles on them didn't get crinkled, "If not you'll have to sit out arriving to prom in such a cool style."
"How lucky, right?" She said sarcastically, smiling as he frowned at her, getting on the bike. As he revved the engine, Maka went ahead and wrapped her arms around his waist, sitting just a tad closer than she usually did. From the way his shoulders deflated slightly, she knew that he wasn't offended by her little teasing, and grinned, resting her head on his shoulder.
From that angle, she had to remind herself how to breath. It was easy, sometimes, to forget how handsome he actually was, especially with the way he carried himself.
But he was really handsome.
Right now, with his hair not in its usual spikes but rather neatly combed, crimson eyes that were firmly not meeting her gaze, sharp nose, sharp teeth; Maka decided that her words from before were not sarcastic in the slightest anymore.
"You ready to go?" He asked her, and she nodded.
Travelling to their school, where prom was being held, didn't take long, and soon enough they were with the rest of the group again. The older girls all whisked Maka away from Soul as soon as she was on the ground, and he tried to not look too disheartened by that.
Wes wouldn't stop nudging him and winking though.
The school hall had been transformed, and Soul had to admit they did a pretty good job.
Wes let out a low whistle, "Not bad. Think they'll have good music?" He asked Soul, who scoffed.
"You can hope."
Beside him, Black Star let out a manly shriek of delight, dragging Kid with him to the tables where all the food was served.
The girls laughed, but Maka was unusually silent, looking around, frowning.
Tsubaki noticed, and asked her kindly, "Looking for Chrona?"
Maka smiled, "Yeah… She said she would be here, but I don't see her anywhere."
"Maybe she's stuck in traffic?"
"Maybe…"
Marie hummed to herself, walking around. The library had been closed for the day, but recently she had taken to staying a few hours after closing, since she wasn't sure if she'd be able to after next week.
Sighing, she ran a hand across the spines of shelves of books. This had been her life, her home, for so many years. In the moonlight, in the quiet peace and tranquility of the night, it was also her haven.
She may not have been able to find a husband, but she never really needed one anyway.
She had her library.
"Ow!"
Marie gasped, turning around, and immediately grabbing a book of the shelf. "Who's there?!"
Her voice echoed in the empty hallways, and she had been close to just rubbing it off as her own imagination when a figure emerged from the shadows. Seeing who it was, Marie sighed in relief.
"Chrona? What are you doing here?" She asked the young student, who looked as scared as a deer in the headlights. Calmly, she walked up to her, "Don't you have prom right now?"
Upon closer inspection, Marie saw that Chrona's shoulders were shaking; she was crying. Before she could offer comfort though, Chrona bowed her head, and through her tears, mumbled out, "I'm s-so ss-orry for… for what I did."
"Oh, my dear," Marie breathed out, grabbing hold of Chrona's shoulders and forcing her to stand up straight, "I've forgiven you already."
"B-but, I d-don't deserve your f-forgiveness." Chrona stammered out, hiccupping slightly. Marie shook her head at those words.
"Please don't say that to yourself," gently, she put a finger under Chrona's chin and made her look up at her, "I can see that you're sincere, and truly sorry for what you've done. You're a good kid, Chrona."
Silence fell, broken by Chrona's occasional whimpers.
"Do you really… forgive me?"
"Of course!" Marie promised cheerfully, "Besides, if I had held a grudge against something a kid did… then I wouldn't deserve to be called an adult."
She smiled kindly, and when Chrona's cries didn't die down, she pulled her into a hug. She felt Chrona stiffen in her arms, before she wrapped her owns around her. Soothingly, Marie rubbed Chrona's back, and after a while, her tears stopped.
Chrona pulled back, looking at Marie straight in the eyes, with determination and bravery blazing in her own.
"Ms. Marie, there are a few things I think you should know about my family."