Author's notes: Wow! Thanks guys! I feel so loved! I don't know when I'll be able to get my next chapter up, but I'm hoping to get it up this weekend.

A special thanks to ilarual, since without their incredibly awesome assistance, Soul wouldn't be quite as Soul-like. I'm still getting a feel for his character, so please go easy on me! I'll try my best to make him better next chapter.

Well, I'm sure you all didn't come here to read all my blabbing, so on with the story!

Studying

"On Monday," Professor Sid announced at the end of class on Friday, "there will be a test. I'm only warning you because some people"-He looked in Soul's direction-"don't pay attention in class day by day, and they need to time to study, or they won't pass this test."

The bell rang and Maka stood up, sighing. "Looks like I won't have much sleep this weekend," she grumbled.

Soul snorted. "You pay almost a weird amount of attention in class. Why are you gonna study?"

She glared at him. "Because that's what good students do, Soul."

As with every other day before, Maka didn't wait for Soul so they could walk home together. Not that he really cared. Why would he want the reputation of hanging around a teacher's pet like her? She might hurt his cool image.

Yawning, Soul got to his feet. He glanced at the doorway, where he barely caught a glimpse of his hostile roommate before she disappeared into the hall. He shook his head, grinning a little bit. She was probably going to go straight to her room when they got back, so that meant he would be on his own for dinner, like he was most nights. On the rare occasions that Spirit cooked (or more accurately, on the rare occasions what he cooked was edible, seeing as he had a tendency to burn whatever he was cooking) Soul wouldn't have to scrounge around for food. But most nights he just made almost constant food breaks from his homework.

He walked home at his own pace. His stomach growled, and he made it his first priority to get food when he got home. As he walked, his mind drifted. He ended up thinking about Maka's little episode earlier this week. He understood how distraught she'd been, even if he didn't fully understand her. He just couldn't get out of his head how impossibly sad she had looked when she was crying. It just didn't seem like her. She hadn't shown much emotion (just her usual scowl when she looked at him or that annoyed look she got when Spirit was being a pest) since then.

Soul was met by the smell of food cooking when he walked through the door into the apartment. He drooled a little, then realized it was most likely Spirit, and whatever it was would probably end up burned beyond recognition. Just out of curiosity, Soul poked his head into the kitchen. He was thoroughly surprised to find Maka stirring a pot of something on the stove. He took a whiff and identified it as spaghetti.

"I didn't know you could cook," he remarked as he entered the room. Maka started, she had been so focused on her work.

She smiled faintly. "Well, I'm at least better than my Papa."

Soul looked over her shoulder at the food. It both smelled and looked delicious. Soul couldn't help but drool a little bit more at the sight.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by a nudge from Maka. "Don't drool in dinner. That's gross."

Soul thought he heard a playful note to her voice. He couldn't be sure, since he'd never heard her make a joke.

"Well, if you aren't much better at cooking than Spirit, maybe my drool would improve the taste," he teased.

A smile played at Maka's mouth. "Go tell Papa the food's ready."

Feeling like maybe they were starting to make some progress, Soul walked the short distance to Spirit's room. Before he could even knock, the door swung open and he was pulled inside.

"What the hell, Death Scythe?" Soul demanded as the door was shut quietly but forcefully behind him.

"I told you to stay away from Maka once, didn't I?" Spirit growled.

Soul sighed. This again? "Oh please. I just made small talk with her."

"Sounded like flirting to me," the over-protective father hissed.

Soul had to resist the urge to laugh. "You really think Maka knows how to flirt?"

Spirit paused. "Come to think of it, I've never heard her flirt…"

Soul shook his head in disbelief. "Since you were being creepy and eavesdropping on us you know that the food's ready, right? I'm starving, so I'm eating with or without you."

He left the room, Spirit still glaring at him. Soul had gotten used to nasty looks from this family. It wasn't that much of an improvement from where he had left, when he thought about it that way.

As it happened, the special dinner was a kind of going-away occasion for Spirit. He said that he'd be officially moved out by tomorrow or he'd be in trouble with his soon-to-be ex-wife. Maka seemed unusually cheerful all throughout dinner, which made Soul suspicious.

Afterwards, Spirit had to finish up any last-minute packing, and Soul offered to help Maka with the dishes. She seemed surprised by his offer, but she accepted it. They mostly worked in silence.

"It's going to be weird without him around," Maka finally remarked.

Soul grinned. "I think it'll be more peaceful."

Maka smiled a little, but she still looked sad. She shook her head, her expression disappearing altogether. "It's what has to be done."

Soul didn't really know what to say to that, so he kept his mouth shut. After they finished their work, Maka went to her room to study, and, though he wouldn't admit to it, Soul did the same.

He didn't understand a thing they'd been talking about the last week, mostly because he'd slept through it, so that made it pretty difficult to study when he had no notes or textbook to study with. This was seriously not cool. He was going to fail this test.

After about an hour of trying to figure out how to deal with his predicament, he decided to get a snack to calm his nerves. He found a bag of chips and headed back to his room. He stopped in front of Maka's door. Maybe when she got up the next time he could swipe a textbook from her or something. No, she'd probably notice that, knowing how unnaturally organized she always was.

He was still staring blankly at her door when it swung open. She was in her pajamas and her hair was down. She looked pretty good, all things considered.

"What is it, Soul?" she asked, not unkindly.

"Nothing." Soul tried to retreat to his room, but she giggled a little bit and he turned back around. "What?"

"You don't have anything to study, do you?"

Soul did his best to hide his embarrassment. "A cool guy like me doesn't need to study."

Maka raised an eyebrow, then disappeared back into her room. He heard her trip on something and it sounded like a stack of papers collapsed, followed by a quiet "Shit!" Soul laughed a little in spite of himself. Maybe she wasn't as organized as she seemed. Maka reappeared in the doorway holding a book in her hands. She held it out to him.

"Here. Study this."

He read the cover. It said "History of the Death Weapon Meister Academy". "How's this supposed to help?"

Maka rolled her eyes. "Sid's been teaching us about the history of the academy and what led to its founding this last week. I'm willing to bet that it'll be the subject of the test."

Soul took the book reluctantly. "But what will you study?"

Maka smiled. "I have my notes, unlike someone, so I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Thanks." Soul wasn't used to this kind of niceness from her. Hell, she was more likely to hit him with a book then tell him to study it. He almost laughed at the thought. Maka was angry a lot of the time, but she wasn't violent enough to hit him with a book.

Maka closed her door and Soul was left in the dark hallway by himself. He returned to his room to study.

"Watimizzit?" Soul grumbled as he was gently shaken awake. He heard a muffled giggle.

"Soul, how long did you study?" Maka's voice asked.

He lazily lifted his head off his desk and looked at his clock. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he said, "I think I fell asleep around…three?"

Maka giggled again. "Well, as a reward for your hard work, breakfast is ready."

She left his room and he leaned back in his chair. Falling asleep while studying was not cool. He glanced down at the book Maka had lent him, and he tried to flatten the page where his face had crinkled it. He got up and headed for the kitchen.

The moment he opened his door the smell of pancakes filled his nostrils. He meandered into the kitchen. Maka was just putting a large plate of pancakes on the table. Soul sat down and started heaping them onto his plate. Maka gave him a slightly annoyed glance.

"Can you really eat all of that?"

Soul, who had been about to shove an entire pancake in his face, looked at her. The pancake remained suspended in the air from his fork. "Sure I can."

"Alright, let's see this then," she said challengingly. Soul rolled his eyes, but grinned nonetheless.

"You're on." Half an hour and a dozen plate-sized pancakes later, Soul was full. Maka couldn't believe that Soul had actually eaten all of that, but she didn't tell him that. She didn't know it, but Soul could read her like the books she always has. He knew that she was just a little impressed with him. Well, with his appetite, that is.

Maka had started a new batch of pancakes by the time Spirit was up and moving. He shuffled drowsily into the kitchen, too tired to even glare at Soul. Cheered up by Maka's good attitude, Spirit started to look happier. Maka plopped a couple of pancakes onto her father's plate and he started eating.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Soul asked her. She looked caught in a spotlight.

She tried to regain her composure. "I already ate!" she said with now-forced peppiness.

Soul wasn't fooled. He could see through her act.

"Well, Papa's got to be out of here by noon, so we better get moving!" she said quickly, changing the subject.

An hour and a half later, Spirit was heading out the door, his last box of belongings under his arm. He gave Maka a hug goodbye and Soul a death (scythe) glare. "Watch out for my daughter, Soul," he threatened, adding a few sobs at the end. He shut the door, leaving his apartment and daughter behind.

"I will," Soul said quietly. Maka turned on him.

"Why did you have to point it out, Soul?" she demanded.

"Waaah?" Soul asked uncomprehendingly.

She poked him in the chest for good measure. "At breakfast! I was trying to be happy for Papa and not make him sad for leaving me, and you said…" She trailed off, blinking back tears.

Well, now Soul just felt like an ass. "Uh, I'm sorry."

She glared at him, a single tear leaking down her cheek. "You're sorry? This is your fault!"

Soul glared back. "How is any of this my fault?! It's my fault that your parents broke up?! How's that fair to me?"

Maka pulled her hand back like she was going to slap him, and he flinched. Instead, though, Maka ran out of the room, shoving Soul into the wall in the process. He heard her door slam.

"Gonna be fun living with her," he mumbled.

They spent the rest of the day apart. That night, Soul fell asleep at his desk again, his face mushed into his borrowed textbook.

"Soul!" Maka shouted into his ear Sunday morning. The sound was so loud it scared him.

Before either of them knew what was happening, there was a blade an inch from Maka's side, poised to cut her in half. She squeaked with fear. Soul realized what had happened and quickly retracted the blade. Maka stepped back in terror.

"You…you're a weapon?"

Soul silently cursed himself. He expected Maka to run from him or something, since that was the response most people have when they're almost chopped in half first thing in the morning. She didn't move. She stared at him, not really in fear, like he'd first thought, more in wonder. Unnerved by her unexpected reaction, Soul got up and left, leaving her staring after him.

Soul wandered the city for the rest of the day, even with the Nevada heat in the air. He didn't arrive back at the apartment until late that evening. Maka was still in her room, so he left her book outside her door and went to bed. He expected he'd have to find a new place to live in the morning. Maka might have lived with a weapon before, but that was different since it was her father. Soul flopped onto his pillow, trying to decide if he should go back to that alley in the morning or try to find someplace better.

A/N: Okay,this chapter was little rushed and I know it shows. I just really wanted to get to the next chapter, so it made it difficult to focus on this one. Anyway, please tell me what you thought of it!