Chapter 3
This one is a little long…and I have to admit, I got carried away…
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. Maka stole him.
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The next morning, Maka sat in the kitchen reading a book. When Soul's alarm started going off…it kept going off.
Well that's a good sign, I guess. Maka thought. I'd better do wake him up, she decided.
Maka got up and opened Soul's door soundlessly. Soul seemed to be in a very deep sleep. She crossed the room and switched off his rather counterproductive alarm and looked at his face. When awake, his eyes have shadows underneath and his expression always strained. In the peaceful caress of sleep, those lines disappear and the strain vanishes.
Maka reached her hand out to tousle his shoulders, but his hair shifted over his eyes so she brushed his bangs aside instead.
Soul sighed. It was a heavy, but it seemed to ease some hidden tension.
Maka noticed how her heart was fluttering and turned red. She returned her hand to his shoulders and shook him harder than she had originally intended.
"Soul? Soul, wake up!"
"Nnggh…?" Soul mumbled groggily. "Maka?"
Soul sat up, forgetting for a moment that he slept shirtless, and revealed his scar. Maka's eyes widened and she turned away. "Breakfast in five," she mumbled.
Soul blinked several times. Damn it! What the hell? I was practically assaulted! All I want to do is protect her, but it seems all I'm good at is hurting her. Soul shook his head and grabbed the nearest shirt.
Once in the kitchen, Soul made an attempt at recovering the day that had already begun to spiral downward.
After Soul rammed toast down his gullet, the two headed out the door, only to be run over by an enthusiastic Blair. All three of them were on the floor and were being subjected to Blair's substantial bust and a fistful of flyers in their faces.
"Oh yay! I'm so glad I caught you guys!" Blair babbled. "Kiddie and I have the party plans for tomorrow!"
Soul had just recovered when he asked, "Tomorrow? What are you talking about, cat?"
Blair pawed the air in front of Soul's face playfully. "Halloween's tomorrow, silly! The party is in the D.W.M.A's back courtyard from eight to midnight! Wear a costume for a contest, yeah? You should come, come, come!"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Maka yelled. "Just get off!"
"Woopsie!" Blair giggled. "See you guys when you get home! It's Friday; smile a little!"
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In the classroom, Maka noticed Kid looking…distressed? Maka tilted her head a little in concentration. Wild. Yes, wild was the right word, Maka thought.
Kid was leaning forward, elbows on the desk and head in his hands. His eyes were wide and his hair disheveled.
"Kid, are you all right?" Maka asked tentatively.
Liz laughed. "Yeah, Maka, he's fine. He's just a little ruffled from that cat…"
Soul widened his smirk. "So, Kiddie, how did planning the party go with Blair?"
Maka shot Soul a glare he either missed or ignored.
Kid's wild stare turned to Soul. He looked fit to kill…or fall apart at the seams.
"That crazy feline…" Kid's right eye twitched. "She kept setting up decorations…and the pumpkins…" He shuddered. "…Oh, the asymmetry…"
Relieved he wasn't going to lose it just yet, Maka turned her attention to Professor Stein.
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Outside after school, Tsubaki ran towards Maka waving the party flyer.
"Maka! Maka, there you are!" Tsubaki was out of breath and the autumn air brought a rosy flush to her cheeks.
"What is it Tsubaki?" Maka asked, smiling at the sight if her friend.
She seems unable to contain her excitement. "We need costumes for the Halloween party tomorrow night," Tsubaki trilled excitedly. "Do you want to go shopping tomorrow?"
Maka grimaced. "Shopping's not really my thing, Tsubaki…I was just going to scrounge up—"
"Oh, no, Maka. Not gonna happen." It was Liz, joining the conversation.
"Yeah, Maka! We've gotta go find some fun stuff to wear to blow them away!" Patty squealed with glee.
"Blow who away?" Maka asked innocently with a furrow in her brow.
The other three girls looked at each other knowingly, and then turned on Maka.
Maka caught onto their expressions immediately. "Wait guys. Umm…What are you—"
Tsubaki and Liz grabbed a hold on Maka while Patty shouted exclamations of triumph and sadistic delight.
"What will Cinderella wear to the ball?" Patty intoned in a sing-song voice.
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Tsubaki kicked Black*Star out of their apartment and Maka sent him over to her place to met Soul…as long as he promised not to destroy anything.
The rest of the night consisted of movies, popcorn, and gossip. Both Maka and Tsubaki were awkward around the twins, this amplified due to Patty's dual personalities.
"What kind of costumes are you two thinking about?" Liz asked Maka and Tsubaki.
"Umm…" Tsubaki started.
"We'll just have to see what we find tomorrow," Maka cut in, sparing Tsubaki.
Liz nodded sagely. "Good, good," she mumbled. "Always good to keep your options open…" And with that, Liz was claimed by unconsciousness; Patty followed soon thereafter. With a soft 'good night', Tsubaki also drifted to sleep.
Maka lay there a moment, preoccupied by Patty's remark earlier. What was that supposed to mean? They didn't tell me, either. I wonder if I want to know…Maka resolved to ask them in the morning. Her last thought before following her friends into a slumber was that she missed the presence of a certain white-haired boy sleeping down the hall.
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"Maka! Maka, wake up! Wake up! Makaaa…"
Maka shot up into a sitting position, immediately alert. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Liz snorted. "The only thing wrong is that you take freaking forever to wake up!"
"Oh…sorry," Maka mumbled.
Liz laughed. "Don't apologize! Just get dressed so we can go out!"
Maka groaned, but obliged nonetheless.
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"So, where are we going?" Tsubaki asked.
"Off the main road," Liz answered. "We know this great place where it's never picked through."
"Yeah!" Patty added. "We have to go places where there are two of all the outfits or Kidd will pass out!" She cackled wickedly.
The group avoided the main square as to avoid people they might know, (specifically Blair), and used back-ways and alleys.
They arrived at a place Maka and Tsubaki had never seen before. It wasn't old, but it was so far out of the way, she never would have found it. It had a black marble exterior with red velvet curtains on the inside. The sign above the door was written in elegant black calligraphy on a dusky gold backdrop. It read:
Death City Apparels: For every Occasion
Not knowing quite what to think of that, Maka followed the twins inside. She was caught completely off guard. Maka was expecting neat, uniform racks of clothing that matched the sleek décor outside, but it was chaos. Oh, there was some organization, sure—the dark stuff on one side and bright on the other—but other than that…
Maka's eyebrow twitched and her shoulders slumped.
"Cheer up, Maka!" Patty squealed. "Now it's the fun part!" She dragged Maka toward the nearest pile (bright), and pulled out something flowery.
"Patty!" Liz yelled. "This is Halloween! It's dark! Not to mention she's a meister!" Liz crossed her arms and stared at Maka thoughtfully. "You need something that matches…" Liz trailed off and smirked.
Suddenly afraid of her friend, Maka quickly grabbed something from the 'bright' pile.
"How about this?" Maka desperately asked.
Liz looked at it. "A sailor suit, Maka?" She laughed. "You aren't selling cookies; you're going to a party. Leave it to me." With that, Liz pivoted and went to the 'dark pile'.
"Liz wait—" Maka started, but was interrupted by Tsubaki.
"Maka?" She seemed unusually shy. "Wha…umm…What do you think?"
She came out from behind the changing room curtain. She wore a silk kimono. It was a soft pink with a purple sash embroidered with sakura blossoms. The skirt came down to the floor and flared out gently, its purple ruffles framing her delicate sandal-clad feet. Her hair was down—thick and wavy. She had a sakura blossom clip holding one side of her locks back.
She looked up at Maka through her lashes, tentatively waiting for her approval.
Maka smiled. "You look gorgeous, Tsubaki!"
She beamed with pleasure and blushed softly.
"Maakaa!" Patty shouted from the other side of the store. Maka turned to see Liz grinning mischievously and Patty jumping up and down with excitement.
Maka trudged over, dreading the ball of cloth in Liz's arms. Liz held it out dramatically while Patty sang, "Tah-dah!"
The top was white and lacy with long puffy sleeves. It had a square neckline that cut down the middle and tied off at the top. The skirt was made of a material Maka had no name for. The black fabric was sturdy, but soft. It had a silk lace layer neatly laid on top of the skirt. Those weren't what scared Maka—they were actually beautiful. What scared her was the corset dividing the top from the skirt. It was grey with red silk lace winding up from bottom to top.
Holy crap! Maka screamed internally. Heart racing at the thought of anyone seeing her in that… like Soul—Maka stopped mid-thought. What does it matter what he thinks?
"Absolutely not," Maka affirmed just as Liz was about to ask her what she was thinking.
"Aww, Maka!" Patty whined.
"No!"
"Please?"
"No!"
Patty's expression turned quite demented as she said "Put it on."
Maka, now afraid for her personal safety, wordlessly grabbed the dress from Liz and proceeded to the changing room.
She fumbled clumsily with the unfamiliar materials. The top was silky and slippery, not really flattering to her lack of chest at all. She slipped the skirt on and tucked in the lacy top so the corset would fit.
"How's it going, Maka?" Liz asked from the other side of the curtain.
"I don't really know how to…" All this lacy garbage on the corset is confusing. Maka took on a pained look. Why me? She thought pitifully.
"Hang on, I'm coming in," Liz announced. The curtain ruffled and Liz immediately took the instrument of torture and began to fit it onto Maka.
It wrapped snugly and Maka's eyes widened as the device worked its magic. It was uncomfortable, yes, and Maka gasped each time Liz pulled the ribbons. However, even in the puffy blouse, Maka's tiny bust had nowhere to go but up—and it showed. Liz deftly untied the bow on the top and Maka blushed. When she reached up to retie it, Liz slapped her hand.
"It looks better this way," Liz explained.
Somehow Maka really didn't understand the connection, but she decided to take Liz's word for it…seeing as she'd be safer that way.
Liz skipped out of the room and yelled, "You can come out now, Maka!"
Maka sheepishly pushed the drapery aside and walked out. Tsubaki's eyes widened and Patty trilled, "Oooh". Liz merely looked very self-satisfied.
"Uhh...How do I look…?"
They all broke into huge grins. "Fantastic!" Tsubaki sang gleefully.
Maka tried her best to smile, but found it hard to make it genuine due to the oxygen that was not reaching her lungs.
Liz and Patty each bought nurse outfits with giant belts at their waists. The clean white skirts cut off at their knees and had plunging necklines framed by neat collars.
The group purchased their costumes and began the walk back to Tsubaki's apartment.
They had been in Death City Apparel so long the sun had already begun to set and the moon had begun to rise.
"It's six thirty," Tsubaki announced.
"Excellent," Liz said brightly. "That gives us enough time for hair and make-up."
"Wait, what?" Maka sputtered. "I thought we were done!"
"Nice try, Maka," Liz teased.
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Liz and Patty left Tsubaki's hair as it was—they only smothered it with hair spray to keep it there.
The twins had buns on the tops of their heads and thin wire-rimmed glasses on their noses.
Liz then turned on Maka ominously.
"All right, Maka, in the chair," Liz ordered. Maka didn't bother arguing.
Maka sat, and Liz began to brush.
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Too much? If so, sorry. ^w^
I had way too much fun writing all the dress-up stuff…
We'll see what the boys think next chapter~
Plot will really start moving in the next chapter!
If you review I'll give you a cookie~
Thanks for reading!
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