14: In Which a Lifelong Friendship is Made Over a Silly Argument

"Maka!" Marie called the next morning. "Are you awake?"

She frowned at the lack of reply. It was rare for the young witch to sleep in, especially on such a nice day as today. The blonde circled around in the backyard so she could look up to the window. Marie noticed the curtains were still drawn. There was also a small black cat clawing at the window, which wouldn't open.

So Maka hadn't even woken to let Blair out?

More concerned than anything, Marie took the stairs up and opened the door with the spare key. Blair darted past her feet in a hurry after pausing to rub a cheek against Marie's ankle.

The wet clothing from last night was hung from the ceiling, still dripping.

"Maka? Are you okay?"

There was a groan from the bed. Marie made her way over to where Maka was curled up. The young witch poked her head out of the covers. Her hair was down and mussed, her face flushed. She looked absolutely miserable.

"Miss Marie, I don't know what's wrong. My head feels like it's exploding and I'm freezing cold."

Marie figured the cause of Maka's misery, but she still sat down on the bed and placed a hand on Maka's forehead. Just as she thought: hot to the touch.

"You have an awful fever! Did you dry off properly after you came home last night?" When Maka shook her head Marie immediately went into her scolding-mother voice. "It's no wonder you got sick! I told you you should take a bath and grab an extra blanket last night!"

Maka merely groaned and buried herself deeper into the covers.

"Miss Marie, am I going to die?"

Marie couldn't help but soften up at Maka's misery. The girl was clearly distressed.

"You'll be fine. It's just a cold! I'll bring up some hot food and warmer clothes in a moment. I'll also let Stein know. I'm sure he can whip up a quick something to help. For now, just sit tight, okay?"

Thirty minutes later Maka was fitted with a thick nightdress and wool socks. She was also given an extra blanket to help retain head. Miss Marie told her to stay in bed and to drink lots of water. She was also forced to eat some porridge.

"Nothing like plain porridge to fight a cold with, my mother would always say!" Marie exclaimed as she scooped two bowls of it from Maka's stove. She set one on the floor by Blair. "Careful. It's hot."

The cat flinched after taking a cautious lick of it. Maka forced a few spoonfuls down before giving up and laying back down. Miss Marie gave her a bag of ice to rest on her head, made sure Maka was tucked in properly, and left.

The day was pure misery for Maka. She lay with her head pounding and her body shivering. Blair came and left, giving her "helpful" tips such as, "Next time don't walk home without an umbrella," or "You should eat more vegetables." Going to the bathroom once proved to be a draining task that Maka didn't want to repeat. Not to mention her ankle was still sore from the night before. On top of it all the day was insultingly nice. All Maka wanted to do was get outside and enjoy the sunlight, but her body was making it impossible.

Miss Marie came back later that afternoon with a tray. There was a bowl and a mug on it. She gave Maka the mug first, which was a hot drink from the doctor. It burned on the way down and made Maka hack.

"What is this?"

"A potion to help warm the body. Franken makes it for me every time I'm sick. All I know is that it has ginger and cayenne in it which is why it's so spicy. Franken mixed it in with honey milk to help." Marie laughed a bit at Maka's red face. "I'm guessing it didn't help much?"

Maka had to admit the drink did make her feel quite a bit warmer, though her tongue and throat were suffering.

Marie lifted the tray a bit in her arms. "Here. I also made some soup."

Maka shook her head. "I don't want any…"

"Nonsense!" snapped Marie. "If you don't eat you won't have any energy to get better. Besides, it's just a simple vegetable stock. Nothing but broth. It should be easy to digest and you'll be more hydrated."

It seemed she had no other choice. Maka sat up as Marie set the tray of soup on her lap. She was careful, but able to eat it. As she spooned in small mouthfuls Miss Marie spoke.

"Ox, Harvar, Kim, and Jackie all hope you feel better soon. They wanted me to pass on the message since they're working."

Maka smiled. "Can you thank them for me, please?"

"Of course. Also, one of your other friends came by earlier. The white-haired one."

Soul? Maka frowned at that. Why did he come?

"He was wondering if you were okay because you left the party so suddenly yesterday. I told him you got sick. And then he asked if he could come up and see you. How do you feel about that?"

Maka gasped and pulled up the blankets to her nose. "No!"

Marie laughed. "I figured you would say that. I told him you were in bed and resting so no guests. And then he said, 'Witches can get sick too, huh?'"

Maka frowned even more, which got Marie to laugh even harder. Blair hopped up on the bed from the window. Marie gave her the attention she wanted.

"Blair, do you want the rest of my soup?" Maka asked.

Blair stopped mid-purr to look at her witch. "You're not going to finish it?"

"I'm full."

The little cat hopped over to the table and waited patiently for Marie to put the half-full bowl onto it. The blonde scooped up the tray and empty porridge bowls before turning around.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Marie dug around in her apron pocket until she found a small slip of paper. "Your friend wanted me to give you this. Refused to tell me what was written on it.

"I'll be back tonight to get you some dinner, okay?"

"Okay. Oh, and Miss Marie?"

"Hm?"

I'm sorry I'm such a burden. Maka shook her head. "No, it's nothing. Thank you."

Marie smiled. "Of course. Now get some rest."

She closed the door gently behind her. Maka lay back down and opened the folded paper, curious as to what Soul would possibly want with her after the events of the night before. No doubt it was going to be either an apology for saying what he did, or an apology and something about never wanting to be her friend again. Maka took a breath before reading it.

Don't die. You're still too young for that.

That was it? She reread it to make sure it wasn't just the fever talking. Nope, that was all it said. "Don't die. You're still too young for that."?Maka wasn't sure if she was upset or amused. It ended up being the latter as she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"What an idiot," she said before falling asleep.

マカの宅急便

Maka was up bright and early the next day, airing out her blankets on the laundry line. Miss Marie noticed her out and about around ten o'clock that morning while putting her clean clothes away.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked.

"A lot better, thank you!" Maka finished hanging up the blankets before taking the empty laundry basket back to her room. "Blair! Breakfast!"

Her familiar hopped in from the window followed by a very sleek looking white cat. He was well groomed. Maka recognized him as the cat who lived in the flat a few buildings away.

"Who's your friend, Blair?" she asked.

"This is Kauneus. He lives with the Kjellbergs."

"Well he's very handsome, isn't he?"

The cat—it at all possible—seemed quite ruffled by the compliment. He hid behind his paw and refused to speak. Maka just smiled at him as she set out two cans of cat food. After being coaxed by Blair Kauneus knelt by her side and began eating. Satisfied, Maka turned back to her own breakfast of bread and cheese. She cleaned up after the cats.

"Blair, I'm going to go grocery shopping. Would you like to come along?"

Blair turned away, tail twitching. "I'd actually like to spend the day with Kauneus, if that's okay."

"Of course! I'll be back in an hour or so. Have fun! And it was very nice to meet you, Kauneus."

The white cat meowed in agreement before vanishing out the window after Blair. Maka smiled before grabbing her wallet and heading down the street to the store. She made sure to buy extra vegetables and some more bouillon. Making some more vegetable-heavy soups would probably do her health some good. Maka also splurged a bit on rice.

The bags ended up being a bit heavy, but the effort was worth it. Maka walked up the hill with a smile on her face. She was still tired from being sick all of yesterday, but it wasn't too bad. And the day was nice. Maka hummed as she walked home.

"Maka! Hey, Maka!"

The familiar shout made Maka turn around. She was surprised to see the white-haired boy biking furiously up towards her.

"Soul?"

He pulled up next to her on his bike, leaning over the handlebars and panting. Maka waited until he caught his breath. The Evans finally grinned up at Maka.

"It was you! I wasn't sure, but that black dress is pretty iconic."

Maka nodded.

"You seem well," she decided on.

"Yeah, I'm good." Soul sat up all the way, one hand in his pocket while he grabbed a nearby lamppost with the other. "I see you're no longer sick."

"I'm not."

"Glad to hear it. I'm see you got my memo then."

"That dumb 'not dying' letter?" Maka's eyes narrowed a bit at the memory. "Yes. Thank you so much for that thoughtful two sentences. It really made a difference."

It seemed Soul decided to go along with her sarcasm, tipping an imaginary hat at her. "Only the best for you, Miss Witch."

"You're ridiculous," she scoffed.

"And you're not dead," he replied smoothly.

"Soul Evans, you have some nerve you know? Showing up to see a young lady you had the audacity to say such horrible things about in front of people she's never met and slandering her good name. Especially since those people were your parents."

Soul flinched. A deep frown was forming on his face and his dark eyes were filled with anger.

"Yeah, so about that…"

Maka noticed his hesitation. "Tell me."

"Um, let's just say Tsubaki noticed you leaving and asked me what happened. And when I told her, she slapped me across the face in front of everyone."

"Tsubaki? She did that?" Maka was incredulous. "We are thinking of the same person, right?"

Soul laughed sheepishly. "Yeah. Shocked me too. To be honest I deserved it. My grandmother was cackling. She was more than happy to see me get what I deserved. She said I should've stood up to my parents and defended you instead of agreeing with their ignorance.

"And Tsubaki didn't talk to me for the rest of the night. Black*Star was more of less obligated to stay by her side. It was pretty hilarious when you think about it. He looked like a lost puppy."

Maka snorted at that. A dejected Black*Star was something she would want to see someday.

"Did your parents see that?" Maka asked.

"God no! If they did I think I would be locked in the house for a week! It was hard enough sneaking out yesterday. And today. I had to have Kingly cover for me. I feel so bad for him. He doesn't deserve to deal with me. Wes was already a handful."

"Wes, a handful?" Maka scoffed. "I don't believe it."

Soul shrugged. "I'm only telling you the truth. Trust me, he was extremely distracted by everything. The only reason anyone forgave him was because that distraction usually led to a new piece composed."

"That makes more sense. I don't see you pulling any favorable results in front of your parents."

Soul winced. "Yeah, about that. Look, I owe you the biggest apology. I shouldn't have said what I did."

"You shouldn't have."

"And I really don't deserve your forgiveness."

"No you don't."

"Can I finish?" he asked. He cleared his throat again. "So I was just wondering is there any way I can make it up to you? Maybe take you out somewhere, or buy something?"

Maka was frowning. "I don't want you to buy me things. I have no need for that."

"Then what can I do?"

The pondered it for a few moments.

"Where are you off to?" she asked.

Soul shrugged. "Honestly? I was bored so I decided to go biking around. I was planning on checking on you again."

"To make sure I wasn't dying still?"

"Exactly."

"Well, I'm not."

"And like I said, I see that."

"Would you like to come by for lunch?" Maka asked. "I wasn't planning on making anything fancy, but I just went grocery shopping so the stuff is fresh."

Soul was confused. "That's your grand punishment? Making me eat lunch with you?"

Maka nodded firmly. "The only way you can prove you're still my friend is by hanging out with me for a couple of hours and being on your very best behavior. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I can try," Soul teased, smiling.

"Good. Now come on. I don't have all day."

The two ambled up the hill to the café. Maka led Soul around back. He parked his bike underneath the stairs and followed Maka. He helped her open the door.

"I've never been in a girl's room before," he said cheekily as he entered. "Not really much in here though, is there?"

"Quit being dirty. And what did you expect? This is only a temporary job for me. I'll probably be leaving when I'm done."

Soul seemed a bit surprised by that. "You're leaving?"

"In a year," Maka said with a huff. "Probably when I turn fourteen. That's not for some time, so there's no use panicking."

Maka began to put the groceries away. She left out the rice, eggs, vegetables, and shrimp. Fried rice was probably achievable. It was something Tsubaki showed her how to make, and she had become quite partial to it.

"It'll take a bit to make. I hope you don't mind waiting."

"Not at all."

Maka glanced up to find Soul staring at the dress still hanging from the laundry line. It was wrinkled and smelled after drying too slowly. A bit of guilt panged through Maka's heart. That dress hadn't been cheap. Even she could tell.

"I'm sorry about the dress. It's practically ruined now."

Soul was surveying the cloth. "It's no big deal. I bought that with my own inheritance money anyway. Besides, I can always buy you another one. It looked good on you."

Maka hid her blush by laughing. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, when on earth would I wear a dress like that again? I've no reason to."

"Just because. I liked you in it."

"Still a dumb reason to buy it. That dress has no practical use."

Blair came in after a couple minutes. She noticed Maka standing by the stove and hopped up onto the unlit side.

"What's for lunch?" she asked.

"Shrimp fried rice. But I have to cook the rice first so it'll take another half an hour before I can make it. Do you mind?"

"Nope! There's shrimp!"

Maka gave her familiar a scratch under the chin. "That's my girl. Thanks for being patient."

Blair sniffed and glanced over to where their guest was. "Soul's here, huh?"

"He is."

"He'd better apologize for real. Bu-tan's still mad at how he treated Maka the other night."

"Don't worry, he did." Maka turned to look at Soul, who was staring at them with wide eyes. She pursed her lips a bit. "What's with that look?"

"I keep forgetting you understand what Blair's saying. That's crazy cool."

"Um, thank you?"

He gave her a thumbs up. "You'll have to tell me more about it someday. The whole witch-familiar thing. It's definitely something that isn't taught in school."

Maka was waiting for the water to boil for her rice when Soul asked her, "What's this?"

Maka looked up to where Soul was snooping. He was pointing to the three books she had on her shelf. One was a phonebook that contained addresses, numbers, and maps of Dödenstad and surrounding areas. The second was the ancient herbology tomb. Maka figured that was the one Soul was referring to.

"The big one there?"

"No," he said. "This skinny one. Is it a scrapbook? I didn't peg you as the type to be into this kind of stuff."

"Oh!" She'd almost forgotten about that one. The last book was her birthday present from her papa: the photo album. Maka hadn't looked at it since journeying to Dödenstad, and she'd only opened it to check for water damage. Maka walked across the room and plucked it out of Soul's hand.

"I'm not," she said. "Into scrapbooking, I mean. My father made it for me for my birthday. I haven't really looked at it, but he's surprisingly good at household things like that. Cooking, sewing, the likes."

Soul noticed the bitter look on Maka's face. "Do you not get along with your old man?"

Maka shook her head. "He's the reason my mom left us. My papa's always been flirting with other women. In the end she couldn't handle him anymore. She left without even saying goodbye."

"I'm sor—"

"Isn't that so cool?"

Soul blinked at Maka's reaction. "I'm sorry, what?"

"She was so cool when she left. She just packed everything up one day while the two of us were out. I was at school, and Papa was at work. We came home and there wasn't a single trace of her left except for her greenhouse. She left us each a note. I'm not really sure what Papa's said, but he cried a lot that day. And then got really drunk."

Maka's eyes narrowed at the memory of having her father's friends walk him home that night and she having to take care of him. But she shook her head and went back to the story.

"Mama gave me a note that told me to go to our old secret spot in the woods. She left me her herbology book there. It's that big one," she said, pointing. "She also left me her entire greenhouse to do what I pleased with. Papa and I did all the gardening, but I was able to choose which herbs I wanted to grow. I hope all the plants are doing okay. Mama put an enchantment on them, but they do need daily attention."

Soul continued to stare at Maka's flashing eyes before breaking into a laugh. Cool was definitely not the word he would've chosen. Awful, maybe, or betraying, but definitely not cool. Seeing how Maka idolized her mother Soul decided not to say anything against her.

"Well I guess we're similar in that way. Neither of us really like our dads." Soul chuckled. "Then again, I don't really get along with my mother either."

"So I noticed."

"What was your mom like?"

Soul could see Maka immediately brighten.

"She was amazing! She flew to Litenby when she was thirteen and made a living as a potion brewer. She was never dependent on my papa, not even for a moment. She actually made more than him. Everyone in town loved her and admired her.

"And she was so headstrong. Like a hippo!"

"A hippo?"

"Yep!"

How that could be a compliment Soul couldn't tell.

Maka kept talking. "People would say I look a lot like her too, except for my hair and eyes. I got my eyes from my papa, and I'm really lanky like he was. But my hair reflects my wavelength."

"It does?"

"It's a thing that happens to witches and warlocks. That's why Dr. Stein has silver hair, and I have blonde hair. And Mr. Shinigami has those lines on his head. Not every person has it, but that's just something that happens. No one's really sure why."

"Huh."

Maka heard the lid of the pot rattle. Oh no, the water was boiling over!

"You can keep looking at that!" she said as she dashed to the stove to pour in the rice. "I'll make lunch, so just sit tight."

Soul nodded as he thumbed through the photo album. There were pictures of Maka from infancy to just before her thirteenth birthday. He couldn't help but notice most of them were with her father, and almost all of them had a book in them. So her bookworm tendencies were from her dad. Hearing what Maka said about him made it seem pretty unlikely.

There was only one picture of her mother, standing over a cauldron with a thoughtful expression, Maka watching from the chair she was sitting at beside her. Her mother looked the part of a witch: long black hair hanging down her back in a sheet, slightly stockier in build, beautiful in a fierce sort of way.

Like a hawk, Soul's brain supplied.

She was wearing a green dress and white apron. Her golden-brown eyes had power in them. Even the photograph made him shiver with unease. He turned past it. Yeah, hippo could be a compliment after all.

マカの宅急便

"Wait, so you've been flying for your entire life?"

"Pretty much," Maka said. The two were sitting at the table, Blair on top of it, with plates of fried rice before them. Most of the portion on Soul's plate was gone, as he'd scarfed it down at an alarming rate.

"It's always come naturally to me," Maka continued. "I don't remember the first time Mama took me in the sky because I was only a year old, but my papa said I didn't even cry. He told me that's when he knew I'd be a witch just like her."

Soul sighed. "That sounds so cool."

"It's not really that interesting. I've done for most of my life. Besides, aren't you supposed to be a super talented musician? Wes told me you play the piano. That's pretty amazing. I can't play any instruments."

"Yeah, but here's the thing. You can fly." Soul took a sip of milk before continuing. "And for me, playing the piano's not fun. Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"I'm an Evans," he stated as if that would explain something.

It didn't.

Maka gave him a quizzical look. "You'll have to say more than that. Everyone at your house last night was going on about being an Evans and I have no idea what that means."

Soul, to her surprise, laughed. "Oh thank god! I was afraid you were trying to treat me normally, but I see you just don't know about my family. Which is cool! Sorry I assumed you knew. Everyone else does. Lemme explain.

"Every single Evans before me has done something amazing: one helped designed the tape recorder, one has his own branch of music studios, one is currently touring in Germany as a conductor, et cetera, et cetera. My parents are both known patrons to the arts. Nana used to be a very famous opera singer, though she's retired now. Even Wes is a violin prodigy in his own way. Long story short, I come from a long line of classical musicians.

"Then there's me."

Maka was surprised by the bitterness in Soul's voice.

"I'm that one Evans who doesn't want to be a musician. I know I'm not bad at playing, but I'm not great either. I'm just, y'know, there. And I absolutely hate all that posh high-brow better-that-you attitude my extended family carries. It's so uncool. So as you probably heard from the door at the party I've decided to leave home. I'm going to go to public school with everyone else here."

"So what do you want to be when you grow up, if not a musician?" Maka asked.

Soul grinned. "A pilot!"

"Why a pilot? There are so many other things to do in the world."

"I've always wanted to see the world from above. Kinda like you do, I guess. I know it's not the same because I can't fly on a broom and I need a noisy machine to get me up. But it's something I'd like."

"Good luck with that."

They were interrupted by knocking.

"Maka?"

Dr. Stein was knocking on her door. She opened it, surprised.

"Dr. Stein? What is it? Is something wrong? Oh no, was today my lesson?"

He shook his head. "No, I just came because Marie's got her hands full with a big order for a birthday party. Last minute triple-layer strawberry shortcake. Anyway, a gentleman came in wondering if you were delivering today. I told him I would check with you."

"Oh! Yes, I'll be down in a minute." Maka turned to look at Soul, who was standing. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's cool. I should probably be heading out soon anyway. My parents are probably wondering where I am." He smirked. "Can't let them know the temptress let me into her room now, can I?"

Maka smacked him in the shoulder. "You're ridiculous."

"I know."

The two of them cleared the table. Maka grabbed her broom and locked the door behind her. Blair hopped out through the window and onto Maka's shoulder. The two teens stepped downstairs. Soul retrieved his bike and pushed it out to the front of the store.

"So I'll see you around then?" he asked.

Maka nodded. "Yes. Thank you. I'll make sure I tell Tsubaki you apologized so she stops giving you the cold shoulder. Though maybe you still deserve it."

He laughed. "You decide. If I'm not cool enough to get your forgiveness, then I need to work on my personality! But yeah, see ya."

"Bye!"

Soul rode off down the street and Maka went inside to see her customer. She was all smiles as she greeted her customer.

There wasn't much of an argument, but I think it's important that Soul and Maka have a close friendship. Mostly because I ship them *cough cough* but they're still too young for me to have comfortably dating I guess.

Next chapter: Shit's about to go down with Crona. I'm sorry.