Okay chapter three guys. I do not own soul eater and warnings include swearing creepy stein and second hand embarrassment. Sorry the previous chapter was so short, It wasn't a writing day. But hopefully that was made up for by the content? Oh and sorry about typos I cant turn off autocorrect on my damn iPad. Anyway, read on :)
chapter three - And what can we learn of the workings of the heart?
The professors house has a peculiar layout, the door leads into a dimly lit; incredibly long and narrow corridor, with x-ray photographs pinned unceremoniously to the wall with no particular alignment, kid would burst a blood vessel in this place I think to myself with a smile. From the x-ray lined walls of the corridor he leads me into a startlingly vast room, the ceiling is several meters above us. The walls are embellished with a multitude of jars and beakers, bubbling pots of... Something, and heaps of book everywhere you turn And in the centre of the room stands a tall rusted spiral staircase, black paint flakes hang off of its banister in neglect, but its impressive nonetheless.
"That leads to the observatory..." Stein mumbles, in what is as close to his normal tone as I have heard in this place, this would be reassuring if he hadn't followed it up with another nervous giggle. When we reach the flaky, iron staircase the professor turns to me, and with eyebrows furrowed he begins to slowly turn the screw that goes through his temple and out the other side. "The thing that you seek..." He begins to say, before suddenly jolting, like he'd been struck by lightning. A slow and dangerous grin spreads across his face and his hand falls from the screw, redundantly to his side. This does not look good.
"Uhh... Professor stei-" I am cut off before I can finish by two hands clamping down on my shoulders like vices, taking me entirely by surprise. A scream rips through me, my every nerve tremors with shock, but then I am silenced as the professor leans slowly forward, mere inches from me. I can see the madness glittering in those emerald eyes.
My heart stops, the world seems to slow down completely and everything within me screams to get out of there, but I'm paralysed, my feet rooted to the ground. He's going to kill me, I think panicked. He's going to dissect me. The madness has got him again, and oh god I don't want to die like this.
Then realisation that i'll never find soul in his damn place hits me, and I suddenly feel so lost without him. I wonder in what I assume to be my last moments, if he will feel the same way when I'm gone, lost. Steins lips are moving but I can't hear what he's saying, and when I force myself to listen, what I do hear leaves me dumbstruck. "thats it!" the professor stage whispers, and as quickly as it came the menace drains from his being, replaced by his usual friendly smile and kind eyes.
Relief and confusion crash down on me like a crested wave, and I'm pretty sure my legs are about to give way. "Professor what the hell? why did you do that are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I shout, my heart still pounding like crazy. I push him back and fold my arms defiantly, partly because I feel like I need to hold myself together, as if I might shatter from the aftershock. I look up again to see him laughing quietly, smiling to himself, as he lights the cigarette he just placed between his lips, and I can't help but check his eyes for the madness I saw, nothing. For a scientist he sure can act.
"What's 'it' anyway?" I huff at him. "Hmm?" He mumbles with the cigarette between his teeth. I'm going to kill him I swear. I feel like chopping him in the freaking windpipe right now, but push back my irritation and politely ask again. "You know, 'that's it' the thing you said when you tried to give me cardiac arrest. In fact, why DID you scare the shit out of me? just curious." I smile sweetly, at him, my voice dripping with sarcasm. The professor grins and quirks an eyebrow, rolling the fag between stitch marked fingers. "I was doing what you asked me too" he replies.
"I asked you to help me find soul. How in any way does what you just did relate to finding soul?" I ask exasperated, still watching his eyes, untrusting. Steins emerald orbs narrow as they lock onto mine, "I think you already know the answer to that my dear girl" he sighs softly, exhaling smoke that forms a slithering grey snake of vapour, I watch it dance its way to the ceiling before disappearing like a breath in icy air. "What do you mean?" I stress, the feeling that I've forgotten something returning in the back of my consciousness.
"Maka, you're a great miester, and one of the things that makes you such a great miester is your fight, your ability to never give in, to see what you want and to go for it without hesitation..." He trails off, taking another drag. I watch the smoke in the air, and count the stitches on his hand as I try to figure out what the hell he's getting at, the more I think about it the stronger the feeling becomes, and I begin to feel kinda dizzy.
"Fear..." He begins, "is a paralytic, and when I did that, what happened to you physically and mentally might I ask?" The professor tilts his glasses and keeps his eyes trained on me as he awaits the data from his little 'experiment'. I take a deep breath and begin rhyming off what I felt, not knowing what the hell this has to do with soul. "I couldn't move, I wanted to do something, I had to, but I was stuck, unable to do to do anything at all because the fear stopped me." Stein nods, maybe taking a mental note. "Go on." He murmurs
"I thought about how I had to find soul, or else I may never see him again. I thought about how... He might feel when I did go, whether or not he'd miss me as much as I'd miss him." I say quietly, feeling odd talking to anyone about soul this way, especially to professor stein. Silence falls, and time passes with just the inhaling and exhaling of smoke before he speaks again. "well I'm no professional at this, but I have studied the human brain quite extensively." He probably means dissections, though makes me shudder. "... And I think you have feelings for soul that you're afraid of."
Well he hit the nail right on the head. A hot blush threatens to stain my face bright red, do I make it that obvious? "I uhh... Well I guess you could say that I suppose." I whisper, looking now at the symmetrical textured patterns on the metal floor, kid would much prefer the floor.
"Do you now see what I'm trying to tell you?" A hand is placed on my shoulder and I jump a little at the sudden pressure, looking up into the professors eyes, "fear stops you from moving forward, and fighting for what you desire, fear is a paralytic, and you must overcome this, only then will you find what it is you seek." He states with a smile. That feeling that I'd forgotten something leaves me, as I remember.
I wake with a start, the room is still dark, and the clock at my desk reads two seventeen am. Great only an hour and seventeen minutes sleep, I should feel like death warmed up, but instead I feel energy coursing through my veins. That dream, with stein acting as my subconscious, has made me realise what I have to do, even if the very idea of it scares the living shit out of me. I'm going to tell soul how I feel.
the next chapter will be incredibly fluffy, angst by the truck load and there may be smut. Okay there is a strong chance of smut. There will be smut.
PLEASE REVIEW! ^_^
