A/N: So, this is part one of a two part short fic. I was trapped in my car with only my phone and the urge struck me, so here it goes. "I Don't Want to Get Over You" belongs to The Magnetic Fields.

I guess I should take Prozac, right?
And just smile all night
At somebody new
Somebody not too bright
But sweet and kind
Who would try to get you off my mind
I could leave this agony behind
Which is just what I'd do
If I wanted to
But I don't want to get over you

It had been a terrible idea—possibly the worst one he'd ever had. He was just so sick of pining for his meister like a love sick teenager (the very fact he really was a love sick teenager was completely, ridiculously uncool,) and he thought, maybe, possibly, he needed to expand his horizons because pining over someone who was never going to feel the way you did was just stupid. So Soul had decided that maybe he would try dating. Sure, the one person he actually wanted to date had no interest, but maybe if he gave someone, anyone, a try it would help. Maybe.

So he'd started to pay attention to girls. Anyone who had written him a letter or approached him was out—last thing he wanted was a fangirl with some hyped up notion of who he was. That limited his pool considerably, which was fine by him—it's not like he was really interested, more like he was hoping he might become interested.

The girl he'd finally chosen was a loner. He'd noticed she ate lunch by herself every day with her nose in a book, oblivious to her surroundings. She had pale yellow hair, light green eyes, and a small, willowy build. She had never looked twice at him—Soul was pretty sure she had never looked twice at anyone. After a few days of occasionally glancing her way at lunch, Maka asking him what was wrong and him blowing off the question, he made his decision—he'd ask this girl, whose name he didn't even know, on a date. From the looks of it, she could use a friend.

So, a week after first noticing her, when lunch was almost over and his group was about to leave, Soul motioned them ahead, claiming he'd forgotten something. Of course Maka would offer to go with him, but he waved her off, feeling a bit bad for lying, but not really wanting to deal with the bullshit the truth might bring.

He approached the table and cleared his throat, causing the girl to raise her eyes to him.

"Is something the matter?" she asked quietly.

"Um, no. Just, uh, wondering if this seat was taken."

Smooth. He would have rolled his eyes at himself if that wouldn't have been even more uncool.

"Um, no." The blonde seated below him went scarlett.

"Cool," he sat across from her. "I'm, uh, Soul, by the way."

"I know," the red that painted her face heightened, "you're th—the Last Death Scythe. Everyone knows," she almost whispered the last part.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." He scrubbed a nervous hand through his hair, afraid of frightening her off. She was reminding him more and more of Crona. "So, uh, you have a name?"

"Alice. Alice..Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Alice. I was—um—wondering—if you're busy on Friday."

"I—uh—no—that is—I was going to stay in and read but—um—no."

She definitely reminded him of Crona. The girl was almost painfully shy; she was hunched, looking down at her nearly empty tray, her hands fidgeting with her book under the table, her face absolutely flaming.

"Well, then, I was wondering if you'd like to go out somewhere. With me. Dinner and a movie, maybe. If you'd like." Death he sucked at this. He wanted to bang his head on the table at how utterly uncool he was, but managed to restrain himself from the impulse. Barely.

"I—I—I—" she stammered, hunching lower.

"It's, um, fine if you don't. Sorry to bother you." He began to get up, embarrassed and frustrated. Soul felt like a heel for bothering her. He should have just picked a stupid fangirl rather than torturing this poor—

"N-no! W-wait. You—I mean—it's no bother. And I—I—would like that." The last part was said so quietly that he almost missed it, but he nodded and forced a smile.

"Uh, great. You live in the girls' dorms?"

"Y..yes," she managed.

"Good, great, I'll pick you up at 6 on Friday out front. Later."

And with that, Soul left the blushing, flustered girl and headed class, wondering the entire way what the hell he'd just done.

He picked her up three days later on the bike, and instead of the black uniform she'd had on at school, the girl wore a floral sundress. She eyed the bike nervously but made no protest, her arms light and tentative around him as they rode. Alice was the last thing on his mind, though. All he could think about was the bright fake smile his meister had given him as he'd told her he was blowing off movie night because he had a date.

"That's—great, Soul. Have fun!"

Had he been hoping for a different reaction? That she would beg him not to go? Probably. Stupidly. But he was here, and the odd, forced smile of his mester was all he could see.

Dinner was quiet. Soul had to coax every word from his companion, and he was far from a conversationalist himself. The movie was also quiet. No hands were held, no kisses were exchanged, but when Soul asked for another date she agreed. He felt sorry for her—she was clearly lonely—and anyway, he'd promised himself to really try.

Over the course of that and several more dates, Soul found out more about Alice. It turned out that she was a meister in the NOT class and currently unpartnered, the demon axe girl who had been her weapon having switched to partner with a male meister to get out of the dorms. She was a year younger than him, but had come to the DWMA just nine months ago. Alice hadn't wanted to, but she had some very minor soul perception ability and when the scholarship was offered, her parents insisted she take it. She hated leaving her friends and her home and wanted nothing more than to go back to Minnesota, back to her old life. Of course, getting her to tell him this much in the several weeks they'd been dating was a minor miracle and Soul felt sorry for her. She was a sweet girl, clearly homesick, and not really the type who would make a good meister. She was definitely no Maka. Yet, still, he tried, going on date after date, and in the boldest move Alice made in his presence, she asked if he was her boyfriend on the 6th date. He said yes, because he didn't know how to say no. They still didn't kiss, though they did hold hands sometimes. He'd held hands with his meister more often before all this started, but that was beside the point; Maka wasn't his girlfriend and never would be.

By the time Soul knew with certainty that he'd made a dire mistake, they'd been dating for two months. At first, the whole school was in an uproar. His friends offered him half hearted congratulations and Maka sported the same fake high wattage smile as she had before when she told him she was happy for him and hoped they'd be happy together. His meister began to distance herself from him. They no longer ate lunch together, and she always seemed otherwise occupied even on non-date nights. She didn't snuggle with him anymore and only held his hand for transformations when she was wielding him. He felt like he hardly talked to her even though they lived together and he hated it.

It wasn't the only thing he hated. Ever since news had traveled through the school that the Last Death Scythe had a girlfriend who wasn't his meister, guys were suddenly coming out of the damned woodwork to ask her out. So far, she had yet to bite, but he figured it was only a matter of time and it was killing him, the thought of her with another guy.

Actually, this whole thing was killing him, slowly, steadily. The increase in girls approaching him who suddenly thought they might have a chance, the distance from his meister, the increasingly tedious time spent with Alice when all he wanted was to spend time with Maka, it was all too much—better his meister screaming at him, beating him with every book she owned than another second with her silence, another instant with a pale imitation by his side.

This had been a horrible mistake. Alice was a nice girl; sweet, accommodating, painfully shy. She had taken to clinging to his arm around school, taking some odd comfort in his presence. Soul had never kissed her, had almost flinched away from the one soft kiss on the cheek she'd offered him. He felt sorry for her, but this was going nowhere. Really, it had been doomed from the start, any relationship would have been doomed from the start because it wasn't Maka and she was the only one he loved.

The night he went to pick her up and she'd leaned close, eyes closed, lips puckered expectantly, he'd had enough.

"I can't do this," he said softly, stepping back.

"I..I'm sorry. I—shouldn't have," she whispered, coloring.

"It's not you. I just.." He didn't want to hurt her, but the longer this farce continued, the worse it would be. Best to end it now. He felt like an asshole, but it was too late to go back, to take back the mistake of the last few weeks, so he took his only option. "I think—we should just be friends. You're a great girl but.." He trailed off, not knowing how to get it right.

"But I'm not the one you like," she finished for him softly. "I know."

"Yeah—wait—what?" He shook his head. "How did you—?"

"Know? Everyone knows." Alice was smiling, a soft, brittle little smile. "But I also see how you look at her, how you light up every time she comes near. Your face—it changes when you talk about her. I may not be good with people, but—I'm not stupid."

It was the most words she'd ever spoken in one sitting and Soul was floored. Her voice was soft but even—she sounded resigned. He shook his head again. She didn't say who the she was, but then, she didn't need to—for Soul, there had only ever been one she at the center of his world.

"If you knew, then why did you—" He wasn't sure. Stay? Play along? Pretend?

She colored. "I just—I liked having someone to be close to, but I knew it wouldn't last from the second you asked me on the first date. So, thanks for the time you did give me. It was nice to feel wanted, even if your heart was never in it."

"I'm—'I'm sorry. I really am. I just—I thought that if I tried, maybe I could, I don't know, get over her. But it's just—it didn't help. So I'm sorry. It was a dick move and you deserve better. A lot better." He meant it, too. Alice was kind and gentle and he really hoped she'd find someone who could appreciate her.

She was shaking her head now, fidgeting. "Why—why would you want to get over her? I—"

"She's not into me, in case you hadn't noticed."

The girl mumbled something, but he couldn't quite hear her and asked her what she'd said.

"I said—" her voice was still quiet but she was trying to speak up. "You're wrong. She loves you."

Soul began to shake his head emphatically. "No, she doesn't."

"She does," Alice insisted more forcefully, actually meeting his gaze. "I also see how she looks at you. And I can read souls a little, remember? She—she loves you. Like you love her. You should tell her. You two, well, you should be together. I'm glad I—I got to be a little stop on your journey, but I think you might be ready for the main destination."

He sighed. "I wish you were right."

"I am. Really. Tell her." Her voice held a conviction he'd never heard from her before. It surprised him.

"I—I'll think about it. And I just broke up with you—shouldn't you be cursing my name and hers or something?"

"No. I'm grateful it lasted this long. But—would you mind answering one question?" Her voice was too quiet again but he was used to it.

"Pretty sure I owe you—shoot."

"W-why me? You have so many pretty girls—who—who would have killed to be in my place. So why me? I'm nobody—n—nothing special."

"That's not true. At all. You're bright, and considerate—and perceptive as hell. You're a good person. A better person than me. But that's not why I picked you. I—well—" He scratched the back of his neck nervously, figuring he owed her the truth. "You weren't a silly fan girl and you—I don't know—looked like you needed a friend. I sort of know how that feels."

"Oh," she smiled at him then, bright, wide, genuine, and he was sure in that moment that some day, she would make someone else very happy. "You—you are a good person, Soul Evans. I'm glad to know you."

"So we're okay?"

"Y..yes," she said.

"I meant it when I said I wanted to be friends."

"I..I know but I think—I think that won't be possible now."

He frowned. He really had fucked up badly, so badly.

"I'm sorry. I understand."

"N—no, it's not what you—what you think. It's just, I—well—I decided I want to go home and my parents will just have to accept it. I'm—not cut out to be a meister. I never was. I—I want to be a librarian."

He couldn't help it—he smiled. "You should—you'd be perfect for it. And you know what? I know we haven't really spent much time with Maka, 'cause I thought it'd be—well—awkward, but you two should hang out before you leave. I think you'd get along well."

"Th-thanks I'd—really like that."

"So, uh, see you around, I guess?"

"Um, of course," she colored and suddenly was up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. "She really is lucky," she added softly and then turned and walked back to the dorms.

Soul gaped after her for a few moments then shook his head. She was an odd one, but then, the best people usually were.

Well, then, it was time to get home to his meister. Maybe she'd even be up for resuming movie night. If he was really lucky, they might even cuddle. As for anything else, well, he'd figure it out eventually.