A/N: OMLD, I'm so sorry it's been forever since my last update. I'm sorry that I'll post more frequently. I have 8 more one-shots written, however they're all hand-written and need to be typed. I'll get them up as soon as I can, while also working on getting a few more done during.

I'm also sorry to any of you that read my other story, Glad You Came. The next chapter is ready and will be posted either later today or some time tomorrow. Thank you for your patience, and for any of you who haven't checked it out yet, you totally should!

And before you read this…this chapter includes Wes, Soul's older brother. He's an actual character in the manga for those of you who read. For those who don't, he's the exact same looking as Soul, without the sharp teeth. He's a few years older and is a world-famous violinist. I think that pretty much sums him up. Enjoy!

Anyways, on to the one-shot!

Word Count: 2,138

Pairing: Love triangle between Wes/Maka/Soul

67. Playing the Melody

Ever since I played that first sick, twisted, deranged song for her, she's begged to hear me play. She says that she enjoys it, but how can that be true? The girl that knows nothing about music enjoys the garbage that comes from the piano when I play? How is that possible?

I thought of Wes and my fists clenched. What would she do when she got to hear him play? If she thought I was good, then surly she would be thoroughly amazed by his talents. Yet another reason to hate him…as if the fame, money, love from the family, and acceptance weren't enough. Knowing that he could steal my partner just intensified my resentment.

The entire week after I had gotten the invitation, my anger wouldn't subside. I know that Maka did her best, trying to calm me and cheer me up, but no amount of effort could ever make me pull from the depression.

Wes, the prodigy of the Evan's family, was having a concert and sent two tickets. One for myself and the other for the "little girl" that I always talk about. First off: I don't talk to them about her at all. Not because I don't care…because I don't talk to them. Secondly: She has a name and they all better learn to use it or I'm not going to be able to control my temper.

I tried to warn her how terrible they can be…that they really are the stereotypical rich family, but she won't believe me. She says that any family that could raise a man like me could never be that bad. If only she knew how much of a black sheep I am.

We had to wake up, bright and early, to get ready and make the drive to the concert hall. When we got there, my mother and father were waiting to take us to behind the curtains to meet my brother. Maka did her best to act as polite and proper as possible. I could see the sneer that she was getting from the two and grabbed hold of her hand in comfort as soon as they were no longer staring at us, judging with their unaccepting eyes.

Her emerald orbs looked over and met mine. She gave my hand a quick squeeze back in appreciation before following after my parents. It wasn't until we walked up to my brother that I dropped her hand.

Wes stood from his seat quickly, rushing over to greet Maka. "I'm so glad to finally meet you. Soul's told us so much about his little girlfriend; it's nice to have such a pretty face to put to the words!"

My cheeks turned bright red, from embarrassment and anger. "Shut up Wes, you know she's not my girlfriend..." Without realizing it, I had taken my anger for Wes out on her. I saw the awkward feeling cross her face and watched as the frown formed. I wanted to butt in with something a little kinder, but (of course) Wes beat me to it.

"Ah, well then it's an even greater pleasure having such a beautiful woman here to view my music." He bowed slightly to her and took her hand in his. I watched, in utter horror, as he brought her hand to his lips and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. "Suonerò una canzone per te, bella."

I had never seen her cheeks grow as red as they did when she watched him make his way back to get ready for the show. My parents quickly ushered us to our seats and we waited for the performance to begin. While there was still chatting going on in the crowd, I leaned over and placed my lips by her ear.

"What the hell did he say to you? Was he speaking French or something?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, a glaze covering them as she replayed his words. "It was Italian. He said, 'I'll play a song for you, Beautiful,' and then…" I watched her eyes go from the stage to her hand and I wanted to scream in anger. "And then he kissed my hand, like you see in movies and on TV." She noticed everyone around her begin to quiet down and she mumbled, more under her breath that to me. "It was so romantic!"

My hands squeezed onto the arm rests next to me, trying to calm myself before I had a meltdown. Maka, somehow seeming to sense my anger, reached out and grabbed the hand closest to her. I let our fingers lace together and ignored her when she mouthed 'What's wrong?' How could she not know?!

The curtains rose and there sat my obnoxious brother, holding firmly to his violin and smiling at the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. I would like to start off by send a special thanks to my family for making it out tonight. It is not very often that both my parents and my younger brother are able to grace me with their presence and I am truly honored that they were all able to take time out of their day to see my preform." He paused for a minute, flashing that stupid smile that always drove the girls in school crazy. "And I'd also like to dedicate the first song tonight to the beautiful woman that has worked so diligently taking care of my little brother in my absence."

I watched as he found her in the crowd and flashed her a quick wink. Even though he didn't say it directly in the microphone, I could still hear him chuckle lightly as he readied himself to play. Had her hand not been grasped firmly in mine, I might have lost my cool. Instead, I just stared at the seat in front of me, not able to watch my brother or the love-struck look no Maka's face.

When the massive round of applause went off, I noticed that her hand was being pulled from mine to clap. Going against better judgment, I risked a glance at her face. I was surprised to find a look of disappointment riddled throughout her features. I leaned over again, whispering as quietly as I could.

"Maka, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she shrugged her shoulders, leaning over to whisper towards me. I felt her hand grab at mine again and I tried not to blush. "It's just not what I expected."

I wanted to ask her what she meant but knew that now was not the time. So I sat there, waiting patiently for the stupid show to end. When he announced the last song relief flushed through me. As soon as the curtains closed, I looked over at my parents.

"Send Wes my congratulations. We need to head home; we've got a pretty long drive."

Of course I had expected them to object but what I hadn't expected was for Maka to agree with me. She politely said her goodbyes and informed them of what a pleasure it had finally been to meet them. I really appreciated how hard she was trying to make them happy for me, even if she knew I didn't care.

The drive home was awkward and seemed to take forever. I tried to ignore her arms wrapped tightly around me or her chest pressed firmly against my back. We had countless trips in the same situation, so why did this one seem so different?

As soon as we walked into the apartment, Maka plopped down on the couch and kicked off her shoes. Just like we did every time we came home from one of the school's parties, I sat down near her head, letting her use my lap as a pillow as we relaxed.

"Hey Maka?" I had to build up the courage to finally bring up the topic.

I felt her head nod against my lap as she said "Yeah, what's up Soul?"

A blush formed in my cheeks as I thought of her words earlier. "You said his music wasn't what you expected…so what were you expecting?"

Her shoulders shrugged against my legs. "I'm not really sure. It was just so…is normal the right word? I guess I just prefer the way that you play." She looked down at her hands that had clasped themselves together on her stomach, her eyes seemed to no longer be able to meet mine and I briefly worried. "Even though you only played for me that one time, it was still much better than his music."

I felt my heart race and my breathing hitched. "Y-you like the way I sound that much?"

She nodded and laughed nervously. "That's why I always ask you to play for me so much…"

And with one sentence, she made me feel like a complete asshole. "I thought you just did that to mock me." I reached out, grabbing hold of her joined hands and smiled when I felt her take my hand between her own without hesitation. "If I had known, I would have played for you by now."

She smiled up at me, her eyes finally meeting mine again. "It's alright, Soul. Just play for me soon, ok?"

When I locked eyes with her, I felt like time was standing still. Although my fingers were shaking, I reached out and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. What was going on with me?

"Soul?" she questioned, sitting up abruptly. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your family."

"Like you could ever do that." I did my usual, hand through the hair thing, trying to bring back my cool act and not act disappointed by her changed seating position. "I'm just sorry they are so terrible."

"They weren't that bad." She giggled at the memory. "Except for Wes." His name combined with her laugh was entirely too much for me. I groaned and slammed my head against the back of the couch, expecting a huge tangent on how perfect and romantic he was. "You should try to be a little easier on Wes, I feel bad for him."

My head shot up. Did I hear her wrong?! "Excuse me?"

She rolled her eyes at my dramatics and continued. "You play much better than him, you're a lot more laid-back, you have a better sense of humor, you dress better than him…" I watched her stretch and stand up, unable to move my own body or respond at all. "And you are definitely more handsome than he is. The way I see it, he's pretty unlucky."

Damn my cheeks for turning red. "You think I'm more handsome than him?" I had to concentrate fully to comprehend the words I never thought I would hear anyone say…ever. "How?! I know you're not blind. Or stupid."

"Your hair is better, his is too long and you're is spiky and 'cool'." To prove her point, she ran her fingers through my hair and I had to fight the urge to allow my eyes to roll back or a moan to escape my lips. "Not to mention the teeth. I prefer your pointy ones to his straight ones any day." She leaned forward and placed a kiss on my cheek before blushing and turning away. "Goodnigh-"

I reached out and grabbed her wrist, successfully keeping her from walking away. I pulled on it gently, forcing her to come closer to me in a tight hug. "I promise I'll play for you soon…I'll even play tomorrow if you want me to." After one more squeeze, I pulled back slightly to see the expression on her face. What I expected to be terror or remorse was instead happiness. The smile she had spread across her entire face and it made my heart swell.

"I promise," I said, taking one last long stare into her eyes before closing my own. I took a deep breath and sighed in an attempt to calm my speeding heartbeat. "Any time you want me to."

My face inched towards hers and finally closed the gap between us. A smile spread across her lips and I felt her kiss me back, complying with the increased force and need I was adding to the kiss. I felt her arms wrap around me, pulling my body closer to her and smiled into the kiss. I pulled back slightly, resting my forehead against her own, the stupid grin now present on both of our faces.

Today, I had tried to prepare myself for the failure and expected the absolutely worst torture imaginable…but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Not only did I finally understand the strange feelings I had been having when I was around Maka, but I also beat my brother at his own game. Today was definitely one for the record books.

A/N: A special thanks to my amazing 5 reviewers. You guys are amazing! Follow their lead and shoot me a reply and I'll be sure to post my reply in the next chapter!

GreenEmeraldGirlxoxo: That theme and picturing them getting together is the whole reason I decided to start this challenge thing. I figured 8 was too fast and 88 was WAY too long, so 11 months it was =)

Erin Bloodrein Sage: Next up will be a Black*Star/Maka fic just for you! It didn't sound weird, I appreciate the help! I included the link to the themes on my profile on here, check it out and let me know if you have any requests or suggestions!

Taren Hawk: I love the music idea! I have a few music fics for this in the works, but I love the idea of her singing and him butting him…any song suggestions you have would be super. I'd totally dedicate the one-shot to you if you give me one.

MustangAndSally: Are you not a KiMa fan? Just give this chance, there will be plenty of other pairings.

Madisont22: Sorry I took so long, but I'm back! :D Hope you're still here and reading!