A/N: XX University is an obscure name because Shibusen obviously doesn't work here. Sorry for any misunderstandings.
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.
To say that Maka became an expert at hide and seek that day would be an understatement.
The coin laundry guy, whose name she now knew was Soul Evans (thank you Wikipedia), had persistently tried to follow her while she tried to lose him on foot. She had tried every corner and turn possible, joined every crowd she passed, even walked through the back allies that looked too suspicious even in the brightness of day. She tried to console herself with the fact that she now knew the area better.
Simply put, Maka was an optimist.
But her optimism was lost on her when she was met with a mob at the front of her apartment building the next day.
Did I mention that they were fully armed with high-end cameras and voice recorders, and that they looked like they had camped there the entire night? No? My bad, I guess.
They say: "Never corner an Albarn".
It seems like it wasn't an empty warning.
As soon as she was the paparazzi through her window, her phone appeared in her hand, and, in a flash, she dialled the number of the chief of police. She was going to get rid of the media hyenas from the start. It was the entire point of forcing her papa to keep the fact that she's studying in XX University under wraps. She didn't want to be in the spotlight before she deserved to. She didn't want to be known for her surname, she wanted her own glory.
After a few rings and Chief Sid picked up. After stating her situation to him, he said that he will make sure to get rid of them, assuring her that no-one will bother her. He was a friend of her father's and he was in on the deed. For the first time, she was glad that her father had insisted to keep someone that knew around.
By the time she was at the apartment door, most of the paparazzi had left, and the rest were packing while grumbling about confusing names and wasted time. Stepping out, she gave Chief Sid a smile, to which he returned a nod, and then got on her way to university. She knew that when she got there, she'll be getting too much attention for her liking, but nothing a few words in public and keeping her distance couldn't fix. She'll get over that one easily.
Our male lead begs to differ.
He had been shocked beyond comprehension when he saw her at the gate. He his feelings were mutual because her eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. But as soon as his mouth regained its function to call out a loud "Hey!" she was already back on her way out, her legs moving briskly against the pavement. He tried to follow her after that, but he kept losing her until he was almost sure he was lost.
Why would he follow her you ask? Well, it's obviously not because of a romantic reason, he was just curious. Why was she drawing him? Why was she in the crowd of annoying fans? Was she one of them? (He hoped against hope that she wasn't, she hadn't seemed the type) Who was she?
It took a while for him to realize that following a girl because she seemed like she was drawing you a few days ago was not cool in any form of the word. It made him seem desperate.
So the next day, he waited at the same gate from yesterday, wearing his hood up so that less people will notice him. It worked since he didn't seem out of place, just some dude with his hood up against the cold, scrolling through his phone, obviously waiting for someone because he kept glancing at the university gate. Nothing new.
He saw her coming from far away, and decided that it'd be better if they talked outside campus, since there was a chance she would try to avoid him by saying that she spotted a friend and walk away, and he'd lose his chance to talk to her.
Walking up to her, she seemed to notice him and she grew stiff.
Maka thought over her options quickly, she could either talk to him right now, make it clear that she wanted him to keep his distance because she didn't want trouble, or she could pretend she doesn't know him.
As tempting as her second option sounded, she decided against it. She needed to get this guy's existence out of her life so that she can get back to her busy life as a university student who aims for the top.
She was just about to open her mouth to speak, he cut her off with a rather low "Hey".
Her reply was out too quickly. A small "Hey" just like his.
However the greeting tied their tongues, and an odd silence fell on them.
Ah, they were talking again. A small relay of asking for names, majors, simply stating the fact that they saw each other two days ago at the coin laundry place.
"Yeah, I saw you there." Soul started, "You were drawing like no tomorrow"
"Ah, yeah, I had an assignment that day" she replied, guilt making her avoid his eyes. What if he had somehow noticed that she was drawing him? What if he didn't want to be drawn?
"Really? What was it?" He saw her look to the side, was she trying to hide something? Maybe she was worried about him knowing that she drew him. He fed her reaction to his theory. He's almost sure he's right by now.
"Oh, I had to draw someone in a bored position" she left out the part about the gender. Maybe she should just tell him already, see if he's upset about it, apologize either way, and get on her way to her first lecture because although she came early, it takes time to get ready for it. Funny thing, her first lecture today was Figure Drawing, so it's going to be a while before she can just drop the matter.
Summoning the courage needed for the task, she dropped the bomb-shell.
"I think you should know, back then, I was drawing you." Okay, that gave out the wrong message.
At the sight of Soul's wide eyes, she decide she should quickly clarify.
"I was going through an imagination block, so I decided to draw from real life. You just happened to be there. I didn't draw in your face or anything, so I assure you that no one will know that it's you. I'm sorry that I did it without your permission. I know you're angry but I don't want any trouble. I don't want anyone to know about what had happened, and I'm sure you share my opinion. Therefore, I'd like you to pretend that nothing happened. Again I am sorry for the inconvenience." The words had spilled from her mouth the way the beads spill from a necklace, and she found herself rambling. After finishing her longest apology to date, she took a step back, muttered a goodbye, and walked past the man who had to endure said apology, hurrying to her lecture which would start in five minutes.
Yet again, Soul found himself left behind while she walked away. He was right, she had drawn him. He wanted to see it. She's barely allowing him to interact with her (her asking for his name and major meant nothing, it was obvious she already knew) and he was only getting more curious.