A/N: Double release as promised! (two updates in less than 24 hours)Yay! Hurray for pent up energy (that I was forced to waste going on the longest run I've been on since eighth grade). Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.

Soul looked forward to Friday like a kid would to a field trip. Every hour, he'd look at the clock as if asking it "are we there yet?" Every day, when he'd wake up and look at the calendar hopefully. Of course, he wouldn't admit to doing something so "uncool" but that doesn't change the fact that he did do it.

He'd went through Sunday, spending the day with 'Star at the gang's favourite burger joint doing the local eating challenge; two burgers with one pound patties, three types of cheese, all the toppings, two pounds of fries, a side of coleslaw, and a quart of extra creamy strawberry milkshake (He won). He passed through Monday, hanging out with Kid at DeathBucks talking about their tastes in furniture, rooms, and their ideal home (it was Kid's idea). He had an adrenaline rush on Tuesday, having gone with Patty to the amusement park in the next town (she made him skip Music Theory to go there). Wednesday was chill. Liz and he hit the local Jazz club for dinner and the performance (turns out Death City had a thriving underground and indie Jazz scene).

And finally, Thursday came. He was supposed to spend the day with Tsubaki at her apartment (apparently, she's Black*Star's girlfriend, and they're living together). At first, they didn't know what they should do for the day, but then they settled on talking over a cup of tea. He was interested in the Japanese culture, both old and modern alike, so that gave them something to discuss.

All of that must sound like fun. It was, really, he won't deny that he enjoyed the company but there was one person who he wished to spend time with, and that person was Maka.

He was just about to ask her about honorifics when Black*Star decided that Soul had spent "too much quality time with his babe". Mentally marking the question to ask later, he thanked her for her hospitality. He knew about how the Japanese revered manners, and quite frankly she seemed like a very nice, mature person; it couldn't harm to be on good terms with her.

So he headed home, still thinking about what tomorrow would bring. It was eight pm but Maka still hadn't decided what they were going to do. Would they end up staying at her apartment and talking? If things weren't awkward between them in the first place, they sure would be now. He hadn't seen her since Saturday, she had seemed normal on that day. She was on the opposing team, so he couldn't talk to her much.

They should decide early on, so that they could make the most out of their day together. He pulled out his phone and texted her.

'Yo Maka. What're we going to do tomorrow?'

He waited for a couple of minutes before she replied.

'Hey! Actually, I'm rather busy tomorrow. Mind if I switch days with Crona?'

Disappointment invaded his system, hi-jacking all his senses for a few moments. He felt like a kid who just found out that Santa doesn't exist. The scowl that marred his features was set in so deep that for a moment he actually looked the age his hair colour implied.

Sighing in defeat, he sent a quick 'Not at all' and locked his phone.

Well, guess he'll have to wait another 24 hours to ask the same question.

Around twelve hours later, Soul and Crona were sitting at a table in the university cafeteria having a random "I like, you like" discussion. Soul was kind of shocked that the kid didn't have a panic attack and was actually conversing with him normally. He seemed too jittery for anything much.

"So, do you like video games?" Soul asked. If he didn't do anything, Crona wouldn't dare even breathe, he knew. He was just too shy for his own good.

"Video games? I-I never played those, momm- I mean Mother never allowed me to" The pink-haired boy seemed rather scared of his mother. Patty had told him that Crona was adopted, perhaps he had gone through physical abuse? Neglect? Whatever it was, this guy's childhood didn't seem like the brightest part in his history. He waited for Crona to go on, but the latter looked like he'd said something wrong. Bah, Soul fit in the dark better than the light anyway. If the dude ever wanted to talk about it, he didn't think he'd mind listening to him. For now he wasn't going to pressure him to say anything.

Under that thick hide of toughness and cool, lay a very, very mushy softie, but let's keep this a secret between us, okay? I don't want to end up mugged in a dark alley in the dead of the night without anyone to call for. Like he said, acquaintances are important because they're useful. And he can be very cruel when he wants to.

"Well, wanna try them out? I've got a console at my apartment, I can teach you how to play and you'll know whether you like them or not" Soul made sure he said this in the coolest way he could, adding in a casual shrug for added effect.

"Eh? Go to your apartment just like th-that? I can't! I-it's rude! Miss Marie said so!" Crona shook his head so hard it looked like it might fall off his shoulders. Then he suddenly stopped and added a rather low "I really want to, but . . . but Miss Marie told me to never be rude; so I can't, not before we become better f-friends?" he said the end like a question, as if asking his fellow odd-haired companion whether he want to be friends with him.

The way he questioned his relationships with people made something click in Soul's mind, and then an idea presented itself in his mind. This one must have been put down all his life. Words like 'worthless', 'useless', and 'second-rate' filtered through his brain. Although, these had been aimed at him, not his troubled friend. He closed his eyes and shook his head roughly, wishing he could just carry all these memories and toss them into the sand.

"Of course, why am I here Crona?"

Cool guys don't dwell on the past.

Not theirs at least.

"Then what about the arcade?" he gave it another shot, maybe he might be able to drag the dude with him to arcades instead.

Crona's eyes lit up a bit. "The a-arcade? Y-you sure want to go with me?"

He gave him a smile (The kid's growing in on him) and a short nod.

By the time they left the arcade, it was eight o'clock again.

Huh, turns out 24 hours had passed quicker than he had thought.