A/N: *begs for forgiveness* I am terribly sorry for the late update; I've just been too down in the dumps. Not a good excuse, but it's all I have. Again, my deepest apologies. Enjoy the chapter.

I ALSO NEED TO THANK ALL OF YOU AWESOME PEOPLE! I just reached a total of 20 followers and I got more than 15 reviews. I love you people. Thank you for your support!Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

The past 24 hours have been HELL.

Well, for Maka Albarn that is.

Not that she had any hopes of it being better, but she has to let off some steam, y'know?

She's been through one of her worst days in a couple of years now. She was late for her early morning lecture, her hair looked like it had been to hell and back, she has another daunting Figure Drawing assignment, dead week was just a few days later, and who would happen to show up at her doorstep other than her idiot papa?

He had been planning on getting back into her good graces after his latest shameful act. He had the chance of a snowflake in hell.

Her father had almost harassed her to have dinner with him. She eventually caved in to his request for the sole reason that she had yet to get her groceries for the week. After dinner, her father claimed that he had a present for her and that made her suspicious; he gave her presents whenever he could but not without a reason because he knows that she wouldn't even consider accepting it.

He suddenly produced a box with holes in its sides (Where he kept it and how he kept it there was a mystery to her that she wasn't keen on figuring out). At the sudden movement the thing in the box jolted and meowed.

He'd brought her a cat.

Well, more like a kitten. She took the poor creature out of her father's grasp and opened the box. Normally, she wouldn't want anything her father bought her out of the blue, but she'd wanted a pet since she was a kid although she couldn't have one; her mother was allergic to shed fur. She's been meaning to adopt a pet ever since she moved out two years ago, but never got to; with furniture and appliances eating up her cash when she first got her apartment, and, later on, Uni taking up all the of her spare time.

As soon as she got over her initial joy at the gift, she eyed her old man suspiciously. He wouldn't go this far to get back into her good graces after a hook up, so what had he done this time?

"Alright" He should start to explain his reason for his unprecedented action.

Maka was busy thinking up a name for that cat that she didn't notice the woman that came up and sat next to her father. Sometimes, I worry about this girl; unless she had something to hold her down in reality, she's more than willing to drift off on her own. She even missed the call Silver Spikes gave her a few minutes ago.

"Maka", Spirit began, "I want you to meet someone"

THAT caught her attention.

She tuned her father in, taking in the fact that they weren't alone anymore. A young woman who looked in her early twenties was sitting with them at the table. She was beautiful, the younger Albarn had to admit. With long auburn hair, deep hazel eyes, and an overall feline grace, it was hard to deny her that.

She merely raised her eyebrows though. Her father never introduced her to anyone of his "acquaintances".

"This is Veronica Ross, she's from Death City's Gallery of Contemporary Art. Veronica, this is my daughter Maka."

Maka was getting more confused by the second, but shook hands with the woman regardless.

"Pleased to meet you Maka, your father talks about you all the time. How's school coming along? I heard you are the top of your faculty."

"I'm doing fine, thank you." About high time she learned to use her voice again.

"Now, Maka", He said, all business like, "Veronica and I were talking the other day, and she told me that she has a little problem"

Veronica picked up her cue "You see, the Gallery is hosting an event in August, showcasing the art of a few uprising young artist, but, one of the artists gave up his spot. So, I was wondering, would you be interested to take his place? I contacted your instructors and they spoke of you highly, and my talk with your father only fueled my desire to add you to event."

In my honest opinion, Maka needed a slap across the face to wake her from her stupor, but the cat meowing did the trick.

She quickly put the kitten back into the box and sat up straighter, facing the woman in front of her. The generous offer she was giving her almost sounded unbelievable. Her first gallery! And she's an undergraduate! Her mini version of herself that resides in her head was definitely doing some weird winning dance. That was unreal!

"It'll be a pleasure" she said, trying to use her most composed voice and not let her excitement get through.

"Then, I'd like you to come over to the Gallery on Thursday to sign you up and to explain the theme we're working on. Also, if you don't mind, I'd like a sample of your art. Do you have a sketchbook?"

Maka nodded.

"Then you can simply bring it along." She said, "Thank you, but I have to get going now. I'm rather late. I look forward to working with you Maka. Have a goodnight." And she stood up and walked away, leaving making the table exclusively Albarn-family-members only. VERY SILENT Albarn-family-members.

"So, what do you think?" Said Spirit, trying to make Maka talk again. He did it! He did something that will make his daughter love him again!

Too tongue-tied to express herself, Maka did something she hasn't done since she was 12; she hugged her father whole-heartedly.

Spirit was close to tears. Hell, even I am! If you knew the history those two have together, you'd be much more than teary eyed about this.

"Thank you, papa" She whispered.

"You're welcome, my dear."

So, yeah maybe the last 24 have been hell, but these three hours with her papa made up for all of it.

It's only when she got home that she noticed that Soul has been calling her none-stop. By then it was eleven pm and Maka was getting ready for bed.

Soul also had sent her a few messages:

'Hey, Maka! You there?'

'Maka, why aren't you answering your phone?'

'Did something happen?'

'Hello? Maka?'

His concern was rather clear, and it only strengthened the hold her crush has on her heart. She still hasn't come up with something to do with him on their day, but she figured she should at least reply to his messages.

'Yeah, sorry I didn't reply, I was rather busy'

The reply was almost instant:

'It's ok. Did you decide on what you want to do tomorrow?'

Tomorrow, Saturday, good weather. The idea just clicked in her head. They'll just hang out around the court while they play with the rest. That way, she won't be alone with him and worry about awkwardness; her friends would take his attention off her every now and then.

'I was thinking on hanging out at the court while the others are playing ball. That way there will be no misunderstandings'

Again, his reply came quickly;

'Fine by me, I'll see you at the court then'

'Goodnight'

'Goodnight Maka'

A/N: It's be nice if you guys told me what you think, or if you have any questions. PMs and reviews are always welcome!

P.S: I've done a little mistake in the previous chapters that I plan of fixing. In chapter 4 I said that she had a living room and in chapter 5 I said that her apartment is a studio. I'm really sorry, I'll fix it soon.