Stories and Melodies: Coming of Age
VII. Home
His Story.
"Maka?" A voice called from behind Maka while she was drinking coffee in Tsubaki's coffee shop. The writer looked to where the voice came from. There she saw the familiar face of Wes Evans, Soul's brother.
It had been two days since Soul's departure and Maka decided she wanted to visit her friends just so she could avoid feeling lonely. She visited Tsubaki today and was waiting for her shift to end when Wes appeared out of the blue. "Wes! Oh, hi!" She smiled.
She noticed how Wes looked at the clock on the wall before smiling. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked. Maka took note that his order was in a paper bag. He wasn't planning on eating here.
Then again, she doesn't really mind. In fact, she'd like some company. "No, go ahead." She smiled at Wes and he occupied the chair in front of her. "How have you been?" She politely asked.
Wes peered in the paper bag and brought out his sandwich and opened his coffee. "Oh you know, still resting. My schedule's gonna be packed again next week so, yeah, I'm just gonna make the most out of this." She forgot how Wes was a busy person as well. Being a well known musician must've been tough. "I've read your first book by the way. Soul's recommendation. I really look forward to the sequel." Maka beamed at him after that. "How about you?"
There's the question. If she'd be honest, she'd say she's really not used to not having Soul around (God, Maka, it's only been two days). The author looked at him and smiled. "Just so-so, to be honest." She replied.
The violinist nodded in understanding. "Soul's probably gloomy right now too, don't worry." He joked and it actually made her laugh. "Tell you the truth," Wes offered and she looked at him. "I've never seen Soul so attached to someone before."
The writer looked at him curiously. "Really now? Come to think of it," She wondered. "What was Soul like as a child?"
A playful grin appeared on Wes' face. "He's probably gonna kill me if I tell you how cute he was when he was a kid…" He stopped but then laughed. "Not that I care." Maka just laughed along with him. The Evans siblings really are close. "When he was a kid, I remembered how he was such a troublemaker. I was five by then and I remember things clearly. Since the day he learned how to walk, his babysitters knew they were in trouble. Take their eyes off him for a bit and he's gone." Wes chuckled. "There was a time he was gone from his crib. That caused quite a panic. Then the maids found him playing with his toys in the play room. Nobody knew how he did that up to now."
A smile tugged on Maka's lips. She imagined a baby Soul walking around, wobbling and walking by himself. That must've been so cute. "Then, when he entered preschool, on his very first day, he already managed to punch a taller guy for telling him that he looked weird. You got to admit, our genes aren't the most common." Wes smirked and Maka couldn't help but agree. "He had caused lot of troubles back then. It's probably since he wasn't able to express himself. He was a quiet kid. It all changed when he began to play the piano though."
"When did he start to play the piano?" Maka asked. obviously interested with Wes' story.
"If I'm not mistaken, he was 7. Our parents took us to a recital and when this musician stepped on stage and began playing, he was mesmerized." Wes replied. "Soul decided to play the piano since then. He learned fast but somehow, his music was different. There was a time that even my parents found it weird and tried to change him and his playing style." A melancholic look on Wes' face told Maka that it wasn't one of Soul's best years back then. "He stopped playing when my parents told him to play the songs as they were. Soul never followed the sheets, actually. He always managed to insert a part of him in his music but, my parents didn't like that." He continued on. "Actually, I was impressed about that. I always stayed by the sheets but Soul's just that great. I was devastated when he began to slowly drift away from the piano until he completely stopped."
There was a pain in Wes' voice. He must've really been broken if it still affected him after all those years. "What made him play again?" Maka asked again.
Wes drank his coffee before continuing. "I think it has to do with the fact that he really loved the piano. Even if he stopped playing, he never stopped listening. When you're a musician, I guess you just can't help yourself from playing. He pursued his piano playing. He'd sneak out at night to play the piano. In the end, he stopped playing songs by others and just began to create his own songs so that no one would correct him." He chuckled at the thought but there was something in his smile.
Even Maka found that that was something Soul would definitely do. He liked to be rebellious. "Did your parents still didn't like his music being 'different'?" She inquired.
Nodding, Wes smiled. "You catch on fast." He smirked, reminding her of Soul's infamous smirk that made her heart skip beats. "Yeah, they still didn't like it but, hey, Soul wasn't going to let them stop him. They learned to accept it eventually when he was in high school. That was the time he began dating too." Wes looked at her. "He never disclosed any of his conquests except that time about a year ago. That was probably his longest relationship." He paused and Maka wondered if Soul had ever been in that deep relationship where he would spend years wi- "Three months."
Maka blinked repeatedly. "That's the longest?" She asked and Wes seemed fascinated by Maka's reaction since he began laughing. "Sorry, I was just surprised." She mumbled.
"Nah, lemme tell you something." Wes said, raising his hand as if saying 'it's alright'. "Soul? He's not a very open person. It's hard to get a hold of his 'emotional side'. Not even our parents can get to him." He said. "He tried dating but he'd eventually dump the girl because he was just giving them a chance. The girls would throw themselves at him and he just liked the flings." There was something tugging at Maka's heart and all of a sudden there was dread.
What if Soul just considered her as a fling? "I'm good at reading faces, Maka." Wes smiled, his eyebrow raised. "I've known Soul since he popped out of my mom's womb. Trust me, you're not just a fling." He said crossing his arms. Maka could see sincerity in his words. "You should have seen how Soul was so against leaving. Usually our parents plan those things for him because, they had the bigger connection to the music industry. He was making a name on his own anyway. But that time," Wes looked like he was reminiscing as he closed his eyes and smiled. "I've never seen him like that before. He really wanted to stay. Soul even looked desperate, if you ask me."
She was silent as she contemplated on his words. "I like you for Soul and I'm just saying this to you so you'd know." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Growing up, Soul always got what he wanted. He feels like he doesn't need anything or anyone."
Maka frowned at the thought because she was scared that she rode a train wreck. It sure sounded like Wes was warning her. Does Soul even need me? "But then, you came along and I could see how much Soul needs you." The violinist finished, making Maka look at him.
The writer smiled at Wes' words. "Thank you so much for telling me all this." She said, grateful. "I'm sorry too. It looked like you're going somewhere earlier but you kept me company." She apologized.
Wes grinned, chuckling. "I'm sure I wasn't that obvious. You're really keen." He mentioned, nodding his head. "But yeah, no problem. It's just an old friend I'm gonna meet. He's probably gonna wait for me anyway. Well known violinist here." He joked and Maka laughed. He stood up and collected his half eaten sandwich and coffee. "I best be going then." He smiled. "You take care, okay?"
She knew that Wes missed Soul very much. After all, he kind of muffled her hair in a very big-brother-like way but was considerate enough not to make it too messy. Usually she'd be annoyed if even Soul did that but, it was Wes and she wasn't able to provide him that much comfort while he gave her a lot (she realized how Wes did all the talking) so, she'd let this one slide.
Skype.
"Soul! We're gonna watch Harry Potter!" Travis Evans exclaimed happily when he saw Soul on Maka's computer screen.
The older Evans smirked at him. "Well, I'm sure you're gonna enjoy it Trav." Soul smiled. "Is Maka there yet?" He asked.
Travis shook his head. "Maka is in the kitchen."
"Okay. Let me tell you some things buddy. You're gonna be her bodyguard while I'm away so listen carefully. This is your mission." Soul smiled when his cousin nodded his head enthusiastically. "Make sure to remind Maka to lock her door and then if she falls asleep during the movie, wake her up and tell her to go to bed, okay?"
"Yes sir!" The five year old nodded which made Soul laugh.
"And don't tell Maka I told you, okay?" Another nod. "Good boy."
The young Travis decided that Maka Albarn was his new favorite person after his cousin, Soul, left the country. Travis met Maka on the airport when Soul was about to leave for Europe. The young Evans had been crying because if Soul was gone, he wasn't going to have someone to watch his favorite movies with. His father's busy. He didn't have any siblings. His mother's gone off somewhere, according to his Dad and hasn't returned since. Wes was never home. His Uncles and Aunty were at New York.
He pretty much didn't have anyone. He was already five but being an only child was tough on him especially since they rarely let him out. Which was why, when Soul introduced him to Maka before he went off, he was glad because she was the one who offered him that if he ever got bored, he could always come by her place and watch some movies.
Maka remembered that day pretty clearly since she was forced to have lunch with Soul's uncle, Dave, and Travis. Plus, it was only a week ago. Dave and Travis were a lively bunch. It was too bad that Maka haven't met Soul's parents yet. She wondered if they were like Dave. She blushed at the thought of Soul introducing her as his girlfriend to his parents. During that lunch time was when Maka mentioned something about Harry Potter and Travis asked her who Harry Potter was. She explained about the famous 'boy-who-lived' and Travis was clearly amazed by this. He asked if he could sleep over at Maka's to watch Harry Potter and thus, why Travis was in Maka's apartment, talking to Soul.
The author emerged from the kitchen, holding a bowl of popcorn in hand. Maka saw Soul looking at her from the computer and she giggled. "Too bad you're missing the movie." She stuck her tongue out.
"You just miss me." Soul winked at her.
That was true. She already missed him a lot. It's only been a week. She wondered how she could go on for months, years, like this. But, she would. He's worth it.
"Yeah, I do. And, I'm sure…" She hugged Travis from behind who was sitting on her computer chair. "Travis here misses you too!" Maka giggled when Travis nodded.
There was a gentle smile on Soul's face. He really wished he was there. Maka would probably curl up against him while watching a movie. But, at least, she wasn't that lonely with Travis there. "You're not gonna stay up for too long, are you? Travis, you need to-"
"-sleep well so that I will grow tall and cool." Travis said, nodding his head. "Maka arready told me that thousands of times." He added which made Soul and Maka laugh.
Maka temporarily left the computer to make Travis comfortable on the couch and hand him the popcorn before playing the DVD. She smiled at Travis who watched eagerly. She liked the kid already. She went back to the computer to talk to Soul.
"Hey." She smiled.
"Hey." Soul replied.
Seeing each other felt like enough but they really, really missed cuddling on the couch. They talked for a few minutes and shared some laughs before Soul said that he should go since he had to meet his producer that morning (night at Maka's, weird how time zones work).
Since then, Travis went to Maka's at least once a week. He had taken a liking to watching Harry Potter that on certain occasions, he would ask Maka if he could watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone again (Maka didn't really have to ask him what his favorite movie in the series was).
Having Travis around was a good thing for Soul and Maka's relationship. They would have their misunderstandings on certain days but since Travis would insist that they talk to each other (more like, he wanted to see Soul on Skype and ask him about random things), not a week went by that they didn't resolve their issues.
By the eight month that they were together, Soul had first told Maka that he loved her. He explained that he was sure it was love he was feeling for her. Maka said it in return and the two of them simply just stared at their cameras for the whole session. Saying I love you's had been something they did every night. Even just through mail. They never forgot to tell that to each other.
Before they knew it, a year had passed.
"Happy anniversary!" Soul grinned from the computer screen. Maka burst out laughing at the sight of Soul's gift to her. Days earlier, Maka received a package - a small, rectangular box - from him that said 'don't open until our anniversary'. She was so tempted to see what was inside but she decided not to since Soul would definitely be mad.
Maka didn't exactly get why Soul got her a Doctor Who water tumbler. Yes, she might have mentioned that she recently watched the series and she liked it but, really a tumbler? "You're so weird." Maka laughed.
She saw him shaking his head and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Who said that was my gift to you? That's just a bonus." He looked so proud of himself that it intrigued Maka. "Come on, slowpoke. Open it!" He smirked.
The author removed the lid of the tumbler and in it she saw a small plastic case. In it was a small leather case. She took the case and opened it. There was a silver necklace there and Maka looked at the pendant. It had a musical note with their names engraved on the note flag. Now she felt bad for sending him a lame hoodie. "Aww, Soul. This is too much. I can't believe I just sent you a Slytherin hoodie." She groaned. Duh, Europe. Harry Potter. Soul could've easily gotten his hands on it.
"Hey, don't hurt yourself over it." Soul ducked down from the view then when he came back up, he was already wearing the green hoodie. "I like it. I really do." He smiled.
She eyed on the necklace in her hand and smiled sadly. "I kinda wish you'd be the one to put this necklace on me." Maka mumbled but Soul easily caught her words.
"I know. I'd like that too." Soul said, his face saddening a little. "But, hey, we're good."
That's right. There had been times when it was really difficult for the two of them. It wasn't always smooth sailing. There were times they haven't gotten hold of each other due to some things. Maka had finished her 'Absence' trilogy. Danielle and Philip got together and found Reginald. They solved the mystery of the missing students in their school. The novel got the people's interest and a lot more people are starting to recognize Maka. She was invited to book signing events and conventions. Soul, on the other hand, had finished a few songs and collaborated with a few artists. He was even invited by a few people to play for them during occasions and recitals. All in all, it had been good but, their time for each other lessened,
Seeing each other after all that stress was almost enough to relieve them from their stress. Almost.
Maka smiled and nodded to what he said. He wished he could hold her hand even. "So, has Travis been there lately?" Soul asked.
"Yeah." She replied. "He was so proud to tell me that he already moved to first grade." She giggled at the thought. "And, they invited me to his 6th birthday next month."
She knew how Soul had a soft spot for his cousin. He would always smile gently when she mentions Travis. "Yeah well, whaddaya know, maybe the next time he drops by there, he's already telling you about his crush or something."
"He's too young for that." The author rolled her eyes and laughed.
"S'just a crush." He smirked. "You know, as uncool as it sounds, I had a crush on you when we first met." Soul admitted out of the blue which stopped Maka from laughing.
The writer blushed at the sudden confession. "Soul. You were twenty three by then." Maka reminded.
"Oh come on, what does age have to do with crushes?"
Maka only shook her head, laughing once again.
"Hey Soul, how did you and Maka get together?"
The writer coughed at the young Evans' question. The pianist, on the other hand, gave her a smirk.
Two years, Maka thought. Time seemed to fly so fast and yet, seem like it's taking forever. Soul had been away for two years. They were going strong, to their relief. Of course, Travis was a huge contributor to that. Whenever Maka got angry at Soul, the younger Evans would always seem to feel it and then, he'd appear in front of Maka's door the next day and would tell her that they need to get it together ("You're gonna be Soul's special someone, right?" Travis once asked her, his 'special someone' term translating to wife).
"Hmm, how did we get together Maka?" Soul asked, smirking from the computer screen.
"Well," She smiled at Travis, glancing at Soul with an annoyed look for passing her the responsibility of explaining before looking back at Travis. "When Soul and I met, we immediately became friends. He would always come here to watch movies with me." She stopped. How would she explain the next few parts? "You see, when you start to like someone, things just happen."
Soul howled with laughter. "That was lame!" He said in between laughter. Maka puffed her cheeks and glared at him. "But yeah, you just go with what you're feeling Trav." Soul nodded which made his girlfriend roll her eyes. Really, giving that kind of advice to a seven year old? "I'm guessing you like someone?"
Travis nodded.
"You're young, buddy. You still have a long way to go. But hey, try to be friends with her. Just not too much or you'll end up in the friend zone."
"What's a friend zone?"
Maka rolled her eyes again. She was going to damage her eye muscles if she kept that up. "It means it's 11:30 PM and you need to rest, Travis." She said.
"But, what's a friend zone first!"
The writer emitted a huge sigh. "It's a term for when a person doesn't want to be in a relationship with another person who likes him or her because that person is just a friend." Maka explained. "But of course, before you end up 'friend zoned', you have to actually tell the person you like that you like her and not just assume that you're already in the friend zone when you haven't even tried talking to her about it yet." She finished explaining. "But, you don't have to worry about that now because you're still our baby." She pinched Travis' cheek. "Now, off to bed, little guy."
Soul watched as Travis went in his 'pillow fortress' on the extendable couch that could be made into a bed (yes, Maka bought a new couch already and so far, Travis was inhabiting it every sleepover Fridays). "Hey, thanks for taking care of Travis. Sorry if he's been bothering you." Soul whispered to Maka who smiled at him (at the computer camera but, yeah).
"Don't mention it. He's not a bother, Soul. You and Dave always say that." She replied to him. "Contrary to you Older Evans' belief, I actually like having Travis around." She smiled.
Her boyfriend nodded. "Yeah… but still, thank you for looking out for him." Soul said.
Their Story.
Three years. They've been living their life as usual. Travis' trips to her apartment lessened because he has his bros to hang-out with now but he still remembers to drop by once in a while to watch movies with Maka. Travis grew taller and he had been insisting to stay up late now since he's already tall enough and Maka would constantly shake her head ("Travis, you're only eight. Your height's going to stay like that forever if you don't sleep early" "Nooooooo!").
Dave invited Maka to join him and Travis during some occasions like New Year's, Travis' Recognition Day (the boy had been the top of his class, Dave said it was because Maka somehow rubbed off on Travis and he became dedicated to studying whenever he had to), Halloween (actually, Maka just took Travis trick or treating. Blake gave Travis loads of candies) and other events. They considered her as family and she did too.
Because of Wes, she managed to meet Soul's parents, Wes told her that they want to meet the girl that had made their youngest son smitten. It was awkward at first. Alfonce and Diana were quite the pair. While Diana was lively, Alfonce rarely showed emotion. By the end of their meeting (a dinner at Dave's restaurant), Maka received a huge hug from Diana, saying she approves, and a pat on the head from Alfonce. Maka looked at Wes with the most confused look in her eyes and he shrugged but then told her that they liked her a lot.
Relationship wise, things were going pretty well for Soul and Maka. Though sometimes, it really can't be helped that Maka and Soul would have their misunderstandings but, they made it a point to always make up with each other.
Maka was working on her new series when Soul called her during the day. That was odd. Usually, it was her who called him during the night. "Hi Soul." She said through the phone.
"Hi baby." He replied and Maka smiled. She secretly liked it when Soul called her that. "So, are you busy?" He asked.
The writer looked at her computer screen, pushing her glasses upwards (she had been given a recommendation to wear glasses after her doctor, Frank, told her to go to an ophthalmologist when she went there for a checkup due to her frequent headaches). "Nope, not busy at all." She lied but, she was willing to sacrifice her time for Soul.
"Ah, good well…" He fumbled around, as Maka can hear through the speaker, it sounded like he walked over to somewhere. "During my free days, I, as weird as it sounds like, wrote a story." Soul told her and she looked at her phone, checking if it really was Soul's number. It was.
She was curious alright. "Really? Can I read it?" Maka asked, sounding excited.
"Yeah about that," Soul paused again. "I was wondering if you can tell me what you think about it." He said. "And I was wondering also if you could read it today? It's just short, I promise." Before she could even ask what's the rush about, Soul coughs and clears his throat. "Uhm, I just got really into it and would like to know if it's good or something… and I thought, maybe I can get an expert's opinion?"
Laughing, Maka simply nodded. "Okay Soul. Whatever you say. Send it to me through e-mail or Facebook?" She said.
"Cool." She could already hear the clicking from Soul's mouse and keyboard. "There. Sent it through Facebook." Soul informed her. "Thanks. Love you!" He ended it with a 'smooch' sound which made Maka laugh again.
"No problem dork. I'll read it today, I promise. Love you too."
As soon as their phone call ended, Maka opened her Facebook account and immediately went to her messages. For some reason, her fans didn't seem to be content with interacting with her through her official 'author' account and are adding even her personal account. I wonder what to do about this, Maka thought to herself. She sighed and downloaded the attachment Soul sent and began reading it.
Maka smiled. He did seem to try his hardest but, he had a few grammar errors here and there. But the reason behind the smile was mostly because it was their story.
Somehow, Soul managed to write himself as 'Ethan', a delinquent 19 year old who stumbled upon 'Mary Kate' (that wasn't obvious… Mary Kate), 18, who was dragged by her friends to some club. They became friends, soon after that, Mary Kate managed to change Ethan. He became happier because of Mary Kate and he ends up falling in love with her. She does too but Ethan's parents somehow dragged him to a place where he'll be far away from Mary Kate and the rest was simply like hers and Soul's story.
Except for the last part. After years of being apart, Ethan somehow got his life together and became a pianist. Mary Kate was a writer and she was famous. On one fateful day, they met all of a sudden and yes, they're still together. They catch up and watch a movie. They ended up doing things that they usually did back when their friendship was only starting. Maka smiled. She wished that like Ethan and Mary Kate, she and Soul would see each other soon.
The mind boggling thing about it was how the story didn't end. Soul's last paragraph ended with:
'Ethan nervously asked her:'
That was it.
She wondered about it and was about to call Soul but it seemed like his phone was turned off. He usually did that during the night. Later, Maka decided.
By night time, she was trying to contact Soul but it looked like he was called for an event again or something because he wasn't online and doesn't seem to be answering his phone.
Maka was worried about Soul since he hasn't contacted her yet and she couldn't get a hold of him but, somehow, she managed to take her mind off of things since Tsubaki asked her to come try her new coffee blend. It's been a while since Tsubaki called her to the café to actually try something new. Usually she just ordered her favorites.
Blake came in after twenty minutes, sitting in front of Maka. "Yo! How's my second favorite person in the world?" He smirked at Maka. "Tsubaki said you're coming today and since I haven't seen you in a long time, here we are! Your god has appeared before you."
The novelist rolled her eyes and scoffed at Blake who looked offended. "Fine, fine. I missed you too Blake." She said, chuckling.
"Missed me too?! I never said I missed you!" He groaned and Maka only laughed at him.
Maka's phone rang all of a sudden and she fished it out of her jeans. It was Soul. "Soul! Gosh, are you alright? I couldn't contact you last night and earlier this morning." She obviously sounded worried.
"Sorry about that, I just had to go somewhere. Anyway, what did you think of the story?" Soul asked.
Now that she was talking to Soul, she was really glad. "Well, you're really a dork for that, you know? I loved it, really but, the ending. You didn't finish it." She told him.
"Oh yeah. About that." Soul paused the cleared his throat. "I actually figured out how I want to end the story." He sounded really happy about that. Maka smiled. He really did seem into it. "So, Ethan's was gonna ask Mary Kate something, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I thought about it and you know what he's going to ask her?" Soul asked and the author waited. The door to the coffee shop opened and Maka turned to look to who just came inside. She almost dropped her phone.
There, Soul stood. He was also holding his phone by his ear and grinning at her. He slowly put his phone in his jeans, putting it inside his pockets and smiling at her. "Ethan's gonna ask Mary Kate if she will marry him." Soul said, walking towards Maka's seat. "And I will too." He knelt down on one knee and got this small box in his hands. He opened it and revealed a ring inside of it.
"Maka Albarn, I've never been sure about something in my life except for one thing and that is, I want to spend the rest of my days with you." He looked in her eyes, those beautiful green eyes he always loved to see. "Will you marry me?"
Tears had been flowing from Maka's eyes by then and she couldn't help it. Not only that Soul was there already but he was asking her to marry him. "You're a dork!" She cried out. "Yes, of course I'll marry you!" She replied to his question and he took her hand, smiling as he slid the ring on her finger. Maka immediately threw her arms around him and cried. She could hear Blake, Tsubaki and few others inside the café cheering for them.
How long has it been since Maka felt these arms? She doesn't know but after all those years, it still felt like she really belonged in Soul's arms.
"Welcome back Soul." Maka whispered.
"I'm home."
(A/N: Wow, this is so late. As you read, I didn't directly imply Maka and Soul as the ones going through the 'coming of age' phase. But yeah, I kind of decided that it'll be done here. I might write a follow up for this but yeah. Thank you for everyone who added this to their favorites and alerts. Also! thank you for everyone who read and review! That concludes my SoMa Week. Thanks again! Have a blast!)