Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thanks for taking time out of your day to read my story. I think this story is starting to reach its turning point soon with the events that I have planned in mind. Also thanks again for all the feedback!
Chapter 20: Foreboding Dreams
The rest of the evening at Soul and Maka's apartment remained rather uneventful; just like Soul and Maka wanted it to be.
Maka was glad she could finally put the ordeal with Travis and Rachel behind her for now, but that didn't mean she could completely rest easy.
'I'm sure Travis will try something again in the near future if he hasn't already done something by now.' Maka mused to herself, as she snuggled into her blankets.
After reading a book and catching up on her schoolwork that she had missed, Maka finally turned in for the night.
It was about midway through the night, when Maka suddenly found herself trembling in the midst of a nightmare.
MAKA'S DREAM
Maka yawned and stretched her arms out as she turned off her alarm.
"It's morning already? Well guess I better go get Soul up before we're late." Maka mumbled sleepily to herself, as she changed out of her pajamas and into her school uniform.
Just as Maka was about to open her door up, she heard the faint sound of three voices talking just down the hall.
"That's odd. Did Blair invite a guest over for breakfast or something?" Maka whispered to herself as she walked towards the kitchen.
Maka's eyes widened in shock as she stepped into the kitchen. Soul and Blair were sitting in their normal places at the table, but there was another woman sitting in her spot that Maka didn't recognize at first.
Maka frowned and turned her attention towards Soul.
"Hey Soul, who is this woman?" Maka questioned.
Soul didn't seem to notice Maka's presence and continued to talk contently with the mysterious woman.
"So Emerald, what do you think of us performing next week at that new jazz club that opened up?" Soul asked.
Emerald smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "I think it's a great idea Soul! Blair you'll watch over the house while we're gone right?"
Blair grinned and shook her head. "Oh of course I will Emerald! You know you and Soul really make a cute couple on and off the stage!"
Maka watched all three of them laugh and continue to ignore her existence until she couldn't take it anymore.
"Okay what the hell is going on?! How can you be Emerald? Are you another imposter?" Maka yelled out as she pointed a finger at Emerald.
The laughter in the room suddenly stopped, and everyone went completely silent.
Emerald stood up and brushed a curly blond lock out of her face.
"Maka how can you not recognize me? I am you after all except better." Emerald stated with a smirk.
"No you can't be me because I'm standing right here! What did you do to Soul and Blair?" Maka snapped back.
"Hmm what do you think I brainwashed them or something to that effect? " Emerald asked curiously.
"Well you must have! I mean they aren't even acting like their normal selves!" Maka stated, turning her attention back to Soul and Blair who were watching the two argue with blank facial expressions.
"I can assure you I did no such thing to them. I just wooed them over with my saxophone playing and beauty!" Emerald said cheerfully with a flick of her hair.
'Wow do I really act like this when I'm Emerald? I know I have to act a bit different from how my personality normally is, but I sound like Rachel and her posse…' Maka thought in slight worry.
"Your services are no longer needed Maka. I can play music with Soul now and be his meister without having to worry about what other people would say!" Emerald stated, interrupting Maka's thoughts.
"Wait a minute, where would that leave me?!" Maka hissed out.
"You can be with Travis of course!" Emerald said gleefully.
Maka growled as Emerald started to laugh again and tightened her fists in preparation for punching her, until Soul got in her way.
"Soul get out of my way! I'm tired of hearing this imposter talk!" Maka stated with a scowl.
Soul just glared down at her before shaking his head.
"Really Maka isn't everything that Emerald just said true though?" Soul stated.
"What are you talking about?" Maka asked, becoming confused.
"I mean that Emerald does everything that you would do except without all the troubles. Emerald doesn't keep secrets from me and she even understands music." Soul explained.
"But Soul you don't understand! Emerald and I are the same per-"Maka suddenly cut herself off not wanting to finish the rest of her sentence.
Soul arched an eyebrow at her.
"You and Emerald are the same what?" Soul asked.
Maka shook her head, unsure what to say. 'I can't just say Emerald and I are the same person, would he even believe me? It should be obvious though, I mean even with the curly extensions in my hair and the make-up…'
Emerald looked between Soul and Maka before gaining back a cutesy smile.
"Maka isn't this what you wanted all along? I mean Soul is finally seeing how much I improved in music to the point I can even play with him!" Emerald stated thoughtfully.
Maka pouted and looked down.
"Of course I wanted to get better at music, but I want Soul to see me improve being myself, not as my alter ego." Maka mumbled.
Emerald's eyes narrowed as she looked towards Soul who just nodded in his head agreement.
"Well Maka it's too bad that you feel that way, but since you don't seem to want to take no for an answer, I guess I'll have to force you to leave." Emerald stated as Soul turned into a scythe next to her.
"Wait, what do you plan to do?" Maka asked, moving back slightly.
Emerald grinned wickedly. "Get rid of you of course! Then we won't have to deal with you bothering us anymore!" Emerald finished, as she swung the blade of the scythe towards Maka.
Maka jumped back, narrowly avoiding being cut, and was about to run out of the room until Blair grabbed her from behind.
"Oh good keep her still Blair. I want this to be quick." Emerald stated getting close to her.
Maka shut her eyes as began to shriek in terror. Just as the blade was about to come down, Maka felt something next to her start to shake her rapidly.
MAKA'S DREAM ENDS
~X~
"Maka wake up! Come on!" Soul shouted to Maka as he shook her by the shoulders.
Maka blearily opened her eyes and looked around the room in confusion. As Maka's vision adjusted, she finally noticed Soul standing next to her and tried to move away from him in fear.
Soul frowned and let go of her shoulders. "Relax Maka it's just me. You were having a bad dream."
Maka gazed at him wearily before settling down.
"Oh so it was just another nightmare then." Maka grumbled, taking in the site of her room.
"What time is it Soul?" Maka asked, glancing around trying to find her alarm clock in the darkness.
"It's 2:10 am, but the more important question is are you okay?" Soul asked in concern.
'Maka said another nightmare, which must mean this isn't the first time she's had a dream like that before.' Soul thought to himself as he rubbed Maka's back.
Maka sighed and eased herself into Soul's touch. "I'm okay. How did you know I was having a bad dream anyways?"
Soul scrunched his face. "I heard you suddenly screaming, so I ran in here and found you tossing and turning."
Maka groaned and rubbed her face in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I woke you up."
Soul shook his head and grinned toothily. "Well it isn't cool that you woke me up, but since I'm here now is there anything that you need?"
Truth be told, Maka was tempted to ask Soul to stay with her. 'No I don't need to be a baby about this. It was only a dream, there's no need to be so worried or scared.' Maka mused to herself.
Even though Maka didn't say anything, Soul seemed to pick up on what Maka wanted because he stood up and sat down in Maka's bed next to her.
Maka frowned and started to blush. "What are you doing Soul? I'm fine now; you can go back to your room!"
Soul just shushed her and pulled her in by the waist so they go could both lay down properly in the bed.
"We both know that's a lie Maka. You don't have to say it out loud if you don't want to, but I'll stay with you for the rest the night." Soul stated with a yawn.
Maka tried to move out of Soul's grip, but that made Soul only tighten his hold on her.
After a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts, Maka eventually gave up on breaking away and rested her head on the pillow close to Soul's chest.
'Well at least Soul didn't ask me what my dream was about. I wouldn't even know how to explain it to him without slipping out the truth.' Maka thought with a sigh as she drifted off back to sleep.
~X~
"Well isn't this just a cute site? I was wondering why Soul wasn't in his room, but I didn't expect him to sneak into your bed!" Blair purred out as she stood over Maka's bed.
Maka gazed drowsily at Blair, not sure what she was talking about before memories of last night hit her.
'Oh yeah I had that nightmare last night and Soul wouldn't leave my room after that!" Maka thought with a blush as she moved out of Soul's arms.
"Oh you didn't need to get up so soon! After all you two looked so comfortable in each other's arms. I figured you were going to have a round two before you left for school!" Blair stated with a grin.
"Round two? Blair we didn't do that last night!" Maka snapped, trying to keep her voice down.
Blair only smiled and gave Maka a wink. "There's no need to be shy or embarrassed about it Maka. Just let me know if you need some tips if you ever want to spice things up!" Blair stated as she walked out of the room.
Maka felt her face redden even more, before turned her attention back towards Soul who was starting to wake up.
"Hey are you feeling any better?" Soul asked, sitting up as he realized he was still in Maka's room.
"Uh yeah I'm fine. I just have a small headache, but that's probably because I'm hungry." Maka replied back, trying not to let the pain show through on her face.
"Well I'm going to change and get breakfast started then." Soul said, as he finally got up and left Maka's room.
Maka just nodded her head and closed the door behind Soul. As soon as Soul left, Maka clutched her head in aggravation. Not only was her head aching worse than usual, but she also was beginning to feel slightly dizzy.
'It could be because the nightmare interrupted my sleep last night that I have a headache now this morning, but that doesn't explain the dizziness. Well as long as it doesn't get any worse, I'll just have to endure it for now.'
By the time Soul and Maka reached school, Maka had been able to distract herself from thinking about her nightmare and her headache by focusing on her studies.
'I think as long as I keep my mind on other things, I should be able to keep my headaches and stress in check.' Maka reasoned to herself as she took her notes.
This strategy seemed to work for Maka until it was Wednesday, which meant dealing with Hiro and Travis again.
~X~
"So I know we've all been practicing on our own and a just a little bit together, but did you guys have any particular ideas of how we might want to change up our performing?" Maka asked, as she entered into Hiro's apartment.
"Well Hiro just mentioned doing something different to add to the usual performing at the Pub." Travis stated, as he looked at Hiro to give Maka the details.
"Um well it was just a thought, but I noticed that a lot of our fans really want to get to know us better. So I was thinking maybe after our small performance today, we have a quick Q&A session just to answer any questions they have for us." Hiro explained.
Maka shrugged, not sure what to make of that. "I'm pretty sure the only question they really have is just asking who we are behind our masks."
Travis looked more interested than Maka. "I don't think it's a bad idea, I'm curious to know what our fans might want to know about us."
"Well how long would the Q&A session be anyways?" Maka asked, thinking about the time restrictions she was on.
"Oh it wouldn't go over like 30 minutes. I know you like to try and get home before Soul does." Hiro stated.
Maka mulled it over a few minutes before letting out a sigh. "I guess if it's not for too long, I don't mind doing it."
Hiro grinned and stood up in excitement. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's not keep our fans waiting any longer!"
The songs Masquerade played at the Café today were simpler than most of the past songs they played. The addition of Travis's drum playing was something Maka and Hiro were still getting used to, but they managed to make it work by playing tidbits of a variety of different classical and romantic songs.
As the applause from the audience died down, Jessica took to the stage to make announcement.
"Let's give it up one more time for Masquerade's performance! Diamond informed me earlier that today Masquerade would be taking questions and signing autographs from their fans for a little bit at the table by the bar. So stop by if you have any questions you might want to ask them!" Jessica stated with a grin as the audience erupted into cheers and whispering.
~X~
"Thanks for stopping by!" Maka stated, as she handed a signed autograph back to a fan.
"Oh no, thank you! I really love listening to you guys play!" The fan-boy replied back as he happily hugged the photo of Emerald and moved out of line.
Maka was just finishing up signing another autograph, when suddenly she noticed a familiar group eyeing her.
Maka's eyes narrowed as she studied each of the girls carefully.
'I know I've seen those girls somewhere before. Wait a minute! Don't tell me that's Rachel and her posse?!' Maka thought, as realization hit her.
"Um you are Emerald right?" Ashley asked, finally being the one from the group to step up and talk to her.
"Yes I am. Did you have a question for me?" Maka asked, forcing herself to be polite and smile for the sake of her persona.
Instead of answering, Ashley just squealed a bit and turned back to the rest of her friends.
"Hey you guys, I'm actually talking to Emerald! Come on let's ask her the questions we had in mind!" Ashley stated, as all rest of the group walked up to table.
Maka internally grimaced. 'Great, now I have to deal with all of Soul's fan-girls attacking with me questions.'
"Well I want to ask my question first! How did you get so good at playing the sax?" Kate asked in excitement.
"Err well I just put in a lot of practice with Diamond and Platinum over there. I also try to get in at least an hour or two of practice each week on my own." Maka stated, thinking about her schedule.
Kate took out a notepad and wrote down what Maka had said.
"Okay it's my turn now so move over Kate!" Megan stated as she pushed Kate aside and gave Maka a good look over.
Maka frowned; feeling slightly self-conscious at how much Megan was scrutinizing her, until Megan suddenly let out a gleeful laugh.
"I knew it girls! Emerald uses the latest make-ups that you can only get from the high-end boutiques!" Megan stated, writing down her own notes.
Maka watched them take notes in confusion. 'Well this is very unexpected. They hate me as Maka, but they love me as Emerald!'
"Um I just wanted to get an autograph really, I enjoy hearing all three of you guys play!" Nancy stated, as she got a signed photo from each of them.
"Ladies, I honestly don't think any of this information will help us get closer to Soul." Rachel stated from behind them.
Maka arched an eyebrow at this. 'Oh so that's why they've been hanging out here. They want to get better at music so that they can get closer to Soul…'
"Well how else are we supposed to do it? It's not like you've been giving us any ideas lately!" Kate sneered out.
Rachel shrugged, but then let out a huff. "I told you guys that it takes me awhile to come up with new ideas besides just writing letters!"
Megan scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah right Rachel. Earlier in the week you tried to brag to us that you managed to land a date with Soul, but you didn't even get a photo or a kiss from him to prove it!"
Rachel looked embarrassed at this, but still let out a haughty laugh.
"You guys are just jealous that I was able to hang out with Soul! You can ask Maka if you want my proof anyways."
"Rachel we made a pact that we weren't going to try and one up each other to get with Soul. Our main goal is supposed to be to get Maka away from him." Nancy stated in annoyance.
Rachel only shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Come on you guys; it's not like Soul could be with all of us! He would need to pick one of us."
"Oh and I bet you think he would pick you right?" Kate sneered out.
"Well duh of course he would!" Rachel stated back smugly. 'Well at least he might if I could get Travis to help me again, but lately he's been avoiding me…'
All of Rachel's friends looked like they were ready to attack her, until Maka decided to break them up.
"So just from hearing a bit of your conversation, can I assume the only reason you guys came here was to learn how to get with a guy?" Maka stated tiredly.
Everyone glanced at each other nervously, before sighing and shaking their heads.
Maka stared at them blankly. "You know I hope that there's more to this guy than just his taste in music and his interest in how girls look."
Rachel scoffed and spoke up for her friends. "Of course there is! We know plenty about Soul, right girls?"
Instead of getting an immediate response, all of Rachel's friends were quiet and looking off in other directions.
"Hmm maybe you guys don't know much about this guy besides his looks and one of his interests. Do you for example know anything about his dreams, goals, or what he wants to do for the rest of his life?" Maka asked.
When no one responded, Maka decided to continue on.
"I'll use me as an example then. I didn't know anything about music just a few months ago. My friends would constantly tease me about it, including my crush. Finally, I realized that I didn't want to be that way anymore, so I started getting help from Diamond and eventually even Platinum." Maka explained.
"At first it was very difficult for me to practice even with just Diamond alone. I had to get to know Diamond better on a personal level and on stage in order for us to improve together. In the same manner, I don't believe you girls will understand this guy better by just seeing him superficially. It takes time to get to know someone on a personal level and start a relationship." Maka finished, as she looked over each girl's facial expressions.
It was quiet for a few minutes, as every girl took in what Maka had just said.
Rachel huffed and let out a sigh. "Oh what do you know Emerald? You've never even met Soul anyways! Come on ladies; let's head back to the dorms before we get in trouble."
Maka just frowned and rolled her eyes as she watched the group walk away. 'I'm sure I know more about Soul than you do Rachel.'
Travis smirked and leaned back in his chair. "That was some good advice you gave them, but aren't you kind of acting just like them? I mean one of the reasons you wanted to get better at music was so you could impress Soul also right?"
Maka blushed slightly and turned away from Travis. "It's true that understanding and playing music to impress Soul was part of the reason I became Emerald, but now that's not my only reason."
Hiro looked curious at this. "Oh really? Why else would you play music?"
Maka only smiled and put a finger to her lips, indicating that she intended to keep it a secret.
"Well since it seems like there's nobody else here who has any questions, I'm going to head home now." Maka stated, as she stood up and walked back stage to take off her disguise.
As Maka strolled back to the apartment, her mind reeled back to the nightmare she had had just the other night.
'It's creepy how much in that dream I acted just like Rachel and her friends, only caring about looking pretty and understanding music so I could get closer to Soul. This really puts things in perspective…' Maka mused to herself, before pushing the thoughts back as she felt her head start to pound again.
Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 20! Let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!