Stopgap
by. Poisoned Scarlet
3a
"...open the door, Maka!"
"NO!" She had been caught off-guard when Soul turned up at her front steps, claiming he needed a huge favour from her and it could not wait until Saturday.
She had promptly slammed the door in his face.
"What the hells your problem? Open the goddamn door!"
"No, Soul, go away! I don't want to see you right now!" She shouted, back pressed against the door of her apartment. "I'm busy!" Heart pounding, she relaxed when she heard nothing on the other side.
"Huh... what's that noise...?" Maka asked herself, brows furrowed at the peculiar metal clicks she heard. By the time she realized what they were, Soul had shoved the door half-way open and stuck his steel-toed boots into the crack to avoid having it shut in his face again. "HOW DID YOU GET IN?"
"Picked the lock," Soul grunted. He shoved the door open and Maka stumbled back, glaring at him while he dusted himself off and shut the door behind him with his boot. He looked up, scowling furiously. "Now what the fuck was that all about?"
"How about you tell me what the fuck yesterday was all about?" Maka shouted back, surprising him.
"Yesterday?"
"By the university! I know you saw me!" She said, jogging his memory. "If you're going out with someone," Maka forced out, pushing down her bitterness, "then this deal is off! I refuse to become your other girl – it's not fair to her!"
It became very silent, as Soul digested her words.
Maka was taken aback when Soul suddenly doubled over in laughter.
She flushed red. "Wh-what – what's so funny? Stop laughing! I'm being serious!"
"Did you really think I was going out with Blair?" Soul laughed again at her embarrassed look. "You idiot – she's a STRIPPER. She's after my friend. We were waiting for him outside since he's studying there. I was gonna' talk to you, but you looked busy..." He trailed off, slipping his hands back into his jackets pockets. "And the idiot was with you, too..." He added, more to himself than her.
"B-but she was practically rubbing herself on you – what was I supposed to think?" Maka snapped right back, pushing down her embarrassment and ignoring his last comment. "I just didn't want to be the other girl if you were in a relationship!"
He smiled, amused. "Yeah, I get it. I told you before, didn't I? Cheating isn't cool. But, if I were going out with someone, I wouldn't be meeting you every Saturday." He said, smug. "I wouldn't need to, if you catch my drift - !"
"Maka Chop!" She ignored his loud complaint as he held his pained head. "Then why are you here today? It's not even Saturday yet!" Maka demanded, conscious that she lived alone and no one other than Tsubaki had access to her home.
He smirked.
She pressed the book to her chest protectively.
3b
"Ah!...No, wait – !"
Tsubaki froze midway through opening the door, brows furrowing.
She cautiously stepped inside, leaving the front door open in case she would need to dash out of it again. In her hand, grocery bags hung; having kept her word that she would pick up a few things from the market for Maka.
Maka had said she would be awaiting her arrival...
But she hadn't said anything about having company over; and even then, Maka never allowed strangers or other friends into her home except herself.
"Maka-chan – !" Tsubaki cut herself off at the sound of the headboard being slammed against the wall.
"Fuck!" A rough voice swore, muffled by the walls. Tsubaki had a sinking feeling she knew who it was. "Don't move around like that! I'll come, you moron, do you want that?"
"Then stop – jerking me around so much, Soul!"
Tsubaki slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes round with realization.
They darted to Maka's bedroom door, which was ajar. She made point to quickly look away when she caught a glimpse of shifting shadows but regretted the action immediately: a leather jacket and one of Maka's books and boots were discarded carelessly on the carpeted floor.
They merely confirmed what Tsubaki had been afraid of.
Just leave the food and get out. Just leave the food and get out. Tsubaki weakly chanted to herself.
She headed for the dining room table in a rush, placing the grocery bags carefully upon the wood. She jumped when she heard a moan rip through the apartment, her cheeks growing darker and darker. Doing her best to ignore the suddenly loud squeaking of springs, she quickly transferred the items she had bought for herself into another bag and left what Maka needed on the table.
I left the food, now get out! Tsubaki commanded herself, bolting to the open front door.
She promised herself next time she would first knock, not use the key to her apartment.
Things were different now, it seemed.
"—NGH, SOUL – !"
Tsubaki shut the door and plugged her ears, shutting her eyes to focus on what she was going to cook for dinner tonight and not what was happening within Maka's room. She wasn't experienced with handling these sorts of situations: she knew Maka had been having relations with someone named Soul but, since he had always managed to sweep Maka away before Tsubaki could spy on them, she had absolutely no idea who he was.
The voice, however, had sounded quite familiar...
A whistle broke her intense focus.
"Neh, Tsubaki!" Black Star waved, grinning brightly. Tsubaki's face darkened a shade, too aware of the activities going on in her best friends apartment. "I got that Katana you wanted to see! It's so awesome – it's been passed down from father to son for generations!" He waved around a long, rectangular, box wrapped many times in white silk with Japanese characters running down its length.
"O-oh, really?" Tsubaki squeaked. She stiffly walked away from Maka's apartment, opening the door to her own. "Um, the chain scythe I promised you is at my Father's home, so you won't be able to use it. But I do have pictures – !"
"Sweet! Lemme' see! Lemme' see!" Black Star shouted excitedly, darting past her and into her apartment.
"Black Star, be careful, I rearranged the furniture a few days ago – !"
"—OW... I'm okay!" His sheepish laugh rang back to her. Tsubaki sighed, hoping he really was. "Hey, you gotta' phone I could borrow? I have to hit up my friend to tell him I won't be able to make it to that basketball game tonight!"
"Yes, I do. You can use the house phone, if you like. It's by the television."
Casting one last wary look at Maka's apartment, Tsubaki turned back into hers and closed the door behind her, bent on never once breathing a word about what she had heard (not seen – god forbid if she had actually seen something!) within the usually lonesome expanses of her friends home.
"Hey, yeah, Soul, listen... wait, who was that? What the hell - was that a girl?"
Tsubaki froze for the second time that day, all brain function stopping as she digested this new twist in her life.
"No way, that was a chick! HYAHAHA, you're finally scoring!"
This can't be happening...
"Whatever! You're still scoring. Anyway, I won't be able to make it to the game tonight. But I bet you won't mind..." Black Star cackled as his friend growled something at him. "Your God bids you farewell, and to last more than two min - hello? Hello? That bastard just hung up on me! I'm gonna' call him back just to hang up on him..." He laughed, wickedly.
Tsubaki, however, slumped numbly into a chair, face beet red, hoping she would be able to look Black Star's best friend in the eye when she finally met him...