OH MY GOD! Did she-?! Is it-?! Yes, my loyal readers, or those of you who are still following this story, it's the next chapter! Sorry it took SO LONG but my muse left on vacation without telling me and just recently came back. I didn't even get a souvenir. Talk about cheap. ANYWAY, I apologize for the length of time you were forced to wait and the crappiness of this chapter. I will make up for it in the next, and last chapter. Yes, that's right, the next chapter is the last. Can you believe it? Six chapters long! lol. This wasn't supposed to be a long story anyway.
But I've bored you long enough with this. ONWARDS WITH THIS!
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, sadly.
His walk there had helped little as his thoughts ran in circles. Over and over again Soul had tried to figure out his feelings for Maka. He had convinced himself that Black Star needed to shove his head in a blender, hit puree, and toss the mess that would be across a cow field for making him even question what he felt towards Maka. Of course he would never say that to the blue haired boy's face. No matter how much they may argue or get into their disagreements, Black Star was still his friend. Somehow. Which made this entire Maka thing ten times worse. She was his friend, his partner, his house mate, but was there something else too?
Soul sighed as he approached the large house which belonged to the shinigami of Death City. It wasn't a big surprise to find the structure symmetrical in every way possible. The tall building brought back memories of his past, making Soul feel rather under dressed in his hoodie and t-shirt. At least this was Kid's house and not the home of some snobby rich family his parents knew that would guilt trip him into playing a piano piece for them. At least he hoped his friends wouldn't.
He maneuvered up the front steps to the door, pressing the doorbell. Eight exactly alike tones followed, echoing around. A small smile crossed Soul's features. Leave it to Kid to have a doorbell with eight chimes in it. He probably installed the bell himself, making it symmetrical. Soul wouldn't put it past the shinigami. So, he waited.
And waited.
And waited a few more seconds, debating whether or not to ring the bell once more until the door opened to expose Death the Kid. The dark haired male stepped to the side, opening the door more to allow Soul room to get into the house. "Welcome, Soul."
"Hey, Soul!" Black Star came out of nowhere, tossing an arm around his friend's shoulders, all traces of the little spat they had at the mall earlier gone. "You're wearing that shirt I got you!"
Though Soul wasn't as quick to forget about the argument as Black Star, he wasn't in the mood to start another verbal war with the meister. He shrugged the friendly arm off of his shoulders, slinking farther into the house. Soul paused, looking over his shoulder at the two other guys. "Which room are we setting up in?" It was rare that they actually go over to Kid's house, his and Maka's apartment seemed to be the big hang out spot, and as such, the place was a giant maze to him.
Kid took the lead after that, taking a very direct way to wherever they were going, pointing out the symmetrical features of his house (such as the bathroom, entrance to the kitchen, and winding staircases leading to the next floor) as they passed said things. Eventually the trio reached two large double doors, one already open to expose the going ons inside. Patty's childish laughter and Liz shouting warnings to her younger sibling could easily he heard. Walking through that doorway and Soul swore he felt the atmosphere get thicker. The weapon stopped, looking over at the group of four girls working on setting up decorations of some sort. Maka had her back to him, but Liz was glaring bloody daggers in his direction.
"Soul, did something happen between you and Maka?" Kid asked, herding him and Black Star to the opposite side of the room to do God only knew what. Just that little question caught the ninja assassin's attention completely and that smirk was there, taunting and torturing Soul. Where Soul would have expected a teasing tone from Black Star, Kid asked the question in a sincere manner.
"No." Soul blinked at his friend, ignoring Black Star's kissy faces and taunts. The little runt could think what he wanted, but nothing had happened. She had seen him and Blair fighting over the necklace in the living room and thought the wrong thing. That was it. It wasn't like he had been cheating at her.
Kid glanced over his shoulder at the girls. "She's glaring at you."
Following the shinigami's glance, Kid was right. Maka was glaring at him just as much as Liz was, if not more. The second she noticed he was looking, Maka stiffened up and turned her back to him. Liz gave him one last dirty look before moving over to Maka's side, whispering something into her ear before smiling. Maka laughed, meaning whatever they had said probably related to him. Tsubaki looked from Liz and Maka over to the group of guys and back again. Yep. It was probably about him.
"Maybe I was wrong," Black Star mused out loud. "Unless you two got in a giant fight! Go kiss and make up, Soul!" He grinned, shoving Soul towards the group of females, him stumbling and Black Star's loud voice echoing around the room. So, three of the girls turned and looked, a bit wide eyed and silent. Patty, on the other hand, bounded around them laughing and chanting, "Soul likes Maka!" The latter glared at Soul more.
He huffed and they both turned their backs on each other. Soul shoved his hands in his pockets, the usual slouch deepening. The bags hanging from his wrist bumped against his side. Oh yeah. In all of the drama that had been going on he had forgotten about the uncomfortable plastic. "Where do you want the bags?" the weapon asked the host of the entire thing. Kid motioned to the pile sitting near a long buffet table. Soul trudged over to the collection of bags, only slightly annoyed when Black Star followed. Hadn't he done enough damage as was?
"I don't get it," he heard Black Star mumble, one hand on the blue haired boy's chin in thought. "If you like Maka, then why haven't you said a word to her?"
"I don't like her."
"But the signs are all there! You blushed when you came to meet us, bought her pizza, and you were denying it all! Everyone knows when you deny something it must be true! And what did you get her?! Huh, Soul!?! What did you get Maka? I bet it was expensive! Was it expensive?" Question after question was fired at Soul, most of it having to do with Maka and him. He ignored Black Star, he really tried to. Getting into a petty squabble wouldn't be cool.
Though, he couldn't help it. It had to snap something back at the meister. "If you like Maka so much why don't you date her?" Smooth, Soul. Real smooth.
No response came from Black Star, which suited Soul just fine. The ninja assassin could sit in stunned silence for the rest of the night. Soul had said what he had and he wasn't about to take it back. "Black Star! Come help us with the black lights!" Maka called from the female side of the room.
Black Star looked at Soul and smirked. "Maybe I will. You had your chance. She'll be lucky to have a guy like me to go out with." He puffed out his chest, fixing his friend with a cocky look.
"Hurry up, Black Star! We don't have all day!" This time it was Liz who called out.
Soul watched, sure that Black Star was going to push him over the edge tonight, as the shorter meister bounded off to help the girls. Fine. Black Star could do what he wanted. Maka and him weren't going out, so it would only be logical that someone else would ask her. Still, that annoying bubble of frustration rose in his gut at Black Star even thinking of asking Maka on a date. With a small huff, he turned his back on them, heading over to Kid to find out what he was supposed to do. It was her life. If she wanted to go out with a guy like Black Star, she could. Why she would was beyond him.
A glance was cast over his shoulder. Black Star was talking to Maka, a curious, if not confused, expression on her face. That little bastard was actually doing it! Maka laughed and smiled. She laughed and smiled. Something was not right. Maka? Smiling and laughing at something Black Star had said? ...Had she had a crush on him?! No. That couldn't be it. Of course it wasn't. A girl like Maka would never go for something like the annoying ninja. He knew he was only saying that to make himself feel better, but it made sense. Until he heard the all too familiar voice.
"Yahooo! Then it's a date!"
He froze. Never in a million years had he ever thought he would hear the word 'date' come out of Black Star's mouth. Or Maka agreeing to it! What was the world coming to?! Insanity must have overcome the school. It was the only option that made sense. But he wouldn't give them the pleasure of seeing him freak out. No. That was uncool. And would only lead to trouble. He would take this calmly and coolly. Ignore the two of them and do what he was here to do. He started this by taking a breath, no use getting worked up over it. "What do you need me to do?"
Kid looked up from the little notepad in hand, most likely a list of what needed to be done. "Liz, how many black lights do you need to install?" he questioned one of the sisters, looking her way.
"All but two," came the slightly irritated response. It appeared that the taller of the two pistols wasn't willing to cope with Black Star's excessive demands and bragging. It was only luckily for the blue haired meister that Tsubaki was there to calm him down or Black Star would have had to deal with Liz. And by the way she would cast dirty looks his way every now and then, he could take a wild guess and say all the anger and irritation she felt towards Black Star would be directed at him in the end. What had Maka told the other girls?!
"Hey! I'm doing my job! It's not my fault you guys are slow and can't keep up with the Great Me!" came Black Star's voice.
Soul sighed. Kid still hadn't answered his question. "Maka, do you want to help set up the food?" the shinigami asked, turning his attention to the demon scythe meister. Oh no. Kid really couldn't be thinking about leaving him and Maka alone to do something after all that happened! Well, Kid didn't know what happened, but should be able to guess from the looks he was getting that this was not the best idea in the world.
She blinked at Kid before her gaze landed on Soul, her expression hardening into a glare. "Fine. What do you need me to get from the kitchen?" Though she made her way over to them, Maka kept her distance from her weapon, focusing only on Kid and what he needed her to do. She couldn't go avoiding his existence forever. Eventually they would have to interact and it was that moment that Soul was not looking forward to. He could never bring himself to hurt Maka, physically or emotionally, not on purpose anyway, which left her to Maka Chop him to her heart's content. Now, that would be painful. And possibly leave a pool of blood and a dead body on Kid's hands.
The black haired meister scribbled something down on a blank sheet of paper, tore it out, and started writing again only to repeat the action over and over again. "Kid, just tell me what you need. I'll remember it," Maka stated, trying to help their friend.
Depressed, Kid listed off what was needed from the more than likely large kitchen. Chips, some beverages, the usual party things. There, there were also some things that only Kid would think of having. Random little hourdevours that probably no one would know the name of being just one example. Soul could have handled it himself, of that he was sure. Sure, it may have taken multiple trips, but he could have done it. And Black Star could help once he was done with the lights, so why had Kid picked Maka for this? Was he trying to get them to make up?
Soul almost face palmed at the thought. Almost. With a sideways glance cast in Maka's direction (she wasn't even looking at him) Soul sighed and turned to the exit, only pausing to make sure Maka was behind him. After all, he didn't know if she knew where the kitchen was. He could feel the eyes of the others on his back, the piercing glare of Liz, the worried glance of Tsubaki, even Black Star's stupid all knowing look.
And an uneasy silence fell over the two of them. Maka obviously wanted nothing to do with him, keeping her distance as well as her silence. It suited him quite fine. He hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. No. He had just tripped and fallen on top of Blair. There was nothing going on between the two. Why couldn't she see that? After all the other dumb things the cat had done, why would what had happened today be any different?
Leaving that subject behind, or as much as he could, Soul was glad he had semi-paid attention to the maze of halls Kid had led him down early, not like it had been that long ago. He paused outside of stainless steel doubled doors, glancing over his shoulder. Maka had stopped, but she still looked like she'd rather listen to Black Star than be here with him. "It's here." Yeah, like she needed him telling her that. Pushing the door open, he had to take a step back and watch as she stalked by him.
Right to the cupboards she went, pulling out the items Kid had asked for one by one slowly yet surely, having to back track and try to figure out what held what. With a feeling that this was not going to end well, Soul walked through the kitchen and to a large pantry door. "What else do we need to get?" he asked, looking inside at all the nonperishable food items.
There was a small pause and all the commotion in the cupboards had ceased. "Chips," she finally spoke up, with more force than neccisary he might add. "Eight bags." And it was right back to the silent treatment. He could hear the metallic thud of what he assumed were cans of different drinks. This would take forever if Maka didn't even want to talk to him. Should he try to explain it? Try to tell her what had really happened? Technically he couldn't without giving away her gift, and he couldn't exactly do that right now. If she didn't believe him, there was no telling what she would do to the necklace.
Still, he at least needed to try, right? Maybe come up with a way to explain it without bringing up the gift? Yeah, and how would he go about doing that? Replace it with something else? His hoodie? A can of pop? That was sure to get him everywhere. Please note the mental sarcasm in those few sentences. Then again, he didn't want Maka mad at him for the next month. Why did arguments have to be so complicated? He set down a few bags of chips on the counter.
She had pulled down a large bowl and was attempting to open a bag of chips when he chose to talk. "Maka, listen, I-"
The bag came tearing open, chips falling down around them on the floor and coutners, a few making it into the bowl, and surprisingly some staying in the bag. She dropped the bag into the bowl, slamming her hands down on the counter. "I don't care, Soul! I don't care about what you and Blair did in the living room earlier! I just want to get through the night without fighting." The chips left in the bag found themselves in the bowl when she picked up the ripped and torn shiny material by the corner, successfully emptying it out before snatching up a second bag to replace the spilled numbers of the first.
Despite her words, Maka was staring a fight and Soul was beginning to lose his patience with all this. More than once he had tried to explain to his meister what had happened so they wouldn't be in the very mess they were in now, with awkward silences, glares, and walking on glass for the next week. But if she didn't want to listen, didn't want to get his side of the story, then fine. Soul didn't have to put up with her nonsense.
He snatched up the now full bowl of chips and a tray of the little hourdevours, stalking his way to the exit of the large kitchen. Soul paused at the door, his shoulder pushing into the stainless steel just enough to open it up a bit. His red eyes glanced at Maka, his meister busying herself with arranging a plate of something. "We didn't do anything, Maka. You can ask the cat herself." The scythe didn't wait to hear if she had responded or not, pushing his way out of the kitchen and into the maze of halls. Now if only he could get back without any problems.
The way back seemed shorter than the walk there had taken. Soul could hear Black Star's annoying voice bragging about the black lights. Oh great. He didn't want to have to deal with Black Star and his taunts about Maka. At least the latter was still in the kitchen and not here to have to be the one getting harassed. Soul didn't know which one was worse. Blair or Black Star. He shuddered to think of the two teaming up to make his life a living hell for the next few days. Entering the large party room Soul made a beeline right for the buffet table, ignoring Black Star's welcome back jibe about Maka and the kitchen. He set the plate of little snacks down first, then the bowl of chips, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the blue haired meister as his friend came to talk about one thing or another.
"So, did you two kiss and make up yet?" he pestered, taking a chip from the bowl and popping the defenseless snack into his mouth. Though it was an innocent enough question compared to what he could have asked, Soul stiffened up. He knew he couldn't take out his fight with Maka on Black Star, but most of it did have to do with what the meister had stated earlier. If it wasn't for what black Star had said earlier, he wouldnt have fretted over getting Maka a gift, and then none of what happened with Blair would have happened. As if seeing his dilema, Black Star grinned, thumping Soul on the back in what would have been a friendly gesture. "Cheer up, Soul! Maka will get over it." Black Star snatched up another chip.
"Yeah, if only it were that easy," Soul mumbled with a sigh, turning and leaning on the table, hands placed near the edge to help him keep his balance. "I don't know if shell let this go."
"What happened, anyway?" Another chip stolen from the bowl.
"Like hell if I know. Girls are complicated."
There was a pause of silence from Black Star. Over the time Soul had known the loudmouth, he had learned that silence from him was never a good thing. And he was proven right when the ninja assassin chose to open his mouth again, this time directing his comment to his weapon partner instead of his best friend. "Hey, Tsubaki, what's Maka angry about?"
Tsubaki looked over at them, at Liz and Patty, and then back at the two boys again. "Um..."
"If he doesn't know what he did, then Maka had every right to be angry," Liz interrupted, glaring at Soul. Why was half of the female number here at the moment out to get him?
Kid came to the rescue before a small spat could break out between them, as Black Star looked ready to defend Soul in this argument. "Black Star, you're still going to DJ, aren't you?" His yellow eyes turned on hyperactive one as he stepped between Liz and Black Star, blocking their way to one another.
Black Star turned his attention to this. "Yeah!"
"Black Star's DJing?" asked Soul, giving his friend an almost disbelieving look.
"What? Got a problem with that? I'm the best DJ there is!" Black Star struck a pose, puffing out his chest, and looking at Soul with that 'I'm the best there is' expression. Sadly, Soul didn't doubt that opinion when it came down to it. Black Star did seem like the type of person who would enjoy listening to punk or heavy metal music, a large difference compared to the more classical and jazz he listened to.
The weapon sighed once more, pushing off of the table and standing. "I should finish helping Maka with the food before she bites my head off." He started to make his way over to the door only to have Liz shoulder her way past him, blocking his way out of the door.
She still had that hateful look in her eye. "I'll finish helping Maka. You'll only make things worse. Come on, Tsubaki." While waiting for the black haired Tsubaki to catch up, Liz ignored him, leaving as soon as the female weapon had reached her. And that left the three guys with the energetic Patty. At least until she noticed her sister had left and bounded out to find the older Liz.
"Soul, if you're not going to go help them then help us!" called Black Star from where him and Kid were setting up. Only slightly annoyed that he couldn't explain his side of the story to any of the female gender, he went to go help the other two.
In a matter of hours, and the worst time in history for the white haired Soul, things were set up for the party. Maka had ignored him for the most part during this time, staying by the side of Tsubaki or Liz as they set up the long buffet table. Tsubaki seemed to be the only able that would willingly look at him besides Patty, but he doubted she even knew what was going on in the first place. The only way the girls even gave any recognition that he was there was when they had decided to test out the black lights, his hair being the largest glowing object in the room and the laughs they gotten from that.
Now, with everything set up to the best of their abilities, everyone was getting ready for the moment everyone else would start arriving. Maka, Liz, Tsubaki, and Patty had taken their things and left for Liz's room, choosing that as their changing destination. Kid had left Black Star to get ready in his own way, heading to his own room to prepare for the evening. This left Soul and Black Star the only two left in the room.
"Aren't you going to get ready?" he questioned Black Star, looking over at his friend.
"Of course," he huffed, going over to where the bags had been piled, pulling a duffle bag out from under the table. Unzipping the top, Black Star exposed what Soul could only guess to be a mess of clothes for wasn 't much of a variety of colors, black and a deep blue standing out.
And then a thought hit Soul. "Tell me you're changing somewhere else."
Black Star blinked at him in confusion before shrugging, grabbing the shoulder strap of the bag. "Well, if you're going to bitch about it." He left, leaving Soul alone in the oddly colored black-lit room until someone else returned.
Right! There it was. Told you it was crappy. And like I said above, the next chapter WILL be better! And hopefully up a heck of a lot quicker. Yeeaah. REVIEW FOR THE LOVE OF MY SANITY! I love hearing from you guys, even if it is just a simple 'Good story.'