A/N: Gosh, I feel so bad that it took me so long to type up this chapter! But I blame my occasionally over-active imagination and my also occasional inability to decide/come up with a plot. I had decided that what I was going to do originally really didn't fit too well because of my lack of plot ideas for the last two chapters and ended up with a few days of 'what the hell am I gonna do?' running through my head.

Anywho! This is the final 'rising action' chapter (as I like to call it) so read and enjoy!

There were children laughing and playing in the makeshift play areas. Parents and teenagers alike grouped up and chatted as they walked, ushering any of their children to hurry along when they began to fall behind. The sun was high in the sky and shining beautifully. If only it wasn't so bloody windy outside. Maka Albarn thought as she followed her group of 'gal-pals' glumly throughout the busy mall.

Man! I wanted to read today too! She sighed in her head. Patty began to laugh hysterically at something her older sister, Liz, said.

You ALWAYS want to read Maka. Another voice, sounding very much like her own replied in her head.

Yeah, I know. And who are you?

That's always the first thing they ask. The voice sighed. Haven't you read enough books to KNOW who I am? Do I really have to tell you myself?

…Shut up conscience. I'm trying to enjoy my nice day out with my friends without being sad that I can't finish reading my current novel just yet.

That's what I thought.

"Maka, are you alright?" Tsubaki the tall, sweet, and (annoyingly) curvy (much more so than Maka) female with black hair asked Maka.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah. I was just thinking to myself. That's all." Maka smiled and rubber her head embarrassed that she was caught being mental. Tsubaki nodded.

"Oh, okay. What about?"

"My book." Tsubaki nodded once more with a soft smile.

Nice save.

Quiet.

I don't know what I find funnier, the fact that you just barely got away with that, or the fact that you think talking to yourself like this is mental. Girl, you do a lot more mental things than this. This, as a matter of fact, doesn't even make the list!

Didn't I tell you shut up? Maka snapped.

"So, uh," Maka blushed. "Why are we here again?" Liz squealed…or screamed. It's kind of hard to tell the difference when it comes to Liz.

"Maka!" Liz whined. "We are here to get new cute dresses to wear to the Spring Ball that the school is having! I can't believe you forgot!" Maka shook her head.

"But I already have a dress that I can wear." Liz shook her head furiously.

"No, you already wore that and then at the party the school was attacked! It'd be bad luck to wear that dress again!"

"W-what? Since when have you been so superstitious? I seriously doubt that stuff like that actually exists!"

"Says the girl who has a boyfriend who can turn into a scythe and she fights monsters with him." Patty began to giggle.

She got you there.

"And has an assassin friend who wields one of her female friends who can change into multiple demon weapons and also fights monsters." Tsubaki added lightly.

And there.

"SAYS the girl who's two other girlfriends who can turn into guns are used by the Death the Kid, the son of Lord Death, who has lived for only god knows how long." Liz added.

Oh and there too!

"Alright! I get it! Perhaps being a bit superstitious won't kill me. But if what you say is true, then the guys should have to get new suits as well and I KNOW that Soul and Black Star aren't going to do that anytime soon." Liz snorted.

"Guys attract bad luck naturally, it doesn't matter what they wear. But us girls are their charms and we have to be lucky for them!" Patty snickered.

"Liz just wants an excuse to buy a new dress!"

"Patty! Don't tell them that!"

Luckily, the search for the new perfect dresses only lasted a couple of hours and by two in the afternoon they were all lounging in the eating area, sipping on smoothies.

"Maka, I adore your dress, it makes you look like such a doll!" Liz cooed. Maka blushed.

"I don't want to be a doll though! Dolls are flat!"

"But you look so cute. And just because Soul and Black Star are always saying that you're unattractive because you're not that big isn't completely true. There are a lot of guys who could care less about the size you know." Maka sighed.

"I know Tsubaki, but sometimes it just gets on my nerves! Especially since it seems like I'm surrounded constantly by girls who have more decent and respectable sized breasts!" Some men in the cafeteria looked over at the group of girls. Liz snorted and waved 'hi' to them.

"You're probably just having a slow growth spurt. Besides, I know for a fact that Kid prefers the twins to be smaller." Maka and Tsubaki blushed and gaped at Liz. Patty laughed.

"It's true! It's true!"

"How do YOU know that?" Tsubaki asked.

"Well besides the fact that we're practically like siblings now and that knowing these things about him are like second nature to me, why else do you think he hasn't made any sort of move on me or Patty?" Maka and Tsubaki both looked dumbfounded when a sudden thought struck Maka.

"Wait…Soul is not my boyfriend!" she nearly screeched. Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki all burst out into laughter resulting in weird looks from other people and teary eyes.

Although Maka dreaded this night, the night of the spring dance did arrive rather quickly. And try as she might, the girls would not allow her to take too much time getting ready. The boys had been waiting for them all in one of the lounge areas in Kid's mansion, where they all were getting ready at. Black Star wore his black suit with a white shirt, sadly looking like a mess. Surprisingly though, Kid did not have a coat and instead wore black slacks, shoes, and a long sleeved light yellow button up shirt. Maka tried not to snort.

"What? No jacket for the big bad Kid?" She joked as she was dragged to the guys by Liz and Tsubaki. Patty laughed…surprisingly (not.)

"Kid was late getting ready so Liz forbade him from putting on anything else."

"Why?" Maka asked. Liz and Kid blushed.

"Well, I was afraid that he would take forever checking to make sure that the rest of the outfit was perfectly symmetrical. Be glad, I saved us time!" she huffed.

"Whatever!" Black Star smirked. "We better leave now, because I doubt that all my adoring fans can stand my absence any longer!" Tsubaki nodded while everyone else rolled their eyes.

"Whatever small fry." Liz patted Black Star on the head as she passed him by for the front door.

Although she would never admit it willingly, Maka hated going to dances and balls and any type of get together where many people would be dancing. It was a hard truth to face, but Maka simply did not feel like she should ever go near the dance floor. Despite her fighting ability, Maka had a tendency to be clumsy at times.

Poor Soul, last time they tried to dance with one another she stepped on his foot! But at least it seems like his current dance partner can dance very well. He had been asked by some girl to the dance and he actually wanted to go with her.

It's funny actually, before saying yes he came running to Maka and asked if she was okay with it. Naturally Maka said okay. She didn't want to keep him from having his fun and she didn't want to not let him go out on dates when she doesn't even know how she feels about him. It would be selfish to try to keep him for herself when she doesn't even know if she likes him as something more than a friend. Sure, she can be still be protective of him. But she can't be the reason why he doesn't go out and have fun on his own.

So this is how Maka found herself being noting more than a wallflower snacking on some food from the buffet table. Silently, she observed all the boys and girls and their outfits and how cute all of the arrangements were. For a brief moment she noted how lovely Tsubaki looked in her slimming dark blue dress with a flowery print. Both Liz and Patty seemed to be having fun dancing around in their matching pink and light blue dresses.

"As one of the most notorious flowers in the world, the wallflower stands on the sidelines observing all of the other flowers dancing about, yet rarely does the wallflower ever join them." Maka jumped, not expecting anyone to come talk to her, especially Kid.

"Why aren't you dancing Kid?" he shrugged.

"I wanted to dance with a certain someone, but I don't know if she's willing to even move from her spot." He leaned up against the wall next to her and watched all the other dancers.

"Who were you going to ask?"

"A very pretty wallflower." Maka looked around the room; the only other girls not dancing were talking to each other and other guys. Maka began to blush.

"I'm not a very good dancer. Last time I danced was with Soul and I stepped on his foot." She blushed when she saw his smirk.

"We don't have to actually dance, we can just stand in one spot and sway. The songs they've been playing are slow enough that we can get away with it." Maka looked down to the floor.

"I-I don't know." Kid moved to in front of Maka and held out his hand.

"Come on, it will be fun." Hesitantly she took his hand and was led to the dance floor. After a few minutes of silence and simply 'sway' dancing Maka began to realize that it wasn't too bad and that somehow they even began to move around with their feet without her realizing it.

Seeing the unsure and shocked expression on her face Kid chuckled and even made a larger step just to make a point that he had gotten her to actually dace. But instead of saying something, Maka decided to just go with it and if she stepped on his foot…well…she did warn him.

Somehow, the night moved by fast and the next thing she knew Soul swung by to tell her that he was walking his date home and that he would be home before midnight. Maka swore in her head when she realized that it was, indeed, late and she was tired. After a few more moments of dancing she finally spoke up and Kid readily volunteered to walk her home.

Mmmmmyesss, so very much different from the original plot. Also, it's much longer than most of the other chapters which somehow made me feel weird~ I know that I probably sound weird, but it's late at night, neighbors across the street are having a party (thankfully they aren't as loud as I thought they would be, all you can hear are beats to music so yay~) and I usually have my inspiration and crazy/stupid moments at night.

So I'm just gonna stop talking now and start working on the FINALE while i'm still in the mood and mindset.

But one last comment because I don't want to comment on the last chapter and ruin it in any way: There will be so sequel (I doubt I could, even if I wanted to) and I will not make this series any longer than my plans as of late. I will not be changing them again, it is all set, and I want to actually finish a story for once so...nyeh...