A/N: Shameless fluff. I'm a bit happier with how this chapter turned out, but in the future, I may change the position of this chapter within the story. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, I am going on a three-month hiatus. I do have a lot more of this written, but I haven't linked all the parts of the story together yet.

But for now, enjoy!

"Do you always walk to and from school?" he asked suddenly one afternoon. They were in the library. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and it was getting late. Most of the people had left the library, but a few people were still scattered around. Soul had his music theory homework spread out on the table in front of him. He wasn't really doing it. He'd been working on a personal composition of his, but Maka insisted that he at least attempt to do his homework. Maka had asked Liz and Patti if they'd wanted to join them, but Liz had just given her an amused look and a short "Hell no." She and Patti had headed back to Kid's house, where they were currently residing.

Maka still lived with her father, but Soul lived in an apartment by himself. His family didn't live in Nevada, and Wes had moved out after graduation. His apartment was two minutes from the school, but he often walked to the convenience store, which was about halfway to Maka's house. Halfway usually took about 15 minutes, meaning she walked half an hour to and from school every day. Maka didn't mind, though. She enjoyed the walk, in the early morning where Death City's inhabitants were just rising. It almost felt like a different world.

Maka looked up from her theory textbook. "Usually, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well," he said. "I was wondering if you wanted a lift, maybe."

"A lift? On wh-" her expression changed from one of confusion to one of annoyance. "Soul, are you suggesting I get on that death trap of yours? Is it at school?"

"It's not a death trap," he sighed. "You'd be fine."

She laughed. "Yeah. If by fine you mean in a coma."

"You're being a drama queen, Maka." He stretched his arms over his head, letting his joints pop. He precariously leant back onto the back legs of his chair, attempting to stretch his stiff joints after spending the whole afternoon there. He sat back in his seat, and began cracking his knuckles, one by one.

"Well, excuse me, Evans. I can't risk being injured. And don't even get me started on what my dad would think."

He smirked. "Coward."

"I am not a coward!" she said, a little too loudly. A girl sitting on the table opposite them threw them an irritated look, and Maka waved apologetically. She then turned back to Soul, her expression twisting into a scowl.

"C'mon, Maka. The library's just about closed anyway." As if to emphasise his point, the librarian began to approach the remaining students and asking them to return the books they were using.

"Fine," She agreed, knowing she'd just look like a scaredy-cat if she refused. "But if I die, I swear it's your fault."

Soul grinned, ear to ear. "Alright, Albarn. Let's go, then." He picked up the sheets of paper and stuffed them into a tatty exercise book, and threw them into his bag. Maka took her time, delicately folding paper and sliding them into plastic sheets in a folder. Exasperated, he waited for her.

"You're worried about my motorcycle killing you," he said eventually. "Your slowness will kill us before we even get to the damn motorcycle."

She shot him a menacing look. "I'm just organised. Unlike you."

"Fine," he said. "I'll wait outside, then."

Ten minutes later, Maka was at the bottom of the school steps. She scanned the car park for the bright orange of his motorcycle, and found it easily. There weren't many cars left in the parking lot, anyway.

Soul was leaning against the motorcycle, his hand in his pockets. His floppy white hair was held back by a yellow headband, something that only Soul could pull off. He caught sight of her, and flashed her another grin, showing rows of unusually pointed teeth.

"Finally," he said, shifting his weight to his feet. He swung his leg over the bike, straddling the seat. He patted the seat behind him. "Hop on."

Maka's expression remained dubious, and she hesitated before approaching the bike. She slung her bag across her body, so she wouldn't lose it while they were driving. She followed his example and swung her leg over the bike. She sat right on the back of the seat, gripping the seat in front of her with her hands. She wasn't sure if she should touch him or not.

Soul turned his head to look at her. "Maka, you're going to fall off sitting like that."

"No, I won't," she said stubbornly. "I'm fine like this."

"Suit yourself." Soul turned the key in the ignition, and the bike roared to life. Maka jumped at the sound, but didn't release her grip. Slowly, the bike inched forward, and Maka realised her grip wasn't as strong as she thought. She was thrown forwards into Soul's back, and reflexively grabbed a handful of his clothes in each hand to steady herself. Soul smirked when he heard her gasp. He took this as a sign that it was safe to speed up now. He turned out of the car park, and started down the straight stretch of road that led out of the school.

It took all of Maka's willpower not to scream. She had her eyes shut tightly, and was gripping onto Soul so tightly that her knuckles turned white. After a while, though, her pounding heart began to calm, and she got used to the bouncing of the motorcycle. She cracked her eyes opened.

They were moving fast. It was harder to tell with her eyes closed, but at the rate the trees and colourful house of Death City were whipping past, she knew. It gave her a rush of adrenaline, moving this quickly. She straightened her back a little so she could see better. She found herself enjoying the wind as it whipped through her pigtails, enjoying the blur of scenery around her. She tilted her head up to the sky, which was beginning to darken. The air was cooler, but she didn't mind it so much. It contrasted starkly with the warmth emanating from Soul.

Maka decided this wasn't such a bad idea. She lived by the rules. She liked the rules. In ballet, you followed the rules. It was comforting, to know the standard of what you had to achieve. She knew exactly what she had to do. Breaking the rules was something she avoided; mainly from fear. But this…was incredibly liberating. This whole friendship with Soul was breaking the rules.

The ride ended too quickly. Maka felt as if she had only just gotten on, but she knew it had been about fifteen minutes since they'd left the school. Soul began to slow down and curve closer to the curb, inserting the bike between two cars with ease.

"Okay, Maka. You can let go now." He said, prying her fingers off his shirt. "We're here."

Gingerly, she got off the bike, smoothing out her skirt and swinging her bag to the side so she could walk easily. Soul started to get off the bike too, but she stopped him.

"Probably not a good idea," she said, embarrassed. "If my father sees you, he'll kill you. "You don't want to make a bad impression on someone who might give you a job in the future."

"Oh," he said, settling back down on the bike. "Right. Yeah, probably don't wanna do that."

She walked up to the steps in front of her house, and then turned to face him. "So, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Maka."

She put her key in the door, and pushed it open. She turned quickly, standing in the doorway. She watched Soul drive off, and she wondered what he was going home to.