I smiled devilishly, grabbed the key on the hook by the door, walked out of the classroom, and locked the room up. I wasn't walking for long when I ran into Soul. "Hey, Red. What are you doing?" he asked me. I gave him a questioning look.

"Red?" I asked him, wondering about my nickname.

"Your eyes, they're red." he said casually. Speak for yourself, I thought.

"Oh. Well, I was early and thought I might have a look around." I told him. Soul nodded his head.

"I see. Well we got 10 minutes 'til class starts. Mind if I come too?"

"Haven't you had your own time to do that?"

"Yeah, but I never did. So how 'bout it, Red?"

"Sure, why not."

I shrugged my shoulders and we began walking together. It was silent until we came to a random door at the end of the hallway. "Wonder what's behind there." I said.

"Probably just a balcony." Soul said coolly. I turned the doorknob and, what do ya know, a balcony.

"Look, you were right." I said sarcastically.

"Eight more minutes, Red." Soul said. I shrugged my shoulders again and leaned against the wall.

"I can chill here for six minutes." I said as I pretended to inspect my nails.

"Yeah, nice view." Soul told me as he looked out over Death City. I nodded my head in agreement. All of a sudden I was next to him, looking out over the horizon. Soul sighed and looked at me.

"What?" I asked him.

"Maka told me about your family."

Oh my god. I'm gonna kill her. "What the hell? I told her not to tell anybody!" I shouted. I paced around the balcony.

"You're not supposed to keep secrets from your partner." Soul told me like it was no big deal.

"Mine did, and I'm fine. I'm not traumatized." I snapped. He looked shocked. One minute I was actually being nice and talking, the next it's like I'm that mean of a person I've always been towards people. I continued pacing, an evil look on my face. Soul grabbed my shoulders.

"Hey, Red, calm down. It's fine. I'm not gonna tell anybody and I'm not gonna baby you or anything." Soul told me calmly. He looked me right in the eye when he said it. I smiled at him, reassured that he wasn't like everybody else. I check my cell phone.

"Oh, crap! We gotta get to class!" I shouted. We ran through the building until we came to the hall with Class Crescent Moon. We got there just as the last few people were entering the room. Stein noticed us coming in a little late, but said nothing. We took our seats and acted like nothing happened.

"Where were you?" Kid asked.

"Exploring the school." I told him, my eyes on the chalkboard. Stein had written DISSECTION in big letters in the middle of it. I raised my hand.

"Yes, Angel?" Stein asked me.

"Didn't we study this yesterday?"

"Mhmm."

I looked at Kid, puzzled. "He's obsessed with dissection." he explained. I nodded my head. It was weird, but I left it alone.

School was over and I met up with Maka and Soul at the balcony I was at earlier. "Hey Red." Soul said. I was kind of happy with my nickname. I waved at him and pointed at Maka.

"I understand Soul is your partner, but when I said nobody, I meant nobody, not even him." I told her. I wasn't mad anymore, just a bit upset.

"I know, but it was bugging me."

"Whatever. You guys ready to go?" I asked them. Maka nodded her head and Soul led us to the front of the school.

"It's not a far walk, so let's get going." Soul told me.

We arrived at their apartment in a few minutes. We walked through the door and I sat on the couch. "You guys have a cat?" I asked when I saw a black cat walk into the room.

"That's Blair, she's not exactly our cat." Maka said gloomily. I could tell she didn't like Blair. All of a sudden, the cat became a human. My eyes got wide.

"Hi! Are you Soul's girlfriend or something?" she asked me. Soul chuckled.

"Why would I ever date her?!" he asked between laughs. I narrowed my eyes at him and kicked him where it counted. Soul stopped laughing and fell over. I smiled in satisfaction.

"Oh. I see, it's that kind of a relationship." Blair said, smiling.

"NO, YOU IDIOT! SOUL IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" I yelled at her.

"Sure he is. You don't need to be ashamed about dating him." She continued.

"Makaaaaa… CHOP!" Maka said as she slammed a book into Blair's skull. I smiled and thanked her. Maka smiled back with her genuine smile. Soul recovered and stood back up.

I crossed my arms and stared at him. "What's up, Red?" he asked me, as if he didn't know. I rolled my eyes and punch him in the arm.

"Ow! Okay, I guess I deserved that."

I nodded my head, approving the fact that he agreed. "So, you guys wanna hear what happened with my family?" I asked them when Blair left.

"Yes!"

" 'Course, we do, Red."

I took a deep breath, sat back down on the couch, and told them everything.

I finished my last sentence sighed loudly. "That's it." I said. They just sat there, blinking their eyes until Soul said, "Badass, Red."

"Thanks. I mean, I wasn't just gonna sit there and let the bitch beat me to death. I don't know what happened to them exactly when I screamed, but I know that I've never done it again, nor do I plan to. I will if I have to, though." I told them. Maka wasn't saying anything, she was just sitting there, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Maka, are you okay?" I asked her with a concerned look on my face. She snapped her head up and forced a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought about how hard it was for you."

I crossed my arms and looked at her. "Please don't. I feel like I'm getting sympathy, I don't want that." I shook my head. Maka told me she understood and went to the kitchen.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked me as she began cooking.

"Sure, I keep forgetting to get food…" I told her as I nodded my head. I turned my attention back to Soul.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked him, twirling a strand of hair.

"Yeah, sure."

"Not that I care, 'cause trust me I really don't, but why wouldn't you…" I trailed off, not knowing how to say it.

"What, date you?" Soul asked nervously. I nodded my head solemnly.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably because I just met you. I don't really know anything about you besides the fact that you're pretty cool." He told me coolly. I smiled and was sure I blushed. Soul was about to hold my hand when Maka told us dinner was ready. Thank you, Maka! I didn't wanna be in much contact with anyone, especially boys.