One Week After the Party

Time passed, but that's what time does. Soul and I became distant. I wasn't sure why, either. It was a little upsetting to me. He was my best friend, after all. And the day following my party, I went over to his and Maka's house. He stayed in his room the whole time. And honestly, I felt… hurt.

I heard something just outside my window. My eyes flew open and I glanced out the window. I noticed a familiar head of purple ponytail coming up to my front porch. I smiled and ran downstairs. My hand opened the door before Silara was even at the first step.

"Angel! Hey, I'm glad you're up."

"Barely. Come in."

"So, everyone's hitting the beach today."

"Everyone? As in Kid, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki, Black Star, and Maka? And Soul?"

"Yeah. You coming then?"

"Totally. Living in Nevada definitely has its perks."

"Well, duh. Go get dressed and we'll leave."

"'Kay, I'll be down in a sec."

I ran upstairs to my room and changed into my red bikini. It had a halter strap and a knot in the middle that kept it together. There was a silhouette of a soul on the left breast and the bottoms were plain red with knots on the side of them. I put a black fishnet jacket and a white skirt on over my swimsuit, threw my hair into a messy bun, slipped on some red flip-flops, and met Silara downstairs.

"Hey, where's your swimsuit?" I asked her.

"Got it on under my t-shirt and skirt."

"Okay. Let's go."

At the Beach

"Hey guys! Long time no see." I said, approaching the group.

"Hi Angel. Haven't really seen ya much since your party." Tsubaki commented.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I've been a little busy."

" 'Sokay. We can all hang out now." Kid told me.

"Totally! Let's hit the water." I shouted, peeling off my jacket, skirt, and flip-flops and running toward the cool water. Something stopped me in my tracks. I felt intensive eyes staring at me. I whipped around the see everyone was talking with one another. Maka arrived and was having a conversation with Silara.

Where's Soul? I asked myself.

I looked to my right, and saw him standing near the food stand. He was looking at me, not with anger. But with something I couldn't quite recognize. I walked over to him casually, like I was ordering something.

"Can I get some fries?" I asked the guy at the stand and handed him some money.

He handed me a box of fries and I thanked him. I sat down at a nearby table and ate a few fries. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Soul coming my way. I finished off the last of the fries, got up and walked past him to throw the box away. I didn't speak to him, and I think that was right.

I pretended like I didn't know he was right behind me as I made my way back down to the docks. I stood at the very edge, watching the fish swim by. A gust of wind came, it was strong, and I braced myself. It almost knocked me down. I smiled at my balance and went back to watching all the little schools of fishies. I closed my eyes and felt the water sprinkle my stomach and legs.

Then I fell. Another gust of wind swept by, stronger than the last, causing me to fall backwards. But when I fell, warm hands caught me by the waist. I felt something wet drop onto the top of my head.

"Soul?" I said, realizing who had caught me.

"Uh, yeah?" he asked, letting go of me with one hand.

"You can let go." I told him.

"Oh!" he released me.

I turned around and saw his nose was bleeding.

"What happened?" I asked him, gesturing for him to sit down by the edge.

"Nothing." he told me as he sat down and crossed his legs.

I sat on my knees in front of him and leaned closer for a better look.

"Okay, like I'm gonna believe you got a nosebleed for no reason." I said, cupping his chin in my hands.

"Really, it's fine."

"Whatever. Put your face in the water to slow the bleeding."

"Okay."

He leaned down over the edge and stuck his head in the water.

"Better?" I asked when he emerged.

"Better." he told me.

I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Well, I'm going swimming." I told him as I stood up. "Coming?"

"Maybe." he said as he stood up too.

"Suit yourself." I replied.

I stepped back a little and ran. When I reached the end, I hurled myself off in a cannon ball. I broke formation and swam farther into the water. I can hold my breath for a good time, and I held it. The water felt cool on my skin as I swam deeper.

When I finally emerged, I noticed everyone was closer to shore, splashing each other and building sand castles. I smiled to see the people closest to me being happy and having fun. But Soul was missing from the bunch. He wasn't at the docks either. I figured he was getting something to eat or whatever. So, I went back underwater.

I opened my eyes and scouted the area. It's weird, yeah, but I have almost perfect vision underwater. I saw so many fish and rocks and some coral pieces. It was beautiful. That is, until a massive wave came through and pushed too much water down my throat. I went to suck in some air, but only more water came through. I couldn't reach the surface; more small waves were coming and pushing me down. Next thing I saw was blackness.

Soul's POV

I looked around for Angel. I could just barely make out her shape in the water. I swam toward her and stopped. There was a huge wave about to pass, so I took cover underneath a little rock.

When it passed, I went back up for more air. As I dove back down, I noticed Angel wasn't where she had just been. So I looked around more and spotted her. But something wasn't right. Her body was limp and her mouth was open.

Oh, no. The wave. It must have hit her!

I swam over to Angel as quickly as possible. Her hair was mostly out of her ponytail and covered her face. I held her shoulders in my arms and swept some hair away. Before I ran out of air again, I shifted her up onto my back and swam up to the surface. We were near the docks, so I kept swimming.

I figured it best to not alert the others and to just play it cool. I dragged Angel up onto one of the docks and climbed up myself. She just lay there, still not moving. I pressed my lips to hers and blew air into her mouth. I did this a couple times before stopping. When I did, I positioned her across my legs and held her up a little. I wasn't sure she was going to breathe again.

Angel's POV

I felt air in my lungs. Then, I was being lifted up and something squeezed my left hand where my scar was. I opened my eyes. The only thing I really saw as Soul's face, it was concerned, and then he smiled. This is going to sound incredibly cheesy, but he was glowing. No, wait. It was just the sun behind him.

"Soul…" my voice was hoarse and weak.

"I'm here. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think." I sat up more, only to realize I was sitting on his lap.

"Red. I thought… I thought…"

The sound of his voice saying my nickname was amazing.

"I wouldn't die. Not now. Not when I've just found my partner, not when I've only had one battle with a Kishin. And especially not after…" I trailed off. I was going to say 'not after you kissed me' but thought better of it.

"After what?"

"Never mind. I'm fine though." I told him.

I got off of him and stood up. That was a mistake. I suddenly felt dizzy, and fell backward again. And Soul caught me. Again.

"Careful, Red."

"Yeah, I'm trying."

Soul steadied me and I kept walking to the sand. I wasn't quite sure where I was going, I was just walking, I guess. Finally, far from the others, I sat down in a small tidal pool. I gazed out to the horizon, hypnotized by nothing. Soul sat next to me, and I saw him looking at me from the corner of my eye.

"You know, there's no reason to stare at me like I'm a ghost. I told you I wasn't going to die, and you're acting like I did." I said. Not looking at him.

"It feels like something died. Died between us." he told me. It caught my attention.

"Like what?"

"I dunno. We always have something to talk about, you and me."

"We're talking now."

"No, we never talk about- I mean something interesting."

"Mm, yeah. That's true. But, I kinda don't feel like talking anyway."

"What do ya wanna do?"

"Relax. For once, relax. I know we'll have another battle coming up. So. I just want. To relax." I told him as I shifted my position and laid my head down in his lap.

I think it caught him off guard, because he just sat there, not saying anything. Then he brushed the hair out of my eyes, leaned back on his hands and said, "That sounds pretty cool."

I smiled up at him and he smiled back. It was perfect.

_A/N

So, I've already got the last chapter written, not published! But it's written. Chapter 26 is the last one, BUUUUUT if you guys reeeeaaally want more, I may provide a chapter 27, 28, 29, and maaaaybe 30. But you guys have to be loyal and review!

Love and hugs,

~Marysa