Eventide

Chapter XIX

It was very awkward. After the battle we all parted ways and Soul and I went back toward the apartment with no care in the world. Soul didn't bother to talk to me and quite frankly, I didn't want to talk to him either, not after I said those mean things to him. In a way, those things needed to be said since he was truly bad at communicating and he could do something about it. If he wants us to be together― Ha! We both know he would rather be with this Kim person.

That night when he got back home, I went to bed while Soul had to calm down a very worried Wes. Soul didn't come and sleep in the same bed as me, he slept on the couch.

Morning came and I wasn't going to ignore school. I have ignored school far too long and I needed to go to school and straighten out my presence and try to do something about my absence.

Although, Soul had different plans than to let me go to school.

"Let's go on that date."

I almost spat out the orange juice I was drinking in surprise. "What?"

"Let's go on a date." Soul leans back in his chair and wraps his arms behind his head. "You know, communication is the key to a healthy relationship with anyone. Obviously I'm not good at it and I want to set things straight between us. I really do want things to work out between us and we haven't been able to relax and actually take some time for ourselves. I think we both could use a day off of school."

"But―"

"I know what you are thinking, and one extra day off of school won't hurt you. Kid will talk to Lord Death and he will take care of your records. He will make sure you are clean for graduation." Soul smirks and moves closer to the table and props his arms on the wooden surface. "So what do you say, do you want to go on a date?"

"Are you sure I'm not a rebound?"

Sometime I just hate me and my big mouth.

Immediately I shove a toast into my mouth, trying to hide my heated cheeks with my bangs. That didn't really help anything.

"Of course not." Soul says and gently cups my cheek, guiding my face so he looks into my eyes. His eyes are so soft and filled with love. "I really do love you. You are as far away from a rebound as possible. I know you are the real thing."

Why do I have to think of the pink haired girl and the spot where her lips had once been on Soul's cheek? I do like Soul, but sometimes being with Soul seemed just like a dream that would never come true, just like a far off memory you would never be able to remember.

Even though he still is into Kim, I do want to hang out with Soul.

I sigh. "Fine. I will go."

Soul smirks and grabs my hand. "Then let's go."

My eyes widen. "Now? Like, right now?"

Soul stands up from his seat, still holding my hand. "Yeah, what else?" Soul then cracks up smirking wide. "Or is it that you want to be all dolled up for a date? You know I would rather have you looking like this than being all caked up in makeup."

Oh, so he would rather have me walking around in sweats and a tank top. Interesting. I will have to keep that in mind.

"I would just want to change clothes. It won't take long."

"It better." Soul releases my hand and I disappear into Soul's bedroom. I find my backpack with the little clothes I brought from my home and change into my typical skirt along with a nice t-shirt. If he likes me wearing comfortable clothes, then that is what I'm going to go with.

After getting dressed, Soul and I leave the apartment and leave a note to Wes behind explaining where we went, although, Soul doesn't want to tell me where we are going. So I just hope on his bike and Soul drives away from the apartment. We make a pit stop at the supermarket where Soul asks me to wait by the bike. It takes a while for him to get out and when he does, he holds a plastic bag in his hand, which I of course aren't allowed to look inside. He keeps telling me, "You will know in due time," before he holds the bag in his arms as he gets on the bike, drives away.

It feels nice being with Soul, having my arms around his waist, my cheek resting against his leather jacket and the wind whipping my hair. His smell coating me in what seems like a nice dream. Everything feels so normal, a boyfriend taking out his girlfriend for a mysterious date. Soul might not be my boyfriend at the moment, but I would like him to be again, but then we have this Kim person. I need to know from his mouth about Kim.

"We are almost there." Soul yells over the powerful wind as he pulls into an abandon road.

What is up with Soul and abandoned roads and forests?

Soul goes a little slower since the bike bumps violently because of the pits in the road along with the gravel. The branches of the trees growing close to the road almost whip our faces.

"Are you sure we are going the right way?" This place is giving me the creeps.

"Yeah, we are almost there."

And he is right. It doesn't take long until Soul kills the engine and gets off the bike.

"Soul." I say while I get up from the bike, taking off the helmet. "But this place is kind of creepy."

I hand Soul the helmet and he puts the helmet away. "It is." Soul agrees, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "But there is a beauty to this place." Soul steers me away from the bike and we continue to walk along the road. "This place makes me think about life." The ugly naked branches claws at my jacket and Soul pulls me closer to him in order to keep me away from the branches. "Life is tough. It never is picture perfect. We go through harsh times that might knock us to the ground."

Soul moves the branches aside, revealing the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I gasp loudly at the utterly beautiful view. There is a large meadow with colorful flowers along with flower bushes and a large apple tree in the middle of all the flowers and bushes.

"But in the end, it will always be much better after you get through the hardship."

Unconsciously, I walk away from Soul, my lips slightly ajar as I watch the leaves rustle and gently sway side to side in the wind. "How did you find this place?" I finally ask.

"I stumbled upon this place. At the moment, I was enraged and as soon as I found this place, the anger just disappeared and from that day, this place has always been my sanctuary. This is the place I escape to when I need a break from everything and can pretend that I don't have any problems at all." Soul joins me by my side and he entwines our fingers together. "I want you to know me, better than anyone else does. I have never brought anyone here before, so I guess I kind of want this place to be yours as well."

Slowly we walk toward the large tree that decorates the meadow. "You know for me to know you better than anyone else, we will need a lot of time alone and you constantly talking about yourself."

Soul chuckles and squeezes my hand lovingly. "I don't mind being alone with you. I want us to have some normal teenage time together. I have to say that is the best part about Meisters, when you do have time and the energy to go on dates, they prove to be much better than imagined."

I couldn't deny it. We hadn't slept that much this night, but it feels good doing something together, just the two of us without drama and Kishins.

This is what I want, right here in this moment, just taking it easy with the guy I like.

We reach the tree and Soul releases my hand, putting down the bag on the ground. He jumps up in the large apple tree and climbs up on the branch. He reaches upward and grabs a blanket out of the tree before he jumps back down. "It can get a little chilly since we are close to the lake."

"A lake? But we are in Death City, I don't think there are any lakes here." I comment as Soul spread the blanket out on the ground before he takes a seat on it.

"I don't think no one knows about it since the woods covers it. It isn't that large of a lake, but it is a good lake to go and bath in. It has a nice sand floor and there isn't much seaweed in it." Soul pats the spot next to me and I take it immediately. Soul wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"It sounds like a pretty amazing place." I rest my head on his shoulder and I allow myself to relax in his strong arms.

"It is." Soul gently caresses my bicep with his thumb. "But I want to talk to you about myself if it is okay with you?"

Is Soul nervous? "Yeah, of course you can. I want to know more about you."

"Okay." Soul inhales loudly. He is nervous! "My favorite color is green. I would rather sleep than going to school and salmon is the best food ever."

"Salmon?" I open my eyes and look Soul in the eyes. "It isn't even good. It tastes too much of fish."

"That is because Salmon is a fish."

"I know! And that is why I don't like it."

Soul chuckles lovingly and plants a kiss on my head. "Tell me one thing about you now." Soul murmurs against my hair. "If you could go to any place on this earth, where would you go?"

That is a good question. I haven't really given that much thought since I always was so into my books. "To be honest, I don't really know. The first thing that pops into my head is the library. I have always enjoyed being surrounded by shelves full of books. It is a very peaceful place so I guess I would want to be at a place full with books."

Soul just couldn't help but laugh lovingly. "You are such a bookworm! That is a typical Maka answer."

I blush a little and bury my face into the nook of his neck. "Just tell me what place you would like to be at."

He stops laughing immediately. "A place where the sun never goes down." He says it with such desire and his eyes stare off into nothingness before he snaps back. "Of course, I would want you to be beside me."

For some reason, Kim pops up in my mind, how she lovingly kissed his cheek and Soul looking so happy and content. I can't keep pretend like Hiro never told me about them, that picture has been haunting me ever since he showed it. I need to hear his side.

"Soul?"

"What is it?" Soul sounds very worried. He must have picked up on my seriousness.

I take a deep breath and pull away from Soul, putting some space between us. That seems to concern Soul even more since he grabs onto my hands and searches my eyes for answers. "Hiro told me something about y―"

"Hiro?!" Soul growls loudly, his large hands tightening around mine while his eyes narrow. "He is a snake! He will do everything in order to sabotage me! Everything he says isn't true!"

"Soul!" I exclaim. "I know he wasn't lying because I saw a photo of you and Kim!"

His eyes widen and I can see his heart getting caught in his throat. The grip on my hands are unbearably tight, almost bone crushing. He almost looks like he has turned into a statue and he is forever locked into that state.

"… What photo?"

My heart drops to my stomach. So there are more.

"The one you kept under the mattress. The one when she kisses your cheek." Why does it feel like I want to cry and run away?

Soul sighs loudly, running his hand through his hair, successfully escaping the statue state he was in. "What do you want me to say?"

Tears burn my eyes and my heart aches. I'm going to break down and I don't want to do it in front of Soul. "You don't need to say anything. I get it." I can't stay any longer or else I will end up crying in front of him. Immediately I stand up and I run away from the apple tree and from Soul. My tears spill over and unwillingly a sob escape my throat.

I don't get very far before Soul grabs my wrist and pulls me to his chest, fortunate for me, he doesn't make me face him. "No, you don't get it." Soul's arms wrap around my waist and gently rest them on my stomach. A loud sob escapes my lips as tears trickle down my cheeks. "She was my first love, the one I was telling you about. I know it is weird to keep a photo of your ex, but you got to believe me, Maka. I'm over her. I love you and only you." Soul whispers into my ear. "What exactly did Hiro tell you?"

"About her being Stein's daughter and how Hiro told him about your relationship, how you were forced to end the relationship and how your hatred toward him fueled." I sob loudly and I hate myself for exposing me like this to Soul.

Soul sighs and rests his forehead against my shoulder. "So he didn't lie…" He whispers. "Just because our relationship ended abruptly doesn't mean I still love her to this day. I don't want her. I want you. I love you Maka Albarn, you are the one I have my eyes on and even if I could be with her, I would chose you. Always."

I can't deny it, I'm crying rivers and I can't control my violent sobs. I'm shaking badly in his arms and he holds me so tightly, supporting me so I won't fall down on the ground. "But why did you keep that photo? If you truly were over her, then why did you keep that photo underneath your mattress?"

"I didn't look at it. I haven't looked at it for months. If it makes you happy, I would burn that photo as soon as we get home." Or he won't. Hiro still has the photo. Soul sighs loudly and he buries his nose in my neck. "Let me guess, Hiro has the photo?"

"Yeah." I sniffle and wipe away my tears. "Can you just leave me alone for five minutes? I don't want you to see me like this."

"Not gonna happen." His arms release my waist and Soul gently spins me so we are facing each other. "Remember we are here to get to know each other. Letting each other see our most vulnerable states includes in our knowing each other." His hands gently pull me into a tender hug while his fingers caress my spine. "You don't need to be afraid or feel threaten by Kim because she is in the past, you are my presence." Wait, is that a smile growing against my head. "I have to say, and this is the only time I will say it, but Hiro and Black*Star was right back then. I did put Kim before everything and I put them in danger. They could have died because of my recklessness. You can't ever tell Hiro about this."

I sniffle and an awkward laugh escapes my vocal cords, the tears slowly disappear into Soul's t-shirt.

"I promise."

"This is another get to know me thing to put inside of your backpack." Soul says and gently pulls away, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. "After that moment, I made a promise to myself that I would never put anyone in my team in danger. I would do everything in my power to keep them safe."

My tears stop and I gently grips Soul's shirt, resting my forehead on his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily. "Tell me just one thing, was all of your previous girlfriends including Jaqueline rebounds?"

Soul nods against my head. "Yeah, the three ones after Kim were rebounds, those didn't last very long while Jaqueline, I could say she wasn't a rebound, but she wasn't anything serious at the same time. You, you are definitely the real thing I have been looking for." His hands are far too large. They so gently hold me toward his chest by my lower waist.

"So, you really do love me?" I remove my face from his chest and Soul lifts his head off of mine. Our eyes lock. His eyes look so sincere and authentic.

"Yes." He doesn't even hesitate. "I love you whole heartedly."

"I wish I could say the same… I feel kind of bad not being able to say it back to you."

Soul chuckles and gently cups my face, resting his forehead against mine. "I can wait for that, but I do want to know, do you think you know me enough to get back together with me? I know I'm being impatient and immature by asking it, but I really, really do want to know and I love you so much it feels like I'm going to explode if I'm not able to be with you and show you all of these feelings of mine."

My heart stops for what feels like minutes. Every function in my brain shuts down temporarily as his proposal goes through my mind over and over again. I can't deny the fact that I am attracted to him and I really do like Soul a lot. I don't want him to have someone else and I don't want anyone else than him. I can really see myself growing to love him, so maybe getting together with Soul again is a good idea.

"You know, you do already show me all the time how you feel. You are very touchy of yourself." Just to prove my point, I gently put my hands over his and caress them with my thumbs.

Soul chuckles heartily, moving even closer to me. "That's because I love you and I love touching your body." Our noses bump as he gently caresses my face. "And you know I can always get even touchier if I'm allowed to touch you in public~"

"On that note, I would say no." I giggle teasingly while I pull away from Soul.

"Come on." Soul says taking a step forward while I counter by taking one backwards. "You know you like me. We both know we can't stay away from each other."

"If you want me," I smirk wide while I switch into my spiritual form. "Then you better catch me." Quickly I turn around and run away from Soul.

"Oh it's on!" Soul yells after me and I can feel his soul wavelength behind me.

I giggle loudly as I run as fast as I can into the forest surrounding the meadow. I don't care about the trees or the branches that whip right through me. I don't even know where I'm running since the trees are many and the naked branches are covering the view in front of me.

"You can't catch me!" I yell as I keep running faster and faster.

"Oh I will catch you!" Soul screams. He isn't as far behind me as I thought he was. He actually sounds pretty close.

The forest suddenly clears and my eyes widen. I come out of the forest and I'm on top of a large cliff with a view of the lake Soul was talking about. The sun perfectly reflects its light on the surface of the water and with the ghostly forest surrounding it, it is far more beautiful that I thought it would look like.

Suddenly Soul body slams into me and we go flying off the cliff toward the lake. "Don't turn back." Soul whispers into my ear as he holds me close to his chest. As we break the surface of the lake, the water doesn't ripple and the water doesn't feel cold against my skin of my ghost body.

Our eyes lock. He smiles gently toward me, holding me close by my waist. "I caught you." His lips slam onto mine and my breath is taken. His tongue slides into my mouth and a shock of pleasure shoots through my body. I discover the calming reality that I don't have to hold my breath underneath the water even though Soul has already stole it away from me, I can breathe just like if it was air.

My arms find Soul's neck before my fingers find his wild hair while my legs wrap around his waist. His hands touch what seems like my entire body since it is on fire with pleasure. First they are on my back before they suddenly are on my bump until I find them in my hair.

We reach the surface and the kiss breaks. "So I guess this means we are together?" He murmurs against my lips and I shiver pleasantly.

"That is what I want at least."

"And what you want is exactly what you get." Our lips smash together once again and it just proves how much I have missed Soul, having him hold me and kiss me with so much passion. He showing his affection is addicting.

I remove my lips from his and rest my head on his chest. "It feels like my heart is going to explode." I mutter lowly. I thought Soul wouldn't hear me, but oh boy I was wrong.

"I hear you, now you know what state I have been all this time." He murmurs against my hair.

I jump out of my skin in surprise and to my dismay, Soul's touch goes right through me and the cold water envelops my body.

I accidentally dropped my spirit form.

A loud shriek of the sudden cold assault on my body leaves my body as I immediately shivers, missing Soul's touch.

"Maka!" Soul says and he does the same mistake as I, dropping the spiritual form since he soon curses because of the cold water. "Holy shit!" He grabs my hand. "Let's get out of here before we turn into popsicles!"