SE: Repairing a Broken Soul 33

Repairing a Broken Soul

Chapter 33: Gentleman

"If I kiss you…you know—a little more passionately than last time…"

"Will it hurt?"



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I decided…that I loved Soul.

I didn't just "like" him anymore…I was in 'love' with him…

I fell in love…and I almost hated myself for it.

The one I loved…kissed me. He stole my first kiss almost as if it were nothing. When he had finished—approximately three seconds in—he pulled away and glared at the crowd; asking if they were all satisfied. Then…as if nothing had happened, he sighed, let go of my hand and walked away to go get himself something to eat—with my permission of course. And now…I sat on the sidelines with Liz and watched him and Kid have a conversation near the food table. Kid looked as if he was in front of the most symmetrical object in the world even though Soul's hair swept asymmetrically to the side.

"Kid was obsessed with the Evans brothers…" Liz breathed as she watched Soul lean back and away from the OCD child. I looked at her as my chin rested in my palm and lifted a brow as she stared into her wineglass. "They may have been unsymmetrical when it came to most things, but Kid always told Patty and I that their music was pure art. He even showed us a ton of their old records from back before the tragedy…" My eyes narrowed as a small smile crept onto her face while she then watched the two blue bloods in the distance. "So I guess…Soul's pretty much Kid's new obsession for the next couple of days…until he gets used to being around him and all…It must feel great…to be with another rich kid…"

"You know…" I began; causing her to look my way. I glanced over to the two boys as Soul held out a hand to prevent Kid from spilling his drink in excitement. "During the Winter Ball…I asked him why he didn't want to tell you guys who he was…" A smile of my own grew on my face and I looked at Soul with softened eyes. "He was afraid that Kid would treat him like a fellow rich person, for one thing…and he thought that you and Patty would end up trying to be his body guards or something…" I heard Liz laugh from beside me and I looked back at her. "What is it?"

"Man he's good…" She said along her laughter as her sister behind her poured herself a drink. Patty, since she had been listening in on our conversation, laughed a long with her before sitting down next to her older sister. "'Cause you know…we probably 'would have tried to be his body guards."

"I would have sent mah giraffes after da bad guys~! Eheheheh!"

I rolled my eyes and looked back over to Soul and Kid, but only saw the black and white haired boy walking over with a content smile. I stood up to ask where Soul had gone, but soon caught sight of him walking quickly through the crowd and away from a small group of girls. Curious, I began making my way over to him; hearing the girls saying that they wanted kisses too, and as soon as he saw me, he made his way over. "Soul, what's going on?" I asked him as he fastened his pace.

"Fan-Club trouble." Soul answered before walking behind me to use me as a shield. "Can you deal with them please…they somehow found out my name…" I gasped and he looked over my shoulder as if he was trying to hide. "It's really uncool…now that I'm Soul 'Evans', they're freakin' obsessed with me even more…" I nodded and soon I found myself being pulled along with him as he walked a little to our left. Then, he turned me towards the girls, gave me a light shove, and walked away so I could take care of the problem.

"Girls…" I began as the group stopped in front of me. I held out both of my arms and smiled. "Wh-Who told you about Soul and his real name?" I then asked them. A couple of them giggled and another pointed over to the food table. I glanced over and saw that the only person there was, of course, the blue haired freak we all knew as Black*Star. "Oh brother…" I sighed, rolled my eyes and looked at the group of girls again. "Look…I know you don't like me much, but believe me when I say this," Some of them crossed their arms, and some just leaned in a little to show interest. "Soul would really appreciate it if you guys kept his name secret. I promise that I'll get him to do a little seminar at your group meetings if you do this…Since I live with him and all…"

"That's right…"

"Oh~! Lucky girl!"

"Fine…we won't tell anyone!"

"And…can you make sure you give him some space tonight?"

"Yeah!"

Squealing in excitement, the girls all walked off with smiles; leaving me to sigh to myself. Then, I smiled in victory as I set my hands on my hips. But then, something tingled within my body: a spark of some sort that made me want to look to my left. And just as I did, I saw Soul standing slightly behind me but still to my left. It was odd though…he didn't even make a sound, and I just knew he was there…I guess…I could sense his presence somehow…maybe it was another perk to the soul seeing ability of mine. I smiled to myself…knowing that I'd always be able to know if Soul was nearby…

"What the hell…I didn't even make a sound…" Soul grumbled as he took a step forward to stand beside me. He watched the girls for a moment before turning to face me; narrowing his crimson eyes. "How did you do that…?" He then asked before leaning over to meet my gaze in 'very' close range. I gulped and felt my heart skip a beat. He was way too close… "Well? Maka…how did you—"

"I'd tell you, but you wouldn't believe me…"

"Try me…"

I gulped again and looked away, but as he took a step forward still leaning over to meet my gaze, I leaned back a little and stepped back. "I…I can sense your presence when your nearby." I then told him; my face turning pink as he took another step forward, which in return caused me to take another step back. Now that I had said it…I think it was about time I told someone. Especially him. "It's because…I…I looked into your soul the day you spoke to me the first time!" His eyes widened and I shut mine tight. "I have an ability to see people's souls…and one day I was just walking by when I heard your piano playing…I looked into your soul and saw that it was broken! That's why I asked you to come live with me! Because I wanted to fix it! I wanted to help you and I wanted to make your soul healthy again…" He leaned back and away from me before narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"So you…you pretty much took pity on me?"

"Stop with that Soul!" I yelled only loud enough for the two of us to hear. "That's just what I do!" He lifted a brow as I took a step forward and held back my tears. "I see a broken soul and I try to fix it! I just reacted to something that I saw. That's it!" After that, I snapped my mouth shut and kept quiet as he stared at me. Then…slowly…a smile began to form on his lips and he began to laugh; causing my eyes to widen in disbelief. "You…you don't believe me…do you?"

"Not really…" Soul answered, shutting his eyes and reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "It was a good joke though. Almost believed you for a second—"

"Unbelievable." I simply said; causing him to open his eyes again. I then shook my head and narrowed my eyes sadly; trying my best not to cry. "I knew I shouldn't have told you…" Why did I love him again? "I'm leaving." I turned at the heel and began walking away from him in the direction of the ballroom's entrance but soon, he had taken me by the arm and spun me around. "Soul—"

Soul relaxed his hold on my arm and let go to set both hands on my shoulders. "Look…Maka." He then began as he looked at the floor. "It…it is a little hard to believe…but…" He narrowed his eyes before looking back up into my own eyes. "If you prove it to me…maybe I will." I only shrugged and shook my head at him. How would I possibly be able to do that?

"I don't know how to prove it, Soul…" I said to him with narrow eyes. He looked at me for a moment before letting out a sigh and looking down. As he stared at the ground my eyes glanced over to the left. Kid and Patty had found a way to entertain themselves. Since Kid was such a symmetry freak, he had it so that he was spinning her at the same time as spinning himself. It looked odd…so I decided to look away and to my right. Black*Star came into view. He was standing on a table while Tsubaki calmly drank her drink in a chair beside it. My eyes narrowed at the egoistic boy. "Soul…Black*Star was the one who told those girls from your fan-club about you…"

"What?!"

Soul looked up and over to the blue haired boy to his right and narrowed his eyes before looking at me again; asking me to be excused. I nodded to him, and he walked away to go have a little word with his so called "brother". What he was going to do to the poor kid…I didn't really want to know. So I sighed and turned to walk back over to where Liz sat. She looked really bored as she watched her sister dance with Kid. So when I sat next to her I smiled and elbowed her in the arm; causing her to look over.

"Do you not have a date?"

Liz shook her head and leaned back in her seat. "Nah…" She then said to me before closing her eyes and drinking a little bit of her drink. "Most of the guys here already have dates…plus, I was never asked to the Winter Ball. Surprisingly…" Surprisingly was the right way to describe it! Liz usually had boys drooling all around her. I was puzzled no one had even approached her about the Winter Ball. And I was even more puzzled to find out she didn't have a date for this party either! "Oh well…I have Kid. Patty and I usually take turns—"

"Ladies…"

Liz and I turned our heads forward and saw none other than Tod Lancy; the boy that Soul punched back before the Winter Ball. I was surprised to see him only because I hadn't seen much of him ever since that cold and rainy day. "Hi Tod." I greeted as he smiled to the both of us. His right hand came up to wave to me politely before letting it fall back down to his side.

"Hello, Maka." Tod greeted before cautiously taking a look around. "Uh…where's your boyfriend?" He then asked me as if he was scared that Soul would pop out of nowhere and punch him again. I glared at him though since he had called the white haired mess my boyfriend. As sad and depressing as it was…he was most certainly not. "He's not around…is he? I don't want to anger him because I'm standing here…"

"Soul's not my boyfriend."

"He's not?" Tod asked with astonished eyes. I nodded to him as my glare disappeared and he laughed lightly before rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Oh…well it seemed like he was when he hit me…" He dropped his arm back to his side and smiled at me again. "Anyway, could you possibly, uh, maybe apologize to him for me? I don't wish to be his enemy." I nodded to him and he let out a deep sigh before setting his hand on his chest. Then, opening his hazel green eyes again, he bowed to me. "Thank you, and may I say you look very beautiful tonight, Maka." He then said to me; causing me to blush a little. Why couldn't Soul say something like that to me…?

"Oh…why thank you, Tod."

"My pleasure." He stood back up straight and smiled to me once more before looking over to Liz; causing her to nearly spit out what she was drinking. "I've come here to ask the beautiful, Miss. Thompson to dance actually." Tod then said to us both before holding out a hand to her. "Would you care for a dance Miss. Thompson?" He asked her in the most gentleman way he possibly could. I smiled as Liz handed me her drink and took it as if some child getting ready to leave to the toy story.

"Just call me Liz."

"Liz, it is then…"

I waved to her as she and Tod walked off to go dance on the dance floor, and with a small sigh, I set her drink down on the table behind me before looking out to her again. Tod was such a gentleman. Why couldn't Soul be like that? Tod bowed down to women when asking to dance, while 'I' had to be the one to ask Soul to dance. Tod complimented the way a lady looked, while Soul just scowled and looked away, or just plain ignored it. They were complete opposites…one was a gentleman and one was an ass…so…why did I fall in love with the dark, secretive and secluded one…?

The spark deep within my mind went off again and I stood up and looked to my left, only to see Soul pause as he was making his way over to me. He stared at me for a moment before finally blinking and continuing his stroll. "Man…I just about think you really 'can' sense me…" I smiled and let out a small giggle as he stopped beside me; keeping his eyes out on Tod and Liz the whole time. "So…why was Tod over here talking to you?" He asked me almost too quiet for me to hear. I stopped giggling and looked over to the couple as they danced.

"He just wanted me to apologize to you for him…" I told him after a moment of watching the couple dance. "And then, he asked Liz to dance…that's all." I felt his eyes fall upon me as I kept mine on Liz and Tod. I watched as he took her hand and twirled her around before dancing again. I almost felt envious towards her…that she was dancing. Not because she was dancing with Tod. The only person in the whole ballroom I wanted to dance with was Soul, and we already danced...I was sure that he wouldn't want to dance again after what happened with the mistletoe…I wasn't even sure if he liked it. I liked it of course…but what did 'he' think about it? My eyes narrowed as Liz was twirled around again. That wasn't fair…I didn't get to twirl around like that when I was dancing…

"Care to dance?"

My eyes snapped away from the dancing couple and over to Soul, who at the moment was bowing to me with his hand out in my direction. My mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out. He was actually bowing to me! He was asking me to dance! Who was this boy and what did he do with Soul?! "Y-Yes…" I took his hand finally after moments of stutters and then, suddenly, he brought my knuckles to his lips; causing me to gasp in surprise and turn bright red. "S-Soul!" With a small laugh, Soul stood up straight and began pulling me over to the dance floor; a grin plastered on his face.

"What?" He asked me before setting one hand on my waist and the other within my hand. I set my free hand on his arm as he grinned a little more. "I was just trying to be a gentleman…can a cool guy try?" I glared at him before smiling sarcastically.

"Sure…you're a gentleman alright." I then said to him as the two of us began to sway for the second time that night. "A laid-back, rude, sarcastic…" With each and every name, Soul narrowed his eyes a little more with a frown. "…Lazy, apathetic, argumentative, and twisted gentleman that's sometimes pessimistic—"

"Ok, Ok!" Soul snapped as we continued our dance. Then with a sigh, he looked down and shut his eyes in defeat. "I get it…I'm a bit whacked up…" I smiled to myself before he could look up again and smiled a little more genuinely at me. "But I try my best to make you happy…like right now for instance…" As my eyes widened slightly, he let go of my waist, and used my hand that he held in his own to spin me around before setting his hand back firmly on my waist and beginning our sway again. How did he know?! How did he know that I wanted to be twirled…? "Maka Albarn…you're always the one reading the books…but…" He did it again and this time, when we returned, he pulled me even closer than before. "I'm smarter than I look…and I know how to read people's expressions as if they 'were' books…"

I tilted my head to the side. "You mean…you…?"

"The way you were staring at Liz and Tod…" Soul lightly laughed as we continued to sway across the dance floor. "Every time they did something like this…" Trailing off, he let go of my waist, used that hand to grab the one that I had on his arm, stepped away from me with his other hand still in my other, and then pulled me under his arm in another twirl before setting his hand back on my waist; now making our steps a lot quicker than they had been. "…you made a cute little face that told me that you wanted to do the same exact thing…" I gasped as his shark toothed grin appeared across his face and went to say something again, but quicker than he had ever done it, he twirled me again before holding me close once more. "Fun?"

I couldn't help but smile and nod. "Yeah actually…" I trailed off and let him do another one, but this time slower. And once his hand was back on my waist and holding me close I lightly laughed. "It's really fun." Soul smiled as my laughter continued. He let go of me again and this time, as he whispered the number "2" to me, he spun me around two times, which caused me to actually laugh a little harder during. Once I was in his arms again, instead of taking his hands, I threw my arms around his neck and just hugged him; my head resting on his chest as I shut my eyes. For a moment Soul stopped dancing with me, but eventually, I felt his arms wrap around my waist and we began again.

How long had it been since the music actually slowed down…? No…It never did…did it?

I opened my eyes and noticed that my head wasn't exactly on his chest anymore. I didn't really realize it, but I had set it in the crook of his neck; which as soon as I 'did' notice it, I turned bright red…again. Everyone else was still dancing to a normal paced jazz piece as Soul and I slow danced to it. But why…? Wouldn't Soul have stopped and told me that we were dancing too slowly to the beat of the song? Apparently not, since we were still dancing in each other's arms. The thought of that made me even redder—if it was even possible—and I shut my eyes and smiled within his messy hair. I could feel a ton of glares bearing into the back of my skull from many jealous girls from the "Soul Eater Fan-Club"—which I was sure they had just recently changed into the "Soul Evans Fan-Club" –but I didn't care one bit. They could all just go fall in a ditch and rot or something…

Whoa…that was just a little dark for me…I guess, Soul's coolness wasn't the 'only' thing rubbing off on me…

"I love you…"

"You say something?"

I opened my eyes after hearing Soul's voice questioning me. Damn… That's all I could think at the moment. He didn't hear me and I couldn't work up the courage to repeat myself. So instead I pulled away from him and smiled at his slightly confused face. "I said I was hungry." I lied to him before pointing to the table behind me. "Do you mind if maybe…we could go get a bite to eat?" Soul looked at me for a moment before lifting a brow and looking over my shoulder to spot the food table. For a moment, I thought he suspected my lying, but when he looked at me again and nodded, I smiled a little more and pulled him out of the crowd to go get my food. Truthfully I wasn't really that hungry…but…I just couldn't repeat what I had said to him! I knew I was courageous…but confessing your feelings for someone that you truly do love is hard…it really is.

"I'll be right back…"

"Ok…" I watched as the white haired boy walked off and back into the crowd and as I aimlessly picked up different things of food, I saw him kneel down and pick something up. What was it, I wondered? Was it something that he had dropped? I could barely see what it was though since there were so many people in the way. And just as I was about to lean over to the left little, a familiar voice filled the air.

"Hello, Maka-Chan."

"T-Tsubaki!" I gasped in surprised before standing back up straight. I laughed nervously after dropping my fork and knelt down to search for it, but soon found that she had picked it up from flying onto her plate. "Heh…thanks…" I said as she handed it to me with a small giggle. "S-So how's the party been for you…?"

Tsubaki sighed and looked at me with a small smile before pointing in the direction of all the tables and chairs. "Great…other than the time when Soul came over and nearly killed Black*Star…" I rolled my eyes after seeing the blue haired boy tied up to a chair in the back of the room; tape around his mouth. But, I then lifted a brow in puzzlement…Where did Soul get the tape and rope? "I came over here to get him some food since his stomach was growling…"

"When is his stomach 'not' growling?" I asked; now noticing Soul walking back over from where he had picked up the mysterious item. Tsubaki laughed and shrugged before turning to face the wall. I looked at her in the corner of my eyes and saw that she had a curious expression on her face. I lifted a brow. "What are you—"

"Maka…the two of you seem to be different…" Tsubaki breathed as she kept her back to Soul. As she looked at me in the corner of her eyes, I saw her smile and her eyes soften greatly. "Maka-Chan, your glowing…I can sense it." Then, she gestured her head in Soul's direction as he bumped into Kid and Patty. "Even 'Soul' is glowing…he seems to be a lot lighter on his feet and a lot less…uh…dark…"

"Not sure what you're talking about Tsubaki—"

"Did you finally tell him?"

"T-T-Tell him what?"

"That you love him…?"

My eyes widened to show my panic. How the hell did she know?! How the hell did Liz know?! How the hell did Kid know?! I swear I was going to explode if anyone else in that room knew! Was I really 'that' readable?! If they could see it…then could Soul see it too?! Oh, no! Oh GEEZ! If he already knew…that would be so…that would be so embarrassing! That would mean he probably knew what I said when I said "I love you." He must have been faking it! Or maybe just playing with me! Or maybe there was hope that he still didn't know…but how the hell did Tsubaki know?! Did Black*Star and Patty know?! They probably did…knowing Liz…she probably told them a long time ago! Oh crap…Soul was on his way over! What was I going to do?! Damn it Tsubaki…I was beginning to feel a bit nauseous…

"Maka-Chan, are you ok?"

"I think I'm going to pass out…"