SE: Repairing a Broken Soul 34

Repairing a Broken Soul

Chapter 34: I Wish…

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

"Will it hurt?"



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The music was all muffled and hard to hear when I regained my consciousness. I opened my eyes slightly and saw that I was in some other room and I was staring at the wall and a large painting hung perfectly straight and aligned on it. Remembering that that the last thing I saw before being in there was Soul asking me if I was feeling ok just before I fell into Tsubaki's arms. I cursed to myself and examined where I was now. They had both asked me if I was ok…so that meant I must have looked way distressed. Where was Soul now? And where was Tsubaki? More importantly…where was I?

I was sitting alone in a room with two openings: one a door and one an archway. What I was sitting in was a beautiful red leather couch in the middle of the room with two large plants on each side of it. It must have been some kind of lounge near the ballroom since the muffled music was coming from right outside the left door. Hearing some kind of flushing sound and the noise of a faucet from in the archway to my right, I looked over there and widened my eyes in shock.

"Th-This is a bathroom?!"

"Maka-Chan? Girls, I think she's awake…"

Soon enough, in the archway Tsubaki appeared and smiled in my direction; a wet towel in her hand. "Do you still feel nauseous?" She asked me as she sat down next to me to pat down my forehead with it. Behind her Liz and Patty appeared in the archway as well as I shook my head. Then, to my surprise, Kim and Jacqueline came into view too. Kim was holding a bucket in her hand while Jacqueline held another towel. "We were all worried about you. Once you passed out, I guess you attracted all of our girlfriends' attention when Soul was carrying you over here…"

"S-Soul did?!"

Tsubaki nodded to me as Kim and her best friend made their way over to us and knelt down. "Do you need to throw up?" Kim then asked as she set the bucket down. I shook my head and she smiled with a nod. "Alight, but if you end up having the urge, I'll leave the bucket right here." Smiling, I nodded back to her and let Tsubaki continue what she was doing. I was so lucky to have them as my friends. Even if Kim and Jacqueline weren't always talking to me…they were still nice enough to take care of me while I was passed out…Shibusen sure changed my life…I had more friends then back at my old school…and I found my soul mate…I used to always tell myself that I'd never fall in love, because men were dirty liars and cheaters…and I always believed that…that is, until I met Soul…

"How long have I been out?"

"About an hour." Tsubaki answered; causing me to gasp and pull back to look at her in surprise. "R-Relax…maybe a little less…" She then told me with a small nervous giggle. I stared at her for a moment before getting to my feet and walking over to the door to my left. Once I opened it, I was looking out to the dance floor from the dining side. "M-Maka-Chan?" I ignored them as they called for me and I looked around for Soul. If I was out for a whole hour, what was 'he' doing?

"Maka."

I slightly flinched and looked to my right, only to see Soul stand up from a chair. I don't think I could have been any happier than I was at that moment. "Soul…" I breathed as he walked over to stand nearby and lean on the wall with his rare relaxed smile. "Have you been waiting this whole time?" I then asked him as he crossed his arms and looked at me with his lazy eyes.

"Yeah." Soul answered with a nod before lightly laughing to himself. "Geez Maka you idiot! What were you thinking passing out like that, huh?" As he shut his eyes to keep on laughing, I smiled sweetly at him. Sure he sounded like he was joking around but the way his soul was shaking at the same time, I could tell that he was only worried about me. "Try not to do it again…it attracted a lot of attention and some people thought I did something…" He laughed a little more before scratching the back of his head.

"Soul, thank you."

Soul stopped his laughing and looked at me with questioning eyes before stuttering out something and looking away. "Y-Y-Yeah…" He then said before cursing to himself. I was quite surprised to see that he was actually blushing but I was sure it was just because he was probably just embarrassed. "I-It's pretty late…if want to go home or stay here…It's your choice…" Of course I wanted to stay, but before I could even answer him; someone had grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the bathroom before shutting the door.

"Ok, so spill Maka!"

"S-Spill what?"

Liz, Kim and Jacqueline stood before me with crossed arms as I was practically thrown back down onto the couch by Patty; Tsubaki standing by the door with an unsure expression on her face. With a sigh, the eldest Thompson sister, and the tallest of the gossip group, leaned over to meet my gaze with a lazy stare. "Spill the news about you and Soul. Tsubaki was just telling us that you passed out when she mentioned your feelings for him."

"Feelings?"

"Stop it Maka, we can see it in your eyes every time you look at him!" Liz stated as she knelt down and set her hands on my knees. "You're in love with Soul. We all can see it." As Kim and Jacqueline sat down beside me to give me a nudge in the arm my face turned bright pink. "Black*Star sees it, Kid sees it, Patty, Tsubaki, even Kim and Jacqueline see it. The only reason Soul hasn't seen it yet is because he's blinded by love too! And you both are just too oblivious to even notice. You guys are so hopeless…"

"Soul…doesn't love me…"

"Yes he does." Liz corrected with a small glare. "Do you have any idea how worried he was when you passed out back there?" She then asked me. I gave her an unsure expression as she sighed and went on. "After he kissed you under the mistletoe earlier, he walked away remember? He said that he was getting something to eat. Nope, not even close. Kid followed him into the men's bathroom and saw that he was as red as you are right now—" she pointed to my face. "—while he washed his face off with water. He was just as nervous about it as you were Maka. And just like you did, he felt queasy when it was over. Going to go get food was just an excuse to get out of the situation. That's how Soul is. He doesn't like sharing his thoughts. You gotta read it in his facial expressions and body movement. He won't say it, but his body will." I sprung an idea, and my eyes narrowed before looking down.

"And so will his soul…"

"What?"

I looked back up and shook my head at the confused Thompson sister. "N-Nothing." I then told her before looking at each girl in the room. "Ok…I love Soul. I admit it." They all smiled at me as I looked at Liz again. "But what exactly do you want to know? You said you wanted to spill news about us…but what kind of news?" Kim leaned over and smiled; an idea sparking within her mind.

"Like, when are you going to confess?"

My eyes narrowed and I looked at my hands. "Actually…I kinda already did…" They all gasped and leaned in eagerly as I played with my fingers; asking me to tell them what had happened. "But…he didn't hear me." After that said, they leaned back in disappointment. "I don't think…I'll be able to do it again."

"Go be with him, Maka-Chan. He's still worried."

I looked over to Tsubaki and watched her open the door and point outside of the bathroom. On the other side of the room, Soul finally relaxed and sat with the other boys to have a chat of their own. I watched him closely, and saw him laugh after Black*Star fell off his chair, and just as I was about to doubt that he really was still worried, he glanced over and across the room. Seeing me, a smile crept onto his face and he was nearly forced back into the conversation since the egoistic boy smacked him on the back, yelling something probably about himself. Maybe they were right…maybe Soul really did love me…

"I wish…I could tell him…"

"Go…"

Kim and Jacqueline lifted me by my arms and lead me over to the door so they could bring me out of the bathroom's lounge; Liz, Patty and Tsubaki not too far behind. They shut the door behind us, handed me a drink that seemed to come out of nowhere, and gave me a light push towards Soul and the boys. I blinked, looked over my shoulder and my eyes widened from what I saw. Everything seemed to change…I stood beside a younger version of myself…and there on the table behind me, both my Mom and Papa sat with large smiles urging me to continue.

"You should go dance with Soul!"

"B-but!"

As my younger self looked over her shoulder, I watched my parents give her a thumbs up. Then, as my younger self sighed, she turned her head back around and began walking over to him. I turned around as well and saw that, in the middle of the blurry crowd, a younger Soul stood motionless and far behind him, the older Soul stood up from his seat, saying something to Black*Star—who instantly disappeared once Soul's attention was turned to me. I blinked in puzzlement. Was I on something? Did the girls drug me!?

Self consciously, I began walking in the same direction the mini versions of Soul and I stood and saw that the older Soul was walking that way as well. Every once in awhile, I made a step to the side since I thought I had run into someone, but for some reason, they were the guests from the memory I was seeing at the moment. 'They drugged me…I just know it…' I thought as Soul and I stopped in front of each other right beside our younger selves.

"What? You come to ask me to dance too?"

"Did you come back out to dance with me again?" Soul asked me as I ignored his younger self coldly speak to 'my' younger self. "Or do you want to go home?" I opened my mouth and tilted my hand a little as I tried to figure out what was really happening to me. He grabbed my hand though and tilted it back upright. "You'll spill it…" Just then, my younger self began to speak.

"Actually..."

"Actually…"

"I don't want to dance with you."

"I don't want to dance with you…"

"I...uh…I-I think that your piano playing was really good! And I really, really,'really' liked it!"

"I want to go home."

As my younger self retreated back to the table behind me for cover, I gave Soul a sweet smile. "Sounds cool." He said to me before setting his hands in his pockets and turning to the door. He walked right through his younger self and soon my eye sight was back to normal. The room, the guests, and even the music went back to normal and I finally could see that some of the guests were actually already leaving. "You coming or not?"

"S-Sorry!" I called before making my way over to him. He turned a little to face me and went to speak. But of course, the "great" Black*Star had to jump in and tackle him to the side.

"YA-HAAA!" Black*Star shouted as he and Soul fell to the floor with a crash. A few people around us stopped what they were doing to look, but as soon as I walked over and helped Soul stand, they stopped and went back to their things. "Are you leaving already, Soul? You can't leave without actually saying goodbye to the great Black*Star!" The blue haired boy laughed loudly as Soul rubbed his shoulder to sooth the pain.

"Black*Star…"

Soul and I glanced over to the right to see the rest of the gang along with Tod as well; an arm around Liz's shoulders. Tsubaki walked over to the blue haired boy and grabbed him by the earlobe before pulling him close; actually causing him to wince a little. "Do you not remember Soul's condition? He's still healing." She then whispered to him as if scolding a child. Soul pulled himself away from me and shrugged it off.

"It's ok, don't sweat it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Tsubaki nodded and let go of Black*Star before quickly apologizing to him with a small smile as he rubbed his ear. Then, as we all lightly laughed at the two, Tod dropped his arm and looked at Liz. "I think I need to get home." He then told her. "Since this is where you live, I guess I can't ask to walk you home." He laughed lightly as we all looked their way and then leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. "Goodnight." He then said before turning around to leave. He looked at me, "Maka…" He then said with a nod before looking at Soul. "Soul…"

"Night Tod." Soul simply said with a small glare before the other boy was finally gone.

"Eheheh! Nee-Chan is blushing!" Patty laughed; causing us all to look over to the two Thompson sisters. Soul and I walked over to her as the younger sister poked Liz on the face a little near her lips: the exact place Tod kissed her. "He was so close to kissing you on da lips~!" Liz nodded as she blankly stared out in the direction Tod went and as soon as her sister's hand pulled away, she ended up reaching up and touching her face herself.

"It's weird…" Liz mumbled before glancing over to Soul and I; but mostly to me though. "I've gone out with a lot of guys in the past and neither of them have kissed me on the cheek before." I heard Soul let out a laugh and elbowed him in the chest so she could continue. "Always, I've been kissed on the lips, even on a first date. And then Tod…" Her hand lifted to gesture in the direction he went. "He…I…I think I really liked it." A smile spread across on her face and she looked at me again. "I want another…" Her eyes fell upon Soul. "Soul, kiss me on the cheek!"

"Wha—NO!"

"Relax…I was kidding."

As Liz laughed and walked away to drag Kid and her sister away from us, I looked at Soul and leaned over with a sly smile. "Would you kiss 'me' on the cheek, if I asked you?" Soul huffed and began walking over to the doorway with his nose up in the air.

"No way."

Rolling my eyes, I looked at Tsubaki and Black*Star and waved. "Bye guys," I then said before heading over to the doorway. "I'll see you two tomorrow!" Tsubaki nodded and waved before taking the blue haired boy out for one last dance. Once I was outside, I took a big, deep breath of the crisp, chilly air that the nighttime brought every single evening. Soul stood at the foot of Kid's stairs waiting for me with his hands in his pockets and I couldn't help but smile at him. I then walked down the steps and pulled his hands out of his pockets with the both of mine. I had almost forgotten about the gift I got him for Christmas. The one I had installed secretly while we were at the party…

"Let's hurry so I can give you your Christmas present…"



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I stared at the ground as we walked side by side in the lit street. Was it me…or had Soul and I mumbled the same thing at the same time when we left Kid's home? It was odd…and it was weird just to think about it. I mean…Soul bought me a Christmas present? That morning, when I had said "Merry Christmas" all he did was groan out an "uncool", sit down and mention how lame Christmas really was. It really convinced me that I was going to be the only one giving out the gifts that night. Which by the way, I had called the workers to install for me since Soul and I were at the party. Soul was curious on why I was whispering into my cell phone on the way to Kid's, but after shoving his face away a few times he kept his nose out of my business…Thank Goodness…

"You alright? You seem troubled."

My eyes shot up from the ground and I looked his way with a quick flash of a smile. "Yup!" I then, practically yelled; causing him to flinch slightly. "S-Sorry…I'm fine, don't worry." I smiled lightly as his eyes narrowed and then I looked back forward with, of course, some blush on my cheeks. The way everything seemed these past few hours…everything seemed as if we were a couple…he was always so close to me, he kissed me, danced with me, and we were walking together almost as if it was "like a date…"

Quickly realizing I had spoken my thoughts once again, my eyes widened and I tried not to act as if I knew he heard me. But, he stopped walking and looked at me while I kept my eyes away from him. Crap…why did he have to torture me so… "Maka?" I heard him ask lightly; sending chills down my spine. All of a sudden…just his voice saying my name…felt so nice, and calming…even if his voice was violent and dark most of the time. There was another moment of silence, until finally, his hand took mine and he began dragging me down the street. It could have been like any other time when I'd grab his hand and hold it…but this time 'he' was the one who grabbed my hand…and…he intertwined his fingers with mine!

"S-Soul, what are you—"

"You said that this was like a date right?" I heard him ask as we kept walking. I couldn't see his face though since he kept it facing forward. "Well, when people go on dates…they hold hands…right?" He sounded so flustered, and I could tell he was either blushing from embarrassment, or he really loved me and was blushing from holding my hand…

"Soul, hold on a moment."

"Huh? What is it?"

Soul turned to face me after I gave his hand a small squeeze, and then I stepped forward to be right in front of him. I set my hand on his chest and smiled before looking up into his eyes. "May I?" I then asked him. Probably knowing what I was about to do, he nodded to me with a slight puzzled expression, and I looked back down to his chest before shutting my eyes. I took a deep breath, concentrated, let it out, and opened my eyes. Slowly I moved my hand out of the way and took sight of his soul. It was healthier than it had ever been around me…the chains were gone…the cracks, the madness, everything had disappeared. He was fixed…and it was my job to keep it that way…

Both my hands slid across his chest and wound their way around his back so I could give him another hug; my head firmly pressed against his chest and facing the left. It took him a moment…but, he let his arms hug me back…I guess he was finally getting used to my random hugs. "Soul…I fixed it…" I mumbled to him with a large smile on my face; nearly crying out of my closed eyes.

"That would explain the night with the broken record…"

I smiled a little more and nodded to him before looking up to his crimson eyes. "Does that mean…" I began with a little sliver of hope in my eyes. "You believe me?" Soul nodded to me and without another word I hugged him again, only a little tighter. "Oh, Soul! Thank you, Thank You!" I yelled into his chest as he lightly laughed and set a hand on the back of my head.

"Yeah, yeah…can we go home now? It's freezing out here…"

"Yeah!" I yelled; intertwining his fingers with mine again and dragging him down the street. We weren't that far from Kid's place so we didn't have to run too much. Thank goodness…I felt like those heels were going to destroy my poor feet. I almost laughed at his face when I turned around half way up the steps. He looked so tired he was about to just fall over and pass out right there. "Come on Soul! Just a few more steps!" I called with a laugh as he set his hands on his knees to take breather. After my voice reached him, still looking down, he lifted a hand and swung it my way in a way of telling me to shut up. I giggled again as his hand dropped back down onto his knee.

"Hold on…my side hurts…" Soul breathed before standing up straight and climbing up the stairs again. I smiled at him and finished climbing the steps and ran over to our apartment door. "Oi, Maka! Wait a sec." I turned around as Soul came to the top of the stairs and slowly made his way over. I then leaned on the door as he reached into his pocket to search for something I was sure wasn't the key. I narrowed my eyes as he pulled the object out, and noticed it was the very thing that had fallen out of his pocket earlier. He pulled out a velvety box…not small enough to be a ring and yet not long enough to be a necklace. "Here…Merry Christmas…" He looked away embarrassed as he held it out to me.

"Thank you Soul…"

I took the blue velvet box from his hands and pried it open; revealing a small but elegant silver bracelet with a single blue charm on it. It was simple…but it looked absolutely gorgeous. "Liz said girls like that kind of stuff…" Soul mumbled as I stared at the bracelet in awe. "I don't have that much money…so it's not too flashy…but I tried to get whatever looked—"I looked up to his embarrassed face and quickly intruded.

"Soul, I love it."

"R-Really?"

I nodded and took the bracelet out of the box. Then, after handing the velvet container to Soul, I slipped it on my right wrist. "Simple…but beautiful…" My finger traced along the small blue charm that I guessed was a sapphire. "You know…it reminds me of your soul…" I then said to him; causing him to curiously look at the sapphire as well. Then without warning, I hugged my arm and the bracelet close. 'It will always be close to my heart…'

"Can we go inside?"

"Oh. Yes!" I turned around and opened the door slowly before peering inside and to the right where the couches were. I saw that the living room had been moved around to make room for what I had installed for him. And boy did it look beautiful in the corner like that! "Come on in!" I moved out of his way and held out my hand to allow him to enter, and with one odd exchange of a look my way, he walked inside so I could shut the door behind us. As soon as I shut it and looked his way, I saw that he caught sight of his gift. He had frozen in place, his eyes wide and facing the corner of the newly decorated living room. I giggled. "Merry Christmas, Soul."

I had a large, black grand piano installed during our time at the party. Whoever worked in the place I had bought it from sure worked fast…unless we were at the party for longer than I thought? Anyway, the thing that really made the piano beautiful was that it was in the corner near the window where the moonlight could shine on its glossy surface and dance upon the specially painted blood red keys. I had my Papa of course help me buy it, like he had offered…and I wasn't sure if it was one of the best or one of the worst types…all I knew was that it was a pretty piano that Soul could play if he wished.

"That's a…Bosendorfer 200…"

After Soul's voice rang into my ears, I watched him walk over to the piano and set his hands on it's glossy surface. I smiled and walked over as he mumbled some things to himself. "My Papa helped me get it for you, believe it or not, since I didn't have enough money to get it myself…" I lightly laughed. "I know you don't like people listening to you, so whenever you want to practice I'll go ahead and go in my room to study. I'll even put on my iPod and turn it up full blast or something…" Soul looked away from the instrument and eyed me as I went on. "I mean it could work out later on if you finally do end up feeling comfortable with playing in front of me…"

"How much was it Maka?"

"H-Huh? Oh…about $80,000"

"What?" Soul gasped as he stood up straight and looked at me sternly; causing me to set my hands behind my back sheepishly. "Maka…that's a lot of money…For one thing…for 'you' …" He looked at the piano and then me before helplessly gesturing over to my right arm. "I got you a freakin' bracelet…" He sighed and then ran his hands through his hair. "How uncool…"

"Oh Soul don't worry about it, really!" I gasped as he shook his head in what seemed like shame. "Soul, I love the bracelet. There's no need to worry." Soul looked up as I set my hands on his shoulders and smiled at him as sweetly as possible. "It's the thought that matters, right?" I then asked him; causing his eyes to widen slightly before looking over to the piano again. My hands fell back to my sides and I watched as he stared at the instrument. Then, with another look my way he shrugged; probably beat by my pig headedness…

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome!"

"No really…" Soul suddenly stated; causing my smile to fade and me to open my eyes to give him a confused look. Then, with his usual smirk, he bent over to meet my gaze and then moved his head to the side so his lips were only inches away from my ear. I felt goose bumps form just at the feeling of his breath on my skin…and this time, in this intense moment, I finally realized that he was wearing a little bit of cologne. "Thank you…for everything you've done. It means a lot to me…" My eyes widened as he spoke, and after feeling his cheek brush against mine, I felt his lips touch it as well. "Good night."

As soon as he pulled away and began walking over to his bedroom door, my hand came up to touch my cheek from shock and I nearly slapped myself unconscious. He kissed me again! Though, that time it wasn't on my lips…but it was still a kiss! And I totally felt like passing out again! But I wasn't going to let it get to me again…and I wasn't going to let him get away this time. So…as he opened his bedroom door and went to enter, I took a deep breath and spoke just a little too loudly then I had planned.

"I love you!"

Soul paused mid-step and looked at me.

.

.

What did I just do…?