12So, things are picking up again. I won't go on hiatus for so long again, I hope.
4. Invitations-Us vs. Stein, who will win? (Part Two)
God, why must you punish me? I can't believe it. I'm chained to Soul and Maka, (which already sounds suggestive) and there's nothing I can do about it. Moreover, Sid is caught in between us, and he reeks worse than his breath.
Imagine a pile of dirty socks. Now, add in soiled underwear. Throw in a landfill full of those and you're only halfway to how bad he stunk. The only thing that disgusted me nearly as much that I could compare it to would have to be my long-time nemesis of liver and onions. (Seriously, don't ask…)
Bottom line? I was going to puke. Okay, on the brink of doing so, but still pretty grossed out here. Maka I could tell was looking slightly green herself. Soul I bet was glad not to have a nose at the moment.
So how exactly had we gotten into this predicament?
Well…
Rewind «
Black*Star, Maka, and I had our backs to one another in a triangular formation. That way, we wouldn't be ambushed from behind by Sid, who was burrowing in the soil like Bugs Bunny. One of Tsubaki's mini-scythes was encircling us constantly, hovering over the ground. The other scythe was held in front of Black*Star. His eyes were closed, and he muttered under his breath every few seconds.
"Tsubaki, track him for me, okay?"
On the scythe blade I saw Tsubaki nod. "Right."
Ping!...Bloop. Ping!...Bloop. Ping!...Bloop. Ping!...Bloop.
There was that annoying noise again echoing inside my head. It hurt, too! It was picking up speed as well, and I could only speculate as to why it kept on repeating. Maybe I was right? Maybe it was some type of Soul Sonar that Tsubaki was emitting?
Ping. Bloop. Ping. Bloop. PingBloopPingBloopPingbloop.
And then the giant blue monster-man jumped up from the dirt. Instinctively I protected myself in the best way I could, by holding up Soul in front of my face like the coward I was. Behind me I heard a little "hmph".
"Got you!" shouted Black*Star, who yanked on Tusbaki's chains. It was then that I realized that Maka and I were standing in a very inconvenient place. Black*Star really was as stupid as he looked, and we were no better. The chains wrapped around Mr. Sid, effectively trapping him. Unfortunately it also roped in Maka, Soul and I.
"You idioooot!" shouted Maka, kicking her legs. Meanwhile, I was slumped forward, trying to keep my breakfast down.
At lease he was a good sport and untied us. Tsubaki stood to the side, partially transformed. From the end of her hair a single chain was encircled around Mr. Sid, and the zombie glared at us without saying anything. Soul had been trying to get information out of our captive about who had turned him into this abomination. Still, Mr. Sid didn't look like he was giving us any inclination of talking.
"Hmmmm…." Black*Star hadn't even tried to interrogate him this whole time, but I had a feeling he had an idea.
In my opinion it was both very brilliant and shockingly stupid.
"Here." He simply lifted up the front of Tsubaki's outfit. It was rather loose-falling I now noticed, and with the proper guidance, could expose most of her undergarments and legs. I for one wasn't the only one who stared. Black lace, very classy I must say.
I was shocked to hear that in exchange for that, Sid graciously told us that a certain mad scientist by the name of Dr. Franken Stein was the one who reanimated his corpse. Who knew he would spill his secrets so easily? And for underwear at that!
The problem was, we didn't know where the guy lived. Sure, maybe a rational person would have asked Lord Death himself where such a man lived. He was death after all. He should know.
However, Black*Star was not the genius I thought he was. The same flash of Tsubaki's panties obviously wouldn't work a second time. So the blue-haired boy decided he was going to flip Maka's skirt this time. In my opinion the boy was looking for a death wish.
Its plainness was surprising. Just some blah, white underwear without any frills or designs. It didn't even reveal much at all. However, despite the lack of a reaction from Sid, Maka was visibly pissed off. From out of nowhere, (and I mean nowhere) a red textbook came flying at top speed to hit all of the boys present in one strike. Maka's accuracy was astounding. Their heads were spurting blood from the impact, and they all were curled on the ground in pain.
"I'll tell you where he is," said Sid weakly.
He may have been dead, but he had an ounce of sense not to challenge Maka's anger second time.
…
He was waiting for us. Yes, that was a fact we had not expected. Standing outside of the laboratory was an extremely tall man. I'd probably go so far as to call him lanky, but it was clear that was only a cursory examination. He had a mop of grey hair and spectacles. His attire was what you'd expect of a mad scientist, a long white lab coat. Speaking of his lab coat it was covered in stitches. As was his face. Well. There was only one large stitch across the bridge of his nose that extended to the left side more than the other.
"So you've finally arrived," said the man Sid had told was named 'Franken Stein'. His name was frightening enough, but that slithering voice made my heart drop. A giant screw(or was it a bolt?) was lodged though his head, a physical quirk that had an unsettling irony to it. He had been expecting us, and we arrived later than he expected. That was not a good sign. That means we were worse than he had initially thought. The way he said the statement was in a flat monotone, almost bored-sounding. In his left hand a cigarette was still burning, a trail of smoke rising from its end, and he brought it to his lips casually to take a puff.
"We've come to stop you, Stein." Maka was at the front, staring him down as if she were going to murder the man on the spot. He was, after all, the reason her underwear had been displayed for all to see.
At Stein's side was a rolling chair. He sat down as Maka was speaking. He nodded when she was finished. "So you think you can stop me."
Obviously not a question.
"We will stop you," affirmed Maka, pointing to the man.
I for one wasn't so sure about that. Besides, he didn't seem concerned by our presence. In fact, he was at ease. As he sat, he turned the bolt… T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t… the screw in his head revolved, his right hand turning it with an unsettling speed. It's a wonder how it didn't scramble his brains. T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t…CLICK. It stopped turning and made that sharp, jarring noise that we all jumped at. Even Maka was a little startled by the noise and she bit her lip.
"Um, Soul?"
He gave me a sidelong glance. "Yeah?"
"Isn't there something odd about this guy?"
"Hmm? Like what?"
Stein suddenly plopped into the chair, which visibly sunk into the ground and gave a loud squeak. "You two are quite interesting." The glare on his glasses left for a second, and I saw for a brief moment, a pair of blank green eyes. "Your souls are so different….yet so similar. Soul Resonance must really be something between you…"
Was he talking about Soul and I? Well, he was staring straight at us so… wait. Hold it.
"Can you see our souls?!"
He nodded in the moonlight. "Of course."
So Lord Death sent us after a rogue Meister? Did he want us to die or something? Ok, that sounded really redundant, but that's my only thought on the matter at the moment.
"Enough staring!" Oh, that ninja was up to something again, damn it!
"For once, Black*Star's right," Maka tightened one of her pigtails.
I reached out my hand. "Soul." There was a flash of light and a rushing of wind. For the second time tonight I was holding him within my hands, and the power of wielding such a weapon surged through my whole body.
Black*Star was the first to attack; Tsubaki at the ready, and a dangerous current of power emanating from his soul. Stein was still sitting there, no concern for us at all. He deflected Black*Star's blow with his arm, but the force sent him spinning. We thought that would create an opening, but he was fast to block yet another attack as he came around. His hand twisted around, his fingers curled, and there was a large force that pushed the blue-haired boy back several meters. I could hear his knuckles cracking even at this distance. There was a loud feedback of noise at that moment, like a distorted amplifier.
Black*Star clutched his stomach and sunk to one knee. "How…is that possible?"
"Your wavelength I so erratic I wondered how your partner could stand it," Stein said, staring at Black*Star as he was doubled over in pain. "But once I saw your partner's accommodating soul, I understood." He gave a thumbs up. "You two are a perfect match."
The man stood again, the chair behind him now.
"You damn…" Black*Star attempted again to attack, without Tsubaki. He left her on the ground where he'd fallen and ran to our target. This time he planted his feet firmly in the ground and slammed his hands into Stein's side. "BLACK*STAR BIG WAVE!"
I felt a large pulse ripple through me, but overall…
…nothing happened.
This seemed to shock Black*Star, who backed away as if he'd seen the king of demons himself.
"My turn." Stein's hands gripped Black*Star's skull, which began to twitch spastically. It went on for a couple of seconds before he began to bleed out of his mouth and eyes. The red liquid was dripping onto the concrete below and creating a pool that would cause anyone to feel concerned.
Tsubaki immediately transformed and looked her Meister with a helpless expression.
"Black*Star!" she yelled in worry.
"Leave him alone!" Maka said, taking this opportunity to try some of her ultra-cool judo moves. Stein was still pretty fast, and countered her chops as quickly as she could give them. I jumped into the mix, trying to swipe at him with Soul, and trying very hard not to chop up my cousin.
I got snagged by one of his weird force blasts, though, and I was thrown backwards. My hands inadvertently let go of Soul and he went skittering in another direction.
"Sarah!" cried my cousin, reaching out towards us.
Stein paused the ass-whipping he was dishing out for a moment. "Sarah?" He began turning his bolt again. "Scythe-Meister Sarah, Scythe-Meister Sarah, now why does that seem familiar?"
I struggled to even lift myself from the ground to look at him. My whole body felt wiggly, like jelly, but it also ached like someone had thrown a box of hammers on me. Why would that seem familiar to him?
He finally understood, and punched his fist into his palm. "Oh, I know. You're Chad's little daughter and your mother was a Meister!" With an equally shady smile he turned his attention to Maka. "Which means…you're Spirit's little hellion, Maka."
"Hellion?" she asked, enraged further.
I had to agree. Maka was far from a troublemaking student. In fact, if you asked me, then I'd have to say she was too serious and too anal-retentive.
It certainly didn't stop her from trying to bum rush a hostile party, though.
Stein was unfazed. He probably had planned on this mode of attack. With the speed of lightning he grabbed one of Maka's pigtails and forcibly held her close. His lips hovered near her right ear. The other hand was busy lifting up her shirt and sweater-vest.
More sexual-harassment, just perfect.
Her midriff was a light peach, perfectly smooth in appearance and most likely very soft to the touch. Which Stein was doing at the moment, touching her exposed stomach.
"You have lovely skin," he said in a husky voice. "Let's see if I can turn it to sandpaper."
"Like hell you are!" I already had Soul back into my hands, but my legs were proving hard to move. It was like wading through molasses in order to stand.
"Sarah, we should try it again."
I already knew what he was talking about. It seemed we had no choice.
"Planning on resonating?" said Stein. "Go ahead." He seemed full of confidence at finding out our plan so quickly.
I hesitated, but the look Soul was giving me from his reflection in the blade…it didn't matter if I was afraid. It didn't matter if Stein was so powerful. We still had to try.
Again, I felt out wavelengths reach out towards one another. His was so wild and jumpy, so…bloodthirsty…it was shocking. A blush rose to my cheeks. I twirled the scythe. My body felt warm all over, and the temperature was rising.
Our wavelengths exploded when they touched.
"AH!" I couldn't help but let that exclamation escape. From my fingers to my toes, my whole body included, I could feel the power raging. "The ancient super-skill of the Sythemeister," I said quietly. Soul's thoughts, his heart, had connected with mine, and his anger was unbelievably strong.
I raised the transformed blade high and took off running. My feet moved on their own toward Stein. He dropped Maka and moved left. I could feel both of our anger, our sorrows, our pain. It was so overwhelming I couldn't even form the emotion on my face. It just manifested as a mask of calm. I veered in the direction he had leaned, bringing down the scythe with an emotionless expression. It still missed, connecting with the stone below. Bricks were ripped up in its wake, and some of them were dissolved on impact from the energy.
"Tch!" Stein, whose sleeve had been grazed by the attack, tried charging up a wavelength and launching it at me.
Again, I reacted on instinct, using Soul as support to flip over his outstretched hand and land on my feet. In a single motion I twisted around by my midsection, holding the scythe with both hands. Stein ducked this time.
Another attack. And another. All of them dodged last second by the rogue Meister. I could feel the hatred growing even more. Recklessly I attacked from directly above his head. I saw a delightfully panicked expression flit across his face before the end came for Soul and I.
He did the most impossible thing in the world.
Stein…caught the Witch-Hunter blade technique as if it were a normal sword.
No, the anger that was out power began giving way to fear. I tried bringing it down with my brute force, but Stein wasn't any slouch. He may have been just as strong, maybe even stronger. Because instead of him losing a grip and I slicing through him, he sunk into the paved area, cracking the ground.
"Very nice," he said. "But…" A homicidal expression emerged on his face. "NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"
The world ended. He broke out technique with a single vague twisting motion. The backlash sent Soul and I careening backwards and in different directions. I was paralyzed when I heard the scythe clatter against the ground. Still, I reached out to him weakly.
"Soul," I whispered.
But then a cold shadow obscured my view of him and the moon, which had blood leaking from its mouth. I shivered, anticipating the end. The form of Stein crouched down close to me, looking into my barely open eyes.
'I'm sorry Mama, Papa! I couldn't become like you at all.'
"You're still conscious? Now that is amazing."
This was it.
"Stop!" Soul's voice rang out over the shame raging in my mind. It caused my eyes to spring open on their own, tears already falling over my cheeks. When I looked up I saw Soul over me in his human form, scratches all over his hands and from what I could see, possibly his face too. The lunatic must have transformed the second Stein had walked over. He brought me into his arms, using himself as a shield. "I won't let you lay a finger on my Meister!" he snarled.
That seemed to humorous to Stein. "Alright," he said, sounding like he was on the brink of maniacal laughter. "Then you're first." His hand came in contact with Soul's head lightly. "You pass."
"Excuse me?" Soul blinked several times.
"This was all a test from Lord Death. You passed with flying colors."
Maka, Soul, Black*Star and Tsubaki all let out a giant "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"
We had never been in any danger of expulsion. I repeat: We had never been in any danger of expulsion. It was all a test. Stein explained this to us with a smile. I for one was too angry to speak. I hadn't had quite the reaction the others had. I had continued to cry despite the test being over.
"I'm sorry," said Stein in response to my hysteria. "Was I too scary?"
I still couldn't answer. My hands were pressed over my mouth to stop any sound from coming out. If I opened my mouth now, I'd probably start wailing like a baby.
Soul continued to hold me in his arms despite it. I don't know why I couldn't stop. Maybe it was the thought of leaving the Academy for good. Maybe it was the thought of seeing my parents again that got me so choked up. Either way, he was being very kind to let me cry it out.
"I'm fine, stupid."
"Like hell you are," said Soul, repeating my declaration from before. "I'm not as stupid as you think."
"So, everyone, I'm sure you're all tired." Stein stood before us as if we were good buddies for years upon years. "If you want, you all can stay at my place."
True, it was late and we all were exhausted, but I didn't want to stay at this horrible place. Not after this fight.
"That's a big fat 'no'," Maka spat, smoothing down her clothes and holding back her anger at basically being molested by this crazy old man. "Let's go. I saw a hotel down the street from here."
...
Days passed since the 'zombie incident' as we all called it. Truth be told, it was a shock to hear the Stein was our new teacher since Sid was technically 'deceased'. I mean, when he walked into class the next morning instead of Uncle Death Scythe, Soul and I were frozen with fear the entire period.
In the meantime, Jackie had alerted me to the next foreboding event on our social horizon — she called to ask my permission to invite Kilik to the girls' choice spring dance that was happening in a couple of weeks. I didn't even plan on bringing anyone, let alone Kilik.
"… and you're completely sure you weren't planning to ask him?" she said when I encouraged her to go for it.
"I don't plan on going," I assured her. Dancing was glaringly outside my range of special abilities. One of which included tying a cherry's stem with my tongue, but that was a story for another day.
"You could have more fun than you expect."
"You have fun with Kilik," I said in response, ignoring her invitation completely. I wasn't about to cave in and humiliate myself at the dance.
The next day, I was surprised by how quiet Jackie was during classes. She was silent as she walked by my side in between the periods, and I had a good hunch why. My suspicions were confirmed during lunch. Jackie had sat as far away from Kilik as she could and chatted with Kidand I. Now that I think back, Kilik himself was also unusually quiet.
In fact, he was still quiet as he and I walked to class. He still didn't speak until I was in my seat and he leaned on the desktop, trying to look casual and laid-back like a certain person I knew. As always, I felt Soul's wavelength close by, the waves of subdued rage I felt were probably only an invention of my imagination.
"So," said Kilik, awkwardly, glancing at Soul and I interchangeably, "Jackie asked me to the spring dance."
"That's great." I said flatly, not having to pretend that the manga in my hands was more interesting than his face. "I hope you two have a lot of fun."
"Well…" He floundered as my apathy clearly cut into his hopes. "I told her that I had to think about it."
"Are you stupid?" I let disapproval color my tone, but I was glad he hadn't directly declined her invitation.
"I was wondering if-if you might be planning to ask me." He looked to the floor quickly. "Or something."
I was full into 'tsun tsun' mode. "Nope." The ice-cold clarity of my tone threw an axe into his heart from the look of his face.
"You already asked someone?" Did Soul notice how Kilik's eyes flickered in his direction? From his wavelength's reaction alone I would say that was a 'yes'.
"No," I said. "I'm not going at all."
"Why not?" Kilik demanded, sounding more hurt than angry. To be clear, I didn't want to get into the safety hazards that dancing presented, and to explain that lame reason would be embarrassing, so...
"I'm going on a mission with Soul," I explained.
From the corner of my eye I could see Soul's eyes widen, but he said nothing and did not move.
"Oh, ok," he mumbled, and turned, dejected, to walk back to his seat. I closed my eyes and sighed. Thankfully Professor Stein had begun talking. I breathed in deeply and opened my eyes. Soul was staring at me curiously, that same, familiar look of jealousy(?) now in his red eyes.
I stared back, surprised, expecting him to quickly look away as he usually did. Instead he continued to look into my eyes. Looking away didn't seem like an option. My hands started to shake, so I held them entwined my fingers and tried to calm down my heart.
"Mr. Evans?" the sadistic teacher called, asking for the answer to the question. A question that I obviously hadn't heard. The typical thing, actually.
"The Resonance Rate," Soul answered, reluctantly making eye-contact with the bespectacled bastard Professor. I looked down at my textbook, trying to find my place. The words seemed to all spell out his name over and over. My eyes were playing tricks on me, I knew, but it wasn't without reason. I couldn't believe emotions that ebbed through me — just because we'd had a successful mission in addition to using Soul Resonance twice. I couldn't allow him to have this level of influence over me. I was the Meister in our relationship, he was the Weapon. Things weren't supposed to work this way. My reactions were pathetic, and I should feel bad about that.
More than pathetic, it was pitiable.
When the bell rang at last, I turned my back to him to gather my things, expecting him to leave immediately as usual, for he had a habit of not sticking around that often saddened me somewhat.
Today was different for some reason.
"Sarah?" His voice shouldn't have been so familiar to me, as if I'd known the sound of it all my life rather than for just the couple of weeks I'd been here. I turned slowly, unwillingly. I didn't want to feel what I knew I was about to. My face was falsely cheery when I finally turned to him, but his expression was completely unreadable. He said nothing. It was then I realized that we were alone in the room; Professor Stein had slipped away somewhere when I had been distracted.
Ah, what am I saying? I was distracted the whole lesson!
"What is it, Soul? Is it about the mission?" I asked, a strange innocence about the words.
His lips twitched, unknown if he was fighting a smile or a frown.
"Ah, not really," he admitted slowly, scratching his hair.
"Then what do you want?" I said, keeping my books close to my chest.
"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude by being so distant, I know. But it's better this way, really." About this fact Soul was serious.
"I don't really understand," I said, my voice sounding like it was in between sobs.
"I know that we're Partners and all, but it's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."
"It's too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I hissed through my teeth. "You could have saved yourself all this regret."
"Regret?" The word, and my tone, obviously caught him off guard. "Regret for what?"
"For me not just letting that stupid van squish us to death."
He stared at me in disbelief. For a few moments he was too shocked to speak. When he finally did, he was mad. "You think I regret you saving my life?"
"I know you do," I snapped. I also realized how crazy that sounded, but I couldn't care less.
A dark, contemplative look fell over his face. "You don't know anything."
I couldn't take it anymore, that depressing, sad look was too much. Such a boy shouldn't wear an expression like that. Why was I pestering him so much with that petty subject again? The past is past. "…thank you," I said, my heart throbbing in pain.
He blinked. "For what?" His voice was soft and full of surprise.
"For holding me the other night…when I couldn't stop crying."
I turned away from him and ran, pushing past a single person in the doorway and headed off to Gym without looking back.
To be honest, after that draining exchange of words, Gym was brutal. We'd moved on to basketball. My team never passed me the ball, so that was good, but I fell down a lot. Sometimes I took people with me. Today I was worse than usual because my head was so filled with Soul and the feeling of his wavelength. I tried to concentrate on my feet, but he kept creeping back into my thoughts just when I really needed to balance and concentrate.
I almost had a stroke when I rounded the corner and saw a tall, dark figure leaning against the side of the building, waiting for me on my usual route from the main school building. Then I realized it was just Kid and I started walking again.
"Hey, Kid," I called.
"Hi, Sarah."
"What's up?" I said as I continued to stroll. I wasn't paying attention too much to him, so his next words were especially surprising.
"I was just wondering if you would go to the spring dance with me?"
"I-I-I-I-I thought it was girls' choice," I said, flustered enough to stammer. I couldn't even understand why I kept on being asked.
"It is," he admitted calmly. Both the asking and this newest confession of the facts were delivered without any trace of nervousness. I was impressed. But I still had to decline.
Kid walked away as if he were strolling through the park.
Soul walked past, looking straight ahead with his hands in his pockets. Driving up beside me, Ox Ford was in his recently acquired used Honda Odyssey. I was too irritated with this latest proposal to even wave.
"I'm sorry, Ox, not interested." I was annoyed — why did boys have to be so straightforward?
"Oh, really? Because I wanted to ask you to ask me to the spring dance." he continued as if I hadn't said anything at all.
"I'm not going to be in town, Ox." I wished my voice would slice him to shreds from its sharpness.
"Kilik told me that," he admitted.
"Then —"
Ox smiled rather confidently. "I hoped you were just letting him down easy." Okay, this was going too far. Just what the hell about me was so appealing that made every single male I'd met so far want to ask me out? What? Do I smell like candy? Do I look easy? What?
For some reason my face refused to show the true anger that I was feeling. Most likely I merely looked irritated beyond reason. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Ox," I said, dark thoughts rising to the surface of my mind. "But I really am going out of town."
"That's cool. We still have prom."
Before I could protest the impossible chances of that ever happening within the millenia, he drove away.
Muttering to myself obscenities, I walked home slowly, contemplating the many ways to dismember men in general.
...
When I got home, Spirit wasn't there but Maka had already made tacos for dinner. A favourite of mine, but I couldn't concentrate on the food. My head was still running in circles, trying to understand my conversation with Soul today. What did he mean; it was better if we weren't friends?
I bit into the crunchy corn tortilla but nearly choked on the contents of my mouth when it finally clicked. My face burned as I suddenly realized what he must have meant. He must have noticed how obsessed I already had become with him; and if that was true, taking into consideration the tone of his voice…he wasn't interested in the least. Not even being friends would distance us even further from one another.
'Of course he wasn't interested in me,' I thought, 'you'd have to be interesting for someone to be interested, wouldn't you?'
Well, fine. I would leave him alone. Some other Weapon could be my partner. Maybe some of the students coming in next year would be interested. I spooned a mountain of sour cream onto my plate, followed by a waterfall of taco sauce. I wasn't really paying attention, so it was expected. More ingredients for a taco were piled onto my plate, and I set to work on finishing it.
Eating when I was upset was a usual practice of mine, but it didn't surprise me that Maka and Uncle Death Scythe were concerned. It probably wasn't all that healthy, either.
"Sarah?" asked Maka when I was almost done. Her green eyes were wide with….disgust, maybe?
"Yeah, Maka?" I said in between crunches. The flavors helped take the anxiety away, and I relaxed considerably.
She tapped the plate with her fork nervously."Um, I just wanted you to know that I'm going to Italy for a mission…" She looked up from her food with a slight blush on her face. "…if that's okay?" It sounded strange. As if she meant to omit some words. To behonest it sounded like she was asking me out, too.
"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, okay."
"I was wondering if you and Soul wanted to come."
"What."
"W-w-well, I didn't want to go alone," she began babbling, "but Black*Star was going to the dance with Tsubaki that night, and..." I stared, dumbfounded. She clapped her hands together. "Please, I'd like for Sarah-chan and Soul-kun to accompany me."
"Oh, okay." I said, though I was still angry at Soul for little to no reason, I needed to make up with him soon. Besides, I didn't want to look like a liar in front of the guys, so I guess this was my redeeming opportunity.
"Thanks." She smiled at me with a mouth of dazzling set of pearls.
The next morning, when I walked into the parking lot, Soul was right near the entrance to the school, leaning casually against his motorbike parked near the curb.
"How do you do that?" I asked, observing his pose. From the time I spotted him in the distance it looked like he hadn't moved a single centimeter.
He seemed confused. "Do what?"
"Stand so still for so long," I explained with a breathy sigh.
"Sarah, it's not my fault if you're ADHD." His voice was quiet as usual — velvet, muted.
I scowled at his rougish face. His eyes were light again today, a deep, carmine color. Then I had to look down, to reassemble my now-tangled thoughts.
I huffed, still looking away. "I thought you weren't supposed to be my friend."
He mused over my defensive statement. "People who aren't friends talk all the time," Soul pointed out. "That's high school."
I said nothing, but continued to look away. He made a 'hmmmm'ing noise.
"Ox is really determend to take you out, isn't he?" Soul snickered.
"You…" I gasped, shooting venom at him through my eyes. I couldn't think of a bad enough word. Maybe if I said it in Japanese? 'TEMEE~!' No, that would just make me sound stupid.
"And I'm not pretending you don't exist," he continued.
"So you'retrying to irritate me to death instead "
"Sarah, you are insane," he said, his low voice cold.
I turned my back and started to walk away.
"Wait," he called. I kept walking, sloshing angrily through the rain. But he was next to me, easily keeping pace.
I sighed. "Fine then. What do you want?" I bit my lip and clasped my hands together, interlocking my fingers, so I couldn't do anything rash.
"I wanted to know if tomorrow we could hang out for a bit." He paused then blushed slightly pink, scratching his hair. "I mean, so we could practice Soul Resonance or something."
"Honestly, Soul." The comment tacked on at the end was rather awkward. "I thought you didn't want to be my friend?"
"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, thanks, now that's all cleared up."
"It would be more… virtuous for you not to be my friend," he explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Sarah. Especially since we are partners after all."
Virtuous? Really? I mean...the implications that came with that word were…
I felt another blush spreading to my cheeks.
"So…the day of the dance…will you go with me on that mission you made up?" he asked, his face pensive at the thought. I nodded. He smiled briefly, and then his face became serious. "You really should stay away from me," he warned in a playful tone. He turned to run away, looking back and waving as he did. "I'll see you in class."
I waved back, my heart fluttering like a hummingbird on speed.
