As summer had inevitably come to a close and school commenced yet again, excitement built through the roof among the DWMA students. Every year in the middle of September, a fall dance was hosted by Lord Death himself.

It was a prestigious event, one filled with elegant apparel, classy music, and hopefully no witches to trap everyone like the last time. No shade at Medusa.

Girls scrambled to find dresses and boys worked up the courage to ask those same girls to go with them. It was customary for the boy to ask the girl, but occasionally there were outliers.

{ Soul and Maka's apartment. One week before the dance }

" Soul..." Maka began anxiously from the hallway.

" Hm?" Soul, who was sitting on the couch with a mouthful of chips, hummed. His phone sat in the palm of his hand, where he was scrolling through social media. The students were often limited to how much they could post, due to security reasons of course. However, a certain black and white haired, double pistol wielding meister, happened to have an Instagram account, purely aesthetic for symmetry. And Soul smiled down at his picture. It was clear even with his mouthful of chips that he was happy.

" I... erm," She scratched her wrist out of nervousness. " I was wondering, I mean.. um, would you... a..."

" C'mon, Maka, just spit it out already." Soul said, slightly irritated and still stuffing his face with chips. He grabbed his soda and started to chug. Maka didn't know how to say it, so she just talked swift and monotonously.

" I would really like it if you went to the dance with me!"

Soul lurched forward in surprise. He nearly shot soda from his nose, and his eyes bulged momentarily. He dropped his phone into his lap.

" Umm." He was beyond stunned. He hadn't even planned on going to the dance, let alone going with Maka of all people. In the event he asked a certain someone, she would have been the last person he thought about. They were partners, and that was their relationship. Friends, nothing more and nothing less. Soul didn't want to jeopardize what they had going. Feelings for Maka were out of the question. He wouldn't even have to worry about the madness because she would drive him insane. But... it wasn't cool to let a girl down. She had put her heart out there; Soul couldn't just stomp on it. If he told her no, it could've affected their soul wavelength compatibility. Fighting while she was mad at him had proved to never work.

" Sure... I guess." He begrudgingly agreed. If he could just get through the night it would make her happy, and that was all he wanted. She was his best friend, after all.

" O-okay, cool." Maka played down her excitement, though she thought she might explode from joy. She left Soul and scurried down the hallway to her room where she called Tsubaki. Soul put the bag of chips down as he had lost his appetite. He also looked at his phone, Kid still on the screen. The next week was going to suck.

{ Kid's Mansion }

" Kid, your father runs the academy! How can you not go?!" Liz exclaimed, frustration settling on her features.

" I don't even have a date." Kid said from behind his locked bedroom door, which served its purpose well in keeping her out. " How will it look when the other students show up with someone on their arm and I waltz in with my weapons again? I just... it won't look right!"

" Just let me in! We can talk about this." Liz said, giving an eye roll out of habit. The reaper hesitantly opened the door and Liz walked in before he could lock everyone out again. Patty, who had been watching the show in giggles, followed her. " So what's this about not having a date? I could get you one."

Kid blushed instantly.

" Y-You don't understand." He muttered, sitting on the bed.

" You don't have a date, I'll get you one. Why is this so complicated?" Liz rolled her eyes yet again. This was just standard Kid.

" I had someone in mind, it- not just any old person will do." Kid stammered.

" Ooooo Kid has a crushhh!!" Patty laughed.

" Shut up Patty no I-"

Patty laughed even louder.

" Shut up!"

Liz's eyes lit up, since gossip was her thing.

" Kid, you need to tell me who. Who is she?" She squealed.

" N-not a she." Kid looked off to the side. He never thought that he would say that so casually, but there he was, admitting that the person he liked wasn't female. In a heteronormative society such as theirs, it was hard to know about someone before they "came out".

Liz was unphased.

" Who is he? Do I know him?" She exclaimed, fangirling. " Or... is it a them? Sorry! I'm just really excited since I've never seen you have feelings for anyone!"

" H-he umm-"

" Kid, we can't help if you don't tell us who." Liz folded her arms and Patty continued giggling in the background. Kid contemplated telling them about his crush, but how could he explain his feelings? It was more than just infatuation.

" It's S-" Kid's blush intensified. " It's Soul!"

" OH MY LORD! That is so cute!" Liz screamed. She put her hands on Kid's shoulders and shook him senseless. He was bombarded with questions left and right. How long had he liked him? Why? What did he like about him?

" Calm down please! It's embarrassing! You're usually so calm." Kid pleaded, still beet red. He didn't much like yelling, unless it was for important reasons such as whining about symmetry.

" Okay okay, but... Kid... this is big!" Liz smiled, looking at Patty.

" You two would be so cute!" Patty nodded. Kid huffed, still very diffident towards the whole thing. It didn't matter if he had his own feelings figured out, mainly because he was certain that the other boy wouldn't pay him any mind. Soul was chill, and didn't even seem to have an ounce of gay in him.

" So... when are you gonna ask him out?" Liz looked like a tea kettle that had been left on the stove too long, like she could've burst into another fangirling session any second.

" You can't be serious. I'm not." Kid scoffed, though he was internally flipping out.

" Why the hell not?" Liz demanded. " You said you wanted a date to the dance, and I'm sure your father would be hurt if you didn't go over something so immature."

" Soul isn't gay or anything. He's straight." Kid said glumly.

" Have you heard him say that? Did he tell you that?" Liz was talking rapidly. Patty had finally stopped laughing and was staring at Kid along with her sister.

" Well no-" Kid was cut off by Liz, who was very talkative and worked up from the topic.

" Then how do you know?"

" He just doesn't seem like it. I mean have you seen him in front of Blaire?" Kid spoke matter of factly.

" He could be bisexual! Haha!" Patty snickered.

" Wow, for once Patty is right. He could be." Said Liz, who was surprised her sister even knew what 'bisexual' was. " By assuming that he's straight, you're just being consumed by labels and everything else you hate. Hell, he probably thinks YOU'RE straight."

" Really?" Kid cringed.

Both of his weapons nodded, and he found himself staring down.

" Another thing, I think Maka is after him." Kid was plummeting into an emo corner. " I see the way she looks at him."

{ DWMA cafeteria: lunch time }

" You're what?!" Liz grimaced. Maka looked extra cheery as she repeated herself for the umteenth time that morning.

" Soul and I are going to the dance together." She said, grabbing a hold of Soul's hand as he was sitting next to her. He was uncomfortable and his face read exactly that. Liz caught on right away. When she was so used to hearing drama and gossip, she found it easy to read social cues. She had asked him, hadn't she?

" So when did this come up?" She asked, pretending to be excited for her. It wasn't that she disliked Maka or anything. They were in the same resonance group, after all. It was just... when Kid had told her about Soul, she couldn't help but be irritated. She just wanted for Kid to be happy.

" Yesterday!"

Thank god Kid wasn't at school that day. He stayed home "sick" and Liz was ever grateful for that. Watching this conversation would've been torture for him.

" When he asked me I couldn't help but say yes!" Maka giggled. Soul's eyes grew wide. What now?

" Maka-"

" Shush, girl talk." Maka waved him off. Soul was regretful of agreeing to go after that. Especially now that people would think HE asked HER. She was his partner! She was the one who was supposed to make him a death scythe and the coolest guy at the academy! How was that ever supposed to work if she was trying to fall in love with him? Emotions as powerful as that could ruin what they had if they ever found the occasion to turn sour.

" Uh huh." Liz shot Patty a look from across the table. Both of them were painfully aware of what was going on. Maybe Liz more so than Patty, but still.

Tsubaki and Maka began to talk next. They blabbed about dresses and how they had each been asked. BlackStar, who sat next to Tsubaki, looked prideful when they spoke. He had asked his partner weeks ago. But he also wasn't so stupid to believe Soul asked Maka to go. He tried to keep his awareness on the low, since he didn't want Maka to be mad at him. BlackStar had figured out long ago that Maka was easy to anger.

" I can't wait!" Tsubaki beamed. It was rare to see her so excited, but ever since BlackStar asked her to go, she felt for him in a different light.

" Who wouldn't be excited for a big guy like me to take them to the dance?" BlackStar asked.

Tsubaki giggled, and Maka squeezed Soul's hand more.

" I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Soul said, hiding his discomfort. He didn't want to hold her hand, not in that way. He loved her, don't get him wrong, but never in the same way she loved him.

" I'll go too." BlackStar followed him. Maka looked at them both walking away and began to get nervous. The boys were just happy to be away from the lunch table. They walked side by side until they reached the doors of the DWMA, where both exited the building. There was no way they were going to the restroom, and they'd both known that from the moment they left the table.

" Dude." Said BlackStar now that the coast was clear.

" I know, I know this is not cool." Soul replied, flipping out slightly. His arms flailed by his sides and he uncontrollably paced back and forth.

" She cornered you didn't she?" BlackStar cringed.

" I felt like I couldn't say no, man! It would have BROKE her." Soul whimpered and felt like he might just curl up into a ball. He was guilty and angry, not wanting to lead her on or hurt her.

BlackStar had seen his best friend worked up before, but this was different. This was panic.

" Calm down. We can figure this out."

" I don't want to go with her! I'll be miserable." Soul exclaimed. He was hating himself for not turning her down and making his feelings clear.

...

Liz and Patty sat awkwardly in the cafeteria across from Tsubaki and Maka. Liz wanted to confront Maka for ruining Kid's chance, but it wasn't her place, and she wasn't 100% sure that Soul had no feelings for her. She made small talk instead.

" What kind of dress are you going to wear?" She asked, trying to be nice about it. This wasn't going to ruin their friendship. She wouldn't let it.

" I'm not sure yet. I was going to ask Soul to help me pick one out tomorrow." Maka said. She had a smile covering her face. Now that she had a date, she felt special. And if she'd asked anyone else about it, they'd say she'd let it consume her thoughts.

" Oh, that's nice! Well they sure have been gone a while, haven't they?" Patty asked, referring to BlackStar and Soul.

" It's only been-" Tsubaki was cut off.

" Well! We better go check on them!" Patty dragged Liz behind her swiftly as they ran away down the hall.

" I can walk on my own, you know!" Liz yelled and Patty stopped abruptly, resulting in the older sister faceplanting to the floor from the jolt.

" Are you sure about that?" Patty questioned, going out the school's double-doored entrance.

" Where are you go-" Liz got up and followed her. "Oh." They had found the boys. Soul was looking exasperated and BlackStar looked deep in thought. That was a weird thing to see, since usually BlackStar looked like he had the IQ of dryer lint.

" You know, if you don't want Maka to find you, looking for a better hiding spot may be of help." She said, approaching the males. BlackStar and Soul both faced her, horrified and hoping they hadn't been eavesdropping.

" What do you mean?" Soul played dumb.

" Shut up. It's obvious. That's why we came out here, now let's go." Liz gestured for everyone to follow, which they did. She felt like she was trying to herd cats, but eventually got them all halfway down the DWMA's steps, where they took a seat.

Soul and BlackStar exchanged awkward glances.

" You guys know what's going on, too?" BlackStar asked, breaking the silence as he usually did. Except this time, nobody was annoyed by it.

" Yeah. Soul, I'm sorry for you." Patty said, giggling at the worst possible time. Liz gave her a death glare. The elder sister was worried Patty may slip up and expose Kid's secret.

" I got myself into this. I may just have to suck it up and go." Soul sighed, cupping his face in his hands.

Not cool.

" Were you planning on going with someone else? Or at all?" Liz inquired, not too up front.

" Not really. I just didn't want to crush her feelings." Soul answered, still loathing himself. Patty stood up.

" We have to go! Right, Liz?! Heh heh..." She nervously laughed and started down the stairs further. Liz was puzzled, but got up.

" Don't worry, we aren't going to tell her anything." She whisper-shouted before following in Patty's footsteps. " But you need to sort this out!"

{ Kid's Mansion }

" We're home!" The sisters announced in unison upon arriving. At first they got no response.

" What are you two doing home so early?" Kid asked, coming down his never ending grand staircase. He wore pajamas-completely symmetrical of course- and his hair was neatly combed. Even though his hair was combed, they knew they'd woken him up. He must've frantically fixed it to be seen by anyone.

" Sorry for waking you up."

" It's okay, I wasn't napping very well anyways." Kid rubbed his eyes.

" Is everything alright?" Liz asked. Normally Kid was up at 8 o'clock sharp. It was well past 1.

He looked off to the side. Sleeping had been the only thing he could think of to take his mind off of things, aside from the personal day he'd used for school.

" I just have a bad feeling. Is Soul okay?" Kid asked, his voice still groggy from sleep. It was like an intuition, something reapers were often in touch with.

" Yeah!" Patty giggled.

Liz rolled her eyes.

" That's debatable." She said. " Why do you have a bad feeling?"

Kid's eyes bulged from her comment.

" What is that supposed to mean?!" He exclaimed, anxious.

" We can explain. Just tell us, what do you think is up?" Liz reassured, and her sister nodded. Kid finished his ascent down the stairs, folding his arms. It was so stupid, so stupid... but... he'd had dreams in the little time that he had managed to get some shut eye. He was trying to think of what they meant.

" I had a dream- well... more like a nightmare. Soul was in a jail cell and the walls were closing in on him. Tell me now. Is he okay?" Kid had a shaky voice and he trembled from fear. Liz put her hands on his shoulders.

" He's fine. Chill."

" Chill? What did you mean by 'that's debatable', then?" Kid retorted, getting a little too hyper. He had learned to trust his gut feelings after everything his father had hidden from him over the years, and that wasn't about to change.

" You're not gonna like it." The sisters said. Kid's face read certain death if they didn't spill.

" Soul is going to the dance with Maka. We're pretty sure he got roped into it. He doesn't know what to do..." Liz trailed off.

" Oh." Kid piped down and his voice took a somber tone. " Did he ask her, then?" His glance pointed to the floor.

" No. From what I've seen, she asked him." Liz walked further in the house to the living room. Kid followed slowly, and his feet drug. " She wants people to think he asked her, though. She's telling people he asked her to go and it's so obvious he didn't." She was very irritated as they all took a seat on the leather sofa.

" I knew it." Kid said. " I knew she liked him..."

" I'm sorry, I was going to text you but figured we should tell you in person." Liz was more sympathetic than she ever thought was possible.

" Not that it makes a difference anyhow. I'm too chicken to ask him out." Kid laughed, slightly creeping the girls out. He wanted to cry but knew it wouldn't make any sense to.

" We need to get out of here. Go get dressed." Liz said. The last thing Kid needed right then was to be at home, wallowing about it. She just prayed that Soul would fix things... or there would be some major drama not too far down the road.

{ A/N: I HOPE YOU HOES ARE IN THE MOOD FOR SOME TEAAAAAAA! Sksksksk }