(Maka's P.O.V)

Me, Tsubaki and the rest of the gang, besides Soul, made it to the picnic area at around 2:00 in the afternoon. The air was crisp and cool, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. It was a perfect day.

"Wow Maka! This place is beautiful!" exclaimed a very delighted Tsubaki.

"I would agree with you, but it's not perfectly symmetrical," stated a rather disturbed kid, "symmetry is everything. Left and right balance is what-"

"SHUT UP KID!" yelled Liz, "WE'RE NOT HERE FOR YOU TO CRITIQUE THE ASYMETRICALITY OF NATURE! WE'RE HE-"

I gasped as Kid kissed her. Black Star's nose bled. Tsubaki giggled. Patty jumped up and down squealing in excitement. And Crona stared wide eyed at them, not quite sure how to deal with it

"Gah! What the hell!" exclaimed Soul as he walked up behind me.

He made us all jump.

"Haha, Liz started yelling at Kid because he wouldn't shut up about how asymmetrical nature is and Kid cut her off before she went into a full rage," I explained.

"Oh," he grumbled, a little angered by the fact he missed everything.

I looked at Soul, his crimson eyes still fixed on Kid and Liz as he tried to figure out how they even tolerated each other. I didn't know myself, but whatever the reason, it was working.

"SO WHEN WE GONNA EAT? YOUR GOD IS HUNGRY!" said Black Star.

"Uhh, I guess we could eat now," I said with my eyes still locked on Soul.

"YAY!" screamed Patty.

After we found a spot, and Kid and Liz finally got over their cute little scene, we set out the food and whatever else there was and finally sat down to eat. I watched Kid very intently as he made everything around him and Liz symmetrical. Her and Kid sat a little too close for comfort the entire time they ate. Soul on the other hand, was sitting with his legs crossed next to me. Black Star was being his loud "godly" self, while Tsubaki quietly listened to his constant rambling. My eyes flickered over to Crona. He was busy trying to bat away Ragnarok who kept taking his food. Poor Crona. He never got a good night's sleep because of him, but has managed a few since he came to the academy.

"Uhh, guys, where'd Patty go?" I asked when I noticed she wasn't sitting with us.

"Fighting her stuffed giraffe more than likely," mused Liz.

"Eh, she's somewhere around here," said Black Star as he took a huge bite of his sandwich.

It was silent for a while as everybody ate. Ragnarok hadn't even said anything for the time being.

"Oi, Maka," Soul whispered in my ear after he finished his fourth or fifth sandwich, "thus is for you. I saw it and thought you might want it if you were to ever see it."

I looked at him, wide eyed. Soul never did anything like that for me, he always said that he was "too cool for that kind of stuff" and that cool guys like himself don't do that kind of in general. He was changing, and I didn't like it...I loved it. It was nice knowing he was becoming a nicer, more polite, less self-centered guy. It was kind of cute.
"S-Soul, you didn't have to get me anything," I said.

"Yeah, I know. But, I figured it could maybe help you forget about the lunch thing whenever you look at it," he said as he put the object on my lap.

"Open it Maka," said Tsubaki, eager to know what Soul got me.

"YEAH MAKA," agreed Black Star.

I sat still, staring at what Soul placed on my lap. I could feel everybody's eyes looking at me, waiting for me to open it. Soul had his left arm behind me, propping himself up while he leaned close to me, his crimson eyes looking at me. His eyes are so soft and gentle and...and full of love and adoration. He never looks at me like this except for when I end up injured on one of our missions.

"I-I-I cant," I shakily said.

"What? Why?" asked Soul, clearly hurt by what I had just said.

"I-I just don't feel like you needed to get me some-"

I suddenly felt his lips gently meet with mine, leaving me breathless and in shock. Everyone fell silent, even Ragnarok shut up for once. And almost as quickly as it happened, it was over.

"Before you say anything Maka, let me say something I've been itching to tell you, but never had the guts to say it until now," he took a deep breath and continued, "I really, really like you, Maka. I've felt this way for a while and feared that it'd cause me to become distant. But, it did the opposite. So, Maka Albarn, I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to have you as my girlfriend," Soul said.

I got up and ran straight home. I couldn't get it through my head that he felt the same way about me. I should have been able to tell by all the signs he kept giving me.

"MAKA!" cried Soul as I launched myself off the ground.

"I-I need to be alone for a while!" I called back as I fought back tears.

By the time I reached our apartment, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I slid down the door and bawled. Blair walked up from somewhere and tried to get me to tell her what happened. I didn't answer, I was too much of an emotional wreck to even talk. I must have been sitting there for a while, because Blair left for her boyfriend Wes's house. (Wes is Soul's older brother. I'd only met him once or twice , but there was no denying him and Soul were related.)

"Maka?" I heard the soft, caring voice of Tsubaki say.

"L-leave me alone," I said between sobs.

"Maka, Soul is outside on the steps in front of the lobby. He really wants to see you and, if you give him the chance, he'd like to further explain himself a little better."

"N-no. If he wants to talk to me he can come to me. I'm not moving from this spot. You can have Black Star pick me up fo rall I care, I still wont talk to him. And you can tell him I said that."

"Okay," replied Tsubaki before I heard her walk down the stairs back out to where Soul was.

(Back to Soul's P.O.V)

"I don't understand, Tsubaki. She recently started sleeping with me in my room, in my bed, under my covers. She goes to my room, not hers, when she doesn't feel good. And shes been able to stop herself from Maka Chopping me," I half yelled.

"Well, she's like every other girl on this planet: complicated. She may seem like she's ignoring you at times, but all she really doing is trying to figure things out, that's all," explained Tsubaki, "if she's quiet and doesn't want to talk, she's thinking of either someone or something or even both. When she's flustered, she just needs someone to comfort her and listen to her."

"But, what if she's, y'know, crying and confused?" I asked.

"Well...that's a different story, said Tsubaki, clearly baffled by the fact that I even asked a question in my state, "if that's the case, then one of two things could be be happening. She either is extremely sad and needs to be comforted by her friends and/or family, of she is just confused with the world and can only express it by cryin...a lot."

I sighed, letting everything she told me sink in. If I hadn't met Tsubaki, I would be completely lost with how to handle the emotions of girls. I guess I should go talk to her. If I knew anything about Maka, it was that she never shied away from cuddling up with someone. But this time could be different. Shake it off, so not cool to think like that.

I found her sitting against the door to our apartment. Her head was hung, her shoulders hunched over, and her legs were straight in front of her. She looked hurt, and so vulnerable. She sniffed and wiped her tears away as she peered up at me from behind the curtain of her dirty blond hair.

"What do you want Soul?" she asked, clearly not wanting to have anything to do with me.

Remember what Tsubaki said. "Uhh, I was wondering if you were feeling a little better, that's all," I explained.

"Well," she sniffed and lifted up her head, "I'm fine. Now go away, I want to be alone."

"Okay, damn," I said, shocked at the amount of rage and hate I could see in her eyes, "but, at least go inside, people will start to wonder what happened if you stay out here any longer."

"Fine," she snapped, "now go away."

"Maka," I said, before she threw a glare at me, " okay, okay. I'm leaving, geez."

As I walked away, I heard her open the door to our apartment and almost slam it shut. I stopped at the top of the stairwell and walked back toward the apartment. My breathing became uneven as I opened the door, knowing she didn't want to have anything to do with me. It hurt me that she was like that. She was hardly ever hostile, and when she was, you always had to make sure you watched her every move, because when she's pissed, she foes on a Maka Chop frenzie.

"...he's just being a boy, Maka. Boy's do have feelings y'know," came a gentle voice from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I know. But, I don't know what to do or, or how to deal with it or..." came Maka's voice.

"Well, how do you feel about him?"

"I don't know right now, Blair. He's so nice and sweet and protective of me, it's...it's just too much for me to handle at one time," Maka's voice cracked at the end, threatening another round of tears.

I crept over to my room where I listened to their entire conversation. My eyes kept watering, I had to keep blinking back the tears that wanted to fall. In all the years I've known Maka, I never saw her break down like this before.