Heat and Soul: A Soul Eater Love Story (xKid)

~Chapter Ten~

Kid's house is, of course, entirely symmetrical. I'm told that the spare bedroom is on the opposite side as Kid's bedroom and the bathroom is in the middle. Tired and rather humbled by Kid's kindness in spite of my insults, I go straight to the spare room. I sit on the bed and call Auntie Io on my cell phone. After I've updated her, I flump back on the bed and stare into space. The room is really quite pretty. The décor is deep red, black, and white. All of the wood in the room is dark-stained cherry. The bed is one of those fancy four-posters with the canopy on top. Obviously, everything is arranged to be symmetrical. Suddenly hyper-alert to the symmetry, I move my bag to the center of the wood chest at the end of the bed.

Sighing, I mull over the day's events. I was cruel to Kid, yes, but... it shouldn't bother me so much. Why does it bother me? Am I that infatuated with him and his freakin' amazing eyes? I lose track of time while lost in thought. Eventually, I roll off of the bed. The house is silent, so I assume Kid has already gone to bed. I change into my pajamas which consist of a pair of black shorts that are a bit too short to wear around and a black tank top that was on clearance the day I went shopping with Auntie Io. Next, I dig out my toothbrush and toothpaste. It's a good thing I remembered these. Asking Kid for a spare toothbrush now would be extremely embarrassing... I wander to the bathroom and start to brush my teeth.

I feel like I'm on autopilot, not focusing on anything. I don't realize that Kid has entered the bathroom until he's within arm's length. I try to hide my surprise and step aside so he can use the sink too. While he's not paying attention, I give him a once-over. He's not wearing a shirt, showing how skinny and pale he really is. He has pajama pants with little cartoon skulls on them. Cute. I notice that the drawstrings are exactly the same length on both sides. They hang in exactly the same... I catch myself. I am not going to start staring there! Kid backs away from the sink, also brushing his teeth. I suddenly feel self-conscious and remember that I'm not wearing a bra... Dammit, I thought he had already gone to bed! I nonchalantly wrap my free arm around my chest while I finish brushing, hoping he doesn't notice. When I'm done, I hurry out, keeping my arms crossed over my chest.

When I'm safely lying in bed, I pull the covers up and scold myself. Stupid! Shouldn't have assumed... Just because the house is quiet doesn't mean there's no one else awake! I blush as I try to guess whether or not he noticed my braless-ness. Burying my head under the covers, I listen for the sound of the sink to stop. I can barely hear footsteps coming down the hall. My heart pounds when they pause outside. Finally they enter the room across from me and I heave a sigh. I definitely need to find a different place to stay. This is just too awkward...

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I wake up in the middle of the night after having some strange dreams about Kid and Daemon fighting. I shake the images out of my head and go in search of the kitchen for a glass of water. I wander around for a while, not sure which way to go and not wanting to open any closed doors. I soon give up and just use the water from the bathroom sink and my own cupped hands. On my way back to bed, I notice that Kid's door is cracked open. Suddenly curious, I creep up and peek in. It is, of course, symmetrical, with the bed in the center. I have to hold back laughter when I see that Kid is lying in a slightly asymmetrical pose, one arm a bit higher than the other. My snickers fade when my eyes find his face. He's so cute while asleep... I feel bad for insulting him yet again. When I realize staring at him while he's asleep is creepy, I slink back to bed, embarrassed at myself.

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The next morning, I wake up to the smell of eggs and bacon frying. I get dressed quickly and follow the smell through a door that was closed last night. So this is the kitchen... Well, note to self I guess... Kid is standing in front of a stove, cooking breakfast. I'm relieved to see that he's wearing normal clothes now: plain black slacks and a t-shirt. He glances back at me, but says nothing. I creep a little closer. He's making an awful lot of food for just one person... He's cooking for me too? I cock my head at him. I just can't figure this kid out... My stomach grumbles loudly, making me blush. I realize that I didn't eat lunch or dinner yesterday...

He glances at me again, "I figured you'd be hungry. You didn't eat much yesterday, did you?"

"You didn't have to... cook for me..." I stammer nervously.

He focuses on the frying pan, "You're a guest in my house; it's only natural."

I squirm, uncomfortable, but my mouth is watering and I'm starving. There's no way I'm turning down his food right now.

"Can I... help somehow...?" I offer.

He nods and directs me to dishes and silverware. I set two places on the table and find milk and juice in the fridge. We have perfect timing; I finish setting the table right as Kid brings over the skillet. He loads the plates with eggs and bacon and sets the skillet in the sink. I really want to dig in, but I feel like I have to make things right.

"Um... Kid, about yesterday..."

He doesn't even glance at me. I squirm again, but firm my resolve. I won't feel right eating food he cooked for me if I don't apologize properly. I swallow hard.

"Yesterday... Not just at lunch, but before... I was really rude to you... I'm not usually that cruel, I just... I guess it was the pressure of the first day of school..."

I look up to see that he's staring at me, face expressionless. I force myself to meet his eyes without getting lost in them.

"I'm really sorry... for insulting your..." I struggle to find a way to say it nicely, "your love of symmetry... and for saying I didn't want to put up with you... I was out of line on all counts. Can you forgive me?"

We sit in silence for a few moments. Finally, I think I see a smile flit across his face, but it's gone so quickly, I can't be sure.

"Eat your food while it's hot," he doesn't sound as cold anymore.

I sigh in relief and dig in happily. And I must admit... He can really cook!