Claire

Back to School

I walked around the room skillfully. Stein smiled and nodded. "Well, as I said, you're good as new! Erm..." He sat in thought. "Oh. I'll see you in class, Ms. Monroe." And he left.

I glared at the door. "Soul?" He turned to me. "Yup?" "Don't find this awkward or anything..." His eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Shuffling with the hem of my older black shirt, I answered. "Wow um... Would you walk to my house with me? Ya know. For clothes." Soul, looking absolutely relieved, nodded. "Sure."

So Soul walked me through the school, outside, and I started my way home. I'd memorized every twist and turn, every sign and light.

Soul dove into a great explanation of DWMA whilst I paid very close attention.

"Soon."

A whisper very close to me whispered. After it came a sudden flash of lightheadedness, and I gripped Soul's forearm for support.

Soul gasped. "Whoa! You okay there?" I nodded, my jaw clenched. "Yeah..." My voice came breathlessly. "You sure?" I nodded once. However, as soon as my grip loosened on his arm, I collapsed on the cobble. "Hey!" He grabbed me, wrapping his arms around me. "What's up with you?" I shrugged. "Just... Get me home..."

Somehow, Soul managed to help me to my house as I breathlessly gave him directions. I barely noticed that I almost tripped up a stair as Soul opened the door.

He guided me to the kitchen and I fumbled around the drawers until I found a bottle of water. I sipped at it, then took slow, deep breaths and leaned against the counter. "What the hell was that, Claire?" Soul gaped. I shrugged, giving no verbal answer until my breathing was level. "I have no idea."

Soul stood there as I observed him. He looked very angry and worried. He was frowning, his eyebrows creased and lowered. But his eyes sparkled; no matter how upset he was, his eyes said it all.

"Do I need to take you to Stien again?" I frowned and shook my head. "Absolutely not. Just a dizzy spell. I'm fine." He nodded slowly. "Right..." The room grew quiet once more. "Well, why don't you go take your shower so we can get to school, eh?"

Taking his advise, I walked up the stairs carefully, my hand pressed against the wall just in case. I breathde in the familiar scent of lilac and black orchid, a strange combination, but one familiar to me. I grabbed my clothes -- a black tanktop with a neon green shirt with white skinny jeans -- and walked to my bathroom.

When I stepped out of the shower, I smiled and sighed. My shampoo and conditioner smelled of black orchid, my body wash of fiery orange roses and passion fruit. I blow dried my hair and straightened it, then lined my eyes with eyeliner and brushed my eyelashes with mascara.

Soul called from downstairs just as I jogged down them, and he jumped when he saw me. "Geez! You tryin' to scare me to death?" I smirked. "Well, it is Halloween..." I wiggled my fingers and smiled and he chuckled. "Huh. Yeah, guess you're right."

We jogged back to DWMA, just in time for our first class. It was like Stein waited for all his students to be in calss before starting.

Something changed as soon as I stepped in the classroom. Everyone gawked at me, some staring at me with general looks of amazment. Whispers shuddered around the room, but no one's eyes left me. "Um? Good morning?" My puzzled voice echoed around the room. Somewhere, clapping started. The clapped was like a wave; it carried across to every student and whistles joined them.

What the hell was going on?

Soul smirked at me and gently elbowed my uninjured side. "You're the new 'hero' around here." He chuckled as he jogged up to his seat next to Maka. I couldn't help but notice that she was glaring daggers at me. I frowned and shrugged it off.

The clapping and whistling stopped as I got to my seat. Not long after, Stein got in the classroom.

As Stein went about teaching, I swore I felt eyes burning on the back of head. I turned, in my curiosity, and saw the guy from my first day with blonde and blue eyes staring at me. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up, then looked down at Stein. I was completely baffled.

"Now, --" The bell rang and Stein sighed. "Class dismissed." Everyone started packing up their things. I was the first to the door to leave, but I was quickly joined by others in the classroom. I got pats on the shoulders and requests to be Meisters' weapon. Some told me good job, others said I was a true hero, and all I could do was stand there as they left.

Soul gave a low whistle behind me. "Wow. You got pretty popular pretty fast, huh?" Maka stood silently behind him. She was glaring at me, then the floor, her gaze forever flicking back and forth. "What's your deal?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Just... Nothing." She said. I nodded slowly. "Okay. Well, um.. Yeah? See you guys later?" Soul nodded and punched my shoulder lightly, and they left.