He stood there. Just looking at me, refusing to open his mouth, he studied my every movement.
"Mak--" he began. I clenched my fists, and turned to run. I was fast. Too fast for Soul Evans. My body hit out apartment door as I pulled it open. There was someone else.
There was always someone else.
Did I actually believe for a moment that he could have feelings for me?
It was an accident, I didn't want to find out. Soul was in the kitchen and his phone went off. I remember saying something like, "Soul, you got a text!" and him replying with, "Eh, go ahead and read it."
'Ready for tomorrow scythe boy?'
"Soul, what's this?" I asked, when another 'ding!' of the text went off.
'Cuz, I can't wait for it, partner!' My hands trembled; Soul came in and saw the text.
"Maka, you weren't supposed to--" I dropped his phone. He tried to pull me into a hug.
"What's wrong with me?" I asked quietly. I moved backwards, bumping into the couch, and Soul reached out for me. I folded my arms against my chest and continued to move back. He didn't answer.
"What's so wrong with me that you needed a new partner?!" I tried to keep the tears and hysteria locked up. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I repeated, barely audible.
"Mak--"
And that's when I ran out barefoot into a snow-covered Death City, wearing nothing but a sweatshirt, green skirt, and black leggings. I ran, as fast and as far as I could. I climbed up to the DWMA, and pushed open the frost-covered doors.
I ran. I don't know for how long. I just ran throughout the building, finally making it to Lord Death's room.
"Kid?" I called out.
"Maka?" was the reply, I approached him and he looked at me with confusion.
"Maka! What happened?" My feet were scratched up and bloody from the snow, and I assumed my tear-covered face wasn't much better.
"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters. The point is I want to resign as a meister." I said, making sure I was clear.
"But, you're one of our best! Why would you want to make such a heavy decision?" He asked me, and I tried to cover up the crack in my voice, I really did, but it slipped out, and that's when everything went to hell. Why would Soul want another partner? Hundreds of reasons suddenly flew into my head. Violent, flat-chested, unattractive, mean, bossy... It was a never-ending list.
My knees locked up, and I fell, crying uncontrollably; I couldn't stop. Kid wrapped his arms around me. "You tell me what happened, okay?" I nodded through the grotesque tears. He took me to a little sofa, and brought out a blanket, who knows from where.
"Now, what happened?" he asked me. I was still crying, but through the hiccups and the sniffles, I managed to explain what happened.
"I couldn't begin to imagine it would be something like that. Maka, I'm so sorry," he told me with sincerity. I asked him once again for the papers that would remove me as a student from Shibusen.
"Yes, I will get those out - but Maka, since you've already completed most of your years and you are one of our most valuable assets, would you consider becoming a teacher?" He asked me, and continued to tell me how he could arrange private lessons with Stein.
I didn't know.
Could I ever come back to the school?
Reliving the great memories with my friends,
Remembering Soul Evans, my partner.
"No, thank you for asking, but I don't think I will be able to."
"I understand," he replied solemnly.
"Thank you," I said, and he handed me the papers. I read through the terms, and was about to sign when I realized I didn't have a pen.
"Do you have a pen, Kid?" I asked him. He looked around for a few minutes, before replying with a no.
"I'm going to take these home then, and give them to you tomorrow morning," I told him, and he gave me a melancholic smile. Before letting me go, he gave me a pair of slippers.
I walked back in the cold to the apartment.
I prayed to every god that Soul wasn't home. By the time I reached the apartment door, my hands were shaking, and I thought about going to Tsubaki's house instead. No, you have to be strong. You have to be! And with that thought, I opened the door.
Somehow the gods managed to hear my prayer. Soul wasn't home. I locked the door behind me and went into my room. I found a pen and signed all the papers.
This was it.
This was goodbye.
I heard someone knock on the door.
"Maka! Open up!" Soul yelled from the other side of the wood. I walked to the door and unlocked it.
"I'm sorry, Maka," he told me. "I'm so sorry."
I looked him dead in the eye. "No, you're not." And once again, he didn't have anything else to say. "Would you care to enlighten me about that text message you received today, Mr. Evans? It can't get much worse," I said, trying not to yell.
"It was just a one time thing."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? I'm nothing to you," I whispered the last part.
"No! Maka, you're really important to me!" He said.
"Clearly NOT important enough. Did you even think about how I would feel?!" My anger leaked out onto my words. I took a deep breath and continued, "Do you have any idea how I feel about you, Soul?" My voice trembled through the words. I was not prepared for Soul to find out. If this hadn't already ruined our partnership, my feelings for him would.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it all they way through, it's just-- I'm a Death Scythe now, and..." He took a breath too. "I am truly sorry, I don't know how you feel," he said with sincerity.
"S-soul." My voice wouldn't stop trembling, and I could feel tears coming out, my nose becoming stuffed; I couldn't control myself, "You-- you idiot! I'm in love with you," I cried out, and ran into my room.
I was done dealing with Soul Evans, he didn't care enough to say that I wasn't good enough for him. I locked my door, took out my suitcase, and packed all of my clothes in a fit of rage. Soul pounded on the door all night; he yelled and cried for me.
He said he was sorry, and that he loved me too.
If he really loved me, he would have had the guts to say goodbye. But it was me, who said goodbye at five in the morning, stepping over a passed out, Soul Evans, right outside my room. I took my suitcase with me, and left behind a letter in his hand.
"Goodbye, partner," I said, and walked out of the apartment door for the last time.
