This chapter is basically just a bunch of teenage hijinks with a lil angst at the end ig lol
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“I mean seriously Tsubaki, whose side are you really on?” Maka sighed while watching the other woman grin through a spoonful of pasta she’d shoveled into her mouth.
Maka then shifted her eyes in the direction Soul had been standing with Kid, only to see that the pair had moved elsewhere.
“Well, looks like we have our first volunteer!” a voice announced over the blaring music cascading from the wall speakers, causing Maka to look towards the podium and let out a guffaw once noticing Soul standing right next to the pole dancer who’d been speaking.
It didn’t take long for her to discern how hard the Deathscythe was trying to mask his level of discomfort, with the only dead giveaway being the way he ran his hands through his misshapen locks of hair every few seconds.
I have to admit though, that disbelieved look is…kinda attractive Maka thought before her eyes burned at the slight peek of his scar protruding from his unbuttoned shirt, only for her to jump at the music getting exponentially louder.
She watched as the pole dancer whispered something into Soul’s ear and stepped aside so that he could leap onto the pole right when the chorus of Rude Boy echoed across the hall.
Soul then fumbled his weight around for a few moments before twirling upside down and allowing his feet to dangle midair.
The action would have served as Maka’s death sentence if he hadn’t looked her directly in the eye and cracked a shark-toothed grin before flailing downwards once more.
“He’s such a- uhhh HE’S SUCH A ASSHOLE!” Maka screeched while feeling her spine tingle at Soul’s laughable performance.
It didn’t help that a group of girls released a cacophony of screams directly in front of the podium before Liz hosed them all by popping open her champagne bottle in the middle of the crowd.
Maka took a moment to let out a deep breath, latch a firm hand onto Black*Star and Tsubaki, and then march them all towards a corner of the hall.
“Yeaa hate to be the one who has to say it, but that’s gonna be a pretty hard act to beat,” Black*Star whispered to Maka as she loosened her grip on her friends and began to groan in agitation.
“Well, at least you have clear proof that he’s into you too Maka,” Tsubaki added, causing the other woman to go completely still.
I could tell he was into me after that awkward talk we had before dropping me off at Black*Star’s but…it just doesn’t feel right Maka discerned while the countless daydreams she had of moonlit confessions and heartfelt prom-posals began to cloud her judgement.
“I just-I don’t know if this even right ,” Maka then replied, causing her friends to hum in concern.
“You don’t have to do anything ya’ don’t want to Maks. If this is where we end things, I guess I can…smooth stuff over with Soul and Kid for you, alright?” Black*Star replied, which only seemed to add more fuel to the other meister’s misgivings about what they were doing.
She then looked to the side and caught a small glimpse of the crowd that had surrounded Soul the moment he came down from the podium before letting out a shaky sigh.
No, no I started this mess, so I should at least be the one to end it. And besides… Maka thought while regarding her friends with a weak smile.
Maka Albarn never backs down from a challenge she finally decided before grabbing Black*Star’s wrist once more and slowly leading them towards a storage closet on the other end of the room.
“We don’t need to do anything crazy to beat that performance. Me and Star are gonna have a little fun in the storage closet, alright Tsubaki? It’d be a shame if someone were to just walk in on us,” Maka added, probing Tsubaki to give her a wink in understanding.
She then took that as a sign to walk straight towards the closet and slowly turn the doorknob when no one appeared to be looking in their direction .
“Ow, ow, ow you’re pulling way too hard,” Black*Star grumbled when they’d finally slipped inside and closed the door shut behind them.
“Sorry, sorry,” Maka replied with a slight wave of her hand before urging Black*Star to sit down on the tiled floor.
“You’re never going to speak about this after all the dust has settled, understand?” the woman chided while attempting to ruffle Black*Star’s gelled hair.
“This is just as uncomfy for me than it is for you, ya’ know that,” her childhood friend scoffed, probing Maka to morph her lips into a smile for a few moments.
“Mmmmhhh Black*Star! ” she then shouted, causing the young man in question to jump at the noise.
“What the f-“
“Shhhh , you’re gonna ruin it,” Maka hissed before slapping a palm onto the blue haired meister’s mouth.
“Has anyone seen Black*Star and Maka?” the pair heard Tsubaki shout with a faux sense of worry.
They then regarded one another with a mutual look of disgust before lightly pushing their lips against one another.
“Ahh ah Death, is this my punishment for starting this whole thing! To think I saved myself for Kid all these years just for shit to hit the fan last minute,” Black*Star whispered while Maka vigorously rubbed her lipstick against his face with a few dabs of her fingers and mulled over his words, only to come towards a halt once hearing the doorknob rattle from outside.
She hastily streaked a little of her lipstick onto the blue-haired meister’s chin before taking a deep breath and meeting his lips once more.
“What’s going-ohhhh UHH I didn’t give you those condoms to use on school property kids,” they then heard Marie stammer out in between a few gasps and murmurs from the crowd that had been surrounding their former teacher.
“Geez Mrs. Marie, did ya’ really have to go and ruin the mood right after we’d set it,” Black*Star exclaimed through gritted teeth.
Maka would have mirrored the action if it weren’t for Kid standing right beside Tsubaki in the crowd, therefore serving as a sign that their sacrifice hadn’t been in vain.
“It’s ok Star, it shouldn’t be that hard to set it again,” the woman giggled before feeling Black*Star snake a hand across her waist.
“You’re right babe. You heard the lady, leave us alone to makeout for a couple more minutes. And don’t worry Mrs. Marie, we won’t be dancing the hanky panky in here,” Black*Star yelled towards the crowd, causing Maka to heavily resist the urge to twist the hand that was deftly resting on her hip.
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“This has gone much too far,” Kid sighed while Soul slumped against the wall in a piqued silence.
“You couldn’t have thought of that before making me go up there in front of everyone,” the Deathscythe replied before resisting the urge to bash his head against the buffet table situated a few feet away from them.
I’m sayin’ that like it’s not my fucking fault for not being the bigger person and confessing Soul mentally chided to himself as he realized how tired he was of this entire plan.
He’d felt a surge of excitement at the way Maka was gazing at him with lidded eyes throughout the entire performance, but the excitement soon turned into a dizzying wake-up call once noticing how her face had morphed into a dejected expression for a brief moment.
“Alright, I’ll admit how dragged out this prank feels now. But…if we’re going to raise the white flag, it should at least be in a thoughtful way,” Kid replied before grabbing Soul’s shoulder and leading him through the throngs of partygoers once more.
The reaper then loosened his grip as he let out a long sigh, gave Soul a quick wink, and walked up towards the stage.
“Ahem, attention please!” Kid spoke through the microphone stand Sid had been using to give announcements throughout the night.
“I’m sorry to crash the vibe of the party, but I’d like to say a few words to congratulate our class. Uh , firstly could we have all the students who were present during the battle of the moon come up front,” the reaper added, probing Soul to slowly walk up stage and watch as the rest of his friend group made their way towards the front of the crowd as well.
The sound of clapping had thundered across the hall once they’d all stepped onto the stage, although it only registered as ambient noise in Soul’s head once noticing Maka standing beside him.
Her face seemed to be glued towards the crowd, which served as an adequate enough clue to the Deathscythe that he’d have to find some way of clearing the air before he could even consider meeting her eyes.
“Please give an extra round of applause for Maka, our valedictorian and last ever meister to create a Deathscythe and her partner Soul, the last Deathscythe himself,” Kid exclaimed while Soul let out a grimace at the loud screams coming from his classmates.
It was then that Soul realized the reaper was nudging the microphone in his direction, forcing him to step a few feet back in confusion.
“Ohhhh no, y’know I already hate being the center of attention-“
“I’m not doing it so you can give some random speech,” Kid whispered before Soul arched an eyebrow in confusion.
“Make a passionate love-stricken speech. Just…think of something you’d like to say to Maka before looking back at her,” the reaper added as he finally relinquished the microphone over to Soul, who remained completely still for a few minutes due to how fast his thoughts were racing.
What I wanna say to Maka? That’s…easier said than done the Deathscythe thought before staring out at the large crowd of partygoers who awaited his speech.
“Ah, first off I’d like to thank everyone for being here. Second…I-I know alot of ya’ might have this idea of me being some kinda hero that knows exactly what to do when things go south, but the truth is I’m not all that cool really. I bitch about stuff all the time and suck at showing my emotions…,” Soul started while watching Kid give him an encouraging grin from the corner of his eye.
“But, you’ve always made me feel more than enough, even if it meant dealing with all that crap. I remember coming to Death City and thinking I’d just find a way to be known as one of the coolest guys to ever live here, but ya’ made that dream look worthless. You’ve helped me learn to laugh again, cry again, lo-love again and there’s no way in hell I can see myself anywhere else but here with you. So thank you…,” he finished, eliciting an eerie silence to fill the hall.
Soul then used the silence as further momentum to turn towards the direction Maka was standing, only to watch her shuffle off the stage as the crowd broke into a set of applause.