Happy SoMa week, everybody! (Well, I'm writing this back in March, but by the time I post it, it'll be SoMa week.) I'm gonna try to be original with these prompts, though some might come out cliché… But I try to make my stories original and give my own meaning to the prompts I'm given. If it's not what you thought it would be, then good. That means that I'm successful.

Anyway, this first oneshot's gonna have two major references. If you get one of them, I applaud you. If you get both, you'll get digital cookies :D *I disclaim* I don't own Soul Eater or anything I reference in this fic.

SoMa Week 2015

Day 1: Geeking Out

Description: Soul experiences a motorcycle crash that leaves him bedridden and will keep him in the hospital for a few days. To pass the time, Maka convinces him to read a book called From Shadows, which he reluctantly ends up loving.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well, in all actuality it had never seemed like a good idea, but Soul was never one to back down from a challenge. Neither was he one to question the fact that said challenge might be a health hazard.

"C'mon, Soul! You can do it!" Cheered Black*Star, waving his arms wildly. Both he and Kid stood at the top of the stairs leading up to the DWMA.

Kid looked down the steps at Soul, who was at the end of the next block with his motorcycle. "You know, Black*Star," Began the young Reaper, "I've been making some mental calculations, and I'm pretty sure that these stairs are too steep for his bike to climb."

Black*Star blew his friend off. "Nah, Soul'll be fine," He smirked, "Besides, I dared him, so he's gotta at least try."

Soul backed up as far as he thought he needed to in order to get enough momentum. He looked towards Black*Star and Kid, grinning with pointed teeth as he shot them a thumbs-up. After Black*Star returned the gesture, Soul diverted his eyes to the road. He revved his engine loudly so that it echoed throughout the streets, and his tires screeched beneath him as he took off towards the stairs.

"For the love of all things dead, what the heck were you trying to do?!" Screamed Maka, causing Soul's head to ring.

"He was tryin' to see if he could get up the Academy's steps on his bike," Explained Black*Star, who conveniently left out the fact that he had dared him to do so.

Stein sighed, shifting through x-ray slides in his lab chair nearby. "I also wonder what you boys were thinking when you brought him into the school instead of simply calling an ambulance," He muttered.

Kid crossed his arms over his chest. "It's because we were already at the Academy. Besides, you're the best doctor we know."

Stein couldn't resist a smirk. "That's true," He said, wheeling his lab chair across the dispensary and over to Soul's gurney. "But even with my honed skills, I'm afraid that Soul here will be bedridden for the next three days. That leg needs time to heal."

Soul scowled a little. "Dang it," He growled.

Maka huffed. "It's your own fault for being stupid," She snapped, trying to hide her concern. She had been in town when Kid called her to say that her boyfriend had been in a bike crash. The blonde meister had then been sent into a panic, running to the Academy before Kid even told her that Soul would certainly live.

"And then he'll only be able to walk on crutches for a month," Stein continued, "And then with a cast for another month."

Black*Star scratched the back of his head. "Wow. Harsh," He looked towards Soul. "Sorry, man."

Soul shot him a sideways glare, not saying anything.

Stein observed the scene for a moment, but then he clicked his tongue and broke the tense silence. "Well, you three should be heading home," He said, pointing at Kid, Black*Star, and Maka. The two boys nodded, but Maka lingered.

"See ya later, Soul," Called Black*Star as he stepped out the door, "I'll visit ya a lot! You're sure to heal up quick simply basking in the radiance of a star like me-!"

Kid grabbed Black*Star's collar, dragging him into the hallway. "We'll see you tomorrow, Soul," He said casually, pulling Black*Star down the hall. The latter could still he heard proclaiming his greatness as his voice gradually faded with distance.

Stein stood from his chair and walked over to the corded phone on the desk. "I'll stay here, Soul," He mumbled, "In the teacher's longue, in case you need anything. But I need to call Marie, or she'll start panicking if I don't get home soon…"

Maka sighed, turning back to Soul. "I've got to go," She murmured, leaning over to kiss Soul's forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow, all right?"

Soul smiled a little. "All right, Maka," He said. "Love ya."

A small blush spread across Maka's cheeks as she straightened up, but it was joined with a smile as she replied, "Love you too."

Soul managed to survive the first of three nights that involved sleeping in the same building as a serial dissector. In fact, when Maka brought a change of clothes the next morning, she found her weapon and boyfriend suffering more from boredom than a broken leg.

"There's nothing to do," Soul groaned, staring at the ceiling. "Since I woke up, I've been doing nothing but counting the tiles on the ceiling. There's forty-two of them. I checked. Six times."

Maka hummed a little to herself as she unpacked the backpack that she had brought for Soul. "Well, I think that you'll like what I got you then," She smiled, drawing out a small wrapped rectangle from the bag. "It's a get-well-soon gift."

Soul raised an eyebrow as he pulled himself upright and took the gift in his hands. He could only think of one thing that fit that size and shape, but Maka knew him well enough that she'd never get him something like… That… Yep. She got him that.

"A book?" Soul mumbled after he had torn off the wrapping paper and ribbon.

Maka nodded cheerily. "Yep! It's one of my favorites; you'll love it!" She beamed.

Soul bared his fangs slightly like an agitated animal as he looked over the front cover. The illustration was of a black cat standing over a sword on the ground below it, and the title above it read "From Shadows."

"Looks lame," Muttered Soul.

Maka scoffed a little. "C'mon, give it a chance! It's got a really cool plot. It's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body."

"Sounds familiar," Retorted Soul, causing his meister to roll her eyes.

"Well, it's all you've got for entertainment right now," She replied. "Your phone was in your pocket during the crash, and it smashed to bits. That's something else that's your fault," She snapped. "So you can either count the ceiling tiles again, or you can read the book. It's your choice," She said.

Soul unceremoniously dropped the book on the bedside table. "Not a chance. I'd rather stare at the ceiling than read and be a geek like you," He shot back.

Maka's glare intensified. Her expression had gone beyond the pouty look that Soul considered cute and had become indignant. "Fine!" She snapped. "Then you can be free of 'geeks like me' for the rest of the day then! I won't bother you!" She yelled before storming out the dispensary door, not even saying goodbye. Soul flinched.

"Great. I made her mad," He muttered to himself. He glanced down at the book once again. "I might read it… Just to make her happy," He thought with a sigh, picking up the book and setting it in his lap once more. "But reading's still for geeks."

With those conflicting thoughts, Soul flipped open the book to the first page and began to read From Shadows.

As much as Soul hated to admit it, the book was pretty good. The writing was done well, the plot was intriguing, and there was just enough romance and comedy to be interesting while not overpowering the overall dark tone of the novel.

"HEYA SOUL!"

Soul jumped a little at Black*Star's outburst, rapidly shoving the book under his pillow as the young narcissist threw open the door and stomped in.

"Maka said to bring you lunch!" He proclaimed, jumping on Soul's bed and harshly jostling his leg. Soul yelped a little at the pain, but Black*Star didn't seem to notice. "She also said that Stein'll bring you your homework this afternoon."

Soul winced, both in the pain from his leg and from Black*Star's words. "So she's mad enough that she couldn't come and tell me herself, huh?" He mumbled.

Black*Star shrugged as he handed him his lunch. "Yeah, looks like," He said. "What did you say to her, man? You know your girlfriend holds grudges."

The red-eyed scythe shook his head passively. "Not important," He mumbled.

Black*Star looked like he was about to say more, but Soul roughly shoved him off the bed.

"Now leave me alone to eat," Snapped the scythe. His friend raised an eyebrow.

"What's your deal, Soul?" He asked, "I just got here. Besides, I see you eat all the time."

Soul narrowed his eyes. "Out," He growled. The blue-haired ninja looked confused for another moment, but then shrugged and walked out the door again, closing it behind him. Soul immediately pulled From Shadows out from under his pillow, picked up where he left off, and remained engrossed in the work as he ate his lunch.

This happened multiple times. Whenever someone would come in, Soul would instantly hide his book and get his guests out as soon as possible. Each thought his behavior seemed odd, but the red-eyed scythe never gave anyone the opportunity to question him. It disappointed him that Maka didn't show up for the rest of that day, but he distracted himself with his book, which grew more captivating by the page.

"Just one more chapter," Soul yawned to himself as he turned the next page. The sun had set a while ago, leaving him to read by the light of the small lamp on the bedside table. However, upon flipping the page, Soul was met with those dreaded words that every reader has encountered:

TO BE CONTINUED IN BOOK 2

Soul paled. That couldn't be right. They had been leading up to something. It couldn't just cut off like that. He checked the last page a couple of times, making sure he had read that right and his fatigued eyes weren't just playing tricks on him. But No matter how many times he looked over the page, the words were still there.

Soul growled in exasperation, flopping backwards onto his pillow. Or at least he tried. He ended up accidentally slamming his head into the bedframe, after which he proceeded to swear loudly before curling up on his pillow and groaning in pain.

Still grimacing at throbbing sensation in his head, the white-haired scythe pulled open one eye to check the wall clock. Upon seeing that it read three a.m., he groaned again.

"I stayed up all night reading a book…" He grumbled to himself, closing his eyes once again. Suddenly, they snapped open. "I've been turned into a geek!" Exclaimed the teen, jolting upright. He looked down at the book that had fallen to the floor. With a gasp of fright, Soul quickly leaned over to pick it up, wiped the dust off of it, and set it carefully on the bedside table. He sighed a little with relief that his precious piece of literature wasn't beat up or scratched, but then stiffened. "Very geek…" He gulped.

With another sigh, Soul carefully slid back under his covers. His leg smarted slightly, causing him to grimace, but it subsided once he stopped moving and laid on his back. Rubbing his eyes a little, he yawned again.

"Hopefully it's just 'cause I'm tired," He murmured as his eyes drifted closed.

Within minutes, Soul was sound asleep, dreaming of a man with two souls.

"He's really tired. You didn't drug him, did you?"

"Don't give me that look. He's fine; I promise I didn't drug him."

At first, the voices came to Soul as if he was underwater. But upon a harsh punch to the arm, he was jerked into full consciousness.

"Ow!" He cried, swiftly sitting upright. He glared at Stein, who was only then pulling his fist back. "What's your deal?!"

Stein twisted his bolt a couple notches, casually pulling away from Soul on his office chair. "See? Not drugged," He stated.

Soul bared his teeth at Stein's retreating form, until he remembered the other voice he had heard. He turned, directing his attention to the end of the bed, where Maka stood with crossed arms. He shied back a little; she looked like a cat getting ready to claw someone, and he couldn't tell if the frustration was directed at him or Stein.

"Did you read the book at all?" She snapped. "Or did you sit there and start counting the floor tiles too because you're a stubborn idiot?"

Soul sighed; she was still mad at him. He glanced at the book on the bedside table, and then quietly mumbled, "I finished it."

Maka raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" She asked.

Soul groaned a little, pulling From Shadows off the table and holding it out to her. "I need book two," He said, trying to portray nonchalance, despite the fact that his inner fanboy was hopping all over the place at the prospect of the next book.

His girlfriend seemed confused for another moment. Upon realizing what her partner meant, however, Maka's eyes widened for the briefest of seconds before a knowing smirk spread across her pink lips. "You read the whole thing, didn't you?"

Soul's eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze back to his lap, but he replied with a quiet, "Maybe."

Maka suppressed the urge to giggle at her sullen weapon. "What's your opinion on James?" She asked him a question about one of the book characters, teasing him a little.

Without hesitation, Soul replied, "He's a jerk, but he's got fighting potential. I think he actually really likes Knox and depends on him, though. And I know they're friends, no matter how much they try to act like they hate each other." There was a small moment of silence, during which even Stein stared at Soul with a confused look on his face. Soul wondered for a moment why he was looking at him like that, but then his face turned as red as his eyes. He growled, burying his face in his hands. Maka laughed.

"So it was good?" She managed between fits of laughter.

Despite his grumpy disposition, Soul found himself smiling at his meister's mirth. "Yeah," He said, sitting upright again to look at her as he walked so she was standing next to him.

"Well then," Grinned Maka after her laughs had subsided. She pulled her backpack off of her shoulders before unzipping it and grabbing something from within. "I just went to the library and got the second book," She told him. "I was going to go home and read it, but maybe we can read it together? Since it's Saturday."

Soul made a sound that sounded like a sigh of defeat, even though it took all of his willpower – and his injured leg – to keep him from jumping up and down in excitement. He held his arm out for Maka to sit next to him, and she obliged quickly, making sure to avoid touching his leg.

"Who's your favorite character?" She asked. Soul smirked while he opened up the front cover.

"Luca. He's really cool," He said, and then questioned, "Who's yours?

As Maka told him exactly why June was the best character in From Shadows, Soul found himself watching the way her lips moved. Usually when his meister began rambling about her books, he tended to tune her out. Today, however, Soul found himself being drawn to her. Perhaps it was because he finally understood what she was talking about, but for some reason, her spiel wasn't annoying that day.

Maka abruptly cut off as Soul's lips pressed against hers. She smiled, kissing him back. They each relaxed into the kiss until Soul pulled away after a moment, smirking.

"You're real cute when you're geeking out," He chuckled. Maka stuck her tongue out at him, causing Soul to go from a chuckle to a laugh. "Relax, Maka," He said, poking her nose a little, "I'm a geek too."

The blonde's frown faded, and she chuckled a little as well before turning her gaze down to the book in her hands. She opened to page one, and the two fell silent as they read together.

Lots of line breaks in this one; sorry :P I was trying to keep the story as brief as possible, since this one had a lot of opportunities to go off on tangents. And I'm sorry to say that "From Shadows" is fictional… Anywayz, see ya next chapter, guys!