"Maka!" Professor Stein yelled, and I jumped. "I asked you a question." Liz and Patty snickered behind me, and I blushed as I glared at them.

"Erm... What was the question again?" I asked sheepishly, and Soul turned to shake his head in playful disappointment. "I asked you where I would make the first incision on this bird." He said, and I racked my brain. "Right below the neck?" I said, unsure. He shook his head, laughing. "You're losing your grip, Maka." He said. "The correct answer is to cut right above the jugular vein, in the neck." He said, turning to do just that.

I sighed. "Maka." Soul whispered. I looked over at him halfheartedly, raising my eyebrows. "Just because it's the last day of school doesn't mean you can zone out." He smiled deviously, turning back around and leaving me fuming. I tried to concentrate, but all I could think of was the battle last week, where Soul shielded me from a witch's attack and got yet another scar on his chest, crossing diagonally through his other one. I had to get stronger, I couldn't let my weapon keep getting damaged like this...

"That's the end of the day, you have a free period after this one and then you're gone for the summer. Don't forget to study what we just covered, you'll have a pop quiz on it right when we get back."

My eyes widened. I didn't want to ask Dr. Stein what to study, I would come across as unattentive... Kid.

"Soul!" I yelled. "Where's Kid?" I asked as he turned around. "How would I know, he's always the first one out of class." He said, a growl in his voice. I caught up to Soul, falling into step next to him. "Did something happen between you two?" I asked, worried. He gazed at me, a possessive glint in his eyes. "To get to the point... I guess we had a little disagreement." He said roughly, pushing past me and leaving me standing alone in the hallway. Soul had hurt my feelings, but I brushed it off seeing as he was obviously stressed. But during class he was all laughs and giggles... did their "disagreement" happen right in front of me?

"Maka?" I turned to see Tsubaki walking towards me. "Did something happen between you and Soul?" She asked, referring to our most recent quarrel. "No... but something did happen between him and Kid." Tsubaki groaned. "Oh, what now?" We both started down the hallway to the courtyard. "At least we can ask him, he told me to tell you that he invited both of us to join him, Patty, Liz, and Blackstar to have a snack under the Japanese maple tree." She said. I nodded, and we placed our books on the ground in front of the door outside and walked to the tree.

"No, Blackstar! You sit there, not 5.6 centimeters off of the symmetrical line." Kid said as we walked up. "Come on, dude! Symmetry is stupid, I'll sit wherever I want." Blackstar plopped down about six feet away from the tree. Kid gasped, and before we knew it he was having a temper tantrum on the floor.

"The world is ruined, if I can't organize a simple symmetrical gathering then I don't deserve to live…" He rambled, slamming his fist against the ground with his butt in the air.

Tsubaki and I rolled our eyes as Liz tried to tell Kid that it wasn't his fault and Blackstar was just ignorant. Speaking of Blackstar, he was currently raiding the whole picnic basket of meat.

Kid eventually calmed down and took a seat in between me and Tsubaki, who had tried our best to sit an even length away from each other to save Kid the drama. "Kid?" I said as he took a careful bite from a cracker. "Yes?" He replied, looking over at me. "Soul told me you guys had gotten into an argument." Kid blushed a deep shade of red and my curiosity turned to confusion. "That's true." He said tentatively. "But it is not of your concern as to what the purpose was." He said after a long pause. I shrugged, deciding to try and get it out of him later.

"Tsubaki!" Blackstar called, and she looked at him. He motioned for her to go over there and she obeyed, leaving me alone with Kid.

"Oh!" I said, remembering something. "Could you maybe come over later to help me study? I wasn't really paying attention in class…" I said. Lord Death's son thought for a moment. "Well I suppose… It's not like I don't have anything better to do." He said, and I celebrated a little inside. I guess I could have just asked Soul for help, but then again I probably would have been better off just trying to figure out what to study by myself.

"Let's go home." Blackstar said. "But there's a half hour left until the bell rings…" Tsubaki said. "And? What are they going to do, give us detention? School will be over, we won't get in trouble." Everyone contemplated on the thought. "Well we'd have to find Soul first." I said.

"Already here." Soul walked up behind me. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Patty squealed, dragging Liz through the courtyard and out of sight. "Wait up!" Kid yelled, running after them. Tsubaki had been escorted away by Blackstar the moment Soul had appeared, so my weapon and I strolled home together.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. "Kid's coming over later," I said casually. Soul froze in step, and I stopped walking to look back at him. "Maka, did you… invite him?" Soul said disbelievingly. "Yeah, just to study." I said suspiciously. His face scrunched up in an unknown emotion before he began walking like our conversation had never happened.

"So this organ goes…" I said hesitantly, not wanting to get this one wrong. "Here?" I said, turning to look at Kid, who was watching me attentively. "Correct." He said with a nod of approval, and I smiled. A genuine grin spread across his face at my happiness. "Are we done here?" He asked, standing from his chair. "Yeah. But I'll be making dinner soon, so you're welcome to stay. Soul is at Blackstar and Tsubaki's, he said something about a movie."

"Sure, I'll stay." He said, seemingly without thought. I grinned. "You can relax on the couch and watch some television, dinner will only take about an hour." I said, and Kid nodded. We both exited my room, him to the living room and me to the kitchen.

I gathered all of the pre-cut ingredients for the soup I was making, and tossed them into a pot. I boiled the water separately, then poured the broth into the ingredients. I placed the cover over me and Kid's dinner, letting it simmer while I joined my friend on the couch.

"You finished already?" Kid said, looking over at me as I took a seat next to him. "No," I said with a chuckle. His golden eyes searched my face. "Something's bothering you." He said. I crossed my arms, frustrated with his reading of my emotions.

"It's just that… when I told Soul that you were coming over to help me study, he got angry. I know you guys fought earlier, but it's just unnerving." I said, and Kid nodded. "I would understand that. Give him a bit, he'll calm down." He said, and I nodded.

The timer on my watch went off, and I excused myself to go prepare the dumplings. I mixed together a store bought dough and placed the clumps on top of the soup, waiting for them to cook. I leaned my back against the counter, twiddling my thumbs.

The front door opened, and Soul entered. "What's cooking? Smells delicious." He said. "Oh… I thought you were at Blackstar's?" I said. "I was, until he wouldn't shut up about how big of a star he would make in the movie we were watching." He said with a chuckle.

"Maka? Is someone at the door?" Kid called from the living room. "That's not…" Soul started, and I shrugged. "Well on second thought, I think I'd be better off at Blackstar's." And with that, he left as quick as he'd come.

"Maka?" Kid appeared at the doorway to see me with my head in my hands. "What's the matter?" He took a step towards me, so I pulled my act together and quickly served two bowls of soup and placed them at the table.

"Dinner's ready." I said with a forced smile, sitting down. Kid looked at me, confused, but didn't ask.

"This is amazing." He said after three bites. I grinned for real this time, taking a couple of bites myself.

After we finished dinner, he left, and I changed into my pajamas.

"Harsh night." I turned to see Blair eyeing me, licking her paws as she stretched out on the floor. "No kidding." I said, sitting on the couch. "Soul's on his way back, Blackstar was getting on his nerves." I laughed, staring at the cat on the floor, who had obviously followed my partner and eavesdropped.

"That's good." I said, yawning. "If you're going to go to bed I suggest going now. Soul's not going to be in a good mood when he gets here." I nodded, and Blair and I traveled to my bedroom.

I eyed the textbooks on my desk, still open from when Kid was helping me study. I shook my head, deciding to study some more later and skip it for tonight.
I climbed under the covers, Blair lying at my feet as we both slowly drifted off. Right before I fell to sleep, I heard Soul enter the house and call my name. I ignored him, and fell into a deep slumber.