Here is my entry for resbang 2015! Be sure to check out Eis and Tora's art - links are on my profile. They both created beautiful pieces for my story, and I am so grateful to have been able to work with them both.

This story unfortunately is not complete just yet because of life things. However, the mods have approved of me posting the rest before the end of resbang so be on the look out for those. I would also like to thank the mods for everything they have done this resbang; they're the best at what they do and deserve a good break after all this over. I also want to thank my betas meisterful, fabulousanima, marshofsleep, and lucyrne for all the suggestions they made to help make this story better. I really did learn a lot from them and am grateful for their hard work as well.

I hope y'all enjoy this little story! Reviews and favs are much appreciated as well :)

Rude Cowboys & Bad Beginnings

Maka's toes curled into the wet mud as she watched Soul disappear into the dead of night. Inky black swallowed snowy white with every step he took further onto the property. The last thing she remembered seeing was him yanking off his hat and running a hand through his wild, matted hair in frustration, a behavior she had grown accustomed to since coming to the ranch. He did it when the producer insisted he continue the show, when the other girls refused to leave him alone, and when Maka told him to pick someone else.

It was a sign that he didn't know what to do.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the other two girls, camera men, and producer glaring at her - blaming her for the departure of their precious bachelor. Her heart plummeted down to her stomach as she blinked away the tears that pricked her eyes. It was her fault, she knew that, but she didn't need them to remind her through their vicious looks. She was aware that what she had said to him a few nights ago was wrong, but what else was she supposed to do?

Remnants of food still sat on the plates at the dining room table, the only sign of their meal from moments before the final rose ceremony. Her gaze flitted over it, though, as they instead fell on Wes. Soft blue eyes stared back at her, and his small smile warmed her cold, aching heart. Hope fluttered through her chest as he nodded outside, and she remembered the conversation they had the night before. It was clear what she was supposed to do now.

Facing the direction Soul had run off to, she took a careful step forward and walked until the darkness swallowed her as well.

8 weeks earlier…

When her co-worker and supposed best friend had said Maka would be doing something she would never do in a million years, she thought it'd be something like sky-diving or traveling Europe alone. Something simple. Not once had she thought it would be this. Not once did she think her birthday present would involve her riding in the back of a tinted limo as it drove to an unknown location.

Not once did she think she'd be a contestant for The Bachelor!

Yet there she was. Wearing a strapless periwinkle dress that Liz had picked out special for the occasion, she was headed down a road that would take her to her possible future relationship.

Or husband.

God she was going to strangle the woman when they met again. The show seriously needed to reconsider its option to nominate someone for this hell hole excuse of reality TV. Maka enjoyed watching it on Monday nights curled up on her couch with a glass of wine, sure, but that was to ridicule the idiotic contestants since they were only there for the exposure. None of them cared about love or happily ever after. Their false tells of falling in love with the bachelor and wanting nothing more than to marry him were distorted. It was all an act for the cameras; to make America believe that finding your soulmate was quick and easy. She saw it in their hungry gazes, the petty catfights they started, and the unnecessary drama behind the show.

They didn't care about the bachelor. It was all about them.

This wasn't her.

Maka wasn't like the fame-chasing beauty queens that applied for the show.

The limo slowed to a steady stop, alerting Maka that they had arrived, and she waited for the driver to open the door for her. To be honest, limos weren't the high luxury vehicles television portrayed them as. They were far too small with uncomfortable seats and stuffy. She felt like she was suffocating.

When the door opened, she took the driver's hand and allowed him to help her out as her other hand carefully kept her dress from riding up. She refused to be front page news the next day by giving America a shot of her panties.

Settling on the dirt beneath her, she looked up to see that they weren't at a mansion like she had seen in past seasons. It was someone's actual home - a farm from what she could tell. There were four buildings on the property - two houses and two barns - spread out by a few acres or so. Grass of varying heights grew between the buildings, a few flowers poked out under the sea of green, and made way to small patches closer to her. In the studio lighting placed on the property, she was able to make out a small corral in the distance and more pasture, but nothing else. Dusk had already fallen and there was no moon present to illuminate the world around her.

Her gaze scoured the rest of the landscape before green eyes landed on the bachelor standing in front of her. He was a handsome young man in his boots, tight jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy hat that hid his hair from view. He was the epitome of the classic western movies her grandpa used to watch before his passing. The only off putting thing about him were his crossed arms and grim face; he looked like someone had pissed in his soup. To be honest, the style wasn't really her type. He was cute, but she usually went for clean-cut boys who aspired to be lawyers or doctors.

Not cowboys.

Carefully, she made her way over to him, a mantra of left, right, left, right playing in her head as she walked in heels. The gravel beneath her crunched with each wobbly step she took. From either corner, she saw two men holding a camera each. One was trained on her while the other was on the bachelor. Behind them stood two other people each holding a microphone so that they could catch every sound she and the bachelor made. Maka tried to keep her cool as she was reminded that all of America - maybe the world - would see her make a fool of herself.

"Hi," she smiled while sticking her hand out to him. "I'm Maka Albarn."

He stared at her for a few seconds, one white brow cocked up in confusion, before he finally slid a warm and calloused hand in hers. "Soul Evans. Nice to meet you."

"You too."

She dropped her hand from his and they stood there staring at each other. He folded his arms in front his chest again and scowled.

A few of the lights were trained on him, but the brim of his hat shadowed his facial features. Even when she came up to his shoulder, she was only able to make out that his eyes were a dark color like brown - almost black. A very intriguing shade that she hadn't seen before.

"No interesting story?" he said, breaking their silence. "Or weird talent?"

"No," she said a little confused. "Was I supposed to have one?"

Soul shrugged. "Figured it was custom with this kinda thing."

"I can roll my tongue, if that counts as a weird talent."

He snorted. "That's not weird. Not compared to what I've seen from the others. Just makes you an above average human."

"In that case I'll be proud of my above average-ness," she smiled. Maka grabbed the edges of her skirt and did a mock bow that pulled a closed mouth grin from Soul.

"Cute," he said, placing his hands in his front pockets and leaning back a bit.

Heat prickled along the nape of her neck and along her collarbones before crawling up her throat. The man holding the camera trained on her had stepped back to catch the whole moment between them, and Maka's embarrassment was for whole other reason now. Not only had she done that in front of Soul, but the entire American population as well.

What the hell am I doing bowing like a damn idiot?! You know people are watching you right this minute, Maka! Don't give them something to laugh about!

"Thank you."

Maka dropped her skirt and stood up straighter than before, but averted her gaze away from the cameramen and Soul. Instead, she stared at his faded gold belt buckle with a bull on the front while she pressed the toe of her heel into the dirt. She wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the ground beneath her and disappear. Not even five minutes on the show and she had already made a fool of herself. No doubt every gossip magazine was bound to eat up what she had done and plaster a screenshot of it on their cover once the show was broadcasted.

Who curtsied as a way of greeting in today's society?

"Don't mention it."

There was a slight movement from the sidelines that Maka was too slow to see, but he must have caught it because he sighed in annoyance. "The others are inside if you wanna get yourself acquainted with them. Be there in a few."

"Alright." She twiddled her thumbs in front of her, hoping the embarrassment would die down soon enough. "See you later, I guess."

Once inside, a woman in an all black outfit, an earpiece dangling off her ear, ushered her down a long hallway. High-pitched laughter floated down toward her, and her heart beat rapidly against her chest. The conversation with Soul had gone over smoothly - albeit with a few stupid mistakes on her part - but it was the girls she was more afraid of. From the past seasons she had watched, she knew they were superficial women whose actions were insincere so she wasn't sure if any of them were trustworthy. Or if they'd be nice to her right away or turn their noses up at her.

It felt like she was entering high school all over again, and she hated it.

It turned out to be easier than she had expected.

The girls treated her like an old friend that they hadn't seen in ages, and invited her into their group as if she were one of them. It wasn't like the sorority get-togethers Liz had dragged her to in college where she sat on the sidelines sipping from her red solo cup and wishing to be studying instead. They welcomed her with open arms and treated her as an equal rather than like she was beneath them. Even though all the girls for the show had the typical high-school-cheerleader-turned-model-turned-trophy-wife beauty going for them, none of them were snobby to her. Their dresses were designer and far fancier than her Macy's cocktail dress, but they didn't shun her for not spending an extra hundred bucks on her outfit.

Maka felt like she was part of the group, and regretted judging them before getting to know them. They weren't snobby, prep school girls who thought they were better than her; they were sweet, down-to-earth girls who were looking to find love.

"I'm a yoga instructor from Chicago," one bubbly blonde named Jenna told her. "I actually travelled around Europe for the last year, and when I came back, wanted to find my Prince Charming so here I am. Hoping to win the cute bachelor's heart like the other girls. What about you?"

She took a sip of her wine before speaking. "I graduated from Princeton with top marks, currently work at as a teacher up in New York City, and came on the show because my best friend nominated me."

"Wow! Princeton? That's amazing! Congratulations. Princeton's a great school to go to." Jenna paused and took a sip of her wine. When she spoke again, her perfectly plucked brows were knitted in confusion. "But you didn't apply for the show yourself?"

"Oh, no. Apparently you can nominate people for this type of thing, and my best friend has a tendency to play matchmaker sometimes. So, here I am."

"I see. And what about Soul, though? And love? Are you at least here for that as well?"

Chewing on her lip, Maka averted her gaze down to her wine glass and contemplated her answer. On the one hand, she could be honest and admit she didn't believe in love. But that didn't feel right. Liz had sent her here with the purpose of opening her heart to someone - to give love a chance for once in her life. She had even promised she would be more receptive when it came to the opposite sex and not run away.

Not every relationship ended in divorce.

"I'm not sure," she said, looking back up and smiling at the other woman. "But I'd be interested to see if there is anything between him and I."

Jenna smiled back and nodded. "Good. I wish you luck then."

"Thanks."

The girls became silent once they all arrived and Soul entered the room along with a blonde woman dressed in a black and gold tweed ensemble. She wore an earpiece and listened as someone spoke to her on the other side. Maka assumed this was the director or producer of the show who would be calling all the shots and pitting the girls against one another. Just because they advertised it as reality tv didn't mean it actually was.

She stood on her tiptoes to get a better look at the bachelor, and her eyes bulged at the sight of him. His eyes weren't black or brown like she had previously assumed. Rather, they were a deep, dark red - similar to the roses he would be offering them as the weeks wore on. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to reveal nice, sun-kissed forearms, and white tufts of hair peeked out from beneath his hat. When he reached up to scratch his scalp, the gesture exposed more of it.

That was confusing.

Either he had Benjamin Button syndrome or he had never left his anime phase. No one in their right mind would actually have unnaturally white hair. Unless they were an old pervert who had only come on the show to get with a bunch of young girls because his dick was too wrinkled to get them otherwise. But that didn't make sense either. Soul's facial features were reminiscent of a young man who couldn't be older than herself - early thirties at the latest.

He stood silent as the lady next to him spoke to the girls.

"Welcome," the woman started. "My name is Marie Mjolnir, and I'm the producer of The Bachelor. I hope you ladies are as excited as I am for another great season of the show. Tonight we'll be having our first elimination round which is custom, of course. But before that happens you will each have some time to get to know Soul here and impress him to continue on. Sound good with everyone?"

There was a small nod of understanding among the girls, and Marie smiled.

"Good. The first girl will be," she checked her phone, "Miss Blair Wilkinson."

Blair - a well-endowed woman with black-almost-purple hair - excused herself to the front and followed Marie and Soul to another area of the house, leaving the others in the room to wait.

Swirling the champagne in her glass, Maka watched as the gold bubbles swished around inside and contemplated what to say when it was her turn. She had made a promise to Liz that she'd give love a chance, but at the same time she wasn't entirely sure if she was ready. Soul was handsome, yes, but looks weren't that important. He wasn't her type, but loving someone meant stepping outside her comfort zone.

But loving someone also meant heartbreak.

From an early age she had sworn off love because she knew the consequences of giving someone your whole heart and soul. She had promised herself a long time ago she'd never fall prey to its clutches. Love always ended in grief and betrayal; she knew that from personal experience.

The Bachelor wasn't a show designed for someone as cynical and cold-hearted like her.

Her turn came up, and the crewmember from earlier led her down the hallway again. They went outside onto the porch where candles were arranged around a single table with two chairs, one of which was occupied already. Crickets chirped out in the darkness, and owls talked amongst themselves to create a serene setting. It was different from what she was familiar with; cars honking and pedestrians bickering below her apartment window were nonexistent out here.

It might even be a little romantic if she ignored the watchful eyes of the camera crew as they stood on the sidelines.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hey," he dully said. "Maka, right?" She nodded. There was a hint of a tiny smirk as the edges of his mouth tugged up. It vanished quickly, though, and she excused it as a trick of the light or her imagination. "The above average girl."

"It is I," she smiled while inwardly cringing at herself.

What the hell was her problem? Come onto a reality show where everyone is watching her every move, and she insists on making herself look like an idiot.

"Nice to finally have some normalcy. Sit down." He gestured to the seat in front of him, and she did so. "Tell me about yourself."

"What do you wanna know about me?" she asked.

"Anything. Where're you from? Why're you here? Anything." His gaze dropped down to the table and under his breath he muttered low enough for only her to hear, "Make the audience cry for you."

Her brows scrunched together. "What was that?"

"Hmm?" Soul looked back up, shook his head, and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms in front of him. "Nothing."

Maka opened her mouth to comment on what he had muttered, but closed it as she thought better. Maybe he had a bad experience with the girls who had come before her which was why he had said that. It didn't make sense that he'd be so rude. He seemed like a well put together man when she had met him only moments before.

Scooting herself closer to the table, she rested and folded her hands on top of it. "Well, I live in New York City in an apartment and work as a teacher. I'm an only child with no kids of my own, just a fuzzy little cat."

"You're a teacher?"

"Yeah. My mama was one of the best teachers in Nevada before she passed away when I was fifteen, and I wanna be just like her. Even better than her, actually."

Soul snorted and smirked to himself as he softly shook his head. Maka pursed her lips and glared at him.

"What's funny about that?"

"Nothing."

His eyes fell on her once again, the small candlelight making them look like ember in their glow. She stared at them as she tried to gauge why he'd act like that, but it was impossible. There was hardness to them that she couldn't quite breakthrough.

"So why'd you come here? To find love?"

It was the way he said 'love' - a nasty bite to it as if he were teasing the concept - that struck her the wrong way. She herself didn't believe in the abstract idea, but she was only a contestant on a show designed to help people find love. He was the person who was there to open his heart to these women and find his future wife because he chose this. Surely he had to be more receptive to the concept than herself.

"Not originally," she started. "My friend back at home nominated me, but she had good reason to." At the slight quirk of his brow, she elaborated. "She's been bugging me for years to find someone, and I think she's right so here I am."

"You're not here for love?" he asked a little incredulous.

"No?" Her voice picked up near the end making her statement a question.

Something was off, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

He smirked, a playful twinkle in his eyes that only lasted a second. "You honestly want me to think you're not like those desperate women in there? Way to convince me. Remind me to applaud you later."

Her blood boiled over the fact that he believed her and the others were really that shallow. Especially after she had rid herself of the same prejudiced views only moments before by getting to know them.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she spat out. "Of course we're all here for love - that's the whole point of this show! But those women aren't desperate in the slightest! They're all very nice and not shallow like you're making them out to be. You'd know that if you got to know them. Which you obviously haven't if you've treated them all the same way you have me."

"Playing hard to get. Cute, but not really my thing."

"I'm not playing hard to get," she growled. "You're rude and insufferable. You've given me no reason to try and impress someone like yourself since I sat down. What happened to the guy I met earlier? He seemed nice."

Soul's gaze briefly shifted to the camera behind her before moving to her once again. He took his hat off, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms. His mouth was turned up in a small scowl as he stared at her. She sensed a slight change in his attitude that didn't translate into his body language. Like he was trying to hide something from her or their audience that he wasn't ready to reveal yet.

She was willing to give him another chance - having cameras watch you while trying to get to know someone was nerve-wracking already - but then he spoke again.

"Women are so gullible sometimes."

Maka growled and squinted her eyes. She stood up from the table, scraping her chair harshly against the floor, grabbed her glass and tossed the drink inside at him.

"That's for being a dick," she said as red droplets fell down his face. "You're the worst bachelor ever, and I seriously hope you end up with no one because women everywhere deserve someone better than you."

Maka whirled around on her heel and stormed back inside. She was aware of the cameraman following closely behind her, and she wanted nothing more than to scream at him to leave her alone. But after what happened with Soul, she didn't want America to deem her as some loon woman who lost her temper at the drop of the hat. That was definitely not something she needed when she went back home.

"How'd it go?" Blair asked her once she reentered the room everyone else was in. "By the look on your face I'd say not so well?"

She picked up another wine glass off one of the tables - this show seriously had too much alcohol for her taste but when in Rome and all - and downed it before responding. "He's an insufferable dickbag who's definitely not worth my time."

"Yeah, you're not the only one who thinks that." Blair took a sip of her drink. "He was kinda rude to everyone from what I heard. Said I dressed a little too promiscuous for his taste."

Glancing down at the other woman's dress, Maka actually didn't blame Soul for his comment. Blair had chosen a gold dress that revealed a good portion of her chest and the slit barely touched her belly button. It wasn't her own taste, but it did suit Blair quite well. Not so much appropriate for a classy show like The Bachelor, though.

Either way, Soul's comment was uncalled for.

"Add misogynistic pig to the list as well then," Maka commented. "I had always thought Texas boys were supposed to be nice, but I guess I was wrong."

"There are some gems out there, but Soul doesn't seem to be one of them. Did he also mention to you that he won't be kissing any of us?"

"Really?" Maka felt her brows rise in disbelief.

"Mhm."

"God he is so full of himself. As if anyone would wanna kiss him after the way he's treated all of us." Maka shook her head. "I really hope he sends me home tonight. There's no way I am willing to stay here if he's the person I have to fall in love with."

"Don't blame you. How do the producers expect us to fall in love with someone who belittles us and isn't willing to give us a chance. If they wanted to go with the cowboy aspect this year, they could have chosen someone else. I've been with plenty of ranch boys to know that they are nothing like Soul." Blair sighed and took another drink of her wine. "He made poor Jenna cry."

"How?"

"Dunno," she shrugged. "But she hasn't come out of the bathroom since you left. When I checked up on her, she sounded like she was still crying."

Shaking her head, Maka said, "That man is the worst. Pretty sure this is gonna be their worst season yet. No one in their right mind would fall for a man as insensitive as him."

Blair nodded in agreement and changed the subject to something that didn't deal with the stick-up-his-ass cowboy.

Before the rose ceremony started, the producer herded Maka and the girls into a parlor off the dining room where a platform was already set up. Marie put the tallest girls in the back while the shortest ones stood in front. Standing right in the middle, Maka glanced around at the others and noticed how tall and gorgeous they were. Hopefully Soul wasn't the man he presented himself as earlier, and was actually a sincere guy under all of it because the others definitely deserved someone better.

She silently wondered to herself if any of them would be the one to win his stupid, arrogant cowboy heart.

"Good evening, ladies," the host greeted. He was another handsome man in a black suit with perfect posture, typical for the course of The Bachelor. "You have each met this season's bachelor tonight, Soul Evans, and have hopefully made a good first impression. There are ten of you here, but only nine roses. One of you lovely ladies will be heading back home tonight, and your journey for true love ends here. So if you're ready, here's Soul."

He walked off as the bachelor walked in and stood in his place. Maka noticed he had changed out of the shirt she soaked, and a smile spread across her face. Served him right for being such a jerk. His bored eyes glanced off to the side, and with his jaw set in a deep scowl, Soul turned back toward the girls and began his speech.

"I'm happy to have met each one of you tonight," he started. His voice was monotone, and Maka got the vibe that he was being forced to say something nice. "You are each special in your own way, but as much as it pains me, I can only pick nine of you to go on. So let's start handing out these stupid-"

A cough from the sidelines made him pause and roll his eyes.

"I mean these beautiful roses."

Picking up the first one, he glanced across the two rows of women who Maka was sure were all smiling before landing on her. The side of his mouth pulled up into a smirk as her heart lurched of its own accord. She glared at him, daring him to say her name. There was no way in hell she was going to be accepting that rose. He wasn't appealing to her in the slightest, and she was more than positive he despised her as well. The nasty words she had said to him should have left a large enough wound for him to think better.

But, despite what her thoughts and heart were telling her, a small part within her secretly hoped he did say her name, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

"M-" No, this wasn't happening. "-eredith."

A small sigh of relief escaped from her.

She watched as Meredith - a vivacious brunette - bounced down and walked across the carpet in heels to take the flower from his grasp. She leaned in to kiss his cheek, but Soul swerved away from her by distracting himself with the next rose. Trying to brush off the embarrassment, she walked toward the side and stood there in wait for the other bachelorettes. Her cheeks tinted red as she pretended she didn't notice a single thing, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, and Maka giggled into her hand.

So he wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't be kissing anyone.

Not even a peck on the cheek.

Interesting.

One by one the girls were called, a red rose handed to them, and each time, she noticed how Soul kept his gaze on her. She shifted her weight as she stood there, trying to ignore his eyes boring into her, but it was no use. Every time she tried to look elsewhere, she kept going back to looking at him. It didn't make sense why he insisted on looking at her with each name that was called, especially if it wasn't hers.

Even if he wasn't going to kiss anyone on air, he was still an ass! He probably enjoyed teasing her like that.

As he grabbed the last rose, Maka stood up straighter and flicked the few strands of hair resting on her shoulder toward the back.

Only two girls remained now: her and another blonde. She reminded herself that beneath the promises and words she had expressed earlier, she still didn't believe in love and the rose meant nothing. Soul was a rude man that no one could ever love - not even his own mother. He had been arrogant and nasty to her and the other girls. He might be a tad handsome, but he was only a stupid, cocky bull rider who didn't deserve to be this year's bachelor. Soon she'd be going home and watching this lame show in the comfort of her own home like the rest of America.

But even as she told herself that, a little voice inside her told her otherwise. There had been something different between the Soul she first met and the Soul she had talked to. They didn't feel like the same person. It seemed more like an act - like something she'd do if she were the bachelorette on a bogus show like this. His soul was kinder than what he presented to her. She felt it in her gut.

"You both are wonderful girls," he said in the same monotonous voice as before," but sadly one of you must go."

His gaze dropped down to the rose as he twirled the beautiful flower between his fingers. He glanced back up with a soft smile on his lips as he stared right at her. Maka braced herself for the inevitable rejection, already deciding on what to say when she left. If she should tear apart the whole false advertising of the entire show itself or not. Or mention that it was impossible to fall in love with someone after eight weeks.

"Maka."

She blinked.

Unsure if she had heard him right or not, she turned to look at the other girl behind her, but the look on her face was incredulous as well. Maka turned to look back at Soul, her mouth slightly open and her brows knitted together. She wanted to ask why or if he was insane, but nothing came out; she only stood there completely shocked.

He chuckled lowly to himself, his brows raising slightly as he watched her. Marie, who was standing on the sidelines, motioned for Maka to step forward. She crossed the threshold to take the rose from Soul, their fingers barely touching as they each held onto the stem. His gaze was warm and kind as he smirked down at her.

"Maka, will you accept this rose as a symbol of my love?"

She wanted to say no - she really did - but she didn't.

"Yes."