When She Loved Me

"When somebody love me, everything was beautiful."

I remember the first time she fell in love. When she decided to become stronger, not only for her sake. No, she wanted to become stronger…for me. I was her weapon. I was her motivation. I was her first love. I always smiled when she stated what she was fighting for. It made me feel wanted and loved, and that made my life more beautiful than ever.

"Every hour we spent together lives within my heart."

We were always together. We would always go our separate ways and then came back together. We did everything together. We went to school, we fought Kishin, and we hung out with friends. We even lived with each other in the same apartment. Every memory we shared, such as our fight with Crona, and the first time we met, and parties at friends' houses, are still within me.

"And when she was sad, I was there to dry her tears."

I remember Maka coming home one rainy evening. We were both sixteen, and Maka was dating then. She would always dress up nicely, especially on this night. She was going on a date with another meister (who I loathed). She left me on my own for a few hours. I made myself some dinner, watched a random movie on TV, and then waited for her to return home. It was 11:30 when Maka came. Immediately, I knew something went wrong. I knew because she said she was going out to dinner at 7:00, and it should have only lasted two hours at the most. I started to ask her, when she looked up into my crimson eyes. There were dry tear tracks on her cheek, caressing her face down until her neck. I also saw her emerald eyes filling up with more salty tears.

"Maka, what's wrong?" Maka sniffled, trying to keep the flood from coming. I placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Maka Albarn, what happened? Why are you crying?" It was too much for her. The dam broke, and fresh tears fell like a flood. "David…he said…he said, he would, go eat dinner with me. I waited and waited…and…he never came. I thought…he promised…I don't know what to do!" she wailed. Immediately, without thinking, I pulled her into a gentle and sympathetic embrace. She, surprisingly, held onto me. After soothing her for a few minutes, I looked into her eyes again. The bitterness kept on flowing, but she was not screaming anymore. I gently took my thumb and wiped away her tears.

"It's all right, Maka," I told her. "I'll always be her to wipe away your sadness and grief." I pulled her back into a hug, and she refused to let go.

"And when she was happy, so was I. When she loved me."

I was so attracted by her happiness. I never had much in the sense of joy in my life, until I met her. When she smiled, she gave this huge, goofy grin. It was amusing, to me especially. It amused me so much that I had to smile. When she first befriended Crona, and gave him or her that smile, I just had to be happy along with her. That was back when she loved me.

"Through the summer and the fall, we had each other, that was all."

The seasons passed by fast. We spent more time together. We spent the summer and the fall training, going on missions, and just having fun. We only had each other to depend on, that was all. Nothing else really mattered.

"Just she and I together, like it was meant to be."

It was always just us two. Sure, we spent time with our other friends, but not as much as when we were together. We shared everything, our joys, our sorrows, our secrets, our lives, with each other. Just like it is supposed to be between a meister and a weapon.

"And when she was lonely, I was there to comfort her."

"Maka?" I walked into the living room, where Maka was sitting, reading a book. She looked up from her voluminous paged book. "What is it, Soul?" she replied. Her olive green eyes bore into my blood red ones.

"I'm just wondering if you're alright. You've been looking kind of…"

"Lonely?" I looked at her. "Yeah. Is everything cool with you?" I asked. She shut her book, and I went to sit next to her.

"I just…I feel so lonely. Everybody else is away on a mission, and nobody has come back yet. I just…want to talk to someone," she said. I decided to take her issue into my own hands. Or at least, in my arms. I put my arm around her, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. "Is that better?"

"Yeah," she replied. She smiled. "Thanks, Soul." I continued to hold her, comforting her loneliness.

"And I knew that she loved me."

I was positive that she was in love with me. Her will to become stronger, her need for comfort, her attempts to make me smile…they all pointed to that one emotion: love.

"So the years went by. I stayed the same, but she began to drift away."

The years passed by since we met. We continued to be partners, and she even turned me into a Death Scythe. We were proud of ourselves for our accomplishment. We were entered into Spartoi, along with the rest of our friends and peers who helped defeat Arachne's gang. Through all of our time, I continued to stay the "cool" guy, as lazy and as emotionless as before. When we went into the Book of Eibon to rescue Kid from Noah, we learned more about each other. She learned some things that changed our lives forever. Maka found out that she was "weak" and "dependent" on others, especially me. When she told me she wanted to leave me, I had no choice but to tell her to go. And so, with one final handshake, she drifted away from me.

"I was left alone."

When she walked away, I saw how lonely I was. I found out how much I needed her, how dependent I was on her. I couldn't do anything without her. I couldn't change her mind. I couldn't tell her no. I couldn't even go after her. I punched the wall in my frustration and loneliness. I felt tears burn my eyes, but I ignored them. How long would I go without her goofy grin, her Maka Chops, her precious emerald orbs, before I broke down? I calmed down, putting her out of my mind. I decided to blindly go find the group and forget about her.

"Still I waited for the day, when she'd say 'I will always love you."

I was seventeen when she left. For five long years, I waited for the day. The day when she would come back, give me one of her huge and comforting hugs, and tell me that she loved me. That she loved me all along. That it was such a painful decision for her to leave. I woke up after she said this. I knew it was all a dream. That she would never do that, never confess that. I knew I was just drowning in my dreams and fantasies. Later, on that beautiful summer day, I went to Tsubaki's 21st birthday party. I needed to get away from everything that was bugging me and just have fun and unwind. That was the day, after five years, I saw her eyes again.

"Lonely and forgotten, I never thought she'd look my way."

Those eyes. The olive orbs that I had last seen years ago bore into my crimson eyes and into my soul. At first, they showed no emotion. Then, they were quizzical, as if they were trying to recognize my eyes, if they had ever met before. Then, they shone. Her face responded, with her big funny smile covering most of her face. I stared at that work of art, Maka's face. I suddenly forgot my loneliness and abandonment as those eyes ran close to mine.

"But she smiled at me, and held me, just like she used to do."

The orbs and grin came at me so fast. One minute, I was feeling alone and empty. Now, Maka, who left me five years earlier, was holding me. Her arms wrapped around me, pulling me into her embrace. I held her also, in that familiar position. "Soul! I can't believe it! I missed you!" she cried. I almost felt like sobbing my heart out, but stood firm. "Maka, I missed you too."

"Like she loved me, when she loved me."

I felt that this moment was a new beginning for us. I was now even more in love with her than before. I wondered if she felt the same way about me. She held me, much like she did when we were young and "in-love" partners. We stayed that way for what seemed like infinity. Time seemed to stop and let us stay together. Finally, she let go. "Sorry," she said, "I just haven't seen you in so long." I replied, "That's cool." She smiled again, making my heart melt. I loved her. I wanted to confess right then, tell her how much I cherished her. My thoughts were interrupted. "Soul, guess what!" Maka said. I stared at her. "What is it, Maka?" I hoped for her to confess her true feelings, but this was in my dreams. She stuttered and twiddled her thumbs. "Well, I'm…I'm…getting married." My heart shattered into billions of shards of glass. I felt pain as she showed me her engagement ring. I struggled at saying something, something so as not to upset her. "Congratulations!" I said half-heartedly. "Soul, I want you to be a guest at my wedding." I wanted to tell her no, that I did not want to see her getting married to some other guy, one I probably didn't even know. Unfortunately, I had never told her "no". She grinned in joy at my reply of "yes". I thought she loved me, but she didn't anymore.

"When somebody loved me, everything was beautiful."

She was leaving me again. Maka Albarn, my trustworthy partner, was abandoning me. As I found out through little meetings with her fiancée, Josh, they met while on vacation in Japan. They were at a party, they chatted, and they refused to leave each other. What upset me what that he didn't even know that she was a scythe meister. He still doesn't know it. Josh didn't even know about her past, her role in defeating the Kishin and insanity, or about her life with me and the others at Shibusen. He wanted her only for her intelligence and her looks. On the downside, Josh was handsome and intelligent, but lacked a "compassionate" factor. She was going to marry a jerk, and there was nothing I could do to stop her. My beautiful life with Maka, everything, was going to be lost to the fire.

"Every hour we spent together lives within my heart."

However, every memory we shared would not be lost. They were imprinted in me, branded on my mind and heart. The only thing missing would be somebody to share them with. I could not tell them to my other friends: Tsubaki, Black Star, Kid, Liz, Patti, or even Blair. They were memories only Maka and I knew about. Those memories are going to stay here with me, until the day she comes back for me.

"When she loved me."

Now, I'm watching her. She's at the altar with Josh, and I'm sitting back here in the pews. He looks a lot like my demon in his tuxedo. Maka, on the other hand, looks like an angel. Her white dress matches the white veil pinned into her flowing ash-blonde hair. She exchanges vows with her "husband", and I try to hold back my anger. I want to run up there and take her away, but I know I can't do that. That's not cool, especially for her. Finally, the seal between the two is formed, when they go into a deep and passionate kiss. Everybody cheers, except for me.

After the reception, she is about to get into the limo with her new husband. However, she decides to say goodbye to me and all of her Shibusen friends. She gives Tsubaki, Black Star, Kid, Liz, and Patti hugs. Finally, she gets to me. She stares at me, once again, with those emeralds into my ruby eyes. She pulls me into a warm embrace and gives me a small kiss on the cheek. She backs off, with that look still on her face. She and Josh get into the car, with everybody cheering, screaming, and blowing bubbles. The car pulls away, taking her to her honeymoon. She waves from the back, still staring at me. As the car gets farther away, I touch my cheek. The ghost of her lips is still lingering. Before it leaves altogether, I catch a glimpse of her. That is the last time I see Maka, my one and only love.

FIN