AN: I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR MY ABSENCE.

Okay, maybe not sincerely.

But I apologize.

ANYWHORE, the virtual cookie goes to….

*cue the drumroll in my mind*

beautiful-note2895!

DAT-DADADAAAA!

*hands slightly anonymous reviewer a virtual cookie*

You people need to learn what real music is. Seriously.

Now back to the story. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter: I Write Sins

"… Closing the goddamn door, noo…" I hummed as I strolled down the street, paying close attention to the screen of my iPhone.

What was that song? Ugh, Soul and his music… what a pain. He listened to stuff that I'd never even heard of… something about chaos and a disco club or whatever?

I dodged a passerby by turning to the left and shifting my weight to my left foot quickly, a trick I'd taught myself when I was young. I was used to steering out of the way of people. I grew up in a school full of them.

But as I kept walking, I found my left shoulder violently colliding with someone else's, despite my efforts to swerve the other direction.

It knocked me off my balance, and I stumbled back with a grunt. "Oww… what the hell…?" I rubbed my shoulder an turned to face the dumbass when I caught sight of blue.

Lots of blue.

"You really shouldn't text and walk." Black Star grinned, hands in his pockets. I blushed, the scene from the other day pounding at the inside of my forehead.

"Uhem… sorry, boss…"

"I'm your boss when you're in my office. Can't you just be my friend out on the street like this?" He lifted his hands against the inside of his pockets to emphasize his point. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. 'Friends.'" I raised two fingers on each hand in floating quotations. He laughed.

"Yes, friends. Would you like to go get some coffee, friend?"

I almost turned his offer down. Me. Him. Alone. With coffee. Who knows what could happen?

But what would he do if I said no? Maybe he would force me. Maybe he would make me pay when I got back to work. Maybe he would...

STOP RIGHT THERE. You don't want those images in your mind, Maka! I told myself. I involuntarily glanced down at his crotch and suppressed a shiver.

"I wouldn't like to, but I'll go anyway." I said, taking a step forward and gliding past him. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head. And the smirk he was wearing as he began to follow me to Deathbucks.

"Good morning, Maka-san!" Tsugumi waved to me as I entered. I waved back. "Hey, Tsugumi. What's up?"

She gave me a puzzled look as Black Star entered after me. I shrugged and gave a sheepish smile. I could tell she could see right through it, though.

"Who's that?" Black Star asked as she scampered back towards the bar and whispered something to the blonde girl she always hung around. I think her name was Anya.

"My kohai. Of sorts. She goes to DWMA. I gave her a soda and a book… and she borrowed my hairstyle." I said bluntly. He laughed and gave a mock-salute to her as she turned to look at the two of them.

"I remember her. I'm pretty sure I scared the pants off of her one time."

"You scare the pants off of everyone."

"You mean everyone wants to take their pants off for me."

I walked faster to sit down, pretending I didn't hear him. He sat down across from me in the booth. Tsugumi bounced over to our table with a notebook and bowed her head with a cute smile.

"Welcome to Deathbucks! May I take your order?" She asked, holding her pen at the ready.

"Just a coffee for me." Black Star said. I nodded in agreement. "Same here."

She nodded and put the notebook away, not feeling the need to write anything down, and bounced off again.

"Seems nice." He nodded, watching her as she bounced up to Master and told him our orders. "What did you say her name was?"

"I never said it, but it's Tsugumi." I replied. He laughed. He sure laughed a lot.

"Funny, I know a Tsugumi." That's right. His daughter was named Tsugumi.

"I guess it's a popular name." God I needed to work on my social skills. Keeping a conversation going was the biggest challenge I'd been facing.

"Tsubaki really liked it." He said. I nodded and searched for something in-character to reply with. But found nothing. At all. Seriously?

"So how's Soul been?" Thank Death he's a businessman.

"He's been pretty good… he has a girlfriend. And I think he's doing well at DWMA." I respond, playing with the zipper on my North Face. He nods.

"Good for him." He stuck his lower lip out in acknowledgement. Tsugumi bounced back up to our table with two white coffee mugs, both full and steaming. Coffee. Perfect. Nothing calms me down like coffee.

"Your drinks!" She beamed, setting the mugs down in front of us. Black Star smiled, nodded, and blew on the piping hot liquid before taking a sip.

"Thank you, Tsugumi." I said, blowing on mine and reaching for the milk she had set down in the middle. She nodded and held the tray under her arm.

"No problem! Also, I finished that book, Eleanor and Park… do you have another I should read?" She asked. I nodded.

"The Fault In Our Stars, John Green."

"I'll try and remember that…"

"Just remember John Green. It's his most popular book. It's the one they're making a movie out of, with Shailene Woodley."

She nodded and bounced away. Her bouncing was always so uplifting. At least she was making the most out of her life.

"Isn't that the one about the girl with cancer?" Black Star asked.

"I won't go into detail." I responded, mixing the cream into my coffee and blowing again.

"I won't ask, then." He took another sip. "So what books have you been reading lately?" He asked. I was starting to get tired of the small-talk.

"I read this one called Quarantine… it's really good, but nobody has heard of it yet since it's fairly new."

"What's it about?"

"Well, there's this disease that's deadly to adults and children. Teenagers are immune to it, but only as long as they're going through puberty… anyone who gets within five meters of somebody carrying the disease either gets infected or dies. This one guy who they were testing on runs through a high school and infects everybody, and then they're kept there under quarantine until they graduate, which means they've finished going through puberty and are susceptible to being killed by the disease…" I noticed his smile getting bigger and bigger as I spoke. I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Nothing, just the way you explain the things you love." He said with a goofy grin, resting his chin in his hands.

"Huh?"

"They way your eyes light up and you get so into what you're saying that you can't tell if you're rambling or not. It's cute."

I blushed. Wife! Three kids! Hello?!

"Wh-what…? I d-don't do that…" Stop stuttering. Stop blushing. Stop being cute.

"Yes, you do. And how you stutter when you're flustered."

"I'm n-not cute! You have a wife!"

"My kids are cute. Puppies are cute. Tsubaki doesn't seem to get mad when I point those things out."

"It's different when it's… i-it's…"

"I'm simply making an observation, Maka." I hated the way he said my name. It rolled off is tongue so smoothly, so affectionately. It was the same way he said "Tsubaki."

"I-I have to use the bathroom." I stood quickly. He looked up at me, and his smile faded. He closed his eyes and waved me off, exhaling over his words. "Fine. Go ahead."

I scurried off the the ladies room and swung the door shut behind me. It was a one-person bathroom, the big, square kind. I placed my hands on the sink and squeezed my eyes shut.

Just get a hold of yourself. You're not his toy. You're going to walk back out there, and tell him that he either has to treat you like his assistant, or you're going to quit. Yeah, quit. That sounds good.

I walked out of that bathroom with purpose. I marched over to the table, but when I got back, the booth was empty. He was gone.

AN: So I've been reading this book called Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell. It's really good. If you've read it or are reading it, you'd know that the main character, Cath, writes fanfiction. Like me. I'm ashamed to say that some of the writing in the book has started to influence my own writing style… but honestly I don't find it that unique in the first place. Except that I'm extremely sarcastic.

Also, a lot of the girls at my school read that book. They say, "Oh, I'm just like Cath! I love fanfiction sooo much!" And honestly it makes me want to walk over and punch them in the face.

ONE DIRECTION FANFICS DO NOT COUNT. I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU FUCKING TRY AND WRITE THE KINDA SHIT THAT I WRITE. BITCH.

Anyway, I hope I get to the next chapter without losing my computer privileges completely. Read and review please!

*whispers* HEIL HYDRA

Later, losers!

-TRG