Best Way Not to Get Your Heart Broken

Chapter Two - Phone Call

Maka stared in awe at the apartment she was led into. It was large and spacious, nothing like her hole of an apartment. She currently stood in the living room, which was complete with a balcony and a flat screen television with play stations and games, literally the works. She did see a few woman touches around the room, paintings and flowers. She whipped around the face Soul, her expression betraying her bewilderment. Soul raised a brow at her. They stood like that for a moment before Soul finally broke the silence.

"What?" he drawls, making Maka huff and gesture at the room.

"You call this apartment? Jeez, it's huge!"

Soul just shrugs and makes his way to the big L-shaped couch in front of his television, he slumps into it lazily before fishing his phone out of his pocket and pressing it to his ear.

Maka trailed behind him and sat awkwardly on a love seat, the furthest seat away from Soul. Yeah, maybe he saved her life and everything but if she'd wanted to be saved she wouldn't have attempted suicide! She doesn't understand how he can act so normal, so casual around her after witnessing her at her most vulnerable state, and him seeing her like that makes her far from comfortable.

She shuffles slightly in her seat, wrapping her arms around her torso like always, she immediately relaxes. She is oblivious to Soul watching her from the corner of his eye, his own narrowing slightly at her obvious discomfort, but his attention is drawn away when a familiar voice chimes in his ear.

"Soul?" Tsubaki's voice asks on the other side of the line.

"Yeah, hey Tsu." Soul greets her, standing to make his way to the balcony for some privacy, ignoring Maka's eyeing following him suspiciously for it was obvious it was her he was about to speak of.

When outside, he could finally release the calm façade he was trying to pull off in Maka's presence. Hell, how could he be calm? He just witnessed someone attempt suicide. He's seen it before, the cliffs is one of his favourite spots to relax and compose. But it was an inevitability to see people make their way over the edge of the cliff in pieces, sobs breaking through the lips and floods of tears running down their face. They seemed to have it so hard but they'd never ever jump. Most hardly even got anywhere near the edge before running away from the place.

Then there was Maka. She didn't cry, or even hesitate. That's what made him watch, made him worry. She walked right over to the very edge of the cliffs ledge almost casually, almost like there wasn't a 60 foot drop no more than 4 centimeters from where she planted her feet. Her face took on multiple expressions, sadness, betrayal, anger... but then absolute contentment. The emotion graced her face as she hung her foot over the ledge and let her weight fall forward...

Never had he saw that, in all the people he saw make their way for the cliffs. He shook his head free of the memory, and finally responded to Tsubaki's voice pounding in his ear.

"Soul? Soul! Is everything alright?" she asked, worry plain in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah, m'fine." Soul coughed to clear his throat before continuing. "But I really need your help. When will you be back, you still at Stars?"

"Yes, I got here about an hour ago. Blackstar and I were going to head over in a couple of hours. Why, do you need us? What's wrong?"

Soul sighed, finally letting the worry and stress lace through his voice. "There was a girl at the cliffs, Tsubaki. But she wasn't like the others, I literally just about saved her, but she was really going to do it, Tsu. She was definitely going to jump."

"Oh my god!" she cried, her voice going higher in shock. "Is she there? You didn't leave her did you?"

"No, no, of course I didn't!" he assured her and heard her sigh with relief over the line. "No, she's here now. But I don't know what to do, she's so..." she trailed off, not being able to find the words. "Calm. But I can tell it's fake. She's acting emotionless, Tsu. But she keeps wrapping her arms around herself, like... she's trying to hold herself together." His voice cracked at the end, he shuddered lightly.