Alias 2.0
With a heavy groan, Jellal rolls over, squinting through blurry eyes as a hand scrabbles around the top of his dresser, desperately trying to locate his alarm clock. The piercing noise is cut off finally and he flops back onto his bed face down and buries his face into his pillow.
So soft.
So warm.
So tired.
But alas, he has things to do and so, with great effort, he pushes himself off the bed push-up style and stumbles over to his desk. The familiar whirr of the computer starts and he selects one of his playlists, not particularly concerned with what songs are on it.
Music always did wake him up.
He maxes out the volume, blasting out the music as he pulls his shirt over his head and throws it carelessly across his bed. His shorts join his shirt and he pads into the bathroom, right hand snapping in time with the music's beat.
The hot water cascades down his broad shoulders and he sweeps his royal blue hair back away from his forehead. The temperature is in stark contrast to the snowy weather outside and he sighs in content, feeling his muscles relax and his body unwind under the soothing heat.
His thoughts drift off towards a certain female and a soft smile appears on his face. His lips quirk up even more as he realizes that he is smiling. Out off everyone he knows, she is the only one who can elicit such a reaction from him just by the mere thought of her. And he thinks of her a lot.
They have known each other for more than 4 years, the two of them brought together by their love for the same fandom. They had gotten off to a rocky start at first; her with her quick impulsive temper and him with his stubborn streak. Definitely a rocky start, he muses to himself, but one which eventually blossomed into a brilliant friendship. And perhaps something even more.
He turns off the water, the goofy grin still plastered all over his face.
He can't stop thinking about her.
Jellal scrambles to stuff everything into his backpack. Hoisting the heavy bag over his shoulder, he glances out the window. Crystalline white flakes drift down lazily, some swirling in an intricate dance with the wind, others just fluttering towards the ground in an aimless pattern.
He pulls the zipper to his jacket a tad bit higher and tugs on his scarf. Straightening up, Jellal looks out the window and catching a movement out of the corner of his eye, he raises a hand in greeting. Laxus jerks his head at him with a broad grin. The blond lives on the same floor but in the building opposite to his.
Laxus taps at the imaginary watch on his wrist and Jellal responds by miming drinking. Jellal grins as Laxus makes some sort of 'see you at school' gesture. Then a white haired girl throws a pillow at the blond's head and he turns away with a wave of his hand. Jellal jerks his head, a smirk on his face as the female winks at him over Laxus' shoulder before drawing the curtains.
Something soft brushes against his left leg and he whispers a fond 'hey' as he bends down to tickle his cat under its chin. Giving it a small pat on the head and with a final murmured 'see you later, Lily', Jellal grabs his keys and exits his apartment.
The snow sparkles under the sunlight and he stuffs both hands into his pockets as he shoulders past the door and makes his way to the coffee shop. He needs a cup of coffee every morning before he starts school and this particular coffee shop is conveniently located next to his school.
It's cold but the morning air smells fresh, clean, and he breathes in, eyes closing briefly. Then he lets out a breath, smoky tendrils curling and unfurling before him gracefully.
The cloudless sky is blue and he stops for a moment, staring up at the swirl of cyan and azure, allowing the sun to bathe him in its golden light and for the snow to tickle his face. He just stands there, soaking in the feeling and there's peace, but there's also happiness.
It's the simple things that give him joy.
The streets are quiet, with only a few students moving about, bundled up in thick sweaters and long coats. He's so busy taking everything in that he doesn't notice the patch of ice in front of him and he nearly slips when he continues on his way, only managing to right himself at the last moment.
He lets out an embarrassed laugh and moves on.
A well built young man runs past him in nothing but a pair of shorts and Jellal can't help but stare. Wasn't he cold?
Two girls pass by him, the blue haired one clutching a laptop and a pile of books close to her chest while the other fiddled with her keys nervously, babbling about pink hair or something. They wore shirts with his university's logo on them but he's never seen either of them before. He doesn't know them but he smiles politely and nods in their direction.
They giggle and walk away quickly, heads bowed together as they whispered things most likely about him and he stares after them over his shoulder, mind sliding back towards a certain female he'd started to develop feelings for.
The thoughts warm him to the core, bubbling in the pits of his stomach, and he grins at his boots, the warmth creeping up the back of his neck. The snowflakes feel cool against his face but the chill is negligible. Jellal tugs at his collar. It's starting to get really hot.
He turns his attention back towards his phone, eyes scanning the message she's left him yesterday.
Titania: Sorry, I got distracted by something else and forgot to reply till this morning.
His grin can't get any wider and he hurries to reply.
Siegrain: So, is it my turn to distract you?
Titania: -sigh- You and your ego.
Siegrain: Don't think of me too much, my dear. You know your heart can't handle it.
Titania: …shut up, you.
He laughs.
Once they'd gotten all the fandom talk out of the way, he'd actually made an effort to talk to her, to get to know her. He'd started out by leaving her nice friendly messages, a few lines to cheer her up when she needed someone. But then, things had escalated and his playful personality had taken over.
Teasing, flirting, call it what you will, but he had done it.
And before he knew it, he'd fallen for her fast. Hard.
Siegrain: Guess I should huh. Wouldn't want to make your heart skip a beat now, would we? With that said, I know CPR. You do know what that entails, yeah?
Titania: CPR, ugh, you just shush. My heart is perfectly fine.
Siegrain: It's alright. Should anything happen to your heart, you can have mine.
He makes fun of her, confident and unafraid, words dancing around her. They're often teasing, slightly suggestive in nature and his tone is light hearted. He jokes a lot but in reality, he means every single word he says. And he can't stop himself from grinning like a total fool every time she replies. Neither one of them has admitted anything explicitly, with him hiding behind his teasing nature and her constantly putting up an unaffected front. Nothing is clear; he's too shy to admit anything. Yet somehow he knows that she enjoys these stolen moments as well.
Jellal stands in line waiting, fingers tapping at his phone impatiently. It's been a month since they've last talked and he's ecstatic, relishing the feeling of reconnecting with her. He's missed her so much. He can't help that he can't stay away from her for long; it hurts, makes his heart ache with the desire to contact her, to hear the smile in her words.
But sometimes he has to disappear, to pull back for weeks at a time. There's something holding him back, like how he worries that he's bothering her or how one day, she'll just grow tired of him. And he's torn between giving in to the urge to talk to her or to give her some space. It eats away at him but he doesn't want to lose her. He can't take it. And so he stays away when it hits him hard even if it hurts him.
Titania: I have a feeling you're enjoying yourself.
Siegrain: All in a day's work.
Titania: And what fine work indeed ~
He snorts in amusement and looks up to survey the shop.
There's a couple at the far end. The female is sitting with her back to the large windowfront with a computer open in front of her, while the man is sipping from his cup, cellphone clutched tightly in his hand.
She must have said something amusing for the man shakes his head with a broad grin on his face and leans forward, hand outstretched.
Jellal stares at the two of them.
She shakes the man's hand, a dazed look on her face, and the man laughs.
Jellal smiles.
"Morning."
Startled, he swivels around to see that it's his turn and he stuffs the phone into his pocket, message sent. "Morning, a large coffee please."
The barista gives him a smile. "That'll be $4."
He hands over the money. She mumbles a quiet thank you and takes a cup from her right. "What name should I put on it?"
Jellal gives his backpack a tug and glances back at her distractedly, taking in the female's scarlet hair and kind brown eyes.
"Um," he shifts slightly, "Jellal."
She looks surprised, eyebrows arching up elegantly.
"It's an uncommon name," he says, gesturing aimlessly with his hands.
She smiles, eyes twinkling cheekily. "No, no, I have a friend called Jellal as well."
"Yeah?"
His eyes flicker down to her name tag and his eyes widen slightly. He opens his mouth to speak but she's turned towards the coffee machine. His lips form soundless words as he mulls over her name. Then he glances behind him. There's no one else in line and so he remains where he is, both hands placed against the counter.
And when she turns back to face him and hand him his coffee, he takes it and shakes his head in amusement.
"Erza," Jellal says, the name rolling off the tip of his tongue easily, "that's a lovely name."
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear shyly. "Thanks."
"I also have a really good friend called Erza." He grins lopsidedly at the thought of her.
Erza laughed lightly. "What are the odds of that?"
He takes a small sip from his cup and glances at her. He can't believe he's going to ask her this but he has to know.
He leans forwards, voice dropping down a notch. "Look, this is gonna sound kinda crazy, but does the name Titania mean anything to you?"
She looks taken aback and a strange expression flickers across her face. Then she smiles and asks, "Does the name Siegrain mean anything to you?"
His smile is all the answer she needs.
A/N: So, happy birthday to Hikari! Go check out her fics if you have time! Hope you liked this one and that you have a great birthday Hikari!
At first this was a sequel to Alias for Mystwalker but I changed my mind and switched over to Jerza. Not as good as Alias but really wanted to do this one because I wrote this with my college's coffeeshop in mind (Hikari, you know which uni and coffeeshop I'm talking about). Both stories incorporate a lot of facts and personal experience into it so it was fun.