Credit for this idea goes to the amazing artist blanania, and on of her works.
"Ple-"
"No."
"Come on Levy!" Lucy whined.
"No."
"Why not?" At this point, Lucy had been trying to wear Levy down to go to this concert for 3 months now. To say she was tired of the fight was a gross understatement.
She whirled around to face her friend. "Lucy, there are so many reasons for me not to go, I don't know why you're even asking."
She huffed. "Levy, you hardly get out of the house, it's one night with the girls at a concert! You know everyone going, you even love the band, it's going to be amazing! Just come!"
Levy rolled her eyes. "I may like the band, but that doesn't mean I want to go to a crazy concert with a bunch of sweaty fans and blaring music. That just doesn't sound appealing to me."
"You love the band, and it's not just a random night out, it's Erza's birthday! You can't miss her birthday celebration."
She repressed a shudder at Erza's wrath. "Does she really want everyone there?"
Lucy's mischievous, cat-who-ate-the-cream smile told Levy she was trapped. "Yep!"
She sighed. "Fine. I'll go to the stupid concert."
Lucy jumped up in the air and squealed a bit. "Yay, now I get to make and dress you up and take you to your first concert!"
Levy grumbled underneath her breath, but didn't actually put up any effort to stop her best friend.
Since they were both hanging out at Lucy's house, there were limited options for what Levy could wear, but they worked with what they had: a backless, strapless, dark red top with matching armbands, and a high waisted black skirt that held tight to Levy's curves, and then flared out at the high thigh with ruffles that tickled Levy's legs.
Since Lucy was an advocate for Levy's natural look, she put very little to no makeup on her, and -knowing that Levy had no experience with heels over the 2 inch mark- chose black platform boots. Lucy also convinced Levy to forgo her usual headband, and let her hair naturally fall atop her shoulders.
Levy felt uncomfortable walking out of the house in the ensemble, but Lucy swore up and down that she looked great, and was able to convince her to join the outside world.
An hour later, they met the rest of the girls in front of the ticket booths. Erza crushed Levy in a hug when she saw that she had pushed aside her usual introversion to join them. "Only for you, Erza."
They all got situated and found their seats inside. Erza was explaining that she had gotten the tickets and VIP backstage passes for free because she managed the band, when the person behind Levy decided to kick out, thus annoying her a bit. She let it go, thinking it would be a one-time occurrence.
She was wrong. Throughout the whole 30 minute wait before the concert, and even during the first band's small performance, the girls behind her chortled and screamed, so that by the time the lights dimmed down Levy started developing a twitch in one of her eyes.
All of that was erased from her thoughts though, when the band walked on stage. There were four members, but she seemed to only be able to focus on the lead singer and guitarist.
He had long, black, twisting hair, sharp red eyes, numerous piercings on his face and arms, and only a pair of very tight pants on, showing off his very toned and we'll built form, that rode scandalously low on his hips. Levy gulped. Oh my god...
And then he spoke. "Hello everyone, we're the Steel Dragons, and we're here to make your evening." Then he winked. The crowd went wild. Levy was sure she was part puddle at this point. His voice was impossibly deep, slightly raspy, and completely seductive.
She leaned over to Lucy. "Who-" She cleared her throat, realizing that she was nearly squealing. "Who's the lead singer again?"
Lucy shot her a questioning look, then seemed to understand Levy's predicament. Then her face went to instant mischief. "Why? You like him?"
Levy was struggling between her curiosity and her pride, but her curiosity won out in the end. Curiosity killed the cat and all.
"He seems interesting, yeah." She shrugged and tried to seem nonchalant, but was sure the blush on her cheeks was betraying her.
Lucy just smiled and showed mercy. "His name is Gajeel Redfox."
Levy nodded and then turned away. The secondary guitarist -who had pink hair, strangely enough, but Levy figured her own blue locks didn't give her much room to talk- started speaking. "We had a new album come out this last month, so we're gonna start with some of those."
For the next couple of hours, Levy simply stood and let the music take her over. The band was amazing, better live than their tracks she listened to back at home. When the concert finished up, her and her group gathered again to one side. Erza handed each of the girls something. Levy looked at the pass in her hand, and remembered that they were actually going to meet the band. Her face flamed up all over again.
Lucy seemed to be realizing the same thing as well. Levy wondered which of the men she was thinking about. Coming from her reaction when the pink haired one had had a solo, probably him. What was his name again?
Juvia poked Lucy. "Looks like you get to meet Natsu Lucy." Lucy's face went from pink to red.
"Well I'm not looking forward to meeting them nearly as much as you are Juvia. I saw how you were drooling over the drummer."
Juvia blushed and sputtered, but didn't deny anything. About 10 minutes later, Erza was walking to a door with the name of the band posted on it, and then just walked straight in.
"You boys did very well tonight, but I have a few pointers." Levy heard four distinct groans follow her statement.
Natsu put his arm around Erza's shoulders.
"Come on Erza, live a little! Are you always on work mode?" Erza shot him a look that made him drop his arm.
"Yes. Now, before I go into that, I want to introduce you boys to my 3 very good friends who joined me tonight."
Lucy, Juvia, and Levy walked completely into the room. The other 3 members were lounging around the room, the drummer on one side of the couch, Gajeel on the other. The last one, the bass guitarist, was sitting in a leather armchair, closest to the door.
"Levy, Lucy, and Juvia, this is Gajeel, Gray, Natsu, and Jellal." The girls all smiled and waived. The men nodded and said their hellos. Natsu and Gray got up and talked to them, asking how they knew Erza, but Jellal and Gajeel stayed quiet. The other 3 girls talked and mingled, but Levy stuck to what she knew, and stayed standing. She was surprised when Jellal turned to her and spoke.
"How did you like the concert, Levy?" She blinked.
"It was great! It was actually my first concert." Jellal's eyebrows went up.
"Really? Well, we're honored to have been your first." He winked. Levy let out a small laugh and looked down.
"Had you heard of us before today?" She nodded.
"Yes, in fact, you're my current favorite."
"Really?" He laughed.
"Yes, but I'm sorry to say that changes every other month, so it's not that special." He laughed.
"You're like Gajeel. He's always talking about his new find, and listens to them for a few months straight, and then finds a new one, and the cycle starts all over. Isn't that right, Gajeel?" Levy looked to see the man staring at them, or more specifically, her. She blushed.
He sent a look to Jellal. "I don't know if it does exactly like that, but yeah, kinda. What's your favorite song of ours, right now?"
She smiled. "Ink Running Like Water. My favorite thing about your band is the lyrics, much more so than the sound." Gajeel's eyebrows went up in surprise.
"So you don't really like how we sound? Well we should be glad for our lyrics then, they're apparently what keep us on top." She blushed again and rushed to correct her mistake.
"That's not what I meant at all! Your guys' sound is amazing as well, what I meant to say is is that what really stands out to me most is your lyrics. They hold much more meaning in them than most others in your genre."
He rose an eyebrow at her. "Well thank you, I suppose."
She mentally chided herself for offending him. Jellal laughed next to her though.
"When are you going to tell her that you're the one who writes the lyrics?" Her eyes grew wide and gasped.
Gajeel sent a scathing look at his fellow member. "I wasn't, actually."
"You write the songs?!" He seemed slightly embarrassed, and shrugged.
"Yeah, most of them. The lyrics anyways. The whole band comes up with how they sound and whether or not we want to keep them. It's a group effort. All of us write, we just tend to use mine more."
"Because his are always the best." Jellal pointed out.
"Whatever." Gajeel was looking away. Levy was a bit starstruck, but collected herself. She was about to say something, but Erza walked over just then, and sat on Jellal's lap.
She heard Juvia and Lucy gasp. "He's your secret boyfriend?!" Levy saw Jellal quirk an eyebrow.
"Now I'm a secret?" Erza rolled her eyes.
"I just don't want it out that I'm with someone who's band I'm managing."
"Well it's about damn time." Levy grumbled under her breath. Gajeel shot her a questioning look, but didn't say anything. No one else noticed that she'd said something.
The group decided that food sounded good, and eventually agreed on one place. Luckily, the place was within walking distance, and they all set out once the men changed and washed up really quick.
Gajeel and Levy, seeing as they didn't insist on being next to someone, ended up walking next to each other. For most of the walk, they were both silent. Now that Levy had officially met and talked to him, she wasn't flustered about being around him, especially since he was wearing a shirt now. He'd also tied his hair back with a rubber band. Levy decided it looked almost as nice as when it was down.
It was strange for her to be attracted to someone, and she'd never been this absolutely, and blindly attracted. It set her a bit off course, but for the most part, she was able to ignore it.
As the group made their way, the wind picked up, and Levy, minus her everyday headband, was struggling keeping her hair out of her face. Suddenly, there was a hairband being held out in front of her. She looked over at Gajeel.
He smirked. "I may be a guy, but I definitely get hair problems. Here, I always carry an extra."
She smiled up at him and took it. "Thank you." Then she twisted her hair up into a messy bun, because it wouldn't be coerced into any other kind at that moment.
Then she felt a hand ghost across the back of her neck, causing her to shiver. "You missed a few pieces." She blushed a bit, and covered the back of her neck.
"Yeah it happens." She was between begging him to never touch her again, or to never stop.
Luckily, they arrived at their destination before she could completely humiliate herself. They were seated quickly, despite their size. As they walked through, Levy noticed that they were in a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant, her favorite kind of places.
"Have you ever been here before?" He asked her. She shook her head.
"No, but I already love it. Have you?" He shook his head.
"Nah, but all Italian restaurants are pretty much the same." She gasped.
"Take that back." He looked down at her in surprise. He really is a lot taller than me...
"Come again?"
Come on, Levy, focus! "No two Italian places are the same! That's the beauty of them! They all have different recipes, different ways of preparing their food, it's an adventure every time!"
He rose an eyebrow at her. She realized that she was getting a little more intense than what may have been necessary, and made a conscious effort to calm herself down. "Well, that's definitely a way of looking at it."
He was laughing at her. Well, she didn't care. He'd offended her, and she didn't care if she was being rude.
She simply looked down at her menu and looked at the options.
Across from her, Gajeel was watching her. The small woman had caught his attention alright. Not only was she extremely attractive, but she had a fiery spirit hiding behind that closed off exterior. He decided that he wanted to talk to her a bit more.
So he tapped on the top of her menu, realizing that he was acting a bit childish, but deciding not to care. She looked up at him, but was going for a closed off look. Gihi, like that'll work.
"What are you getting? I have no idea what to order."
She scoffed. "Maybe that's because you think all Italian places are the same."
He shrugged. "I just asked what you're getting Shrimp."
He saw her bristle. "Shrimp?! I have a name!"
He pretended to remember. "Oh yeah! What was that again?"
She sighed. "Listen, if you're going to be an asshole the whole time, I'm just going to leave. I didn't even want to come in the first place." He was surprised. If she liked his band as much as she's professed earlier, why hadn't she wanted to come?
"Then why did you?"
She looked up at him. "Because its Erza's birthday, and I'm willing to go out of my comfort zone for my friends."
Well then. There was nothing he could make fun of there. So he just asked what came next to his mind.
"Why is going to a concert out of your comfort zone?"
She shrugged. "I don't like the idea of concerts. A bunch of screaming, sweaty people listening to music that they could simply stream at home? I just don't see the appeal." He was a bit shocked. He loved concerts. Both performing and going to them.
"But it's a chance to see a band you really like, face to face."
She shrugged. "Unless you have the connections like we happened to get tonight, you really don't. You get to watch them run around a stage, sing, and sweat. Forgive me if that's not on my Christmas list." Dang, this girl has quite the sharp little tongue. Gihi, wonder what else that tongue's good at...
He shoved aside those thoughts, and continued. "Well I disagree." She just shrugged.
"And that's your right. Yay for America and free speech and all that." He rose an eyebrow at her sarcasm, then saw her blush suddenly, and sheepishly look up at him.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, or belittle you or what you do."
He shrugged. "Don't worry, that's not how I took it."
She seemed conflicted but then let it go. He could actually see the thoughts processing on her face. She was very expressive.
He picked up a menu and skimmed it. "So what are you actually getting? I do honestly have no idea what to get." She sighed.
"Well what are you in the mood for?"
He flashed a grin. "Shrimp." She nodded along, not getting the poor attempt to fluster her.
"Fettuccini Alfredo with Shrimp is usually amazing no matter where you go. How about that?" He didn't see why not.
"Sure. You?" He saw her glance at the menu again.
"I was thinking of getting the lasagna. But I'm not entirely sure yet, the veal sounds great too." He saw her bite her lip. Well damn. She's sexy, and she doesn't even try.
They all ordered, and Levy decided on the veal at last.
"What exactly is veal?" He asked.
She smiled up at him. "Very young cow. They raise them up to move as little as possible so their fat vastly outweighs their actual muscle. That way, the meat is more flavorful and much less tough than regular steak."
He was impressed by her knowledge. "Sounds great. Mind if I try a bite later?" She shook her head.
"No problem at all." Then she jumped high in her seat, because her phone went off. He rose an eyebrow and smirked at her reaction.
She held a hand up to her throat, and breathed deep. Then she fished her phone out of the tiny purse. She looked at the caller ID. Why is Jet calling this late?
"Hello?"
"Levy! You weren't answering your phone a couple hours ago, and I was so worried! Droy, she answered this time!" She could hear her twin younger brothers fighting over who got to hold the phone.
She sighed. "Jet, why are you trying to call me so late?"
"We stopped by your house because we wanted to hang out, but you weren't there!"
"I told you I was with Lucy today!"
"We thought you'd be home by then though! So we tried to call you, but you wouldn't answer, and then neither would Lucy or any of the girls, and we were really worried-"
"Jet, calm down. I'm fine. The girls and I just went out for Erza's birthday tonight. Am I not allowed to go out with my friends without telling you first now?"
"Well no but-"
"Are you still at my house?"
Silence on the other end. She groaned. "Jet, get out of my house. And give me my spare key next time you see me."
"But Levy!"
"'But Levy!' Nothing! Get out of my house, and make sure Droy didn't eat all of my food, or you two are paying for my next grocery bill! I love you, and I'll talk to you tomorrow." Then she hung up and sighed. Her brothers were a handful.
"What the hell? Was that your boyfriend or something?" She looked up at Gajeel, who looked seriously worried.
She realized how that conversation sounded from an outsider perspective, and couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"No, no, they're my little brothers." He looked relieved.
"Good. I was about to say, he sounds like a huge dick."
She laughed again. "No, they're just clingy, and may have a bit of a sister complex. We lost our parents young, but still managed to stay together, so that probably plays a large part in it."
He looked a bit abashed. "I'm sorry about your parents. But hey, if you were my sister, I'd have a complex too." He even winked. She blushed a bit and looked down.
Damn, she's adorable.
"Thank you. I think." Then she laughed a bit.
He was unable to respond because their food arrived just then. Conversations were paused for the most part then, because all of the boys were starving.
When Gajeel came up for breath, Levy laughed. "Wow, performing must really take it out of you guys!"
He nodded. "Yeah, it's a workout all on its own."
"Huh." Then they continued eating. When he was finished, she was only halfway through her meal.
She cut a large piece and offered it up. "Here, try this. It'll change your life."
He leaned forward and opened his mouth. She fed him the bite, and then leaned back in her seat, trying hard not to blush at the intimate feeling of feeding him. He chewed and cocked his head to the side. Then he closed his eyes and moaned a bit. Levy pushed back all of the unbidden, very inappropriate thoughts.
He opened his eyes and grinned. "That's great!"
She smiled. "It's like I know what I'm talking about! Hm, figure that!"
"Alright, alright, you win." He conceded.
20 minutes later, and dessert was offered. Levy looked over the menu once more, and decided on a piece of tiramisu. Gajeel went for a slice of Devil's Food cake, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
They both are off of each other's plates, Gajeel once again finding Levy correct. Levy also admitted that she had a weakness for chocolate.
When they got up to leave, everyone except for Erza paying -much to her embarrassment, but Jellal was able to distract her- they all decided to swap phone numbers and agreed to hang out again soon.
Lucy and Levy walked back together, the boys having to get their things all packed up still, leaving the girls alone once again.
"So Gajeel and you really hit it off tonight, Levy! I was really surprised, I didn't think you would be each other's types!"
Erza butt in before Levy could respond. "I did. At least on Gajeel's side. I've found he has an affinity for cute things, and knew he wouldn't be able to resist Levy. I just hoped for Levy to look past the fact that he's an asshole."
"Oh, he's an asshole, that's for sure!" Levy responded. "But, he can be funny. Besides, anyone who can write lyrics like he does is much deeper than he gives himself credit for."
"Oh, you like him!" Lucy squealed.
Levy rolled her eyes. "What, are we back to middle school? But yes, I do like him, and would like to spend more time with him. What about you and Natsu? I saw that you two seemed rather close as well."
It was Lucy's turn to blush now. "He's an idiot, but he's also really sweet. And he's not bad to look at either." She winked at Levy.
"Yeah, I seem to see a pattern with that group. They're quite the group of charmers. How about you Juvia? How was Gray?"
But Juvia was nearly in a catatonic state from happiness. Levy laughed. "Guess that answers that question." They'd arrived at their cars.
"Talk to you girls later, happy birthday Erza!" Levy and Lucy said their goodbyes, and then headed home.
Levy and her talked about the evening, and their favorite parts. When Lucy dropped off Levy, she walked into her house and sighed.
Perhaps concerts weren't that bad...