It was getting late. Jellal figured that he had walked enough to clear his head. He had left his house angrily, after his father had announced that they were moving to Magnolia. He was going to start his senior year of high school in a few weeks. He had lived in Era all his life!
He couldn't blame his father though. It wasn't his fault. From what he could gather from the dinner conversation, this move was a great opportunity for his father to get a promotion. He should probably apologize when he got back.
He didn't have a lot of friends in Era anyway. Just two. Ultear and Meredy. The three of them met in middle school and were a part of the student council when they got to high school. He was not looking forward to telling them about the move. He made a mental note to arm himself with chocolate and ice cream when he did. Probably some bandages, too. They'd probably beat him up before taking the peace offerings.
He sighed and turned to head back home. He was passing by an alleyway when he noticed that someone was following him. He turned his head slightly, giving the appearance that he was looking at something across the street, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see that there was no one behind him.
That's strange. He turned around and looked down the block. There's no one there. Shaking his head, he turned back around, passing under the shadow of a large, old building at the end of the block. He was about to reach the corner when he was forcibly pulled back.
Crash.
There, in the spot where he once stood, were the shattered remains of a potted plant. He could've been killed, or at the very least, suffered a very nasty head wound. He turned around to thank his savior.
"Thank you for saving—," his eyes widened, "…my life." The last two words had trailed off into a whisper and he was positive his savior couldn't have heard it.
His savior was a beautiful young woman, who looked about his age, wearing a grey t-shirt, elbow-length gloves, a blue skirt, and knee-high black boots. But what really caught his attention was her brilliant red hair. He was so entranced by her hair that it took him a while to notice her lips were moving.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" He looked into her warm brown eyes.
"I asked if you were alright." Her voice sounded melodious to his ears.
"Oh, I'm fine. Really. Thank you so much." He reached out his hand to shake hers. She looked startled by the action, nevertheless, she still shook his hand. "Your hair color is really pretty." She looked shocked at that statement. Did no one ever compliment her on her hair before?
"Thank you. No one's ever really said that before. They usually say the color is a bit…ironic."
A few moments passed, she looked down at their hands and looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.
Why? He looked down and noticed that though they were no longer shaking hands, he was still holding onto hers. Embarrassed, he pulled back his hand and used his hand to scratch the back of his head, shifting his eyes to look at the ground. Way to be cool in front of the pretty girl, Jellal.
He lifted his head back up when he heard footsteps. She was walking away from him!
"My name is Jellal Fernandes." He blurted out. She looked back at him, slightly amused. "It would really, uh, be nice if I could know, uh, the name of the person, um, who saved my life." He could feel the blush rising on his face.
She gave him a close-lipped smile. "It's Erza."
"Erza…what's your last name?"
"Just Erza. Never really had to use a last name."
What kind of person didn't need to use a last name?
He looked back at her hair. "I'll call you Erza Scarlet."
"Erza..Scarlet," she whispered, looking at the ground. She raised her head and looked him straight in the eye, her eyes silently asking, 'Why that name? Why are you even giving me, a person who you might never see again, a last name?'
For the first time since their conversation began, he confidently said, "It's the color of your hair. That way, I'll never forget."
To be continued?