Hey guys! Sorry for my lack of activity on here. School has been crazy, and life has been getting pretty real...but anyway, I'm glad to be back!

As mentioned in my latest Grayza Collection chapter, I deleted my entry for the Teamwork prompt of Grayza Week to make it a multi-chapter story! I am beyond excited to write this because high school AUs are the best. As of right now the story will be of a similar style to my original Teamwork chapter; for those of you that remember it you'll have to bear with me, as some parts later on will be very similar to what I originally wrote. It will also be pretty dragged out because why not. Ships include Grayza (of course), Nalu, Gale, Lyvia, Jeltear, Hibicana and, based on reviews, a Freed/Mira/Laxus love triangle!

In addition to updating this story I will also be active on my Grayza Collection :)

Anyway, enough announcements. I hope you all enjoy chapter one, and leave a review if you did! Thank you all for your support and Grayza love :3 You guys are the best!

Gray leaned forward in his seat, pencil carefully extended. He brought the object forward and flicked the long red locks that hung in front of his desk.

As soon as he did so the girl in front of him brought her hand to the same spot, attempting to swat whatever touched her hair away. Just as she turned around to send him an unappreciative glare he leaned back in his seat, pretending as though he had done nothing. She turned back around, shaking her head.

Gray smirked. Messing with Erza was always entertaining, and even more so during class. He raised his pencil again, this time spinning her hair around the object so many times till it resembled a ratty, scarlet lump. He leaned back in his seat, beaming proudly at his creation.

Erza put her hand to the spot, feeling her tangled hair and the protruding pencil. She turned to him just enough that he could see the unamused glare on her face. "Gray, what the hell?!" she hissed under her breath, careful not to attract unnecessary attention from her classmates beside her.

"What? I didn't do anything." Gray lied, widening his eyes innocently.

"You're so irritating." she growled. She took the pencil from her hair and threw it on the ground. She turned back to the front of the room, trying to smooth out her scarlet locks.

Gray smirked to himself again. He grabbed his pencil from the floor to flick the same spot once more, when a loud voice interjected his thoughts.

"Like I said, irony is essential to theme of the novel...Did you get that, Gray?" Gray looked past Erza to the front of the room, meeting Mr. Clive's expectant stare.

The navy haired boy cleared his throat, sitting up in his seat. "Erm, could you repeat that, Mr. Clive?" he asked.

"I could. And while I'm doing something for you, you can stop engaging Ms. Scarlet in your silly antics." the orange-haired man joked. Gray's face reddened as his classmates laughed in agreement. Mr. Clive turned his attention back to the rest of the class. "Alright, get into pairs and make a list of ironic situations that you can submit in...about ten minutes." he decided. With that the class broke into a hubbub of voices, everyone discussing examples.

"Okay Scarlet, what do ya got?" Gray asked, watching as Erza turned around, pencil in hand and notebook open to a blank page.

"Why do you always assume we're partners?" she asked smartly.

"Well, other than the fact that you sit right in front of me and that we're better than average friends, I need a good grade in this class. And," he leaned forward with a cheesy smile, "you always have the best ideas."

She shook her head, but couldn't help the smile on her face. "Gray Fullbuster, your sarcasm is about as obvious and annoying as Natsu's thing for Lucy."

"He has a thing for Lucy?" Gray feigned shock, to which Erza rolled her eyes. He laughed as she began writing eagerly into her notebook, intent on ignoring him.

"Excuse me, I believe this assignment is to be worked on in pairs." he remarked sarcastically.

She nodded. "Alright, then. Do you have any examples of irony, Gray Fullbuster?"

"Do any of my 'silly antics' fall under this category?" he asked sarcastically.

She pursed her lips in thought. "Well, I think it's ironic you continue to pester me regardless of the fact that your elementary ways of flirting won't get you anything but my annoyance."

A blush crept along Gray's face, but he scoffed at her words regardless. "'Elementary' ways of flirting? I'll have you know I get mine, thank you."

"Oh, and who did you 'get' last? Wasn't it that thing with Juvia?" Erza commented curtly.

Gray frowned. "We don't talk about it."

"What, you didn't appreciate all those pictures she took of you? Or that oddly detailed Sims family-"

"-We don't talk about it!"

She smirked. "I guess we shouldn't."

"At least she's not all prim and proper."

Erza's smirk disappeared. "What's wrong with-"

Gray suddenly leaned forward and took Erza's hands. Caught off guard Erza stared at him in surprise, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. She was forced to gaze into his eyes, a mimicking grin on his face. "What are you doi-"

Gray held a hand in front of her face. "Shh, don't speak." He closed his eyes, "I love you, and you love me." He sighed dramatically. "But I can't be with you because you're too good for me, and it truly breaks my heart to tell you that." He smiled at her expectantly, waiting for her to crack up. But instead she frowned at him, his mockery of a certain blue haired boy in their grade clearly the furthest thing from being funny.

Gray frowned in confusion. "Isn't that how Jellal broke up with you last time?" he asked, not sure as to why she wasn't laughing.

"...Yes. But it's not a joking matter. He's different now."

Gray scoffed, pulling away from her. He knew exactly where this was going. "Oh, excuse me. I completely forgot that you're in yet another perfect relationship with him." he apologized.

His voice was dripping with sarcasm, but even so Erza couldn't help but feel her chest swell up with pride. "Yes, you forgot." she nodded.

Gray saw the glazed look in her eyes, and rolled his own. "At least I didn't forget about your last breakup...or three."

Erza frowned at his remark. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He smirked to himself, an idea sparking his thoughts. "You know what?" He leaned forward, jabbing a finger at her. "Other than the fact that you both run the debate team, I bet you don't know anything about him."

She scoffed. "Please, Gray. I know him very well."

"Alright, then." He raised a challenging eyebrow. "What's his favorite color?"

Erza froze. "…Um, what?"

"His favorite color, Erza."

Her mind was completely blank. In all her relationships with Jellal, they had never shared that type of information with each other. "That's easy, it's…" Her eyes widened, her lack of knowledge evident.

"It's red." Gray answered.

Erza scoffed. "Jellal and I don't waste time on-"

"His favorite food?"

"I- his what?"

"His favorite song?"

"Well-"

"-His number for soccer?!"

"It's not soccer season, so-"

Gray leaned back in his seat, hand over his face. "Oh my god. You know nothing about him, do you?" he asked, amused.

"I-I don't-" Erza stammered, but shook her head. "So what if I don't know? Jellal is a great person."

"'Great?'" Gray snorted. "He hasn't changed at all: not since your last breakup, and definitely not now."

"How would you know?!"

"You've been 'dating' for three weeks."

"So?!"

"You don't even know his favorite color, so how do you know that he's changed?"

She frowned in confusion. "I-"

The bell signaling the end of class chimed loudly, ending their conversation. Gray watched as Erza ripped their paper from her notebook. "You owe me one, Fullbuster." she huffed, passing their paper to the front of the room.

"Only if I get an A for today." he replied. "Are you coming to lunch?"

The redhead nodded. "As usual. But I need to speak with Jellal first."

"Make sure you ask what his favorite color is." Gray snickered.

Erza stopped, scowling at him. "Okay, what's your problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you care so much?"

Gray groaned in annoyance. "Because you're making the same mistake! He's exactly the same, and you know it."

She shook her head. "You wouldn't understand." She picked up her backpack. "Maybe you should start acting like him. You might get a normal girl for once." she admonished, turning away from him.

Gray frowned this time, insulted. "I should act like him?! Why would I-"

"Tell Juvia I say hi." she remarked sarcastically, sending him a final glare before leaving the room.

He scowled after her, fists clenched in annoyance. "Why is she always such a b-"

"What was that?" an expectant voice asked.

He turned around to see Freed and Loke walking toward him. "What was what?" Gray asked, tossing his backpack over his shoulder.

"You know what I'm talking about. You were flirting with Erza that whole time." Loke smirked.

"What? I was not!"

"Right. Playing with her hair and bickering with her isn't the least bit…flirtatious." He said the last word with a suggestive arch of his eyebrow.

"Tell me what part of that was flirtatious, you weirdo."

"Mr. Clive called you out on it!"

"He's Cana's dad, he always calls me out!" Gray defended again.

"Okay, you may have been flirting with her at the beginning of class, but by the end you were definitely arguing." Freed decided.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's more like it." he agreed as they walked out of the room.

"Anyway, I'll catch you guys later." Freed stated, turning the other way.

"You're not eating with us?" Gray asked.

Freed shook his head. "It's Wednesday, I'm tutoring."

"Or maybe you're just afraid to start a fight with Laxus." Loke added jokingly.

Freed turned to the orange haired boy, frowning. "What on earth would I have to fight him for?"

"The fact that you both like Mira."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"There's nothing ridiculous about the truth, Greenie!"

The green haired boy glared annoyedly at Loke, before turning to leave, "See you guys later."

"See ya!" they called, waving goodbye. Loke turned to Gray, smirking. "I don't care what he says. I still think you're flirting with her."

Gray rolled his eyes. "And you're always right about everything, huh?" he joked, elbowing Loke in the ribs. "You're dumb as shit."

"Oh really? Look me in the eyes and tell me that you weren't flirting with the angry and aggressive Erza Scarlet." Loke prodded, poking an obnoxious finger into Gray's arm with every word.

Gray felt his face redden, but shook it off. "Yeah, well who has the hots for Aries?" he asked smartly.

Loke scowled at him. "We agreed that was private. I still don't know if I like her or Lucy."

"Well, unlike you, my feelings are clear. And I definitely don't have any for Erza," Gray continued, a bitter scowl forming on his face. "Especially not after today."

Erza walked slowly down the hall, one hand gripped tightly around her backpack strap. Gray's words echoed through her head.

'You're making the same mistake.'

'He's exactly the same, and you know it.'

Gray always had his comments about her relationship. But this was the first time he was ever rude about it.

Why does it matter to him?

It was true, she wasn't able to answer any of Gray's questions about Jellal. But those things were trivial to her. The only thing that she cared about was despite their past relationships, Jellal was different now, and that was why they were together again. Isn't that enough?

She nodded. It is. she decided, walking to meet her boyfriend.

Ultear Milkovich groaned in annoyance as she felt a familiar hand slap the top of her head. "Jellal!" she scolded as she winced in slight pain, holding the now-sore spot on her head.

"You should be thanking me. I'm keeping your reflexes sharp." the tall, blue haired boy snickered, appearing in front of her.

Ultear rolled her eyes as she pulled down her lock, opening the metal locker door. Jellal leaned against the locker next to hers, watching the dark haired girl with a good-natured smile. He eyed one of the books she pulled out. "Physics 2? That's crazy stuff."

"Aren't you in that class too?" the dark haired girl pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.

He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Oh, right." he chuckled awkwardly.

"Did you need something?" Ultear asked. Jellal gave her a blank expression. "You came to my locker…" she continued.

"Oh, right, I had to talk to you." Jellal recalled.

Ultear frowned in confusion. What could he possibly have to tell her?

"I've been thinking about us a lot, and…" He looked into her eyes, "I think we-"

"-Jellal!"

The two turned to see Erza Scarlet walking towards them. For once Ultear breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the redhead. While she didn't particularly like Erza for one reason or another, she was glad that the red haired girl had spared her from whatever Jellal had to say. She turned back to her locker, hoping to get to lunch as quickly as possible.

Jellal turned to his girlfriend, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Erza, hey." he greeted.

Erza noticed how close the two were standing. A bitter feeling of deja vu passed over her. "Oh, I apologize. Am I interrupting something?" she asked cautiously, ignoring the thoughts that raced through her brain.

"No, of course not!" he nodded.

"Well, good! I need to talk to you."

Jellal scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I need to talk to you too."

"Oh! Do you want to go first?" Erza asked. Ultear almost rolled her eyes at Erza's eagerness, although there was no reason for her to be that irritated.

"Well, by all means." he shrugged, smiling at Erza.

Ultear shut her locker, gaining the couple's attention. "I don't want to interrupt you guys." she stated, giving each of them a nod before leaving them alone.

While Erza immediately turned back around, Jellal was still staring after Ultear. Her chest sank the slightest bit, feeling the same wave of deja vu. "What were you guys talking about?" she asked curiously.

Jellal snapped back to Erza. "What?" he asked, and then shrugged, "Oh, uh, nothing. Just physics stuff."

'He's exactly the same as before.'

She ignored his forced smile. She could tell he was lying. "So I was talking to Gray during English, and he made me realize some flaws in our relationship."

"Gray Fullbuster?" Jellal repeated.

Erza nodded. "Gray always has good advice. I feel we wouldn't be as close as we are if I hadn't listened to him." She pursed her lips. "But today was the first day he was rude about it, and I had to ask...is it bad I don't know your favorite color?"

Jellal's expression darkened. "You go to him for our problems, huh?"

"Well, we're friends, but that's beside the point-" She noted Jellal's grimace. "What?"

"Look, Erza," he spoke, placing a hand on each of her arms, "I don't know if I wanna do this anymore."

She frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You always go to Gray for our problems, instead of talking directly to me."

"I mean I talk to him, but...Gray's our friend!" she continued, the sinking in her chest getting heavier.

"Then why do I feel like I'm competing with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's what I had to talk to you about." He looked to the side, not meeting her gaze. "I don't think we should date anymore."

"W-what?" she stammered. This exact situation had already happened before, but she still felt the same bitter feeling of rejection. She frowned. "Does this have to do with her?"

"What?! No, I-" Jellal turned back to her, his expression slightly softened. "I feel like we have different interests."

"We take similar classes and extracurriculars."

"And that made this seem like a good idea. But right now," he gave her a sad smile, "I think we should take a break."

She stared at him in disbelief, but in the back of her mind she knew this was bound to happen. Her thoughts immediately went to Gray: he had said all those rude things, but in the end, he had been right. Her relationship with Jellal had failed yet again, another tally to the list. A wave of anger and embarrassment surged through her body, all directed at the navy haired boy.

"That's fine with me." she snapped, quickly leaving before Jellal could see her cloudy eyes.

"Erza!" he called after her, but she didn't turn around. She needed air.

She made her way out of sight, holding her sleeve against her teary eyes. Her thoughts were racing through her head and her emotions were quickly exposing themselves, but one thing was certain:

This was all Gray's fault.

Alright, there's chapter one! Guys I am so happy to be writing this, I love this ship. Don't forget to leave a review! Also I chose that specific cover art for the story cos it makes me crack up, like how hilarious do those two look? But if someone has a specific image/drawing of Gray and Erza let me know! Have a great day :)

Until next time,

PinkKoala213