A/N: Hello, dear readers! This is my second ErzaxOC story, my first one being entitled "Moving On From His Death". If you haven't read it, feel free to do so. This one is set in an AU (Alternate Universe) and will have more drama compared to my first story. I hope you guys enjoy this story, and please leave a review! :D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.

Erza Scarlet was known in Fairy High as the strong, scary, and strict, but beautiful Student Council President. She hadn't always been like that, though. She used to be a sweet, caring, and loving girl - until her parents died and with what happened with her ex-boyfriend, Jellal Fernandes. Because of that, she closed off her heart and vowed to never trust any man completely, thus resulting in her cold demeanor.

She had beautiful scarlet hair that flowed down past her waist and half bangs that stopped by her brown eyes. As usual, she wore the females' uniform composed of a white long-sleeved blouse, gray skirt that went a few inches above her knees, and black stockings and shoes, properly. She walked along the halls of Fairy High, and as she walked, the other students stopped whatever they were doing as they saw her while some cowered in fear, even though they knew that they did nothing wrong. She pretended not to notice this and continued walking towards her classroom with her usual stoic expression. She arrived in front of the classroom and opened the door.

She looked around the room and saw her old classmates. "Good morning Erza!" A sweet voice called out. Erza turned around and saw Mira, one of her friends. Mira had a sweet, innocent-looking face and a friendly personality. She had long, white hair with her bangs tied up in an upward ponytail and dark blue eyes. Erza nodded, and said simply, "Good morning to you, too, Mira." The white-haired student giggled. She was already used to Erza's stiff demeanor.

A brunette student approached them and sat beside Mira. Her name was Cana and she had slightly curly brown hair that reached down to the middle of her back. Her white blouse was unbuttoned at the top, slightly revealing her cleavage. "What's up, you two?" The brunette said with a grin. "Cana, button up your blouse," Erza said sternly. "Come on, Erza. Lighten up," the brunette said. Erza just sighed and turned away, not in the mood to argue with the brunette any further.

"Okay, class. Settle down," a voice said from the classroom's door. The students sat down in their respective seats and quieted down as a tall, muscular man with slicked back dark orange hair entered the room. He wore a white polo with black slacks, black leather shoes, and strangely, a dark tattered cape. The man introduced himself, "My name is Gildarts Clive, but you can call me sir Gildarts and I will be your teacher for History." The students stared curiously at him, wondering why on earth he was wearing a cape. Gildarts seemed oblivious to his students' stares and continued speaking. "Actually, you will be having a new classmate as of today. He will come in shortly to introduce himself." Erza raised her eyebrows. Being the student council president, she felt slightly stunned that she had never heard of a newcomer in their school, until this very moment, that is.

"You can come in now," Gildarts spoke to someone who seemed to be outside their classroom. The door opened and a guy the same age as them walked in. He was slightly taller than Erza with a slightly muscular build and he wore the guys' uniform consisting of a white polo, blue necktie, black slacks and black leather shoes. He had short, spiky, jet-black hair with shades of blue and had pitch black eyes that looked serious. He looked handsome, she admitted. Immediately, she heard the girls whisper among each other.

"Wow, he sure is hot."

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend?"

"Why did he decide to transfer here?"

The girls' whispers continued and Gildarts decided to make them quiet down. "Girls, please quiet down." The whispers immediately subsided and Gildarts turned once again to the black-haired boy. "Please, introduce yourself." The boy nodded and started speaking. "My name is Zane Arazaki, and as you know now, I am a transfer student here at Fairy High. I just officially enrolled late yesterday afternoon." He decided that that was enough. He didn't want to reveal any more about himself, for reasons that he didn't want anyone getting close to him. He decided that he would live through this on his own. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, or more specifically, dying again because of him.

Gildarts nodded and said, "Thank you for your introduction, Zane. You may sit over there." The orange-haired man pointed to an empty seat beside Erza. Zane walked over to the student council president and took his seat. "Now, class. I hope that you befriend Zane and get along with him well." The whole class: most especially the girls, nodded enthusiastically. Erza sneaked a quick glance at the guy sitting beside her, and he looked serious. She knew that she just met him, but she couldn't help but want to know more about him. But something in her gut told her she was better off not getting too close to him. She shook her head and forced the thoughts away from her mind.

The morning passed by a little slowly. Finally, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch. Zane grabbed his things and left quickly, that even his scarlet-haired seatmate didn't notice that he had already left. Erza turned around and noticed that her seatmate was already gone. She frowned. I wonder where he went off to in such a hurry? She thought. Then, she heard a voice call out to her. "Erza~! We're heading to the cafeteria now." Mira said as she waved at the student council president with Cana standing beside her. Erza packed up her things and joined her.

As they walked towards the cafeteria, Mira asked Erza, "So, what do you think about Zane?" Erza rubbed her chin thoughtfully and said, "I don't really know yet, but I think he's going to be a good student since he pays full attention during classes and he doesn't seem to be the type to break rules." Mira giggled at the president's insightful answer, and Cana blurted out, "I think he's pretty hot. He seems to be the quiet, mysterious type." Mira pouted and said, "Really, Cana? Are guys all you ever think about?"

Erza thought about the brunette's answer; he did seem to be quiet, as though he didn't quite like talking about himself. It was evident from the way he introduced himself. He just said his name and explained how he enrolled. This made the scarlet-haired student wonder all the more about him. I wonder if there's anything he's hiding that he doesn't want anyone to know. She thought with a frown.

They arrived at the cafeteria and found five of their friends waiting for them. There was a blonde female, a light blue-haired female, a dark-blue haired female; a raven-haired male and a pink-haired male. The three girls headed towards them and took their seats.

The blonde student asked, "How was your morning?"

Erza answered, "It was okay."

"We have a new classmate, actually," Mira added.

Then Cana winked, "And he was pretty hot, too, Lucy."

The blonde student, now identified as Lucy, raised her eyebrows and said, "Really?"

The pink-haired student complained, "Oy, Lucy! What are you all getting interested for? I'm your boyfriend, aren't I?"

Lucy blushed and said, "Of course, Natsu. You're so silly. Is there anything wrong about being curious about their new classmate?"

Natsu sighed and said, "Fine."

Lucy just shook her head and smiled at her boyfriend's childish act. She pecked him lightly on the lips and said, "There, is that better?"

The pinkette grinned toothily and exclaimed, "Hell yeah!" Lucy giggled. It was so easy to make her boyfriend happy again.

"Juvia doesn't care about any other new male student. Gray-sama is the only one Juvia loves!" The light blue-haired girl, now known as Juvia exclaimed, which caused the raven-haired mage sitting beside her known as Gray, to blush. The dark blue-haired student sitting with them giggled at the sight. "You guys are so cute." Mira smiled and said, "I know. Right, Wendy?" The dark blue-haired student now identified as Wendy nodded and smiled. "So, what's your new classmate's name?" Lucy asked. Erza answered, "His name is Zane Arazaki." Gray followed up with a question of his own. "Where's he?" Erza swept her eyes around the cafeteria, looking for the spiky-haired student, but couldn't find him anywhere. "It looks like he isn't here," she pointed out. "Huh. I wonder where he went," Natsu commented. Erza frowned, wondering where indeed in the world he ran off.

Zane lay down on the ground at the roof, looking at the sky. He went off as quickly as possible when the bell rang, not wanting to hang out with anyone. He wasn't always like this, though. He used to be friendly, and made lots of close friends. But ever since that incident, he completely shut himself off from everyone. He sighed, and continued staring up at the sky. When he sat down at the classroom, he noticed his scarlet-haired seatmate cast a quick glance at him, but he ignored it. There was a look of curiosity in her eyes, as though she wanted to know more about him. He groaned, and thought, I have to stay away from her. I don't want anyone getting involved with me any longer. He looked at his phone, and saw that he had one unread message. It was from Sarah, one of his old friends. He opened the message and read it. They sent messages back and forth, and their conversation went like this:

"Hey! How's school so far?"

"Fine, I guess."

"Have you made any friends yet?"

"Nah, not really."

"Why?"

"You know the reason, Sarah."

"Come on, Zane. You can't just keep shutting yourself out from everyone forever. What happened to Clair was just an accident; none of it is your fault."

"No, Sarah. It's because of me that she died. I don't want anyone getting hurt or dying again because of me."

"And so you're going to shut yourself off from the world forever? Everyone here in the gang is worried about you since you left. You've changed a lot since that incident."

"And that's exactly why I left, why I changed. It's better for me to push everyone away because I would end up hurting them more if they get too attached to me."

"Seriously, Zane. You're ending up hurting us more with the way you are right now. Just let it go. You can't be happy if you keep doing this."

"Just mind your own business, Sarah. I'm fine this way."

"Fine. But the gang's always gonna be here for you, no matter what you think."

He didn't reply at her last message. Deep down, he wondered if she was right. Nah, it's better off this way. He thought, shaking his head. He checked his watch. 12:50 PM, it said. "Time to go." He muttered to himself and headed back to his classroom.

He found that the scarlet-haired student was already sitting in her place. He quietly took his seat beside her and looked straight ahead. "Where were you during lunch?" Someone asked him. He turned and saw that it was his seatmate. "None of your business," he muttered. She raised her eyebrows, and said, "Is it wrong of me to ask where you were?" He glared at her and said coolly, "I don't see why you care in the first place. Who the hell are you anyway?" She was surprised at his cold answer, but didn't show it. She returned the glare and answered coolly, "I'm Erza Scarlet, student council president of this school. It would be better if you try acting friendly." He rolled his eyes, and answered a little angrily, "How I act is none of your business. Now, I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to me again. I don't care if you're the president or whatever position you have in this school." She felt completely stunned at his words. It was the first time someone actually dared to stand up to her. "Just don't try any funny business while I'm around," she retorted. "Don't worry, I'm not planning anything funny. Just as long as you shut up and mind your own business," he said with a cold voice. "Fine, then," she said, feeling irritated. "I won't talk to you again." He nodded curtly and turned away from her.

She didn't actually mean those words, but she didn't get why she even bothered to care about his whereabouts in the first place. Damn men. She fumed.

Their afternoon classes were done and it was finally time to go home. Zane packed up his stuff and left quickly. Mira and Cana walked towards Erza. "Hey, Erza. We're heading to the café. Want to come with us?" Cana asked. Erza nodded, staying silent. A slice of strawberry cake should help with her bad mood. They met up with the rest of their friends and headed to the café. They took their seats and Erza continued staying silent. She kept on thinking about her heated exchange with Zane, and it worsened her mood. What the hell is up with that guy? Who does he think he is, standing up to me like that?! She thought angrily. "Erza…? Hello, Erza?" She heard a voice say and snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh, what is it Lucy?" Lucy said, "What's your order?" Erza answered, "I'll have the usual." Lucy nodded and relayed the order to the waiter.

Wendy noticed that the student council president was acting strange and spacing out. "Is something wrong, Erza-san?" Erza shook her head and lied. "No, it's nothing." Mira sighed and pointed out, "Was it your argument with Zane a while ago?" Erza looked at the white-haired student with shock, and mumbled, "You heard that?" Mira smiled and said, "No, not really. But I noticed the tension between you two." Erza sighed, thinking she had no choice but to tell her friends about her heated conversation with the spiky-haired student. "Fine, I'll tell you what we talked about." She relayed the conversation to her friends, and when she finished, her friends looked at her in shock.

"Someone just…" Wendy said as she sweat dropped.

"Stood up…" Gray continued with shock in his voice.

"To ERZA?!" Natsu yelled in shock, finishing the two students' sentence.

"And he's a new student, you say?!" Lucy shrieked.

Cana shook her head and muttered, "Damn, it's a miracle that guy's still alive. But, it looks like he's a fine piece of work, that one."

Juvia sighed. "He has guts, Juvia gives him that."

They talked about the new student as they waited for their orders. When their food arrived, Erza began eating her cake, feeling her mood get better. Mmm, this is delicious. She thought happily. She looked out the window and saw a flash of spiky black hair. She looked harder, and saw that it was Zane. He was wearing a black hoodie jacket, dark blue pants, and black sneakers. He looked like he was about to enter the café, but suddenly turned away and began walking in the opposite direction. She looked puzzled and wondered, I wonder if it was because he saw me. She frowned and said, "Whatever. I shouldn't care about what he does; it has nothing to do with me anyway," and continued eating her cake.

Zane decided to go to his favorite café to cool his head off after classes. But, as he was about to enter, he saw the last person he wanted to ever see again, Erza Scarlet. He paused, thinking that her last name sounded familiar. Could she be the daughter of James and Katherine Scarlet? Nah, it couldn't be. They hadn't mentioned anything about having a daughter when they were still alive. It might all be just a big coincidence. He thought. Bringing himself back to reality, he sighed in irritation and stormed off. It looks like I won't be able to enjoy my afternoon. What the hell is up with that woman, anyway? He thought angrily. He continued walking and subconsciously, he ended up in front of his old gang's hideout. He opened the door and walked inside. He was immediately greeted by friendly voices. "Zane! It's been a while!" A pink-haired girl exclaimed happily and walked over to him. He nodded to signify that he acknowledged the girl's presence. "Sarah." The pink-haired girl was known as Sarah.

She was slightly shorter than Zane and had pink hair that flowed a little past her shoulder. She wore a dark red t-shirt with a skull design in the middle, a pair of black shorts and sandals. She had hazel brown eyes and pretty features for her face. She smiled sweetly and asked, "How was your day?" A flash of irritation spread across Zane's face and answered curtly, "I had a pretty bad day." She frowned and asked, "What's wrong?" He sighed and said with irritation, "It's because of that damn student council president." Sarah raised her eyebrows, and urged the black-haired guy to continue, and so he did.

After he finished, Sarah pouted and said, "Erza has a point, you know. You could try to be a little more friendly." He frowned angrily and said, "I don't care whatever the hell she thinks, and I don't care about your opinion either." Sarah was also getting a little angry at this point, and she began yelling, "Damn, what the hell is wrong with you, Zane?! Why the hell do you keep pushing everyone away?! Why do you keep pushing me away?! All we want is to help you, but you won't let anyone do it! We told you over and over again that Clair's death isn't your fault, but you keep blaming yourself and act cold and indifferent towards everyone!"

Zane backed away, slightly in shock, and everyone in the building stopped talking, and looked at the argument between the two. She jabbed his chest forcefully, and continued yelling. "Dammit, Zane! I'm your best friend! Everyone here in the gang is concerned about you! Why won't you change back to the way you were before?!" Zane was taken aback at her outburst. He didn't know what to say. But, he decided that he would remain the way he was now. "I'm sorry, Sarah. But it's better for all of us if I stay this way," he said a little coldly and left the building.

A/N: Zane's a bit of a jerk, isn't he? The complete opposite of Zeke from my other story. I just kinda wanted him to act like a jerk to try something new. Ehehe. And, since Erza's parents are unnamed in both the Manga and Anime, I decided to name them. So, yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and see you in the next! :D

SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ THIS PART IF YOU DO NOT READ THE MANGA AND DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED, OR IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE LATEST CHAPTER YET.

Gray's back, but, Ultear... :( I swear, I cried while reading the Manga. Ultear had a noble sacrifice, if only she knew that that one minute actually saved everyone. *sighs* I salute you, Ultear!